JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 02/14/07

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SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 02/14/07


Index:

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

Six-party agreement with North Korea:
4) President Bush tells Prime Minister Abe by phone that he
understands Japan's concerns about six-party agreement just
concluded with North Korea
5) Bush tells Abe that abduction issue will not be left behind in
agreement process
6) Bush to Abe: North Korea's name to be removed from
terrorist-sponsor list
7) Abe will keep in close contact with US on issue of removing North
Korea from terrorist-sponsor list
8) US is stressing six-party agreement as a diplomatic success
9) LDP alarmed that US, DPRK relations have surged ahead as
six-parties reach agreement
10) Prime Minister Abe to put every effort into moving abduction
issue forward in working group with North Korea
11) Abe stresses in e-mail magazine that policy toward DPRK will
shift from "pressure" to "dialogue"
12) Vague aspects of six-party agreement being debated in Japan,
with government avoiding condition of rewarding DPRK

13) Koichi Kato and other LDP lawmakers are sharply critical of
Abe's hard-lined policy toward North Korea in wake of six-party
agreement

14) Foreign Minister Aso explains to Diet session that his remark on
US' Iraq policy was dissimilar to critical statements coming from
Defense Minister Kyuma 10

WWII issues:
15) Ambassador to US Kato blasts US Congress for WWII comfort-women
resolution
16) LDP panel to present revision of Kono statement on comfort-women
issue

Defense issues:
17) North Korea during six-party talks asked US to halt deployment
of F-22s to Kadena Air Base
18) Prime Minister Abe on Futenma relocation: During emergency, US
military aircraft would be allowed to fly over homes near Camp
Schwab

19) Minshuto President Ozawa continues to stump the regions,
centering on single-seat districts

Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi:
Avalanche hits 10 ski tour members on Hakkoda mountain range

Mainichi:
US military uses cluster bombs with unexploded munitions in Iraq
war

Yomiuri:

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Ruling parties plan legislation to enable bank accounts used in
fraud to be swiftly frozen without court action

Nihon Keizai:
Orient Corp. expects over 200 billion yen net loss in FY2006

Sankei:
Government aims to take initiative in international negotiations on
post-Kyoto Protocol on strength of energy-saving technologies

Tokyo Shimbun:
Chrysler eyes split-up, cut of 13,000 jobs

Akahata:
JCP-backed candidate for Tokyo gubernatorial election Yoshida
announces campaign pledges, stressing switch from current Ishihara
politics

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) Broadcasting administration: Order from minister unacceptable
(2) Negotiations on wage hikes: Give consideration to irregular
workers

Mainichi:
(1) Labor law for part-timers: Promote improvement in working
conditions
(2) National education research gathering: Education system should
be reformed based on classroom situation

Yomiuri:
(1) Relaxed standards for M&A: Make use of it for enhancing
companies' international competitiveness
(2) Manifests: Priority should be given to policies in local head
elections

Nihon Keizai:
(1) Modest demand for wage hikes by major labor unions
(2) Days when US, Russia enjoy close ties are gone

Sankei:
(1) Accidents by gas appliances: Consumers must be aware of danger
more
(2) Astronaut Wakata to stay long in space station:

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Spring labor offensive: Labor unions' capabilities being tested
(2) Innocent man in prison: Proper system needed to protect human
rights

Akahata:
(1) Six-party agreement: North Korea must sincerely implement
commitments

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, February 14

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007


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07:52
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shimomura at Kantei.

09:00
Attended a Lower House Budget Committee session.

12:12
Met with Shimomura at Kantei.

13:00
Attended a Lower House Budget Committee session.

17:09
Met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki at Kantei. Afterwards, met
with the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
Director-General Sasae and others. Later, attended a meeting of the
Gender Equality Council.

18:17
Met with Czech President Klaus and host a dinner party for the
president.

21:15
Had a telephone dialogue with US President Bush with Shiozaki and
others present.

21:42
Arrived at the Kantei residence

4) Bush understands Japan's concern over abduction issue

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked with US President Bush yesterday
evening over the telephone for about 15 minutes at his office. In
connection with the six-party talks that ended Feb. 13, Bush said he
fully understands Japan's concern about the abduction issue. Abe
stressed that Japan would like to keep in touch with the United
States over the abduction issue.

