DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 07/01/09

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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 07/01/09

INDEX:
(1) Prime Minister Aso's Central Asia assistance initiative would
expand "arc of freedom and prosperity" concept (Sankei)

(2) Election for voters to choose whether it will be the LDP or the
DPJ: LDP focuses on sales tax hike, while DPJ on eliminating
wasteful projects (Asahi)

(3) DPJ drafts policy manifesto for Lower House election (Nikkei)

(4) Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Kono may investigate
secret deal on bringing in nuclear weapons (Mainichi)

(5) Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee chair to question former
vice minister on secret nuclear deal (Asahi)

(6) Foreign minister, UN secretary general: North Korea's possession
of nuclear weapons unacceptable (Sankei)

(7) Antipiracy mission and refueling mission must be linked together
(Yomiuri)

(8) U.S. Navy's JGPO chief: Guam relocation construction work to
start in fall 2010 (Ryukyu Shimpo)

(9) GSDF deployment in Yonaguni mulled; Defense minister positive
about town's request (Ryukyu Shimpo)

(10) All CH-53s to be relocated from Futenma to Guam: U.S. military
(Okinawa Times)

(11)Futenma base should be closed (Okinawa Times)

(12) Interview with Hitoshi Tanaka, senior fellow at Japan Center
for International Exchange, on G-8 Summit: Japan should work for
diversified cooperation (Mainichi)

ARTICLES:

(1) Prime Minister Aso's Central Asia assistance initiative would
expand "arc of freedom and prosperity" concept

SANKEI (Page 2) (Full)
July 1, 2009

Prime Minister Taro Aso delivered a speech on foreign policy at a
seminar yesterday hosted by the Japan Institute for international
Affairs, headed by Yoshiji Nogami. Aso revealed a Eurasia Crossroad
initiative aimed to build two traffic routes - one running from east
to west and the other from north to south -- in the Eurasia
continent, centering on the Caucasus region. With regard to the
North Korea issue, Aso stated that Japan will prepare for financial
sanctions cargo inspections with an eye on the implementation of a
UN SECURITY COUNCIL resolution condemning the North's nuclear test.
He intends to announce the plan at the G-8 summit, which will take
place on July 8-10 in L` Aquila, Italy.

It is believed that the Ark of Freedom and Prosperity initiative,
which Aso revealed in 2006 when he was foreign minister, was aimed
to seek to constrain China and Russia by supporting and cooperating
with newly developing countries around the Eurasia continent that
share such values as democracy and market economy.

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Aso's new initiative is targeted at the region surrounded by the Ark
of Freedom and Prosperity. Central Asia and the Caucasus are regions
with an abundance of petroleum and natural gas. Aso emphasized: "If
stability and prosperity generate a synergistic effect in this
region, the global economy will be greatly propelled forward." At
the same time, he advocated the "modern version of Silk Road"
initiative to improve the circulation of people, products and money
from the Pacific to Europe. He called for participation of China,
India, and Russia in the initiative.

Aso stated on the North Korea issue: "It is necessary to apply
strong pressure on North Korea by closely cooperating with the
United States, South Korea, China, and Russia. He then said that the
Japanese government would cooperate with the Six-Party Talks
members, excluding North Korea, to boost the effectiveness of the
UNSC resolution.

(2) Election for voters to choose whether it will be the LDP or the
DPJ: LDP focuses on sales tax hike, while DPJ on eliminating
wasteful projects

ASAHI (Page 3) (Excerpts)
June 30, 2009

The government has enacted a bold and generous extra budget totaling
more than 15 trillion yen in stimulus measures. A proposal for
building a hall to display anime cartoons at a cost of 11.7 billion
yen incorporated in the budget has given rise to a call from within
the LDP for suspending the budget.

Lower House member Taro Kono, who served as a chief examiner of
budgets submitted by 11 ministries and agencies, including the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology
(MEXT),at a meeting of the party's project team to root out
wasteful expenditures directly opposed the plan, saying: "This is
the most unreasonable project. This could call the credibility of
the budget as a whole into question.

