By using a special provision in the Constitution, the ruling parties have voted into law a bill that enables the resumption of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan. The mission is expected to resume in mid-February.
It is regrettable that the law was enacted after both the ruling and opposition camps failed to mount enough efforts to find common ground and reach a compromise on the issue of how to improve the lives of the Afghan people.
The government had to temporarily halt the refueling mission in early November because it failed to have the Diet extend a predecessor law for the mission — a consequence of the ruling parties' devastating defeat in the July 29 Upper House election, which has enabled the opposition camp to control the chamber.