DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 11/24/06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 006710 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 11/24/06 INDEX: (1) Okinawa undergoes changes-Electorate's choice and its meaning (Part 2): Changing popular will-No tailwind to antibase campaign (2) Vacillating conservatism (Part 2): Dispersed philosophy with loss of focus of confrontation (3) Realism needed for security debate: Koike (4) Conservatism: Interview with Koichi Kato, former LDP secretary general; LDP's mainstream conservatism opportunistic (5) Draft platform of Minshuto underscores Ozawa's policy imprint (6) Coservatism - part 1: Interview with Gakushuin University Professor Tsuyoshi Sasaki, who urges reconstruction of national pride (7) Issue of reinstating postal rebels: Prime Minister ABE weaving between public opinion and sympathy ARTICLES: (1) Okinawa undergoes changes-Electorate's choice and its meaning (Part 2): Changing popular will-No tailwind to antibase campaign ASAHI (Page 33) (Full) November 22, 2006 On Nov. 15, four days before Okinawa Prefecture's gubernatorial election, a bill of amendments to the Fundamentals of Education Law with "the spirit to love the country" cleared a special committee in the House of Representatives. However, none of the opposition parties' committee members was there. Keiko Itokazu, 59, the candidate backed by the opposition parties who lost, began campaigning at once against the bill, calling the amendments a "change for the worse." However, there were no signs of a strong tailwind for her. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, based on findings from its own polling of Okinawa's voting population, anticipated that its proposed legislation of educational reform would not affect the gubernatorial election, and things developed as expected by the LDP. As a result of Japan's prewar imperialistic education, one out of every four people in Okinawa Prefecture died in devastating ground battles. An age ago, the spirit to "love the country" touched the island people's heartstrings. However, Toshio Ohama, 59, who presides over a local union of teachers, noted the dullness of local concern and sensitivity. "Local people's attitudes seem to have changed," Ohama says. The same can be said of the Japan-US Security Treaty and US military bases. In her election campaign, Itokazu focused on the US military presence as the biggest bone of contention. There were many factors that might have well worked to her advantage. Tokyo and Washington decided to realign US Forces Japan (USFJ) in disregard of the wishes of Okinawa's base-hosting localities. USFJ deployed the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3),a surface-to-air guided missile system, to a base on Okinawa in the face of strong opposition from the local hosts. The Defense Agency director general TOKYO 00006710 002 OF 009 said Okinawa and its people should be pleased with the deployment of PAC-3 missiles in Okinawa... Even so, the island's population did not flame up in anger. The opposition parties were also desperate to catch the electorate, of a kind they had never known. When the race was in the homestretch, a piece of paper was posted in their election offices, reading: "The stance of Itokazu against building the new base is acknowledged. We need to make a proactive appeal on employment and economic development in order to win over unaffiliated voters." But it was too late. Itokazu failed to hammer out her policies that could win the hearts of local voters. The Party of Citizens (Shimin no To) helped a female candidate win Shiga Prefecture's gubernatorial election. This time, this party backed Itokazu. Its representative, Masashi Saito, 55, says: "There are still progressive parties from the days when they could get votes if they only cry out against US military bases. It is the same as the reformist parties in Tokyo, and they are on the decline." Many of the opposition parties' politicians also have a growing sense of crisis. "We want the US military presence reduced. That's what we want, regardless of whether we are conservative or reformist. If we persist in this standpoint only, we will be left behind the times." This opinion came from Satoko Taira, 27, a Naha City municipal assembly member of the Okinawa Socialist Masses Party (OSMP). Tadashi Uesato, 33, a Naha City municipal assembly member of the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto),said, "There were many challenges, such as the regional system and Okinawa's self-sustainability, but the opposition parties did not come up with any visions on their own." Itokazu was the opposition camp's trump card. In 2004, Itokazu ran in an election for the House of Councillors. She garnered about 320,000 votes in her home electoral district and overwhelmed her opponent who ran on the ruling ticket of the LDP's alliance with the New Komeito. She was the candidate whom all the six local political parties with different policies and ideologies could somehow recommend, so her defeat in the gubernatorial election was a great shock to them. However, although Okinawa's anti-base sentiment may weaken at times, it will never fade away as long as the overly heavy burden of hosting US military bases continues. On Nov. 20, the day after the gubernatorial election, Natsume Taira, a 44-year-old clergyman, was sitting in a tent with a group of several friends by the sea near Cape Henoko in the northern Okinawa city of