DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 11/16/07

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 005267 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 11/16/07 Index: AMERICAN EMBASSY, TOKYO PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION OFFICE OF TRANSLATION AND MEDIA ANALYSIS INQUIRIES: 03-3224-5360 INTERNET E-MAIL ADDRESS: otmatokyo@state.gov DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS November 16, 2007 INDEX: (1) Prime Minister Fukuda to visit China late next month for meeting with President Hu; Two leaders to agree to set up hotline (Mainichi) (2) Government concerned about early delisting of North Korea as state sponsor of terrorism; Fukuda to ask Bush for support on abduction issue (Nikkei) (3) Prime Minister Fukuda must persuade Washington to keep North Korea as state sponsor of terrorism (Sankei) (4) Asia and Japan-US alliance (Part 1-b): Fukuda diplomacy gets underway; Shift from attaching too much importance to public opinion; Prime minister to use US approach to North Korea as tool (Mainichi) (5) Asia and Japan-US alliance: Fukuda diplomacy gets underway; Mismatched international cooperation; "Arc of freedom and prosperity" initiative falls apart (Mainichi) (6) Foreign Ministry requests funds for establishing new embassies, even in countries with fewer than 10 Japanese residents (Sankei) (7) TOP HEADLINES (8) EDITORIALS (Corrected copy) US Air Force apologizes for approaching civilian flight over Guam (Asahi) (9) Political Cartoons ARTICLES: (1) Prime Minister Fukuda to visit China late next month for meeting with President Hu; Two leaders to agree to set up hotline MAINICHI (Top play) (Lead paragraph) Evening, November 16, 2007 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has decided to visit China in late December to meet President Hu Jintao and other senior officials of the Chinese government. The two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty (concluded in 1978). Prior to this, Fukuda and Hu are expected to confirm the importance of developing a strategic reciprocal relationship between the two countries and also to agree in principle to set up a hotline between the two leaders. Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura will visit Beijing on Nov. 30 and will meet his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi to carry out final TOKYO 00005267 002 OF 010 coordination on the prime minister's China trip. Hu is also scheduled to visit Japan next April. The two countries are expected to expedite shuttle diplomacy between their leaders. (2) Government concerned about early delisting of North Korea as state sponsor of terrorism; Fukuda to ask Bush for support on abduction issue NIKKEI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) November 15, 2007 The administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is concerned about the growing consensus that the United States will soon delist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. The reason is that if the US swiftly removes the North from its list of terrorist nations when there are no prospects for a solution to the issue of Japanese nationals abducted to North Korea, public trust in the Japan-US alliance would decline. Fukuda makes his first official visit to United States today. The focus is on the extent to which he can confirm the policy course of taking concerted action during his meeting with President George W. Bush. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura at the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) on Nov. 9 ordered Ambassador to the United States Ryozo Kato to tell Washington that (Japan's policy toward North Korea) has not softened since the establishment of the Fukuda administration. With an eye on the abduction issue, the Fukuda administration has shifted weight from pressure to dialogue in dealing with the North. Machimura's order comes from the judgment that the shift might have misled the United States to believe that Japan has given a nod to putting the abduction issue on the back burner. As if to back up the government's concern, a US State Department deputy spokesman said on Nov. 13 that the abduction issue and delisting are not necessarily specifically linked. The recent rapprochement between the US and North Korea has been led by the State Department duo of Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary and chief delegate to the six-party talks Christopher Hill. Japan's hope is President Bush, who despises North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. In his meeting with then Prime Minister Shintaro ABE in April, the president promised continued support for the Japanese government. The government has told the North that if it repatriates all surviving Japanese abductees to Japan, Tokyo will respond to its calls in steps for lifting the sanctions and extending assistance. But the North has been slow to react. We would like to see Fukuda make the president promise that Washington will not sacrifice Japan-US relations for US-DPRK relations and give Pyongyang the impression that progress on the abduction issue is essential for dissolving hostile US-DPRK relations. A Japan-DPRK government source said: "If the United States puts off delisting, the North might delay implementing denuclearization steps by bringing up the principle of 'commitment for commitment, action for action.'" Fukuda yesterday expressed his hope for the president's decision, saying to the press: "In view of the importance of Japan-US TOKYO 00005267 003 OF 010 relations, I think the United States must make a comprehensive