DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/24/08

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E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/24/08 INDEX: (1) As a measure to counter global warming, six countries now will establish an environment fund of over 600 billion yen to assist developing countries (Mainichi) (2) No companies bid for contracts for rice imported under minimum import obligation, possibly reflecting rising international prices (Asahi) (3) Fukuda reveals plan to establish consumer agency, aiming to regain lost ground by demonstrating policy identity (Yomiuri) (4) Scope column: DPJ shifts policy from "gasoline" to "new medical system for elderly" (Tokyo Shimbun) (5) What they have to say over readoption of provisional gas tax rate (Tokyo Shimbun) (6) 10th anniversary of Democratic Party of Japan (Part 1): Obsession with Lower House dissolution for general election a double-edged sword (Nikkei) (7) Opinion column -- Discussion of film "Yasukuni" by Hisahiko Okazaki: Bureaucrats' attitude somewhat smacks of bias (Sankei) ARTICLES: (1) As a measure to counter global warming, six countries now will establish an environment fund of over 600 billion yen to assist developing countries MAINICHI (Top play) (Abridged) Eve., April 24, 2008 Japan, the United States, and Britain have proposed a multilateral environment fund to assist developing countries on the issue of countering global warming. Now, three more countries - Germany, Spain, and Australia are joining the effort, and the outlook now is that the environment fund will reach over 600 billion yen. The Japanese government is moving in the direction of providing between 100 billion and 150 billion yen to this fund, and together with the U.S. and Britain, Japan has become a major sponsor. The aim is to display leadership by building a framework of international measures to counter global warming in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. The aim is to have the fund formally adopted at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July, and then the plan is to quickly coordinate with each �00A;country to provide funding. This fund, which is to be called the "Clean Technology Fund," was proposed in February by Japan, the U.S., and Britain at the G-7 meeting of financial ministers and central bank governors in Tokyo. The sponsors called for each European country to join. The main pillar of the fund is to assist developing countries with funding for government-private sector projects that would introduce wind and solar energy power generation, as well as energy conservation technologies. The aim also is to urge such developing countries like India and China which emit high amounts of greenhouse gases to actively participate in the post-Kyoto Protocol framework. The U.S. government has announced it would provide $2 billion TOKYO 00001134 002 OF 010 (approximately 210 billion yen); and the UK has stated it would put up 800 million pounds (approximately 170 billion yen). Japan will decide its funding amount by the time of the G-8 finance ministers' meeting in June, but final coordination is moving in the direction of providing funding on a scale of 100 billion yen. (2) No companies bid for contracts for rice imported under minimum import obligation, possibly reflecting rising international prices ASAHI (Page 10) (Full) April 24, 2008 In a tender held on April 22 for contracts for rice imported under the minimum access deal struck in 1993 during the Uruguay Round (UR) of global trade negotiations, there was no successful bidder, according to informed sources. Since FY1995, the government has conducted about 10 bids every year for imported rice. But this was the first time that there was no successful bidder. This result might reflect the recent sharp rise in international rice prices. The government probably should have offered higher procurement prices. But if the government had done so, it might have been criticized as giving momentum to a further rise in international rice prices. The government has decided to take up the issue of soaring food prices as a major agenda item for the Lake Toya Summit in Hokkaido in July, so it has found itself on the horns of a dilemma. The volume of rice for the tender on the 22nd was about 62,000 tons. On about 41,000 tons of the total, no agreement was reached, with trading houses offering higher prices than the government's predetermined ones. For the remaining 21,000 tons of rice, there was no bid held, because no company made a bid or only ONE company submitted a tender. A number of trading companies reportedly gave up making a bid, stemming from the judgment that there would be no profit due to the recent jump in rice prices. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF),the average international price in 2007 of Thai rice, which is used as an indicator, was 322 dollars per ton, but this price has steeply increased since early this year to 441 dollars in February and 776 dollars in April. Vietnam and India, both rice exporting nations, began to restrict exports in the aftermath of typhoons and as part of efforts to contain inflation. Such export restrictions have also pushed up rice prices. In the Philippines, the shortage of rice is becoming serious. If the government significantly raises the procurement prices, it will be able to collect rice. However, a senior MAFF official grumbled: "If we do so, Japan will incur international criticism as a result of fueling the recent sharp rise in market prices of rice." Meanwhile, if the government stops purchasing rice from overseas, it will violate the UR accord. Some MAFF officials suggest that Japan should propose to the World Trade Organization (WTO) a plan to freeze