TOKYO, July 3 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's government Friday extended by six months the anti-terrorism refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

Current law allowing Japanese vessels to refuel the U.S.-led anti-terrorism crackdown of ships in the Indian Ocean in support of Afghanistan would have terminated the mission July 15.

The Cabinet endorsed the extension of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue its mission until Jan. 15, Kyodo news reported.

''The Defense Ministry will continue to do its best to eradicate international terrorism now that the refueling assistance activities by the MSDF were extended,'' Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told a news conference.

The government also kept the mission's other parts intact, such as the size of operations and dispatch of MSDF vessels to non-combat areas, the report said.

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