DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/28/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001058 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR E, P, EB, EAP/J, EAP/P, EAP/PD, PA WHITE HOUSE/NSC/NEC; JUSTICE FOR STU CHEMTOB IN ANTI-TRUST DIVISION; TREASURY/OASIA/IMI/JAPAN; DEPT PASS USTR/PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; SECDEF FOR JCS-J-5/JAPAN, DASD/ISA/EAPR/JAPAN; DEPT PASS ELECTRONICALLY TO USDA FAS/ITP FOR SCHROETER; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR; CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/28/06 INDEX: (1) Minshuto to suspend Nagata's membership for six months; Party head refuses to accept resignations of Hatoyama and Noda (2) Horie e-mail issue: Lawmaker Nagata offers apology at press briefing; Suspension of his party membership for a half year (3) US consul general designate denies changes possible to coastal plan, negates US envoy's flexible remarks (4) LDP presidential race 2006 - Factions melting down (Part 1): Junior members rebel against seniority-based factional logic to achieve rejuvenation (5) Editorial: Iwakuni plebiscite-National policy not taboo, either (6) Editorial: Iran's nuclear ambitions - no other choice but to clear up suspicions (7) Editorial: Kyoto Protocol, one year after coming into effect, finally set in motion ARTICLES: (1) Minshuto to suspend Nagata's membership for six months; Party head refuses to accept resignations of Hatoyama and Noda NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Excerpts) Eve., February 28, 2006 House of Representatives member Hisayasu Nagata of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) will make a public apology at a press conference this afternoon for the uproar he caused by his allegation without decisive evidence when he cited an e-mail allegedly from former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Hori ordering a money transfer to Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe's son. Following his public SIPDIS apology, the main opposition party will soon decide on punishment for Nagata and executive members. The party is expected to suspend Nagata's membership for six months. In an informal executive meeting this morning, Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshihiko Noda offered to resign to take responsibility for the e-mail fiasco, but party President Seiji Maehara refused to accept them. Nagata was discharged from the hospital this morning. He will convey the party executive his intention that he would withdraw his earlier desire to resign his seat. Hatoyama will be present at Nagata's press conference. Hatoyama, who has been entrusted to handle Nagata's political fate, told reporters, "I have no intention to let him give up his seat." Hatoyama also pointed out, "Both the Diet affairs chief and secretary general bear heavy responsibilities." Noda said in the SIPDIS executive meeting, "I leave my political fate to the party head." If the resignations of Hatoyama and Noda are accepted, Maehara, too, might have to resign. There remains much uncertainty about the situation in the largest opposition party. (2) Horie e-mail issue: Lawmaker Nagata offers apology at press TOKYO 00001058 002 OF 008 briefing; Suspension of his party membership for a half year MAINICHI Online (Excerpts) February 28, 2006, 15:42 House of Representative member Hisayasu Nagata of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) this afternoon held a press conference in the Diet to give an explanation about the controversial e-mail concerning Livedoor Co. Nagata acknowledged, "I took the floor in the Diet before obtaining concrete grounds for the authenticity of the e-mail." He then apologized: "My questioning caused trouble and turned the Diet into an uproar. I offer an apology for that." Asked about whether to resign as a Diet member, Nagata stated: "I have left this case entirely to Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama. I'll follow his decision." SIPDIS Minshuto will not ask Nagata to resign as a Diet member and instead take a punitive measure to suspend his party membership for a half year. When asked about whether he would apologize to Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Takebe and his second son, Nagata offered this apology" "I am extremely sorry for having pursued them by giving their names before completing a full investigation." But in response to a question of whether (the e-mail) was bogus, Nagata took care not to commit himself: "The investigation is still continuing to see whether it is entirely groundless or if it contains a certain amount of facts." On his course of action, Nagata explained he had once indicated his intention to resign to the party leadership, but he reiterated, "I have left what I will do now entirely up to Mr. Hatoyama." (3) US consul general designate denies changes possible to coastal plan, negates US envoy's flexible remarks OKINAWA TIMES (Page 1) (Abridged) February 28, 2006 The United States will no longer accept any changes to the planned relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in the prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago, Kevin Maher, director for security affairs at the US embassy in Japan, stressed in his speech delivered yesterday at a study meeting hosted by Kyodo News Service for its subscribers' editorial writers at a hotel in the city of Naha. "We (Japan and the United States) have basically agreed on the plan, and It would not be desirable to negotiate the plan again," Maher said. He is the consul general designate to Okinawa. US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said in a speech on Feb. 13 that the United States would flexibly respond to proposals from local communities, including the city of Nago, for changes