The Japanese government has given orders to its navy to terminate a refuelling mission that has supported US-led military operations in Afghanistan for the past eight years, after the legal mandate for the mission expired.

The decision by Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa comes four months after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed an independent diplomatic course from its key security ally when his government came to power last September.

"I express my sincere respect and deep gratitude to the members of Self-Defence Force", the Japanese PM said in a statement, using the name Japan refers to its military by. The two ships will return to Japan on Friday.

Mr Hatoyama has pledged to continue contributing to counter-terrorism efforts. Tokyo will provide almost 3.5 billion euros in new aid to Afghanistan over five years, focusing on reconstruction efforts in the country.

Japanese navy vessel by virtualpilot88 (Flickr)