JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 03/26/08

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E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 03/26/08 Index: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) Political gridlock: 4) Gasoline price at the pump seems certain to drop as tax law expires (Asahi) 5) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) not giving in an inch in stance opposing tax bills (Yomiuri) 6) Gasoline stand assistance planned during the period when prices will be in flux (Nikkei) 7) Prime Minister Fukuda's feud with DPJ President Ozawa continues to grow as clashes over issues in the Diet continue (Nikkei) 8) Fukuda's own political base eroding as road-policy clique in the Diet becomes more frustrated over expiring road-related tax bills (Tokyo Shimbun) 9) Decision on next candidate for Bank of Japan governor likely to come in early April (Yomiuri) 10) Fukuda faces new headache as the DPJ is likely to oppose the candidate to head the Personnel Agency, as well (Tokyo Shimbun) 11) In Asahi interview, new Australian premier seeks diplomatic solution to the whaling issue (Asahi) Defense and security issues: 12) Three opposition parties drafting SOFA revision agree that USFJ should hand over all U.S. military suspects before indictment (Asahi) 13) Fukuda expresses intention to submit a permanent SDF overseas dispatch bill to the Diet during the current session (Mainichi) 14) Government planning to dispatch SDF to various countries to train personnel in peacekeeping skills (Asahi) Foreign aid: 15) Government to assist Vietnam by training 1,000 scholars (Asahi) 16) LDP proposes expansion of TICAD-related ODA to Africa (Asahi) 17) MOFA to send actress Mayu Tsuruta to Sudan for TICAD public relations (Asahi) Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Gasoline prices likely to fall; Provisional tax rates to expire Mainichi: Survey on metabolic checkups: Local governments cold toward mandatory examinations Yomiuri: High school textbooks to become more difficult from 2009 after cram-free education policy scrapped Nikkei: KDDI, Panasonic and other major corporations to review corporate pension funds for higher yields Sankei: TOKYO 00000826 002 OF 011 Interview with former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui: No momentum for unification of China and Taiwan Tokyo Shimbun: Supreme Court rejects retrial plea by Hakamada Akahata: JCP demands Ishihara's resignation over Shinginko Tokyo mess 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Two party heads must make decision on revisions to road tax revenues (2) Is NHK an organ of state propaganda? Mainichi: (1) Governor, assembly must take responsibility for Shinginko Tokyo (2) Amending Antimonopoly Law: Consumers must come first Yomiuri: (1) Clock running out for provisional gas tax rate (2) Former Huser president found guilty Nikkei: (1) Political feud at cost of national livelihood unacceptable (2) Former Huser head found guilty of falsifying earthquake-resistance data Sankei: (1) Think twice before injecting additional funds into Shinginko Tokyo (2) Olympic torch relay: Dialogue should replace iron fist Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Ruling on fake condo data leaves many challenges (2) Land price disparity expanding Akahata: (1) Fukuda administration must change policy course 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, March 25 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) March 26, 2008 08:46 Attended cabinet meeting at the Diet building. 09:51 Met at Kantei with Lower House member Yasufumi Tanahashi. 10:31 Met Central Institute of Politics President Ono. 11:00 Met with the ASEAN secretary general. 12:57 Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Futahashi. TOKYO 00000826 003 OF 011 14:50 Met with Vice Justice Minister Ozu. 15:11 Met with Ambassador in charge of Okinawa Affairs Imai and North American Affairs Bureau chief Nishimiya. Met later with Nikkei President Sugita and Managing Director Akiyama, followed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sasae. 16:30 Met with LDP Foreign Affairs Research Commission Chairman Yamasaki and Security Research Commission Chairman Nakatani. 17:19 Attended education reform meeting. 20:10 Returned to his official residence. 4) Gasoline prices likely to fall; Provisional tax rates to expire ASAHI (Top play) (Abridged slightly) March 26, 2008 With the provisional tax rates on gasoline and other products scheduled to expire at the end of March, it now seems inevitable that those rates will be scrapped temporality. The ruling and opposition camps failed to break the deadlock in talks yesterday, and it is now certain that deliberations in the House of Councillors on tax-related bills including an extension of the provisional rates will slip to April. With the ruling and opposition blocs remaining wide apart over the road-related tax revenues, revision talks for the enactment of the bills in the current fiscal year are also likely to fizzle. The view is gaining ground in the ruling bloc that the provisional rates must be reinstated early by taking a second vote in the House of Representatives in late April. The focus is now shifting to an April political scenario. The gasoline tax is imposed when shipping, so it is likely to take 10 days for the market prices to fall. At the same time, there is a possibility that some retailers will lower the prices starting on April 1. The price of light oil, on which the tax is imposed when selling, will drop on April 1. Without the provisional tax rates, the central and local governments will lose 200 billion yen a month in road revenues. The ruling camp has begun studying ways to make up for the local governments' revenue shortfall. The focus will be whether to take a second vote in the Lower House in order to reinstate the provisional rates once they expire. Even if the Upper House does not bring the tax-related bills to a vote, the 60-day rule allows the Lower House to take