Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO1268
2006-03-09 08:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 03/09/06

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
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RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 5069
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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9218
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 001268 

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 03/09/06


INDEX:

(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of
coastal plan for Futenma relocation;

(2) Foreign Minister Aso calls Taiwan a country in Upper House
Budget Committee session

(3) Japan-China talks on joint gas field development in East
China: "Curve ball" from China causing stir in Tokyo

(4) LDP presidential race in 2006: Regional areas abandoned?
Regional communities call on Prime Minister Koizumi to narrow
income disparity, saying "We are doing best, but "

(5) SDF-USFJ fusion and its fate-Ahead of final report on USFJ
realignment (Part 2): Japan, US to step up joint training
exercises with eye on China, terrorists

(6) Interview with Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, "Tameike Tsushin"
publisher, on future of Japan-US relations: Koizumi successor
should present blueprint for US policy

(7) Men hold key to reversing the declining birthrate; Marriage
rate of permanent employees is three times higher than that of
part-timers; Married couples with husbands who help with
housework tend to have second child

ARTICLES:

(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of
coastal plan for Futenma relocation;

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Excerpt)
March 9, 2006

(Tokyo) Taku Yamasaki, chairman of the Liberal Democratic
Party's Security Research Committee, met last night at a Tokyo
hotel with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He reported that
Nago City had outlined in the city assembly a framework of
approval of the relocation of Futenma Air Station. Prime
Minister Koizumi lauded the city's response, saying, "So it has
come this far," but he once more reiterated his negative thinking
about revising the coastal plan at Camp Schwab, saying, "If the
government compromises on its plan, new problems will arise," and
"I would like to carry out the government's plan." Moreover, a
top level official in the Defense Agency indicated that the
design that Nago City had indicated was "no good," taking a clear
stance rejecting any revisions in the form desired by the city.

Okinawa prefectural assembly speaker calls for "giant bi-partisan
rally," asking governor to lead it

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 001268

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 03/09/06


INDEX:

(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of
coastal plan for Futenma relocation;

(2) Foreign Minister Aso calls Taiwan a country in Upper House
Budget Committee session

(3) Japan-China talks on joint gas field development in East
China: "Curve ball" from China causing stir in Tokyo

(4) LDP presidential race in 2006: Regional areas abandoned?
Regional communities call on Prime Minister Koizumi to narrow
income disparity, saying "We are doing best, but "

(5) SDF-USFJ fusion and its fate-Ahead of final report on USFJ
realignment (Part 2): Japan, US to step up joint training
exercises with eye on China, terrorists

(6) Interview with Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, "Tameike Tsushin"
publisher, on future of Japan-US relations: Koizumi successor
should present blueprint for US policy

(7) Men hold key to reversing the declining birthrate; Marriage
rate of permanent employees is three times higher than that of
part-timers; Married couples with husbands who help with
housework tend to have second child

ARTICLES:

(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of
coastal plan for Futenma relocation;

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Excerpt)
March 9, 2006

(Tokyo) Taku Yamasaki, chairman of the Liberal Democratic
Party's Security Research Committee, met last night at a Tokyo
hotel with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He reported that
Nago City had outlined in the city assembly a framework of
approval of the relocation of Futenma Air Station. Prime
Minister Koizumi lauded the city's response, saying, "So it has
come this far," but he once more reiterated his negative thinking

about revising the coastal plan at Camp Schwab, saying, "If the
government compromises on its plan, new problems will arise," and
"I would like to carry out the government's plan." Moreover, a
top level official in the Defense Agency indicated that the
design that Nago City had indicated was "no good," taking a clear
stance rejecting any revisions in the form desired by the city.

Okinawa prefectural assembly speaker calls for "giant bi-partisan
rally," asking governor to lead it

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Abridged)
March 9, 2006

Speaker of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Seizen Hokama
yesterday upon hearing that the central government had refused to
reach an understanding with the local governments on USFJ
realignment, issued this statement:

"Regardless of whether we approve or disapprove of the Japan-US
Security Treaty, we must transcend our party affiliation and

TOKYO 00001268 002 OF 012


bring together our views so that we can make our appeal to both
governments. We must do our absolute best to oppose by bipartisan
action the relocation of Futenma Air Station to the coastal
portion of Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago City."

