JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 10/03/08

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 002760 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 10/03/08 Index: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) Defense and security: 4) ASDF colonel fired for leaking secret report on China sub to Yomiuri reporter (Tokyo Shimbun) 5) Punishment of ASDF officer carried out with the U.S. in mind (Asahi) Diet agenda: 6) Lower House election day likely to slip due to deliberations on supplementary budget; Dissolution may come after Oct. 16 now (Sankei) 7) Prime Minister Aso in Diet reply calls for talks with opposition camp on the anti-terror bill to extend the Indian Ocean mission (Yomiuri) 8) Aso in Diet confirms that he will continue to support the Murayama statement apologizing for Japan's WWII acts (Asahi) 9) Both camps in the Diet agree to discuss the supplementary budget bill Oct. 6-7 (Asahi) 10) LDP league starts discussion to review the postal-privatization scheme (Mainichi) 11) Another setback for Aso administration: Allegation that Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura's political support groups claimed office expenses for free apartment (Tokyo Shimbun) DPJ in action: 12) DPJ taking off after the Soka Gakkai in the Diet (Sankei) 13) DPJ going after the women's vote in the next election (Mainichi) 14) DPJ's Kan insists that there are 19 trillion yen in "hidden funds" in government coffers that could be used to implement the party's economic plan (Yomiuri) Economy: 15) Government and ruling camp considering an additional economic stimulus package, but where to find the fiscal resources is the problem (Yomiuri) 16) Japan's Business Federation (Keidanren) proposes plan to Aso that would raise the consumption tax to 10 PERCENT in a couple of years (Nikkei) 17) India's prime minister coming to visit Japan late this month (Nikkei) Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: LDP calls on all government agencies to notify if opposition parties request documents; DPJ charges it with censorship 
Mainichi: Cancer survival rates differ up to 23 pts among hospitals, according to ministry survey Yomiuri: 30 PERCENT of rivers under supervision of prefectural governments TOKYO 00002760 002 OF 012 not inspected regularly for disaster preparedness Nikkei: METI to review ways to revise gas, electricity charges, reflecting recent rising fuel prices Sankei & Tokyo Shimbun: Lower House election likely to take place later than widely expected Nov. 2 due to delayed deliberations on extra budget bill Akahata: JCP Chairman Shii presents reform plan focusing on people's peaceful lives 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Prime minister should boldly decide to quickly dissolve Lower House (2) Osaka governor's remark on TV program: How about disbarring him? Mainichi: (1) Come up with economic stimulus measures focusing on encouraging households (2) Osaka Governor Hashimoto's defeat in ruling underlines what lawyers should be Yomiuri: (1) BOJ Tankan shows weak business confidence (2) Dismissal of ASDF colonel: News media has duty to give let the public know Nikkei: (1) U.S. government's support of U.S. Big Three contains many problems (2) We expect more substantial EPAs Sankei: (1) Melamine-tainted food: Improvement in rules on indication of origin necessary (2) Clear up truth of official falsified pension records Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Business downturn: Global financial crisis looming large (2) Outside executives in sumo association welcomed as first step to eliminate closeness, self-righteousness Akahata: (1) Representatives interpellations in both Houses: Will "two political evils" be rectified or preserved? 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, October 2 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) October 3, 2008 08:30 Arrived at the Kantei. TOKYO 00002760 003 OF 012 10:01 Plenary session in the Upper House 12:14 Met with State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Yosano at the Kantei. 13:52 Lawmakers' meeting in the Diet building. 14:02 Plenary session in the Lower House. 16:02 Lower House Budget Committee meeting. Stood talking with Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura, followed by Party Youth Division chief Inoue and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto. 16:11 Photo session with staff members of the Youth Division. 17:19 Met with Shigeo Iizuka, representative of the Abductee Family Association, and others. 17:49 Met with METI Minister Nikai, Vice METI Minister Mochizuki and Natural Resources and Energy Agency Director General Ishida. 19:02 Goes to a bar in Roppongi with Lower House member Takeshi Iwaya and others. 