JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 05/01/07-1

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001926 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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 05/01/07-1 Prime Minister ABE in Washington: 12) US, Japanese leaders strengthen trust, build friendship: now on a first name "George-Shinzo" relationship 13) President Bush treats Prime Minister ABE to cheeseburger lunch to promote US beef 14) ABE meets 70 former JET teachers who served in Japan 15) Laura Bush, Akie ABE carry out their own diplomacy as First Ladies Abe in the Middle East: 16) Japan-Saudi oil deal: ABE proposes using Okinawa to set up oil-reserve tank field 17) Agreement to establish consultative organ to help expand Japanese investment in Saudi Arabia 18) Japan, UAE agree to establish cabinet-level economic council to meet once a year 19) In Abu Dhabi, ABE praises anti-terror contributions of MSDF operating in the Indian Ocean 20) JBIC to invest 120 billion yen in Abu Dhabi to secure stable oil supply 21) At defense chief's meeting, Kyuma to ask US for information of F-22A state-of-art aircraft Opinion polls: 22) ABE Cabinet support rate jumps 8 points to 43%, far exceeding 33% non-support rate, in Mainichi poll 23) Nikkei poll: ABE Cabinet support rate leaps 10 points to 53% compared to March survey Articles: 12) Prime Minister ABE travels to US to strengthen trust with US President Bush, placing relationship on "George-Shinzo" first-name basis YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full) Eve., April 28, 2007 By Hiroshi Matsunaga in Washington In his summit meeting with President Bush on the morning of April 27 (late night in Japan) at the president's mountain retreat, Camp David, in Maryland, Prime Minister ABE confirmed that the two countries would keep in step on North Korea's nuclear and abduction issues. In addition, the two leaders promised to cooperate on the realignment of the US forces in Japan and on Iraq reconstruction, as well as on the (global) environment problem. The first trip to the United States by the prime minister, who aimed at broadening the Japan-US alliance, ended as a complete success. The president in the summit meeting clearly stated that at the time of considering whether to take North Korea's name off the list of terrorist-supporting states, "we will factor in consideration of the abduction issue." On the six-party talks, he also stated, "In this process, we must not weaken our strong feelings toward the abduction victims." In Japan, there has been strong concern that as the US changes to a conciliatory stance, Japan might be isolated and find itself alone in taking a hard-line stance toward North Korea by giving priority to the abduction issue. For that reason, the president placed TOKYO 00001926 002 OF 008 emphasis on the abduction issue, and he took a stance of heightening pressure, while carrying out the six-party agreement. The Japanese side highly appreciated that stance. At the joint conference after the summit meeting, the two leaders called each other by their first names, "George" and "Shinzo." They made the public appeal that through their talks, a relationship of personal trust had been built. The president during the summit meeting reportedly had proposed, "We should call each other by our first names." The president invited the prime minister to visit his own ranch in Texas the next time they meet in the US. 13) Bush serves ABE American cheeseburger, stressing safety of US beef MAINICHI (Page 8) (Full) April 28, 2007 Chiyako Sato, Washington US President George W. Bush served Prime Minister SHINZO ABE an American cheeseburger at a luncheon on April 27. The issue of US beef exports to Japan is one of the issues between Japan and the United States. Washington has called on Tokyo to open its market. Bush softly played up the safety of US beef, saying, "American beef is tasty and reasonable."' Bush responded to the request by Montana senators that US steaks be served Abe. At a press conference ahead of luncheon Bushed stated: "Japanese people will be happy if they eat US beef. Of course we are prepared to serve the prime minister and the delegation accompanying him delicious burgers." A group of 24 bipartisan senators sent on April 20 to the president a letter calling for opening Japan's market. However, Bush appears to have limited himself to a series of "performances" aimed at domestic audiences. A source accompanying ABE said, "The president seemed that he was relying on the prime minister" about the issue. 14) Prime Minister ABE and First Lady meet Americans who had experienced international exchange program, from which Japan experts have been born NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) Eve., April 28, 2007 In order to promote international exchange, Prime Minister ABE and his wife Akie on April 27 held a discussion session with approximately 70 Americans who had experienced the JET program, under which young foreigners are invited to Japan as English language teachers. The prime minister broke the ice with a joke: "When one hears the word 'JET,' one thinks of a jet aircraft, but what the two have in common is they both shorten the distance between Japan and the United States." Since the founding of the JET program in 1987, it has spawned many Japan experts, such as former senior Asia director of the National Security Council, Michael Green. The prime minister posed with each participant for a keepsake photograph. Akie, who