DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 06/11/07

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 002618 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 06/11/07 Part-2 INDEX: (1) Poll on political parties, House of Councillors election (2) Government already preparing for Lake Toya Summit; Ambassador in charge of G-8 summit in 2008 to be named as early as next month (3) Editorial: Challenges facing Prime Minister Abe before next G-8 summit in Lake Toya (4) LDP team eyes utilizing SDF to combat harmful animals (5) Cabinet support rate nosedives; LDP feeling a sense of crisis with House of Councillors election ahead (6) Lee Teng-hui's Japan visit ends; Showy behavior masks declining influence (7) Lee Teng-hui says in Japan: "Taiwan is an independent country" ARTICLES: (1) Poll on political parties, House of Councillors election TOKYO (Page 3) (Full) June 10, 2007 Questions & Answers (Figures shown in percentage) Q: Which political party do you support? Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 42.6 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 20.0 New Komeito (NK) 3.9 Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 3.3 Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1.5 People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0.4 New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0.2 Other political parties, groups 0.9 None 24.8 Don't know (D/K) + No answer (N/A) 2.4 Q: (Only for those who specified a political party like the LDP, DPJ, NK, JCP, SDP, PNP, NPN, or other political parties and groups to the foregoing question) Have you voted for a political party or a candidate differing from those that you support in recent elections for the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors? (1,354 respondents) Yes 50.8 No 48.1 D/K+N/A 1.1 Q: (Only for those who answered "none") Have you ever had a political party to support? (460 respondents) Not supported any specific political party 57.6 Supported a political party in the past but don't support any political party at present 38.5 D/K+N/A 3.9 Q: (Only for those who answered "none") What's the primary reason for your having had no particular political party to support? (460 TOKYO 00002618 002 OF 009 respondents) Can't support any political party's policies 13.5 Can't figure out differences between the policies of political parties 7.0 There's no trustworthy political party 34.2 Nothing can be expected of politics itself 19.6 Don't want to support any specific political party 18.7 Other answers (O/A) 2.4 D/K+N/A4.6 Q: What do you consider when you make up your mind to go to the polls in elections for the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors? There's a candidate or a political party to support 18.3 Voting is a right and an obligation, so I go to the polls 50.5 When I think politics could change with my voting 12.8 When I am dissatisfied with politics 4.8 It depends on my feeling that day or whether I can 10.3 O/A 1.8 D/K+N/A 1.5 Q: Do you go to the polls in this summer's election for the House of Councillors? Will go to the polls for sure 56.8 Will probably go to the polls 33.3 Will probably not go to the polls 6.1 Will not go to the polls 2.4 D/K+N/A 1.4 Q: What do you think will become a point of contention in the House of Councillors election? Pick up to two from among those listed below. Governing scheme 4.8 Economy, employment, social divide 38.7 Tax, fiscal reforms 17.5 Social security (pensions, healthcare, nursing care, welfare) 74.9 Political ethics 3.4 Education reform 13.0 Foreign, security policies 3.0 Constitutional revision 18.6 Environment 7.4 Low birthrate 7.0 O/A 0.1 D/K+N/A 2.0 Q: If you were to vote now in the election for the House of Councillors, which political party or which political party's candidate would you like to vote for? LDP 37.4 DPJ 22.4 NK 4.1 JCP 3.4 SDP 1.4 PNP 0.3 NPN 0.3 Other political parties, groups 0.5 TOKYO 00002618 003 OF 009 Independent candidate 3.7 Wouldn't like to vote for any political party or candidate 19.4 D/K+N/A 7.1 Q: The biggest focus of the upcoming election is whether the ruling coalition of the LDP and New Komeito will be able to retain its majority of the seats in the House of Councillors. Would you like the ruling coalition to maintain its majority, or would you otherwise like the ruling coalition to lose its majority? Would like it to maintain its majority 43.6 Would like it to lose its majority 46.9 D/K+N/A 9.5 Q: If the ruling coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors, what would you like the ruling coalition to do? Replace the prime minister 18.5 Change the governing scheme 20.6 Coordinate policies with opposition parties 22.3 Dissolve the House of Representatives for an election 30.6 O/A 0.3 D/K+N/A 7.7 (Note) The total percentage of multiple answers is over 100 percent. Polling methodology: For the survey, a total of 3,000 persons were sampled out of men and women aged 20 and over at 250 locations throughout the country on a stratified two-stage random-sampling basis, so as to epitomize the nation's voting population of more than a 100 million. The survey was conducted by the Japan Polling Organization over a period of two days, June 2-3, on a face-to-face interview basis. Answers were obtained from 1,858 persons, excluding those who could not be interviewed because of their having moved away or being on a trip, or for other reasons. The retrieval rate was 61.9 percent. In the breakdown of respondents, males accounted