The United States on Friday welcomed Japan's decision to resume a naval refueling mission in support of NATO-led efforts in Afghanistan, with the White House calling it “an important contribution to the war on terrorism.” “We appreciate this support for maritime security operations and welcome its return. These operations make an important contribution to the war on terrorism,” said national security council spokeswoman Katherine Starr. “Japan has provided at-sea refueling support to many coalition countries, including the U.S.” Tokyo ordered the resumption of the mission, under which it provided fuel in the Indian Ocean to coalition forces in Afghanistan, as the government overrode a rejection in parliament for the first time in its history. New Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda took the drastic measure to restart the mission, but analysts said he risked a domestic backlash by pushing through the controversial legislation. Japan's opposition, which won control of one house of parliament last year, had forced an end to the operations in November. “We were disappointed that the cooperation had to cease temporarily,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. “We welcome the decision by the Japanese government to renew this very important support. We appreciate the efforts that were made to see that this legislation moved forward. … We look forward to continuing our work with the government of Japan and Japanese forces as we continue these operations.”