decision on the matter." (3) Prime Minister Fukuda must persuade Washington to keep North Korea as state sponsor of terrorism SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) November 15, 2007 Yoshio Komori, Washington A joint Japanese delegation to the United States calling for US cooperation for resolving the abduction issue is now in actively working on in Washington. In order to have the US government keep North Korea in its list of terrorism-sponsoring states, which is the main purpose of the delegation's visit to Washington, the focus now is on how far the Japanese side will be able to get the Bush administration to acknowledge its prediction that delisting the North as a state sponsor of terrorism would severely damage Japan-US relations. The first members of the joint delegation composed of the three groups -- the Parliamentarians' League to Address North Korea's Abductions of Japanese Nationals (PLANKAJN),the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea (AFVKNK),and the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North Korea (NARJKNK) -- arrived at Washington on Nov. 11. The first batch includes five members, including AFVNK deputy chief Shigeo Iizuka and PLANKAJN Secretary General Shingo Nishimura. They have begun making their appeal to US government officials to get cooperation to prevent the US administration from delisting the North as a state sponsor of terrorism. On Nov. 14 former MITI Minister Takeo Hiranuma, who heads the delegation, and five Diet members joined the other five. Hiranuma also heads the PLANKAJN. The delegation will meet high officials of the National Security Council, the State Department and the Defense Department, as well as lawmakers. Under the initiative of the Department of State, the US government has been trying to delist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in return for the disablement of the North's nuclear facilities. In the event the US removes it, (1) North Korea will be able to get assistance from the World Bank and Asia Development Bank without US opposition, (2) the North will be able to regain its assets in the US worth about 30 million dollars that has been suspended in accordance with the Trading with the Enemy Act, a US federal law, and (3) the issue of North Korea's abductions of foreign nationals, including Japanese, will be regarded as resolved. For Japan, however, delisting means that the North will be exempted from responsibility for the abduction issue, and Japan's economic sanctions on Pyongyang will lose effectiveness. In the United States, there remains strong opposition inside and outside the Bush administration, as well as in the Congress, toward the State Department-led policy of delisting the North. John Bolton, who served as undersecretary of state in the first Bush administration and as US ambassador to the United Nations, has expressed his opposition to delisting the North, saying, "Delisting North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism is tantamount to accepting such outrageous acts as North Korea's abductions." Congressperson Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican member of the House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee, submitting to the Congress a new bill calling for setting a resolution of the TOKYO 00005267 004 OF 010 abduction issue as a premise for removing the North from the US list of terrorist-sponsoring states. As of Nov. 13, she has obtained support from some 20 congressional members. President Bush reportedly is inclined to support the State Department's policy direction. However since there still remain uncertain factors, such as the response of North Korea on the issue, whether the US will delist the North remains unpredictable. A former high State Department official, who was in charged of East Asian affairs until recently, stated: "Japan's response could be a major factor for the US to make a final decision on whether to remove the North from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. If Japan were to react strongly to the possibility of delisting the North and if the US assumes that delisting would seriously damage bilateral relations and the Japan-US alliance, President Bush would not delist the North." The former official suggested that Japan play up the negative impact on Japan-US relations to the maximum extent possible. A congressional source familiar with US-North Korea relations also said: "Although President Bush is inclined to support the State Department's policy led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, it is not impossible for Japan to change that trend." The source also suggested three cases that would prevent the US from delisting: 1) Fukuda succeeds in persuading Bush, stressing Japan's strong opposition to delisting North Korea while pointing to an erosion of the Japan-US alliance; 2) there are untruths in North Korea's nuclear declaration; and 3) the North's support for and involvement in Syria's construction of nuclear facilities is proved. (4) Asia and Japan-US alliance (Part 1-b): Fukuda diplomacy gets underway; Shift from attaching too much importance to public opinion; Prime minister to use US approach to North Korea as tool MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) November 15, 2007 Then Prime Minister ABE was desperate at a Japan-US summit held in Australia on Sept. 8 in Sydney and said, "I will do my best to continue refueling operations by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean. Therefore, please wait to take North Korea off the US list of state sponsors of terrorism." Abe, who