purchasing rice, citing the current critical situation as the reason. Even so, negotiations in the Doha Round of global trade talks are now underway in preparation for a ministerial meeting scheduled for May. ONE official was overheard saying: "It would be better not to TOKYO 00001134 003 OF 010 bring in something that would destroy the Doha Round." (3) Fukuda reveals plan to establish consumer agency, aiming to regain lost ground by demonstrating policy identity YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) April 24, 2008 In a meeting yesterday of the Council for Promoting Consumer Policy, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced a plan to establish in FY2009 a national consumer agency as a "control tower" for consumer policy. Fukuda made the announcement before the panel reaches an agreement. He seems to be aiming to regain lost political ground by demonstrating his policy identity now that public support for his administration has kept declining. The government plans to adopt a basic plan to establish the agency in a cabinet meeting in June and to submit related bills, including ONE amending the Cabinet Office Establishment Law, to the extraordinary Diet session this fall. Fukuda said in the meeting: "We will launch within next fiscal year a consumer agency given powerful authority and tasked with overseeing national policies from the viewpoint of consumers. The establishment of the consumer agency should not bloat administrative organizations. It should lead to streamlining outdated organizations and duplicated work by the existing ministries." The new agency will be responsible for commodity and financial dealings, as well as for the safety and labeling of products and food. It will also serve as a liaison center for consumers. It will be given the capability of consumer policymaking and the authority to issue recommendations to companies and government agencies. The government intends to integrate consumer-related laws, authorities, organizations, and personnel now split among various government offices, such as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. In the meeting yesterday, ONE participant proposed establishing an administrative commission-type new panel, like the Fair Trade Commission, but a decision was made to set up the agency as an affiliated body of the Cabinet Office so that the prime minister will be able to demonstrate his leadership. The government had initially planned to submit related bills to the ordinary Diet session in 2009 and set up the new agency in the summer or later. But it has moved the schedule forward. A focus of attention is whether the authorities now split among various government offices will be effectively integrated into the consumer agency. Another focus of attention is to what extent the said council will be able to specify the consumer agency's functions in its report due out late May. When the council listened to views from relevant government agencies, many of them expressed opposition to the planned transfer of authority. A METI official said: "Guidance to industries and unified administrative policy are indispensable." METI has the jurisdiction of the law requiring manufacturers to report on accidents caused by products. Some in business circles are cautious about the possibility that restrictions might be strengthened on TOKYO 00001134 004 OF 010 them. Fukuda told reporters at his official residence last night: "If you are not convinced of this, please come to see me. I will give a satisfactory explanation." (4) Scope column: DPJ shifts policy from "gasoline" to "new medical system for elderly" TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) April 24, 2008 The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has shifted its strategy of criticizing the government and ruling parties. Three LDP executives -- President Ichiro Ozawa, Deputy President Naoto Kan, and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama -- visited the city of Hikari in Yamaguchi Prefecture, to give campaign speeches for their party's candidate running in the Lower House by-election for the Yamaguchi No. 2 constituency (election day: April 27). In their speeches, all the three called for abolishing the new medical system for elderly and criticizing the government of Prime Minister Fukuda. How will the largest opposition party's policy shift be successful? "I am concerned that different medical services may be provided according to age, and I think the medical system that now exists for the elderly should be abolished," said Kan in a campaign speech for the DPJ's candidate at a large parking lot in Hikari. When pointing out problems on the medical system, for which he spent time that was comparable to that for the issue of highway tax revenues, elderly people there clapped loudly. Hatoyama also spared more than half of his time on the medical system, noting: "Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is utterly blind to the sentiments of (old people). I want (the system) to be scrapped as quickly as possible." Lastly, Ozawa gave a speech in which he said: "The election this time around is a prelude for a general election which I predict will be held this year. I am keen on creating a government giving consideration to the public." The House of Representatives will likely take an override vote on a bill amending the Special Taxation Measures Law. With such in mind, the DPJ initially had assumed a strategy of taking up the gasoline tax prices issue in campaign speeches for its candidate. However, set off by the April 15 start of the withholding of medical insurance premiums from the pension benefits of those 75 and over, the largest opposition party has shifted its strategy. The