MEDIA REACTION STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000577

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
- TOKYO


LEAD STORIES: Most Thursday morning papers front-paged
follow-up stories on the alleged bid-rigging scandal
involving senior Japan Defense Facilities Administration
Agency (JDFAA) officials, with Asahi and Yomiuri articles
alleging that the collusive practice also occurred in a
runway extension project at the US Marine Corps Air
Station in Iwakuni.


1. All six dailies carried editorials concerning
President Bush's State of the Union address.


2. "Continued US Commitment to the World Reconfirmed" An
editorial in the top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri
commented (2/2): "The 'prescription' President Bush wrote
for the difficult issues facing the US took on an
optimistic tone. In his State of the Union address, the
president defined this year as one that would determine
the future of the US, pledging that AMERICA would
exercise strong leadership to protect its security and
prosperity.... Without a positive US commitment, global
security and the world economic order cannot be
maintained....


3. "Expectations for the president have been dropping, as
he registered only 39 percent approval in an opinion poll
conducted the day of the speech, the lowest level of his
presidency.... This low support reflects public
frustration over the president's failure to take
effective measures to deal with many unresolved issues.
With three years remaining in office, Mr. Bush's handling
of Iraq and the economy holds the key to regaining
support for his administration."


4. "Can President Bush Regain Support by Tackling
Domestic Issues?" The liberal Asahi editorialized (2/2):
"... The Bush administration has suffered a series of
setbacks over the past year. President Bush proudly
declared that the US is winning the war in Iraq. But
though there has been progress in the creation of a
political system there, including a new constitution and
parliamentary elections, armed insurgents persist in
their attacks, and the number of US casualties continues
to grow. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the radical
Palestinian group Hamas, which calls for armed struggle
against Israel, has won a majority of seats in the
Palestinian Legislative Council, raising global
tensions....


5. "Considering these developments, it is understandable
that public support for Mr. Bush in his second term
mirrors that of then-President Nixon in the aftermath of
the Watergate scandal. The ruling Republican Party may
lose control of Congress if the president remains unable
to deal effectively with these and other issues ahead of
the mid-term elections this fall. Mr. Bush may become a
'lame duck' sooner than expected. To regain the ground he
has lost, Mr. Bush time and again emphasized in the
speech that the US would maintain its competitiveness. We
wonder whether his speech was intended to strike a new
note on domestic policy while placing on the backburner
foreign policy initiatives that have failed to produce
positive results."


6. "State of the Union Address Looks Beyond War in Iraq"
An editorial in the business-oriented Nihon Keizai opined
(2/2): "While President Bush's State of the Union address
sounded like a repetition of his call for international

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cooperation and solidarity to spread freedom and
democracy and fight the war on terrorism, it was at the
same time different from his previous addresses in that
he stressed the need for the US to wean itself from its
excessive dependence on petroleum imported from unstable
countries in the Middle East and elsewhere.


7. "President Bush also called China and India 'new
competitors,' pointing out the need to strengthen US
competitiveness. It is clear that President Bush has
crafted a strategy of maintaining US supremacy as the US
moves forward with the war on terrorism, which has
entered the middle stage.... A Gallup poll unveiled on
January 31 showed 58 percent of respondents saying that
Bush's second term is 'not going well.' The fact that the
president is viewed so harshly at a time when the economy
is not doing badly almost certainly reflects public
dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq."

SCHIEFFER