He revealed that he will meet with Governor Inamine in the near
future and urge him to take the lead in sponsoring a giant
bipartisan rally of prefectural residents from all walks of life

Voices have begun to be heard in the prefectural assembly from
even ruling camp members, saying, "The central government has
gone too far in ignoring us, so with things having gone this far,
the only thing we can do is to hold a mass bipartisan rally." The
future response of the LDP, the largest party group in the
assembly, will depend on what happens when senior members of the
prefectural liaison committee receive word back from their
requests of Tokyo.

On the other hand, there is a move in the opposition camp, which
sponsored the rally on March 5, to probe into the possibility of
a giant bipartisan rally. Feelers have been sent out to the
ruling camp regarding the timing of such an event.

Regarding the prefectural rally on March 5, Hokama explained the
reason why the governor and he had not attended: "It would not
have been appropriate for the governor and the assembly speaker
to attend a rally sponsored only by a splinter group of the
reformist parties." On the other hand, he had words of praise for
the event.

He continued: "In rallies, the governor has been too passive.
This is the biggest political challenge in our prefecture, and
this could be the one chance in a thousand. He should show his
leadership and sponsor a mass rally for the prefectural
residents, taking the lead, and calling on everyone to join. The
success of this rally will force the Japanese and US governments
to move."

(2) Foreign Minister Aso calls Taiwan a country in Upper House
Budget Committee session

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
Evening, March 9, 2006

Foreign Minister Taro Aso made the following comment regarding
Taiwan before the House of Councillors Budget Committee this
morning:

"Taiwan is a mature democracy and advanced free economy and is a
law-abiding country. Taiwan is a country that shares the same
values with Japan in a lot of ways."

The statement is likely to draw a backlash from China.

Additionally, referring to the 1972 Japan-China Joint Declaration
that recognized China as the only legitimate government, Aso
said:

"The bilateral relationship (between Japan and Taiwan) must be
maintained in the purview of the declaration. The word
'bilateral' may create problems, but the Japan-Taiwan
relationship deserves appropriate treatment."


TOKYO 00001268 003 OF 012


Aso was responding to a question by Naoki Okada of the Liberal
Democratic Party.

(3) Japan-China talks on joint gas field development in East
China: "Curve ball" from China causing stir in Tokyo

ASAHI (Page 2) (Full)
March 9, 2006

In Japan-China bureau director-level talks on gas field
development in the East China Sea on March 7, China presented a
new proposal calling for joint development of waters off the
Senkaku Islands. The two countries have been at odds over the
sovereignty of the isles. At present, relations between Japan and
China have been strained over Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to
Yasukuni Shrine, but China has introduced another source of
trouble. Some observers speculate that China might be aiming to
buy time in order to promote the ongoing exploration of gas
fields. The "curve ball" pitched by China has set off a stir in
the Japanese government.

Japan

A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official spoke
angrily yesterday: "I cannot understand what motivated China.
Anything that is likely to cause a territorial dispute is out of
the question."

In the talks on March 7, China opened a map and pointed to two
areas as proposed sites for joint development. At that time, it
was unclear whether the Senkakus were included in the pointed out
areas.

The MOFA officials who attended the talks were busy analyzing the
Chinese proposal on the night of March 7. As a result, they found
that an area near the Senkaku Islands is one of the two proposed
areas.

Prior to the talks, Japan had though that China might propose
areas other than the area covering the Chunxiao gas field as
sites for joint development. According to a senior MOFA official,
however, Japan had not anticipated that it would come up with
waters off the Senkakus.

Waters off the Chunxiao gas field are within the exclusive
economic zone (EEZ) free from any restrictions on both countries'
economic activities, but the area near the Senkakus is Japan's
territory. A senior member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and
Industry (METI) said: "The proposal is tantamount to a suggestion
of one walking into another person's house with their shoes on."

Since METI Minister Toshihiro Nikai assumed the present post, the
ministry has played up its stance of attaching importance to
talks with China while freezing test-drilling procedures. Keeping
this in mind, an official has indicated the possibility of
carrying forward the test-drilling procedures if China advances
the development of the Chunxiao gas field. The official
complained: "China embarrassed our minister. Depending on China's
moves, we may start test boring."

Some government officials, though, have calmly responded to the
Chinese proposal. In the previous talks, Japan proposed a plan to
jointly develop gas fields near the Chunxiao gas field, and this

TOKYO 00001268 004 OF 012


was not an "easy ball," either. Japanese government officials
concerned also understood why China could not accept Japan's
plan. China has poured money into the Chunxiao project. The
officials expect that China may rewrite the proposal submitted at
the beginning of the talks.