for 48.0 percent, and females 52.0 percent. (2) Government already preparing for Lake Toya Summit; Ambassador in charge of G-8 summit in 2008 to be named as early as next month NIHON KEIZAI (Top Play) (Full) Evening, June 9, 2007 With the end of the Group of Eight summit (Heiligendamm Summit),the Japanese government will move preparations into full gear for the G-8 summit it will host next year in Lake Toya, Hokkaido Prefecture. The government intends to strive for perfection in the arrangements for the G-8 summit, picking for the first time an ambassador in charge of coordination with Hokkaido and other G-8 member countries. The expectation is that the environment will top the agenda at the next G-8 summit. The idea is being floated that Japan should take advantage of its advanced energy-conservation technologies in a bid to play up its effort for protecting the environment. The government as early as July will set up a preparatory office in the Foreign Ministry and appoint an ambassador in charge of preparations for the G-8 summit. The office will be run by several dozen staff members for the time being, and the number of its staffers will be increased to about 100 members. TOKYO 00002618 004 OF 009 At the Heiligendamm Summit this year, the G-8 leaders agreed on a framework of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, aiming at making a decision on specific measures by 2009. Since the 2008 G-8 summit in Lake Toya is expected to play an important role in creating a post-Kyoto framework, the government is now mulling a program focusing on environmental issues. The government plans to use such eco-friendly automobiles as hybrid vehicles and electric cars for the transportation of G-8 officials and the press corps. The hotel, the venue for the summit, will make active use of solar power. The government will position the Lake Toya Summit as a low-carbon summit. A press center will be also used as an exhibition hall to introduce advanced Japanese environmental technologies such as fuel cells and next-generation light-water reactors. Residents of Hokkaido where the summit will take place have mixed feelings of hopes and worries. The Hokkaido government and Hokkaido Economic Federation sent a 20-member delegation to Heiligendamm. The delegation toured main halls for the G-8 summit and actively exchanged views with Heiligendamm government officials. After returning home on July 12, the delegation plans to compile a report. The Council of Hokkaido Residents for the Summit, a preparatory organization made up of government and private-sector officials, will be established by late this month. The government is most concerned about how to respond to terrorism and large-scale demonstrations. Hokkaido police announced on May 10 the appointment of Hiroyuki Matsumoto, who was responsible for the security at the 2000 Okinawa Summit, as the security department chief who will control security for the 2008 Lake Toya Summit. Hokkaido police have started preparations. Municipalities involved in the Lake Toya Summit are concerned about the financial burden and its effect. The 2000 Okinawa Summit reportedly generated economic benefits of about 44 billion yen over the two years before and after the summit. It is estimated that the Lake Toya Summit will contribute approximately 38 billion yen to the prefectural economy. Compared to 2000, the national fiscal financial situation in 2008 will be tight. The Hokkaido government is concerned about how much costs it will have to share. The expectation is that ordinary tourists will not be allowed in the Lake Toya area July 7-9 when the summit takes place. Hokkaido expects that the summit will raise its international profile, though it is worried about the short-term impact on tourism. (3) Editorial: Challenges facing Prime Minister Abe before next G-8 summit in Lake Toya YOMIURI (Page 3) (Almost full) June 10, 2007 Climate change is a long-term challenge, while the nuclear weapons programs North Korea and Iran are advancing are an immediate task. The Group of Eight (G-8) summit ended, releasing a chairperson's summary statement. Prime Minister Abe stressed the need to show the clear will of the G-8 to North Korea, by noting, "North Korea's nuclear ambitions are unacceptable." On the abduction issue, the TOKYO 00002618 005 OF 009 prime minister emphasized the need for cooperation, portraying it as an "international human rights issue." The G-8 leaders agreed to put pressure on North Korea to immediately implement the initial-stage action as agreed on in the (February) six-party talks, as well as swiftly resolve the abduction issue. This agreement sends a strong message toward North Korea. The six-party talks must take into consideration this international pressure on the North. In dealing with the issue of hedge funds, the G-8 went no further than to indicate the need to be alert to them. In order to prevent hedge funds from putting the world market into turmoil, it is essential for the G-8 to continue monitoring the market. The 33-year-old G-8 framework now stands at a new juncture. British Prime Minister Blair, who is to retire from the post shortly, and Russian President Putin, whose term of office is to expire next spring, will not join the next summit. In contrast to them, Prime Minister Abe and French President Sarkozy were attending their first G-8 summit this time. The G-8 leaders are now in a transition. Global warming, the focus of the G-8 summit this time, terrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, and