The talks were proposed by the United States. The two leaders
affirmed that the six-party talks made headway toward North Korea's
abandonment of its nuclear programs with an agreement reached this
time, and they agreed that it would be essential for North Korea to
translate its promise this time into action.

Meanwhile, the six-party members decided to set up five working
groups, including one on the normalization of diplomatic relations
between Japan and North Korea. In this regard, Abe and Bush
confirmed that Japan and the United States would continue to work
together for progress in the working groups' discussions.

Bush noted that the Japan-US alliance remains "very close and
rocksolid," adding, "I'm looking forward to seeing you soon in the
United States." With this, Bush expressed his expectations for Abe's
visit to the United States. Abe is scheduled to visit the United
States during the holidays from late April.

5) Bush in teleconference with Abe: "The abduction issue will not be
left behind"


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SANKEI (Page 3) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a teleconference with US President
Bush last night to exchange views on the contents of the joint
agreement reached at the latest six-party talks and other matters.
The two leaders regarded the start of the process of denuclearizing
North Korea as a step forward. They also shared the view that it is
important for North Korea to implement the measures it has pledged
to take. In reference to Pyongyang's past abductions of Japanese
nationals, Bush stated:

"We are fully aware of Japan's concern. It is essential to implement
the joint statement (adopted in September 2005) in a well-balanced
manner."

According to an official of the Kantei (Prime Minister's Official
Residence),Bush emphatically said, "The abduction issue must not be
left behind. Japan will never be isolated."

In response, Abe said:

"The progress made in the six-party talks is attributed to close
cooperation between Japan and the US. I hope we will continue
working together on North Korea issues, including the abduction
issue."

Bush also said: "The US-Japan alliance remains very close and solid.
I am looking forward to receiving you in the US."

The teleconference, which was held at the request of the US
government, lasted for about 15 minutes.

In a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee
yesterday held prior to the teleconference, Abe stated, "Unless
progress is made on the abduction issue, Japan will not join the
pledge in the six-party talks to offer energy aid" equivalent to
50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil in the initial phase, with an
additional 950,000 tons of oil later. He added, "It will not be
North Korea but we who will judge whether there was progress."

The prime minister clearly said, "The government has no intention
for now of removing its independent economic sanctions" such as
banning the North Korean ferry, Mangyongbong-92, from calling at
Japanese ports. He was replying to questions by Minshuto (Democratic
Party of Japan) member Kazuhiro Haraguchi.

In the Budget Committee meeting, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in
replying to a question about the energy aid equivalent to 50,000
tons of heavy oil:

"We are still skeptical (of North Korea's commitments). Although
agreement was reached to set up five working groups, it is uncertain
if the agreement will be translated into action. We will consider
the energy aid worth 50,000 tons of oil for the first time after we
find out if the plan has turned into a concrete arrangement."

6) US president on removal of North Korea from its designation as a
terror-sponsoring state: "will take the abduction issue into
consideration

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)

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February 15, 2007

The six-party agreement mentions that the United States "will begin
the work of removing" North Korea from its designation as a
terror-sponsoring state. This item has sparked some Japanese
government officials into calling on the US to deal with the matter
carefully. Late yesterday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed to the
press corps at the Prime Minister's Official Residence: "Before the
removal, Japan and the US must work in close cooperation." Shortly
after this, US President George W. Bush told Abe on the phone: "I
won't leave the abduction issue behind.:

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki stated at a press briefing
yesterday: "Resolving the abduction issue is one of the important
elements for (the US) to remove North Korea from the list of
terror-sponsoring states. This will not change at all." He revealed
that Special Advisor to the Prime Minister (for National Security
affairs) Yuriko Koike, now visiting the US, had asked Under
Secretary of State Nicholas Burns for a cautious approach.

