The Wall Street Journal-20080114-Japan Sails Again
Return to: The_Wall_Street_Journal-20080114
Japan Sails Again
The Japanese Diet voted Friday to resume an antiterror mission in the Indian Ocean -- to which we say, welcome back to the fight. It's a signal that Washington's staunchest ally in Asia hasn't abandoned its recent ambition to play a greater role in international security, especially in its own part of the world.
The legislation reauthorizes the naval refueling mission that Japan launched in 2001 in support of the U.S.-led coalition's military operations in Afghanistan. Tokyo ordered its ships home after the original law expired in November and the opposition blocked an extension.
The vote was the first big political test for Japan's new Prime Minister, Yasuo Fukuda. Mr. Fukuda fought hard to revive the antiterror mission, to the extent of dusting off a constitutional provision allowing a two-thirds majority in the lower house to override an upper house action. The "constitutional option" hadn't been used since 1951 and in Japan's consensus-driven political world it required so much political capital that Mr. Fukuda is unlikely to be able to use it again during his tenure.
From an operational standpoint, the role of Japan's ships isn't critical, and the coalition in Afghanistan has coped just fine in the past two months without them. But Tokyo's participation had sent a strong message to friend and enemy alike and its pullout was a symbolic blow.
Under the leadership of recent Prime Ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe, Japan began to accept more responsibility for its own national defense and to play a larger role in international security affairs. It remains to be seen whether Mr. Fukuda fully shares his predecessors' vision of a revitalized, strong Japan, but last week's vote suggests he understands what's at stake.
(See related letter: "Letters to the Editor: Japan: Pull More Weight" -- WSJ January 15, 2008)