hedge funds are challenges the world is facing at present. But those challenges cannot be resolved simply under the G-8 framework. The G-8 and five emerging economies, including China, India, and Brazil, agreed to begin economic dialogue periodically on such topics as development and energy. Behind this agreement is the G-8 leaders' understanding that the G-8 framework has limits to policy coordination of the world economy. Management of the G-8, too, needs to be reformed in line with the changing international community. Meanwhile, the G-8 summit this time revealed discord among the participating nations. For example, Russia is at odds with the United States over its plan to deploy a missile defense system in East Europe, and Russia's energy policy and its retreat from the move toward democratization have become a constant source of dispute with Europe. Whether Russia is qualified to be a member of the G-8 is likely to remain an open question in the months ahead. Greenhouse gases and climate change will become an even more critical subject for international politics. Prime Minister Abe in this sense needs to prompt India to cooperate when he visits that country in August as planned. He also must play a leading part in getting large emitters like China to participate in a new framework, as well as in adjusting numerical targets as called for by the EU. (4) LDP team eyes utilizing SDF to combat harmful animals ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) June 10, 2007 TOKYO 00002618 006 OF 009 A Liberal Democratic Party team studying ways to reduce damage to agricultural and marine products by wild animals, such as boars, monkeys, and baboons, has decided to include in its countermeasures the use of the Self-Defense Forces. The team will also seek the SDF's cooperation in setting up fences and traps to prevent their access to human habitation and find out if it is possible for them to use firearms in getting rid of such animals. Given rapidly aging farmers, including hunters, the LDP team has turned its attention to the SDF. The team intends to push ahead with necessary intra-party procedures with the aim of submitting a bill to improve the law to the extra Diet session in the fall. The LDP Special Committee on Mountain Villages established the study team chaired by Kazuaki Miyaji in late March in collaboration with an LDP harmful animal control group that includes such former Defense Agency chiefs as Seishiro Eto and Gen Nakatani. Through its nine sessions, the team has recognized the need to mobilize the SDF. The team specifically eyes a system to let local governments produce plans to fight against harmful animals and to allow prefectural governors to request the cooperation of the SDF, including the mobilization of SDF troops. The team specifically intends to allow SDF troops to set up fences and cut grass on idle farmland Calls are strong in the LDP for using firearms in capturing and eliminating harmful animals. The team will study whether or not it is legally and technically possible for the SDF to use guns for such a purpose with the aim of producing a report later this month. "People are becoming increasingly concerned about bear attacks on humans, in addition to damage to agricultural and marine products," chair Miyaji said. A senior Defense Ministry official took this view: "Once an overall plan against harmful animals is shown, there must be some steps the SDF can take in response to requests for cooperation. At the same time, a clear chain of command is essential in taking steps. The use of firearms involves risk. The appropriateness of allowing SDF personnel to shoot animals with guns must be discussed widely." Although the team eyes to improve the law, the party leadership will make a final decision. Harmful animals have caused 20 billion yen worth of damage to farm crops nationwide over the last several years. The number of hunters has declined by over 50 percent over the last three decades. (5) Cabinet support rate nosedives; LDP feeling a sense of crisis with House of Councillors election ahead YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged) June 8, 2007 Ahead of this summer's election for the House of Councillors, the rate of public support for Prime Minister Abe and his cabinet plunged in a recent Yomiuri Shimbun public opinion survey, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party is feeling a sense of crisis. The fall is generally believed to be attributable to the Social Insurance Agency's pension record-keeping flaws and the suicide of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka. However, the LDP is at a loss as to how to recover public confidence TOKYO 00002618 007 OF 009 before the House of Councillors election. The Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) and other opposition parties want to maintain their momentum and go on the offensive toward the end of the current Diet session. The LDP's Machimura faction, from which Abe hails, held a meeting of its members yesterday. In the meeting, Nobutaka Machimura, who heads the faction, noted that the sharp drop in the Abe cabinet's support rate was brought about by Matsuoka's suicide in late May and the pension fiasco. "Some people are swayed by the support rate," Machimura said. "But," he added, "it's no use fretting." He also said, "The most important thing is to do our utmost for the important bills." Machimura stressed that the ruling coalition should work to enact key bills into law