DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 08/09/06

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E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 08/09/06 INDEX: (1) Poll on Yasukuni Shrine issue (2) South Korea's foreign minister expects to see ABE play a role in resolving bilateral issues (3) Editorial: Yasukuni dispute; Mr. ABE should also join the ring (4) Strategic overseas trips by cabinet ministers: Chuma says, "I was treated like a state guest;" Yosano refuses to visit El Salvador, citing, "It's too far from Japan" (5) Ozawa Minshuto (Part 1): Ozawa devoted to winning single-seat constituencies in Upper House election (6) Pros and cons of prime minister's visits to Yasukuni Shrine: Tetsuya Takahashi, professor at Tokyo University Graduate School - Principle of separating politics and religion must be abided by (7) Editorial: Under Aso private plan, Yasukuni would no longer be a shrine ARTICLES: (1) Poll on Yasukuni Shrine issue YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) August 9, 2006 Questions & Answers (Figures shown in percentage.) Q: Prime Minister Koizumi, when he ran in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's 2001 presidential election, pledged to pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine. Since coming into office as prime minister, he has annually done so. Would you like him to do so on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the end of World War II? Yes 22.9 Yes to a certain degree 20.2 No to a certain degree 19.9 No 28.7 No answer (N/A) 8.4 Q: Would you like the next prime minister to pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine? Yes 22.2 Yes to a certain degree 18.2 No to a certain degree 20.2 No 30.1 N/A 9.4 Q: Which place do you think would be appropriate for the state to console the souls of those who died in the war and mourn the war dead? Pick only one from among those listed below. Yasukuni Shrine at present 35.0 Yasukuni Shrine that separates Class-A war criminals 24.4 Chidorigafuchi Cemetery for the unidentified war dead 8.1 A new national secular memorial under state control 19.2 Other answers (O/A) 0.4 TOKYO 00004477 002 OF 010 N/A 12.9 Q: There's a view insisting on separating the Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine. Do you agree with this opinion? Yes 39.8 Yes to a certain degree 21.9 No to a certain degree 11.9 No 12.5 N/A 13.8 Q: A former Imperial Household grand steward's notes recently discovered show that the late Showa Emperor (Hirohito) was displeased with the enshrinement of Class-A war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine and stopped paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine thereafter. Did this affect you in your thinking about the issue of the prime minister's Yasukuni homage? Yes, very much 11.0 Yes, somewhat 26.4 No, not very much 28.9 No, not at all 26.3 N/A 7.4 Polling methodology Date of survey: Aug. 5-6. Subjects of survey: 3,000 persons chosen from among all eligible voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified two-stage random sampling basis). Method of implementation: Door-to-door visits for face-to-face interviews. Number of valid respondents: 1,741 persons (58.0% ). Breakdown of respondents: Male-49%, female-51%. (2) South Korea's foreign minister expects to see ABE play a role in resolving bilateral issues TOKYO (Page 1) (Full) Evening, August 9, 2006 Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO ABE met this morning with Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. Foreign Minister Ban told ABE at the outset: "I think it regrettable that our countries have been facing a grave situation since March over the historical issue." He apparently was referring to Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in April, Prime Minister Koizumi's expected visit to the shrine on August 15, the date of the end of the war, as well as expressing regret for the dispute over Takeshima/Dokdo isles, which both countries claim as their own. In addition, Foreign Minister Ban, calling ABE "the next prime minister," stated, "I hope that you will give these issues extra special consideration and play a role to resolve them." He expressed his hopes that ABE would tackle the resolution of the problems. In response, Abe, avoiding any mention of his own visit to Yasukuni Shrine, replied: "Regarding the historical issue, we must always assume a humble attitude. If there is a misunderstanding, I would like to make every effort to solve the problem." Turning to the Takeshima dispute, he said: "We need to make mutual efforts in order to quickly reach an interim framework." He advocated such measures as the need to have a prior notification system for maritime surveys TOKYO 00004477 003 OF 010 in the sea area. Chief Cabinet Secretary ABE and Foreign Minister Ban agreed on the need for both countries to cooperate in order to smoothly implement the United Nations Security Council Resolution