also was at the event, had been pursuing her own diplomatic schedule since the day before, such as having lunch with TOKYO 00001926 003 OF 008 Lynn Cheney, the wife of the vice president. (Washington, Yasuo Kurai) 15) Japan's First Lady Akie ABE engages in active diplomacy MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) April 28, 2007 Chiyako Sato, Washington Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister SHINZO Abe, is engaged in active diplomacy in the United States. With First Lady Laura Bush, as her guide, Akie visited George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate. The two had lunch together there. They also held an informal meeting with students of Gallaudet University for people with visual and hearing disabilities. In Mount Vernon, Laura Bush said, "I'm glad that I was able to take Mrs. ABE to this historic place." Akie ABE responded: "I was impressed that the people of the United States, including many children, were studying history." Later in the evening, ahead of the dinner party hosted by the president and his wife, presents were exchanged between the four. Bush gave ABE a flight jacket with the name of Camp David on its back and other presents. The prime minister and his wife gave them a cushion Akie made with a picture of the Bush family's two dogs, as well as a baseball signed by Sadaharu Oh. 16) Prime minister suggests to King Abdullah idea of using oil reserve base in Okinawa as Saudi Arabia's business hub TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Excerpts) April 30, 2007 Kanai, Riyadh Prime Minister SHINZO ABE had dinner with Saudi Arabian King Abdullah on the night of April 28, local time. In the meeting, ABE proposed allowing Saudi Arabia to use the oil reserve base in Okinawa Prefecture as its business hub. The two agreed to have the matter discussed at the cabinet-minister level. At the oil reserve base in Okinawa, 5.25 million kiloliters of oil, about 10 days' supply, is stored. Prime Minister ABE proposed that some of the tanks at the base would be offered to Saudi Arabia. If both sides sign a contract, Japan will be able to buy the stored oil on a priority basis in time of emergency. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will also be able to significantly cut costs when exporting oil to Asia and the West Coast by keeping oil in Japan. Abe and Abdullah also agreed on the need for the two countries to enhance their bilateral cooperative relations in wider areas, not limited to the economic area. 17) Prime minister proposes initiative to offer oil tanks in Okinawa to Saudi Arabia NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) April 28, 2007 TOKYO 00001926 004 OF 008 Nakayama, Riyadh Prime Minister SHINZO ABE arrived at Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, by a government plane on the afternoon of April 28, local time. In the first destination of his tour of five Middle Eastern countries, the prime minister met Crown Prince sultan the same day, in which he proposed an initiative to jointly keep stored crude oil. By boosting mutually dependent relations with Saudi Arabia, Japan aims to ensure the stable supply of oil. Saudi Arabia is expected to accept the offer. Under this initiative, Japan would offer its tanks in Okinawa for oil reserves to Saudi Aramco free of charge. In peacetime, the state-run Saudi Arabian company keeps oil in the tanks for distribution. When Japan sees oil imports suspended, Japan would be allowed to purchase the reserved oil on a priority basis. Japan has never stored oil in such a form before. In trade in crude oil with oil producing countries in the Middle East, Japanese wholesale companies usually go and collect product by using a tanker. Should Saudi Arabia keep a large stock in Japan, it will be able to demonstrate close ties with Japan. Other oil producing countries might fall in suit with Saudi Arabia. In such a case, Japan's energy security will be ensured. Japan pins high hopes on the joint storage initiative. 18) Japanese, UAE leaders agree to set up economic council for annual meeting NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Full) April 30, 2007 Nakayama, Abu Dhabi Prime Minister SHINZO Abe, visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), met with President Khalifa at the Presidential Palace for about 30 minutes on April 29. The two leaders agreed that Japan and the UAE would set up a joint economic ministerial committee to strengthen bilateral economic relations. They also agree on the need to reach at an early date an agreement in the ongoing negotiations on concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) between Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Conference (GCC) composed of six Gulf oil producing countries. The envisioned joint economic committee would meet once a year in principle to discuss measures to improve the investment and business environments, to promote bilateral cooperation for stable energy supply, etc. In the meeting, ABE stated: "It will be possible for the two countries to establish an ideal partnership by the UAE supply oil to Japan and Japan offering technical and financial cooperation to the UAE." 19) Prime Minister ABE in Abu Dhabi gives words of encouragement to MSDF for cooperation in anti-terrorist mop-up operations in Indian Ocean YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) April 30, 2007 By Hiroshi Matsunaga in Abu Dhabi TOKYO 00001926 005 OF 008 Prime Minister Abe, who is