Beijing has given up improving relations with Japan before Prime
Minister Koizumi steps down, cutting off summit and foreign
ministerial talks with Japan. Under such a situation, there will
be no other means but for the two sides to hold working-level
negotiations on pending issues. The Japanese government will
start preparatory work next week for the next round of talks in
April. It plans to decline the new Chinese proposal and submit
its own proposal.

Prime Minister Koizumi used this phrase three times before
reporters last night: "We will try to resolve the issue through
talks."

China

A Chinese government spokesman said to an Asahi Shimbun reporter
on the night of March 7: "Joint development is possible. We will
not be constrained by the median boundary line (set by Japan).
The Chunxiao and other gas fields will not be included in our
joint development plan, and this is our position."

China has pitched a "curve ball" by proposing the joint
development of an area near the Senkaku Islands, without changing
its principles. A cunning strategy can be detected behind China's
proposal.

According to the China-affiliated newspaper Da Gong Bao in Hong
Kong, the Chinese government has invested about 130 billion yen
in developing the Chunxiao gas field. It is now ready to start
production by the end of this month. In addition, China
reportedly completed later last year the construction of a
pipeline to transport extracted gas from the Chunxiao gas field
to Ningpo in Zhejiang Province.

Some observers see China is maneuvering to shake up Japan with
the Senkaku plan if Japan insists on the joint development of
Chunxiao. At the same time, China also intends to reject the
median boundary set by Japan on the premise of the Senkaku
Islands being its territory, according to informed sources.

The Chinese military with strong power in the nation has been
involved in conducting marine surveys and securing ocean rights
and interests. Its National Development Reform Committee is
responsible for working out energy policy and has also played up
an uncompromising stance. It might be difficult to change China's
hard-line stance because of limits to coordination work in the
nation.

(4) LDP presidential race in 2006: Regional areas abandoned?
Regional communities call on Prime Minister Koizumi to narrow
income disparity, saying "We are doing best, but "

ASAHI (Page 1&4) (Excerpts)
March 8, 2006

At budget committee sessions of both houses of the Diet, Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi in talking about Japan's economic

TOKYO 00001268 005 OF 012


growth has stressed the need for individuals to show their
"enthusiasm and competition". At a House of Councillors Budget
Committee session yesterday, the prime minister said:

"Tax cuts and public works projects never produced any effect.
The Japanese economy now is finally shows signs of picking up
steam. I hope private companies, local communities and
individuals will demonstrate their potential and special
characteristics and act in accordance with their motivations so
that the Japanese economy will take a turn for the better."

Koizumi believes that since conventional economic measures no
longer have worked, his government has no choice but to grow the
economy by taking advantage of the creative spirits and efforts
of motivated local communities and companies.

As the prime minister expected, the Nikkei Stock Average jumped
by 40% last year. With the rush to develop the downtown sections
of Tokyo, various economic indicators have turned upward. The
government may declare soon that the current deflationary trend
has ended.

When talking about how to narrow regional economic disparities,
Koizumi has used the only word "eagerness." In his policy speech
in January, Koizumi stated: "Japanese agricultural products are
being marketed overseas for their high-quality. The government
will carry out an "aggressive agricultural policy" that backs
mainly highly motivated and competent farm management.

There is a famous mushroom called "Yukinoshita," artificially
grown in a small village in Akita Prefecture. Yukinoshita is a
quality product. A 75-year-old farmer, who lives with his 71-year-
old wife, said, "Since we used to be too busy removing the snow
from our roof, we could not grow mushrooms in the winter." The
village has few young farmers. There are two households with 4
persons in the village. They have no one to ask to remove snow.

As of March 7, the nation's heavy snow count had left 143 persons
dead, and more than 2,000 injured. Most of them were elderly
people living in depopulated areas. In cities, Akita Prefecture,
many stores have gone out of business. Akita Chamber of Commerce
and Industry Vice Chairman Minoru Yonezawa, 67, said: "What Prime
Minister says is right. Persons who do not exert efforts are bad.
I think, however, everybody has worked hard."

The five-year period of Koizumi politics has changed Japanese
society. Disparities have widened among regions and young people.
All safety nets, including the pension system, are falling apart.
Turmoil in Japan's Asia diplomacy could affect nationalism in the
country.

Asahi in this article examines closely issues that are likely to
be carried over to Prime Minister Koizumi's successor.

