DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 09/07/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 005089 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 09/07/06 INDEX: (1) Interview with Shinzo Abe with LDP presidential race officially kicking off tomorrow (2) An Abe cabinet may make surprise appointment of female professor at University of Tokyo (3) Takeo Hiranuma might enter Abe cabinet in return for support of LDP candidate in Upper House election (4) Unique ODA strategy proposed by Abe's aide (5) Abe secretly asks New Komeito's Hamayotsu to join new cabinet (6) Lead-off interview with Sophia University Associate Professor Koichi Nakano: My objection to fraudulent debates on Yasukuni Shrine ARTICLES: (1) Interview with Shinzo Abe with LDP presidential race officially kicking off tomorrow SANKEI (Page 7) (Abridged) September 7, 2006 The Liberal Democratic Party will publicly announce the start of its presidential race tomorrow with the election scheduled for Sept. 20. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the frontrunner in the race, gave a press interview yesterday. In it, Abe indicated that if elected party president, he might choose the next LDP secretary general from the Mori faction, to which he belongs, regardless of the tradition of giving the post to factions other than that of the president. Abe also unveiled a plan that his administration would come up with its own historical views, irrespective of the statement released in 1995 by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. Q: Do you think there are good chances for Japan-China and Japan-South Korea summits to occur on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this fall? A: I would like to put high priority on relations with neighboring countries, such as China and South Korea. Japan's door has been open to those countries. I will work hard so that Japan can have bilateral summits with the leaders of those countries by making concessions. I will also urge them to make greater efforts. Q: What about the Yasukuni Shrine issue? A: We must make ceaseless efforts to dispel Beijing and Seoul's misconceptions about shrine visits by offering sincere explanations. We must let them know that it is a matter of the heart and that their critical views equating shrine visits with an attempt to justify the past are totally wrong. Q: Are you going to follow the 1995 Murayama statement? A: It was a verbal statement. The next cabinet should come up with its own views on past wars. Q: Do you think the "neighboring country clause" must be eliminated from a set of school textbook screening criteria? TOKYO 00005089 002 OF 008 A: School textbooks have been screened based on Japan's own views. But in screening textbooks, we will have to remain humble regarding past history. The concept is misunderstood. Screening doesn't require endorsement from neighboring countries. I am not thinking of removing the clause. Q: Do you plan to hold a Japan-North Korea summit to find a breakthrough in the abduction issue? A: We have been endeavoring to break the impasse in the abduction issue using the dialogue and pressure approach. If a summit can resolve the issue completely, that would be significant. But for now I think it's premature to hold a summit. Q: Is reversion of the four disputed northern islands off Hokkaido a prerequisite for concluding a peace treaty with Russia? A: We must deal with Russia based on our basic thinking that Japan will conclude a peace treaty after confirming the fact that the four islands are part of Japan's inherent territory. We will convince Moscow that a settlement of the territorial row will benefit Russia, as well. Q: What is the timetable for constitutional revision and educational reform? A: We will aim for getting a bill amending the Basic Education Law approved in the upcoming extraordinary Diet session. We will also deepen discussions on specific educational reforms and produce necessary bills. Constitutional revision can be initiated with support from at least two-thirds of the lawmakers; the hurdle is extremely high. We will also need to coordinate things for reaching a national consensus, which will take time and strong leadership. Q: How are you going to choose your cabinet ministers? A: I am not concerned about maintaining factional balance or accepting lists of candidates from the factions. The right person must be placed in the right job. I will pick the best crop of members from among many talented LDP lawmakers. A good cabinet takes solid teamwork. Q: What is necessary to strengthen the functions of the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)? A: The Cabinet Secretariat must exhibit political leadership. Policies must be implemented under the leadership of elected lawmakers instead of bureaucrats. Kantei's assistance is essential for the prime minister to display strong leadership. I may ask people to come forward who are eager to work with me at the Kantei. Q: The secretary general is traditionally chosen from lawmakers who belong to factions different from that of the president. Would you follow