TOKYO — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday that Japan must not be a "bystander" in the U.S.-led "war on terror" as he fought to extend a naval mission in the Indian Ocean. The opposition won control of one house of the Diet in July elections and has vowed to defeat government proposals to extend the naval mission providing fuel and logistical support to U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.
The opposition has so far ignored a government compromise that would stop refuelling operations backing combat troops, restricting support to ships policing the Indian Ocean.
Addressing a parliamentary committee attended by key lawmakers from the ruling coalition and opposition, Fukuda said that Japan, as the world's second largest economy, needed to contribute to international security.
Saying that the international community was united after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Fukuda said: "How can we sit back as a bystander? We felt powerless at not being able to do anything when the international community took concerted action after Iraq invaded Kuwait in the Gulf War."
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