Nago, where the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station is to be relocated, to protest Futenma airfield's relocation. "People aged up to 61 do not know an Okinawa with no military bases," Taira said. "Even so," he added, "300,000 people voted for Itokazu to demonstrate their antibase opinions, so it's really encouraging." The tent, on its outside, has number tags that show how many days the sit-in was going on. On Nov. 20, the tags were showing "Day 946." In anticipation of more than 1,000 days, the tent already has a fourth-digit hook for tags to hang on. (2) Vacillating conservatism (Part 2): Dispersed philosophy with TOKYO 00006710 003 OF 009 loss of focus of confrontation YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full) November 23, 2006 In the late evening of Nov. 19, after the results of the Okinawa gubernatorial election showed the winner to be Hirokazu Nakaima, the candidate backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner New Komeito, his rival candidate Keiko Itokazu, backed by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),the Japanese Communist Party (JCP),the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and other opposition parties, met the press. She made this comment with a fixed expression on her face: "Opposition parties were well united in campaigning and did their best. It's incorrect to view the outcome as progressivism's defeat." The election result was 350,000 vs. 310,000. The campaign split prefectural public opinion, bringing about a face-off between conservatives and progressives. But the choice between conservatism and progressivism no longer is a big campaign issue in Japan except for Okinawa, where the presence of US bases remains a major bone of contention. With the decline of progressivism, conservatism is proliferating, but the the nature of conservatism is becoming ambiguous. Itokazu received strong support from Minshuto, but even in that party, some are saying, "Prime MInister ABE is not a genuine conservative. Rather, our party Minshuto is the 'conservative mainstream.'" Minshuto's Acting President Naoto Kan, a civil society activist turned politician, is among those who make that claim. Recently, Kan has frequently used that phrase to criticize the ABE administration. According to Kan, that phrase means: "In postwar Japan, the way of thinking of the conservative mainstream is to pursue a policy of being a lightly-armed nation that stresses economic growth. This aim started with the administrations led by Shigeru Yoshida and then by Hayato Ikeda. Minshuto's way of thinking has many points in common with the so-called conservative mainstream rather than Prime Minister Abe, whose political approach is to keenly pursue something like national prestige as did his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, when prime minister." Postwar conservatism in Japan is often divided into two groups. For instance, former Prime Minister Nakasone once stated: "Past cabinets in (postwar) Japan may be classified as those that stressed the economy and those that were swayed by psychological factors, such as ethnicity. I think the cabinets led by (Ichiro) Hatoyama, Kishi, and myself were the ones that emphasized the importance of ethnicity and sovereignty." Masayoshi Ohira and Kiichi Miyazawa followed the so-called "Yoshida line of politics" or "Ikeda line" and emphasized having a country that was only lightly-armed in order to give more stress to the economy. But in the present LDP, there are few who view the faction led by Ohira and later by Miyazawa as conservative mainstream. Former LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato, who headed the same faction after Ohira and then Miyazawa, stated coolly: "The phrase 'conservative mainstream' has no definition. It is used merely for expediency." Kato made such a remark, presumably taking into account the fact that when Ohira and Miyazawa took the helm of the state, they had to act in concert with the Kakuei Tanaka faction and later its successor the Noboru Takeshita faction, which was clever TOKYO 00006710 004 OF 009 tactically in the Diet and in elections. "It's not conservatism to leave the defense of Japan to America in the name o light armaments and to simply pursue money making. This notion should be called 'materialist mainstream,'" Kato said severely. The main reason postwar conservatives succeeded in staying in power is "because there was an agreement reached between economic growth and national pride," said Takeshi Sasaki, professor at Gakushuin University. The traditional "LDP conservatism" had nowhere else to go with the Japanese public's loss of confidence in the Japanese economy, Sasaki added. With economic growth not expected to grow now as in the past, there is no room for the social democratic way of profit-allocation to work well as it once did. "What will be linked to national pride has become an important political subject at present. Isn't the ABE administration exploring a way for that? Perhaps, it is looking for something 'wonderful,' which Japan can be proud of in the world," Sasaki analyzed. The slogan of stressing the economy (over security) has now lost its luster with the end of the high economic growth era and the bursting of the economic bubble. A sea change in the security environment surrounding Japan at the end of the Cold War also has made a push for a review of the lightly-armed posture. Present-day conservatism cannot be viewed simply in the