However, the issue raised by Kono has not spread across the party.
Policy Research COUNCIL Chairman Kosuke Hori warned, "The budget was
enacted after securing party approval. It is, therefore,
unreasonable for the party to complain about it." Kono pointed out
another problem last year, but a member of a certain Diet policy
clique yelled at him, "Are you teaming up with the Japan Teachers'
Union (affiliated with the opposition camp)?" Kono impatiently said:
"Diet policy clique members do not look into the specifics of the
budget. If they review the budget of all government agencies, they
could realize that 4 trillion yen has been appropriated for wasteful
expenditures."

State finances are heavily in the red. Debts held by the central and
local governments have snowballed to 800 trillion yen due to the
declining birthrate, the aging society and increasing
social-security expenses.

Under such a circumstance, the LDP's stance is to designate funding
resources for social SECURITY and other spending items by hiking the
sales tax. Kono's team was launched a year ago with the aim of
indicating the party's stance of tackling a reduction in wasteful
expenditures before discussing a hike in the sales tax.


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The Cabinet Office presented during Diet debate on the 2009 basic
fiscal policy guidelines, adopted at a cabinet meeting on the 23rd
an estimate that the sales tax of 12 PERCENT is necessary to
recapitalize the nation's fiscal base. In the LDP presidential
election last year, Aso said that the 10 PERCENT level would be one
yardstick for a future sales tax rate. Finance Minister Yosano said,
"The sales tax will be hiked to the 10 PERCENT level by 2015." This
is the overall view of the LDP regarding a future sales tax ratio.

The LDP is thus characterizing a hike in the sales tax, which can be
collected broadly and thinly, as the most feasible means of
stabilizing the state finances, although some are opposing the idea.
If the LDP is to go into the election under the present structure,
it will launch efforts to materialize the envisaged tax hike, once
it wins the election. However, with the election close at hand,
discussion of the tax hike is losing steam. The mid-term program,
which the government and the ruling parties compiled late last year,
mentions that the timetable for hiking the sale tax is fiscal 2011.
However, the precondition for that is the economy is on a recovery
track. The additional clause to a law related to the amendment to
the tax code stepped back from the mid-term program. It notes that
legal measures needed for a hike are to be taken by fiscal 2011. The
2009 basic fiscal policy line did not even include any descriptions
on the sales tax.

The DPJ's manifesto notes that the sales tax rate will be left
unchanged. However, the party has a future increase in the rate in
mind.

Regarding reform of the pension system, the showcase of the
manifesto, the DPJ's plan is to set up a minimum SECURITY pension
system wholly financed by sales tax revenues. A hike would therefore
be unavoidable, if a totally new pension system is adopted.

However, its basic strategy is to bring up a sale tax hike in the
general election after next. How is it going to secure funding
resources for showcase policy proposals, such as toll-free highways
and child allowance?

On June 23, Deputy Secretary General Akira Nagatsuma and members of
the DPJ Land and Traffic Division COUNCIL were asking officials in
charge at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
questions in an effort to identify waste in four projects, such as
the construction of a joint government building that is to house
local branches of the central government.

The government's Decentralization Reform Promotion Committee had
recommended the consolidation or reorganization of those branch
offices, and yet, a budget for the construction of a joint
government building at the cost of 22.5 billion yen was compiled to
be implemented in fiscal 2009 to finance earthquake-resistant works.
With committee members unanimously determining that it is a rush-in
budget compiled for the sake of using up budgetary funds, the
committee decided that the project should be killed.

Scrapping unnecessary projects saves fiscal resources. The DPJ
started efforts to identify such projects with focus on 3,000
projects held by all government agencies in March. The results of
the survey were compiled into 12 book forms 10 centimeters thick.
Various division councils are now scrutinizing them. The DPJ intends
to use this "gold mine" to scrap wasteful projects, if it takes over
the reins of government.

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Hatoyama estimated that if the DPJ accumulates such an effort, it
might be able to eke out about 10 trillion yen from the annual
budget worth over 200 trillion yen, including special accounts.

However, since there are few lawmakers who know about the matter,
even COUNCIL meetings are often no more than a simple hearing of
circumstances. The 10 trillion yen has no substantial foundation,
either.
Hatoyama during the party head talks on June 17 said, "If we seize
power, we will basically scrap large public works that are out of
place in the modern age. Unnecessary and non-urgent projects can
wait." It means that projects with low priority will go first, even
if they are directly connected with the lives of local residents,
such as major construction works or the building of roads.''

