DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/10/06-2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 001904 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 04/10/06-2 INDEX: Defense issues: DPJ merry-go-round: (20) Ichiro Ozawa wins party helm (21) Ozawa the tough: PM Koizumi (22) Naoto Kan named to party's No.2 post (23) Outline of Ozawa's inaugural policy speech (24) New DPJ President Ozawa's platform Opinion poll: (25) 57% see DPJ under Ozawa as hopeful in Kyodo poll (26) Kyodo poll shows Fukuda rises to 22% in post-Koizumi race, Abe at 52% Economic & diplomatic agenda: (27) US, Japan to drive down patent highway (28) Yoshinoya to restart 'gyudon' beef bowl menu in September, calls for gov't to resume US beef imports (29) Japan, DPRK reps meet in Tokyo over abductions ARTICLES: (20) Ozawa elected new president of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan),defeating Kan by 47 votes YOMIURI (Top play) (Lead paragraph) April 8, 2006 Minshuto yesterday afternoon held a joint meeting of party lawmakers of both the houses of the Diet and elected Ichiro Ozawa, 63, former DPJ vice president, to succeed Seiji Maehara, who resigned from his post after accepting responsibility for the fake email mess. Ozawa defeated former DPJ President Kan, 59, by 47 votes. Ozawa's victory presumably comes from widespread expectations for his strong political abilities amid concern in the party about how to rebuild itself. After the election, Ozawa indicated his intention to offer key posts to Kan and Secretary General Hatoyama in an effort to bring about party unity. The major challenge for Ozawa in the days ahead is how to restore public confidence that the party has lost. (21) Prime Minister Koizumi: Ozawa is tough YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) April 10, 2006 Speaking to reporters on the night of April 7, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said of Minshuto's (Democratic Party of Japan) new President Ichiro Ozawa, "I think he is tough, because he knows our party well." Asked about Ozawa during the time when he served as secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party TOKYO 00001904 002 OF 005 (LDP),Koizumi responded, "(At the time) Mr. Ozawa was a party presidential candidate, so he did not deal with me at all." Commenting on the fact that the two have essentially traded places, Koizumi said, "Life is interesting, isn't it?" Asked whether Ozawa really has changed his political methods, Koizumi said, "People don't change so easily." (22) Minshuto's (Democratic Party of Japan) new lineup: Kan chosen as vice president, other executive officers, including Hatoyama, reappointed ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) April 9, 2006 Minshuto President Ichiro Ozawa yesterday met the press at party headquarters and announced a new party lineup, choosing Naoto Kan as vice president and reappointing all other executive officers, including Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, Policy Research Council Chairman Takeaki Matsumoto, and Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Kozo Watanabe. Ozawa said he did so by attaching importance to internal harmony and taking into account how to reduce the impact of the lineup change on debate in the Diet, which is in session. The new lineup was approved at the general meeting of party lawmakers of both the houses of the Diet. (23) A gist of Ozawa's political views YOMIURI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) April 8, 2006 A change of government represents true structural reform for Japan. Staking my 36 years of experience as a politician and my thoughts about politics, I have now renewed my resolve to strive for a change of government. I was warmly received by Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) as a member and encountered a number of like-minded people. The party is faced with a crisis. I would like to overcome this crisis and restore public confidence in the party. A two-party system and a change of government are things we must pursue. The important point for Minshuto to regenerate itself is to bring about party unity. If all Minshuto members line up to play together like Japan did in the World Baseball Classic (WBC),I believe we can without fail win the gold medal of a change of government. Staking my fate as well as the party's fate on the Upper House election in 2007, I will do my utmost to achieve victory. Japan's backbone is in danger of giving way as a result of haphazard Koizumi politics, and the nation continues to wander. In order to rebuild such a Japan, a clear philosophy and a blueprint are essential. My idea is to bring about co-existence. Co-existence between human beings concerns the issue of peace. Co- existence with nature concerns the environment. I think Japan should play a leading role in both areas. Koizumi politics has mixed up freedom and selfishness and caused society to become one with disparity or survival of the fittest. Minshuto aims to bring about a society where those who work hard, make efforts, and are honest will be rewarded. I will present an axis of confrontation with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in all the areas of policy planning, Diet TOKYO 00001904 003 OF 005 debates, and daily activities. I will lead Minshuto. I am now writing a book to flesh out what I proposed in my book, Nihon Kaizou Keikaku (A Plan to Remodel Japan),published 13 years ago. I will come up with a direction that Japan will head for, and after obtaining agreement from the party, I will strive to win victory in the unified local elections, as well as the Upper House election, while underscoring Minshuto's platform. In September, when my tenure of office expires, I will hold a presidential race in which local assembly members as well as party supporters will participate. On that occasion, policy debates should be held openly. Recently, I have recalled a famous line in the climax of The Leopard, a film I watched during my youth: "You must change to remain the same." For the future and the children, I must reform myself and Minshuto. For that, the first thing to do is to change myself. I will reform Minshuto as well as Japan. Staking all my political life on this battle, I vow to continue working hard to bring it about. (24) Main points from Ozawa's policy pledge YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) April 8, 2006 Making Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) reliable Make the two major party system function Show an axis of confrontation with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the areas of policies, Diet