that tradition? A: The nature of factions has changed dramatically, and no one faction can now control the party. I will not stick to that tradition. Q: Are you thinking of someone in the Mori faction, to which you belong? TOKYO 00005089 003 OF 008 A: Factions don't mean much. I want someone who knows well how I think. Q: Is there any chance for the private sector to win some portfolios? A: The matter is still a clean state. Q: Are you planning to actively appoint junior lawmakers of the postwar generations? A: Balance and teamwork is the bottom line, and that takes uniformed efforts of lawmakers of all ages. Q: What abut the slots for the Upper House and the New Komeito? A: Needless to say, we will cherish the trust we enjoy with the New Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner. Individuals recommended by the Upper House will not receive posts independently, though the house's uniqueness must be respected. Q: Is there any chance that you will ask for the cooperation of postal rebels in launching your cabinet? A: I'm not thinking of that. Q: Is winning a majority in the Upper House election next summer the goal for the LDP and the New Komeito? A: A change in administrations will not occur unless the prime minister dissolves the Lower House for a snap election. An Upper House election that occurs every three years is a good opportunity for us to listen to the voices of the people. By winning a majority, the ruling coalition will be able to implement policies effectively. Q: Will there be a double election of both houses in the Diet? A: The question is irrelevant. Q: Achieving 2.2% economic growth is the government's goal. Can you achieve that? A: The Koizumi reform drive has resulted in independent growth mechanism that led to greater tax revenues. The primary balance has also improved over the last three years. I believe we can attain 2.2% economic growth by investing heavily in the telecommunications sector, and we will work harder to achieve more. Q: Are you going to maintain the 3-trillion-yen government bond cap in fiscal 2007 and beyond? A: We will try hard to stay below the 3-trillion-yen line in fiscal ¶2007. We will send out a strong message to push ahead with reforms for regaining fiscal health. Koizumi, Kanzaki confirm policy to maintain LDP-New Komeito administration under new LDP president Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and New Komeito Representative confirmed a policy direction yesterday that the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito will maintain the coalition government under the LDP's next president. TOKYO 00005089 004 OF 008 (2) An Abe cabinet may make surprise appointment of female professor at University of Tokyo SHUKAN SHINCHO (Page 57&58) (Slightly abridged) Sept. 7, 2006 Conventional wisdom in the capital district of Nagatacho is that Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe will be elected the next prime minister. The topic of discussion is gradually moving toward the lineup of the new cabinet. A senior member of the Mori faction in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) revealed that a female professor at the University of Tokyo could be picked as a surprise appointment. The senior Mori faction member is former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, secretary general of the Mori faction, who is responsible in effect for Abe's campaign for the LDP presidential election. Many people, therefore, have asked him about the lineup of an Abe cabinet. One day, Machimura said: "I think some women must be appointed to the new cabinet. But it is difficult to select suitable persons for key posts. For example, it is impossible to pick Ms. Seiko Hashimoto because she will be having her baby soon and because she will seek a reelection in the Upper House election next year. I personally think Ms. Reiko Kuroda is suitable." Most people probably have never heard of Reiko Kuroda, 58. According to an informed political observer, she might have attracted Machimura's attention since she has been serving as a member of the Council for Science and Technology Policy. Kuroda is a professor of arts and sciences at the University Tokyo Graduate School. She has a brilliant career background. A fellow professor said: "She was born in Miyagi Prefecture. Her father is an expert on Japanese literature. Under the influence of her father, she began to read when she was a small child such classics as Tsurezuregusa or Essays in Idleness, a collection of Japanese essays written some time between 1330 and 1332. She is a lover of literature. Assuming that she would not be able to learn scientific thinking by herself, she went on to the University of Tokyo's Graduate School after graduating from the Department of Science of Ochanomizu University. After obtaining a doctorate, she went on to London University." After returning to Japan, Kuroda became associate professor and then professor of liberal arts of the University of Tokyo. She received Saruhashi Prize, which is given to a brilliant female scientist, soon after she became professor in 1993. Since she serves