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In the US annual report "Patterns of Global Terrorism," the US has
designated North Korea as a terror-sponsoring state. Considering the
Japanese government's request, the annual report has cited Japan's
abduction issue as one of the reasons for designating North Korea as
a terror-sponsoring state since its 2003 version. The Abe
administration, which has attached importance to resolving the
abduction issue, is becoming increasingly nervous about the moves of
the US and North Korea, particularly because America's understanding
about the abduction issue has underpinned the Abe administration's
policy line of pressuring North Korea.

During the telephone conversation, Bush told Abe: "I have fully
understood Japan's concern about the abduction issue. I think it is
important for the joint statement as a whole to be implemented in a
well-balanced manner." US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer told
reporters after delivering a speech in Tokyo: "We've stated only
that we will begin the process leading to removal. Before any
removal, we need to verify North Korea's moves and gain proof that
(support for terrorism and the like) will not occur in the future. A
long road lies ahead before that." Late yesterday, when asked
whether he had worked on the US in some way or other, he made only
this comment: "The US has understood well that the abduction issue
is an extremely important issue."

7) Abe reveals plan to work closely with US in removing North Korea
from list of nations sponsoring terrorism

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
February 15, 2007

In the wake of the adoption of the agreed document by the parties to
the six-party talks, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe revealed a plan
yesterday to urge the United States to remove North Korea from its
list of nations sponsoring terrorism based on progress on the
abduction issue. He said: "To us, the abduction issue is extremely
crucial. The United States is well aware of that. In moving along
the road, Japan will naturally work and discuss things closely with
the United States."

Abe was responding to a question from a reporter at his official
residence.


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8) US emphasizes diplomatic achievements in six-party talks

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Hideya Yamamoto, Washington

The US Bush administration praised the agreement reached at the
six-party talks on Feb. 13 in Beijing, which incorporates a promise
by North Korea to shut down its main nuclear reactor. The
presidential statement said: "It is the best chance to reach a
diplomatic resolution." Many critics in the United States, though,
doubt that North Korea will implement its commitments. The Bush
administration will find it necessary to monitor the entirety of
North Korea's nuclear development programs, including uranium
enrichment.

The Bush government rejected the Agreed Framework accord in 1994
with North Korea, which had allowed the North time to develop
nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stressed at a
press conference the differences between the latest agreement and
the 1994 accord, citing that the agreement was reached at the
multinational talks and set a deadline for Pyongyang's
implementation of the commitments.

The presidential statement pointed out that this "is the first step
toward implementation of the agreement." Presidential Spokesman Tony
Snow stated: "North Korea's implementation of disabling its nuclear
facilities is a condition for economic, humanitarian and energy
assistance." He revealed the US position that if the North violates
the agreement, it will be possible to suspend aid and apply
additional sanctions.

Michael Green, Japan Affairs director of the Center for Strategic
International Studies, said: "North Korea returned to the six-party
talks because of a lot of pressure from China and other countries. I
assume that North Koreans aim to delay the implementation of its
commitments by splitting up the pressure, taking advantage of the
working groups." He denied the possibility of visits to Pyongyang by
senior US government officials, including the secretary of state,
which had occurred during the Clinton administration.

9) LDP alert to possibility of US, North Korea bypassing Japan;
Government stresses priority on abduction issue

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
February 15, 2007

The agreement reached at the six-party talks incorporated the
shutting down of North Korea's nuclear facilities and other issues.
A number of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members yesterday
expressed concern about the specifics of the agreement. They are
alert to the possibility of the US and North Korea proceeding with
talks bypassing Japan. The government is making desperate efforts to
dispel such a concern, while underscoring its stance of focusing on
the settlement of the issue of the abductions of Japanese citizens.

Following a Korean Central News Agency report that the agreement was
reached on the temporary shutting down of nuclear facilities,
Katsuei Hirasawa during the LDP Foreign Affairs Division meeting
yesterday expressed concern, "North Korea's interpretation of the
agreement may be that it can resume nuclear development anytime."

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Shigeru Ishiba said, "North Korea is using the six-party talks as a
means to buy time until it can miniaturize nuclear weapons."