23:18 Arrived at the private residence at Kamiyama-cho. 4) ASDF colonel sacked over info leak TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Abridged) October 3, 2008 The Defense Ministry dismissed an Air Self-Defense Force colonel yesterday for his alleged leak of classified information about a Chinese submarine's accident in the South China Sea, officials said. Hideki Kitazumi, 50, is alleged to have leaked the information to a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter when he was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Headquarters, the officials said. The police unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force had sent the case to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the Self-Defense Forces Law. This is the first time an SDF member has been dismissed for providing information to a news reporter, although there were cases where SDF personnel were dismissed for leaking information to foreign spies. The Defense Ministry took unprecedented action for the heaviest punishment without waiting for the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office to take action for criminal punishment. The action was taken against the backdrop of tightened information security. It could result in daunting officeholders as news sources and constraining the right to know and a free press. TOKYO 00002760 004 OF 012 According to the Defense Ministry's account, Kitazumi explained that he provided the information to an outsider although he knew it was a "defense secret." Administrative Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda, meeting the press yesterday, stated: "The case this time is subject to dismissal as well as other information leak cases in the past. We're aware of press freedom, but the problem is that he provided the information to a person who should not be in a position to know." The Yomiuri Shimbun commented yesterday, "It is extremely regrettable that they conducted investigations to identify the news source and took disciplinary action against the person while citing information leakage as a reason." 5) SDF member's sacking possibly with U.S. in mind ASAHI (Page 34) (Abridged) October 3, 2008 A member of the Self-Defense Forces was dismissed yesterday for allegedly leaking a "defense secret" to a newspaper reporter. It is the first time an SDF member has been subjected to such a disciplinary action for alleged information leakage. The information provided to a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter was about a Chinese submarine's accident. The information is said to have contained intelligence from the U.S. military. The Defense Ministry is believed to have punished the officer in deference to the United States. Experts have voiced their concerns, saying the action will have a negative impact on the press reporting. The newspaper article about the Chinese submarine's accident was carried by the Yomiuri Shimbun in its morning edition dated May 31, ¶2005. The article reported that a Chinese submarine surfaced in the South China Sea and that Japan and the United States had discovered that the Chinese submarine "was numbered with figures in the 300s." However, it was five months thereafter when the then Defense Agency's intelligence division filed a criminal accusation with the Ground Self-Defense Force's police unit. Even more odd, it was not until January 2007, one and a half years later, that the GSDF police launched a full-fledged investigation. At that time, Japan and the United States were sharing intelligence at a high pitch to introduce a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system. "We considered the fact that the United States had strongly called for intelligence security," a senior official of the Defense Ministry said. Concerning the punishment, Kazuhisa Ogawa, an analyst of military affairs, noted: "Intelligence provided by Japan's ally, the United States, leaked. That's the problem. If trust in the alliance is impaired, intelligence sharing with the United States is not possible. The Defense Ministry needed to show that nothing like this will never happen again. The Defense Ministry identified Col. Hideki Kitazumi as the one who provided the information without hearing the reporter, and the ministry punished him." The information about the Chinese submarine was said to be classified under the category of a "defense secret"-or highly confidential next to the category of "special defense secret" of intelligence about the United States' state-of-the-art weapons. "Defense secret" is a new category established in a 2001 amendment to the Self-Defense Forces Law. The amended law also established additional charges for instigating defense secret leakage to punish those who have obtained information classified as defense secret. TOKYO 00002760 005 OF 012 6) Lower House election likely to take place later than the widely-expected Nov. 2 due to delayed deliberations on extra budget bill SANKEI (Top Play) (Full) October 3, 2008 The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito presented a timeframe in a directors meeting of the House of Representatives budget Committee yesterday to discuss the fiscal 2008 supplementary budget bill on Oct. 6-8 and get the bill through the Lower House on the 8th. The opposition camp approved deliberations on Oct. 6-7 but held off on making a reply about the 8th. If the bill is passed in the Lower House later than the 8th, it will become impossible to start deliberations on the bill at the House of Councillors before Oct. 14. Given this, it now seems to be difficult to set the date of official announcement of the next Lower House election at Oct. 21 and the date of