(3) DPJ drafts policy manifesto for Lower House election

NIKKEI (Page 3) (Slightly abridged)
July 1, 2009

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has compiled and released an
outline of its policy manifesto for the upcoming House of
Representatives election. The DPJ draft campaign pledges call for
implementing such assistant measures for households as waiving
express tolls and creating child-care allowances starting in April

2010. The document states that approximately 17 trillion yen would
be needed to finance these measures. The DPJ underscores a clear-cut
difference in its pension and other policies from the ruling camp.
But on diplomatic and SECURITY policies, the party faces the
difficult challenge of building a favorable relationship with the
U.S.

Party sidesteps consumption tax hike; unifying pension systems
possibly in fiscal 2014

13,000 yen as allowance for child support

President Yukio Hatoyama and other DPJ executives yesterday approved
in general a manifesto drafted by the party's manifesto preparation
committee, chaired by Policy Research COUNCIL Chairman Masayuki
Naoshima. The draft specifies a roadmap for implementing its
campaign pledges and measures to secure the necessary financial
resources to that end.

The roadmap lists assistance measures intended for households,
setting fiscal 2010 as its initial year. Included among such
measures are abolishing all provisional gasoline and other tax rates
in fiscal 2010 and public high school tuition fees. It also proposes
providing 13,000 yen as a monthly allowance for child support in
fiscal 2010 and 2011 and doubling the amount starting in fiscal

2012.

Under the roadmap, in fiscal 2011 the party would expand the
toll-waiving measure and rectify the shortage of doctors by taking
such measures as increasing the fixed number of medical school
students. The party intends to introduce an income subsidy system
for farmers in fiscal 2012.

To make these public pledges more credible, it is necessary to
specify where the necessary revenues will come from. The party
expects 7 trillion and approximately 17 trillion yen to be needed in

TOKYO 00001502 005 OF 014


fiscal 2011 and in fiscal 2013, respectively, to finance the
proposed important new measures. Of the 17 trillion yen, the party
intends to squeeze out about 9 trillion yen by slashing waste
spending and to disburse 8 trillion yen from reserve funds, such as
reserves in the Special Account for Public Investment and Loans, as
well as from revenues to be accrued by selling government assets and
by tax hikes.

Minimum pension of 70,000 yen to be guaranteed

The DPJ also places emphasis on social SECURITY issues. Over the
pension record-keeping fiasco and a series of scandals involving the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, criticism of the government
and the ruling parties is growing. The party is willing to put up
pension reform as the top issue in the upcoming election, as it did
in the 2007 House of Councillors election.

Under its pension reform plan, the party would consolidate the
pension systems and create a pension program designed to guarantee
minimum pension of 70,000 yen with revenues from the consumption tax
as its financial resource. The party set the goal of introducing the
new system in fiscal 2014, based on the judgment it will take time
for the switchover process.

In pension reform, no additional expenses will be accrued over the
next four years, but it will become inevitably necessary to raise
the consumption tax in the future. Naoshima said in a speech he
delivered yesterday: "The party will start discussing a tax hike and
raise the tax rate sometime in the future."

Plan to integrate local governments into 300 withdrawn

In decentralization efforts, the party dropped former president
Ichiro Ozawa's proposal for integrating local governments into 300,
reflecting strong reactions from local governments, with one
representative claiming, "That will turn to be forcible annexation."
The DPJ also intends to approve the government's plan of integrating
the nation's 47 prefectures into several administrative regions
within the scope of the measure not developing into NATIONAL
compulsion.

The DPJ intends to maintain its current policy of changing the tied
subsidy system into a package subsidy system to enable local
governments to decide on how to use the subsidies.

Reforming the bureaucracy is also a key element in the DPJ's
manifesto. The party plans to cut wasteful spending of tax money by
abolishing the amakudari practice of securing postretirement jobs
for retired bureaucrats and examining the expenditures of public
corporations. In an effort to establish a mechanism to enable
politicians to take the lead in policymaking, the DPJ proposes
increasing the numbers of senior vice ministers and parliamentary
secretaries, as well as having more than 100 ruling party members
join in the government. But some members suggest that if the
government stands adamantly against the bureaucracy, the government
will find it difficult to carry out necessary policies. Naoshima
commented: "We are not thinking of dismissing bureaucrats at all."