to the relocation plan. However, Maher's remarks negated the ambassador's remarks, indicating that the coastal plan is a de facto "final" plan agreed to between Japan and the United States. In the meantime, Maher also suggested the need for the Japanese and US governments to go through technical coordination even after releasing a final report on the realignment of US forces in Japan. "It will take time to detail specifics, so I think it will take months to make specific plans even after the final report comes out," he said. TOKYO 00001058 003 OF 008 Japan and the United States are now in the final phase of negotiations to return bases located in the central and southern districts of Okinawa's main island. "If we try to carry out the interim report's specifics separately, everything will fall apart," Maher said. With this, he noted the necessity of reaching a package settlement, stressing that the return of these bases is premised on the intergovernmental agreement to relocate Futenma airfield along with the coastal plan. (4) LDP presidential race 2006 - Factions melting down (Part 1): Junior members rebel against seniority-based factional logic to achieve rejuvenation ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) February 28, 2006 Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, 68, who heads the Mori faction in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),has repeatedly urged faction members to seal off the topic of the LDP presidential election slated for September, underscoring the importance of unity in the faction. Mori has a "concept" of what he wants for the presidential race, but it has yet to take solid shape. Mori met with former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda at the faction office in Tokyo in early January, in which the former premier asked Fukuda to take on the faction's No. 2 post. In response, Fukuda said that he needed more time to consider Mori's offer. Days later, Fukuda declined the offer, saying, "My assumption of the post would be misinterpreted that I'm bent on becoming Prime Minister Koizumi's successor." The Mori faction has two prospective presidential candidates: Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, 51, and Fukuda. Mori's proposal reflected his plan to strengthen the faction's unity centering on Abe and Fukuda in the lead-up to the presidential race. Mori figured that if Abe, backed by his high national popularity, decided to run in the race, he would easily be able to make Fukuda new faction head by promoting him from the No. 2 post. That way, neither Abe nor Fukuda would lose face. Abe's decision not to seek the presidency would also give Fukuda every reason to run in the race as the faction's No. 2. At heart, Mori believes that the LDP should stick to the seniority system in determining its head, and this can explain his desire to keep Abe in a holding position. For any faction, it is best to solidify unity under one leader. But Mori intends to pursue a two-track approach, as he feels uneasy about carrying through the factional logic of producing a joint candidate for forming an uneasy alliance with other factions. During the Jan. 19 faction meeting, Mori angrily said, "You should never say 'I'm for Mr. Abe or Mr. Fukuda.'" He especially warned House of Councillors member Ichita Yamamoto, 48, "If you keep voicing your support for Mr. Abe, you will lose your membership in the faction." That did not stop Yamamoto from telling the press afterward: "I TOKYO 00001058 004 OF 008 didn't do anything wrong. I will keep telling the world that Mr. Abe should replace Prime Minister Koizumi, and I will not leave the faction, either." It was a declaration that he would not abide by the faction's seniority system. A generational clash is not confined to the Mori faction, the largest faction with two presidential candidates. In the past, the LDP presidency was almost always vied for among lawmakers of Mori's generation. Abe's candidacy would signify the advent of an age of junior and mid-level lawmakers. The nation has experienced four general elections since the single-seat constituency system in favor of strong party heads replaced the multiple-seat system in which factions had played a central role in endorsing candidates and providing campaign funds. Today, over 60% of the LDP Lower House members are in their fourth term or less. They have strong rivalry against the largest opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) led by 43- year-old Seiji Maehara. Junior LDP members are eager to rally around the party's young leader, Abe, by transcending factional boundaries. Mori also urged faction members to support a bill to amend the Imperial House Law by citing a major role played by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda of the Mori faction. But Diet Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Hakubun Shimomura, 51, objected to the submission of the bill to the Diet, fearing that such might throw the government and ruling coalition into turmoil and sully Abe's name. Moves to protect Abe are not peculiar to junior and mid-level members of the Mori faction. Last year, a cross-factional policy study group was launched by a dozen or so LDP members, including former Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara, 48, who is close to Abe, and Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, 55, of the Niwa-Koga faction. The membership also includes junior members of the Tsushima and Niwa-Koga factions supportive of Abe. Meanwhile, some veteran members are willing to back Yasuo Fukuda, 69, in the hope of becoming his successor. Taku Yamasaki, 69, who heads the Yamasaki faction, indicated on a television program in January that he found Fukuda's perspective agreeable. Yamasaki also said: "The presidential