DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 03/12/07

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001059 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 03/12/07 INDEX: (13) LDP executive council chairman: Reinvestigation by party of comfort women issue is unnecessary (14) LDP group to submit to prime minister recommendations for reinvestigation of Nanjing Massacre (15) Why does "comfort women" resolution come into focus of attention now in US? The move is linked to Democrats-controlled Congress? (16) CNN poll on the web: 75% see no need for Japan to apologize again (17) Abe's remark accelerates debate on "comfort women" resolution in US House: House subcommittee chairman (18) JCP lawmaker takes issue with prime minister-led LDP branch office's receipt of 500,000 yen in contribution by government-subsidy recipient company (19) Opposition parties on offensive against prime minister for his protection of agriculture minister's misappropriate accounting of his utility costs; Criticism arises even in LDP (20) Editorial: Matsuoka suspected of falsifying political fund reports (21) Government plans to begin environmental assessment for new Okinawa base in early April (22) Japan-Australia EPA: First meeting to take place on Apr. 23, 24 after unified local elections to avoid possible impact on votes from farmers ARTICLES: (13) LDP executive council chairman: Reinvestigation by party of comfort women issue is unnecessary TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) March 30, 2007 In reference to Prime Minister Abe's recent expression of a willingness to cooperate in the party's reinvestigation of the comfort women issue, Liberal Democratic Party Executive Council Chairman Yuya Niwa yesterday said, "This is not a matter that the party's leadership should conduct it (reinvestigation) right away." He thus indicated that there was no need for the party to conduct reinvestigation. China and South Korea have fiercely reacted to the prime minister's remark that "there was no evidence to back the government's coercion of wartime sex slavery in a narrow sense." On this issue, Niwa stressed the need for a prudent response, saying, "If the government touches on (the comfort women issue),it could cause misunderstanding. Developing it into a political issue is not diplomatically preferable." He was replying to questions by reporters at party headquarters. (14) LDP group to submit to prime minister recommendations for reinvestigation of Nanjing Massacre TOKYO 00001059 002 OF 008 TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) March 10, 2007 "The group of lawmakers considering Japan's future and history education," composed of likeminded members of the Liberal Democratic Party, decided in a meeting held at party headquarters yesterday to present to Prime Minister ABE in early April a package of recommendations calling on the government to reinvestigate the Nanjing Massacre Incident. Former Education and Science Minister Nariaki Nakayama, chairman of the group, said, "It is strange to find false statements." He indicated that the group would collect and analyze data independently and then work out a package. The group submitted recommendations to the prime minister on March 8, seeking to reinvestigate the comfort women issue. (15) Why does "comfort women" resolution come into focus of attention now in US? The move is linked to Democrats-controlled Congress? MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) March 11, 2007 Masaya Oikawa, Washington Prime Minister SHINZO Abe's remark about the wartime comfort women issue that "there was no evidence to prove coercion (by the Imperial Japanese Army)" is causing ripples in the United States. Liberal dailies, such as The New York Times, carried editorials critical of that remark. This seems to be giving a boost to a bipartisan House resolution calling on Japan to apologize to the former comfort women. The co-sponsors of the bill aim to get the resolution adopted by the end of the month. The past four similar resolutions scrapped The resolution calls on the Japanese government to "formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Forces' coercion of young women into sexual slavery." Opposing it, Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato in a letter addressed to the Congress said, "The Japanese government officially acknowledged the responsibility and apologized," and he rebutted, "It is not based on objective facts," asking for not adopting the resolution. US Representative Michael Honda, referring to the apologies made by the past Japanese prime ministers, said, "They were not sincere and clear apologies by the Japanese government." He stressed: "Making an apology is an important step toward redemption of the past." In the past, four similar resolutions have been submitted to the House since 2000. Last September, one similar resolution was adopted for the first time in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, but failed to be approved in a plenary session and was eventually scrapped. The current resolution likely to be adopted in a plenary session One reason why the resolution is suddenly capturing the spotlight now is because it is likely to be adopted in a plenary session now that the Democratic Party has regained a majority both in the House and in the Senate as a result of the mid-term elections last TOKYO 00001059 003 OF 008 November. In addition, US media has begun giving wide coverage to the resolution, as if to be stimulated by Abe's remark. Mark Peattie, a visiting professor at Stanford University, said to San Jose Mercury (in California) dated March 6: "This is the same as denying the Holocaust." San Jose is Representative Honda's electorate. May have some links to his electoral district Honda is a third-generation Japanese-American. In