Fissure might occur over U.S. policy

Over foreign and SECURITY policies, views are widely split in the
DPJ. The party's package of policies, which bases its manifesto,

TOKYO 00001502 006 OF 014


puts forth "equal Japan-U.S. relations," but the manifesto revealed
the party's stance of placing emphasis on Asia by advocating
Hatoyama's stock argument for creating an East Asia community.

On Japan-U.S. relations, the draft manifesto says that the party
will initiate work to drastically reform the Japan-U.S. Status of
Forces Agreement. With respect to the planned realignment of U.S.
forces in Japan, the document notes that it will constantly examine
U.S. military-related budgetary allocations, such as the bill for
transferring U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam. These expressions are
expected to incur a strong reaction from the U.S. The focus of
attention is likely to be on how the DPJ will steer the Japan-U.S.
alliance.

Regarding Asia policy, the draft manifesto stresses a commitment to
promoting the Chiang Mai initiative, a framework to offer foreign
currency loans to countries suffering from a shortage of foreign
currencies in the region.

If the DPJ aims to establish a coalition government after the Lower
House election, the issue of whether Japan should send Self-Defense
Force (SDF) troops overseas is expected to become a source of
trouble, because the Social Democratic Party (SDP) is strongly
opposed to that policy. The party in its package of policies
approves SDF troops' antipiracy operations and Afghan reconstruction
assistance, although attaching conditions. In drawing up common
policies with other opposition parties, including the SDP, this
issue is likely to be a contentious point.

Speak of pain on public, show vision for future of Japan

Analysis by Nikkei editorial committee member Kiyoyuki Uchiyama

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has accelerated work to lay out
its manifesto. We welcome it. We also welcome the fact that the
party has revealed necessary financial resources and placed the
order of priorities on each policy measure.

We wonder, however, only reserves and saved money by slashing waste
spending will be enough to finance such eye-catching measures as
abolishing provisional tax rates.

What worries us more is the DPJ's stance of not speaking of the pain
expected to be brought on the people. The party includes the
revenues expected to be raised by reviewing the marital deduction, a
tax hike in effect, but the party has given no satisfactory
explanation about it. The party has not actively discussed
deregulatory measures, imperative for Japan to survive the age of
globalization and the age of declining birthrate and aging
population. Meanwhile, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members have
devoted themselves to discussing whether the Lower House should be
dissolved under Prime Minister Taro Aso, although only two months or
so are left until the Lower House members' term of office expires.
The LDP's policies are also more ambiguous than the DPJ's. The party
is still split over postal privatization and structural reform.
Their manifestos are to represent the picture of Japan's future. A
manifesto for the upcoming election, in which a change of government
might take place, has a weighty meaning.

(4) Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Kono may investigate
secret deal on bringing in nuclear weapons


TOKYO 00001502 007 OF 014


MAINICHI ONLINE (Full)
13:40, July 1, 2009

Naoyuki Inukai

Taro Kono, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on
Foreign Affairs, held a news conference at the Diet on July 1, where
he commented on the testimony by former Vice Foreign Minister Ryohei
Murata that the secret agreement on "bringing in nuclear weapons"
concluded by the Japanese and U.S. governments at the time of the
revision of the SECURITY Treaty in 1960 "had been passed on from one
vice foreign minister to the next." He said: "Remarks (admitting the
existence of the secret deal) have been made by former Ambassador to
Japan Edwin Reischauer and others, and documents exist on the U.S.
side. Former vice ministers have testified, while the government
keeps saying the secret agreement does not exist. Common sense
indicates there must be something amiss," indicating that his
committee will look into the facts.

Kono intends to question Murata, other former vice ministers, and
past foreign ministers, and summon them as unsworn witnesses at the
current Diet session.