election at Nov. 2 as widely expected. The ruling camp planned to pass the extra budget bill on Oct. 9 after deliberations at the Lower House on Oct. 6-7 and at the Upper House on Oct. 8-9. But the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) rejected the plan yesterday, based on the stance of not agreeing on the plan without a promise for Lower House dissolution on the 9th. In the event that both camps agree on an alternative plan drawn up by the ruling coalition, deliberations on the bill at the Upper House will be postponed to sometime after Oct. 14, in part because Finance Minister and State Minister in Charge of Financial Services Shoichi Nakagawa is scheduled to attend a meeting of central bank governors and finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized countries (G-7) in Washington on the 10th. In this case, the dissolution of the Lower House will take place later than Oct. 16, even at the earliest, and it will become impossible to officially announce the election on Oct. 21. Two ideas are now conceivable: "Official announcement on Oct. 28 and election on Nov. 9" or "announcement on Nov. 4 and election on Nov. 16." Within the LDP, since calls for a second extra budget are growing as the financial crisis originating in the U.S. is spreading across world markets, the election could be delayed still further. In replying to questions by reporters at his official residence last night, Prime Minister Taro Aso said: "I am determined to pass the extra budget bill. The bill must be enacted without fail. Sorry, but nobody heard me talking about dissolution." In the representative interpellation session at the Upper House plenary session yesterday, as well, Aso said: "I would like to prioritize realizing policies such as economic measures over dissolving the Lower House." In response to questions from Azuma Koshiishi, leader of DPJ Upper House caucus, Aso indicated his determination to enact a bill amending the New Antiterrorism Special Measures Law to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and three bills related to creating a consumer agency. Koshiishi demanded an early dissolution of the Lower House through talks, remarking: "We are not thinking about unnecessarily prolonging or boycotting deliberations on the supplementary budget bill." But Aso emphasized, without referring to Lower House TOKYO 00002760 006 OF 012 dissolution: "I hope you will quickly reach a conclusion (on the extra budget bill)." In reference to no replies from DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa to questions from him in Diet interpellations on Oct. 1, Aso said: "It was truly regrettable. I expect to engage in discussion with Mr. Ozawa at the Budget Committee and demonstrate our perception gap before the people." Representative interpellations will also take place in the Upper House today. 7) Aso proposes talks with opposition bench over new antiterror bill YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) October 3, 2008 Prime Minister Aso, attending a plenary sitting of the House of Representatives yesterday for interpellations from each political party's representative, indicated that he would call on the opposition parties for talks over a government-introduced bill amending the new Antiterrorism Special Measures Law to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean. He stated: "We need to continue the (refueling) activities. Through talks between the ruling and opposition parties, I want to have the opposition parties' understanding on the necessity of continuing the activities." Concerning historical awareness, Aso averted that his cabinet would also follow Prime Minister Murayama's statement of 1995 that expressed "deep remorse" over Japan's colonial rule and aggression in the past. 8) Aso in Diet interpellation vows that his cabinet will follow Murayama Statement; Describes DPJ manifesto pledges as "unrealistic" ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) October 3, 2008 In yesterday's Lower House interpellation session, Japanese Communist Party and Social Democratic Party lawmakers asked Prime Minister Taro Aso in succession for his views on history. In response, the prime minister explicitly said that his administration would follow the 1995 Murayama Statement that expressed remorse and apology for Japan's colonial rule and aggression. Touching on the prime minister's policy speech that went, "The present lies at the end of the accumulation of the tradition of government of 118 years (from the prewar through the postwar periods)," JCP Chairman Kazuo Shii asked: "Aren't you aware of the fact that sovereignty has shifted from the Emperor in the prewar period to the Japanese people in the postwar period under the Constitution of Japan?" The prime minister replied: "I simply wanted to point out the tradition of the appointment of prime minister that has been in place for over a century under constitutional government and the gravity of the responsibility for lying at the end of that long line." SDP member Yasumasa Shigeno then asked the prime minister's stance toward the Murayama Statement. In response, Aso said: "The statement you just mentioned and the Koizumi Statement present the government's view on the last major war. My cabinet will follow that TOKYO 00002760 007 OF 012 view." The prime minister also criticized the Democratic Party of Japan's campaign pledges, announced by President Ichiro Ozawa on Oct. 1. The prime minister said that how to secure the 5.6 trillion yen needed for a 26,000-yen monthly child allowance program was unclear. He also called the DPJ's plan to eliminate expressway tolls unrealistic for such would end up raising taxes. 