reason is that polls conducted before the start of the official campaign for the by-election on voters to explore the voter preference found that the candidate backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was moving up behind the DPJ candidate, but the media have reported since the start of the official campaign that the DPJ candidate has an edge. The DPJ leadership has judged that the LDP has lost support from the elderly voters and that it is advisable for it to attack the government and ruling coalition by pointing out the problems of the new medical system so that it will make sure its candidate wins in the Lower House by-election. Some DPJ lawmakers are looking forward to a change in government, with a mid-level lawmaker saying: "If the DPJ wins the by-election, the government will have no choice but to TOKYO 00001134 005 OF 010 review the medical system for the elderly in some way." (5) What they have to say over readoption of provisional gas tax rate TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) April 23, 2008 The government and the ruling parties have decided to reinstate the provisional gas tax rate, using a two-thirds majority second vote on the bill amending the Special Tax Measures bill in the Lower House. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) is looking into thoroughly pursuing Prime Minister Fukuda's responsibility for causing confusion, by submitting a censure motion against him once the bill is adopted. Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) Secretary General Hatoyama: Cool-headed debate would become impossible -- The ruling parties have decided to take a revote on the bill amending the Special Tax Measures Law in the Lower House. "They had better think hard whether gasoline prices should be raised in a high-handed manner at a time when various prices are soaring." -- The ruling parties say that they will reinstate the provisional tax rate in order to prevent local governments from suffering a revenue drop any longer. "The government has carried out for years a disgusting policy of slashing revenues of local governments through the three-part reforms (tax grant cuts from the central government to local entities, slashing of central government subsidies and a shift in tax revenue sources from the central government to local governments). (Cuts in gasoline prices) should be good news to the public, because it is a tax cut. It is ludicrous for the ruling camp to continue saying that local finances will go astray." -- Do you think a revote will affect talks between the ruling and opposition talks over special-purpose road construction revenues? "If the ruling parties adopt such a hard-line means as to take a revote, cool-headed discussion would become impossible." -- Will the opposition camp submit a censure motion against Prime Minister Fukuda? "Public support ratings for the Fukuda cabinet are declining. Many people are supporting our submitting a censure motion. We cannot possibly respond to deliberations easily if the bill is readopted in the Lower House. We must determine how the public responds in a cool-headed manner." -- Is there a possibility of not submitting a censure motion? "If we don't, we will be criticized as being weak-kneed. Another feasible approach is to cause support rates to drop to the 10 PERCENT level through Diet deliberations and force the cabinet to resign en masse. It depends on which approach is more advantageous." -- Will the outcome of the by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 TOKYO 00001134 006 OF 010 Constituency for a Lower House seat affect? "If we win, we would come up with even a stronger determination. If we are defeated, we would feel that we were unable to obtain sufficient sympathy." -- Will you continue the pursuit of the road revenue issue after the reapproval of the bill as well? "The true essence of the gas tax issue is the confrontation between the state and local governments. It is an independence movement for local entities to become able to decide the usage of tax funds on their own. The battle has just started." LDP Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki: Local governments' revenues must be protected -- April 29, when the ruling camp can take a revote on the bill, is approaching. "We sent the amendment bill to the Upper House in late February, and yet, deliberations in the Upper House did not start until April. It is clear that the DPJ is deliberately delaying deliberations. It is shameful if the Upper House fails to take final action within 60 days after receipt of the bill passed by the Lower House. " -- Even so, there is little time left. "A feasible scenario would be the LDP and the DPJ at their party head talks deciding what should be done in fiscal 2009 and beyond, based on the precondition that the Upper House either revises or adopts the bill. However, if the DPJ rejects this proposal with the intention to cause a political crisis, the ruling camp would take a revote on the bill, since it is not possible to allow local governments to remain short of revenues. " -- If the bill is readopted, the provisional rate would be extended for 10 more years. What will become of inconsistency with the government's and the ruling parties' decision that the handling of the provisional tax rate should be considered when the tax code is drastically reformed this year? "Presumably, when the bill is readopted, measures to be taken in fiscal 2009 and beyond would be shown in some form or other. ONE idea is, for instance, the prime minister holding a press conference or the Lower House adopting a resolution. It would be all right to revise the Special Tax Measures bill in fiscal 2009." -- What approach will the ruling parties