JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 08/07/07

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 003606 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 08/07/07 TOKYO 00003606 001.2 OF 011 Index: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule 4) Yomiuri poll: ABE Cabinet support rate sinks to 27.2 percent, non support rate at 63.7 percent; DPJ support leaps 12.6 percent to 26.9 percent, exceeding LDP's 25.8 percent 5) Moriya to resign as vice defense minister 6) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ozawa remains opposed to anti-terror law extension: "I am against joining US's war in Afghanistan" 7) Three opposition parties to cooperate in opposing bill extending anti-terror special measures law allowing MSDF refueling service in Indian Ocean 8) LDP seeking compromise with DPJ on anti-terror bill, including possibly allowing prior Diet approval 9) Ozawa's DPJ pressuring ABE government by seeking a timetable for ASDF withdrawal from Iraq service 10) Prime Minister Abe, fearing post-election backlash, postpones Aug. 15 visit to Yasukuni Shrine 11) ABE finding junior lawmakers in the LDP increasingly critical of his staying on 12) Constitutional research committees in both Diet chambers may not restart deliberations due to opposition camp's resistance 13) DPJ's Satsuki Eda, respected lawmaker, selected as president of the House of Councillors 14) DPJ's Ozawa says he aims to have his party win 150 district seats in the next Lower House election 15) Justice Minister Nagase charging foreign trainees group 500,000 yen "fee" for help in getting visas issued to incoming workers 16) Second case found of former farm minister Akagi having two sets of accounting books for political funds Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Fewer than two-thirds of Upper House members favor constitutional revision Mainichi: Justice Minister Nagase receives 500,000 yen from foreign trainee organization as reward for visa inquiry Yomiuri: China's blue sky campaign for opening of 2008 Beijing Olympics (Part 1) TOKYO 00003606 002 OF 011 Nikkei: JAL, Nippon Express, Kintetsu World Express to set up service for shipping packages in Asia Sankei: Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization orders TBS to make improvements regarding Fujiya reports Tokyo Shimbun: Abe not to visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 Akahata: World Conference against A&H Bombs in Hiroshima calls for nuclear-free world 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Government must deliver on prime minister's promise to recognize people as suffering from A-bomb diseases (2) National High School Baseball Tournament begins on Aug. 8 Mainichi: (1) People suffering from A-bomb diseases need speedy relief measures (2) Eda to become Upper House president Yomiuri: (1) N-plant inspection to offer lessons for world (2) High schools pad number of successful college applicants Nikkei: (1) Digital broadcasting needs improvements (2) Test for 40-year-old ASEAN Sankei: (1) Hiroshima peace declaration fails to refer to North Korean nuclear program (2) Guidelines on A-bomb diseases must be reviewed swiftly Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Speedy improvements essential for criteria on A-bomb diseases (2) How to utilize national academic aptitude test is summer assignment Akahata: (1) National High School Baseball Tournament as venue for true education 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, August 6 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) August 7, 2007 07:41: Left the Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima. 08:00: Attended a ceremony marking the 62nd anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. 10:37: Left Hiroshima Airport by ANA 676. *********************** * Missing Section 003 * *********************** TOKYO 00003606 004 OF 011 affiliation was 38.7 percent, down 5.7 points from June. Respondents were also asked if they thought Prime Minister Abe, who has now declared his intent to stay on as premier, will be able to obtain actual results. In response to this question, 54 percent answered "no," with 18 percent saying "yes" and 25 percent saying they "can't say which." Meanwhile, ABE is expected to shuffle his cabinet late this month. Respondents were further asked if they looked forward to seeing the ABE cabinet's new lineup. To this question, a total of 55 percent answered "no," with a total of 42 percent saying "yes." 5) Vice Defense Minister Moriya to exit MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) August 7, 2007 Defense Minister Yuriko Koike decided yesterday that Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya will retire. Moriya has been in his current post for over four years. He is to leave his post on Sept. 1, concurrent with the Defense Facilities Administration Agency's integration into the Defense Ministry. His post will be filled by Tetsuya Nishikawa, director general of the Defense Minister's Secretariat. In his career, Moriya has successively served as director general of the Defense Minister's Secretariat and director of the Defense Policy Bureau. In August 