another vote on April ¶29. The view is prevalent in the ruling bloc that taking a second vote is the only way to prevent the lowered tax rates from being in place beyond one month. If the Lower House readopts the bills, the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan intends to submit a censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Depending on how public trends shift, the ruling camp might not be able to take a second vote, thus dealing a greater blow to the Fukuda administration. TOKYO 00000826 004 OF 011 In yesterday's meeting of Diet affairs chiefs of the ruling and opposition camps, the LDP's Tadamori Oshima pressed the opposition bloc to abide by the agreement to reach a certain conclusion within this fiscal year. The DPJ's Kenji Yamaoka brushed aside Oshima's argument, saying: "The ruling camp has thrown it into the wastebasket, railroading (budget and other legislations) through the Diet on February 29." Yamaoka proposed that each party discuss revisions to the bills. The ruling camp proposed beginning deliberations in an Upper House plenary session on March 26, but the opposition camp did not agree to it. An Upper House plenary session is not likely to open until March 28. It seems difficult for a committee to begin discussing the legislation before March 31. The idea is also circulating in the government to revive a stopgap bill, submitted in January to extend the duration of the tax-related bills. A high-ranking government official last night expressed his hope for a revival of the bills. Nevertheless, unless the Upper House votes down the legislation early, the stopgap bill will not be able to clear the Diet before March 31. 5) DPJ remains hard-line on tax-related bills, refusing start of talks within this fiscal year YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts) March 26, 2008 The ruling and opposition camps continued coordination yesterday in an effort to put to vote the government's tax code bills, including one amending the Special Taxation Measures Law to maintain the current provisional gasoline tax rate. But both sides failed to find common ground. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has not backed down on its tough stance of aiming to scrap the provisional tax rate. The main opposition party informed the ruling camp of its plan to refuse the start of deliberations on the bills within this fiscal year. Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councillors Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Seiji Suzuki met his DPJ counterpart Susumu Yanase in the Diet Building yesterday and asked that the DPJ should agree to start deliberations on the tax-related bills at an Upper House plenary session today. But Yanase refused it, saying: "Our top priority is to end the provisional tax rate, so we will not respond to starting deliberations within this fiscal year." LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Tadamori Oshima and his DPJ counterpart Kenji Yamaoka met yesterday afternoon, based on a request made by House of Representatives Speaker Kono on March 24. Yamaoka insisted that the government should give priority to the DPJ's counterproposal that excludes seven special measures, including the exemption of taxation on land transactions, from the bill amending the Special Taxation Measures Law and pass it by the end of this fiscal year. But Oshima said that the DPJ should promise to take a vote on the government-sponsored amendment bill that includes the measure to maintain the provision gasoline tax rate in the Upper House within this fiscal year. 6) Measures to help gas stations: Ruling parties mulling compensating oil retailers for revenue shortfall caused by expiration of provisional gas tax rate NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) March 26, 2008 TOKYO 00000826 005 OF 011 The ruling parties yesterday started looking into measures to provide relief to gas stations in readiness for an abolition of the provisional gas tax rate starting in April. The cardinal feature of envisaged measures is protecting retailers from incurring losses in the event in which they are forced to sell gasoline they had purchased before the expiration of the provisional gas tax rate that would lower prices starting April 1. The likelihood is that the government will compensate oil dealers for the revenue shortfall that the expiration would cause. The amount of gasoline eligible for compensation would be determined, based on self-reported data. The period of compensation will be until the stocks of oil retailers purchased before an expiration of the provisional tax rate run out. Details will be worked out later. The ruling parties intend to adopt relief measures similar to the Democratic Party of Japan's counterproposal. If it becomes certain that gasoline prices become cheaper, the ruling parties will complete the required consolidation of the legal base by the end of March. 7) Party heads take no action, deepening division NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) March 26, 2008 Prime Minister: Little room for making concessions to DPJ The battle between the ruling and opposition camps over the provisional tax rate for special-purpose road construction revenues has gone into the homestretch. At the same time, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa have steered clear of playing up their stance on the issue on the front stage. Are they determined to take no action? Or are they unable to take action? With the division in the relationship of trust between the two party heads deepening further, a scenario in which the ruling and opposition camps suddenly reach an agreement has failed. The prime minister yesterday expressed to reporters his impatience with the DPJ, which has been rejecting his call for revision talks: "To be honest, I do not understand why they are rejecting my proposal. I don't have even a clue at this stage." Former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa in a speech yesterday lamented SIPDIS