context of dualism between "Yoshida politics and Kishi politics." (3) Realism needed for security debate: Koike YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) November 24, 2006 The following is an interview with Yuriko Koike, special advisor to Prime Minister ABE on national security: I have a very strong feeling of indignation at the fact that North Korea, which has upheld its policy of acquiring nuclear weapons for years, conducted a nuclear test as its ultimate card. They probably thought they had a new card. North Korea dumped the six-party talks and is aiming to go nuclear. This means that they can no longer see the world as it is. North Korea wants to maintain its regime, and that's its biggest purpose. Pyongyang doesn't think at all about its people's human rights or about the betterment of life for its people. This is really typical of military-first politics. In that sense, the issue of human rights for the North Korean people is a major challenge, as well as the issue of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea. This point must not be forgotten. North Korea maintained that the financial sanctions should be called off before its return to the six-party talks. This proves in itself that the tightening of financial controls is working well, so we must not loosen up on the pressure. The United States may reportedly change its policy toward North Korea as a result of the midterm elections. However, diplomacy is an exclusive area of matters for the president. So I don't think the United States will suddenly turn around to an appeasement policy. Excluding North Korea, the five countries for the six-party talks TOKYO 00006710 005 OF 009 should keep sharing their understanding of cooperation. Each country may have its own circumstances. However, it's extremely important to cooperate in order to deal with North Korea, which is a big problem. We're concerned about North Korea's nuclear test. I think that there are various arguments about technologies, weapons, and strategies. However, it's true that the security environment of Japan has undergone a sea change. We should now think more realistically about what we should do to defend our country. Basically, politics is realism. We should be coolheaded to clear up the arguments with realism. We need to look hard at reality when talking about the problem, and we need respond in a realistic manner. (4) Conservatism: Interview with Koichi Kato, former LDP secretary general; LDP's mainstream conservatism opportunistic YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) November 23, 2006 In Japan conservatism as an ideology has been a combination of liberalism, UN-centered principles, and being a member of Asia, while basing diplomacy on Japan-US cooperation. Conservatism as a policy comes second. Its notion is that good policies should be kept intact as much as possible. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has drastically changed Japanese society. It disbanded many agricultural villages and the entire coal industry, which had once been one of the nation's largest industries. It has also changed society, based on the idea of globalization. Third, I would like to think about what mainstream conservatism in the LDP is. Some regard the administrations of Shigeru Yoshida and Hayato Ikeda as epitomizing mainstream conservatism. Then how can we categorize the Tanaka faction, which was the strongest group in the LDP? At a time when people felt that it was the right time for the Tanaka faction, a faction that had power or influence was considered mainstream conservatism. There is no definition for the words "mainstream conservatism." It is an opportunistic attitude. Even I, considered to be the legitimate son of the Kochi-kai Group, an outgrowth of Mr. Yoshida, thought it strange. It would be more understandable if mainstream conservatism is rephrased as the "old guard" instead. When Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama criticizes the prime minister, he says, "You say that the view of the Kochi-kai Group is in agreement with your view, but you are just saying that Kochi-kai members are all good people." Deputy party head Kan's statement that the DPJ is "mainstream conservative" is also meaningless. People regard the recent rise of nationalism as a sign of a drift to the right. There are three types of nationalism. The first would be a contentious type of nationalism that fights with neighbors over territory and history. Second is a healthy competitive nationalism, as seen in people who save money to go see the World Cup and wave a Rising Sun flag during the games. Now, people are all seeking this kind of proud nationalism. In the area of domestic policy, there will be a time when a certain degree of constraint will be put on market principles. There will TOKYO 00006710 006 OF 009 presumably arise a confrontation between the left wing, which wishes to constrain excessive market economy, attaching importance to Asian diplomacy, and the right wing, which would seek market principles that place importance on the private sector, by showing off nationalism in Asia. Koichi Kato: Born in Yamagata Prefecture. Graduated from the Tokyo University Law Department. Served in such posts as chief cabinet secretary and LDP secretary general. 