JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 04/15/08

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 001024 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 04/15/08 Index: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 4) Fukuda Cabinet support rate slips 4 points to 30 PERCENT in Yomiuri poll; Non support up to 58.4 PERCENT (Yomiuri) Defense affairs: 5) USFJ Commander Lt. Gen. Rice in Japan Press Club speech defends effectiveness of the U.S.-Japan SOFA, rejects revision (Asahi) 6) Japanese government indecisive on joining world ban on cluster bombs, perhaps out of consideration to the U.S. (Tokyo Shimbun) 7) Japanese, Russian foreign ministers agree to expand free visits by Japanese to the northern islands (Asahi) 8) Government mobilizing 20,000 police for security at the G8 summit (Sankei) 9) Japan using information technology to develop effective test of reduced CO2 emissions (Sankei) Politics in turmoil: 10) Two months left in the current Diet session but 60 PERCENT of the bills remain untouched due to ruling and opposition camp standoff (Nikkei) 11) Prime Minister Fukuda's repeated apologies to the public, the latest being over elderly medical service premiums, exposes poor handling of issues (Mainichi) 12) Opposition camp launches new attack on the Fukuda administration: higher premiums for elderly medical care insurance (Yomiuri) 13) Differences in philosophy between ruling and opposition camps likely to derail talks over shifting road-related taxes general account budget by fiscal 2009 (Tokyo Shimbun) 14) Symbolic Yamaguchi-2 by-election kicks off with LDP, DPJ candidates expected to run a close race (Nikkei) 15) What's this? A new study group in the Diet that includes former Prime Minister Koizumi, former Defense Minister Koike, and former DPJ President Maehara (Sankei) 16) Taro Aso firming up political base in order to make a run for the next LDP presidential race, but many in the LDP would like to hold him back (Tokyo Shimbun) Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Tokyo, seven other prefectures use additional tax money to lessen medical insurance premiums for very old patients under new medical service Mainichi: Sankei: Tokyo Shimbun: Deduction from pension begins today of premiums for medical insurance for 8 million people aged 75 and older; Average monthly payment reaches 6,000 yen Yomiuri: TOKYO 00001024 002 OF 011 European Commission failed to notify Japan of information on heavy electrical machinery cartel: FTC unable to impose several billion yen in administrative surcharges Nikkei: Japan to scrap taxes on investment returns from overseas funds to promote inflow of Middle East money Akahata: Four opposition parties doing their utmost to scrap new medical service system for very old 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Tainted gyoza incident: Do not allow investigation to be prolonged (2) Tokuyama Dam: Fifty years spent for construction wasted Mainichi: (1) New medical service system for very old people in turmoil: Government, ruling parties heavily responsible for confusion (2) Failure to pay high school entrance fees: It was a mistake for school not to allow two students to attend entrance ceremony Yomiuri: (1) Overseas dispatch of SDF needed (2) Lay judge system: How can citizens' sense of participation be enhanced? Nikkei: (1) Make efforts to alleviate anxieties elderly people harbor toward medical services (2) Shrinking retail industry: New opportunities in Asia Sankei: (1) Lay judge system: Success of new system depends on cooperation from people (2) Measures to deal with new strains of flu: Specific measures still lacking Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Accident caused by wheel that came off moving truck: Do not overlook metal fatigue (2) Amendment to Anti-Monopoly Law: Toughening punishments global trend Akahata: (1) Special-purpose road construction revenues: Extending provisional gas tax rate for another 10 years fundamentally contradictory 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, April 13 & 14 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) April 15, 2008 April 13 10:52 Met Special Advisor Ito at his official residence. TOKYO 00001024 003 OF 011 Spent the afternoon at his official residence. April 14 09:23 Made an on-site inspection of the National Center for Child Health and Development in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. 12:00 Attended a liaison meeting of the government and the ruling coalition at the Kantei. Later met Secretary General Ibuki. 13:49 Met Cabinet Secretariat Special Advisor Okuda and Advisor Kusaka. 14:46 Posed for a photo with the wives of the ambassadors of G-8 member countries. Recorded a videotaped message for the Lake Toya Summit. 15:55 Met Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Ota, Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Saka. Ota stayed behind. 16:28 Met Administrative Reform Minister Watanabe. 17:00 Attended an LDP executive meeting in the Diet Building. Ibuki stayed behind. 17:30 Attended a meeting of the Consumer Administration Conference at the Kantei. 19:03 Returned to his official residence. 4) Poll: Cabinet approval rate drops to 30 PERCENT ; 50 PERCENT think provisional gasoline tax rate should be maintained YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full) April 15, 2008 The approval rating for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's cabinet dropped 3.9 points from the previous survey in March to 30.0 PERCENT in a face-to-face nationwide interview survey conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun on April 12-13. The disapproval rate was 58.4 PERCENT , up 4.4 percentage points from the previous survey. The approval rate marked a record low in face-to-face surveys since the Fukuda cabinet was launched last September. The approval rate in a telephone-based spot survey, conducted on April 1-2, which tends to clearly show changes, dropped to 28.0 PERCENT . The declining support rating appears unstoppable. By the end of March, the government had identified the names of about 10 million holders of about 50 million pension records whose owners had been unidentified. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they strongly approved or somewhat approved of the government's handling of the matter, far exceeded by the 63 PERCENT who said they strongly disapproved or somewhat disapproved of it. Although the Democratic Party of Japan is preparing to submit a censure motion against Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe TOKYO 00001024 004 OF 011 over the pension record debacle, only 12 PERCENT said he should resign, with 84 PERCENT saying he need not step down. Thirty percent supported the government's and ruling coalition's plan to revive the provisional gasoline tax rate by the end of April, while 61 PERCENT were against the move. Asked about how the provisional tax rates should be handled, 42 PERCENT said they should be maintained to be used for a broad range of purposes and 9 PERCENT said they should be used for improving highways. All in all, over 50 PERCENT indicated that the rates should be maintained, while 40 PERCENT said they should be scrapped. 5) USFJ commander in press conference: "SOFA should not be revised" ASAHI (Page 38) (Full) April 15, 2008 U.S. Forces Japan Commander Edward Rice (U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen.) held a press conference yesterday at the Japan National Press Club. In it, touching on growing calls for a revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in the wake of a series of incidents by U.S. service members, Commander Rice said: "I don't think it should be revised. I think we should make greater efforts for flexible operation of the SOFA, as necessary." He also indicated that Japan's host-nation support (sympathy budget) for the costs of stationing U.S. forces in Japan was relatively cheap, saying: "It is a great investment in the security of Japan and the entire region. How much money would it cost for Japan to purchase the same defense equipment independently?" Referring to a string of incidents caused by U.S. service members in Okinawa and Yokosuka before and after he took command in February, the commander underlined the U.S. military's close cooperation with Japanese legal authorities and its efforts to prevent a recurrence, saying, "Although there have been one or two individuals who failed to meet the U.S. military standards, we have made them take responsibility appropriately." About the relocation of Futenma Air Station in connection with the realignment of U.S. forces, Rice noted, "I am optimistic that the matter will significantly move forward during my term of office." At the same time, he was negative about the joint military-civilian use of U.S. Yokota Air Base, as advocated by Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and others, saying: "It is a vital hub base for the Air Force's mobility in the western Pacific. It must maintain its capabilities for operational missions in time of a contingency." 6) Japan's stance on cluster bombs remains evasive out of consideration for U.S. TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) April 15, 2008 The world is split into two groups over cluster bombs. One group supports the "Oslo Process," initially advocated by Norway. Some 140 counties belong to the group with the aim of concluding a treaty by the end of the year totally banning the use of cluster bombs. The United States, Russia and China are not included in this group. The other is the conference of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), composed of some 100 signatories. Although the United States, Russia TOKYO 00001024 005 OF 011 and China are members, they are reluctant to craft treaties apparently in an effort to make it toothless. The Japanese government belongs to the two frameworks, but it puts high priority on the CCW. The government has reportedly joined the Oslo Process in order to assert Japan's standpoint. Although Japan signed the declaration at a meeting in February, it proposed that new bombs with low exploded rates be exempted from the ban, exhibiting its opposition to a total ban. The government cited the following to explain such a policy: (1) A treaty not joined by major powers is ineffective, and (2) it is necessary for the country's national defense. The prevalent view, however, is that Japan did so out of consideration for the United States. The government's evasive response is drawing fire not only from the opposition parties but also from within the ruling bloc. At nonpartisan study meeting, former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa criticized the government, saying: "The government should go for a total ban; otherwise it will not be supported by international opinion." The contents of a treaty banning cluster bombs are scheduled to be finalized at the Oslo Process Dublin meeting in May for a signing ceremony at the end of this year. What is the government's final decision? It might escalate into a political issue depending on how things turn out. 7) Japanese, Russian foreign ministers agree to allow more former islanders to visit Northern Territories freely ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) April 15, 2008 Toru Tamagawa, Moscow Visiting Foreign Minister Koumura yesterday met with his Russian counterpart Lavrov at Russia's Foreign Ministry building's annex in Moscow. The two leaders agreed to allow more former islanders to visit the four islands that comprise the Northern Territories freely, commonly called "free visits." The Russian side also in effect admitted to an intrusion into Japanese airspace by a Russian aircraft this past February. This move by