DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 07/06/07-1

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 003099 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 07/06/07-1 Index: (1) Abe cabinet, political parties, election (2) Poll: Abe more reliable, but Ozawa outranks in leadership ARTICLES: (1) Abe cabinet, political parties, election YOMIURI (Page 13) (Full) July 4, 2007 Questions & Answers (Figures shown in percentage. Some results already reported in the June 19 edition.) Q: Do you support the Abe cabinet? Yes 38.3 No 50.6 O/A 2.8 No answer (N/A) 8.3 Q: Which political party do you support now? Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 32.9 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 14.3 New Komeito (NK) 4.0 Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2.4 Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1.2 People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0.2 New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) --- Other political parties --- None 44.4 N/A 0.7 Q: Then, if there are other political parties you can support or like, pick as many as you like from among those listed below. LDP 6.7 DPJ 12.1 NK 4.2 JCP 3.5 SDP 3.8 PNP 2.1 NPN 0.9 Other political parties 0.1 None in particular 68.2 N/A 2.4 Q: Then, pick as many political parties as you wouldn't like to support or don't like, if any. LDP 14.4 DPJ 9.0 NK 17.5 JCP 25.7 SDP 8.9 PNP 2.5 NPN 2.2 Other political parties 0.1 TOKYO 00003099 002 OF 007 None in particular 43.3 N/A 0.8 Q: Do you appreciate the performance of Prime Minister Abe and his cabinet so far on the whole? Appreciate very much 6.3 Appreciate somewhat 36.3 Don't appreciate very much 37.2 Don't appreciate at all 16.7 N/A 3.4 Q: If there is anything you can appreciate in what Prime Minister Abe or his cabinet has actually done, pick as many as you like from among those listed below. Relations with the US 9.5 Relations with China 14.7 Relations with South Korea 5.8 Efforts for North Korea issues 31.1 Efforts for education reform 15.3 Efforts for social divide 4.4 Efforts for the pension issue 12.7 Efforts for constitutional revision 6.8 Efforts for public service personnel system reform 3.0 Response to politics-and-money issues 1.8 Response to cabinet ministerial gaffe 1.7 O/A 0.3 Nothing in particular (NIP) 38.3 N/A 1.7 Q: If there is anything you cannot appreciate in what Prime Minister Abe or his cabinet has actually done, pick as many as you like from among those listed below. Relations with the US 8.4 Relations with China 7.2 Relations with South Korea 4.7 Efforts for North Korea issues 14.4 Efforts for education reform 13.5 Efforts for social divide 25.0 Efforts for the pension issue 50.2 Efforts for constitutional revision 10.1 Efforts for public service personnel system reform 9.0 Response to politics-and-money issues 49.0 Response to cabinet ministerial gaffe 32.1 O/A 0.5 NIP 13.8 N/A 2.1 Q: Do you trust the government's pension system on the whole? Yes 7.6 Yes to a certain degree 15.7 No to a certain degree 26.8 No 48.7 N/A 1.3 Q: Are you satisfied with national politics now? Very satisfied 1.5 Somewhat satisfied 19.8 TOKYO 00003099 003 OF 007 Somewhat dissatisfied 46.7 Very dissatisfied 30.0 N/A 2.1 Q: Are you interested in the upcoming election for the House of Councillors? Very interested 32.3 Somewhat interested 35.3 Not very interested 22.9 Not interested at all 8.9 N/A 0.6 Q: What issues would you like political parties or candidates to take up in campaigning for the upcoming House of Councillors election? Pick as many as you like from among those listed below, if any. Economy, employment 40.6 Fiscal reconstruction 16.2 Tax reform, consumption tax 27.8 Social security, including pensions 65.4 Low birthrate countermeasures, including childcare support 28.1 Education reform 22.3 Administrative reform, including public service personnel system 19.6 Politics-and-money issues 30.9 Social divide, including income gaps 29.3 Yasukuni Shrine 6.0 North Korea issues 21.3 Foreign, security policies 10.2 Constitutional revision 12.4 Crisis management, including disaster prevention 7.9 Public security, crime prevention 17.1 Environmental protection 20.4 Food safety 15.6 O/A+NIP+N/A 5.0 Q: Do you think what you think is important will become a point at issue in campaigning for the upcoming House of Councillors election? Yes 36.0 Yes to a certain degree 29.6 No to a certain degree 14.3 No 13.1 N/A 7.0 Q: Which political party's candidate are you thinking of voting for in the upcoming House of Councillors election? Pick only one from among those listed below. LDP 27.5 DPJ 17.7 NK 3.3 JCP 2.3 SDP 1.1 PNP 0.3 NPN 0.2 Other political parties --- Independent 0.9 Undecided 45.7 TOKYO 00003099 004 OF 007 N/A 0.9 Q: Which political party's candidate or which political party are you thinking of voting for in the upcoming House of Councillors election under the proportional representation system? Pick only one from among those listed below. (Results from surveys in January and the following months. No survey conducted in April.) January LDP 33.7 DPJ 15.4 NK 3.0 JCP 2.6 SDP 1.6 PNP 0.2 NPN 0.1 Other political parties 0.1 Undecided 42.2 N/A 1.1 February LDP 31.5 DPJ 13.9 NK 4.0 JCP 1.9 SDP 1.1 PNP 0.5 NPN 0.1 Other political parties --- Undecided 46.4 N/A 0.7 March LDP 32.2 DPJ 14.5 NK 2.5 JCP 2.4 SDP 1.1 PNP 0.2 NPN 0.2 Other political parties --- Undecided 45.6 N/A 1.3 May LDP 33.9 DPJ 14.1 NK 3.3 JCP 1.7 SDP 0.9 PNP 0.4 NPN 0.1 Other political parties --- Undecided 44.3 N/A 1.2 June LDP 25.9 DPJ 17.6 NK 4.1 