Japan Turns Her Back on U.S. in Afghanistan

Japan has told the United States it will end a naval refuelling mission backing its war in Afghanistan, a month before President Barack Obama visits Tokyo, a top defence official said Thursday.

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Hatoyama, whose party in opposition spoke out against Japan abetting "American wars," has for months said it would not renew a naval refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that was first launched in 2001.

rawstory.com...

In Afghanistan, Hatoyama has proposed new, non-military support for Kabul, such as job training for former Taliban soldiers.

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The naval mission has supported US and other NATO forces in the Afghan conflict with refueling and logistical support, but it has drawn scorn at home from left-leaning politicians now in Hatoyama's ruling coalition.

Apparently, the wavering of their support does not only apply to our continued actions in Afghanistan.

The change of power in Tokyo has also revived debate on another long-simmering issue, the 47,000-strong US military presence in Japan that started with the superpower's post-World War II occupation.

A flashpoint has been the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Base, located in a crowded urban area, where residents have long complained of aircraft noise, the danger of accidents, and occasional frictions with service personnel.

Under a 2006 agreement which Japan, under a conservative government, struck with the United States's former George W. Bush administration, the base would be closed but replaced with a coastal facility to be built by 2014.

Hatoyama has in the past said he wants the replacement facility to be built outside Okinawa or even outside Japan, a proposal also favoured by two minor parties whose support he needs in the upper house of the Diet legislature.

Although I am not personally familiar with the change of government in Japan - I have been told by friends who are living, or lived in Japan that this is a 'real and profound' change in leadership.

This may indicate an undermining of the globalist grip on Japan - it seems the change in support of US foreign policy may well be underway. Certainly there is a decent amount of skepticism within the govt regarding the attacks of 911, and there is little to zero support of that event as being any basis for attacks on Iraq or Afghanistan.

If this is true - then perhaps there is a chance that US troops will indeed be kicked out of Japan - and possibly that Japan will seek to revise its post war constitution - and re-arm.

While I think that the globalist agenda is for Japan to rearm to support the imperialist agenda more closely - I think these guys want to rearm to DEFEND themselves from the perceived globalist threat posed by the US.

Interesting times.

[edit on 15-10-2009 by Amagnon]

I wonder if this is also economic. Japan has been hit hard by the economy also.