US envoy urges Japan to join Somalia anti-piracy mission

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan should join anti-piracy operations near Somalia and not get entangled in debate on whether the step would violate the pacifist constitution, the US ambassador here said.

"I hope Japan will make a contribution and will do more to help rid the world of this scourge of piracy that we're experiencing now," Ambassador Thomas Schieffer told the Yomiuri Shimbun in an interview published Friday.

US, European and Chinese vessels have all been dispatched to waters off lawless Somalia to stop pirates who attacked more than 100 boats last year and dealt a costly blow to the global shipping industry.

Conservative Prime Minister Taro Aso called last month for Japan to join the operations, but lawmakers are still working on drafting a law to allow the navy to use force against pirates.

Japan renounced the right to wage war in Article 9 of its constitution imposed by the United States after World War II. Current law allows the navy to protect only ships flying the Japanese flag or carrying Japanese passengers.

"If they were the sailors of another nation, I can understand the problems that Article 9 of the constitution would present," Schieffer said.

"But I just can't understand how anybody can't protect themselves and their citizens against pirates."

Tokyo has steadily sought a greater role in international security, most notably by sending troops to Iraq on a reconstruction mission.

Japan has often jostled for influence with China, whose anti-piracy mission marks the first time in recent history it has deployed vessels on a potential combat mission well beyond its territorial waters.