the present state of relations between Fukuda and Ozawa, noting, "There is an impression that the mess over the selection of BOJ governor has destroyed relations of mutual trust between them." The prime minister is still eager to hold party head talks. That is because he strongly believes that having a dialogue with the DPJ is essential in order for his administration to achieve satisfactory results in the divided Diet. He once again said yesterday, "It is important for us to establish a discourse-based relationship." However, his strategy of nestling up to Ozawa has run into a stone wall, with Ozawa returning to a confrontational stand. The predominant view is that swallowing the DPJ proposal would be the only way to reach an agreement with that party on the issue of revising road funds-related bills. However, chances are that if the TOKYO 00000826 006 OF 011 prime minister decides to abolish the provisional rate, influential members of the road policy clique in the Diet, including General Council Chairman Toshihiro Nikai and Election Committee Chairman Makoto Koga, would start internally criticizing the prime minister. Ozawa: Determined to confront prime minister with eye on party presidential election With the abolition of the provisional gas tax rate looking like it may become reality, DPJ President Ozawa is visibly intensifying his all-out attack mode. Referring to the past six months since the inauguration of the Fukuda administration, he lashed out at Fukuda at a press conference yesterday, "There have been no cases in which the prime minister has implemented policies that brought out his own ideas and principles to the forefront." Referring to the prime minister's statement that he did not have a clue about Ozawa's rejection of holding revision talks, Ozawa rebutted, "I don't understand his stance as the president of the ruling party." Ozawa also emphasized, "The prime minister said that the DPJ is rejecting his call for talks. This utterly goes against the facts." However, contrary to this statement, the discourse-based vision reached between Ozawa and Fukuda, which has been in place since their party head talks last fall, has disappeared completely. 8) Top post of National Personnel Authority may also be left vacant TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged) March 26, 2008 For the top post of the National Personnel Authority (NPA),the government submitted to the Diet a plan to reappoint President Masahito Tani. Following this, the Lower and Upper House Steeling Committees will hold hearings with Tani regarding his policy stance today. But the Democratic Party of Japan has yet to determine its response. The NPA is an independent administrative organization that performs such duties as recommending salaries for national public servants and implementing employment tests for such servants. Candidates for the three top special posts requires Diet approval. One of the three will be appointed to become NPA president. Since Tani's term is set to expire on April 4, the government has decided to reappoint him. The two chambers of the Diet will take a vote on Tani's nomination at their plenary sessions on March 28. The DPJ intends to make a judgment after listening to his policy view. Four years ago, however, the main opposition party raised opposition to the appointment of Tani as NPA president. The DPJ rejected the government's plan to promote former Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto to become BOJ governor. As the main reason for its disagreement, the party cited that it had opposed Muto's appointment as deputy governor five years ago. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura emphasized: "His activities over the past four years should be evaluated." Given that the ruling and opposition camps remain at loggerheads over the gasoline tax and other issues, there is no guarantee that the DPJ will give approval without a fuss. TOKYO 00000826 007 OF 011 9) DPJ President Ozawa: New BOJ governor should be appointed in early April YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) March 26, 2008 Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa revealed the view in a press conference yesterday that the government should secure Diet approval of its nominee for the new governor of the Bank of Japan to appoint the new governor before the BOJ holds a meeting to decide its monetary policy slated for April 8-9. Referring to the G7 conference of the finance ministers and central bank governors, which is expected to take place in mid-April in Washington, Ozawa said: "It is desirable that the BOJ governor will go there. We must not make fools of the international community by playing up Japan's uniqueness." Asked about his view on the first six months of the Fukuda government, Ozawa pointed out: "I have never seen such scenes before as Prime Minister Fukuda's pushing his views, assertions and policies all on his own decision." Regarding Fukuda's criticism of the DPJ's response to Diet affairs, Ozawa noted: "I want the (the prime minister) to accurately acknowledge that his cabinet is only concerned with one of the two Diet chambers." 