JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 06/18/07

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 002725

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

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SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 06/18/07


TOKYO 00002725 001.2 OF 012


1) Top headlines
2) Editorials
3) Prime Minister's weekend schedule

4) Ambassador Schieffer in a Yomiuri-sponsored speech urges signing
of FTA between US and Japan

Opinion polls:
5) Abe Cabinet support rate plummets 10.6 points to all time low of
28%, with non-support rate jumping 14.8 points to 48.4% : Jiji poll

6) Asahi poll shows tremendous erosion of public trust in politics,
with 83% convinced that political parties are not carrying out their
roles

Political agenda:
7) Prime Minister Abe, LDP agree that extension of Diet session is
necessary
8) Ruling camp decision on length of Diet extension early this week,
but opposition camp is prepared to file a no-confidence motion
9) LDP Upper House secretary general: Opposition filing a
no-confidence motion against the Abe Cabinet will make a Diet
extension inevitable
10) Minshuto Upper House secretary general: No confidence motion
should be filed
11) Minshuto's Hatoyama hints at possibility of double elections due
to political clash in the Diet
12) LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa resigned to possibility
that coalition may lose its Upper House majority in the election
13) LDP Upper House caucus head Aoki: If election is lost, Abe must
assume responsibility
14) Japanese Communist Party issues its political manifesto
(campaign pledges) for the upcoming Upper House election
15) Sales of Chongryon (Chosen Soren) headquarters withdrawn
16) Involvement of PSIA staff and not just the former chief revealed
in the strange case of the aborted purchase of the pro-North Korea
Chongryon headquarters

Defense and security issues:
17) Declassified documents uncovered in US archives allege secret
deal between US, Japan to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa during
a contingency
18) US sounds out Japan about multiple war heads for jointly
developed SM3 but Japan balks at the cost
19) Japan to concur to international scheme to restrict cluster
bombs
20) Japan to enter international negotiations aimed at banning
cluster bombs
21) USFJ requests over 100 facilities in plan to expand Iwakuni base


Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi:
Asahi Shimbun poll: 83% say political parties are not fulfilling
their roles

Mainichi:
Sale of Chongryon HQ cancelled; Former PSIA director general gives
up on 3.5 billion procurement; Land and building registration

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restored to Chongryon

Yomiuri:
Schools flounder under unreasonable requests from parents

Nikkei:
Accumulated losses held by 22 independent administrative agencies
amount to 1.6 trillion yen as of end of March last year: Possibility
of injecting tax money

Sankei:
Japan used yen loans to China as leverage to help dissident
physicist Fang Lizhi leave China

Tokyo Shimbun:
Legal system concerning EMF waves from digital consumer electronics
needed: Relation with pediatric leukemia cannot be ruled out

Akahata:
JCP gets support in nationwide campaign, dialogues

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) A society free of global warming: Redesign needed both for
industry and lifestyle
(2) Foreign trainee system: Huge difference between principles and
reality

Mainichi:
(1) Reform of policy-related financing: Continued monitoring needed
(2) State is responsible for filling ten-year vacuum after atomic
bombings

Yomiuri:
(1) Scramble for power of attorney: Voting rights given to
individual stockholders increase weight
(2) Regional Revitalization Organization: How will it support
regional small- and medium-sized firms?

Nikkei:
(1) New concepts needed to promote tourism
(2) Cambodia emerging as destination for investment

Sankei:
(1) Shareholders meetings should be made venue to nurture healthy
tension
(2) Police scandals: Pronounced lack of morals

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Shareholders meetings: Sufficient information should be
provided
(2) Cambodian reconstruction: New chapter for success story needed

Akahata:
(1) Beginning of the rainy season: Alert to abnormally heavy rain

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, June 16

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)

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June 17, 2007

08:34
Left Haneda Airport by ANA 661.

10:02
Arrived at Nagasaki Airport. Met Nagasaki Vice Governor Fujii and
others in the airport.

11:00
Attended a "meeting to talk about a beautiful Japan" sponsored by
the LDP Nagasaki Prefectural Chapter at the Hotel New Nagasaki.
Later, had lunch with Nagasaki Mayor Tagami and others.

12:25
Met Lower House member Seigo Kitamura and others. Followed by a
press conference.

13:21
Watched a girls' soccer game in Nagasaki Prefecture.

