Refueling mission ordered

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Thursday ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force to resume refueling operations in the Indian Ocean in the U.S.-led fight against terror in Afghanistan.

Two MSDF vessels--the supply ship Oumi from Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture and the destroyer Murasame from the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture--will leave Japan by the end of next week.

Japan's refueling mission will resume around mid-February because it will take the MSDF ships about three weeks to get to the area.

The order came after the ruling coalition on Jan. 11 rammed through a special measures bill at the Lower House to resume the mission.(IHT/Asahi: January 18,2008)