race is not a popular contest. Koizumi politics has destroyed the old system, and the next prime minister should serve as a consensus builder." Under Prime Minister Koizumi, who vowed to destroy the LDP, the factions have weakened, losing their authority over personnel issues and power to speak out. Cross-factional calls for political rejuvenation are clearly gaining momentum in stark contrast to the traditional seniority-oriented factional logic. (5) Editorial: Iwakuni plebiscite-National policy not taboo, either ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) TOKYO 00001058 005 OF 008 February 28, 2006 The US Marine Corps' Iwakuni base is at the mouth of the Nishikigawa River with the Kintaikyo Bridge in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The base covers an area of more than 600 hectares, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force also uses the base. The city's municipal government will promulgate a referendum on March 5 to ask its people whether they will accept the planned redeployment of US carrier-borne fighter jets to the base. Voting and vote counting are slated for March 12. Iwakuni is the second municipality in the nation to hold a plebiscite over whether to accept a US military base, following the city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture. According to an interim report released by the Japanese and US governments on the realignment of US forces in Japan, 57 US carrier-borne fighters and 1,600 US military personnel will be relocated from the US Navy's Atsugi base, which is located in an urban area of Kanagawa Prefecture, to the Iwakuni base. In return, 17 MSDF airplanes and 700 MSDF members will be moved to Atsugi. In the past, the city of Iwakuni has not raised any strong objection to the US military's use of the base. The city has chosen to live together with the base. The redeployment plan this time, however, was a different case. The government pushed for the plan without listening to local views despite its serious impacts, such as noise pollution, on the daily lives of local communities. Iwakuni Mayor Katsusuke Ihara took it that way and has called for the government to retract the plan. Last summer, a group of local residents and others collected signatures from about 60,000 people or half of the city's population against the plan. The mayor's claim was backed by that local anti-redeployment campaign. Last June, the city's municipal assembly also resolved unanimously to oppose the redeployment. Late last month, however, a Defense Facilities Administration Agency official visited Iwakuni, where the official said the government was not thinking of modifying the realignment plan. Touched off by that remark, some locals began to insist that the city, premised on its acceptance of the plan, should hold a dialogue with the government. Amid the split of public opinion in the city, the mayor brought up a referendum as a way of reaching a settlement. The city's plebiscite ordinance stipulates that its mayor may initiate a referendum. The outcome of voting is not legally binding. However, the ordinance provides that the city's mayor, municipal assembly, and residents should respect the outcome. When it comes to bases, atomic power plants, and other issues relating to Japan's national policy, some note that they are not fit for a local referendum. However, the government, just because it made the decision, cannot ignore the views of local residents who will be heavily burdened with the presence of US military bases. The mayor wants to show the views of his city's population, so we want to respect his judgment. TOKYO 00001058 006 OF 008 We polled Iwakuni citizens last weekend, and the poll found 70% opposed to the redeployment. However, there is no knowing how many people will actually vote. The city's ordinance stipulates that a referendum-if its voter turnout is below 50 % -will be nullified with no counting of votes. In addition, there are complicated circumstances. The city of Iwakuni will merge with seven neighboring municipalities and will elect its new mayor in April. Some people are opposed to the referendum, arguing that the mayor is campaigning before the mayoral election. Taking advantage of such an objection, those in favor of the redeployment are calling on local residents to stay away from the poll. Meanwhile, there are also unprecedented moves in the city, as seen from the fact that there is now a group of anti-redeployment locals with no political party coloring. The 'base-hosting city' of Iwakuni-no longer what it used to be-will now go so far as to poll its residents. The government is probably most surprised to see such a change in the city's attitude. However, the government has pushed for a realignment of the US military presence in Japan while leaving base-hosting localities in the lurch. The mayor's polling initiative is ascribable to such a stance shown by the government. We want to watch the future course of public opinion to be shown directly by the citizenry of Iwakuni to begin with. (6) Editorial: Iran's nuclear ambitions - no other choice but to clear up suspicions SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) February 28, 2006 Amid growing international suspicions about Iran's nuclear development program, Foreign Minister Mottaki visited Japan and met with Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Aso told Mottaki that it is important for Iran to clear up suspicions about its nuclear ambitions and to win international trust if it wants to secure the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This is indeed the point that might lead to resolving Iran's nuclear issue. Suspicions about Iran's nuclear program turned more serious in November 2003, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that