67 years old. SIPDIS (5) Draft platform of Minshuto underscores Ozawa's policy imprint MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) November 24, 2006 Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) has entered the final stage of working out its policy platform, with an eye to the House of Councillors election next summer. The platform is likely to be in line with the Ozawa vision, a private plan presented by Ozawa in the September party presidential election. The main opposition party has long been dogged by the image of lacking consistency in its policies. By demonstrating party head Ozawa's original policy imprint in its platform, the party aims to erase the negative image and devote itself to confronting the ruling parties. On pension and security issues, however, views in the Ozawa vision are contradictory to the party's conventional stance. In a press conference on Nov. 22, Minshuto Policy Research Council Chairman Takeaki Matsumoto categorically said, "Since we lost (the election),the views the party presented for the election have already become invalid." In its manifesto for the House of Representatives election last year, Minshuto proposed unifying the nation's pension systems and raising the consumption tax on the premise of introducing a system to tax revenues (with 3% assumed) for paying basic pension benefits, which the party suggested should be equal across the board. But since Ozawa has rejected the idea of a tax hike, the draft policy platform finalized on Nov. 22 specified that the current 5% consumption tax rate would be kept unchanged. The party has decided to propose all revenues from the consumption tax be used for pension payments with insurance premiums making up for a shortfall. Minshuto's conventional call for tax revenues to be used to finance basic pension payments stems from a desire to reduce unfairness, like pension negligence, and stabilize the balance of financial resources and payments. But many party members criticize the decision to leave the burden that pensions place on the national treasury unattended. One member complained: "Pension reform was a main sales point in our policy platform, but Minshuto's plan will have no major differences from that of the government and the ruling camp." Another criticized, "Is it acceptable for lawmakers who won the election to neglect the party's manifest while citing our party's loss in that election?" In the security area, too, Minshuto's draft platform approves part of the right to collective self-defense, though it has consistently denied it. To play up Ozawa's policy imprint, the platform formulation committee (chaired by Hirotaka Akamatsu) composed of nine members including Ozawa, engaged in mapping out the draft. Ozawa plans to release the draft early next week and hold several policy council meetings to be joined by all party members, with the TOKYO 00006710 007 OF 009 aim of finalizing the party's platform by year's end. Given dissatisfaction smoldering in the party at the party's policy of cooperating with other opposition parties in election campaigning and dealing with Diet affairs, party head Ozawa is required to demonstrate leadership in solidifying the "Ozawa setup" before the regular party convention in January. (6) Conservatism - part 1: Interview with Gakushuin University Professor Tsuyoshi Sasaki, who urges reconstruction of national pride YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) November 23, 2006 Conservatism appeared in the course of history in reaction to the French Revolution. The notion of conservatism in Europe therefore is one of protecting the traditional order that includes a status system and a monarchy. With the United States, however, the story became more complex, since the US never had such an order, but worked to build its nation based on liberalism and republicanism, rising to eventually become a key player in the world. The conservatism of US President Reagan and British Prime Minister Thatcher in the 1980s gave momentum to playing up a way of life in those countries that focuses on self-reliance and responsibility and a way of life that does not rely on government, with a focus on market principles. Conservatism in this context was a movement to destroy social democratic liberalism, such as Keynesianism, which was totally different from the notion of maintaining the status quo. Instead, the two countries created a trend for reform of the status quo and for structural reforms. The conservatism of the Reagan era had two elements - nationalism and market principles. The stage moved a step forward with the emergence of globalism in the 1990s. Should conservatism aim for globalism or should it aim for unilateralism? The emergence of another axis, globalism, shook the traditional basis of conservatism. Japan's postwar politics fell into the pattern of conservatism-vs.-liberalism for decades. But there was a difference between this trend and that of Europe and the US. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has functioned as a distributor of profits, a role played by socialist parties in other countries. Profit allocation has been a contentious issue not among political parties but within the LDP. The LDP administration has been bolstered by economic growth, which boosted national pride. The collapse of the bubble economy battered national harmony. People are no longer sure about where national pride can be found. LDP-style conservatism, which included many elements and was unlike the conservatism found in other countries, is now over. The party does not know where to head for now. If various arguments over searching for national pride crop up, the next stage would be a conservative-vs.