Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO1404
2006-03-16 08:06:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 03/16/06

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
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PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1404/01 0750806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160806Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9828
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RHMFIUU/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA//J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/COMPATWING ONE KAMI SEYA JA
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 7799
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 5167
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 8307
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 5193
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 6350
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1164
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7356
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9333
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 001404

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 03/16/06


INDEX:

(1) US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer visits scene of abduction of
Megumi Yokota

(2) 2006 LDP presidential election - post-Koizumi candidates:
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 65, looking for opportunity to move
away from prime minister

(3) Potential Koizumi successor (Part 3) - Finance Minister
Sadakazu Tanigaki (61): Key lies in how to overcome low name
recognition

(4) Gov't to make cabinet decision on coastal plan; Nago stiffens
attitude; "Gov't must not be allowed to do so at its discretion"

(5) Editorial: We condemn those government officials involved in
bid-rigging for DFAA-sponsored projects

ARTICLES:

(1) US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer visits scene of abduction of
Megumi Yokota

YOMIURI ONLINE
March 16, 2006, 11:08 a.m.

US Ambassador Schieffer (Center),
Mr. and Mrs. Yokota

US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer today arrived at Niigata
City and visited the city's Yorii Municipal Junior High School.
From there, Schieffer went to the scene at Yoriihama where Megumi
Yokota was abducted.

The Ambassador is the first US government official to visit this
scene.

When the family members of the abductees met with Ambassador
Schieffer last May, they asked him to inspect the scene, telling
him: "We'd like you to deepen your understanding about the
abduction issue." Guided by Shigeru Yokota and his wife, Sakie,
Schieffer inspected the area where Megumi Yokota was thought to
be walking before she her abduction. He heard the story of the
abduction at a spot where Megumi was supposed to have parted from
her friend and at another where she was thought to have been

abducted.

The abductees' families are scheduled to travel to the United
States in late April. They will testify at a US Congressional
hearing as an effort to seek US support to resolve the issue.

(2) 2006 LDP presidential election - post-Koizumi candidates:
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 65, looking for opportunity to move
away from prime minister

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Almost full)
March 15, 2006

By Takuji Nakata

Foreign Minister Taro Aso stated before reporters at the Japan
National Press Club on March 8: "In principle, those who are

TOKYO 00001404 002 OF 006


enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine are those who died in wars. But
people who died for other reasons were enshrined together. This
is a big problem." Later, his remarks aroused controversy.

Aso advocated separate enshrinement, some media reported, but an
aide to Aso dismissed that, saying: "It's not that he called for
separate enshrinement. He just brought up the question of what
status should be given to those who died amid legal proceedings
(homushi) (those who were executed or died in prison during the
Tokyo Trial)." Aso's real intention remains opaque, because he
has offered no subsequent explanation about his controversial
remarks.

Aso belongs to the LDP's Kono faction - a small faction led by
Lower House President Yohei Kono with a membership of 11,
excluding Kono. A short avenue to power, Aso thought, would have
been to support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and by doing so
bring about a "peaceful transfer of power" to himself. But this
scenario has failed to materialize. While Koizumi's leadership is
beginning to diminish, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe,
another conservative post-Koizumi candidate, continues to enjoy
high popularity. Aso could sink into oblivion. An aide to Aso is
therefore making desperate efforts to reshape his previous
strategy, saying: "Even a contrarian policy is worth considering.
We need to demonstrate his identity." On Feb. 19, Aso gave a
strong hint that he would not visit Yasukuni Shrine if he became
prime minister, noting: "National interests come before personal
interests."

A junior female lawmaker from the Kono faction suggested to Aso
that he should refuse to sign the bill intended to revise the
Imperial House Law to allow women and their descendants to ascend
to the Chrysanthemum throne and thereby resign from his post and
declare his candidacy for the LDP presidential race, a strategy
dubbed the "March 10 rebellion." But this idea was never
realized, as the bill to revise that law was not submitted. Aso
continues to look for an opportunity to move away from Koizumi.