14:35
Visited the residence of the late Itcho Ito, former Nagasaki mayor.

16:29
Planted rice in Ogi City, Saga Prefecture. Held informal talks with
persons related to agriculture.

17:31
Met Saga Governor Furukawa and others at the Saga City Cultural
Hall. Held a press conference.

18:46
Attended a speech meeting sponsored by the LDP Saga Prefectural
Chapter.

20:08
Arrived at Fukuoka Airport.

20:59
Left Fukuoka Airport by ANA 272.

22:14
Arrived at Haneda Airport.

22:49
Returned to his official residence.

Spent the morning at his official residence

13:10
Attended a funeral for a relative of his secretary at Gotokuji
Temple, Setagaya Ward.

15:00
Arrived at his private residence in Tomigaya.

4) US ambassador expresses eagerness for Japan-US FTA

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
June 16, 2007


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Delivering a speech in a meeting of the Yomiuri International
Economic Society (YIES) in Tokyo on June 15, United States
Ambassador to Japan J. Thomas Schieffer indicated a positive stance
about concluding a Japan-US free trade agreement (FTA),which the
Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) has been calling for.
He said: "If Japan and the US further open their markets (to each
other),(business) opportunities will be unlimited for both."

The ambassador stopped short of mentioning the propriety of starting
negotiations, saying, "The Upper House election is scheduled for
July." But he reiterated that the pact, if concluded, inevitably
would benefit the two countries, remarking: "Free trade will produce
prosperity and create jobs."

The ambassador further urged the government to promote deregulation
and structural reform in such areas as commercial aviation,
telecommunications, and medical services, saying: "The low
productivity in the service area, which accounts for two-thirds of
the nation's gross domestic product (GDP),is attributed to the
regulations intended to protect domestic firms from competition
inside and outside the nation."

In reference to the six-party talks on North Korea, Schieffer
stated: "We appreciate the proactive role Japan has played." On the
issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North, he said: "I
believe that the issue should be dealt with in the framework of the
six-party talks."

5) Jiji poll: Cabinet approval rating nosedives to 28%

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts)
June 16, 2007

The approval rating for the Abe cabinet dropped sharply to 28.8%,
down 10.6 points from the previous month to an all-time low since
the cabinet came into being in last September, according to the
results of a poll conducted on June 8-11 by Jiji Press. This is the
first time since the Mori cabinet for the cabinet to see its
approval rating sink to under 30%, viewed as the "danger zone." The
Koizumi cabinet never saw its support rate fall below 30%. In
contrast, the disapproval rating rose to 48.4% (up 14.8 points from
the previous month),the highest since the cabinet was established.
The public's discontent with and distrust of the Abe
administration's responses to the problem of the missing records of
pension premium payments is hurting the administration. This is
likely to affect the Upper House election set to be announced next
month.

The survey was conducted toward 2,000 adult men and women across the
country on a one-on-one interview basis. The retrieval rate was
67.5%.

6) Poll: 83% see political parties failing to play their roles

ASAHI (Top play) (Abridged)
June 18, 2007

A total of 83% do not think political parties have been playing
their expected roles, with only 10% thinking they have been doing
so, the Asahi Shimbun found from its recent nationwide public
opinion survey. The general public takes an earnest view of
politics, with 53% seeing political parties as "important" and 62%

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seeing politics as "inseparable from livelihood and jobs."
Meanwhile, the public is strongly dissatisfied with the political
parties as they are. There are few people who support a political
party but do not go so far as to become a member of that party or
contribute money to that party. The proportion of those who will
vote for that party's candidate was also no more than 50%. The
survey shows the public's weak attitude of supporting political
parties.

The survey was conducted with cooperation from former Tokyo
University President Takeshi Sasaki, currently a professor at
Gakushuin University, and Kazutoshi Maeda, political reform
promotion chief at the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic
Development. The survey was intended to probe the public's political
attitudes, such as how they evaluate political parties and
politicians, what they will consider in supporting or voting for a
political party or its candidate, and what they think about public
opinion surveys. A questionnaire was mailed to a total of 3,000
persons in April and May before the pension fiasco came up, and
answers were obtained from 2,166 persons (72% ).

In the survey, respondents were also asked if they were interested
in politics. In response to this question, 82% answered "yes," with
18% seeing politics as a "drama" and 27% saying politics is
interesting. The general public seems to be interested in politics
but also seems to be thinking they must not make light of it.