203, Moriya became administrative vice defense minister. He displayed his skill in negotiating with Okinawa Prefecture and the US Department of Defense over various issues, including the planned relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. He was rumored to be retained with the Diet convening an extraordinary session this fall. However, he will now be replaced because he has been in his current post for an unprecedentedly long period of time. 6) Ozawa stands against taking part in US war YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) August 7, 2007 Ichiro Ozawa, president of the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto),met yesterday at party headquarters with his party's executives, Vice President Kan and Secretary General Hatoyama. During the meeting, the three discussed the idea of extending the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law. "US President Bush has declared that it is the United States' war on terror in Afghanistan," Ozawa said. "The DPJ is opposed to taking part in the United States' war." With this, Ozawa indicated that the DPJ cannot agree to extend the law from its stand against the United States' Afghan policy. 7) Diet to convene extraordinary session today; Secretaries general of three opposition parties agree to oppose extending Antiterrorism Law SANKEI (Page 5) (Excerpts) August 7, 2007 In preparation for the start of an extraordinary Diet session today, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) selected the lineup for the House of Councillors' presidency and executive posts yesterday. The TOKYO 00003606 005 OF 011 main opposition party is now ready to engage in an all-out confrontation with the ruling coalition. DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa met with Acting President Naoto Kan and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama yesterday. He later announced that the party would express its opposition to the government's plan to extend the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law. The secretaries general of the DPJ, the Social Democratic Party, and the People's New Party also met at a Tokyo hotel last night for the first time after the Upper House election and confirmed that they would not basically support the government's extension plan. In the meeting with Kan and Hatoyama, Ozawa said about the Antiterrorism Law allowing the Maritime Self-Defense Force to deploy its vessels in the Indian Ocean (to refuel naval vessels from various countries): "I am opposed to Japan's support for the US-led war. President Bush has defined his country's operations as a war on the terror against Afghanistan. Japan should not take action to support such operations. Let's discuss such a point." After the meeting, Hatoyama remarked: "(Ozawa) probably meant to say Japan should consider more voluntarily serviceable contributions, while taking other countries' ways of contribution as reference." In reaction to a reporter pointing out that a question mark might be put on the DPJ's ability to hold the reins of government if the party opposes the extension of the law, Hatoyama made this counterargument: "The fact is the reverse of what you said. The Liberal Democratic Party has no ability to stay in power. Do you mean that if a party blindly follows the US and acts as told by it, the party holds the ability to hold the reins of government? Don't talk nonsense." 8) "Prior Diet approval" clause likely to be added to bill extending Antiterrorism Law NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts) August 7, 2007 The ruling parties yesterday began discussions on the question of whether to add a prior Diet approval clause to a bill extending the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law, which is to expire on Nov. 1. This clause has been called for by the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto). If the ruling bloc fails to obtain cooperation from the opposition bloc, which holds a majority in the Upper House, it may be difficult to get the bill adopted. If the bill is not adopted, that could affect Japan-US relations. The ruling bloc intends to show the bill to the DPJ during the extraordinary session of the Diet, which is to be convened on Aug. 31, and ask for the DPJ's support for the bill. The ruling bloc regards the question of extending the law as a "major political agenda" in the upcoming extraordinary Diet session slated for the fall as the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Toshihiro Nikai puts it. If the ruling bloc in this regard fails to convince the DPJ, it will face difficulties in managing the Diet thereafter. By adopting the opposition bloc's assertions over the question of extending the law, the governing parties want to help Prime Minister SHINZO Abe's policy management even slightly. The current law obligates the government to obtain ex post facto Diet approval after the dispatch of troops. If the law is not TOKYO 00003606 006 OF 011 extended, Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) troops must stop their refueling services now conducted in the Indian Ocean to vessels from the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries. The