on North Korea related to that country's launching of ballistic missiles. (3) Editorial: Yasukuni dispute; Mr. ABE should also join the ring ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) August 9, 2006 There is a month to go until the announcement of the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) presidential election. The differences in views of the candidates jockeying to become the premier after Junichiro Koizumi steps down in September are becoming clear. Foreign Minister Aso has released his personal view on the Yasukuni issue, proposing that the shrine be turned into a national memorial with the status of a special corporation, after disbanding itself as a religious organization. In order for the state to become involved, it is necessary in compliance with the Constitution's principle of separation between state and religion for Yasukuni Shrine to be transformed into a non-religious entity. But this involves many important factors, such as how the shrine's ritual ceremony should be changed, how Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni should be treated. and most importantly, whether the shrine will accede to a request to disband itself. The bottom line of Mr. Aso's argument is that Yasukuni Shrine should remain as a place for mourning the war dead, but its organization should be changed drastically so that anybody, including the emperor and the prime minister, can visit without any problem. It appears that Aso will not visit Yasukuni until his proposals are realized. In that sense, his argument has something in common with the stance of Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, who categorically said that he would refrain from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, while pinning his hopes for a separate enshrinement of Class-A war criminals. The idea can be called a kind of moratorium intended to put prime ministerials visits to Yasukuni on hold. The reasons given by Tanigaki are simple. He said that at this moment, it is impossible for Prime Minister Koizumi to hold summits with the leaders of China or South Korea. Therefore, he calls for giving priority to repairing ties with neighboring countries. Aso, who is responsible for the diplomacy of the Koizumi administration, perhaps cannot afford to admit that the nation's foreign relations are at an impasse. In giving those reasons, he was careful about choosing words and said the shrine should be made a nonreligious entity so that it can survive and the emperor can visit it. However, Aso obviously thinks that there are too many problems with the present nature of Yasukuni Shrine in order for the emperor to visit it. Regarding this issue, we have called on the prime minister to speak TOKYO 00004477 004 OF 010 of his mind in an articulate manner. That is because we think candidates for succeeding Koizumi cannot avoid the Yasukuni issue, which has become a complicated political and diplomatic issue during the Koizumi administration. In that sense, we welcome that Mr. Aso and Mr. Tanigaki revealed their stances. The point is the feasibility of their proposals. The idea of the argument calling for making the shrine a special public corporation is similar to the legislation to defend and maintain the national polity, which was discussed more than 30 years ago and scrapped in the end. How to secure the Constitution's principle of separation between state and religion principle is a difficult issue. It is also hard to think that the shrine would readily decide to become a nonreligious entity. The shrine has rejected the separate enshrinement of Class-A war criminals because of Shinto teaching. In the end, the only way to resolve the Yasukuni issue through the government's own judgment is to create a secular national memorial. It was unveiled that Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO Abe, a front-runner in the LDP presidential race, had secretly visited Yasukuni in April. He is keeping mum about it. The predominant view is that he will probably continue to visit Yasukuni, even if he becomes prime minister. Does he intend to get away without talking anything about his Yasukuni visit? ABE should also join the ring prepared by Aso and Tanigaki and fairly and squarely challenge them in debate. (4) Strategic overseas trips by cabinet ministers: Chuma says, "I was treated like a state guest;" Yosano refuses to visit El Salvador, citing, "It's too far from Japan" ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) August 8, 2006 Ministers of the Koizumi Cabinet have started a series of "strategic overseas trips." Based on reflection on failure in Japan's bid for a permanent UNSC seat, the Cabinet Secretariat has assigned at the direction of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi cabinet ministers to visit certain countries. The countries were selected by ministries and agencies based on cabinet ministers' wishes. The countries were picked from those African and