Regarding the inclusion in the agreement of the start of efforts to
delist North Korea as a state sponsor of terror, Masahiko Komura
pressed a senior Foreign Ministry official: "Does the agreement say
that the designation will not be lifted unless the abduction issue
is settled?" Keishiro Fukushima, chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Division, stated, "I want Japan and the US to make efforts to settle
the abduction issue so that Japan will not be left behind."

The government intends to continue to cooperate with the US and
other countries as well as to exert all-out efforts to resolve the
abduction issue through a taskforce to be created anew for Japan and
North Korea to normalize relations. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
conveyed these policies to Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
Director General Kenichiro Sasae, chief delegate to the talks, who
just has returned home.

Prime Minister Abe yesterday evening underscored to reporters:
"Those who are opposing my policy of giving priority to the
abduction issue say that we must not miss the bus, but what are they
going to obtain if they catch the bus? I want them to think
carefully who will be left behind if we get on the bus." He thus
countered the point made by those who are concerned about Japan
being isolated.

10) Six-party talks agreement: How should progress on abduction
issue - premise for providing aid to Pyongyang -- be defined? Prime
minister to exert every effort in taskforce to discuss Japan-North
Korea issues

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
February 15, 2007

The Japanese government intends to exert an all-out effort to bring
progress to the abduction issue, while limiting Japan's
participation in providing energy aid to North Korea, as decided at
the six party talks. However, the future course of a taskforce for
Japan and North Korea to discuss the abduction issue is fraught with
many unclear aspects. Given the agreement reached at the six-party
talks, there is concern that Japan might find itself isolated. The
Abe administration, whose showcase policy slogan was tackling the
abduction issue, is now pressed to weave through a difficult course
in setting up the taskforce.

Referring to heavy fuel oil aid to the North, Prime Minister Abe at
a Lower House Budget Committee session yesterday underscored, "Japan
cannot possibly provide energy to the North without progress on the
abduction issue, whether it is 50,000 tons or 950,000 tons." He thus
expressed his position that progress on the abduction issue is the
premise for the provision of not only 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil
in exchange for its shutting down and sealing its nuclear facilities
as a preliminary measure but also the provision of 950,000 tons as a
reward to the North's disabling such facilities as a second step of
the agreement.

However, asked by Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) regarding what constitutes progress on the
abduction issue, the prime minister simply answered, "We will make
that decision."


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Some government officials are concerned about this issue with one
senior Foreign Ministry official noting, "If abductees return to
Japan, then it can be said that progress has been made. However, it
would be difficult to make a decision in the event the North just
pledges to carry out another investigation."

However, the prime minister's view appears to be that the agreement
at the six-party talks will rather apply pressure on the North to
deal with the abduction issue.

11) Prime Minister Abe shifts stance from pressure to dialogue

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated in his e-mail magazine, "The Prime
Minister of Japan and His Cabinet," dated Feb. 15: "Japan, in
cooperation with other countries of the world, has pressured North
Korea. I hope to see this effort lead to dialogue." Abe, who had
until recently emphasized the pressure policy toward North Korea,
now revealed that he would shift his previous stance in response to
the latest round of the six-party talks. However, he stressed that
"I won't concede easily" on the abduction issue.

12) North Korea aid sparks controversy; Government avoids touching
on requirements for quid pro quo

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
February 15, 2007

The ambiguous nature of the agreed document adopted by the six-party
talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs stirred controversy
at the Lower House Budget Committee session, a Liberal Democratic
Party foreign affairs joint meeting, and other venues yesterday. The
opposition camp focused attention on a set of conditions for a quid
pro quo in return for implementation of initial steps toward the
abandonment of nuclear facilities by North Korea and grilled the
government on how Japan would deal with aid. Some LDP lawmakers
expressed wariness about the abduction issue being put aside due to
the six-party agreement.

Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the largest opposition party Minshuto
(Democratic Party of Japan) asked when 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil
(HFO) would be provided to North Korea, asking: "Will the parties
not provide 50,000 tons of oil unless working groups (on
normalization of Japan-DPRK relations and other subjects) are
established?" Whether Japan, which has decided not to join the
50,000-ton oil aid program, can have a hand in deciding on when to
start providing aid remains unclear. Haraguchi's question reflected
concern over other counties beginning to provide aid before the
Japan-DPRK working group is set in motion.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso replied, "Once (the working groups) become
certain to function, 50,000 tons of oil would be provided as the
first step." Aso, however, stopped short of clearly mentioning that
the opening of the working groups was a condition for the aid.