that nation had covertly repeated violations of the IAEA safeguards agreement for the past 18 years. In November 2004, Iran, Britain, France and Germany concluded a Paris agreement in which Iran promised to suspend all uranium enrichment activity. Last August, however, immediately after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a hard-line conservative, took office as president, Iran reneged on the Paris agreement and began uranium conversion, the stage before enrichment. This January, Iran restarted uranium enrichment-related experiments. To deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA convened an emergency board meeting on Feb. 4 and adopted a resolution to refer Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC),an international body that can impose sanctions. TOKYO 00001058 007 OF 008 The resolution states that if Iran failed to follow the resolution until March 6, Iran's nuclear issue will be sent to the UNSC. Iran and Russia reportedly have agreed in principle on a plan for a joint venture of Iranian and Russian firms to conduct uranium enrichment in Russia, but the two nations have yet to reach an accord that would be able to win international confidence. Assuredly, the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes should be afforded to Iran, as it has claimed. That right is stipulated in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran is a member of the NPT. But that right comes with obligations, for instance, accepting a ban on nuclear weapons development and nuclear inspections specified in the NPT. Iran has stated it wants to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes like Japan. But it took Japan nearly three decades before the IAEA recognized Japan as a nation that would never go nuclear, after examining its nuclear process ranging from uranium enrichment to reprocessing and then putting it into the group qualified for integrated safeguards - simple nuclear inspections. Foreign Minister Mottaki, who served as ambassador to Japan for four and a half years until the end of 1999, should have been well informed about these circumstances of Japan. We hope to see him strive to persuade his nation. Iran's nuclear issue perhaps has a variety of aspects, such as national dignity, the public's support and security. But the only path for Iran to follow would be to use nuclear energy for peaceful purpose while maintaining transparency, just as Japan does. (7) Editorial: Kyoto Protocol, one year after coming into effect, finally set in motion TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 5) (Full) February 28, 2006 The Kyoto Protocol has finally set in motion one year after it came into effect in February of last year, through various events including the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change late last year. At least that is the impression that Japan now receives. But once countries begin to be involved in emission-right markets, they are expected to start moving actively. In that race, Japan must not be left behind. "(The Kyoto Protocol) has finally started moving," grumbled representatives from major domestic nongovernmental organizations when the Montreal Conference ended late last year. Government sources are also excited about setting out on a voyage in an unpredictable sea. In the series of conferences in Canada late last year, a trigger was finally pulled. A roadmap was finally drawn up for each country to continue talks on greenhouse gas-emission cuts in the second term starting in 2013 and to review the Kyoto Protocol. Agreement has been reached on the above two commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, and arrangements have been made to continue economic benefits and losses to be accrued in the process of TOKYO 00001058 008 OF 008 fulfilling the commitments in and after 2013. Ten months after the declaration of "starting the game," the trigger was pulled. Rules were set, and the game of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be played without any concern. We have no choice but to move forward. Under the so-called Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, countries are allowed to trade emission rights with other countries. The government will soon help to fund projects in developing countries for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in return for emission credits. The Nagoya Environment Stock Exchange (NCTX) has gradually succeeded in joining hands with Asian markets. The European Union (EU) has issued a message urging Japan to cooperate with (other countries). In order to encourage companies to participate in green projects, it is imperative to improve the market. Europe has already engaged in such transactions earnestly. To catch up with Europe, Japan should strengthen cooperation with the international market by upgrading its system and soliciting many companies to participate in such projects. Now that the trigger has been pulled, the trend of the international community has apparently changed. In the US, 35 states have pushed ahead with their own emission- cut plans. They are also making preparations for transactions in emission rights. In some of these states, the governor is from the Republican Party. They are ready to take part in the market beyond the boundary of individual states. The US is an "economic power that loves markets." Prosperous in the environment stock markets could be used to bring back the US to the Kyoto Protocol. All countries now find it difficult to attain their emission-cut goals set in the Kyoto Protocol. Now that the trigger has been pulled, they should continue to search only benefits to be accrued from reducing greenhouse gases, instead of finding good excuses for cutting themselves free from their gas-cutting obligation. SCHIEFFER