the Latin American countries as yet unvisited by any Japanese cabinet minister. One cabinet minister said he was treated like a state guest during his visit. Another minister refused to go, saying, "The country is too far from Japan." As it stands, matters have not moved forward as Koizumi had expected. Having received satisfaction from his tour of Africa in May where he receiving warm welcomes, Koizumi has advocated the need for strategic visits to foreign countries by members of his cabinet. According to a survey by the Foreign Ministry, there are 82 countries where not Japanese cabinet member has ever set foot. Of those 82, the Cabinet Secretariat has chosen 20 countries for cabinet visits. "Ministers will visit countries with diplomatic ties with North Korea to seek their cooperation regarding the abduction issue," said a government source. Koki Chuma, state minister in charge of industrial revitalization and administrative reform, already visited Latvia and Estonia. At a TOKYO 00004477 005 OF 010 press conference, he said delightedly: "I was received cordially. In Latvia, I was able to meet with the president, prime minister, foreign minister and economic minister individually. I was embarrassed to be escorted like a state guest by police cars when moving one place to another." Kenji Kosaka, minister of education, culture, sports, science and technology, with a letter from the prime minister, wrapped up a trip to Uganda. A total of nine ministers will visit 16 countries at the end. Some countries asked for Japan's economic assistance. Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, refused to go to El Salvador, citing that "It's too far away." The Cabinet Secretariat asked Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka to visit Colombia along with Brazil, but he turned down a trip to Colombia, citing that he would be too busy preparing the country's reform policy guidelines. Some ministers complained, saying, "Why should I go to such a country?" Main countries visited or to be visited by cabinet ministers Education Minister Kosaka July 11-19 Uganda Administrative Reform Minister Chuma July 18-26 LatviaEstonia Disaster Prevention Kutsukake Aug. 3-13 MicronesiaMarshall IslandsPalau Justice Minister Sugiura Aug. 6-17 GabonCameroonCape Verde Minister in charge of Declining Birthrate Inoguchi Aug. 9-17 Trinidad and Tobago Nicaragua Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Kawasaki Aug. 16-23 Madagascar Environment Minister Koike Mid-August Tuvalu Science and Technology Minister Matsuda Mid-August Libya Land, Infrastructure and Trade Minister Kitagawa Late August SlovakiaSlovenia (5) Ozawa Minshuto (Part 1): Ozawa devoted to winning single-seat constituencies in Upper House election TOKYO 00004477 006 OF 010 YOMIURI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) August 8, 2006 Ichiro Ozawa, president of the main opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan),on Aug. 7 published a book titled Gowan Isshin (Muscular Reform),comprising a series of columns he contributed to an evening daily. He has recently gotten a lot of media exposure. Appearing along with Kazuo Inamori, honorary chairman of Kyocera Corp., on a Fuji-TV program recorded Aug. 4 in Kyoto, Ozawa categorically said: "In order to break the social deadlock, a change of government is necessary. With a change in administration, real reform will start." He also stated on a Yomiuri TV program on Aug. 5: "An ABE government, which will likely continue the political approach of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, would hold as one of its central beliefs that the strong will win in free competition and that this cannot be helped. Salaried workers are concerned about job security. I have insisted that the seniority system and lifetime employment should be included in the framework of safety net." Chief Cabinet Secretary SHINZO ABE is the front-runner in the LDP presidential race, and generational change is taking place within that party. Underlying Ozawa's words and actions is his view of a tense rivalry with an ABE government. Ozawa, who became LDP secretary general at the age of 47, is now 64. He is the third-longest-serving person in the House of Representatives, now in his 13th term. This summer he mailed postcards expressing his appreciation to supporters of his party. He wrote on the postcards: "We will all work together and run toward the goal of taking the reins of power. I will risk my political life to lead the charge." Ozawa, who headed the now defunct Jiyuto (Liberal Party),left it to join Minshuto in September 2003, later assuming the top post of the largest opposition party. He is trying to strengthen his own policy imprint in the party. Election strategy is one of them. Positioning the July 2007 House of Councillors election as a battle with the ruling LDP, Ozawa has been devoting himself intensely to the goal of forcing the ruling coalition into a minority in the Upper