(5) Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee chair to question former
vice minister on secret nuclear deal

ASAHI ONLINE (Full)
13:18, July 1, 2009

House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Taro
Kono held a news conference on July 1 after the committee's meeting
in connection with the alleged secret agreement made at the time of
the revision of the Japan-U.S. SECURITY Treaty in 1960 that port
calls by U.S. vessels carrying nuclear arms and their passage
through Japanese territorial waters would not require prior
consultations. He said: "The situation is such that we are no longer
able to conduct Diet business believing in the government's response
(that the secret agreement does not exist). The legislature cannot
afford to ignore this matter." He indicated that an opportunity to
question former Vice Foreign Minister Ryohei Murata, perhaps in the
capacity of an unsworn witness, will be arranged.

He plans to carry out this plan during the current Diet session,
saying: "I will do everything possible," and indicating his
intention to question other former vice foreign ministers or the
U.S. side. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said at the
committee's session that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no
plans to reinvestigate this matter: "Previous prime ministers and
foreign ministers have clearly denied the existence of the secret
agreement. I have no plans to verify the facts with Mr. Murata once
again."

(6) Foreign minister, UN secretary general: North Korea's possession
of nuclear weapons unacceptable

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
July 1, 2009

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone met yesterday with United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the Foreign Ministry's Iikura Guest
House. They shared the view that the nuclear test North Korea
forcibly conducted was a challenge to the international community

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and that the North's possession of nuclear weapons was unacceptable.
They were also in agreement that UN SECURITY COUNCIL Resolution 1874
should be faithfully implemented.

In the meeting, Nakasone stated:

"In order to have North Korea give up on its nuclear and missile
development programs, we need to secure the effectiveness of UNSC
Resolution 1874. We want to resolve in cooperation with the UN the
human rights problem, including the abduction issue."

Ban pointed out: "The UN member countries are obliged to comply with
any UNSC resolution. North Korea, too, should completely abide by
them."

(7) Antipiracy mission and refueling mission must be linked
together

YOMIURI (Page 13) (Excerpts)
July 1, 2009

Hidemichi Katsumata, senior writer

The Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) is conducting antipiracy and
refueling activities in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia and the
adjacent Indian Ocean, respectively. Those two missions must be
linked together.

On the morning of June 6, the MSDF vessel Tokiwa, now on the
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, provided fuel at the eastern
edge of the Gulf of Aden for the first time to the MSDF destroyers
Sazanami and Samidare that are on the antipiracy mission (in waters
of Somalia).

The MSDF supply ship is tasked with providing fuel and water to
Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150),a multinational coalition naval
task force composed of seven countries, including the United States
and Britain, that are engaged in antiterrorism operations, such as
interdicting the trafficking of arms and drugs in the Indian Ocean.
This is the MSDF's eighth year providing fuel to vessels of those
countries. But a gap in supply and demand has begun coming to light
in the process of making arrangements with the navies of other
countries.

During the months of April and May, the MSDF supply vessel provided
fuel only to eight foreign naval vessels. Conversely, seven planned
refuels - almost one in two events - were cancelled at the last
minute, including one by the French Navy on June 5.

The United States and Britain have launched antipiracy forces in an
effort to stem rampant piracy in waters off Somalia, and the
European fleets are stepping up their activities as well. (The
reason of the decline in demand) is because an increasing number of
CTF-150 vessels are now on the antiterrorism and antipiracy missions
at the same time.

Capt. Koji Manabe of the supply group command said: "(Their) duties
are becoming increasingly complex. The United States and European
countries are operating their naval vessels effectively."

Under the tight restrictions of domestic law, the MSDF appears to be
less flexible in operating its refueling vessel than other

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countries.

The MSDF refueler is allowed to provide fuel only to CTF-15 vessels
that are engaged in antiterrorism operations. The MSDF was pursued
at the Diet (in 2007) over the allegation that Japanese fuel
provided to a U.S. supply vessel had been diverted to the war in
Iraq. As such, there is a provision that strictly defines the kinds
of vessels eligible to receive fuel from the MSDF. The provision
applies to the MSDF antipiracy unit as well.

The MSDF vessel on the refueling mission had not provided fuel to
the two MSDF destroyers on the antipiracy mission until June 6
because there is an order allowing the refueler to provide fuel only
in the scope that does not hamper refueling to vessels on the
antiterrorism mission. A senior Defense Ministry official noted:
"Both antiterrorism and antipiracy activities are being conducted by
the MSDF, but financial authorities do not like the idea of using
the fuel purchased for the former for the latter."

