Gen Nakatani (pictured), head of the Liberal Democratic Party's panel on security policy, has enraged the opposition camp by calling opponents of the Indian Ocean refueling mission "terrorists."

"Only terrorists would oppose (the mission)," Nakatani said Oct. 14 on a Fuji TV talk show.

"Given that about 30 percent of the public is opposed to the refueling activities, it means three in 10 Japanese are terrorists, " Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama said at a news conference. "It's outrageous that such horrendous remarks were made before TV cameras. It's no joke."