The agreed document stipulates that additional aid equivalent to
950,000 tons of HFO will be provided to North Korea once the country
completes declaring all nuclear programs and disables all existing
nuclear facilities.


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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated that Japan would not join the
950,000-ton aid program unless there were progress on the abduction
issue. Haraguchi asked the definition of "progress," saying, "Will
the government regard a sincere response at the working group a form
of progress? Or will it provide aid only after the abduction issue
is settled once and for all? There is a wide gap between the two."
The prime minister simply replied, "We will make an appropriate
decision on progress."

Meanwhile, in the LDP foreign affairs joint meeting, Katsuei
Hirasawa noted, "South Korea thinks Japan will join the 950,000-ton
aid program. A senior Foreign Ministry official sought
understanding, saying, "Although South Korea wants to see Japan join
the program, the country is clearly aware of Japan's position."
Upper House Policy Board Chairman Yoichi Masuzoe pointed out the
passivity of the six-party agreement preventing the abduction from
seeing a settlement, saying: "A failure to make progress on the
abduction issue would deal a serious blow to the Abe administration.
I hope the agreement will not result in a worst-case scenario."

13) Koichi Kato raps government's North Korea policy; Prime Minister
expresses strong displeasure

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
February 15, 2007

The Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Asia Diplomacy and Security
Vision Research Council, chaired by Koichi Kato, yesterday held a
board meeting in the Diet building. A number of participants voiced
their criticism or skepticism of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy
of prioritizing the North Korea abduction issue with one noting:
"The situation is developing quickly. The prime minister must change
his thinking that the nuclear and abduction issues must be treated
as a set." Another said, "I wonder if government has a clear-cut
direction regarding its North Korea policy." The meeting brought
together several participants, such as former LDP Vice President
Taku Yamasaki and former Defense Agency Director General Gen
Nakatani, as well as Kato.

Prime Minister Abe yesterday evening expressed his strong
displeasure with those opposed in the LDP to his policy of Japan not
taking part in providing energy aid to North Korea. He said, "I
would ask those who are opposing my decision to carefully think
about who would have to be left behind if we get on the bus."

Families of victims of abductions by North Korea are against the
provision of assistance to that nation. The prime minister once
again stressed his resolve to tackle the abduction issue.

The prime minister lashed out at those who are criticizing his
decision, "They say I should not miss the bus, but what do they want
to gain by getting on the bus." He was replying questions to
reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

14) Aso, Kyuma at odds

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007

"What I said is often lumped in with Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma's
comments, but I have never said, 'The use of force was a mistake.' I
don't like my words being mixed up with his."

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This comment came from Foreign Minister Taro Aso regarding his own
statement raising questions about US Iraq policy during a Lower
House Budget Committee session.

Kyuma immediately shot back, saying: "Mr. Aso indicated as if I had
said 'a mistake.' Don't get the wrong idea; there is a slight
difference in the nuance."

15) Japanese ambassador to the US criticizes resolution denouncing
Japan

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Hideya Yamamoto, Washington

At a press conference on Feb. 13, Japanese Ambassador to the United
States Ryozo Kato mentioned a US resolution denouncing Japan over
the sex-slave issue and criticized it: "It is not based on facts."
Referring to Japan's efforts made so far to deal with the issue,
including the release of an official statement on the military
comfort women issue, Kato expressed concern that "it will have an
adverse effect that is essentially unnecessary on Japan-US
relations." He added that he is lobbying US legislators and
government officials.

16) Some LDP lawmakers to propose review of Kono statement

YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
February 15, 2007

The Parliamentary Group to Consider Japan's Future and History, made
up of like-minded lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP),decided yesterday to compile before the end of February a set
of proposals calling for a review of the statement by then Chief
Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono and the so-called "comfort women," the
Japanese euphemism for foreign women who were forced into sexual
slavery for the Imperial Japanese Army. The group is led by former
Education Minister Nariaki Nakayama. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has
said that the Kono Statement remains in effect. Eriko Yamatani,
special advisor to the prime minister, also attended yesterday's
meeting.