At the same time, Aso's repeated gaffes, such as when he said
"It would be best for the Emperor to visit Yasukuni Shrine" and
when he described Taiwan as a "country," have perplexed even his
supporters in the Kono faction, one of whom remarked: "Because he
tries to say clever things to impress people, he tends to commit
gaffes." During the faction's New Year party held at a Japanese
restaurant in Tokyo late January, Kono advised Aso, "You should
refrain from needlessly irritating China and South Korea."

In addition to China and South Korea, even the US Department of
State has concluded that it cannot expect much from Mr. Aso and
has turned somewhat cool to Japan, according to a senior LDP
member.

As he has failed to score on diplomacy, Aso is absorbed in
highlighting his political clout in the ministry. In the reform
of official development assistance (ODA),Aso succeeded in
securing his ministry's leadership over ODA, winning support from
the LDP and countering the Ministry of Finance. In the budget
compilation at the end of last year, Aso in cabinet-level
negotiations succeeded in putting an end to reducing the
ministry's staff and brought about an increase of 19 instead. He
also prevented a further decline in service allowances for
ministry officials abroad.


TOKYO 00001404 003 OF 006


Aso has expressed his desire to run in the LDP presidential race,
assuming that he is able to secure the endorsement of 20
lawmakers. He also is considering releasing a set of policy
measures at the faction's meeting scheduled for June, but the
question is how many endorsements he will actually receive. There
is a deep objection (in the Kono faction) to deepening ties with
the Tsushima faction that relies on General Council Chairman
Fumio Kyuma. Other faction members are still taking a wait-and-
see attitude. Worse still, of the 20 endorsements that Aso had in
the 2001 presidential race, five have already retired from the
political world or have lost their Diet seats, and three have
left the LDP. There is little chance Aso will be able to collect
the required number of endorsements.

On March 4, Aso visited Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and
encouraged former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's first son, Yuki,
who is expected to run in a by-election for a prefectural
assembly seat. Impressed with Aso's efforts, a House of
Representatives member close to him said: "Aso could take the
mound as a reliever if the Mori faction were on the verge of
splitting (between support for Abe or for former CCS Fukuda). He
is doing well in this sense."

(3) Potential Koizumi successor (Part 3) - Finance Minister
Sadakazu Tanigaki (61): Key lies in how to overcome low name
recognition

MAINICHI (Page 3) (Excerpts)
March 16, 2006

In a speech at a party held by the Liberal Democratic Party
Tochigi Prefectural Chapter in Utsunomiya City on March 4,
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said:

"We have an obligation to show to the people that reform may
bring them some pain but it is not intended to return to law of
the jungle rules. The state and the people are bound by rigid
ties of trust."

There are smoldering concerns even among ruling party members
about the widening wealth gap in the society caused as a negative
by-product of the Koizumi reforms. In a speech on financial
policy before a joint session of both houses on Jan. 20, Tanigaki
advocated a plan to "create a society in which individuals
support each other based on ties with their families and local
communities." Since last month, the Tanigaki faction has
addressed the task of putting policy recommendations into a
report, mainly focusing mainly on measures to correct the income
gap.

The Tanigaki faction has been also stepping up efforts to meld
together with two other factions that also descended from the
former Miyazawa faction (Kochikai): the Niwa/Koga and the Kono
factions. In 1998, House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono
left the faction as a result of internal strife over the
selection of a successor chairman. In 2000, former Secretary
General Koichi Kato seceded from it, and later more members
followed him. The faction has 15 members now, less than the 20
that is the minimum number of recommenders needed to enable a
lawmaker to run in the party presidential race.

Like-minded members from the three factions held a study meeting
on Asia strategy on March 15. In a speech, Kono stressed the

TOKYO 00001404 004 OF 006


traditional significance of the Kochikai. He said:

"Hayato Ikeda, Masayoshi Ohira, Zenko Suzuki, and former Prime
Minister Kiichi Miyazawa all came from Kochikai. Under Prime
Minister Miyazawa, I served as chief cabinet secretary, and I was
greatly affected by him."