Moscow is taken by Tokyo as a manifestation of its enthusiasm to improve relations with Japan. Japan wants to use this mood to move the territory issue forward when Prime Minister Fukuda visits Russia later this month and meets with President Putin and President-elect Medvedev, who is to assume the post of president in May, and at a planned meeting with Medvedev at the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Late Toya, Hokkaido (G-8 Toyako Summit) in July. The free visits are a system under which former islanders can visit the Northern Territories without taking any complicated procedures. This system began with an agreement reached between the top leaders of the two countries in 1998. According to the Japanese side's account, Koumura and Lavorv agreed to allow former islanders' children, their spouses, grandchildren, and nurses who accompany them to visit the Northern Territories from this summer. As for a Russian bomber's violation of Japan's airspace over the southern part of the Izu Islands, which the Russian military had denied, TOKYO 00001024 006 OF 011 Lavrov said: "That was not intentional." The Russian side also offered to provide a list of 134 Japanese who died while in detention in Siberia after World War II. The currently known fact is that the number of Japanese who died while in detention in Siberia totaled 49,035. But estimates of the total are 55,000, and more than 14,000 Japanese were not listed. Meanwhile, in the session, Koumura hailed the fact that total trade value between Japan and Russia in 2007 exceeded 20 billion dollars for the first time. 8) 20,000 police officers to be deployed for G-8 Toyako Summit with MPD planning to send 13,000 police officers to Hokkaido SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 15, 2008 An outline of security precautions Japan will take for the upcoming G-8 Toyako Summit came to light yesterday. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Osaka Prefectural Police plan to send a total of 13,000 riot police officers to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police so that the security system will have 20,000 police officers. In order to contain international terrorism by Islamic extremists and radical activities by anti-globalism activists, a security headquarters will be established in three locations, including the venue for the G-8 summit and New Chitose Airport, in order to command a large unit in an effective manner. The venue for the G-8 Toyako Summit is the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa, which stands atop the 620-meter Mt. Poromoi. The hotel has been chosen as the venue for the G-8 primarily because it is easy to guard. The security headquarters will be established in (1) the Lake Toya area, (2) New Chitose Airport, which the leaders of each country will arrive in or depart from; and (3) Sapporo, where leaders who will be invited to the outreach session will stay. Officers of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police will lead those three headquarters as their heads or as the deputy head of the New Chitose Airport headquarters. The deputy heads of the Toyako headquarters and the Sapporo headquarters will be assumed by officers from the MPD and the Osaka Prefectural Police. In the G-8 Kyushu/Okinawa Summit in 2000, the public security headquarters to collect information about terrorism, the guard headquarters to control convoys, and the traffic headquarters were also established. Similar headquarters are planned to be established for the upcoming G-8 Toyako Summit, as well. 9) MIC aims to get its formula for calculating CO2 reductions through IT adopted as international standard SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 15, 2008 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has decided to work on other countries to have recognizes as an international standard a method of calculating carbon dioxide reductions owing to the use of information technology (IT),a formula that was created independently by MIC. With the start of the first commitment period (2008-2012) under the Kyoto Protocol, which TOKYO 00001024 007 OF 011 has set greenhouse gas reduction targets for industrialized nations, how to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide has now become an important task for each country. On the question of how much carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by the use of IT, each country has used its own calculation methods. MIC aims to spur international efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by making clear how much the broad use of IT contributes to cutting carbon dioxide emissions, and thereby to prepare an environment for emissions trading. According to the government's simulations, the active use of IT will help cut carbon dioxide emissions by tens of millions of tons across the country. MIC has conducted a survey together with firms about how much carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced if IT-related equipment is used in industries as well as households since 2007. As a result, MIC has calculated that if business transactions on the Internet are accelerated and also if computerized contents, such as newspapers and books, working-at-home by the use of personal computers, and teleconferences are more frequently introduced, carbon dioxide emissions for 2012 will be reduced by 68 million tons from the fiscal 1990 level in the areas of distribution and transportation. According to the simulations, the active use of IT will lead to emitting 30 million tons of carbon dioxide in fiscal 2012, but that figure will be surpassed by the amount of carbon dioxide emission cuts in the areas of distribution and transportation. Based on the simulations, MIC created a formula to measure expected emission cuts in other countries if they promote adopting IT equipment. MIC intends to present the formula to the International Telecommunications Union under the United Nations so that the formula will be adopted as an international standard. 