2,109 regional communities on verge of crisis

According to the survey conducted in 2000 by the former National
Land Agency, 2,109 communities across the country were teetering
on the brink of extinction.

As Koizumi has said, some local communities are vying to become
"first-rate countryside," but persons engaged in the primary
industries, including agriculture, accounted for only 5% of the

TOKYO 00001268 006 OF 012


working population in 2000, compared to 49% in 1950.

The government has designated villages with aging and shrinking
population as depopulated areas. It has provided generous support
to such depopulated regions. The depopulated areas account for
more than a half of the country.

Tokyo alone is different world

The highest building in Tokyo is being erected in a vacant lot
where the Defense Agency once stood. In that site, a total of
five buildings will be completed in the spring of 2007. There
will be the highly sophisticated offices, a hotel, commercial
facilities, and rental housing in the five buildings, a cluster
that is named "Tokyo Midtown." Mitsui Real Estate Development Co.
acquired the building lot in September 2001 immediately after the
Koizumi government was inaugurated. The government's deregulatory
measures cut the time period from the land acquisition to the
start of the construction. A Mitsui Real State official said,
"Tokyo needs international competition. We want to create new
products through competition."

At a meeting last December of the Council on Economic and Fiscal
Policy, a review of the three laws designed to regulate the
opening of large-scale retail stores came up for discussion. A
lawmaker hailing from the private sector said, "The public may
take the revision of the laws as going against the government's
reform drive." Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro
Nikai negatively reacted, saying: "The hollowing out of the
countryside is hideous. It is a serous political involving
deregulation and aging. We can't ignore this issue." As a result,
a set of bills revising the three laws was submitted to the
current Diet session.

Tetsuo Sasaki, 64, the head of Higashi-Naruse Village, Akita
Prefecture, said:

"(Former prime ministers) Mr. Zenko Suzuki and Mr. Kakuei Tanaka,
who came from the snow country, understood us, but Prime Minister
Koizumi is different from them because he is from Yokosuka City."

He then added: "I thought that balanced development of the nation
is a principle that we should take. I wonder when such a
principle disappeared."

Where interregional competition headed?

Prime Minister Koizumi has insisted on the importance of
interregional competition, but local residents are concerned that
they may be left behind. The government's "big-boned" reform
policy guidelines compiled in June 2001 called for a policy shift
from "balanced development" to "economic revitalization by
combined wisdom and innovative ideas." Local residents are aware
that wasting public funds is no longer allowed. But with the
government's murky policy, they cannot see a bright future for
their areas. Because of this reason, the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) won a landslide victory in urban cities, but the LDP failed
to gain votes in rural districts.

The four possible candidates for the LDP presidential race, which
will choose a successor to Koizumi, seem indifferent to the
actual situation of local communities. A declining population has
already undermined Japan.

TOKYO 00001268 007 OF 012



(5) SDF-USFJ fusion and its fate-Ahead of final report on USFJ
realignment (Part 2): Japan, US to step up joint training
exercises with eye on China, terrorists

ASAHI (Page 37) (Full)
February 26, 2006

A rubber dinghy sped up as it neared the coastline. The boat
pulled up short as a US Marine on the bows shouted. In the rear
were Japanese troops on board from the Ground Self-Defense Force.
They jumped into the sea and pushed the boat to the beach.

In mid-January, the GSDF and the US Marine Corps conducted joint
training exercises for about three weeks at the US Navy's
Coronado base in California. A remote island of Japan is on the
verge of a foreign incursion. Japanese and US troops land on the
island. Such a situation was anticipated in their training for
the first time.

The GSDF sent about 130 rangers there from a Western Army
infantry regiment garrisoned in the city of Sasebo, Nagasaki
Prefecture. The regiment is a special force established in 2002
for the defense of Japan's outlying islands. The GSDF, according
to its account, did not have any specific country in mind for the
training. However, China was on its mind.

On Feb. 7, the Air Self-Defense Force and the US Air Force began
joint training exercises over an area south of Okinawa's main
island, with four F-4 fighters participating from the ASDF and
another four F-15 fighters from the USAF. The F-4s and F-15s
simulated dogfights in the skies. In Okinawa, the ASDF and the
USAF have conducted 33 joint training exercises over the past 27
years. In the current fiscal year (April 2005 through March
2006),however, they have already trained four times. They used
to be on training missions in Japan's northernmost island of
Hokkaido and its northeastern mainland area of Honshu. In the
current fiscal year, however, Okinawa has become the main theater
for joint training.

