JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 03/17/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 001415 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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 03/17/06 Index: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule Ambassador's diplomatic schedule: 4) Ambassador Schieffer tours with parents of Megumi Yokota the Niigata coastline spot where North Korean agents abducted the child 5) Commenting on Schieffer tour of abduction site, Chief Cabinet Secretary ABE calls it "significant," saying he wanted him "to share the same feelings we have" 6) Koizumi Cabinet support rate recovers with a 3.9-point rise to 47.1% in Jiji's poll Defense and security issues: 7) Deputy Under Secretary Lawless unhappy with priority by Japan to local considerations in USFJ realignment, flexible on revising Futenma relocation plan 8) Four cabinet members agree to slightly revising Nago City's Futenma relocation plan 9) Working-level paper to be presented to US on force realignment this month, anticipating delay in 2 plus 2 meeting 10) JDA chief tells Diet committee that cabinet decision on Futenma relocation plan will be next month 11) Mayor of Iwakuni City tells JDA to retract jet relocation plan 12) LDP's Kyuma willing for Japan to bear the $7.5 billion share of burden of relocating Marines to Guam 13) Pseudonyms used for most SDF personnel in listing those punished for crimes 14) Foreign Minister Aso joins US, Australian counterparts tomorrow for strategic talks and discussion of timetable for GSDF pullout from Iraq 15) Former chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda meets ROK President Roh in effort to prepare way for better bilateral ties after Prime Minister Koizumi leaves office 16) Ebihara selected as next ambassador to Indonesia 17) Japan to start negotiating FTAs with Gulf states in the Middle East this July Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Deregulation on marketing activities to sell school textbooks; special designation system that bans business entertaining to be abolished; Fair Trade Commission official: "It's the trend of the times"; Industry notes that decision will affect textbook selection Mainichi: Tokyo Shimbun: Usen seals business tie-up with Livedoor; Usen president personally obtains Fuji TV's stake in Livedoor worth 9.5 billion yen TOKYO 00001415 002 OF 011 Yomiuri: SDF withholds names of 90% of personnel subjected to disciplinary punishments, including those arrested and discharged; 421 persons in six months through February Nihon Keizai: Supply-demand gap resolved in Oct-Dec quarter for first time in eight years: Personal consumption leads the way out of deflation Sankei: Futenma relocation: Four ministers agree to revise plan in line with Nago proposal 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Usen president braves danger in purchasing Livedoor stocks (2) Pension integration: Completely eliminate gaps Mainichi: (1) Fake email scandal; Settle the issue quickly to normalize Diet session (2) Establishment of UN Human Rights Council: Foreign policy that makes best use of its functions needed Yomiuri: (1) Major construction companies: Do not water down their determination to stop bid-rigging (2) US deficit: Potential risk should be avoided in advance Nihon Keizai: (1) Construct airports that will boost international competitiveness (2) District court is mistaken in denying people's right to know Sankei: (1) US ambassador inspects abduction site: Ties with US should be strengthened (2) Attorneys and delays in hearings: Delay will incur distrust in trials among public Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Political situation in Thailand becoming tense (2) Traffic safety program: Various measures needed for the elderly 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, March 16 NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 10:29 Arrived at Kantei. 11:59 Met Canon President Fujio Mitarai, Dentsu Supreme Advisor Yutaka Narita, journalist Soichiro Tawara, and others at the Hotel New Otani. 13:24 TOKYO 00001415 003 OF 011 Arrived at Kantei. 14:00 Met Secretary General Takebe and Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi. 15:03 Met Fuji Xerox Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi, New Japan-China Friendship 21st Century Committee Chairman on the Japanese side, and others. 16:00 Met Ambassador to Iraq Yamaguchi and Foreign Ministry's Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau Director General Yoshikawa. Later, attended an event for opening "Dispatch from Tokyo, Japan Fashion Week" 17:00 Met Cabinet Intelligence Director Kanemoto, JDA Defense Operations Yamazaki, the Intelligence Headquarters head. 18:10 Attended a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy 19:34 Met Lower House Budget Committee Chairman Oshima, principal executive board member Kaneko and others, with Chief Cabinet Secretary ABE present. SIPDIS 4) US envoy visits place where Megumi Yokota was abducted to send strong message to North Korea; "Injustice cannot be allowed to stand" SANKEI (Page 28) (Full) March 17, 2006 US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer yesterday visited the site in Niigata City where North Korean agents abducted 13-year- old Megumi Yokota in 1977. Schieffer's visit was the first by a high-ranking American official to an abduction site. The tour was the result of the US envoy's intention to "send a message to North Korea." Megumi's mother, Sakie, 70, is scheduled to testify on the abduction issue before the US House of Representatives later this month. Schieffer's tour is likely to stir up public opinion in the US. Schieffer arrived at Niigata City Yorii Junior High School at around 10:30 a.m. yesterday, the school Megumi was attending before she was kidnapped. The envoy then toured an intersection near the school believed