10) Two months left until regular Diet session adjourns: Deliberations on sixty percent of bills suspended NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 15, 2008 Deliberations on bills are visibly slow due to the divided Diet. Coordination with opposition parties, which hold a majority in the Upper House, are facing difficulties, though there are only two months left until the close of the Diet session on June 15. The government has presented 78 bills to the Diet, of which about 50 bills are still in the Lower House. Deliberations on such bills as an insurance bill and a bill amending the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law have all been delayed. If the situation is left unattended, the daily life and economic activities of the public could be affected adversely. With the opposition-controlled Upper House in mind, the government presented a slightly reduced number of bills to the Diet -- 78, compared with the regular Diet session last year. Even so, only 13 bills have been enacted into law as of April 14, significantly falling below 24 marked around the same period last year. Three bills, including a bill amending the Consumer Contracts Law, are expected to be adopted at a Lower House plenary session today. A bill amending the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport TOKYO 00001024 008 OF 011 Establishment Law aimed at setting up a tourism agency will be submitted to the Lower House, once it is approved at the Lower House Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. It is likely to be enacted just in time. Even so, 47 bills will still remain idle in the Lower House. 11) Fukuda making apology after apology over hepatitis, pensions, resulting in underscoring government's blundering responses MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) April 15, 2008 Prime Minister Fukuda has made apology after apology to the people starting this year. Since his apology over the issue of relieving hepatitis C patients was taken favorably, he appears to have been trying to obtain public understanding by taking a frank attitude in dealing with other blunders. But this approach has resulted in exposing the government's blundering responses. On the issue of deductions of insurance premiums from pension payments under the new medical system for very old persons, Fukuda uttered an apology yesterday: "A lack of explanation has caused a mess. We will reflect on the confusion." The deduction will start today, so his apology came too late. Regarding the government's failure to complete the work of tracking unidentified pension accounts by the end of March, the government continued to say that it was not a violation of its campaign pledge, but an apology was offered in the end. When gasoline prices began to come down, Fukuda said: "The government's bill has been shifted onto the public." Such problems have been caused mainly by policy clumsiness, rather than responses to such unexpected accidents as the collision between an Aegis destroyer and a fishing boat (in February). The prime minister is in a great quandary. 12) Four opposition parties blast new medical system for very old persons YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) April 15, 2008 Ahead of April 15, when the government started withholding medical insurance premiums for a new health-care program from the pension benefits of those 75 and over, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Japanese Communist Party (JCP),Social Democratic Party (SDP),and the People's New Party (PNP) gave street corner speeches in a shopping area in Sugamo, Tokyo. The four opposition parties stressed the need to scrap the new system and criticized the government and ruling parties. DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama underscored: "A horrible system has been introduced. We will fight until the government says it will abolish it." PNP Vice President Shozaburo Jimi, who is a medical doctor, said in a strong tone: "There is a medical care system because we fall ill when we get old. We must not allow politics that treats the poor coldly." Meantime, the government and ruling parties are desperate to explain the system. TOKYO 00001024 009 OF 011 New Komeito leader Akihiro Ota told reporters: "The main cause of worry (for the elderly) is that (sufficient) explanations have not been provided." 13) Talks on highway tax revenues ends in failure; Ruling coalition asserts, "Necessary roads should be constructed," DPJ says, "Local areas should decide whether to build or not" TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts) April 15, 2008 The ruling parties and main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) yesterday failed to reach an agreement to initiate consultations on the handling of tax revenues earmarked for road construction. Although both sides have stressed their forward-looking attitudes for holding the consultations, they were unable to find common ground because of differences in their "philosophy" toward road construction and maintenance. The main topic of discussion yesterday was the fact that the ruling coalition set an early enactment of a bill amending the Special Taxation Measures Law as a premise for an initiation of the consultations. The DPJ will never allow the legislation to be passed by the Diet because such would mean that the reduced gasoline prices would be returned to the original higher level. At a press conference, DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka severely criticized the ruling camp, saying: "They suggested a discussion, but what they were saying is tantamount to saying they did not want any." For the government and ruling bloc, an early passage of the tax reform bill is "nonnegotiable," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. The ruling coalition's assertion is that if the bill is not enacted, revenue shortages in local governments will not be resolved. Regarding the handling of the special-purpose road construction revenues, the impression is that the ruling parties are overly-swayed by narrow party interests. Even in policy discussions, the ruling camp and the largest opposition party were like oil and water and unable to agree. In case the consultations are launched, the possibility of their reaching an agreement is extremely slim. 14) Campaigning for by-election in Yamaguchi 2nd District kicks off today with face off between LDP, DPJ NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) April 15, 2008 The by-election in the Yamaguchi 2nd District for a House of Representatives seat, the first national election under the Fukuda administration, will be officially announced today. It is likely to be a one-on-one fight between Shigetaro Yamamoto, backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and a former Cabinet Secretariat's regional revitalization integration office head, and lawmaker Hideo Hiraoka of the Democratic Party of Japan. The outcome of the election is expected to affect the future of the provisional gasoline and other road-related tax rates. The main ruling and opposition parties are ready to engage in an all-out battle for the election on April 27. The election is to fill the post vacated by Yoshihiko Fukuda, who was elected to head Iwakuni City. Hiraoka was elected under the TOKYO 00001024 010 OF 011 proportional representation segment in the previous Lower House election. This time, he aims to win victory in the single-seat electoral district. 15) Koizumi, Koike, Maehara eying a study group!? SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) April 15, 2008 The possibility of forming a study group is now under consideration among lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),informed sources said yesterday. The lawmakers include former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, both of whom belong to the LDP, and DPJ Vice President Seiji Maehara. They see the envisioned study group as a venue for policy dialogue under the politically divided Diet situation, but the move is likely to touch off a speculation that they might have reorganization of the political world in mind. Koizumi, Koike, and Maehara held a meeting on the night of April 9 with business leaders and lawmakers, including former Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, special advisor to the Cabinet Office. Participating in the meeting were also former Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Toshimitsu Motegi and others from the LDP and former Policy Research Council Chairman Yoshito Sengoku, former Deputy Secretary General Koichiro Genba and others from the DPJ. According SIPDIS to one participant, the idea of forming a study group was brought up in this meeting. In the meeting, Koizumi reportedly said upon listing the names of Koike and Maehara: "There are two potential candidates for the post of prime minister. Something interesting might happen." Maehara, though, denied yesterday the idea of forming a study group when a close aide referred to the possibility. One participant from the LDP yesterday defined the meeting over dinner as just an exchange of views, saying: "When one is invited to a drinking party, the person usually does not decline the invitation." Meanwhile, a participant from the DPJ indicated a willingness to use the meeting with Koizumi and other members as a material to shake the LDP, remarking: "Most of the participants (in the meeting from the DPJ) were those from the now defunct New Party Sakigake. They learned a lesson from the experience in which Sakigake turned into a complementary force for the LDP in the coalition government of the LDP, the Social Democratic Party and Sakigake." 16) LDP's Aso solidifying political footing in LDP; Some in LDP alarmed by Aso's moves TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) April 15, 2008 While there is a rumor that the Fukuda cabinet may resign en masse due to its low popularity, Taro Aso , former secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been making efforts to solidify his footing in his party, with an eye on succeeding Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. A party hosted by the Aso faction on April 11 in Tokyo drew 1,850 TOKYO 00001024 011 OF 011 participants, revealing how popular Aso is. Aso underscored his enthusiasm to run in the next LDP presidential election, saying: "I am resolved again to face the challenge, by borrowing your strength." Aso has been busying himself in expanding his political clout. The Aso faction's membership is now 20, adding two independents. In order to become an LDP presidential candidate, at least 20 recommendations from LDP lawmakers are required. Aso is now able to run in the race backed by two independents. Aso along with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a meeting on April 5 in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. On April 8, he dined with senior members of the Machimura faction, including former Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, trying to strengthen SIPDIS communication channels to the largest faction in the LDP. However, many in the LDP are alarmed about Aso's moves. Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki sought to constrain Aso at the party of the Aso faction on the 11th, saying: "Under such a difficult situation, I want the Aso faction to support Prime Minister Fukuda." In last year's LDP presidential election, eight factions in the LDP tightened the nooses around Aso. Therefore, Aso will have to continue devoting himself to solidifying his footing in the party for the time being. SCHIEFFER