At Djibouti port on the western edge of the Gulf of Aden where the
MSDF destroyers replenish with water and fuel, naval vessels of
other countries also line up for fuel. In some cases, the MSDF
destroyers could not receive fuel until minutes before their
commercial ship escort operation. Drinking water that contains bug
casings is unfit for drinking.

Capt. Hiroshi Goto, who is leading the antipiracy mission, took this
view: "We turn seawater into drinking water. If we can receive
(water and fuel) from the MSDF supply ship, the time spent at
Djibouti for refueling will be eliminated, thereby expanding our
policing activities."

It is likely that antipiracy legislation will be enacted and a
second MSDF antipiracy unit will be dispatched soon as a result.
Under the new legislation that is designed to allow the escorts of
vessels regardless of their flag states, MSDF activities are certain
to increase. Capt. Manabe said, "If the destroyers can receive fuel
from (the MSDF supply vessel) regularly, that will increase the
freedom of antipiracy measures."

If the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) takes power, the suspension
of the refueling mission will become a real possibility. Has
politics really heeded the voices of MSDF troops at sea? Both the
antipiracy mission and the refueling mission are international
cooperation activities. Linking them together is a first step (to
heeding those voices).

(8) U.S. Navy's JGPO chief: Guam relocation construction work to
start in fall 2010

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 3) (Full)
July 1, 2009

Takumi Takimoto, Guam, June 30

In connection with the relocation of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa to
Guam under the U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) realignment plans, John
Jackson, head of the U.S. Navy's Joint Guam Program Office (JGPO),
indicated on June 30 that a draft environmental assessment plan will
be drawn up this fall and plans for the construction of the new base
will be finalized around summer 2010, after considering the opinions
or local residents. The project will start by fall 2010 as planned,

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and the construction of barracks, which will be partly funded by the
Japanese government, will start in 2011.

Jackson explained that the Marines' move from Okinawa to Guam will
include their command headquarters, as well as the heavy-lift CH-53
helicopter troops currently using Futenma Air Station.

With regard to the construction cost, Captain Scott Galbreaith,
commander of U.S. Naval Base Guam, explained that new housing units
for the navy commanders (four bedrooms, 213 square meters) cost
around 700,000 dollars (approximately 66 million yen) each
"inclusive of roads, plumbing, electricity, playgrounds, and so
forth, so it should be similar for the marines."

U.S. Consul General for Okinawa Kevin Maher said that the U.S. and
Japanese governments agreed on the number of Marines to be relocated
to Guam not by adding up the number of command headquarters
personnel and other units to be relocated. They agreed first of all
to aim at a number that would make a major political impact.

(9) GSDF deployment in Yonaguni mulled; Defense minister positive
about town's request

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full)
July 1, 2009

Tokyo - Mayor Shukichi Hokama of the town of Yonaguni, Speaker
Sonkichi Sakihara of the town assembly, and other officials had
separate meetings with Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada and chief of
staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) Yoshifumi Hibako at
the Ministry of Defense (MOD) on June 30 to hand over a letter
requesting the stationing of the GSDF. This is the first time that a
mayor of Yonaguni has made a request to the defense minister for SDF
deployment. According to Hokama, Hamada indicated his understanding
of the request and said: "The fact that I met you today is my answer
(to your request)," showing that he is positive about deploying SDF
troops to Yonaguni island. Hibako also indicated his intention to
work actively toward it: "We will work on this and see if this can
be included in the Mid-Term Defense Buildup Program or the NATIONAL
Defense Program Guidelines."

Hamada stated at the meeting: "Right now, we are in the process of
studying the ideal level of defense capability and the level of
defense in the Ryukyu Islands, including Yonaguni. This island
constitutes the western border of Japan and is important in terms of
national defense." He added that, "It is encouraging to receive a
request like this."

At present, the possibility of stationing SDF troops for the defense
of the Ryukyu Islands is being studied by an experts' panel in the
government and in the MOD.

After the meetings, Hokama said: "I have a strong feeling that this
will happen. There are people who are against the stationing of the
SDF, so we will have to think about how to gain understanding in the
local community," indicating he will coordinate with the local
community as he proceeds.