"That's for the purpose of improving their capabilities against
the Su-27, Su-30, and other state-of-the-art fighters," says a
senior official of the Defense Agency. China has been reinforcing
its air force with these fighter jets at a high pitch and
currently deploys more than 200 fighters.

The joint training is also about to change in substance. In the
past, ASDF and USAF fighters used to be in friend and enemy teams
to fight. Nowadays, they train in mixed teams. The ASDF is
sometimes tasked with the role of attacking ground enemies.

The Defense Agency plays down the risk of a Chinese military
incursion. The agency's defense buildup plan also says so. In the
current fiscal year, however, ASDF radar has picked up an
increasing number of planes-which were believed to be Chinese
warplanes-over the high seas near Okinawa. The ASDF scrambled
Naha-based interceptors to deal with airspace violations nearly
four times as often as last fiscal year. In 2004, a Chinese
submarine intruded into Japan's territorial waters off the island
of Ishigakijima in Okinawa.

"The United States is concerned about China and terrorism," a
senior official of the Defense Agency says. The official added,

TOKYO 00001268 008 OF 012


"They want Japan to take part in deterrence."

Japan and the United States have been expanding the scope of
their bilateral cooperation overseas for the war on terror and
for other purposes. Japan has dispatched GSDF troops to Iraq, and
some of them were trained by the US Marine Corps before their
deployment. In July 2004, for example, such training was
conducted for GSDF personnel at the GSDF's Higashifuji range in
Shizuoka Prefecture. US Marines there demonstrated how to protect
a convoy of vehicles on the move and how to move into a building
against potential guerrilla commandos.

"In urban areas, we don't know where terrorists are hiding," one
of those GSDF members sent to Iraq says. He recalled, "We've
never experienced activities in such an environment, so their
training was a rare opportunity for us."

Ever more often, more closely, and more like actual warfare,
their joint training is changing further.

The Japanese and US governments have released an interim report
on the realignment of US forces in Japan. In that report, the two
governments confirmed that Japan and the United States would
expand the scope of their joint training exercises. In addition,
the two governments have also agreed to arrange more training
exercises for the Self-Defense Forces at US military facilities
in Guam or elsewhere. The US military has also agreed to disperse
its flight training missions to SDF bases. This is also for the
purpose of carrying out various forms of training with the ASDF.
Japan and the United States are also going to meld their forces.

US forces are providing their know-how to their Japanese
counterparts, because they want the Self-Defense Forces to act in
concert with them.

The SDF is subject to constitutional constraints in their
operations. Even if the United States comes under attack, Japan
cannot exercise the right of collective self-defense and fight
together. Japan also cannot offer logistical support that could
be regarded as part of the US military's use of force. In Iraq,
the GSDF is allowed to act in noncombat areas only.

In addition to constitutional issues, there are more issues to
clear. If someone the United States is fighting regards the SDF
as a part of US forces, SDF personnel may be increasingly exposed
to danger.

Even so, the United States wants Japan to extend still greater
cooperation, including participation in collective defense.

"The question is how far we can get along with US forces," an SDF
staff officer said. This uniformed officer went on: "Without a
common understanding between Japan and the United States, we
won't be able to say no when the time comes."

(6) Interview with Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, "Tameike Tsushin"
publisher, on future of Japan-US relations: Koizumi successor
should present blueprint for US policy

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 4) (Slightly abridged)
March 7, 2006

Although the budget bill for fiscal 2006 passed the House of

TOKYO 00001268 009 OF 012


Representatives, the Koizumi administration has been dogged by
strains in relations with some Asian countries. In addition,
signs of strains have begun to appear even in relations with the
US, though Japan has long enjoyed good bilateral ties. Yutaka
Tabata, a reporter of the Tokyo Shimbun, interviewed Sojitz
Research Institute Vice President Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, a watcher
of Japan-US relations and the organizer of the newsletter
"Tameike Tsushin", on the future of Japan-US relations.

Tabata: In Koizumi diplomacy, it is apparent that the US comes
first and the US comes second. Thanks to this approach, Japan and
the US have been in good shape. Some say the current bilateral
relations are the best ever. However, strains apparently are
appearing in even that rock-solid relationship over the issues of
US beef and US forces realignment. Particularly on the beef
issue, since a difference in the eating habits of the two
countries lies behind it, it seems difficult for both sides to
find common ground.