junior coalition partner New Komeito's Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshio Urushibara declared in an interview with the Nikkei yesterday: "We will agree to add a prior Diet approval clause as called for by the DPJ to the bill. We strongly hope to revise what should be revised upon obtaining approval from the opposition parties." Abe yesterday told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence, "I'd like to explain to the DPJ with sincerity and ask for its cooperation," indicating he was positive about prior consultations. On the same day, Nikai, too, told the Nikkei: "A variety of views exist. I think it is a good thing to discuss the matter fully," adding, "If 60 or 100 days are spent for prior approval, we will be criticized as being too late." He thus implied that even if prior approval is approved, the term of consultations should be limited to a short period. 9) Ozawa asks for Iraq withdrawal timetable to apply pressure on government SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) August 7, 2007 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa has informally asked the government to disclose information, including a timetable for withdrawing the Air Self-Defense Force, which has been engaged in reconstruction support in Iraq, government and ruling party members said yesterday. The government intends to reject the request. Apparently, the DPJ's aim is to apply pressure on the ABE administration eager to strengthen the Japan-US alliance amid growing calls in the United States for withdrawal from Iraq and to use the request as a bargaining chip in debate over the question of extending the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law slated to expire on November 1. According to the government source, the Ozawa side asked the government after the House of Councillors election for an explanation about withdrawing the ASDF from Iraq and future plans. The government and ruling coalition are reluctant to offer any explanation about withdrawing from Iraq. The reason is that America's Iraq policy is wavering as seen from the fact that the US House in July adopted with a majority approval a bill to pull US troops out of Iraq by next April but the Senate scrapped the legislation. President Bush is scheduled to produce a final report on Iraq in September. "Japan must not mention the possibility of withdrawing from Iraq ahead of a US decision, for that would affect the foundation of the bilateral alliance," the government source said. Although Ozawa has indicated that he would oppose an extension of the law, some DPJ lawmakers are supporting an extension. Depending on how things turn out, the DPJ might fall into disarray. The government and ruling bloc are reacting strongly to Ozawa's request, thinking that the DPJ is trying to obtain public support by linking TOKYO 00003606 007 OF 011 the Iraq issue to the antiterrorism law and that the party must not politicize diplomatic and security issues. The ASDF has been engaged in an airlift operation near Baghdad even after the Ground Self-Defense Force left the southern Iraqi city of Samawah in July 2006. The government and ruling coalition extended in June the Iraq Special Measures Law by two years until the end of July 2009. They have also decided to make changes to the basic plan to extend the Iraq mission by one year until the end of July 2008. 10) Prime Minister ABE puts off visit Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15 to avoid political trouble TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Full) August 7, 2007 Prime Minister SHINZO ABE yesterday made up his mind not to pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the end of World War II. Although former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine on that day last year for the first time since taking office as prime minister, ABE supposedly judged it is undesirable to bring about any further political trouble by visiting the shrine, given that there are strong objections from China and South Korea to the Japanese prime minister's visit to the shrine, and that the foundations of his government are not stable at present because of the ruling bloc's crushing defeat in the July Upper House election. In the past ABE has been in support of the prime minister's visit to Yasukuni Shrine, including Koizumi's. ABE himself visited the shrine on April 15 of last year, when he served as chief cabinet secretary, but since taking office as prime minister last September, he has refrained from visiting the shrine, out of consideration for relations with China and South Korea. Abe, however, has made it a policy not to declare whether he visited the shrine or not. So, he is expected not to reveal whether he did not visit the shrine on Aug. 15. Also, it is unclear whether ABE will or will not visit Yasukuni Shrine during its autumn festival. Koizumi pledged in the 2001 Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election to visit the shrine on Aug. 15. But except for the year 2006, when he retired as prime minister, he had visited the shrine every year on the days other than Aug. 15. His continued shrine visits were seen as the major cause of the worsened relations like the suspension of summit diplomacy with China and South Korea, which are strongly opposing the prime minister's visit to the shrine, where the Class-A war criminals have been enshrined. Abe has stood firm in his position about Yasukuni Shrine. He has said, "I want to continue to offer my prayer for the souls of the dead and pay my respects to them." He paid 50,000 yen from his pocket as a masakaki tree to put on the altar for the shrine's spring festival this past April. In July, he paid 10,000 yen from his pocket for a votive lantern for the shrine's Bon festival. 