to be the abduction site, the former Bank of Japan housing where Megumi lived with her family, and the seashore where a North Korean vessel is believed to have been awaiting. Megumi's parents, Shigeru, 73, Sakie, and others accompanied the ambassador. Walking down on the school route, Schieffer asked the Yokotas and others many questions through an interpreter, such as, "Was she with her friends until this point?" Sakie commented: "I have visited (this area) so many times, but I still feel awful. I want to let the ambassador know exactly what happened here." TOKYO 00001415 004 OF 011 Upon winding up the tour, the US envoy said: "(What the Yokotas told me) is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. I think anyone who has walked these streets as I have would be touched. I was able to feel firsthand that this dreadful thing really happened here. Abductions go against everything that a civilized society believes in, and this injustice cannot be allowed to stand." The ambassador also said to Sakie and others, "I will raise the issue with President Bush when I see him next time." President Bush visited Japan November 15 last year. Reportedly, the president learned from his aide on his plane to Japan that Megumi had been abducted that day many years ago. In a press conference after his talks with Prime Minister Koizumi, Bush said, "We share concern about the abductions by North Korea." Sakie and others are scheduled to make strong appeals for the need to settle the abduction issue at the US Congress later this month. Shigeru noted in a positive tone: "The ambassador indicated that as long as he remains in his post, he will make efforts to resolve the issue and broach the abduction issue in talks with North Korea. I believe that will be a strong supporting force for resolving the issue." 5) Abe: I hope the US will share our same sentiment SANKEI (Page 28) (Full) March 17, 2006 In a press conference yesterday, Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO Abe highly praised US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer's tour of the site where North Korean agents abducted Megumi Yokota. ABE said: "The visit was significant for the resolution of the abduction issue, because it signals both to Japan and the world that the United States has interest in the issue. I hope the US will share our sentiment." 6) Poll: Koizumi cabinet's support rate rebounds to 47.1% TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged) March 17, 2006 The Koizumi cabinet's approval rating in March was 47.1%,up 3.9 percentage points from the preceding month's survey, according to findings from a Jiji Press poll released yesterday. The disapproval rating was 35.3%,up 0.4 points from the previous month. The Koizumi cabinet's support rate, which was down for a seventh straight month in February, picked up in the latest poll. In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party stood at 26.0%,up 0.1 points from the last survey, with the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) at 8.8%,up 0.8 points. The New Komeito party, a coalition partner of the LDP, was at 4.1%,up 0.8 points. Among other parties, the Japanese Communist Party was at 2.2%,up 0.1 points. The Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) and the TOKYO 00001415 005 OF 011 People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) were respectively at 1.3% and 0.1%,both leveling off from the last survey. None of the respondents picked the New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon). 7) Realignment of US forces in Japan: In interview, US deputy under secretary of defense expresses discontent with Japan's prioritizing local consideration, flexible about modifying Futenma relocation plan ASAHI (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 By Yoichi Kato, Washington The Asahi Shimbun interviewed US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless on March 15. Asked about the ongoing talks on the realignment of US forces in Japan that have entered the homestretch, Lawless expressed discontent with the Japanese government's attitude, noting: "The question is why the focus of discussions tends to easily shift to minor concerns of local residents who would be affected by the planned relocation of (bases and troops)." He revealed that Washington has asked Tokyo to explain to the public the importance of the ongoing realignment for the future of Japan. Lawless indicated displeasure with Japan's attitude of prioritizing local consideration, saying: "Our concern is that most Japanese officials involved might not have correctly focused on the strategic necessity of the alliance." Describing the relocation of the Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, the redeployment of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam, and the return and consolidation of bases in Okinawa as three outstanding issues, Lawless stated: "An appropriate will and attitude could resolve these issues in next few weeks." Referring the Futenma relocation issue, Lawless pointed out that the efforts to obtain local understanding "have now seemed to run into difficulties." In order to break the impasse, "The United States is ready to constructively discuss modification of the relocation plan," he said, indicating a positive stance about revising the so-called coastal plan Japan and the US agreed on last fall. He also showed flexibility about the end-of-March deadline for the compilation of the Agreed Implementation Plan (AIP). Lawless reiterated that the cost of the transfer of US Marines to Guam has been estimated at 10 billion dollars, or approximately 1.18 trillion yen, the amount that has incurred a negative reaction from Japan, and that the US has asked Japan to pay 75% of the cost. He explained that the US is planning a massive expansion of the facilities in Guam. Given the asymmetric structure of the