Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda failed Tuesday to persuade opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa to agree on a new antiterrorism bill to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue refueling multinational naval ships in the Indian Ocean.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20071031a1a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='175'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>The Maritime Self-Defense Force vessel Tokiwa –

supplies fuel to a Pakistani destroyer in the Indian Ocean on Monday. It was the last refueling Japan will perform under the antiterrorism law that expires Thursday. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARITIME SELF-DEFENSE FORCE/KYODO

The two did agree, however, to hold another closed meeting this week, probably Friday.