The Japanese government on Friday pushed through a special law authorizing its navy to resume a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean as part of the American-led military effort in Afghanistan.(New York Times)

The bill will allow Japanese ships to resume a refuelling mission supporting US-led operations in Afghanistan.(BBC NEWS)

Japan revives mission aiding U.S. ships
Japan voted Friday to return to the US-led "war on terror" after a two-month gap as the government took the drastic step of overriding a rejection in parliament for the first time in the modern era.(AFP)

MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, we've been appreciative over the years of the support that Japan has given to the United States as well as to other coalition partners. We were disappointed that that cooperation had to cease temporarily. We welcome the decision by the Japanese Government to renew this very important support and we appreciate the efforts that were made to see that this legislation move forward. We look forward to continuing our work with the Government of Japan and Japanese forces as we continue these operations.

QUESTION: Musharraf, please. These comments in this interview he made, rather strong worded comments that he would regard any U.S. troops crossing over into the Pakistani border as invaders. What do you make of that?
MR. CASEY: Well, I've only seen press reports of that. I'm not sure what he actually said or didn't say. But the thing that's clear to us is we have a cooperative relationship with Pakistan. Pakistan is an important partner for us in combating terrorism and combating extremism. And certainly anything that the United States has done and anything the United States will do will be in full cooperation with the Pakistani Government.