The idea of unifying the three factions to form a grand Koichikai
has been floated many times but it fizzled out in the end, mainly
because there was no organizer.

In the speech in Utsunomiya, Tanigaki also reiterated his
determination to address the task of reconstructing the Ashikaga
Bank, which was once placed under state control. He said: " We
must revitalize the bank and make it a bank that is independent
and helpful to the residents of the prefecture." Aides to
Tanigaki had advised him to refer to the issue of Ashikaga bank,
reflecting strong interest in the issue among local citizens. The
Ashikaga remark, which Tanigaki made after holding consultation
with State Minister in charge of Financial Policy Kaoru Yosano,
got front-page coverage as he had aimed.

The Tanigaki faction is earnestly making a pitch for Tanigaki,
stemming from a growing sense of alarm toward low support rates
for him as a successor to Prime Minister Koizumi. In a Mainichi
Shimbun survey in January, only 2% favored Tanigaki as Koizumi's
successor. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe was favored by 38%
, followed by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda with
10% and Foreign Minister Taro Aso with 3%. An executive member of
the Tanigaki faction said: "If the support rate remains below 5%,
it will not be worth even talking about." Observers say that
although Tanigaki tends to dress conservatively, he has begun to
be more fashion-conscious, taking advice from his wife and second
daughter when appearing on TV programs.

With an eye on the House of Councillors election next summer, a
senior Upper House LDP member coolly said, "Although Mr. Aso and
Mr. Tanigaki had assumed ministerial posts for many years, their
support rates stayed at these low levels. Mr. Abe might be better
than they because he is younger than the rest." The political
power of Tanigaki as a presidential candidate holds the key to
the fate of the grand-Kochikai scheme.

(4) Gov't to make cabinet decision on coastal plan; Nago stiffens
attitude; "Gov't must not be allowed to do so at its discretion"

OKINAWA TIMES
March 16, 2006

The city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture has stiffened its attitude
against the government's change of course to give up on its 1999
cabinet-adopted initial plan to relocate the US Marine Corps'
Futenma Air Station to a site in waters off the coast of Henoko
in the city of Nago. The Japanese government is now poised to
supersede its previous cabinet decision to replace the current
Henoko offshore relocation plan with an alternative plan to build
a new facility in a coastal area of Camp Schwab to take over the
airfield's heliport functions. "The government must not be
allowed to do so at its discretion," a Nago official said. The
Okinawa prefectural government is also upset at the Japanese
government's unilateral scrapping of the current offshore plan,
with one of its officials saying such a course of action runs
counter to the principle of faith and trust. "How will the

TOKYO 00001404 005 OF 006


government make it consistent with the past process of working
together with us?" With this, the prefectural government is
paying close attention to the cabinet decision's contents. The
Japanese government is going through procedures to carry out the
coastal plan without reflecting local views. Its effectiveness,
however, is becoming even more questionable.

"Is it really acceptable?" An opposition party member raised this
question in a plenary sitting of Nago City's municipal assembly
yesterday morning after the Okinawa Times' reporting. Nago Deputy
Mayor Bunshin Suematsu was at a loss and looked angry when he
took the floor to answer the question.

"The government threw our long-accumulated efforts into a
wastebasket," Suematsu stated before the assembly. The deputy
mayor continued: "The government must not be allowed to do that
at its discretion. If that's the case, (the relocation issue) is
not even at zero; it's less than zero."

The Japanese and US governments will shortly work out a final
report on the realignment of US forces in Japan. Meanwhile, Nago
officials have told Japanese government officials that the city
is opposed to the coastal plan. The city's assembly has also sent
messages to the Japanese government.

