Japan pushes fuel bill through

January 11, 2008

The Japanese government has used a rare override to force a controversial naval bill through parliament to resume a refuelling mission supporting US-led operations in Afghanistan.

The ruling party used its lower house majority to pass the bill, hours after it had been voted down by the opposition-controlled upper house.

The override, the first in more than 50 years, follows months of political deadlock over the naval mission.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda says that the deployment is vital to Japan's standing in the international community.

But the opposition says it violates the post-war pacifist constitution and lacks a mandate from the United Nations.

The row had become increasingly embarrassing for the government.

The Japanese navy has been providing fuel to coalition forces in the Indian Ocean since late 2001.

But the ships were forced to withdraw in November last year after opposition lawmakers - who won control of the upper house in July - blocked an extension of their mandate.

The government revised the legislation limiting the scope of the mission but this failed to placate the opposition.

Early on Friday, it made good on its pledge to block the bill in the upper house.

The legislation was immediately returned to the lower house, where the Liberal Democratic Party used its sizeable majority to force it through.

The last time the parliamentary override was used was in 1951, a parliamentary spokesman said.

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