took office as prime minister capitalizing on his hard-line stance toward North Korea, presumably thought that removing North Korea from the US blacklist, which would lead to normalization of ties between the US and North Korea, would be a nightmare. President Bush responded, "I understand that the abduction issue is important for Japan. Please contact me if anything happens." However the president himself is in a fix, because since the US is in quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan, he would not be able to bring his career into a successful conclusion unless he succeeds in bringing about a rapprochement between the US and North Korea during the TOKYO 00005267 005 OF 010 remaining tenure, as a source familiar with Japan-US relations put it. Four days later, ABE announced his resignation. He cited a lack of prospects for continuing the refueling operation. However, the fundamental cause of the deadlock could be found in that Abe, who adopted a North Korea policy that put emphasis on North Korea diplomacy, became unable to keep up with the sudden moves of the US and North Korea to bring about a closer relationship. North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006, when ABE was the chief cabinet secretary of the Koizumi administration. He took the initiative for the adoption of a sanctions resolution against North Korea by the United Nations Security Council by frequently contacting US Presidential Adviser for National Security Hadley by mobile phone. He believed that the ties between Japan and the US serve as pressure on North Korea. However, since the US and North Korea reached an agreement in Berlin in January this year, Hadley also fell in step with Assistant Secretary of State Hill's policy of bringing about a rapprochement between the US and North Korea . North Korea's nuclear issue is vital for the security of East Asia and of Japan, in particular. If the US gets down to the work of bringing progress on the issue, its efforts would become Japan's burden. This tells of the ABE administration's North Korea diplomacy being inconsistent with the Japan-US alliance. This is the case of a political leader having fettered his diplomatic means, attaching high importance to public opinion. One senior Foreign Ministry official regretted Abe's resignation, noting, "If he had not resigned, a close meeting at Crawford Ranch in Texas, President Bush's home, would have been planned. However, such a meeting never realized." However, an alliance that tilts toward playing up the personal relations of top leaders cannot mend gaps in their policies. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has been consistently critical of diplomacy that attaches high importance to public opinion since the time he was chief cabinet secretary under the Koizumi administration. Fukuda scrambled to settle the commotion caused by then Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, whom the Prime Minister Koizumi picked as a measure to control public opinion. Fukuda was deeply involved in Prime Minister Koizumi's first visit to North Korea in September 2002 at a time when public approval ratings for the cabinet had sharply dropped due to the replacement of Tanaka. However, when Koizumi visited North Korea for the second time, Fukuda fiercely opposed it and resigned as chief cabinet secretary. SIPDIS Then senior government officials said, "When Mr. Koizumi visited North Korea for the first time, Deputy Foreign Minister Hitoshi Tanaka, an official diplomatic route, served as a channel. However, when he visited that country for the second time, close aides to Mr. Koizumi prepared his visit, using unofficial channels, such as the (pro-Pyongyang) General Federation of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon or Chosen Soren). Being furious about this, Fukuda urged Mr. Koizumi to cancel the plan. He has belief that dual diplomacy should never be pursued." The Foreign Ministry's official view is that though the prime minister has been replaced, there is no change in Japan's TOKYO 00005267 006 OF 010 dialogue-and-pressure diplomacy. However, some revealed their real feeling that if the government uses progress on the US-North Korea nuclear issue as a tool to settle the Japan-North Korea abduction issue, the administration's policy scope would gain momentum, as one senior Foreign Ministry official revealed. The prime minister has reiterated his eagerness to bring about progress on Japan-North Korea talks. His real intention appears to be at odds with his own policy, that is, seeking synergy of strengthening the Japan-US alliance and promoting Asia diplomacy, which is neither blindly following the US nor becoming independent, regarding North Korea. However, some remain cool toward this policy. That is because the phenomenon of the US and North Korea moving closer is one sign of the Bush administration approaching its end. There is naturally doubt about to what extent North Korea will disable its nuclear facilities, because there are indications that Secretary of State Rice thinks that if North Korea gets as far as the second phase of denuclearization, it could be a limited triumph for the Bush administration, as the same source explained. If relations between the US and North Korea become closer the Fukuda administration would press ahead for a settlement of the abduction issue. However, if progress is unclear, then relations between Japan and North Korea would remain on the same level. This is the reason why the word "settlement," which has cropped up since the launching of the Fukuda administration, is tinged