-non-conservative pattern. I would venture to say that it might be a right way to stake national pride on challenges common to all human beings, such as the aging society and the environment. Japan has reached a stage where it should live on soft power. Takeshi Sasaki: Born in Akita Prefecture. Graduated from the Tokyo TOKYO 00006710 008 OF 009 University Law Department. President of Tokyo University until March 200t, after serving as associate professor and professor at Tokyo University. 64 years old. (7) Issue of reinstating postal rebels: Prime Minister ABE weaving between public opinion and sympathy NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) November 24, 2006 The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is now mulling the reinstatement of independent lawmakers, the so-called "postal rebels," who bolted the party in opposition to the government's postal-privatization bills at last year's Lower House election. In dealing with this issue, Prime Minister SHINZO ABE wavered as to whether he should place priority on public opinion or sympathy for the postal rebels. Takeo Hiranuma, who represents the postal rebels, was Abe's senior in the Mitsuzuka faction. The two have similar views of the state and ideas and belief. Looking at the results of opinion polls, many opposed the LDP's plan to readmit the postal rebels, however. If ABE makes a mistake in handling the matter, the political base of his government, which has enjoyed high plurality since its inauguration, might be shaken and lose its momentum. "I didn't expect the matter took that direction and caused controversy," ABE said to a party executive member on Nov. 22. He indicated in his remarks that he had made a mistake in his calculation regarding the issue of reinstating the postal rebels. Some LDP lawmakers have predicted that it would be difficult for the party to smoothly readmit them since the issue has got complicated that much and that ABE may want first to form a parliamentary league with the postal rebels and then let them join the LDP after next summer's Upper House election. In his meeting on Nov. 22 with Hiranuma, Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa demanded that the postal rebels submit to the party a written pledge as a precondition for their return to the party. The written pledge would include: their self-examination on their conduct at last year's Lower House election among other things. Nakagawa also told Hiranuma that the written pledge should be submitted before noon of Nov. 27. Hiranuma will delay rejoining the LDP since he has said that he voted against the postal-privatization legislation in accordance with his belief. The LDP started mulling the issue of readmitting the postal rebels during the campaign for the LDP presidential election in September after ABE had said the LDP should find ways to cooperate with (the postal rebels) if they head the same direction with the party. On Oct. 10 at a Tokyo hotel, ABE held a secret meeting with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Mikio Aoki, chairman of the LDP caucus in the Upper House, and Nakagawa. ABE arranged the meeting very carefully, announcing that he planned luncheon with his secretaries. SIPDIS In the meeting, Mori and Aoki called for an early reinstatement of the postal rebels. They urged ABE to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Abe, however, did not give his assurance. After the meeting, the rumor went around the LDP that ABE concurred to reinstate all postal rebels, including those who were defeated in the Lower House election last year. Underlying such a rumor is the close relationship between ABE and Hiranuma. In the summer of 1998, when Mori succeeded to the Mitsuzuka faction, TOKYO 00006710 009 OF 009 Shizuka Kamei, who currently heads the People's New Party, Hiranuma, Shoichi Nakagawa, and some other members left the faction. At that time, the rumor was that ABE would leave the faction along with Hiranuma and others. One postal rebel, who knows well about the relationship between ABE and Hiranuma, feels certain that he will be readmitted to the party. Hidenao Nakagawa's hard-line stance and the passage of time upset the calculation of the postal rebels. Nakagawa, who played a leading role in helping ABE become prime minister, was appointed secretary general and boosted his political sway. Nakagawa and Hiranuma, both of who are now serving in their 9th-term in the Lower House, were rivals when they belonged to the Mitsuzuka faction. There is a contrast between the two lawmakers: Hiranuma has strong flavor of being a hawk politically, while Nakagawa is regarded as a rather liberal politician. Nakagawa's reluctance about readmitting the postal rebels is not completely unrelated to his confrontation with Hiranuma. The issue of reinstating the postal rebels is asking ABE as to whom -- Nakagawa or Hiranuma -- he sides with. A delay in negotiations on the issue -- from sometime after the Lower House by-elections in October to after the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November -- drew more public attention to the issue. Although Nakagawa has advocated the importance of public opinion, Hiranuma has no choice but to go on the defensive. On the night of Nov. 22, Nakagawa reported on the phone to ABE the content of his meeting with Hiranuma, and ABE then simply replied, saying, "I understand." Hiranuma and other postal rebels are expected to discuss the matter again on Nov. 24. SCHIEFFER