The request letter stresses that the Yonaguni area is often hit by
typhoons, is in the seismic activities belt, and is potentially at
risk of large-scale disasters. It also expresses concern about
"developments in the neighboring countries" in connection with the

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disputed Senkaku islands and resource development in the East China
Sea, thus emphasizing the need for the SDF. Yonaguni is making the
request in light of the upgrade of the GSDF's First Combined Brigade
(Naha) to the 15th Brigade in the current fiscal year.

In September 2008, the town assembly passed by a majority vote a
resolution on inviting the SDF to be stationed in Yonaguni. A
petition for SDF deployment signed by 514 citizens of the island
(with a total population of around 1,600) was also adopted. On the
other hand, opponents to SDF stationing have also formed groups. The
islanders are divided on this issue.

(10) All CH-53s to be relocated from Futenma to Guam: U.S. military

OKINAWA TIMES (Page 1) (Abridged)
July 1, 2009

Shin Yoshida, Guam

The Guam office of the U.S. Department of the Navy's Joint Guam
Program Office (JGPO) revealed yesterday that the Futenma-based
squadron of CH-53 heavy lift helicopters would be fully relocated to
Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in the process of realigning U.S.
forces in Japan. According to the Okinawa prefectural government,
the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station currently deploys four
CH-53 choppers.

John Jackson, director of the JGPO's Guam office, explained to
reporters visiting Guam from Okinawa Prefecture to see
security-related facilities here: "One squadron normally consists of
12 helicopters. We have decided on the Futenma squadron's full
transfer to Guam."

If the Futenma squadron's full transfer is carried out, all
Futenma-based CH-53 helicopters, one of which crashed on the campus
of Okinawa International University, will disappear from Okinawa
Prefecture. However, the Defense Ministry has incorporated the U.S.
military's CH-53 operation in its environmental impact assessment
procedures for an alternative facility to be built in a coastal area
of Camp Schwab in the northern Okinawa coastal city of Nago.
Accordingly, another CH-53 squadron may be deployed to the Futenma
replacement facility.

Futenma airfield also deploys two other squadrons consisting of
about 24 CH-46 midsize helicopters. "They will not be transferred to
Guam," Jackson said. He also said he had no idea if the Futenma
replacement facility would deploy CH-46 choppers or V-22 Ospreys.

The Guam visit of reporters from Okinawa was sponsored by the U.S.
Consulate General in Okinawa, and Consul General Kevin Maher
accompanied the reporters to Guam. The Marine Corps plans to move
8,000 troops and their families from Okinawa to Guam. Maher
explained that the number of family members is a "rough estimate"
that came out when the Japanese and U.S. governments agreed on the
U.S. military's realignment. "It's unclear," Maher said, indicating
that the U.S. military has yet to finalize its estimate of 9,000
family members incorporated in the roadmap.

(11)Futenma base should be closed

OKINAWA TIMES (Page 5) (Full)
July 1, 2009

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Yoichi Iha, Ginowan mayor

There are now objections being raised from both Japan and the United
States to the plans to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air
Station to Nago City's Henoko district and to transfer U.S. Marines
from Okinawa to Guam. In Japan, the Democratic Party of Japan
leadership has clearly said "no" to the relocation of Futenma
airfield to Henoko.

New DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama has recently said Futenma airfield
should be relocated outside Okinawa Prefecture. In addition, DPJ
Secretary General Katsuya Okada has also suggested the need to break
out of the present situation, implying the option of relocating
Futenma airfield outside Japan. "We should discuss from scratch
whether it is normal to host so many U.S. military bases in
Okinawa," Okada says in a monthly magazine's interview.

In the United States as well, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Conway
testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in a June 4
hearing that the Marine Corps had some modifications worthy of
consideration. He is quoted in a report as stating: "One of the
important decisions for the agreement to realign U.S. forces is to
transfer about 8,000 Marines from Okinawa to Guam, and this is
intended to resolve the issue of a Marine Corps base that neighbors
an area of local residents in Okinawa. We can conduct military
training on U.S. territory with allies and we can meet various
emergencies in Asia. Ensuring training areas and ranges on Guam and
the Northern Mariana Islands is a prerequisite for moving Marine
forces to Guam. This relocation to Guam, if executed properly, will
result in Marine forces that are combat ready and forward postured,
contributing to U.S. interests in the Pacific for the next 50
years."