The public actually takes a severe view of politics. Asked if they
trust politics, 58% answered "no," with 41% saying "yes." A total of
92% also answered that they wanted politics to change, broken down
into 44% saying they want politics to change "very much" and 48%
saying they want politics to change "somewhat."

Respondents were further asked if they thought they were "floating
voters" with no particular party affiliation, regardless of whether
they have a political party to support now. To this question, "yes"
accounted for 47%, with "no" reaching 46%.

7) Prime Minister Abe, LDP agree to extend current Diet session

NIHON KEIZAI (NIKKEI) (Page 1) (Excerpts)
June 16, 2007

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the night of June 15 with Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP) Hidenao Nakagawa and Secretary General LDP
Upper House Caucus Secretary General Toranosuke Katayama at the
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). The three agreed on a
plan of not hesitating to extend the current session of the Diet in
order to pass in the current session a bill amending the National
Civil Service Law, which would ban the practice of amakudari or
placing retired senior bureaucrats into high-paying posts at private
firms in the industries they once oversaw. The ruling parties are
now coordinating views on a plan to extend the session for 12 days.
Abe has accepted this idea.

8) Decision on how long the Diet session will be extended likely to
be made early this week

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
June 18, 2007

Kazuto Takeshima, Muri Yamada

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The battle between the ruling and opposition parties will come to a
crucial stage ahead of June 23, when the current session of the Diet
is to end. The governing coalition, which has now decided to extend
the Diet session in order to enact such key bills as legislation
reforming the civil service system, is expected to decide early this
week how long the session will be extended. The plan is to extend it
for 12 days at the longest. Meanwhile, the opposition parties,
including the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto),are objecting
strongly to the ruling bloc's move, describing it as an attempt to
delay the Upper House election. The Diet is likely to be put in a
tense situation with the opposition bloc gearing up to prevent the
enactment of key bills by submitting a no-confidence motion against
the Abe cabinet.

Appearing on an NHK TV talk show yesterday, Shoichi Nakagawa,
chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Policy
Research Council, indicated that it would be inevitable to extend
the Diet session, noting: "(The opposition parties) are preparing to
obstruct Diet deliberations, for example, by submitting a
no-confidence motion against the cabinet. We must seriously consider
this situation, otherwise we can't fulfill our responsibility to the
public." Toshiko Hamayotsu, acting chief representative of the
junior coalition partner New Komeito, also told reporters in Fukuoka
City on the same day: "We have been opposed to extending the Diet
session, but we are ready to change our mind if there is an urgent
need."

The governing coalition's initial plan was to pass the three
education reform-related bills and the bill revising the Iraq
Special Measures Law on June 20 and enact the bills aimed at
reforming the Social Insurance Agency (SIA),the bill lifting the
statute of limitations on pension claims and the bills related to
the Civil Service Law on June 22.

However, Minshuto and other opposition parties are confronting the
government over such issues as missing pension records. They are
gearing up to submit a censure motion against Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe in the Upper House and a no-confidence motion in the Lower House
in order to block the enactment of those bills. Given this move, the
ruling bloc has judged it is inevitable to extend the Diet session.
After measuring the degree of the opposition bloc's objection
against the government on such occasions as taking a vote on the
three education reform-related bills slated for tomorrow, the ruling
parties will decide on how long the Diet session will be extended.
Assuming an extension of the session for another 12 days will be
appropriate, the ruling parties aim to enact the bill revising the
Political Funds Control Law as well as the three labor bills.

If the Diet is extended for another 12 days, the election will be
delayed from the initially-scheduled July 22 to July 29.

9) "Extending Diet session would be unavoidable, if a no-confidence
motion is filed," says Katayama, secretary general of LDP members in
Upper House

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
June 18, 2007

Commenting on the handling of a set of bills related to reform of
the public servant system towards the end of the Diet session,
Toranosuke Katayama, secretary general of the LDP members in the

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Upper House, during a Fuji TV talk show on June 17 noted, "If
opposition parties introduce a no-confidence motion against the
Cabinet, the Diet will be stalled. Should that happen, it would be
impossible for those bills to clear through the Diet by June 23,
when the current session closes." He thus indicated his view that it
would be unavoidable to extend the session in the event of
opposition parties filing a no-confidence motion against the
cabinet. He then hinted that a 12-day extension would be desirable.

