Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Prime Minister Attends the House of Councillors' Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense

Prime Minister Taro Aso attended the House of Councillors' Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, and answered questions posed by Committee members on the Replenishment Support Special Measures Bill.

Prime Minister Aso said, "As we all are aware, our fight against terrorism is still ongoing. As the tendency is that other countries are stepping up the fight against terrorism, withdrawing from it is not an option for Japan. This is my basic stance."

Furthermore, thinking of the members of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) who have been dispatched and the SDF members and their families who are preparing for dispatch, Prime Minister Aso said, "I had the opportunity to see for myself the operations, where, honestly speaking, I found the environment, not least the natural environment, to be quite severe. Without a truly noble sense of mission and strong awareness, members of the Self-Defense Forces cannot succeed in their mission given the extremely severe conditions. On our part, we must make the utmost efforts to support them, for the successful completion of the mission."