his childhood, he was in a camp for Japanese-Americans in Colorado. One reason why Honda is deeply involved in the comfort women issue is because he has been critical of Japan's act of war since he served as a member of the California assembly. Another reason apparently lies in the situation in his electoral district in San Jose. The percentage of Asian-Americans in the population of California's congressional district 15 was 29% (as of 2004). The population ratio of Asian-Americans is the highest in the US mainland. There are also a large number of Korean-Americans. A Washington-based group on the wartime comfort women issue and human rights organizations led by Koreans are actively carrying on campaigns. Honda is acting in concert with them. At a press conference on March 7, Ambassador Kato indicated that the situation in his electoral district is intertwined with the resolution, noting: "A domestic political map is linked to the submission of that kind of resolution." (16) CNN poll on the web: 75% see no need for Japan to apologize again SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) March 10, 2007 CNN, a US cable television station, conducted an Internet-based questionnaire survey on whether Japan should apologize again over the so-called comfort women issue. In response, "no" tripled "yes." The survey was posted to the "Quick Vote" corner on March 4. There were about 3.2 million votes on March 9, with "yes" accounting for 25% and "no" reaching 75%. However, CNN notes that the results only represent the opinions of Internet users. The JongAng Ilbo, a South Korean daily, reported in its electronic Japanese language version that the survey was developing to the advantage of Japan and causing a shock in South Korea. The daily surmises that Japanese conservatives could have urged intensive participation in voting. It also quotes one as saying South Korean society and South Korean Internet citizens should vote "yes" with interest. (17) Abe's remark accelerates debate on "comfort women" resolution in US House: House subcommittee chairman AKAHATA (Page 1) (Full) March 9, 2007 Yumi Kamazuka, Washington In an interview with Akahata on March 7, Eni Faleomavaega (Democrat),chair of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he hopes to hold debate on the "comfort women" resolution "by the TOKYO 00001059 004 OF 008 end of March" so as to send it to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution calls on the Japanese government to apologize on the issue of former "wartime comfort women" involving the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. With prime minister's planned visit to US in mind, US Congress gave consideration at one point to Japan but "the situation has now changed dramatically" Faleomavaega had told some media companies that taking a vote on the resolution might be carried over to sometime after Prime Minister Abe's planned visit to the United States at the end of April. But he said that "the situation has dramatically changed" with "Prime Minister Abe's grave remark" denying that the country's military forced "women" to work in comfort facilities or brothels. Faleomavaega described Abe's remark as "very contradictory and grave," and he insisted that "there was a good reason" to release the 1993 Japanese government statement in the name of then Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono, in which Kono acknowledged the Imperial Japanese Army's involvement in the comfort women issue and its coercion of women into sexual slavery. Referring to the Japanese government's past attitude, Faleomavaega said, "It was not at all seen as a genuine apology." Touching on the Kono statement, Faleomavaega said, "I respect it," but he added, "I don't think it was an official apology." Abe's remark changed the attitude of US legislators who until then had been protective of the Japanese government. At a hearing where former "comfort women" testified, Congressman Rohrabacher was the only opponent to the resolution, arguing, "The Japanese government has repeatedly apologized," but on March 7, Rohrabacher's spokeswoman Setmeyer said that the prime minister's remark "contradicts the 1993 Kono statement and is unacceptable." She announced that if the resolution is put to the vote, "Rohrabacher will vote for it." Abe's remark has boosted the resolution and increased the number of co-sponsors of the resolution by 10 to 36 immediately after his remark came out. Faleomavaega predicted: "The number of co-sponsors will increase even further." Abe mentions reconsideration of the Kono statement On March 8, Nariaki Nakayama, chair of the Parliamentary Council to Consider the Future of Japan and History Education, a group of lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),and others met with ABE and asked him to reexamine the "wartime comfort women" issue with the aim of adding "revisions" to the Kono statement. ABE told them: "I will reexamine it if necessary and will disclose data as well." At the same time, ABE added: "The US House resolution is not based on objective facts nor is it based on the Japanese government's response to the comfort women issue." ABE then indicated his intention to step up diplomatic efforts to prevent the resolution from being adopted. (18) JCP lawmaker takes issue with prime minister-led LDP branch office's receipt of 500,000 yen in contribution by government-subsidy recipient company MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) TOKYO 00001059 005 OF 008 March 10, 2007 Ken Aoshima, Tsuyoshi Torichigae It was learned that the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) local chapter now headed by Prime Minister SHINZO ABE had received 500,000 yen in 2002 from a company subsidized by the central government. At an Upper House Budget Committee session on March 9, Satoshi