10) DPJ lawmakers connected to road projects see Prime Minister Fukuda's political footing weakening TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) March 26, 2008 Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers who specialize in highway construction affairs (doro-zoku) in the Diet have maintained their opposition to any significant concession to the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) on the government legislation amending the Special Taxation Measures Law that includes an extension of the provisional tax on gasoline. Those LDP road-policy specialists assume that Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda lacks the capability to consolidate talks and would make a decision drastically revising the legislation. A prominent LDP lawmaker connected to highway construction interests rejected any compromise with the largest opposition party, saying: "We must just push ahead..." The highway clique in the Diet has strongly opposed: 1) an immediate scrapping of the provisional tax rates; and 2) integrating the special account from road-related taxes into general revenue funds. They succeeded in making the ruling coalition incorporate the wording that necessary road maintenance and improvement would be steadily implemented in the revised bill the policy chiefs of the ruling parties presented to the opposition on March 21. LDP Election Committee Chairman Makoto Koga, the so-called "don" of the highway-policy clique, took part on March 23 in the marathon race to commemorate the opening of Ariake Sea coastal road in Fukuoka, his home constituency. He there said: "(Road construction) is necessary for future generations." On the 25tg, as well, he discussed the matter with General Council Chairman Toshiro Nikai, TOKYO 00000826 008 OF 011 who is also a highway-clique member, for more than one hour. Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi branded those lawmakers as "forces of resistance." Under the Koizumi government, therefore, they were forced to play the role of villains. The former Koizumi government maintained a nearly 50 PERCENT support rate even in its final period. Koizumi carried out structural reform by suppressing the highway-policy clique with his strong grip on the party following his landslide victory in the 2005 House or Representatives election. So, the highway clique had no choice but to accept his policy of reallocating highway tax revenues for other uses. However, the LDP's factions, excluding the Aso faction, are now in the highway-clique's corner. Under such circumstances, if the Fukuda government regards the highway policy clique as "a force of resistance," its political footing would collapse at a stroke. In addition, the Fukuda cabinet's support rate has been declining. Fukuda's momentum is increasingly weakening. A senior DPJ member said: "If the prime minister fails to make a decision on the abolishing of the provisional tax rates and the integration of the special account of road taxes into the general account, the public will ditch him." It would appear that the circumstances now allow the highway-policy specialists to keep their hard-line stance in the party. But if that situation plays out, the daily lives of the people will be affected when gasoline prices drop and the provisional tax rates expire. 11) Australian prime minister expresses eagerness to resolve whaling issue through diplomatic efforts ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) March 26, 2008 (Sugii, Kono, Canberra) Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who returned the reins of government to the Labor Party for the first time in 11 years in the presidential election last November, responded to an interview to Asahi Shimbun chief editor Yoichi Funahashi at his office in Canberra on March 25. Commenting on the ongoing dispute between Japan and Australia over the whaling issue, Rudd expressed his eagerness to try to resolve the issue through diplomatic efforts, instead of filing a complaint with the International Court of Justice or other international court. He said: "I am optimistic about resolving the issue through diplomatic efforts." Rudd emphasized that the relationship with Japan is "indisputably one of the key relations for the Australian government," indicating that he gives priority to relations with Japan under the context of the framework of cooperation between Japan, the U.S., and Australia on the security front. It was the first time for Rudd to respond to an interview to a Japanese news company since he came into office last December. Rudd, who put forth in his election campaign the policy of opposing whaling activities, remains tough about the subject, as seen in his TOKYO 00000826 009 OF 011 mobilization of a customs vessel to chase a Japanese whaling ship. In the interview, Rudd also stressed: "It should be made clear whether research whaling is categorized as scientific research or commercial acts." He restated the Australian government's criticism of Japan's research whaling as commercial. He added: "This is a very difficult issue." Asked about the cooperative framework in the security area involving Japan, the U.S., and Australia, which was strengthened in the days of the former Howard administration, the prime minister praised it, saying: "The mechanism will be in our nation's national interest." He then stressed his willingness to maintain the framework also in the future. But he indicated a negative view about the former Prime Minister Abe's proposal on a four-nation cooperative framework that also would include India. 12) Three opposition parties work out SOFA revision plan for pre-indictment turnover ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 26, 2008 Three opposition parties-the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), the Social Democratic Party, and the People's New Party-worked out a plan yesterday for revisions to the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The plan proposes turning over pre-indictment suspects to Japanese investigative authorities and applying the Alien Registration Law to off-base U.S. military personnel and other SOFA-status personnel. The three parties will hold a meeting of their secretaries general this week to concur on the plan and will call for the government to enter into negotiations with the United States for SOFA revisions. In addition, the three parties will propose requiring U.S. forces to submit a base use plan every eight years and will also call for the government to specify that the United States is environmentally responsible for restoring base sites to the original state. "The SOFA currently gives too many privileged exemptions," Kantoku Teruya, an SDP House of Representatives member, said. With this, Teruya insisted on the necessity of revising SOFA provisions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura rebutted yesterday, "I think it's possible to deal well with everything by improving its implementation." 