11) Criticism of prime minister growing even among junior members SANKEI (Page 5) (Excerpts) August 7, 2007 TOKYO 00003606 008 OF 011 The chaos caused in the Liberal Democratic Party by its crushing defeat in the July House of Councillors election is unlikely to calm down for the time being. Criticism of the party leadership is growing stronger day by day. Junior members were the driving force behind the inauguration of the ABE government, but a number of them have also voiced criticism of and dissatisfaction with Prime Minister SHINZO Abe. In a meeting of both houses' parliamentary assembly of the Tohoku bloc held at party headquarters yesterday afternoon, assembly chairman Koichi Kato, a former secretary general, said: "Here, you should express what you really think." In response, former Health and Welfare Minister Yuji Tsushima, chairman of the Tsushima faction, denounced the prime minister, saying: "The cause of the party's defeat is not its bad performance. The leader is expected to understand public feelings, but the current politics lacks consideration and affection." The Tsushima faction is the second largest faction in the LDP, but it has no cabinet post now after former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma resigned. Given this, dissatisfaction with the ABE administration has built up in the faction. The faction is now the core of anti-Abe forces, including former Defense Ministry Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba. Following Tsushima's remark, harsh criticism of the ABE administration cropped up from many other members, such as: "The government's structural reforms have aggravated the impoverishment of local communities;" "We have lost the farm vote;" "The construction industry, a main vote-gathering group, hardly worked for us;" "Our patience has worn out;" and "Many key figures in the central government came to support our candidates in local districts, so local members felt that they were being overlooked." Kato decided to deliver the book of minutes entering speakers' names, saying: "It is necessary to have the prime minister know what LDP members really think." 12) Constitutional examination committees not set up due to objection from opposition camp SANKEI (Page 5) (Excerpts) August 7, 2007 The National Referendum Law stipulating procedures for amending the Constitution lays down the establishment of a constitutional examination committee both in the Lower and Upper Houses during the Diet session to be convened on Aug. 7. However, meting opposition from the opposition camp, the panel has not yet been established. There is concern that this abnormal situation could affect discussion on constitutional revision. The constitutional examination committee is a key standing panel to be established in the Diet for examination of bills related to constitutional revision. Though the panel's authority to examine constitutional revision bills will be put on hold until May 2010, when the main portion of the National Referendum Law is put into force, they are tasked with examining constitutional matters to be amended. The National Referendum Law stipulates the establishment of the constitutional examination committees during the first Diet session TOKYO 00003606 009.2 OF 011 to be convened since its passage on May 18. Based on this provision, the Rules and Administration Committees of both chambers of the Diet on Aug. 6 at their own executive meeting conferred on regulations on the constitutional examination committee, including the fixed number of committee members and decision-making requirements, but both failed to reach an agreement. A DPJ participant during the Lower House executive meeting on Aug. 2 noted: "The prime minister's statement on constitutional revision was too influential. The chief of the administration should govern national affairs, based on the existing Constitution." Another DPJ participant pointed out the forcible passage of the National Referendum Law in the Lower House and objected the adoption of panel regulations, saying, "It is too early to establish such regulations." The Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party are opposing the establishment of an examination panel itself. 