in many government-related posts such as advisor to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and an advisor to the University Council, "a government car comes to her university to get her and bring her to the government office district of Kasumigaseki. She then returns to the university to work until midnight," said the informed political observer. Another fellow professor commented: "Some say that she is energetic. Some, on the other hand, are critical about her for having a strong orientation toward politics. TOKYO 00005089 005 OF 008 She complains about why she is being criticized." Kuroda always says, "I wish I could have 100 hours a day." She is a single and has a good reputation. Everybody praises her. "She is a bright and smart person," said Taizo Yakushiji, visiting professor at Keio University, a member of the Council for Science and Technology Policy. No wonder Machimura mentioned her name as a cabinet member. Asked about that remark, she seemed to be perplexed. Political commentator Harumi Arima said: "It is said that Satsuki Katayama, parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Eriko Yamatani, parliamentary secretary for the Cabinet Office, aim at cabinet posts in the next government. Some recommend Sanae Takaichi and Yuko Obuchi. So it is unthinkable that a cabinet post will go to a private-sector person." Machimura grumbled: "Should a private citizen be picked, I am sure Katayama and Takaichi will definitely complain." In Nagatacho, there are many women with strong views. (3) Takeo Hiranuma might enter Abe cabinet in return for support of LDP candidate in Upper House election SENTAKU (Page 44) (Full) September 2006 The rumor is that Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the leading candidate in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential race, might appoint former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma, who bolted the LDP after voting against the postal-privatization legislation, as a showcase member of his cabinet, which will be launched in late September. The reason is that Hiranuma, who controls the LDP's Okayama prefectural chapter, has agreed to support Toranosuke Katayama, secretary general of the LDP caucus in the House of Councillors, who SIPDIS will seek reelection in the Okayama constituency in the Upper House election next summer. Moreover, Hiranuma, a conservative, takes a positive stance toward amending the Constitution and is hawkish on foreign policy. His political stance is similar to Abe's. Abe was reluctant to let postal rebels leave the party. Considering those points, members of the Parliamentary League to Support a Second Chance have called for bringing Hiranuma into the new cabinet. (4) Unique ODA strategy proposed by Abe's aide SENTAKU (Page 44) (Full) September 2006 Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, enjoying a large lead in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presidential race, is now trying to play up his own political identity by coming up with an official development assistance (ODA) strategy. Improvement in ODA strategy is deemed essential. Due to growing worries over the international oil supply, the need for an energy diplomacy has been reaffirmed. TOKYO 00005089 006 OF 008 House of Councillors member Ichita Yamamoto, who is close to Abe, has set his eyes on ODA projects for oil-producing countries and loans to projects by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Even after the ODA sector is transferred to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the JBIC will continue providing loans for energy projects. How much will the public support Abe's strategy of overcoming energy problems by using the ODA program? (5) Abe secretly asks New Komeito's Hamayotsu to join new cabinet SENTAKU (Page 44) (Full) September 2006 Aides to Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, who is certain to become the next president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), have continued asking Toshiko Hamayotsu, acting chief representative of the New Komeito, to join an Abe cabinet. In March this year, Abe exchanged views with several female lawmakers of the New Komeito, including Hamayotsu. He thinks very highly of her. The LDP candidate won a Lower House by-election for the Chiba No. 7 constituency because Hamayotsu delivered a speech for the candidate in the constituency. Therefore, her reputation has heightened. The next Upper House election will unavoidably become an uphill battle. Forces critical of Abe have said that Abe's intention is to get support from the religious sect Soka Gakkai, New Komeito's backer, in next year's Upper House election, by having Hamayotsu, who is popular among female Gakkai followers, join the new cabinet. (6) Lead-off interview with Sophia University Associate Professor Koichi Nakano: My objection to fraudulent debates on Yasukuni Shrine SENTAKU (September 2006) Interviewer: Editor in Chief Yasunari Eshi -- Lively discussions are continuing over Yasukuni Shrine, but no argument has yet to get to the core of the issue. Nakano: The Yasukuni issue