Inoue, a member of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP),brought up this issue and said, "Wasn't it a violation of the Political Funds Control Law?" In response, ABE said: "I have no idea how to see whether (contributors) are subsidized by the government." The Political Funds Control Law bars political party-related organizations from receiving donations from companies within one year after the central government decide to subsidize them. The LDP's local chapter in question received a contribution from a recycling equipment company in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in January 2002. In July 2001, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) decided to subsidize that firm. Based on an e-mail allegedly sent by the president of the company, Inoue further pursued Abe, asking whether when products were sold to a former Japan Highway Public Corp.-related foundation, Abe, who then served as deputy chief cabinet secretary, acted as a go-between. In response, ABE said: "I have no recollection of such a thing at all. I am quite upset about such a question." On the night of March 9, the president of the company said: "The address shown on the e-mail was not what I used at the time. That mail couldn't be true." (19) Opposition parties on offensive against prime minister for his protection of agriculture minister's misappropriate accounting of his utility costs; Criticism arises even in LDP MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) March 10, 2007 Takashi Tanigawa At a session yesterday of the Upper House Budget Committee, Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka refused to give a detailed answer to a question about his fund management body's political fund report, in which utility costs, which are charge-free, were declared. Prime Minister SHINZO ABE defended Matsuoka. The opposition parties are intensifying their offensive against the ABE cabinet, labeling it as having the "nature of concealing facts". "All fund reports have been made in an appropriate manner. I want to refrain from reporting other things than what has been already made open to the public because doing so is not required under the current law," Matsuoka said, when he was grilled by Keiichiro Asao (legislator of the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto or DPJ)) about the reason why his political fund report declared high utility costs totaling about 28.80 million yen for 2001-2005 for his office in Tokyo, which is his only Tokyo office located in the Diet Members' Building. ABE just reiterated that Matsuoka made fund reports in accordance with the Political Funds Control Law. The opposition bloc demanded that Matsuoka should give a clear account of the reported utility costs because he earlier said at an Upper House Budget Committee session on March 5 that "the costs TOKYO 00001059 006 OF 008 included the costs for something like regenerated water or heating," adding, "After examining them, I will answer to the extent necessary for me to do so." Later, however, Matsuoka just insisted: "As a result of examining it, I found there was no inappropriateness." But there is criticism even in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Takashi Sasagawa, chair of the LDP's Party Ethics Committee, says: "Everyone wonders why utility costs added up to such a huge amount. I also drink regenerated water every day, but the cost for a device regenerating water is 200,000 yen per unit." This problem seems likely to become another source of problem to shake the ABE cabinet. (20) Editorial: Matsuoka suspected of falsifying political fund reports MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) March 10, 2007 Who will believe Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka's Diet replies on utilities? The office of Matsuoka's fund management organization exists only in the Dietmembers' Office Building, which does not charge rent or utilities. Despite that, his office declared 5.07 million yen as utilities in 2005. Including that amount, his political fund reports listed utilities totaling 28.8 million yen for a five-year period. Utilities are defined as fees for electricity, gas, water, and their instruments. They are straightforward unlike office expenses, which are unclear in definition. In the Diet, opposition parties raised questions about the Matsuoka office's massive utilities. The farm minister offered a pointless explanation, saying, "The utilities included some kind of regenerated water and fees for heating and the like." Matsuoka promised to offer a clear-cut explanation after checking with his office, but that, too, was thrown into the wastebasket. He also refused to give a detailed explanation before the Upper House Budget Committee on March 9, noting: "My office reported utilities appropriately. Under existing legislation, I am not required to offer a detailed explanation." The Dietmembers' Office Buildings are air-conditioned. It is inconceivable for an office in such a building to annually spend millions of yen on utilities. A reporter asked, "Are you drinking water that costs 5,000 yen (per bottle)?" In response, Matsuoka said, "Nowadays, nobody drinks tap water." What is regenerated water? If cooling and heating devices are installed in his office, he should at least produce pictures of those devices. Under the Political Funds Control Law, lawmakers are not required to attach receipts for operating expenses, such as office expenses and utilities. They are not required to offer detailed explanations to the public, either. But that does not mean they do not have to explain matters to the public. Needless to say, all political parties, except the Japanese Communist Party, have been receiving political subsidies funded by tax money. The transparency of political funds must be increased in