House, especially through the single-seat constituencies. Of the 27 single-seat constituencies up for grabs, Minshuto won only two in the 2001 Upper House election. In the 2004 Upper House election, however, the party obtained 13. In the next Upper House election, Tochigi and Gunma will be added to the single-seat constituencies. Ozawa aims to win between 15 and 20 of the 29 single-seat constituencies contested this time. He says: "There are many single-seat constituencies in rural areas, and the social divide is clear. Many in the rural districts distrust the LDP, which has attached importance solely to efficiency. We will be supported in the rural districts." Previously, Minshuto had lagged in creating support groups and TOKYO 00004477 007 OF 010 depended on voter mood at the time of elections. Ozawa, has, however, put his energy into firming up local support in the manner that the LDP once did. Since May this year he has visited ten electoral districts in Yamagata, Saga, and Fukui prefectures. He tried to visit agricultural and fisheries cooperatives, as well as commerce and industry associations, as often as possible. Ozawa's own policy imprint is seen in his efforts to form a united front with other opposition parties. Former party heads Katsuya Okada and Seiji Maehara aimed at a single-party administration. Ozawa instead has called on other opposition parties to form a united front. He has even approached those lawmakers who bolted the LDP in opposition to the government's postal-privatization legislation. Soon after Golden Week in May, Ozawa invited Yoshihiro Kawakami, an LDP rebel who was defeated in last year's Lower House election, to his private office in Tokyo's Akasaka district and suggested running in the Upper House election as a Minshuto candidate for the Tottori single-seat constituency. Two months later, it came to the fore that Kawakami had joined Minshuto. Ozawa has recently focused on agricultural policy, focusing on increasing the nation's food self-sufficiency to 100% and providing 3 trillion yen in income assistance to farmers. Minshuto had advocated that food self-sufficiency should be raised to 50% over the next 10 years, and to at least 60% in the future. Ozawa has changed this pledge, however. Some party lawmakers are, however, concerned that while farmers would favor such a policy, how to pa for it is unclear, and urban residents may criticize it as a waste of public funds. Although Ozawa's policy of prioritizing election measures is spreading through Minshuto, there does not appear to be any place for decisions on policy. Hokkaido University Prof. Jiro Yamaguchi, a self-proclaimed supporter of Ozawa, made this comment: "Mr. Ozawa belonged to the former Tanaka faction in the LDP. The Tanaka faction focused on the redistribution of income to weak areas, especially rural districts. I once criticized the politics of the Tanaka faction, but I now appreciate it, because I disagree with the Koizumi approach of rejecting measures that help the weak." Some Minshuto lawmakers are now worried that Ozawa has changed from an advocate of small government to a proponent of big government. Many in the party are opposed to Ozawa's personal proposal to create an armed force that would be on standby for UN missions. The party's council on foreign and defense affairs has held no discussions since Ozawa assumed the presidency. One junior lawmaker stressed that the panel was waiting for Ozawa's instruction, saying, "Unless the president shows us concrete policy visions, we cannot hold discussions." The party's leadership setup appears solid, but if it relies too much on Ozawa, it could lose its vitality. The question is whether TOKYO 00004477 008 OF 010 Minshuto can become the "combat team" that Ozawa hopes for. The party has many challenges to overcome. (6) Pros and cons of prime minister's visits to Yasukuni Shrine: Tetsuya Takahashi, professor at Tokyo University Graduate School - Principle of separating politics and religion must be abided by TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) August 9, 2006 -- What is the significance of the existence of Yasukuni Shrine? Yasukuni Shrine used to be the central mechanism used to mobilize national spirit toward war. It was indisputably an emotional alchemy used to change the sorrow of bereaved families into honor, pride, and even joy when these words were applied: "They laid down their lives for their country. They are enshrined at Yasukuni as deities, and the Emperor pays homage to them there." -- What are your thoughts on the prime minister visiting Yasukuni? The primary role of Yasukuni Shrine is to publicly honor the war dead. In Yushukan, the exhibit hall on the site of Yasukuni, too, past wars are defined not as aggressive wars but as self-defense wars. Theoretically, that poses a problem. So Yasukuni is not the proper place for the prime minister of a nation to visit with such statements as his going there to pledge for peace or