17) North Korea urged US to give up F-22 deployment to Kadena

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007

In the recent round of six-party talks held until Feb. 13 over North
Korea's nuclear programs, North Korea called on the United States to
give up its plan to deploy the newest Stealth fighter, the F-22
Raptor, to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture, sources revealed
yesterday. The US Air Force plans to station 12 F-22 fighters
temporarily at Kadena. Actually, their arrival in Okinawa has been
delayed. This fact is therefore believed to denote the United
States' softening of its attitude in its policy toward North Korea.

In the six-party talks, North Korea criticized the United States for
its policy of regarding North Korea as an enemy, according to the
sources. North Korea urged the United States to call off its planned
deployment of F-22 fighters to Kadena and to suspend its joint

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training exercises with South Korea. The planned F-22 deployment to
Kadena is intended to "constrain North Korea against its nuclear
test," according to a senior official of the Foreign Ministry. The
US delegation avoided discussing these matters in the six-party
talks. However, the arrival of these F-22 stealth fighters has been
delayed due to bad weather. They were initially scheduled to arrive
at Kadena on Feb. 10. On Feb. 13, the US Air Force explained that
their arrival has been delayed due to a problem with the navigation
system software and that they would arrive in several days.

"The United States prioritized reaching an agreement in the
six-party talks, so the United States showed consideration so as not
to irritate North Korea," a Japanese government source said
yesterday.

18) Emergency flights above residential areas likely: Abe

TOKYO (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007

In connection with the issue of relocating the US Marine Corps'
Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Prime Minister
Abe, sitting in on the House of Representatives Budget Committee in
its meeting yesterday, was asked about an intergovernmental
agreement reached between Japan and the United States on a plan to
build a V-shaped pair of airstrips in a coastal area of Camp Schwab,
a US military base in the northern Okinawa city of Nago, as an
alternative for Futenma airfield. In reply, Abe stated that the
newly planned airfield is designed for US aircraft to avoid flying
above populated areas. "However," Abe added, "they may not do so in
an emergency." With this, Abe admitted that US military aircraft
could fly above residential areas in an emergency.

Abe's reply before the committee is what denoted his understanding
that it would be unavoidable for US military aircraft to fly above
residential areas only when they are in an emergency.

19) Minshuto President Ozawa continues to visit single-seat
constituencies as part of Upper House election campaigning

NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full)
February 15, 2007

Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) President Ichiro Ozawa has
continued his stumping tour of electoral districts where single
seats are up for grabs in the House of Councillors election in July.
With the aim to strengthen local organizations and a policy line of
attaching priority to a united front of opposition parties, Ozawa
revisited Akita yesterday, following his trip to Aomori on Feb. 13.
Accompanied by Rengo (Japan Trade Unions Confederation) Chief of
Secretariat Nobuaki Koga, Ozawa has stepped up approaches to local

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labor unions and companies.

Ozawa has already visited six constituencies this month. He is
expected to go to Mie and Iwate prefectures this weekend. In a
meeting yesterday to exchange views between the largest opposition
party and Rengo Akita, Ozawa gave a pep talk: "I want you to tell me
everything about policy matters. Minshuto's organizational base is
weak. So let's cooperate with each other."

Of the 29 single-seat districts up for election, Minshuto has picked
candidates for 21. Ozawa, who has set the goal of winning more than

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15 seats, intends to speed up his tour of the constituencies,
saying: "Only five months are left until the Upper House election
(on July 22)."

But the more Ozawa focuses on winning, the more discord he creates
in the opposition camp. On Feb. 5, when negotiations with the Social
Democratic Party (SDP) on the election fell apart, the SDP Akita
prefectural chapter decided to file its own candidate. Minshuto,
however, strongly reacted, with Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama
saying, "Can a SDP-backed candidate win a race?"

SCHIEFFER