is essentially a matter of war responsibility. The Potsdam Declaration, issued on July 26, 1945, (calling for Japan's unconditional surrender) is one of the major documents that determined where war responsibility lay. It took 19 days for the Japanese political leaders at the time to accept the declaration. During that time, the lives of many Japanese were lost, and the gap allowed the Soviet Union to occupy the Northern Territories. Political responsibility for these developments must be sought. -- Political responsibility includes the Emperor, doesn't it? Nakano: The Showa Emperor was aware of his war responsibility. But the General Headquarters (GHQ) judged it better to relieve him from war responsibility and charged only those who were classified as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East or the Tokyo Trials. This is the starting point of the zigzag path the Yasukuni issue has followed to date. TOKYO 00005089 007 OF 008 -- Specifically? Nakano: Some take the view that the war was justified, for the series of military actions were unavoidable in order to defend the peace and therefore the Emperor was not responsible. If this argument is accepted, how does that affect the Class-A war criminals? Logically, then, none of the Class-A war criminals would be charged with war responsibility; in other words, no war criminals exist. Their enshrinement at Yasukuni together with other war dead would be then regarded as a matter of course. -- Who has developed that argument? Nakano: It was a string of conservative elites. One group of such conservatives is the Nippon Kaigi (http://www.nipponkaigi.org/reidai02/newpage( E)1.htm) or Japan Conference (headed by Hideaki Kase). The membership consists of prominent business leaders and other professionals. They have continued their efforts to remove any war responsibility from Japan's wartime leaders, including the Emperor, based on what is called the "Yasukuni view of history". -- Such being the case, it seems to me that what the recently disclosed Tomita memo (which said Emperor Showa was not in favor of enshrining the Class-A war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine along with other war dead) made clear is just the opposite of the proverb, "A child does not realize the heart of the parent." Instead, it would go, "A parent does not realize the heart of the child." Nakano: Certainly, although the decision to enshrine the Class-A war ceremonials at Yasukuni was made based on consideration for the Emperor, he himself regarded such enshrinement as a nuisance. With the memo's release, such advocates of enshrinement should surely have felt as if the ladder had been pulled from under them. But the memo has given an opportunity for rightists to refrain from paying homage at Yasukuni for it allows them to make an "honorable pullout." -- A variety of interpretations are possible about (war responsibility) from the beginning. Nakano: In the prewar days, the militarists and the rightists used the slogan Hakkou-ichiu -- the whole world under one roof -- to claim universal brotherhood. In Manchukuo, they called for the five ethnic minorities to cooperate. Japan as the savior of Asia was used as the basis for justifying the war. However, when it comes to the Yasukuni issue, rightists insist, "Ignore whatever China or South Korea may say." They lack consistency. -- The extension of this line is Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni. Nakano: Japan had strived to contribute to Asia in spite of the ambiguities and contradictions. But Prime Minister Koizumi turned the tables around, and in so doing, destroyed whatever efforts Japan had made until then. -- Mass media has great responsibility, too, don't they? Nakano: Lying behind the so-called Yasukuni view of history are the "hate-mongers," I think. What I mean by hate-mongers are those "who peddle hate" for profit. The commercial-minded mass media fan the TOKYO 00005089 008 OF 008 flames of public anger and even add to it. Some politicians and business leaders have made brazen remarks at home they could never say abroad and by so doing, added fuel to the public's xenophobia. Such hate-mongers are now on the rise. -- When we think about the Yasukuni issue, what should we be most conscious of? Nakano: We Japanese tend to regard our selves as war victims. The extreme logic of this is the Yasukuni view of history, in which even wartime political leaders are treated as war victims. -- You mean we need to discuss the aggressive aspect of the war? Nakano: The state is an entity that wields violence. We the people need to think about how to best manage this function of the state. No good ideas would emerge as long as we follow the Yasukuni view of history. Kouichi Nakano: Latest book, Yasukuni to Mukiau (Facing Yasukuni),published on Aug. 15, 2006; born in 1970; graduated from the Philosophy Course of the Faculty of Literature at Tokyo University and the Faculty of Philosophy and Politician Science and acquired Ph.D in politics in Princeton University; is in charge of Sophia University 21st Century COE Program Promotion. SCHIEFFER