that war should never happen again. Yasukuni undeniably is not a facility to memorialize the war dead but a facility to exalt them. I can understand why China and South Korea have fiercely reacted. There is a high possibility that prime ministerial visits violate the Constitution (the principle of separation of state and religion). -- Calls are growing for removing enshrined Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine as means to resolve Yasukuni-related problems. If such would be possible, the diplomatic problems will be settled. In such a case, however, the way would be cleared for the prime minister and the emperor to pay homage at the shrine, so a major problem would be overcome. A revival of militarism seems inconceivable, but if Article 9 of the Constitution is revised, Yasukuni once again could be made into a device to support a country with a new potential to wage war. -- There are calls for creating a new war-memorial facility. I understand that such a facility is better than Yasukuni Shrine as a political option. But if one pays respects to the war dead at the new facility and also goes to Yasukuni, the effort would be meaningless. Its contents are also important. The new facility should not be made into something like a second Yasukuni Shrine. -- What do you think is the best solution? There is no option but for the prime minister to stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine. If he stops visiting the shrine not in response to criticism from China and South Korea but in accordance with the principle of separation of state and religion under the Constitution, diplomatic problems would be resolved. This principle is intended to prevent the government from using Yasukuni Shrine to affect the public spirit. It is essential to understand this meaning. TOKYO 00004477 009 OF 010 (7) Editorial: Under Aso private plan, Yasukuni would no longer be a shrine SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) August 9, 2006 Foreign Minister Taro Aso released his private proposal on the status of Yasukuni Shrine yesterday. He proposed Yasukuni should be secularized first and then be placed under state management. Starting from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presented to the Diet many times a Yasukuni bill that called for changing the status of Yasukuni Shrine from a religious corporation into a special corporation and then placing it under state control. At that time, there were growing calls mainly from the Japan War-Bereaved Association for placing Yasukuni under state jurisdiction. By nationalizing it, the association also aimed to stabilize the shrine's financial situation. However, the principle of separating politics and religion then stood in the way of the notion of secularizing Yasukuni Shrine. As a result, coordination work between the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and the LDP ran into a roadblock. In addition, views critical of the notion were presented, such as: "Should the shrine religious status be removed from Yasukuni Shrine, its traditions might be relinquished," and; "The shrine might be changed into just an ordinary, secular facility." The bill was killed in 1974 in the end. The Aso proposal seems to contain a similar problem. Honoring the souls of the war dead cannot be separated from religion. Should the religious status be removed from Yasukuni, it would no longer be a shrine. A supra-partisan group aims to create a national secular war-dead memorial at a different location from Yasukuni. Aso says: "There should be no facility to replace Yasukuni Shrine." Under the Aso plan, however, Yasukuni Shrine itself would be turned into a national secular war memorial. LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Hidenao Nakagawa and former Secretary General Makoto Koga also have proposed that Yasukuni be SIPDIS made a nonreligious entity. There are moves to make the debate on Yasukuni Shrine a central issue of the campaign for the September LDP presidential election. A close watch on such moves is needed. The Aso proposal also suggested the need for Diet debate on which souls should be enshrined at Yasukuni, including the propriety of removing the enshrined Class-A war criminals. Compared with other politicians calling for separating the war criminals from Yasukuni, Aso seems to have suggested following a democratic process to reach that goal. But what if public opinion became hopelessly divided in this process? Who would win? It would be better to build momentum to the move to separate Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni. Consoling the souls of the war dead should be a matter of the heart for the Japanese people. Yasukuni Shrine, as the symbolic entity to that end, is also a part of Japan's spiritual culture. It is our hope that Yasukuni Shrine, going beyond diplomatic or political debate, will continue to be a quite war-memorial facility forever. TOKYO 00004477 010 OF 010 SCHIEFFER