9) Ruling, opposition camps agree to begin Lower House Budget Committee sessions on Oct. 6; Date to take vote to be rediscussed ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpts) October 3, 2008 In yesterday's Lower House Budget Committee Board of Directors meeting, the ruling parties agreed to hold committee sessions on Oct. 6-7 to deliberate on a fiscal 2008 supplementary budget bill. The sessions will be attended by cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Taro Aso. In yesterday's meeting, the ruling camp called for a wrap-up question-and-answer session and a vote on the budget on Oct. 8. The opposition bloc did not accept the request. They will discuss the matter again today. The view is gaining ground in the ruling camp that the next Lower House election, which was once expected to occur on Nov. 2 or later, would be postponed. In the meantime, the Democratic Party of Japan is set to intensify its offensive against the government and ruling bloc in the upcoming Budget Committee sessions with the aim of forcing Prime Minister Aso into early Diet dissolution. The plan to enact the supplementary budget might fall through and the political situation might become fluid at a stroke depending on how the Lower House Budget Committee sessions turn out next week. 10) LDP lawmakers launch postal privatization review MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) October 3, 2008 A group of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers studying a review of postal privatization held an inaugural meeting yesterday at party headquarters. The LDP parliamentarian group called "Yusei Kenkyu-kai" is headed by Shunichi Yamaguchi, a special advisor to the prime minister. In the meeting, the group drew up with an emergency resolution calling for including in the party's manifesto (set of campaign pledges) such proposals as 1) revising the four postal functions created by splitting Japan Post so that over-the-counter and mail delivery services would be merged under a single management and 2) maintaining postal services for less-populated areas. The group will present the proposals to Prime Minister Taro Aso and to the party leadership possibly next week. About 60 lawmakers, including Consumer Administration Minister Seiko Noda and former Transport Minister Takao Fujii who voted against the postal privatization bill in 2005, attended yesterday's meeting. Participants actively criticized the deficiencies of the present postal system created by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka, with one saying: "The motivation of post office employees has declined." Another said: "The four postal functions have not worked well." TOKYO 00002760 008 OF 012 The postal privatization-related law stipulates that the ways to promote privatization will be reviewed in March 2009. In the LDP, however, a review of postal privatization is being carried out mainly by those who were against the reform. Former Prime Minister Koizumi has announced that he will retire from politics after his term in the Lower House expires. Aso also appointed some "postal rebels" as members of his cabinet. With the securing of "postal votes" in mind, a mood of calling a review of postal privatization will likely grow in the LDP. 11) Chief cabinet secretary to explain his office expense controversy today; Possibly another blow to the Aso administration; Focus on disclosure of receipts TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) October 3, 2008 In the wake of the resignation of Land and Transport Minister Nariaki Nakayama, an office expense scandal involving Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, a key member of the cabinet, came to light yesterday. Although the government and ruling coalition do not think it will escalate to the chief cabinet secretary having to resign, the incident could deal a mortal wound to the Aso administration, depending on how Kawamura explains it and how the opposition bloc reacts, particularly with an imminent Lower House dissolution and snap general election. Kawamura's three political organizations recorded a total of 5 million yen in 2007 in expenses, including rents, by registering his secretary's home, which is supposed to be rent-free, as the lawmaker's office. Kawamura emphatically, said, "(His home) actually functioned as my office. I will offer a solid explanation." He intends to explain the matter in detail in a regular press briefing today. Seiichi Ota, the agricultural minister during the Fukuda administration, and Norihiko Akagi, who served in that post during the Abe administration also recorded huge office expenses by registering their respective secretaries' homes as their offices. Ota weathered the storm by disclosing receipts, but the scandal cost Akagi his post in the end. Whether or not Kawamura will be able to disclose receipts could dictate the outcome. LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda, appearing on a TBS news program, said this about the Kawamura issue, "I don't think it's really a problem." There are no signs that the opposition bloc will grill Kawamura over the issue. Nevertheless, if it concludes that Kawamura has not fulfilled his accountability, opposition parties might take it up in Lower House Budget Committee sessions that will open on Oct. 6. 