Japan’s House of Representatives, the lower house of the country's bicameral parliament, passed a controversial bill Jan. 11 allowing the resumption of Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling operations for U.S. and coalition ships in the Indian Ocean involved in anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan. The lower house originally passed the bill in November 2007, but earlier Jan. 11 the House of Councilors, Japan's upper house, rejected the bill. For the first time since 1951, the lower house voted to override the upper house, and with more than two-thirds support, passed the bill. While not a vital piece of legislation for Japan (or for operations in Afghanistan for that matter — the mission serves more of a symbolic than critical military role), the refueling law has served as both a lightning rod for, and a barometer of, Japanese political power for nearly a year. Controversial inside Japan because it bumps up against the question of Japanese constitutional restrictions on the use of the country's defense forces, the refueling issue was one of several the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) exploited in July 2007, bringing the DPJ to power in the upper house. Since that time, DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa has taken a strong stand against the refueling bill, which was designed to continue an authorization that expired in November 2007. Just as Ozawa has made the issue a major point in his domestic political stance, so too has Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who had vowed to pass the refueling bill even though it is considered unpopular among Japan’s electorate. In December, Fukuda struck a blow against Ozawa when it came out that the two of them had discussed the potential for a grand coalition between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the DPJ. While the idea was unpopular among members and supporters of both parties, the opposition was even more disgruntled with Ozawa than the ruling party was with Fukuda. Ozawa weathered the storm, as there was no strong candidate to replace him as head of the DPJ, but he lost momentum in the process. While not wildly popular like former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Fukuda has not hit the ratings dumps like his short-serving predecessor, Shinzo Abe. But with the refueling bill, Fukuda is also showing his willingness to ignore popular sentiment in an effort to pass what he sees as an important piece of his plans for Japan. Both Fukuda and Ozawa support the idea of a stronger and more active role for Japan’s defense forces, and there is a general consensus — even if usually silent — that there needs to be a change in Japan’s Constitution to permit a changing Self-Defense Forces role. Fukuda represents the group that sees Japan’s Self-Defense Forces changing in accord with U.S. strategic needs. Meanwhile, Ozawa represents those seeing more risk than benefit in shaping Japan’s defense reform in alignment with U.S. interests, which may not always be the same as Japan’s interests and could get Tokyo involved in conflicts it would rather avoid. This is the strategic undercurrent in the refueling debate. For voters, however, issues that deal with domestic economic management are more significant. This means the next big showdown between the two parties and their leaders will revolve around pension reform or some other domestic concern. While Fukuda may not be wildly popular, he has demonstrated through the lower house override that popularity is not absolutely necessary for strength. Despite the noise surrounding the refueling legislation, it was Fukuda and the LDP that carried the day.