The Nago municipal government has clarified in the municipal
assembly's current regular session that the Henoko offshore
relocation plan and the option of building an offshore facility
in shallow waters off Henoko (excluding Nagashima and Hirashima
where local residents visit for recreation) are "within the scope
of consideration." In addition, the city's municipal government
took the position that it will uphold former Mayor Tateo
Kishimoto's proposal of seven preconditions-such as concluding a
basing agreement with the United States-for his acceptance of the
Henoko offshore plan. The municipal government also proposed
building a 1,300-meter tarmac in conformity with the final report
of the Japan-US Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) in
case the newly planned alternative facility is not for joint
military-civilian use but for the US military's use only.

The Japanese government, however, is reportedly determined to
reach a final settlement with the US government for the coastal
plan. The city's government therefore stiffened its attitude.
"There's no change in our opposition to the coastal plan eve if
it's incorporated in the final report," Nago Mayor Yoshikazu
Shimabukuro stated before the municipal assembly on March 14.

"I wonder if the cabinet decision is so light that it can be
changed in defiance of Okinawa," said Morihide Okido, who
presides over a group of local residents pushing for the Henoko
offshore relocation plan. Okido added, "Our stance against the
coastal plan will never change even if the government makes such
a cabinet decision."

(5) Editorial: We condemn those government officials involved in
bid-rigging for DFAA-sponsored projects

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
March 15, 2006

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted three
Defense Facilities Administrative Agency (DFAA) officials for
colluding on bids for projects sponsored by their agency and

TOKYO 00001404 006 OF 006


having decided in advance who would win the bids. Public
prosecutors summarily indicted nine responsible officials on the
corporate side. Former DFAA officials are included among the
nine.

The companies that took part in the rigged-bidding accepted the
summary indictments. It means that they admitted the charges
against them. Public prosecutors arrested government officials
involved in order to take them to court, but they just issued
summary indictments for the officials responsible in the
companies involved, mainly because the prosecutors judged that it
was the government officials who took the initiative in rigging
bids for DFAA-sponsored projects. The number of DFAA-sponsored
projects in which tax money was allegedly wasted comes to 11,
combining earlier cases in which charges have already been
brought against government officials.

Two senior officials of the former New Tokyo International
Airport Public Corporation, now Narita International Airport
Corporation, were indicted over a government office-led bid-
rigging case similar to that involving the DFAA. The Tokyo
District Court recently found those two guilty of rigging the
bids on the public tender. As a reason for the decision, the
court pointed out that the officials in question leaked cost
estimates for projects coming up for bidding and then decided
which bidders would win the project, taking into consideration
how many retired officials the bidders had accepted. The court
also acknowledged that the public corporation decided successful
bidders and leaked cost estimates to them as part of their work
and this practice had been carried out continuously and
repeatedly.

It is only natural to assume that the situation was the same in
the DFAA. If the government agency that wants to secure plum jobs
for retiring officials and the companies that want to receive as
many orders as possible at the highest possible contract prices,
colluded on bids for their mutual benefit, then the bureaucracy
should be held more accountable for orchestrating the scams. Not
only did the government officials violate the law but also they
offered taxpayers' money to the bidders for the benefit of
themselves. Such cases are even more despicable than bribery.

If the bill amending the Law for the Prevention of Collusive
Bidding at the Initiative of Government Officials is enacted
during the current Diet session, government officials convicted
of leading bid-rigging schemes would receive a prison term up to
five years, the same punishment imposed in simple bribery cases
under the Criminal Law. The bid-rigging prevention law does not
have punitive provisions, but if it is revised, it will have a
deterrent capability.

That is not enough as a measure to prevent bid rigging by
government officials. The open public bidding system should be
applied to public procurements in compliance with provisions
under the Public Account Law. Guidance designed to promote
related government officials' awareness of compliance is also
needed. Both the central and local governments should make sure
that they take various measures so that a situation that requires
the imposition of Law for the Prevention of Collusive Bidding at
the Initiative of Government Officials will not occur.

SCHIEFFER