Robert Gates, right, United States secretary of defense, wal

JAPAN - NOVEMBER 08: Robert Gates, right, United States secretary of defense, walks with Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's Defense minister, during a welcoming ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's coalition government agreed to extend the parliamentary session until mid-December to try to get opposition approval for a naval mission to support the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. (Photo by Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)