Secretary General Nakagawa of the same party during an NHK TV talks

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show also said, "If opposition parties say that they will filibuster
deliberations by filing a no-confidence motion for the sake of
gaining time, we must seriously think of some sort of
countermeasures. Otherwise, we cannot be responsible to the
people."

Giving a speech in Tateyama Town, Toyama Prefecture, former LDP
secretary general Makoto Koga yesterday indicated his position that

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a cautious decision is needed in deciding whether to extend the Diet
session. He noted, "I wonder the public is seeking passage of those
key bills even at the cost of delaying the day for the Upper House
election."

10) "Opposition parties should file a no-confidence motion," says
DPJ Secretary General Ogawa

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
June 18, 2007

Discussing during a Fuji TV talk show yesterday his party's possible
approach to the Diet session, which is about to close, Toshio Ogawa,
secretary general of Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto)

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members of the Upper House, indicated his position that opposition
parties should file a no-confidence motion against the cabinet. He
said, "Given the government's measures to deal with the pension
fiasco, opposition parties cannot avoid introducing a no-confidence
motion." Regarding a possible extension of the Diet session, he
stressed his stance of opposing an extension by 12 days (as the LDP
secretary general had proposed),saying, "A 12-day extension will

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not be enough for sufficient deliberations."

11) Hatoyama hints at possibility of double elections

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
June 18, 2007

Referring to the Upper House election in the summer, Democratic
Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) Secretary General Hatoyama in a
speech given yesterday in Higashi-Kagawa City, Kagawa Prefecture
indicated a possibility of same-day elections for the Upper House
and the Lower House. He noted, "You cannot rule out a possibility of
same-day elections for the Upper House and the Lower House. Since
the opposition camp is cornering the Abe administration, heaven only
knows what it will be up to, giving in to despair."

12) LDP Secretary General Nakagawa preparing for possibility of
ruling coalition falling short of majority in Upper House?

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
June 17, 2007

Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Hidenao

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Nakagawa took a test ride in a dual mode vehicle (DMV),which can
run both on a track and road, in JR Hokkaido's Inaho factory in
Sapporo. Asked by reporters about his impression, he said: "In order
to protect local railways this is a very important traffic vehicle."
He then quipped, "A dual mode party, which would transfer people
from the opposition camp to the ruling bloc, could be created after
the House of Councillors election ends."

He appeared to have expressed his hope for cooperation with the
People's New Party and other opposition parties if the ruling
coalition fails to win a majority of the Upper House seats in the
July election. Facing a headwind due to the pension premium record
record-keeping fiasco, he seemed to be discouraged.

13) LDP Upper House Chairman Aoki indicates if LDP fails to win a
majority in the Upper House, Prime Minister Abe will be held
responsible for that loss

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
June 17, 2007

Mikio Aoki, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
caucus in the House of Councillors, delivered a speech on the night
of June 16 in the city of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. Referring in
it to the upcoming Upper House election, Aoki stated:

"Both the LDP and Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) have
recognized that a low threshold for victory in the Upper House
election is to win a majority of the Upper House seats by the LDP
and New Komeito. The locus of responsibility is clear. Both the LDP
and Minshuto will risk their fates on the Upper House election."

Aoki indicated in his remarks that if the ruling camp failed to win
a majority of the Upper House seats, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
responsibility for the failure will be unavoidable. His remarks were
aimed at strengthening internal cooperation, while the LDP is
expected to face an uphill battle.

He also expressed his view that the LDP was in a tougher position
over the problem of unidentified pension accounts. He pointed out:

"The Upper House members up for election won their seats six years
ago. The ruling camp won big in the previous House of
Representatives election because of the popularity of Prime Minister
Koizumi. So the public may be wondering whether they want the ruling
camp to win the Upper House race as well. In this critical
situation, the pension fiasco then arose."

14) JCP unveils its manifesto

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
June 16, 2007

The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) unveiled its manifesto for the
upcoming Upper House election on June 15. In response to the missing
records of pension premium payments, the manifesto features five
emergency measures, such as immediately sending every pension plan
holder and pensioner his or her records of premium payments.

The manifesto is titled "Protecting Livelihoods and Peace as a
Reliable Opposition Party." It comes up with priority policy
measures in 12 areas, such as poverty, social disparities, social

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welfare, the Constitution, and education.

