Okada admits possible 'negative' impact of ending refueling mission+

TOKYO, Oct. 5 Kyodo -
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada admitted during a meeting with British
business secretary Peter Mandelson on Monday that ending Japan's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean could have a negative impact on countries involved
in U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan, Mandelson said.

Okada made the remarks as Mandelson called on Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama the same day to continue the mission.
''He acknowledged that if Japan disengaged from the current refueling facility
that it offers, then this might send a negative signal to other countries which
are part of the coalition effort,'' Mandelson told reporters after talks with
Okada in Tokyo.
Japan has said it plans to call back the Maritime Self-Defense Force when a
temporary law backing the mission expires in January, with Okada saying that
the country will ''not simply'' extend its mission.
Japan has engaged in the noncombat refueling mission for most of the period
since 2001, given that the use of weapons by the Self-Defense Forces is
restricted under the war-renouncing Constitution.
While Japan is hoping to work out alternative measures, Mandelson told
reporters after talking with Hatoyama, ''We accept that Japan, not being
engaged directly, is nonetheless making a contribution through the MSDF in the
refueling activity, which we would like Japan to continue.''
''If we were to lose this fight, the strong view of the British government is
that Islamic and other extremist groups could become intoxicated by their
success, which would pose a huge danger to all of us,'' the British secretary
for business, innovation and skills said.
In the meeting, Hatoyama told Mandelson that Japan will consider its
contribution to Afghanistan by weighing what types of cooperation would be
highly valued by the Afghan people and the countries engaged in the efforts,
the Foreign Ministry said.
==Kyodo