12) DPJ pursuing relationship between New Komeito and Soka Gakkai SANKEI (Page 5) (Excerpts) October 3, 2008 Senior Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) members have stepped up efforts to pursue the issue of the relationship between the New Komeito and its religious sect backer, the Soka Gakkai. The party took up the issue yesterday in representative interpellations in the House of Councillors and in press conferences. The aim is to drive TOKYO 00002760 009 OF 012 Prime Minister Taro Aso into a corner so that he will have to quickly dissolve the House of Representatives, at a time when rumors are flying that the dissolution of the Lower House may be pushed back. The DPJ expects that the New Komeito will now put pressure upon Aso and the Liberal Democratic Party to dissolve the Lower House in order to avoid the issue of its relations with the Soka Gakkai coming up, according to a senior DPJ member. Azumi Koshiishi, chairman of the DPJ Upper House caucus, charged in yesterday's questioning session: "It is said that a religious corporation, which receives preferential tax treatment, is carrying out more serious election campaigns than political parties." Koshiishi made the above remark based on remarks in June by Junya Yano, a commentator and former New Komeito chairman, in a study session of opposition lawmakers. Yano said: "The central halls (of the Soka Gakkai) in the rural areas are bases for (Komeito) election campaigns." DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa, appearing on a commercial television program yesterday, took a positive stance toward the idea of summoning Yano to testify before the Diet, saying: "The issue of politics and religion is a serious issue." Deputy President Naoto Kan sided with Ozawa, noting: "Religion holds political power. A religious organization is using that power. This should be discussed." The DPJ leaders' remarks indicated that this issue would be debated in the Diet if the dissolution of the Lower House were pushed back. 13) DPJ making pitch to female voters in next Lower House election MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) October 3, 2008 The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has prepared campaign fliers aimed at attracting female voters in the next House of Representatives election. The fliers are titled: "Important information on the DPJ's emergency plan to rescue households." The DPJ is now making a strenuous effort to win women's votes. The party will form a caravan of 22 female Upper House members, and send the members to electoral districts to help female candidates. The fliers say that the DPJ will secure funding resources to allow a 26,000 yen monthly family allowance for each child being raised, as well as for other measures by taking back tax money from the bureacracy. The caravan will go to the Fukushima No. 2 district from which Lower House member Kazumi Ota will run in the next election, and the Nagasaki No. 2 district in which Eriko Fukuda, leader of the hepatitis C infected Kyushu plaintiffs, will run against former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma. 14) "Possible to use 19 trillion yen in hidden government funds," says DPJ's Kan YOMIURI (Page 9) (Full) October 3, 2008 DPJ Vice President Naoto Kan on October 2 inspected the Finance Ministry Foreign Exchange Markets Division, which is in charge of managing foreign currency reserves. His aim was to look into the TOKYO 00002760 010 OF 012 ministry's method of managing assets in the special account for foreign reserve funds and to what extent reserves in that account, "the so-called hidden funds" (maizokin) can be used. Kan said, "There is more than 19 trillion yen in accumulated investment profits. I was able to confirm that it is possible to use those funds." In response, Vice Finance Minister Kazuyuki Sugimoto during a press conference the same day took a negative stance regarding the idea of using the reserve funds, noting, "A drop in foreign currency reserves can have an unexpected impact on the exchange market. It is necessary to be careful in considering such an idea." 15) Government, ruling parties looking into possible additional economic stimulus measures, but ways to secure funding resources not in sight YOMIURI (Page 9) (Excerpts) October 3, 2008 Following a growing concern about the future of the Japanese economy in the wake of the financial crisis that started in the U.S., the government and the ruling parties have started looking into the possibility of additional economic pump-priming measures. Prime Minister Aso is also positive toward compiling a second supplementary budget, once a fiscal 