in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the evening of April 29 (Evening of same day, Japan time) inspected the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer "Suzunami" and supply ship "Hamana," which are engaged in refueling operations for American and British vessels in the Indian Ocean, based on the Anti-terror Special Measures Law, and he gave words of encouragement to the crews of the two vessels. This is the first time for a prime minister to have inspected the units dispatched to the Indian Ocean for cooperation in anti-terrorist mop-up operations since MSDF units were first dispatched in Nov. 2001. The Suzunami and Hanami left Japan in March, and are now continuing with their Indian Ocean operations. The Prime Minister in his instructions stated: "Since my taking office, I have been thinking that I must by all means visit the units serving overseas and directly express my appreciation for their services. Your activities have received high praise internationally, and as the commander-in-chief, I feel extremely proud." He stressed: "Accompanying the transition to a Defense Ministry, peacekeeping operations have been made a main duty of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF),and the SDF is being called on to actively tackle such. I would like to open for Japan a new page on the front line of providing international contributions." 20) JBIC to provide Abu Dhabi 120 billion yen in loans to secure crude oil supply ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) April 29, 2007 Riyad, Minoru Nagata The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will introduce a system of providing a loan to a state-run petroleum company of Abu Dhabi, a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),under a condition that it supplies crude oil to Japan on a stable basis. Both countries are now undertaking coordination of views with the possibility of Japan providing 1 billion dollars or approximately 120 billion yen in loans within the year. This system will likely become a new form of Japan securing crude oil at a time when it finds it difficult to directly get involved in development of oil fields due to the rising nationalism among oil-producing countries. The agreement will be reached between JBIC Governor Kyosuke Shinozawa, who is joining Prime Minister ABE on his visit to the Middle East, and the top person at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Apr. 29. The prime minister and a 180-member delegation of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) are visiting Middle East nations with the aim of promoting broad-based business and exchanges of technology. ADNOC has never introduced foreign capital because of its rich funds. However, it has changed its policy to procure funds from foreign countries in order to strengthen production capacity while oil prices are staying high. Since ADNOC has not made its various financial statements open, it is difficult for it to procure funds from the market. The JBIC will for the first time directly provide the company with funds in cooperation with Japan's private banks. Loans will be provided using low interest rates available for overseas resources development. TOKYO 00001926 006 OF 008 ADNOC will sign a long-term crude oil trade contract with Japan's oil company in return for receiving loans and repay debts from the costs of the crude oil to Japan. The scale of the planned loan - 1 billion dollar - is one of the largest among loans provided by the JBIC. ADNOC will invest procured funds in new development and expansion of oil fields to reinforce production capacity. If this joint development project turns out to be a success, it will boost the amount of crude oil Japan independently develops. The ratio of independently developed crude oil to the total imports is about 10 %. The government wants to raise the ratio to 40% by 2030. 21) FX candidate: Japan to ask US for F-22A data SANKEI (Page 4) (Full) April 28, 2007 Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma will meet with US Defense Secretary Gates in Washington on April 30 and will then ask the United States to provide detailed information about the F-22A Raptor, a state-of-the-art stealth fighter, as a potential candidate model for the Air Self-Defense Force's follow-on mainstay fighter (FX). Kyuma will also ask Gates to work on the US Congress to review a US law that prohibits the United States from exporting the F-22A. The ASDF wants the F-22A adopted. However, the problem is its cost as the F-22A is reportedly priced at approximately 25 billion yen per unit. Japan is likely to dicker with the United States while involving the defense industry, with an eye to the Defense Ministry's process of screening and selecting the FX in the summer of next year. "There has been no disclosure of information in detail, so I'd like to take every opportunity to ask (the US side) for disclosure," Kyuma told a news conference yesterday. The Defense Ministry will pick the F-4's follow-on fighter model by the summer of next year. The ministry has already narrowed down its selection to six models and asked their manufacturers to provide information about their models. However, the United States does not allow even information disclosure for exports. Japan has therefore yet to obtain detailed information about the F-22A's performance. The ASDF yesterday conducted its first joint training with US Air Force F-22A fighters, which are temporarily deployed to the US Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, in airspace south of Okinawa's main island. The Defense Ministry's aim was to determine the F-22A's performance through dogfight simulations. "I believe that the F-22A Raptor is the world's strongest fighter," ASDF Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami said in a press conference. Japan's introduction thereof will likely bring about backlashes from China and North Korea. "In order to deter war," Tamogami said, "it's important to make them think we're strong." He also noted, "If we do as they say, we can't maintain our national interests." 