Japan-US alliance, this level of cost-sharing would be "extremely reasonable," he said. 8) Futenma relocation: Four cabinet ministers agree to Nago proposal SANKEI (Top play) (Full) March 17, 2006 Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO Abe, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga, and Environment TOKYO 00001415 006 OF 011 Minister Yuriko Koike met in Tokyo yesterday evening to discuss issues over the planned realignment of US forces in Japan. In the meeting, the four cabinet ministers consulted on the government's plan to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in the city of Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to a coastal location on the premises of Camp Schwab, a US military base in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago. They agreed to present the United States with a modified plan that is close to Nago's proposal of changes to the government's coastal plan. Nago has proposed building an offshore facility to take over the airfield's heliport functions. Japan and the United States will hold intergovernmental working- level consultations in Tokyo on March 23-24, with their senior officials attending, where the two governments hope to reach a broad agreement. Before that, however, the Japanese government needed to conduct political coordination among the four cabinet ministers in order for the prime minister's office and other government offices to be aligned on Japan's standpoint. The biggest point was whether or not to modify the coastal plan, which has run into opposition from Okinawa and Nago. On March 8, an official of the Nago City municipal government said the city would respond to consultations with the government if the coastal plan were modified along with the city's proposal for changes to that plan. In its statement, the Nago municipal government proposed moving the coastal construction site to the seaside and building an offshore facility that is contiguous to the cape of Camp Schwab from the sea. There were positive views about Nago's overtures not only in the Japanese government and ruling parties but also in the US government. However, the Defense Agency, which had initiated the coastal plan, was negative about Nago's proposal, and the government could not find a way out of the impasse. In yesterday's meeting of the four cabinet ministers, Nukaga softened his attitude and basically consented to the idea of moving the planned coastal construction site to the seaside by moving closer to Nago's proposal. The Japanese government, based on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision, is now expected to finalize its course of action with minor changes added. Another focus of the four cabinet ministers' meeting yesterday was on the issue of footing the cost of Marine relocation to Guam. The US government has asked the Japanese government to pay 75% of the relocation cost estimated at approximately 10 billion dollars (equivalent to approx. 1.175 trillion yen). However, the Japanese government has proposed loan-based funding cooperation on housing and other necessary expenses. The four cabinet ministers yesterday agreed that the US proposal was unacceptable. In addition, the four cabinet ministers also discussed the US government's negative stance about holding a 'two-plus-two' of the two countries' intergovernmental security consultative meeting at a time when the Japanese government still remains unable to obtain local consent. The four ministers confirmed that they would continue to make efforts for a final agreement in late March. 9) Realignment of US forces in Japan: Circulation of document with cabinet-level talks postponed; Japan to propose to US TOKYO 00001415 007 OF 011 creating document before end of month NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO Abe, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, and Defense Agency (JDA) Director-General Fukushiro Nukaga gathered late yesterday and confirmed this policy line: At the working-level talks of foreign and defense officials from the two countries on the realignment of US forces in Japan, which are scheduled to reopen next week, Japan would propose to the Untied States that working-level officials create a joint document before the end of the month. By using the document as a final agreement, the government will accelerate the efforts of coordination with relevant local governments, including Okinawa Prefecture. Japan intended to hold a cabinet-level meeting attended by foreign and defense ministers of the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee (2+2) at the end of the month, but the US is reluctant to do so. Japan will thus postpone holding the 2+2 until April or after. The US has estimated the cost of the relocation of US Marines in Okinawa to Guam at 10 billion dollars, or approximately 1.18 trillion yen, and asked Japan to pay 75% of the cost. The three Japanese officials said Japan "cannot accept such a share." They agreed to reject that request. 10) Cabinet decision to be made next month on Futenma relocation TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 At a House of Representatives Security Committee session, Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga revealed yesterday that the cabinet would make a decision in April on the relocation of the US Marine Futenma Air Station (located in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture) based on a final report to be compiled by the governments of Japan and the United States at the end of March. By making a new cabinet decision, the government will scrap the 1999 cabinet decision that an airport for joint military-civilian use will be built off Camp Schwab in Nago City, and the plan to construct heliport facilities on the coast of Camp Schwab will become the government's formal decision. 