In the hearing, there was a question suggesting the necessity of
reconsidering the Guam relocation plan since the costs of moving
Marines to Guam and stationing them on Guam are higher than
initially estimated. In response, Conway answered: "The Quadrennial
Defense Review (QDR) will take that move into their consideration
before issuing the report. Problems including quality of the Futenma
replacement facility will be considered and there will be a
recommendation coming out of the QDR.

Next, Conway was asked if he was going to recommend a change in the
plan. He answered: "We have some modifications we think are worthy
of consideration. The Futenma replacement facility has to be a fully
capable replacement for what we're giving up on Okinawa. We are
concerned about training opportunities on Guam, in the nearby
islands as well as the rest of the Asia-Pacific basin. So there are
some things like that that we certainly want to see considered and
negotiated as need be with the Japanese government." The Marine
Corps seems to be dissatisfied with the planned construction of a
new base at Henoko because the newly planned facility is the same as
Futenma airfield with respect to the distance from local
communities, and its flight training there will be substantially
restricted.

Ginowan City has raised an objection to the relocation of Futenma
airfield within Okinawa Prefecture and has insisted on closing the
Futenma base by relocating it outside Japan. We will continue to
call for Futenma airfield to be closed.


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(12) Interview with Hitoshi Tanaka, senior fellow at Japan Center
for International Exchange, on G-8 Summit: Japan should work for
diversified cooperation

MAINICHI (Page 7) (Full)
July 1, 2009

Summarized by Yudai Nakazawa

The international order on which postwar Japanese diplomacy is
founded is changing. As China, India, and other newly emerging
economies rise, the United States' power has declined.

However, the G-8 should continue to play a leadership role. Although
the G-20 (participants in the financial summit) is an important
forum, I do not think decisions can be made easily. A framework with
the G-8 at the center and the MEF (Major Economies Forum),G-20, and
so forth forming concentric circles will be desirable. No
knowledgeable person in the world today believes in the concept of
G-2, consisting of the United States and China.

Since 2002, the U.S. and Europe have been in conflict over the Iraq
war, which brought about changes in the G-8. However, the Obama
administration, which favors international cooperation, will not
ignore the strong opposition of the other advanced countries. G-8
unity is important at a time the international community is building
a consensus on the North Korea issue. On the Iran issue, since the
U.S., which had previously refused to engage in direct negotiations,
will now be involved, the G-8 will be able to coordinate this.

With the U.S. shifting to a policy of international cooperation,
this is no longer an era where Japan can coordinate its policy only
with the U.S. It should draw up diverse strategies and strengthen
cooperation with various countries.

Japan's peace and prosperity depends on the future of East Asia. It
will have to open up new horizons on its own in terms of the role it
plays. It needs to show a clear intent to promote economic
cooperation and integration in this region, while resolving the
North Korea problem and other issues.

East Asian countries have diverse political systems, cultures, and
religions, so a grand community like the European Union (EU) is
unrealistic. It is better for them to look for common interests in
the economic, security, and other fields and create corresponding
frameworks. Cooperation on specific "non-traditional security"
issues, such as an economic community, prevention of the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and natural disasters
should be possible. It is necessary to take advantage of the
Japan-U.S. SECURITY arrangements in East Asia.

The Japan-U.S. alliance will continue to be important to make sure
that China does not become a hegemonic power in the future. However,
a relationship where the players have common trade and economic
standards but engage in mutual deterrence in the area of SECURITY
gives rise to contradictions. So Japan, the United States, and China
should create frameworks for dialogue and make efforts to build
confidence, such as by ensuring military transparency.

Japan is doing the right thing by making contributions to
Afghanistan and other countries in the civilian sectors. However,
can this be a substitute for what it should be doing for

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international security? Unlike during the Cold War era, it will no
longer be acceptable for Japan to argue that it cannot participate
in actions recognized as legitimate by the international community,
using the Constitution as an excuse. It will be necessary to discuss
the right of collective self-defense again after the domestic
political situation stabilizes.

ZUMWALT