Jan. 16, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - Japan’s new government on Friday fulfilled its promise of ending a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the US-led war on Afghanistan.

 

Since the end of WWII Japanese constitution barred the country’s troops from engaging in military related missions. But successive Japanese governments, under intense pressures from Washington, set aside their constitutional obligations and began participating in some of the US-led wars around the world and in Afghanistan as well. The main role of the Japanese navy was to refuel coalition forces from suppliers in the region.

 

In Tokyo, Japan’s Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa ordered two of the naval ships, the destroyer Ikazuchi and supply ship Mashu, to pull out of mission in the Indian Ocean.

 

The country’s new government headed by Yukio Hatoyama has been critical of the ongoing war in Afghanistan particularly the country’s role in such a mission. Hatoyama reiterated that his country’s forces would take part in humanitarian missions from now on and in November made a pledge of nearly 5 billion euros in aid for Afghanistan.  ‘We will continue to act positively and proactively to contribute to international efforts against terrorism,’ Hatoyama said in a statement.

 

Since the beginning of its mission from 2001, the Japanese navy supplied more than 135 million gallons of oil, 11,000 tons of fresh water to military vessels and aircrafts of several countries including the US, Pakistan, France, Britain and Germany, the Defense Ministry said.