On emergency measures to deal with the pension problem, the
manifesto proposes (1) paying benefits by respecting claims by
pension-plan holders or pensioners even if there is no evidence of
payments; (2) crosschecking all handwritten records with the
computer records at the Social Insurance Agency (SIA); and (3)
opposing breaking up and privatizing the SIA.

The manifesto also works out a "One-Trillion-Yen Plan for Emergency
Social Welfare," which includes lowering national health insurance
premiums and making medical expenses for preschool-age children
free.

15) PSIA official introduced mediator to Ogata for Chongryon HQ
deal

MAINICHI (Top play) (Excerpts)
June 17, 2007

It was an incumbent Public Security Intelligence Agency official
that introduced a former real estate company president, 73, to
former PSIA Director-General Shigetake Ogata, 73, for the sale of
the land and building of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of
Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) headquarters, informed sources
said. Prosecutors are believed to be aware of the relationship. The
involvement of an incumbent PSIA official in helping the former
company president to build a relationship with Ogata has now
surfaced behind the fictitious land deal. The official in question
belongs to Investigation Division 2, which is chiefly tasked with
monitoring foreign security authorities. The division is also
responsible for collecting and analyzing information on North Korea,
including Chongryon. Ogata served as division chief between 1984 and

1986.

The former president is believed to have served as an intermediary
between Ogata and Chongryon regarding the land deal. The special
investigative squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office
raided his Tokyo home on suspicion of registering false original
electronic documents.

16) Deal to sell Chongryon headquarters to former PSIA chief's
company cancelled

MAINICHI (Top Play) (Excerpts)
June 18, 2007

An investment advisory company in which former Public Security
Intelligence Agency (PSIA) Director General Shigetaka Ogata, 73,
serves as representative director had signed a deal to purchase the
land and building of the headquarters of the General Association of
Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon). But it has been learned that
Ogata informed the pro-Pyongyang organization that the company would
give up procuring the 3.5 billion yen needed to buy the property.
The company will go through the necessary procedure to restore the
registration of ownership of the land and buildings possibly this
morning, just before a judgment is handed down (this afternoon) in a
lawsuit in which the Resolution and Collection Corporation demands
Chongryon repay about 62.7 billion yen.

Many observers anticipate Chongryon will lose the lawsuit. The
possibility is now strong that if a declaration of provisional

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execution is issued, its properties, including the headquarters,
will be seized. Meanwhile, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors
Office's Special Investigation Department is conducting an
investigation on suspect that the sales deal might have been
falsified from the beginning, with no real substance about the
funds-procurement plan. The withdrawal of the registration of
transfer is likely to have some impact on future investigations.

17) Prof. Shinobu discovers documents on secret Japan-US pact
allowing US to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa in contingency,
supporting Wakaizumi claim

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Full)
June 17, 2007

Washington, Jiji

Documents have been discovered at the US National Archives on June
16 supporting claims in a book (Tasaku nakarishi o shinzemu to
hossu, published by Bungeishunju) by the late Kyoto Sangyo
University Prof. Kei Wakaizumi that he, as Prime Minister Eisaku
Sato's secret emissary during bilateral talks in 1969 on Okinawa's
reversion to Japan, had engineered a secret Japan-US pact for
bringing nuclear weapons into Japan. A total of 89 documents were
discovered, including telephone records between Wakaizumi and then
National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger. They are consistent with
what is written in Wakaizumi's book.

The discovered US documents support the accuracy of Wakaizumi's book
that unveiled the existence of the secret nuclear pact. With this,
the Japanese government, which has denied the existence of any
secret tact, is likely to find itself in a tight spot.

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Nihon University Prof. Takashi Shinobu discovered the telephone
records. Okinawa's reversion to Japan was sealed in a meeting in
November 19, 1969, between Prime Minister Sato and President Richard
Nixon. Toward this meeting, Wakaizumi, who became Sato's secret
emissary, made contacts with Kissinger under the false name of
Yoshida to pave the way for the secret pact.

According to Wakaizumi's book, aware of the danger of his telephone
conversations with Kissinger being wiretapped, they used codes, such
as "item 1" for the nuclear issue and "a cubicle" for the secret
pact on bringing nuclear weapons into Okinawa.

