Laws enacted in 1999 covering emergencies "in areas surrounding Japan" may allow the nation to extend logistic support to the United States in any retaliation against last week's terrorist attacks, Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani indicated Tuesday.

Nakatani said that although the laws were not designed to cover conflicts in areas such as Afghanistan, "it does not mean" the laws cannot be applied to such a situation.

"It is possible that a situation beyond the laws' assumption can take place, and we have to deal with it appropriately when it happens," he said.

The 1999 laws enable Japan to extend logistic support to U.S. military operations in undefined "areas surrounding Japan." The government has explained that this is a situational, not geographic, concept.

During Diet deliberation on the laws, however, the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said the Indian Ocean and the Middle East are not included in the assumed areas covered by the laws.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda has indicated it will be difficult to interpret the 1999 laws as allowing cooperation with possible U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi instructed the government and the ruling coalition Monday to consider drafting new legislation.

But even if drafted in time for the extra Diet session that opens later this month, deliberations on this are expected to take time.

"We don't want to follow the same path as in the Persian Gulf War," Nakatani said, noting that Japan failed to make a quick response to cooperate with the U.S.-led multinational force against Iraq in 1990.

He said the agency is studying various options so that the Self-Defense Forces can support the U.S. military actions in the most appropriate manner if and when necessary.

Nakatani also said the SDF law should be amended so the forces can play a larger role in defending U.S. military bases in Japan against possible terrorism, which is primarily the job of police under current laws.