DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/03/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 001769 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 04/03/06 INDEX: (1) Poll on Koizumi cabinet, political parties, post-Koizumi race, DPJ presidential election (2) Spot poll on DPJ head's resignation (3) Can Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) make a fresh start? Party members now focus their attention on Ozawa, gauging the degree of his seriousness about running for the party presidential race (4) Editorial: What is Japan's fair share in the cost of relocating US Marines from Okinawa? ARTICLES: (1) Poll on Koizumi cabinet, political parties, post-Koizumi race, DPJ presidential election MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) April 3, 2006 Questions & Answers (T = total; P = previous; M = male; F = female) Q: Do you support the Koizumi cabinet? T P M F Yes 48 (48) 48 47 No 36 (40) 40 33 Not interested 15 (10) 11 18 Q: (Only for those who answered "yes" to the above question) Why? T P M F Because the prime minister is from the Liberal Democratic Party 11 (5) 11 12 Because something can be expected of Prime Minister Koizumi's leadership 28 (29) 27 29 Because new policy measures can be expected 17 (17) 19 16 Because the nature of politics is likely to change 41 (46) 42 40 Q: (Only for those who answered "no" to the above question) Why? T P M F Because the prime minister is from the Liberal Democratic Party 11 (13) 0 12 Because the prime minister compromises too much with the ruling parties 22 (21) 25 20 Because the nation's economic recovery is slow 46 (29) 40 51 Because the prime minister is reluctant to take action against political scandals 15 (25) 19 10 ;Q: Which political party do you support? T P M F TOKYO 00001769 002 OF 006 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 33 (31) 33 33 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 12 (20) 14 10 New Komeito (NK) 3 (4) 3 4 Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 3 (4) 3 3 Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 3 (2) 1 4 People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0 (0) 1 0 New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0 (0) 1 0 Other parties 1 (1) 2 0 None 43 (36) 42 45 Q: Prime Minister Koizumi will not run in the LDP's presidential election set for this September and will step down. Who do you think is appropriate for the next prime minister? T M F Taro Aso 3 5 2 Shinzo ABE 36 32 40 Heizo Takenaka 3 4 2 Sadakazu Tanigaki 1 2 1 Yasuo Fukuda 18 23 13 Taku Yamasaki 1 2 1 Not on the list 28 28 27 Q: DPJ President Seiji Maehara has clarified his intention to resign. Who do you think is appropriate for the next DPJ president? T M F Katsuya Okada 7 6 7 Ichiro Ozawa 25 35 17 Yukio Edano 2 2 1 Naoto Kan 17 19 16 Yukio Hatoyama 9 8 9 Kozo Watanabe 4 5 3 Not on the list 26 20 30 Q: Do you think the DPJ is competent enough to take office? T M F Yes 21 21 21 No 69 73 66 (Note) Figures shown in percentage, rounded off. "0" indicates that the figure was below 0.5%. "No answer" omitted. Parentheses denote the results of the last survey conducted Feb. 10-11. Polling methodology: The survey was conducted Feb. 10-11 over the telephone with the aim of calling a total of 1,000 voters across the nation on a computer-aided random digit sampling (RDS) basis. Answers were obtained from 1,092 persons. (2) Spot poll on DPJ head's resignation TOKYO 00001769 003 OF 006 YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) April 3, 2006 Questions & Answers (Figures shown in percentage.) Q: Do you support the Koizumi cabinet? Yes 56.8 No 34.3 Other answers (O/A) 2.7 No answer (N/A) 6.1 Q: Which political party do you support now? Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 44.0 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 12.4 New Komeito (NK) 3.5 Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2.3 Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 0.8 People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0.1 New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) --- Other political parties --- None 34.6 N/A 2.3 Q: The DPJ's Maehara resigned on March 31 as his party's president to take responsibility for the fake email fiasco. Do you think it's only natural for him to resign as his party's president? Do you think it's unavoidable, or do you otherwise think he didn't have to? It's only natural 38.2 It's unavoidable 41.3 He didn't have to resign 14.7 N/A 5.8 Q: The DPJ's lawmaker Nagata, who took up the fake email problem in the Diet, will now resign his Diet seat. Do you think it's only natural? Do you think it's unavoidable, or do you otherwise think he doesn't have to? It's only natural 66.2 It's unavoidable 24.7 He doesn't have to resign 5.7 N/A 3.4 Q: The DPJ has now settled the fake email problem. Is it convincing to you? Yes 40.1 No 48.7 N/A 11.3 Q: Who do you think is most appropriate among the following nine persons to head the DPJ as its next president? Pick only one, if any. Yukio Edano 1.1 Katsuya Okada 5.4 Ichiro Ozawa 24.2 Takashi Kawamura 4.2 Naoto Kan 19.3 TOKYO 00001769 004 OF 006 Yoshihiko Noda 1.2 Yukio Hatoyama 10.4 Kazuhiro Haraguchi 3.2 Kozo Watanabe 6.3 Other persons 0.5 Not on the list 9.4 N/A 14.7 Q: Do you think the DPJ is competent enough to take office? Yes 22.0 No 67.1 N/A 10.9 Polling methodology: The survey was conducted April 1-2 over the telephone on a computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis. A total of 1,786 households with one or more voters were sampled, and valid answers were obtained from 1,091 persons (61.1%). (3) Can Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) make a fresh start? Party members now focus their attention on Ozawa, gauging the degree of his seriousness about running for the party presidential race NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) April 3, 2006 Ichiro Ozawa has revealed his enthusiasm for succeeding Maehara as head of the largest opposition party Minshuto. He will hold a press conference today. Whether he will commit himself to running is drawing attention. Local