The words "item 1" and "cubicle" often crop up in the November 15,
1969, telephone conversation discovered by Prof. Shinobu.

The conversation between Wakaizumi and Kissinger on secret
procedures required for Sato and Nixon to sign the pact allowing the
US to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa is also largely consistent
with what is discussed in Wakaizumi's book.

Prof. Shinobu also discovered some memos Wakaizumi had sent to
Kissinger, as is discussed in Wakaizumi's book.

18) SM-3: US proposes developing multiheaded missile; Japan declines
proposal for cost reasons

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
June 18, 2007


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The US government has asked the Japanese government to change their
ongoing joint missile development plan, sources said yesterday.
Japan and the United States are now working together to develop the
Standard Missile 3 (SM-3),an enhanced intercept missile. The US
government proposed changing the SM-3 from a single-warheaded type
to a multiheaded type in order to cope with wide-ranging threats.
The Japanese government declined the proposal, maintaining that
Japan cannot accept the proposed change because the plan has already
been delayed and the cost also willl likely increase.

The SM-3 enhanced type is expected to expand the scope of defense
and improve the accuracy of fire. "It will be possible to destroy
the enemy's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) flying at a
high altitude," a senior official of the Defense Agency says. There
are calls from within the US government with China and Russia in
mind. for developing a multiheaded missile instead of a uniheaded
missile. Such an enhanced SM-3 missile can cope with ICBMs even if
they are improved in the future. However, the SM-3 enhanced type
will mean an increase in the defense budget. In addition, there is
no knowing how long its development will take. The US House of
Representatives Armed Services Committee cited two preconditions in
May for changing the SM-3 to a multiheaded type: 1) Japan's
concurrence is needed; and 2) deployment must not be behind
schedule. The United States is believed to have made the proposal to
the Defense Ministry in order to clear these preconditions.

19) Government to concur with placing controls on cluster bombs

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
June 16, 2007

Prior to an experts' meeting of the Convention of Prohibitions or
Restrictions on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW),scheduled to
begin on June 19 in Geneva, the government has decided to support
the drafting of a new treaty that would restrict the use of cluster
bombs.

On the understanding that Japan is against the immediate and
complete abolition of the bombs, the government's policy is to back
a ban on the use of the bombs in densely populated areas, as well as
the ban on the use of types of cluster bombs that tend to remain
unexploded. The policy also says that the government approves of
using cluster bombs with a function that keeps unexploded
sub-munitions from detonating.

Cluster bombs contain several sub-munitions that are sent over a
large area while the bomb is in midair. There have been many reports
of civilians killed while handling the unexploded bombs. But Japan,
which possesses four kinds of cluster bombs, remains reluctant to
sign a treaty completely banning the weapons.

20) Japan to concur on entry into talks over anti-cluster bomb
treaty

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Abridged)
June 17, 2007

An international meeting of experts for the Convention on Certain
Conventional Weapons (CCW) will start tomorrow in Geneva to discuss
how to proceed with negotiations for an anti-cluster bomb treaty.
The Japanese government is in favor of entering into talks over
cluster bombs, falling in line with the European Union that wants to

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conclude the treaty next year. However, the Japanese government
remains opposed to the immediate, all-out prohibition of cluster
bombs and prefers gradual phase-out.

21) USFJ asks for over 100 facilities in plan to expand Iwakuni base
that would add several hundred billion yen burden on Japan

AKAHATA (Page 4) (Excerpts)
June 17, 2007

The realignment of United States forces in Japan contains a plan to
relocate 57 US Navy carrier-based jets and approximately 3,800
personnel and their families now stationed at the US Navy's Atsugi
base (Kanagawa Prefecture) to the US Marines' Iwakuni base
(Yamaguchi Prefecture). The Japanese government has now revealed the
master plan drafted by the USFJ command.

According to diagram of possible deployments to Iwakuni base after
USFJ realignment, distributed on May 17 by the Defense Facilities
Administrative Agency, the plan aims to increased or revise over 100
facilities (on Iwakuni base) to accompany the carrier-based jet
squadron and the 12 KC-130 AIR tankers and approximately 350
personnel to be relocated from Futenma AIR Station, where they are
now located.

The master plan indicates that the US side, taking advantage of the
agreement by the Japanese government to foot the costs of USFJ
realignment within Japan, will ask for the construction of a large
number of new facilities.

SCHIEFFER