Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed on Thursday to make full efforts to resume the Maritime Self- Defense Force (MSDF)'s refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for the US-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.

Fukuda made the remarks during talks with visiting US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in Japan earlier in the day after visiting China and South Korea.

The premier reiterated the importance of the Japan-US ally and promised to strengthen the alliance.

Gates in his part praised Japan for its past refueling support for the multinational military activities and expressed the US side's willingness to boost cooperation with Japan in areas such as defense and security.

Gates met with Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba later in the day. The two sides exchanged ideas on the realignment of Japan-based US troops and the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.

Japan stopped the MSDF's refueling mission earlier this month as the special antiterrorism measures law expired.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) have been at odds on the resumption of the mission. The Japanese government submitted to the Diet on October 17 a new bill to replace the expired one, while the DPJ, which controls the upper house of the Diet, resisted to compromise on the issue.

The ruling coalition, made up of the LDP and the minor New Komeito Party, decided Thursday to seek extension of the current Diet session for 35 days to December 15 in order to gain more deliberation time for the passage of the bill.

Japan's parliament passed the original special antiterrorism law in October 2001, one month after the September 11 attacks on the US. The Japanese government's subsequent dispatch of the MSDF into overseas mission under the law was the first of its kind after WWII, marking a milestone-like transition in Japan's defense policy.

The law was extended for two years in 2003 and was extended for one year in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)