Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday failed to win the support of the Democratic Party of Japan over government-proposed legislation that would allow the SDF to provide logistic support for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
Yukio Hatoyama, who leads the government's largest opposition party, told reporters that their talks collapsed because Koizumi, who also leads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, rejected a request to amend the bill to oblige the government to obtain Diet approval before dispatching the Self-Defense Forces.
Despite the setback, the bill could still pass the Lower House today and the Upper House by Oct. 24, Diet sources said. The tripartite ruling camp holds a majority in both chambers.