Yoshizaki: The first point we should take note of is the
existence of perception gaps between Japan and the US. To take
the case of Vice President Cheney's accidental shooting incident.
Most people in Japan tend to keenly react to such a case,
focusing on the accidental infliction of injury. But many
Americans take the view that "there is no fault involved because
he did not intend to do so." In order for Japan and the US to go
along well with each other, they need to bridge the perception
gaps existing on various issues, including shotguns and BSE.

Over the past decade, no major trade problem cropped up between
Japan and the US. The last major dispute was over automobiles in
1995, and our memory of previous disputes has already faded away.
But nobody knows when another clash might occur, because off year
elections in the US take place this year. Moves by the US
Congress are unpredictable.

Tabata: You mean that the gaps will be further underscored this
year?

Yoshizaki: The US and Britain have a free access to the other
side's cultures. But it is hard for Japan and the US to
understand each other's culture unless they abandon their
respective conventional wisdom and adjust their common
perceptions. Since there were no thorny problems between them
recently, Japan and the US have lowered their guards to each
other. Such a state is dangerous.

Of course, there are cultures whose nationality is identified.
Some aspects of American culture has been altered into a Japanese
type. For example, the debut and play of baseball player Ichiro
in the US major leagues surprised American baseball fans. Japan-
made B5-size laptop computers also came as a refreshing surprise
to Americans.

Tabata: Does you mean that relations between Japan and the US
seem distant but are close and seem close but are distant?

Yoshizaki: Such relations have been superbly controlled under the
unique ties between (US President) Bush and (Prime Minister
Junichiro) Koizumi. There has never been another prime minister
but Koizumi who has been liked by a US president this much.

President Bush said in a speech intended to the American people:

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"My father fought in the War of the Pacific. Our parents fought
each other, but I am enjoying a conversation with Mr. Koizumi
while eating beef." Mr. Koizumi is the first Japanese prime
minister whose name was mentioned in a presidential speech.

Tabata: Prime Minister Koizumi is dubbed as "a political
maverick" or "eccentric" in the nation but is popular among
foreign countries' leaders. This is one of the Seven Wonders of
the World. Such a unique character is unusual among the
successive prime ministers, and his character might appear to be
fresh in the eyes of the foreign leaders.

Yoshizaki: According to our staff member who once worked in the
White House, the Bush government is a sports-minded type one. It
has imposed strict rules even on neckties, shoestrings, and
dresses. If a cell-phone rings during a conference, the
atmosphere will freeze immediately. Argumentative persons are
disliked. The logic that employees should work for their bosses
dominates the administration. This is a similar culture to
Japan's.

Such a personal relationship (between Bush and Koizumi) is an
invisible valuable asset for Japan, but it would be difficult for
the next prime minister, no matter who assumes the post, to
establish a honeymoon-like relationship with President Bush. That
point should be taken into account.

Tabata: Does it mean that a decisive turning point will come?

Yoshizaki: I think the next prime minister should be able to
establish an adequate relationship of trust with President Bush,
no matter who takes the post, for instance, (Chief Cabinet
Secretary Shinzo) Abe or (former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo)

SIPDIS
Fukuda.

Mr. Bush himself has been losing popularity, and Japan has begun
to catch the blow-back. At such a delicate time, what blueprint
the new prime minister will draw up is a very important theme.

Tabata: In the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party presidential
election campaigning, Will the main contentious issue be Asia
diplomacy?

Yoshizaki: I think priority will be given to Japan-US ties over
relations with China. Extremely speaking, Japan-China relations
could not become even worse than the current state. If Japan
accepts everything offered by China, the strains will be
dissolved. But Japan cannot do that. In order to set the
concessionary line, Japan must first consider what to do with
Japan-US relations. China is watching developments in Japan-US
relations.

Tabata: What blueprint do you think should be prepared for
Japan's US policy?

Yoshizaki: For national security, this year is significant. It
marks the 10th anniversary of the redefinition of the Japan-US
Security Treaty in 1996. The new notion of "Asia-Pacific region"
was set forth in the redefinition, enabling the Self-Defense
Forces to go anywhere in the world. The government continued the
work to define difficult words, but it has yet to discuss how to
persuade the people to accept plans that would raise the degree
of freedom of the Japan-US alliance and would also increase the

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risk of Japan being involved in US strategy. The government must
address this task first.

