Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday said Japan will not dispatch its Aegis destroyer to the Indian Ocean until enactment of a new law allowing it to provide rear-area support for U.S.-led military action that could take place in Afghanistan.
At a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting, Koizumi said dispatch of the vessel would only come "after the enactment of the new law.
"I'm not saying we will send the Aegis destroyer or a large fleet (overseas). What I said is we must prepare as we don't know what will happen.'