JCP 2.6 SDP 1.3 TOKYO 00003099 005 OF 007 PNP 0.5 NPN 0.2 Other political parties --- Undecided 46.8 N/A 1.1 Q: The House of Councillors election this time is the first national election for the Abe cabinet to go through since its inauguration in September last year. Do you factor in the Abe cabinet's job performance so far when you choose a political party or a political party's candidate to vote for? Yes 55.5 No 21.7 Can't say which 21.3 N/A 1.5 Q: Do you think Prime Minister Abe should step down to take responsibility if the LDP and its coalition partner, New Komeito, failed to retain their current majority of the seats in the House of Councillors, including those not up for reelection, as a result of its upcoming election? Yes 41.4 No 35.3 Can't say which 21.3 N/A 2.0 Q: Do you think DPJ President Ozawa should resign as his party's head to take responsibility if the opposition camp could not make the ruling coalition to lose its majority? Yes 31.3 No 41.7 Can't say which 25.0 N/A 2.0 Q: The Diet is made up of two chambers, the House of Representatives as its lower house and the House of Councillors as its upper house. Do you think the House of Councillors now has its own originality differing from the House of Representatives? Yes 5.8 Yes to a certain degree 12.0 No to a certain degree 27.8 No 44.2 N/A 10.2 Q: At the time of the last House of Representatives election or the so-called "general election for postal privatization" that was held in September 2005 when the Koizumi cabinet was in office, which political party did you vote for under the proportional representation system? Pick only one from among those listed below. LDP 44.5 DPJ 20.3 NK 4.6 JCP 2.9 SDP 1.6 PNP 0.5 NPN 0.1 New Party Daichi (NPD or Shinto Daichi) 0.1 TOKYO 00003099 006 OF 007 Abstained from voting 10.6 Forgot + didn't reach voting age + N/A 15.0 Q: (Only for those who gave a political party to the above question) When you chose to vote for that political party, did you think much of its head's political stance or personal character? Yes 47.7 Yes to a certain degree 25.0 No to a certain degree 11.0 No 15.6 N/A 0.7 Q: When you choose a political party to vote for in the upcoming House of Councillors election, do you think much of its head's political stance or personal character? Yes 42.5 Yes to a certain degree 27.2 No to a certain degree 11.5 No 15.2 N/A 3.6 Q: Do you go to the polls in the House of Councillors election this time? Pick only one from among those listed below. Yes, for sure (including early voting) 58.8 Yes, if possible 32.9 Maybe no 5.4 No (abstain from voting) 1.9 N/A 1.0 Q: (Only for those who answered "yes") to the foregoing question) Do you go to the polls on the election day or go for early voting? Election day 89.1 Early voting 9.0 N/A 1.9 Polling methodology Date of survey: June 16-17. Subjects of survey: 3,000 persons chosen from among all eligible voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified two-stage random-sampling basis). Method of implementation: Door-to-door visits for face-to-face interviews. Number of valid respondents: 1,837 persons (61.2 PERCENT ) Breakdown of respondents: Male-48 PERCENT , female-52 PERCENT ; persons in their 20s-9 PERCENT , 30s-15 PERCENT , 40s-16 PERCENT , 50s-22 PERCENT , 60s-23 PERCENT , 70 and over-15 PERCENT ; big cities (Tokyo's 23 wards and government-designated cities)-21 PERCENT , major cities (with a population of more than 300,000)-19 PERCENT , medium-size cities (with a population of more than 100,000)-25 PERCENT , small cities (with a population of less than 100,000)-23 PERCENT , towns and villages-12 PERCENT . (2) Poll: Abe more reliable, but Ozawa outranks in leadership YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) July 5, 2007 TOKYO 00003099 007 OF 007 The Yomiuri Shimbun recently conducted a third online monitoring poll of voters and asked about their images of Prime Minister Abe, who is the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Ichiro Ozawa, who heads the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto). Abe was above Ozawa in reliability. However, Ozawa outranked Abe in leadership. Abe's leadership was bitterly rated among women and floating voters in particular. In the survey, keywords were given for Abe and Ozawa. Respondents were asked if they thought these keywords match their images of the two party heads. In reliability, Abe scored 25 PERCENT , with Ozawa at 13 PERCENT . As seen from these figures, Abe was above Ozawa in reliability. Even among those who are thinking of voting for the DPJ under the proportional representation system in the upcoming election for the House of Councillors, their images of Ozawa were split, with 23 PERCENT saying Ozawa is reliable and 28 PERCENT seeing him as unreliable. In leadership, Ozawa stood at 37 PERCENT , getting a big lead over Abe, who was at 16 PERCENT . Even among those who voted for the LDP in the 2005 House of Representatives election under the proportional representation system, the affirmative and negative images of Ozawa were close to each other, with "yes" accounting for 30 PERCENT and "no" at 34 PERCENT . When asked whether Abe has leadership, negative answers outnumbered affirmative ones, with 23 PERCENT answering "yes" while 45 PERCENT saying "no." When asked whether Abe has leadership, "yes" accounted for 21 PERCENT among men and 12 PERCENT among women. Among those with no particular party affiliation, an overwhelmingly large number of persons were severe about Abe, with "yes" accounting for 5 PERCENT and "no" reaching 63 PERCENT . SCHIEFFER