11) Iwakuni mayor also calls on JDA to call off relocation plan NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 Mayor Katsusuke Ihara of Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, yesterday visited the Defense Agency (JDA) and called on the JDA to drop the planned relocation of US carrier-based aircraft to Iwakuni, a plan that is part of the realignment of US forces in Japan. Referring to the outcome of the recent plebiscite on March 12, in which a majority of citizens voted against the planned relocation, the mayor requested: "I'd like you to respect the wishes of local residents and take proper action. I hope thorough discussions with local residents will take place." The Secretariat's Planning Officer Masaomi Oka, who met with the SIPDIS TOKYO 00001415 008 OF 011 mayor, asked for his understanding about the planned relocation. 12) LDP's Kyuma: Japan could pay 7.5 billion dollars ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 17, 2006 Liberal Democratic Party General Council Chairman Fumio Kyuma indicated yesterday that Japan should accept America's request to pay 7.5 billion dollars, or about 885 billion yen, for the relocation of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Kyuma said: "It's a good opportunity, and Japan should bear the cost no matter how expensive it is. If Japan can do away with host nation support, we could make a lump-sum payment. Guam is an appropriate spot for the US to maintain its deterrent capability against an armed attack on Japan in accordance with the Japan-US Security Treaty." 13) SDF withholds true names of 90% of personnel subjected to disciplinary punishments, including those arrested and discharged; 421 persons in six months up to end of February YOMIURI (Top Play) (Excerpts) March 17, 2006 The Defense Agency (JDA) and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) recently released a report on disciplinary actions during a six- month period up to the end of this February. However, this paper has learned that 90% of the names of personnel who were subject to disciplinary punishments were withheld, with pseudonyms used. Even internally, even the ages and ranks of those who were subject to punishments were withheld in many cases in order to prevent their identity from being known. SDF noted that the cases of disciplinary actions should be released in principle in the form of withholding the identification of concerned persons. However, they withheld even the names of those who were arrested or dismissed in disgrace. The stance of the JDA and SDF as organizations that are tasked with key official responsibilities will likely be questioned. According to the JDA, 453 personnel of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF),the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) and the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) and 28 administrative officials totaling 481, were subject to punishments in a period from Aug. 15 through the end of February this year and the cases were released. However, the names of 421 were withheld. Only the names of 55 SDF personnel and 5 administrative officials were revealed. It appears that most of these personnel whose names were revealed had already been released at the time of arrests by police. A sergeant who stole a safe that contained 630,000 yen from an office at the GSDF Camp Koriyama was discharged in disgrace. The GSDF house police arrested him, and yet his name and background were withheld. The ages of those who were suspended for driving under the influence of alcohol were not released, either. An associate professor at the Defense Academy, 37, was dismissed this month for sexually harassing a female student. In this case, his brief background was at first withheld so that the victim could not be identified, but the Defense Academy did not even inform this student of the disciplinary action against him. A senior GSDF officer at the JDA Technical Research and TOKYO 00001415 009 OF 011 Developments Institute, who was arrested over molestation, was suspended. The rank of this level is normally released, but in this case, his rank was just mentioned "field-grade officer rank." 14) Japan, US, Australia to hold talks on timing of GSDF withdrawal from Iraq TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) March 17, 2006 Foreign Minister Taro Aso will arrive in Australia to attend for the first time a cabinet-minister-level strategic dialogue with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The dialogue will take place on March 18 in Sydney. Aso is expected to exchange views on the timing for Japan to withdraw its Ground Self-Defense Force troops stationed in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah with his Australian and US counterparts. The Japanese government had planned to pull them out before the end of March in line with the withdrawal of British and Australian forces that have maintained public order in Samawah. However, following the delay of the inauguration of the new Iraqi government, and Iraq's deteriorating security due to the intensifying sectarian strife, the Japanese government is unable to construct a scenario for withdrawing the GSDF troops. Japan, the US, and Australia will analyze the current Iraqi situation. 