TOKYO 00001059 007 OF 008 order to restore public trust in politics. Matsuoka's Diet replies would prompt people to speculate that he used utilities to conceal shady spending which is a violation of the Political Funds Control Law. To our disappointment, Prime Minister SHINZO ABE also defended Matsuoka, saying, "The expenses were reported properly under the law." ABE should have urged Matsuoka to offer a detailed explanation. Abe had also defended Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, who described women as "baby-making machines." The prime minister is too lenient toward his ministers. Ichiro Ozawa, president of the major opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan),released details of how his political management body spent the large amounts of money listed as "office expenses." But the Liberal Democratic Party has not responded to Ozawa's explanation. This seems to suggest the LDP's desire to put an early end to the office expense and utilities issue. The Lower House debate on the "politics and money" issue was insufficient. The opposition camp must continue pursuing the issue severely. Questions also remain about Matsuoka's office expenses. A failure to address them would lose the public's trust of politics. (21) Government plans to begin environmental assessment for new Okinawa base in early April AKAHATA (Page 1) (Full) March 10, 2007 The government is pushing ahead with a plan to begin a preliminary survey in early April before conducting an environmental assessment for building a new base on the coastline of Camp Schwab to replace the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, it has been learned as of March 9. According to the Naha Defense Facilities Administration Bureau, the government publicly announced in its gazette dated Feb. 8 the bidding for the environmental assessment around Camp Schwab. The government plans to enter into a contract with a successful bidder in one week after closing the tender on March 28 to immediately begin surveying the marine habitat for dugongs and water quality near Camp Schwab, including Oura Bay and Henoko Bay. The government has insisted on the need to begin the environmental assessment by May by calculating backwards from its target of making the new base operational in 2014. However, the Okinawa prefectural and Nago municipal governments have been calling for the government to revise its new base plan and lay down an offshore facility in waters off the coast of Nago. The have not agreed to the environmental assessment based on the government plan. Meanwhile, Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on March 9 endorsed the prior survey, saying, "The central government is allowed to conduct the survey." In this connection, a Naha Defense Facilities Administration Bureau official explained: "The government will conduct the environmental TOKYO 00001059 008 OF 008 assessment based on the results of the prior survey." According to the DFAA, the content of the prior survey is substantially the same as that of the environmental assessment. By collecting necessary data in the name of a preliminary survey, the government eyes shortening the environmental assessment, which is said to take three years. Gov. Nakaima, however, also indicated that he has yet to reach a conclusion in the event the central government asked for his authorization to use necessary sea areas (public waters). (22) Japan-Australia EPA: First meeting to take place on Apr. 23, 24 after unified local elections to avoid possible impact on votes from farmers MAINICHI (Page 9) (Full) March 10, 2007 It was decided on Mar. 9 that the first round of talks for Japan-Australia economic partnership agreement (EPA) will be held in Canberra on Apr. 23 and 24. The upcoming unified local elections will end April 22, so a government source takes the view that the decision reflects the Japanese government's wish to avoid the possible impact of the trade talks on farmers' votes. Both countries agreed to start talks following the finalization of a report last December on joint research between the two countries. However, the timing for starting talks has not been set until immediately before Australian Prime Minister Howard will visit Japan on Mar. 11. Agricultural organizations, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers with vested interests in agriculture and local governments are increasingly alarmed about EPA talks with Australia, a major farm-product exporting county, saying that an EPA with such a country will deal a major blow to Japanese agriculture. When the agreement to start talks was reached, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee of the Upper and Lower Houses unanimously adopted a resolution that the government should approach the talks with preparedness to suspend the talks unless such treatments as that key farm productions, such as rice, beef, dairy products, wheat and sugar, are exempted from the list of products subject to tariff scrapping, are allowed. In particular, many LDP members are concerned that progress in the EAP talks with Australia will lead to their losing votes from farmers in the upcoming unified local elections and the Upper House election this summer. For this reason, the first meeting, which will have strong connotations for participants to meet, has now been set to take place after the unified local elections. Another view is that if the holding of the second round for substantive discussions is delayed, its impact on the Upper House election could also be prevented. However, Australia has rarely approved exceptions to the abolition of tariffs in EPAs with other countries. According to a joint research report, all items will be brought up for discussions with Japan. As such, the EPA talks with Australia are expected to be confrontational. SCHIEFFER