make to a censure motion against the prime minister? "We cannot stop the opposition parties from submitting a resolution proposal. However, the point is how the public will view such an action. Neither the Constitution nor law prescribes the validity of a censure motion. It is the DPJ that has prolonged Diet deliberation, and yet why on earth should the prime minister be subject to a censure motion, if the Lower House readopts the bill?" -- It will also become possible to readopt the bill amending the road construction expenses funds special measures law aimed to extending special-purpose road construction revenues on May 12. Some ruling party members are cautious about taking a revote on that TOKYO 00001134 007 OF 010 bill, citing that the bill is inconsistent with the prime minister's proposal for shifting road funds to the general account starting in fiscal 2009. "Concern about an unstable situation dragging on will occur unless measures to be taken in fiscal 2009 and beyond are made clear. As such, we want to clarify a policy to be adopted after fiscal 2009 and beyond at a press conference by the prime minister to be held when the bill is readopted or in a Diet resolution." (6) 10th anniversary of Democratic Party of Japan (Part 1): Obsession with Lower House dissolution for general election a double-edged sword NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) April 23, 2008 April 27 marks the 10th anniversary of the Democratic Party of Japan. President Ichiro Ozawa is intent on forcing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda into an early Lower House dissolution for a snap general election by taking advantage of the opposition-controlled Upper House in order to achieve his long-cherished desire of regime change. But some DPJ members are unhappy with his steamroller approach. How is Ozawa going to maintain party unity while some members wanting to become his successor are rolling up their sleeves? Traumatic experience 10 years ago Ozawa held a press conference in the city of Fukushima on April 22 in which he declared: "Our policy and standpoint will remain steadfast regardless of the outcome of the (April 27) Yamaguchi No. 2 constituency by-election. We will continue opposing the revival of the provisional tax rates." The ruling parties plan to hold a Lower House override vote on a bill amending the Special Taxation Measures Law to reinstate the provisionally high gasoline tax. The DPJ wants to submit a censure motion against the prime minister in order to force him into either Lower House dissolution or cabinet resignation en masse. A line of dialogue between Fukuda and Ozawa that survived their failed negotiations last year to form a grand coalition ended with the clash over the selection of the new Bank of Japan governor. Ozawa puts Lower House dissolution ahead of policy. There is a reason for it. In the so-called "financial Diet" of 1998 when the Upper House was also controlled by the opposition bloc, then DPJ President Naoto Kan made the ruling camp accept his party's demand not to dissolve the Diet. Ozawa, who was president of the now defunct Liberal Party at the time, formed a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party, concluding that the DPJ had passed up a golden opportunity. Looking back at those days, Kan said: "We won in terms of policy but were defeated in terms of the political situation." The key to a change of government lies in the strength of the DPJ and its allies who hold 120 seats altogether in the Upper House. At the same time, there is a weakness for a shift of only ten DPJ members could make it possible for bills to pass the upper chamber. On April 2, Ozawa dined at a Tokyo restaurant with six independent TOKYO 00001134 008 OF 010 lawmakers forming a parliamentary group with the DPJ. "I fully understand your standpoints, but this is the time for a showdown. As members of the same parliamentary group, I would like to see you align with us," Ozawa said to them while offering them a beer. Two of them had abstained from two Upper House votes on the BOJ's top posts. Many of them are critical of the DPJ's policy to abolish the provisional tax rates. Ozawa is also humble toward the first-term DPJ lawmakers with a censure motion in mind. Meanwhile, LDP Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki met at a Tokyo restaurant on the night of April 9 with such mid-level DPJ members as Mitsuru Sakurai, Keiichiro Asao, and Tatsuo Hirano. Although a person who attended the meeting explained that they had just talked about policy, a senior DPJ lawmaker said bitterly, "They represent all groups in our party." Unity regarding "white crows" The Upper House's rejection of a censure motion against the prime minister due to revolt by many DPJ-affiliated members would deal a serious blow to the largest opposition party. In a special DPJ general meeting on April 18, Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama called for party unity even by citing the LDP's golden-age signature phrase, "When the party leadership decides that crows are white, party members are not allowed to say otherwise." In the latest Nikkei poll, the rate of support for the DPJ dropped 1 point from the previous survey to 29 PERCENT , while that for the cabinet fell below the 30 PERCENT level. Ozawa's quest for Lower House dissolution for a snap general election could turn into criticism in an instant. (7) Opinion column -- Discussion of film "Yasukuni" by Hisahiko Okazaki: Bureaucrats' attitude somewhat smacks of bias SANKEI (Page 12) (Full) April 24, 2008 Hisahiko Okazaki, former ambassador to Thailand I have not have an opportunity yet to watch the film "Yasukuni." But I have the impression from what I heard about the movie from