15) Fukuda, South Korean president in meeting focus on improvement in bilateral ties after Koizumi leaves office ASAHI (Page 3) (Excerpts) March 17, 2006 Kimitaka Nishiyama, Seoul Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, now visiting South Korea, met with President Roh Moo Hyun at the President's Office yesterday, in which both sides confirmed the need for the two countries to make efforts to improve the now-strained relations between Japan and South Korea. Fukuda stressed: "We must develop relations at the top level in a revolutionary way," indicating the necessity to break the impasse by resuming bilateral summitry. President Roh said: "My aides told me not to do so, but I want to visit Yushukan, the exhibit hall of Yasukuni Shrine and see its 'Chronology of Modern Japanese Military History.' If the Japanese government approves it, I would like to visit there." He then criticized Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to the shrine. Fukuda and Nakasone arrived in Seoul to attend a joint general meeting of the Japan-South Korea Cooperation Committee and the South Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee. The South Korean side delivered a strong message expressing a desire to repair relations with Japan to Fukuda, who has been regarded as a potential successor to Prime Minister Koizumi. In the talks, both sides focused their attention on a scenario after Koizumi steps down. According to a Japanese government source, Roh indicated that TOKYO 00001415 010 OF 011 Japan and South Korea should try to mend the damaged bilateral relations through private-level exchanges, saying: "There are difficult problems pending between Japan and South Korea, but it is necessary to break the impasse in a rational way. Should it be impossible to attain it at the government level, it would be possible to do so efforts at the private level." In response, Fukuda said: "Some people in Japan have the impression that 'the president is hard on Japan,' but I have received a considerably different impression of you. Can't you visit Japan to speak directly to the Japanese people?" Roh also lashed out at the prime minister's visits to Yasukuni Shrine: "His visits have become blocked the process of social and economic development..... There must never again be hegemonism, under which one nation bears down or rules another country. It is undesirable for one nation to take a unilateral stance on past events." 16) Foreign Ministry blocks intervention by Prime Minister's Official Residence in the appointment of Shin Ebihara as ambassador to Indonesia SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) March 17, 2006 The government has appointed Shin Ebihara, former assistant deputy chief cabinet secretary, as ambassador to Indonesia. Although aides to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) officials voiced strong objections to Ebihara's appointment as ambassador to Indonesia, the Foreign Ministry rejected such calls. Ebihara served only one year in the post of assistant deputy chief cabinet secretary, after serving as the director general of the Foreign Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau. Hiroyasu Ando, former consul general in New York, replaced him. Ebihara was scarcely able to meet with Koizumi because he did not get along with Koizumi's aides. A government official said: "He was excluded from decisions on important diplomatic issues. He therefore was sacked in effect." A Kantei source explained the reason why Ebihara was treated coldly: "It was because of the rumor that Mr. Ebihara was letting it be known that he would become the next administrative vice foreign minister, as well as for other personal problems. These matters upset the prime minister's aides." Many officials in the Foreign Ministry felt sympathy for Ebihara and they engaged the Kantei in negotiations to award Ebihara with an ambassador's post, but Kantei officials objected to the ministry's view. "The ambassador to Indonesia is an important post since that country receives the second largest allocation in Asia of Japanese official development assistance funds, following India," said an aide to Koizumi. Some Foreign Ministry officials raised objections, with one senior official saying, "It is TOKYO 00001415 011 OF 011 abnormal for the Kantei to intervene in ambassadorial appointments." Ebihara was regarded as a potential candidate for administrative vice minister, along with current Vice Minister Shotaro Yachi, but it is now uncertain whether he will ever be able to get the post given the enmity of the prime minister's aides. A senior ministry official, however, thought that with his appointment as ambassador to Indonesia would pave the way for him to land the vice minister's post. 17) Government to start FTA negotiations with Gulf nations possibly in July SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) March 17, 2006 The government decided yesterday that it would start negotiations on concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) composed of six Arab nations on the Persian Gulf coast. The government will promote negotiations on a FTA on trade in goods, instead of an economic partnership agreement (EPA),in a bid to secure stable resources supply by strengthening relations with the Gulf nations. The GCC is composed of six nations - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman. Japan has imported about 75% of its crude oil from these countries. Given such uncertain factors as Iran's nuclear development problem, it is imperative for Japan to cement ties with the countries out of the need to secure resources in preparation for an emergency. Japan, however, has gotten a slow start, compared with China, the European Union (EU),which have already started FTA talks with the GCC. In addition, the GCC is looking into a plan to promote a free trade zone concept with the US. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo ABE indicated that Japan would accelerate FTA talks with the GCC, saying: "If conditions are met, it will be significant to forge ahead with talks focusing on an FTA." Foreign Minister Taro Aso also said: "It is our important partner in terms of energy security." According to Japanese negotiators, the GCC side is also positive stance about holding negotiations in hopes of an expansion of investment from Japan. Keeping such a stance of the GCC in mind, the government plans to hold a preparatory meeting in May and start negotiations in July, though it usually conducts joint research for about a year before starting negotiations. SCHIEFFER