with some vagueness. Japan and the US would wait and see what the other party does first with North Korea in mind. A new way of an equal relationship of alliance will be put to the test with the prime minister's first visit to the US as the occasion. (5) Asia and Japan-US alliance: Fukuda diplomacy gets underway; Mismatched international cooperation; "Arc of freedom and prosperity" initiative falls apart MAINICHI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) November 15, 2007 Visiting Secretary of Defense Robert Gates met with five lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),the New Komeito and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) on November 9 at the official residence of the US ambassador to Tokyo. He called for a resumption of the suspended refueling operations in the Indian Ocean by the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF),saying, "Anyway, I would like to see the MSDF operations resumed without further delay." It was a direct request, though he refrained from mentioning this issue when he met with key government officials, including Prime Minister Fukuda, the previous day. LDP Executive Council Chairman Toshihiro Nikai replied, "We will send the new antiterror special measures bill to the Upper House next week. We have extended the Diet session until December 15. We will make efforts to pass the bill before the Diet session closes." However, former DPJ President Seiji Maehara remained silent. LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Tadamori Oshima was also invited to the meeting, but he was absent. A week before this meeting, Prime Minister Fukuda and DPJ President Ozawa were close to reaching an agreement at policy talks on establishing a permanent law for the overseas dispatch of SDF troops. Though they are at odds over resuming the refueling operations, they are both positive toward the idea of dispatching TOKYO 00005267 007 OF 010 SDF troops abroad for international cooperation. However, US irritation stems from the fact that Japan is still discussing creating a mechanism for dispatching SDF troops. One senior Defense Ministry official said: "Japan's discussion on the issue has made little progress since the 1991 Gulf War, while other countries are facing a deeper challenge of how to prevent terrorism, which cannot be rooted out even with the use of military troops." Regarding international cooperation, Ozawa tackled the Gulf War as secretary general of the LDP. However, he has been outside the SIPDIS administration since then, while Fukuda, who was first elected to the Lower House in the year preceding the Gulf War, faced the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Iraq war as chief cabinet secretary. An aide to the prime minister said, "They have come closer through two rounds of the talks, because they shared the experience of going through hard times in dealing with international cooperation." However, the DPJ insists on giving priority to deliberations on a bill scrapping the Iraq Reconstruction Special Measures Law concurrently with passage of the new antiterror legislation in the Lower House and the sending of it to the Upper House. In contrast, Fukuda stressed, "I made a reply as a minister in charge during deliberations on the Iraq Special Measures Law and received encouragement from many opposition parties." Fukuda thus indicated his intention to promote his international cooperation policy, based on the track record of the dispatch of SDF troops to Iraq. One senior DPJ official noted, "If Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party is elected in the next US presidential election, the US will pull out of Iraq. Our stance is going ahead of that scenario." The bilateral alliance appears to be beginning to get off the track over international cooperation, intertwined with the future courses of the administrations of both countries. Japan's foreign policy has also changed due to the replacement of the ABE administration by the Fukuda administration. Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso last November came up with an arc of freedom and prosperity policy with the consent of former Prime Minister SHINZO Abe. The idea is based on the notion of an "arc of instability" referred to in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review Report (QDR) of the US. The Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula are viewed as a breeding ground for terrorists. There are few US bases in those regions. The Indian Ocean, where the MSDF started refueling operations in support of various countries taking part in antiterrorism operations, is in the center of the arc. However, India, which is located in the center of the arc, rejected the idea of an arc of instability, saying that there is an "arc of prosperity" covering the developing Asian community. The US now no longer calls the region an arc of instability. A policy advisor to Taro Aso, who jockeyed for LDP presidency to succeed ABE reportedly borrowed the word "prosperity" as the keyword of his policy and characterized it as a pillar of Japanese diplomacy. The idea was supposed to become a grand Asia policy also supported by the US, but the plan fell through, because China opposed it, suspecting that the idea was to encircle China. Former Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami in a speech given at the Japan Press Club in March said, "I do not think that is wise diplomacy." TOKYO 00005267 008 OF 010 One senior Foreign Ministry official said, "Though Prime Minister Fukuda does not say anything about it, he is certainly negative about the arc