those who already saw it that a Japanese sword, Yasukuni Shrine, and Emperor Showa were used to provide a wartime Japan backdrop for the Nanking Incident and a contest to kill 100 people using a sword (but the credibility of the footages of the Nanking Incident and that contest is questionable). I won't deal with the artistic quality of "Yasukuni." But if I were a Chinese who, as expected of foreigners, has little knowledge about Japan, it would be no wonder that as ONE artistic approach, I, too, would use such a wartime Japan backdrop to create an image of the Japanese in wartime. And if I were motivated by a political desire to propagandize the Nanking Incident and the contest to kill 100 people using a sword, I might be proud of the results of the film. The question is whether it was appropriate to give support to the film from the Japanese taxpayers' money. Items that can be subject to subsidies from the Japan Arts Council (JAC) are: (1) the TOKYO 00001134 009 OF 010 production process of Japanese movies ranging from planning to completion; and (2) movies free from any commercial, religious, and political propaganda. Let me first examine whether "Yasukuni" is a Japanese film. The production company is a Japanese firm, but all its executives are Chinese. After the JAC informally decided to subsidize "Yasukuni," a Beijing-based film company joined the production company as a co-producer. When it comes to political propaganda, dealing with the Yasukuni issue in itself is seen as having some kind of political motive from an objective standpoint. Also, an act in itself of describing the Nanking Incident and the contest to kill 100 persons using a sword as facts instead of describing them by fabricating or dramatizing them, is viewed as a political problem at present. Agency for Cultural Affairs' grave responsibility All those circumstances considered, it is obvious in everybody's eyes that a considerable sophistry is needed to justify the government's offer of a subsidy to the film "Yasukuni". What the records of questions and answers exchanged in the Diet revealed was the fact that the government narrowly dodged criticism by making awkward replies. Narrowly dodging criticism is not at all praiseworthy, however. I also have had the experience of serving as a government official, but I don't understand why the bureaucracy took the risk of making such awkward answers. Subsidies are paid from the taxpayers' money. Given this, it is only natural for bureaucrats to be prudent enough to avoid placing themselves in a compromising situation and also avoid doing anything that may incur suspicions. Bureaucrats would do so only when they want to let a strained interpretation passable while well aware of a possible backlash from the public's common sense. When officials from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA) were at a loss how to answer questions in the Diet, they simply said instead of answering questions that the decision was made by the Documentary Film Committee. But the committee members are all movie critics, and they can deal with the artistic quality of the film and (they would appreciate the artistic intention of the producer as I do so),but they do not appear to be experts capable of judging whether it was appropriate for the government to subsidize the film from a political viewpoint. Among the committee members, there is an activist of the Article 9 (of the Constitution) Association and an activist opposing Yasukuni's enshrinement of (Class-A war criminals),but there seems to be no member whose stances are the opposite to those activists in terms of political ideology. In such a committee, it is self-explanatory that a conscience-driven opinion, if voiced even by a small number of members, can set a trend in the committee. The ACA has a supervisory responsibility for the committee members, but it needs to check the committee members. The ACA should examine recommendations made by the committee, but it apparently swallowed them without doing so or winked them in a conscience-driven way. TOKYO 00001134 010 OF 010 This attitude of the ACA must be called into question. Gaps also found in generations I am also concerned that there seems to be the question of generational gaps (as to the subsidy problem). When an erroneous report on modifications to history textbooks were made in 1982, Education Ministry officials were those in my generation. But Education Ministry officials who proactively championed the "chief cabinet secretary statement" some years later were the next-generation bureaucracy who received education under the Japan Teachers' Union. Looking at the subsidy problem involving "Yasukuni," I reached the conclusion that any bureaucrats would not take the risk of doing so unless they were conscience-driven. I think it was only natural that as persons responsible for state affairs, lawmakers called for a preview in order to examine whether it was appropriate for the government to subsidize "Yasukuni." Because of this move by lawmakers, some movie theaters might have decided to cancel plans to screen "Yasukuni," but this is a secondary matter. I think it is regrettable to see that movie houses appeared swayed by lawmakers' moves. My desire is that as many Japanese as possible watch the film. After people watch "Yasukuni," they will come out with a variety of opinions as to the contents of the film because of differences in their political inclinations. I hope to see them judge whether the film is worth enough for the government to subsidize from the taxpayers' money. The outcome will presumably be self-evident. I expect that will help remedy some bureaucrats' negligence and their tendency to do something in a conscience-driven way. SCHIEFFER