as the Diet enters the latter half of its current session, thereby producing real results. "That's the path to victory in the House of Councillors election," Machimura said. However, Yoichi Masuzoe, one of the LDP leaders in the Diet's upper chamber, voiced a sense of crisis. "The prime minister touched on DPJ Vice President Kan's responsibility for the government's pension record-keeping flaws (as Kan was once in the post of health and welfare minister to oversee the management of pensions)," Masuzoe said. "But," he went on, "it was not good to do so." He added, "The government has been falling behind in dealing with the pension fiasco, and people think the LDP needs to learn a lesson." The worst scenario for the LDP would be for the ruling coalition to enter this summer's campaign while the cabinet support rate remains low, with the ruling parties suffering a crushing defeat and losing their majority in the House of Councillors. "This is a gale force wind blowing against us," says a member of the Tsushima faction who is up for election. Also, Makoto Koga, who SIPDIS chairs the Niwa-Koga faction, voiced concern yesterday, saying: "We're facing a very strong headwind in local constituencies. The election is just around the corner, but there's still no momentum for us. People's anxiety over pensions has taken on a life of its own." An LDP executive for elections says: "The nation's electoral districts for the House of Councillors are large and extensive, so there's a limit to one candidate's campaigning. The prime minister's popularity and the cabinet support rate will greatly affect the outcome. I feel that the present situation is like that at the time of the House of Councillors election in 1989 when opinion was raging against the consumption tax." "We must fulfill our responsibility," one of the LDP's lawmakers says. "That's all we can do," this LDP member added. Such a voice is now prevailing in the party. LDP Secretary General Nakagawa says: "The support rate will rebound as we explain that the government and the ruling parties (not the opposition parties) are working to pay pensions in full as early as possible." (6) Lee Teng-hui's Japan visit ends; Showy behavior masks declining influence ASAHI (Page 7) (Full) June 10, 2007 TOKYO 00002618 008 OF 009 Tsuyoshi Nojima, Taiwan SIPDIS Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui (84) ended his 11-day trip to Japan on June 9. During his tour this time, he delivered a speech and held a press conference unlike his past two tours, and his behavior was more noticeable than in the past, for instance, by visiting Yasukuni Shrine. But his tour did not create any mess involving the Japanese and Chinese governments. The reasons for this are apparent. One is because of improvement in Japan-China relations, and another is because Lee's influence is now waning. On the night of June 9, Lee arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and summed up his Japan tour as "successful." During his stay in Japan, Beijing discouraged Tokyo, arguing, "Japan must not offer a political stage to a Taiwanese element seeking Taiwan's independence and his group." But China did not react to Lee's visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Even at the Japan-China summit on June 8, the Chinese leader avoided directly criticizing Lee's visit to Japan. China thus restrained itself as Lee had calculated before his Japan visit that China does not want to argue with Japan at this point. However, a lawmaker of Taiwan's largest opposition party Kuomintang noted: "Mr. Lee is a person of the past. (His recent our of Japan) revealed that he is no longer influential on the China-Taiwan issue." In this past February, Lee made a remark that could be taken as rejecting Taiwanese independence, thereby making some of his support group favoring Taiwan's independence point to his sagging popularity. Ahead of Lee's visit to Japan, the Japanese government obtained a draft of his speech and explored what action China would take, but now Tokyo feels relieved, with one diplomatic source explaining, "Perhaps China took it into consideration that Japan-China relations are improving, and that making a mess would only help Mr. Lee." So far Lee has been actively planning a visit to Japan or the United States, behind which was his strategy of drawing international attention to Taiwan or himself by creating friction between Japan and China and between the US and China. This strategy, however, failed this time, but it proved effective in Taiwan. His tour of Japan was favorably reported on daily by the media. Lee's next goal is likely to be a visit to China. Should his meeting with key Chinese officials, with whom he since his days of serving as president had exchanged harsh arguments, become reality, that would surely have more impact than his Japan visit. (7) Lee Teng-hui says in Japan: "Taiwan is an independent country" ASAHI (Page 7) (Full) June 10, 2007 At a press conference on June 9 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui said: "It's no wonder that I as a Taiwanese assert that Taiwan is already an independent, free, peaceful and democratic country." This was his first remark made in public in Japan regarding Taiwanese independence, a serious concern for China. Speaking of his visit to Yasukuni Shrine, Lee said, "It was one moment of happiness in my life." When asked about China's reaction, Lee noted: "Rank-and-file officials are nit-picking and making TOKYO 00002618 009 OF 009 noise." SCHIEFFER