debate, and daily activities Manage the party in a responsible way for the public, the party members, and party supporters Come up with a set of reform measures Pursue the collusive ties among political, bureaucratic, and industrial circles Emphasize the importance of grassroots activities Establish unity of the party bringing together wisdom from older people, power from middle-aged people, and ideas from the youth Thoroughly share the awareness of being an ally among Diet members, local assembly members, secretaries, and the party staff. To rebuild Japan into a fair nation Philosophy: The people are the leading player in reform. Those who work hard and make efforts should be rewarded, not only "winners." Current systems should be changed instead of making cosmetic reforms for mere cost reduction or personnel reduction. Tradition and culture should be revitalized and developed. Eight reform measures: The basic portion of pensions, nursing care costs, and elderly medical fees should be paid for from the consumption tax. A new income tax system should be introduced so that every citizen TOKYO 00001904 004 OF 005 should report their income, while income tax rates should be reduced and various deductions scrapped and allowances improved. Subsidies from central government ministries and agencies with strings attached should be abolished, and subsidies should be provided entirely to local governments to use as their own financial resources. The central government should be responsible for compulsory education, and local governments should be responsible for implementing it with their own ideas. Agriculture should be liberalized, and a deficiency payment system for major products should be adopted. Global environmental preservation should be made a national goal. Security principles based on the philosophy of the Constitution should be established. With relations with the United States as the cornerstone, Japan should improve relations with its neighbors, such as China and South Korea. Family ties and local communities should be revitalized. (25) Kyodo poll: 57% have expectations for DPJ's Ozawa; 72% see change of government as difficult TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 9, 2006 Kyodo News conducted a nationwide opinion survey April 7-8 on Minshuto's (Democratic Party of Japan) election of Ichiro Ozawa as its president. The poll showed that 57.4% had expectations for Ozawa. Of the pollees, 43.8% said that they favored Ozawa's stance of marking clear differences with the Liberal Democratic Party. However, 72.7% said that they did not think Minshuto would take the reins of government. The figures showed that the public does not have a high opinion of the main opposition party, which failed to handle the fake email issue properly. Public support for Minshuto increased to 19.9% from the 11.3% in late February when the party was suffering from the false email fiasco. In contrast, the approval rate for the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dropped by 7.3 percentage points to 47.2% from the previous survey on April 1-2. It was the first time since last August that the support rate for the Koizumi cabinet dropped below 50%. The Koizumi cabinet's disapproval rating increased by 4.3 percentage points to 39.9%. The reason seems to be that public attention was focused on the Minshuto presidential race. (26) Kyodo poll: Public support for Fukuda surges to 22%; ABE secures majority support as possible successor to Koizumi TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 9, 2006 Kyodo News conducted a nationwide opinion poll on who should be the next prime minister. The poll found that 51.9% favored Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO Abe, 22.1% former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, 5.8% Foreign Minister Aso Taro, 2.9% SIPDIS Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, and 0.4% someone else. (27) Patent application screening process to be shortened to within nine months starting in July, Japan, US expected to agree NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Excerpts) April 8, 2006 Patent officials of Japan and the US will introduce in July a TOKYO 00001904 005 OF 005 system that allows the prompt screening of patent applications made by companies of the other country. The system is called a patent screening highway initiative. The two countries are expected to formally reach agreement during an expert meeting in May. At present, it takes years for patent applications made by Japanese companies in the US to be screened. Under the new system, the screening period will be drastically shortened to within nine months. This will help companies obtain patent rights quicker, enhancing their international competitiveness. (28) Yoshinoya plans to reinstate beef bowl on menu in September; Calls for resumption of US beef imports ASAHI (Page 13) (Excerpts) April 8, 2006 Yoshinoya D&C, a leading beef bowl restaurant chain, on April 7 released its financial statement. The statement included an estimate for business results for the term ending February 2007 premised on the reinstatement of some varieties of beef bowl on the menu starting this September. President Shuji ABE said, "At present, there are no concrete prospects for a resumption of US beef imports, but the second embargo can be settled technically. It would be negligence of the government if the ban were not removed." He thus strongly called for a resumption of the beef trade at an early date. (29) Meeting between Japanese, North Korean chief delegates to six-party talks YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) April 9, 2006 Kenichiro Sasae, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held talks with North Korean Foreign Vice Minister Kim Kye Gwan for about two hours on the night of April 8 at a Tokyo hotel. Sasae strongly called on Kim to resolve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, and urged him to return to the negotiation table of the six-party talks on the North's nuclear development programs. As expected, however, Kim, the North's chief delegate to the six- party talks, did not respond positively on the abduction issue, and he reiterated Pyongyang's position that the North would not return to the six-party talks unless the United States lifted financial sanctions on it. After the meeting, Sasae told reporters, "We explained our basic positions on the abduction issue and the six-party talks." Sasae and Kim agreed to conduct bilateral talks among the chief negotiators of the six-party talks members on the sidelines of a conference to be held on April 10 and 11 in Tokyo. SCHIEFFER