August 15, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 1, 1428

TOKYO, Aug 14: The US ambassador to Japan has warned that ending support to US forces in Afghanistan, as advocated by Japan's resurgent opposition party, would damage relations between the allies.

In an interview published on Tuesday, Ambassador Thomas Schieffer voiced hope the countries' close ties would not become a “political football” after conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition lost elections last month.

Main opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa has vowed to use his bloc's new control of the upper house of parliament to block Japan from continuing logistical support to the Afghanistan mission.

If Ozawa carries out his threats, it “would certainly have a negative impact” on US-Japan relations, Schieffer told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

Schieffer, who held a testy meeting with Ozawa last week, said he “didn't hear the US-Japan alliance being debated” in the election campaign, which focused primarily on domestic scandals.

“I think it would be a sad commentary if that election somehow spilled over into the foreign policy area, into areas that were previously thought to be pretty much above partisan debate,” said Schieffer.

“We hope that the political debate here will not wind up making the US-Japan alliance a political football,” he told the newspaper.

Abe, an outspoken conservative, has supported a greater military role for Japan, which has been officially pacifist since its defeat in World War II.

Japanese ships in the Indian Ocean provide refuelling and other support to US-led forces in Afghanistan under legislation after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, allowing Japan to take part in the “war on terror.”

The laws are set to expire on Nov 1. Abe's coalition still controls the more powerful lower house, but theoretically the upper house could indefinitely stall legislation.—AFP