party members are raising expectations for him, anticipating that more conservative votes will be able to be garnered under his leadership. But if he assumes a half-hearted attitude as seen in past party presidential elections, Ozawa could end up allowing his supporters to turn around and back Naoto Kan instead. "Mr. Ozawa hasn't ever assumed the post of party president. I'd like to see him exhibit his political ability as president instead of vice president." One junior lawmaker elected from a constituency in the Chugoku Region in western Japan yesterday heard this sort of call for Ozawa to lead the party coming from local supporters of Ozawa one after the other. A senior member of the party's campaign staff for the upcoming Lower House by- election slated for April 23 in the Chiba No. 7 constituency firmly said, "In terms of a strategy to ensure our victory in the election, no one but Mr. Ozawa would be fit for the post of party head." Analyzing the present mood in the party, a veteran lawmaker remarked: "If Mr. Ozawa clearly indicated his willingness today to run in the party presidential race, a mood ensuring his victory would grow stronger." But many in the Ozawa group share the view that Ozawa would neither declare his candidacy nor dismiss the option of running for the election. When Kan resigned as party head to take responsibility for his failure to pay pension premiums in May 2004, Ozawa was asked to succeed him as party head, but he insisted on unanimous support from party members to the last moment. If Ozawa now again indicates reluctance to lead the party, he would end up disappointing the party members. Some would complain that his goal is simply to get the post of secretary general. TOKYO 00001769 005 OF 006 Meanwhile, Kan is likely to make a big scene of his showdown with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at a Lower House Administrative Reform Special Committee session today. Kan's group intends to determine his response to the party election after seeing how the party members will respond to Ozawa's press conference today. But a junior lawmaker of the group aggressively insists: "(Mr. Kan) should come forward as candidate even though his defeat is certain." Behind this aggressiveness is the calculation that if Ozawa showed ambiguity, the chance of Kan being elected as party head would grow. For the stable operation of the party, the party leadership needs cooperation from the Kan group. Heeding this, the group also expects Kan to grab the post of secretary general after finishing as runner-up. There could be a backlash among young lawmakers who had until recently supported Seiji Maehara as party head if the presidential election were contested only by Mr. Ozawa and Mr. Kan, seeing it as no more than a rigged election. They are looking for ways to back another candidate. (4) Editorial: What is Japan's fair share in the cost of relocating US Marines from Okinawa? YOMIURI (Page 3) (Full) How should Japan and the United States split the bill for the planned transfer of 8,000 US Marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam? Senior foreign and defense officials of the two countries are scheduled to start talks in Washington tomorrow to make final arrangements on the planned relocation. In talks with the US, Tokyo has mainly sought to maintain the deterrence of US forces in Japan and reduce the burdens on municipalities hosting US bases. The transfer of US Marines to Guam is expected to be a great opportunity to reduce the excess burden on Okinawa. There is every reason for Japan to pay its fair share of the cost. About 17,000 US Marines and their families will leave for Guam, where there is no housing or infrastructure for them. According to a US estimate, the relocation will cost about 10 billion dollars, including expenditures for building headquarters facilities, housing, and necessary roads. This means the total cost would exceed 1 trillion yen. Washington has asked Tokyo to pay 75% of the bill. The United States has defended its demand, saying that the planned transfer is a response to Japan's request for a reduced US military presence in Okinawa and that Japan's financial contribution is essential for realizing a quick transfer. The US has also insisted that a portion of US defense spending has been used for the defense of Japan. In repositioning its forces, the US regards Guam as an important strategic stronghold in the Asia-Pacific region. The plan to transfer US Marine Corps headquarters personnel and logistic TOKYO 00001769 006 OF 006 support troops to Guam constitutes part of the US global military strategy. But Washington's request for Japan to bear 75% of the cost seems out of proportion. Tokyo has no reason to accept the one-sided demand from Washington. Japan has proposed covering part of the bill by extending loans for the construction of housing for US Marines and their families and other facilities. Foreign Minister Taro Aso said: "I would like to keep Japan's share to less than 50%. There is a limit to what the government can afford to pay." Japan has no reason to pay for the construction of facilities unrelated to the transfer of US Marines. The government should urge Washington to clarify a basis for its estimate. For years, Japan has paid about 230 billion yen annually in host nation support (HNS),which is commonly called the "sympathy budget" in Japan. The transfer of US Marines is certain to reduce Japan's HNS. However, given Japan's tight financial situation, the relocation plan must be truly convincing in order to use taxpayer money to build US military facilities. Earlier, the government said Tokyo and Washington would draw up a final report on US force realignment by the end of March, but they failed to meet the deadline. The cost of relocating US Marines to Guam is not the only thorny issue. Talks between the government and local communities on a number of issues, including a plan to relocate the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, have run into snags. It is Japan's responsibility to step up efforts to convince local residents to swiftly reach agreement. DONOVAN