Tabata: You suggest that Japan should stop its brain-dead
diplomatic approach stemming from the stance of blindly following
the US, don't you?

Yoshizaki: Japan has worked out a diplomatic strategy, based on
the desire that other countries will see Japan as a good nation.
Although all Americans share the significance of spreading
democracy across the nation, Japan has reached no basic consensus
on universal values.

That is why Japan needs to scan through everything when it
collects information. A definite goal is necessary for Japan's
diplomacy.

(7) Men hold key to reversing the declining birthrate; Marriage
rate of permanent employees is three times higher than that of
part-timers; Married couples with husbands who help with
housework tend to have second child

SANKEI (Page 1) (Full)
March 9, 2006

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) yesterday
released the results of the Cross Sectional Survey of Youths in
the 21st Century. The survey found that the marriage rate of men
who are regularly employed was more than three times higher than
that of men who are not. The survey also found that whether
married couples have a second child or not has much to do with
the time husbands spare on housework and child rearing. With the
birthrate declining due to the tendency of young people marrying
at a later stage in life or not marrying at all, the government
has come up with two measures to counter the declining birthrate:
stable employment for men and securing time for them to spend
with their families.

In order to obtain basic data for mapping out countermeasures on
the declining birthrate, the MHLS conducted a survey targeting
men and women aged between 20 and 34 in late October in 2002, and
follow-up surveys on the same respondents in 2003 and 2004.
Approximately 20,000 people responded to the survey carried out
in Nov. 2004.

The survey asked the same respondents, who were unmarried at the
time when the first survey was conducted in 2002 but married
after that, and found that 10.5% of men who were regularly
employed had married within two years since the 2002 survey. The
rate of marriage of those who were part-timers stood at 3.35%,
followed by jobless people with 2.8%. It turned out that the
marriage rate of those with permanent jobs was more than three
times higher.

In terms of weekly work hours, the marriage rate of men working
more than 40 hours a week stood around 10%, compared with about
5% in the case of men who work less than 40 hours a week.

In contrast, around 11% of the surveyed women were married,
whether they were under regular employment or not. The survey
also found that the rate of jobless women who married reached
7.7%. Though there wars a gap of 13.6% to 13.8% in their working
hours, there was not much difference in their marriage rates,

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according to differences in the length of working hours.

In the case of married couples who were already married at the
time of the first survey and who replied that they wanted a
second child, whether they had a second child at the time of the
survey in 2004 depended on the length of time husbands spent on
housework and child rearing.

The surveyors analyzed the replies sent by married couples who
had a first child at the time of the first survey in 2002 and had
not had a second one more than a year after that. According to
the analysis, among couples who replied that the time husbands
spent on housework and child raising had increased, 22.0% had had
a second child, and 12.4% of couples who replied that husbands
spent less time on housework and child raising had had a second
child. The survey thus found that the percentage of couples with
a second child was higher among couples with a husband who spent
more time helping his wife bring up their first child.

MHLW judged that it appears that women tend to choose hard-
working men with stable work and steady income and want to have a
second child only if their husbands helped them with housework
and child rearing. It is, therefore, necessary to secure stable
work for men and make sure they have time to spend on housework
and child raising as a countermeasure against the declining
birthrate, according the Social Statistic Division Longitudinal
Research Office.

Katsuyoshi Iwabuchi, professor at Kawasaki University of Medical
Care Graduate School: Job security is needed for young people

The top cause of the declining birthrate is the tendency of young
people marrying later or not marrying at all. Nara Prefecture and
Fukuoka Prefecture have started creating opportunities for young
men and women to meet. The problem is young men's employment
situation is insecure. The jobless rate is now high, and there
are lots of so-called freeters (job-hopping part-time workers).
They find it difficult to save money for marriage. Since men have
a strong role-sharing awareness that husbands have to be a
breadwinner, young men find it difficult to decide to marry
unless they are under regular employment or their partners become
pregnant. The job situation has improved, but whether the job
market for young people is stable or not will hold the key. Among
industrialized countries, Japanese husbands spend hardly any time
on housework and child raising. They may say that they are making
efforts in their work, but women also work outside nowadays.
Burden sharing by husbands is the second key to settling the
declining birthrate issue. The enactment of the Next-Generation
Nurturing Assistance Law has led to an increase in the number of
companies that support workers balancing work and family. As a
result, husbands now find more time to spend on housework and
child rearing. The birthrate will presumably pick up in 5-10
years' time.

SCHIEFFER