Japan's new center-left government, which decided to discontinue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, pledged in its place aid package worth $5 billion over the next five years to help reconstruction in Afghanistan.
For several years, Tokyo has been committed to refueling foreign vessels involved in the US-led anti-terrorism mission in the Indian Ocean as well as Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyers engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.
After the G-20 Summit in September, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he has no intention of simply extending the refueling mission, but his government is looking to help the Afghan people in a way that can satisfy both of them and the United States.
Japan plans to support training Afghan policemen in countries like Indonesia and vowed to pay half the wages of Afghanistan's 80,000-strong police force.
The aid package also includes measures to help former Taliban fighters to reintegrate with society and for agriculture and infrastructure development in the war-torn country.
Furthermore, Japan reiterated its support to Afghanistan's neighbor Pakistan, for whom it pledged aid worth up to $1 billion in April, vowing to speed up channeling funds into infrastructure and refugee aid.
Hatoyama is expected to discuss details of the scheme with US President Barrack Obama when he visits Japan Friday.
The US rejects Hatoyama's demands to renegotiate a 2006 agreement Tokyo and Washington signed to relocate the controversial US Marine base on Okinawa island to a less heavily populated region on its west to alleviate disturbances to the local residents.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.