13) DPJ picks Eda for Upper House chief post ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) August 7, 2007 The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) yesterday picked Satsuki Eda, 66, a former House of Councillors' chairman and a former Science and Technology Agency chief, to be the party's first president of the Upper House. The selection will be formalized at an extraordinary session to be convened today. Speaking before the press corps, Eda said: "The role I will play in the Upper House at the current juncture is very significant. It is having a bracing effect on me." The DPJ has decided to keep the party's Upper House Caucus Chairman Azuma Koshiishi in his post. Eda served as Science and Technology Agency chief in the Hosokawa cabinet. The Minshuto candidate in the Okayama Constituency, his electoral district, defeated Liberal Democratic Party's Upper House Secretary General Toranosuke Katayama in the July Upper House election owing to his support. The main opposition party valued this contribution highly. His father is the late Saburo Eda, who served as Japan Socialist Party secretary general. The DPJ also named former Education Minister Takeo Nishioka as Steering Committee chairman, Kenji Hirata as secretary general of the caucus, and Susumu Yanase as the party's Diet Affairs Committee chairman. The extraordinary session will be convened for four days until the 10th. In its plenary session today, the Upper House will unanimously nominate Eda as president and LDP member Akiko Santo as vice president. The DPJ intends to submit a bill banning the use of pension insurance premiums for other purposes than pension payments, as well as a bill to mandate all political groups to attach receipts for expenditures of more than 10,000 yen for political activities. 14) DPJ head Ozawa says to Rengo chairman: "We plan to win 150 seats in single-seat constituencies for the Lower House" ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) August 7, 2007 TOKYO 00003606 010 OF 011 The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ or Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa yesterday held face-to-face talks with the Japanese Trade Union Confederation's (Rengo) Chairman Tsuyoshi Takagi arranged by Rengo's magazine. In the meeting, when asked about the next Lower House election, Ozawa said, "We want to win 150 seats out of the (300) single-seat constituencies. If that is realized, we can naturally bring about a change of government." He thus indicated that he would aim to win a majority of seats in the single-seat constituencies as the party's target. Takagi told Ozawa: "The DPJ needs to buttress its local organizations. The right to dissolve the Lower House lies with the other side. Your party should always stand ready for an election. Rengo will cooperate with you." When asked about the upcoming extraordinary Diet session slated for this fall, Ozawa said, "In the Upper House, we will exercise administrative investigation rights to answer the public's questions." The talk between the two is to be carried by the monthly magazine Rengo to be issued on Aug. 25. 15) Justice Minister Nagase gets 500,000 yen from foreign trainee referral service organization, to which he serves as advisor, as gratuity for querying about visas MAINICHI (Top Play) (Excerpts) August 7, 2007 It was found that Justice Minister Jinen Nagase's office in Lower House Toyama Constituency No. 1 around September last year received a donation worth 500,000 yen from the Tomishin International Business Cooperative in Toyama City, an organization that offers foreign trainee referral services, to which Nagase serves as an advisor, as gratitude for inquiring at the Justice Ministry about foreign trainee visas. Nagase returned the money after the Mainichi Shimbun started collected news materials to cover the case as a news event noting. "I as the top person in charge of the immigration administration must not invite misunderstanding." He also resigned as adviser. According to several cooperative officials, a dozen or more Chinese trainees had authorization for resident eligibility issued by the Justice Ministry Immigration Bureau, but unable to obtain visas from the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic mission in China. As such, the cooperative asked Nagase's secretary to find out the reason. Nagase's office inquired at the Immigration Bureau and the Foreign Ministry about the matter and found that it was a mistake made by the Chinese side. Though those trainees were unable to enter Japan, a cooperative executive visited Nagase's office around the fall and handed over 500,000 to the secretary, noting, "I would like to return a favor for your help." The secretary, however, sometime between June and early July this year, the time when the Mainichi started collecting news materials on the matter, asked the cooperative to pretend that there was no transfer of money and then returned the money. These sources said that the cooperative received a receipt proving the donation from Nagase's office, but returned it. Nagase took office as advisor to Shinyo in May, 1998, when it was established. However, since he failed to notify the prime minister of this as stipulated under the cabinet minister law, he offered his resignation. Shinyo accepted his resignation. Regarding the time when Nagase's office received the cash, the *********************** * Missing Section 011 * ***********************