13) Gov't to submit bill at current Diet session for permanent SDF dispatch law MAINICHI (Page 1) (Abridged) March 26, 2008 Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday met at his office with Taku Yamasaki, a former vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Gen Nakatani, chair of the LDP's Research Commission on Security, and agreed to present a bill to the Diet during the current session that would become a permanent law allowing Japan to send the Self-Defense Forces for overseas missions as needed. "We want to work out this legislation during the current Diet session," Fukuda told reporters that evening. "Especially," Fukuda added, "the Democratic Party of Japan has been insisting on the need for this legislation, so I'd like to do it." With this, Fukuda stressed his willingness to enact a permanent law for SDF activities overseas. TOKYO 00000826 010 OF 011 14) Japan mulling sending SDF personnel as instructors for PKO training, but dispatching SDF personnel to Sudan difficult ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 26, 2008 Akihiro Yamada, Keiichi Kaneko The government has begun discussion on dispatching Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel as instructors to training centers for United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKOs) established in each country. The purpose is to play up Japan's international contributions ahead of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and the Group of Eight (G-8) Toyako Summit in Hokkaido. So far the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) have been looking into the possibility of sending SDF personnel to Southern Sudan, but the Ministry of Defense (MOD) has insisted it would be difficult to send anyone to Sudan at this time. Instead, the government apparently has now made up its mind to send SDF personnel to the PKO training centers established in each country. The training centers serve as a facility to teach military personnel and police officers "know-how" about peace-keeping operations. According to MOD and MOFA, Japan is considering Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, India, and Malaysia as candidate countries to send a couple of SDF personnel as instructors. Japan will arrange the terms of their stay in those countries to meet local needs. Dispatching SDF personnel as instructors will not strictly fall under the category of PKO activities, so it will not be subject to the five PKO principles. Defense Minister Ishiba revealed at a news conference after a cabinet meeting yesterday: "Discussion is underway among the relevant ministries and agencies." Foreign Minister Koumura, as well, said in a speech delivered yesterday: "I am positive about discussing how to extend cooperation to Asia and Africa in a multifaceted manner." In his Diet policy speech in January, Prime Minister Fukuda said, "Japan will work hard for common benefits to the region as well as the world," and he declared that he would aim to "remold Japan into a state that will focus on peace and cooperation." As part of this policy, a proposal to dispatch SDF personnel for PKO in line with a peace accord that ended the civil war in Sudan is also being floated in the government. Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura said at a press conference on March 5: "We want to discuss with the Sudanese government and relevant bureaus what kind of human cooperation, including a dispatch of SDF personnel, might be possible." Security in Southern Sudan is said to be relatively stable, but a war for natural resources has recently cast a pall on security in the region; as a result, the government still remains unable to decide its attitude as to whether to dispatch SDF personnel to that country. 15) Japan offers 1,000-Ph. D. program in aid to Vietnam ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 26, 2008 TOKYO 00000826 011 OF 011 Japan and Vietnam yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding on a project to enroll about 1,000 Vietnamese youths in Japanese graduate schools by 2020 for doctorates. The program will use Japan's official development assistance (ODA) budget. Foreign Minister Koumura yesterday met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan at the Foreign Ministry. Nguyen said, "More people will understand Japanese culture through the program." Koumura responded, "This program will bridge our two nations, and we'd like to cooperate." 16) LDP proposes increasing ODA toward Africa ahead of TICAD ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 26, 2008 The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) joint division on foreign affairs yesterday came up with a set of proposals featured by expanding official development assistance (ODA) to Africa with an eye on the upcoming the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama City in May. Despite the government's fiscal difficulties that have resulted in cuts in the ODA budget, the proposals call on the government to except African countries from those countries whose ODA will be reduced over the next five years. Regarding ODA toward Africa, the proposals point out the need to discuss a new framework that can offer ODA on a priority basis to countries where ODA produced good results. The proposals also call for setting numerical targets. 17) MOFA to send actress Mayu Tsuruta to Sudan ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) March 26, 2008 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday announced that actress Mayu Tsuruta, who serves as a goodwill ambassador to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD),will be sent to the southern part of Sudan. Tsuruta will visit Japanese nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in the region and make good use of her public-relations experience on behalf of TICAD. Tsuruta will be touring the region from March 27 through April 5. SIPDIS SCHIEFFER