of freedom and prosperity initiative. He is envisaging a totally different Asia policy." (6) Foreign Ministry requests funds for establishing new embassies, even in countries with fewer than 10 Japanese residents SANKEI (Page 11) (Excerpts) November 15, 2007 The Foreign Ministry has requested that eight more diplomatic establishments, including embassies, be established overseas. Views about this request are divided. The Foreign Ministry aims to make more countries supportive of Japan's bid for United Nations Security Council permanent status and to promote resource diplomacy. The ministry also hopes to expand itself by increasing the number of embassy members. To build a new embassy, however, about 900 million yen is needed in the initial year, including both facility and personnel expenses. Given this, the Finance Ministry, which is aiming to cut expenditures, is opposed to the Foreign Ministry's request. The government will be pressed to make a hard decision prior to the start of compiling next fiscal year's budget later this year. In a meeting of the Fiscal System Council (advisory panel to the finance minister) on Oct. 22, one participant said: "It is questionable to establish a diplomatic establishment in a country in which a small number of Japanese live." The Foreign Ministry has proposed in its budget request for 2008 allocations for establishing six embassies in Barbados (Latin America),Burkina Faso (Africa),Mauritania (Africa),and three other countries. Japan has established embassies in 123 countries, while industrialized countries, such as the United States, have set up embassies in 140 to 160 countries. The government and the ruling parties will set the goal of establishing new embassies, bringing the total number of Japan's embassies to 150 -- the same level as other industrialized countries' -- over the next decade but many of them in the coming three years. The duties to be performed by an embassy include holding negotiations with the government of the host nation, collecting and analyzing information on political and economic affairs, issuing passports and visas, such civil services as expatriate voting, and protecting Japanese nationals in times of emergency. However, the Finance Ministry remains cautious about the Foreign Ministry's request for new embassies that include those in countries in which the number of Japanese residents is fewer than 50. A senior ministry official said: "Given the government's fiscal constraints, it is questionable that new embassies will be established in a hasty way. It is necessary to carry out coordination, focusing on costs, countries, and timing." Enormous expenses are needed to establish a new embassy. According the Finance Ministry, if a new embassy with 15 Japanese officers and 22 local staffers is set up in Africa, a total of about 374 million yen will be needed, with 56 million yen to purchase new vehicles, 38 TOKYO 00005267 009 OF 010 million yen as allowances for embassy officers taking up their new positions, and 100 million yen to construct facilities designed to ensure security. In operating the embassy, it will also cost annually 497 million yen, which includes 200 million yen in personnel costs and 38 million yen in pay for cooks at official residences. (7) TOP HEADLINES Asahi, Yomiuri, Sankei, Tokyo Shimbun & Akahata: Former Vice Defense Minister Moriya says politicians Nukaga, Kyuma wined and dined by former defense trading house Yamada Corp. executive now under arrest Mainichi: 120,000 bullying cases in elementary, secondary schools in school year 2006 Nikkei: Toyota to reduce body weight of major models to improve fuel efficiency Asahi: (1) Moriya's Diet testimony: Nukaga, Kyuma must explain (2) Poll on school bullying: How to teach children about the pain it causes Mainichi: (1) Moriya's testimony: Nukaga, Kyuma must make clear accounts (2) Bullying: Draw lessons from 125,000 bullying cases Yomiuri: (1) Moriya's testimony: Suspicions have deepened (2) Rapid increase in school bullying: Blackmail by mobile and internet e-mail Nikkei: (1) Shed light on Moriya scandal (2) Environmental improvement urgent for next-generation network Sankei: (1) Moriya's testimony: Politicians must give convincing explanations (2) Bullying poll: Dispel mistrust Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Kyuma, Nukaga should be summoned to testify before Diet Akahata: (1) Politicians should provide answers to allegations (Corrected copy) US Air Force apologizes for approaching civilian flight over Guam ASAHI (Page 37) (Full) November 16, 2007 US military aircraft during training in August approached a JALWAYS Sydney-Narita passenger jet (carrying 414 passengers and crewmembers) -- flight number 772 -- in the skies over Guam (altitude of about 11,500 meters). In this connection, US 5th Air Force headquarters aircraft director Michael Bishop and others met TOKYO 00005267 010 OF 010 representatives of the Air Line Pilots' Association of Japan (ALPA) at the US Embassy in Tokyo yesterday and offered an apology. They also produced a written statement vowing to make efforts to prevent a recurrence. It is unusual for the US side to admit fault in tailing a commercial airplane with a military aircraft. According to ALPA, the US side admitted that the US military aircraft had picked up the JALWAY jetliner as an unidentified plane due to insufficient communication with air traffic control and approached it to within about 600 meters from behind to identify it and that the military aircraft did not follow proper procedures stipulated by international treaty for approaching a plane. DONOVAN