22) Poll: Cabinet support rate rises to 43% MAINICHI (Top play) (Abridged) April 30, 2007 The Mainichi Shimbun conducted a telephone-based nationwide public opinion survey on April 28-29. The rate of public support for Prime TOKYO 00001926 007 OF 008 Minister SHINZO Abe's cabinet was 43%, up 8 percentage points from the last survey conducted in March. The nonsupport rate was 33%, down 9 points. The approval rating topped the disapproval rating for the first time since January. Among reasons given for supporting the Abe cabinet, there was an increase in the proportion of those who think something can be expected of the prime minister's leadership. Among those who do not support the ABE cabinet, there was a decrease in the proportion of those who negative about the prime minister's leadership ability. The figures show the public's positive ratings for the prime minister's reform efforts, including his government's introduction of a bill to reform the nation's public service personnel system in the face of opposition. The ABE cabinet's approval rating scored 67% in a survey right after its debut in September last year, but it showed a downward spiral thereafter. In the latest survey, however, the ABE cabinet's support rate rose for the first time in seven months since its inauguration. In addition to his leadership, there seem to be some other factors, such as a series of summit talks on the diplomatic front, including the Japan-US summit on April 27 and the Japan-China summit on April ¶11. Furthermore, ABE was also proactive with his visits to local districts in Japan to see their circumstances. His face is now finally visible to the public, and this apparently boosted public support for his cabinet. In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party stood at 29%, up 2 points from the last survey. The leading opposition Democratic Party (Minshuto) was at 16%, also up 2 points from the last survey. The New Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, was at 5%, the same as in the last survey. The Japanese Communist Party was at 2%, down 1 point. Those with no particular party affiliation accounted for 42%, down 5 points. 23) Poll: ABE cabinet's support rate rebounds to 53%, up 10 points from March NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Full) April 30, 2007 The rate of public support for Prime Minister SHINZO ABE and his cabinet reached 53% in a public opinion survey conducted by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on April 27-29. The figure rose 10 percentage points from the last survey conducted in March. The ABE cabinet's support rate, which had shown a downward trend since its inauguration in September last year, has now stopped falling and marked a substantial rebound for the first time. The nonsupport rate was 37%, down 8 points. The approval rating topped the disapproval rating for the first time in two months. The most common reason given for supporting the ABE cabinet was "the prime minister is trustworthy" at 44%, followed by "because it's an LDP-led cabinet" at 28%, and "it's clean" at 16%. Among those who do not support the ABE cabinet, the most common reason was "the prime minister lacks leadership ability" at 49%. This figure, however, was down 8 points from the last survey. The proportion of those who picked "it's unstable," which was in second place until the last survey, was 27%, also down 8 points, with 38% picking "its policies are bad." The support rate among men rose 13 points to 51%. In addition, the TOKYO 00001926 008 OF 008 support rate among women also rose 7 points to 53%. The approval rating topped the disapproval rating in all age brackets. Among those in their 20s and 30s, however, the support rate remains on the 40% range. The ABE cabinet's sharp recovery in public support appears to be ascribable to the cease for the present of criticism over some cabinet ministers' inappropriate remarks or murky political funds reports and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's reinstatement of postal rebels. ABE has now come out with his own initiative to reform the nation's educational and public service personnel systems. In addition, the public seems to give positive ratings to his diplomatic efforts, such as his first visit to the United States as premier. In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the LDP stood at 43%, up 2 points. The leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) also rose 3 points to 21%. The New Komeito, the LDP's coalition partner, was at 6%. The Japanese Communist Party was at 4%, and the Social Democratic Party (Shaminto) at 3%. The survey was taken by Nikkei Research Inc. over the telephone on a random digit dialing (RDD) basis. For the survey, samples were chosen from among men and women aged 20 and over across the nation. A total of 1,559 households with one or more voters were sampled, and answers were obtained from 865 persons (55.5% ). DONOVAN