CABINET APPROVES BILL TO EXTEND PARTICIPATION IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 005900 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2016 TAGS: MOPS PTER AF JA SUBJECT: CABINET APPROVES BILL TO EXTEND PARTICIPATION IN OEF Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b),(d) ¶1. (U) The Japanese Cabinet has approved a bill to extend for one year the special anti-terrorism law that enables Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces (MSDF) to continue to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The bill will be presented to the Diet where it must be passed by both Lower and Upper Houses. It will then be returned to the Cabinet which will adopt an action plan to implement the extension. ¶2. (C) MOFA Foreign Policy Bureau National Security Division Deputy Director Shingo Miyamoto told Embassy Tokyo Political Officer that the bill is expected to be approved by the House of Representatives on October 13, approved by the House of Councilors on October 22 or 23, and passed back to the Cabinet on October 25 for approval of the action plan prior to November 1, when the current enabling law expires. Because the ruling LDP party controls both Houses, Miyamoto said that MOFA is confident the bill will be approved. ¶3. (C) Responding to several previous Japanese requests for information about successes attributable to the deployment of MSDF vessels with Coalition Task Force 150, Embassy Tokyo shared with Miyamoto statistics on the amount of fuel Japanese oilers have provided to the Task Force and the number of queries and boardings conducted by Task Force assets. Miyamoto was appreciative and noted that the same information had previously been shared through other channels. He added MOFA would also be grateful to receive any photographic evidence showing items seized as a result of boardings. Such photos would be shown to any Diet members who question whether Japan's contributions to OEF are in fact yielding any results in the Global War on Terror. SCHIEFFER