VOA常速英语2007年-Japan Ends Naval Mission in Afghanistan

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
01 November 2007

Japan's defense¹ agency has ordered ships supporting U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan to return home from the Indian Ocean, after the country's main opposition² party refused to back an extension of the law supporting the mission. But as Naomi Martig reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong, the government has pledged to renew it.

 

The law authorizing³ the Japanese refueling mission expires at midnight Thursday in Japan. But Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has already ordered Japan's two ships in the Indian Ocean, a destroyer and an oiler, to return to Japan, bringing to a close the country's main military role in the war on terror.

Since 2001, Japan has supplied fuel to ships that support U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. The law authorizing the mission was passed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Lawmakers have extended the mission repeatedly, but the latest attempt at an extension failed to pass.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which won control of the upper house of parliament earlier this year, refused to back the extension. Opposition lawmakers argue that the mission lacks a mandate⁴ from the United Nations, and that it goes against the country's pacifist constitution, which forbids Japan from engaging in military operations overseas.

Speaking late Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said it is unfortunate the Indian Ocean mission is ending.

"Our refueling activity has been appreciated by many countries," he said. "It's a pity we have to end our task."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Thursday that the government will try to pass a new law resuming the mission. He says officials are making every effort to enact⁵ a new refueling bill as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Fukuda is expected to meet later this week with Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the Democratic Party, to discuss a possible compromise.

Mr. Fukuda's Liberal Democratic Party controls the more powerful lower house of parliament, and could muscle through a new law allowing Japanese ships to return.

During its six-year mission, Japan has provided about 480,000 kiloliters of fuel to coalition⁶ warships⁷ in the Indian Ocean, including those from the United States, Britain and Pakistan.

U.S. officials and envoys⁸ from coalition countries had urged Japanese lawmakers to extend the mission. Earlier this week, a Pentagon spokesman said that if Japan ended the mission, Washington would come up with alternative ways of fueling the ships.

Japan's role in the war on terror has also included the deployment⁹ of 600 self-defense forces in a non-combat role in southern Iraq, a mission that ended earlier this year.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

4 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

5 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

8 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

9 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。