2008 supplementary budget to finance a comprehensive economic stimulus package has obtained Diet approval. However, given the political situation where the Lower House could be dissolved for a snap election before the fiscal 2008 supplementary budget is passed by the Diet, some are taking a cool-headed view toward such moves, with one senior Finance Ministry official noting, "Calls for additional measures are for the sake of making a public appeal with the upcoming election in mind." The prime minister in a reply made during an interpellation session took a positive stance toward additional economic measures, saying, "The international financial situation has changed significantly. It is necessary to take more measures in a flexible manner." New Komeito Secretary General Kitagawa on September 28 also indicated a desire to compile a large-scale economic stimulus package, saying, "The package should be on the scale of several dozen trillion yen." The ruling parties on the 1st launched a special team to start looking into measures to address the financial crisis, including an additional economic package. Plans floated in the ruling parties include tax breaks for securities investment, housing acquisition and capital spending, and a plan to specify the size of a fixed-amount income and local tax cuts and its coverage, a policy the LDP and the New Komeito agreed to implement within the year. However, doubts have been raised about whether tax cuts can have the effect of stimulating the domestic economy, because the recent economic woes are mainly due to increased costs borne by companies as a result of the sharp rise in crude oil and grain prices. Some Finance Minister officials take the view that even if fixed-amount tax cuts are implemented, tax payers will save benefits as long as there are anxieties about their future, such as pensions and medical care. A view is strong that a preferential tax system for securities investment would produce troublesome paperwork, dampening people's investment desire. 16) Nippon Keidanren proposes 10 PERCENT consumption tax hike to TOKYO 00002760 011 OF 012 Aso administration NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full) October 3, 2008 The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on October 2 released a set of proposals addressed to the Taro Aso cabinet. The main pillar of the package is a call for raising the consumption tax to 10 PERCENT by fiscal 2010, or fiscal 2011 at the latest, to finance social security expenses and fiscal reconstruction, setting the reform period at three years. Though the package includes the implementation of a fixed rate income tax break, it places emphasis on the fiscal discipline, calling for bringing the primary balance into the black by fiscal 2011 without fail. The set of proposals is aimed to be included in a package reform of the tax, fiscal and social security systems. There is, however, a gap with the policy stance of the new administration, which prioritizes economic stimulus measures. Chairman Fujio Mitarai after meeting with Prime Minister Aso at the Kantei on September 30 told reporters, "What the prime minister said is in agreement with the stand of Nippon Keidanren." However, there is a subtle difference in views between Aso, who advocates economic growth, based on, first, economic stimulus measures, second, on fiscal reconstruction and, third, on reform, and Nippon Keidanren, which focuses on fiscal reconstruction. The association's proposal regarding the consumption tax is more radical than a proposal State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Karoru Yosano, who also advocates fiscal reconstruction, made during the LDP presidential campaign. Its aim appears to be to spur policy debate between the LDP and the DPJ in the run-up to the upcoming general election. 17) Indian prime minister to visit Japan late this month NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) October 3, 2008 It has been decided that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Japan in late October to hold talks with Prime Minister Taro Aso. A final coordination on a two-day visit on Oct. 22-23 is now being carried out. The schedule will be approved by the cabinet soon. The expectation is that the two leaders will issue a joint statement stipulating the need for expanding strategic cooperation in diplomatic and economic areas. While political maneuvering is intensifying over the dissolution of the House of Representatives and a general election, Aso appears to be aiming to maintain the cohesiveness of his government by promoting steadily diplomatic activities. Although the Indian prime minister visited in July to attend as a guest in the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit in Hokkaido, this will be his first formal visit since he did one in December 2006. In the summit meeting, Aso and Singh will affirm cooperation on the UN reform and nuclear nonproliferation issues. The two leaders are expected to agree on strengthening cooperation also on energy and battle against global warming. They will look into the possibility of exchanges between Japan's Self-Defense Forces and India's military forces. TOKYO 00002760 012 OF 012 SCHIEFFER