JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 1/06/09

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 000015 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 1/06/09 Index: Foreign affairs: 1) Visibility ahead is bad for Aso diplomacy: Unable to even fix date for first meeting with new U.S. President Obama (Mainichi) 2) Dispute with China continues to fester of its independent development of gas fields in E. China Sea, despite agreement for joint efforts with Japan (Nikkei) Security affairs: 3) Anti-piracy measures: Prime Minister Aso wants the study of the MSDF dispatch to waters off Somalia speeded up (Nikkei) 4) Afghan assistance: Japan to provide $500 million to help democratization process, mulling civilian dispatch (Nikkei) 5) Leading opposition party, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),to send fact-finding team to Afghanistan (Asahi) Political agenda: 6) Regular Diet session opens to immediate clash between ruling and opposition camps over economic recovery and job policy (Mainichi) 7) DPJ to present to Diet revision of second supplementary budget removing controversial cash-handout package (Asahi) 8) LDP rebel Yoshimi Watanabe to leave the party this week over policy differences, including cash-payment plan (Yomiuri) 9) LDP group under Ichita Yamamoto defies Aso by demanding that consumption tax hike wording be taken out of the mid-term tax program (Mainichi) Articles: 1) Date not set for Aso-Obama meeting MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) January 6, 2009 Katsumi Kawakami Lining up diplomatic events for Prime Minister Taro Aso seems difficult. The reason is because he has to make utmost efforts for the swift enactment of the fiscal 2009 state budget although he wants to play up his presence via economic diplomacy amid the global financial crisis. The prime minister wants to hold talks with President-elect Barack Obama at the earliest possible time. But in reality, setting a date for the event is difficult, according to a senior Foreign Ministry official. Given the tense Palestinian situation, the prime minister had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Dec. 31. On Jan. 3, Aso told Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas over the phone that Japan would extend humanitarian support worth 10 million dollars (approximately 900 million yen) apparently in an effort to demonstrate his eagerness on the diplomatic front. An expected clash between the ruling and opposition blocs at the just-convened Diet would be the biggest challenge for the prime minister. The unclear future of Diet deliberations makes it difficult to set up diplomatic events for the prime minister. The only diplomatic event set at present is a Japan-South Korea summit to be held on Jan. 11-12 in Seoul. The event has been carried over to this year from late last year. A dialogue with the Obama administration to be launched on Jan. 20 TOKYO 00000015 002 OF 005 is also vital for the prime minister. But he simply said about prospects for a meeting with Present Obama: "I believe we will begin coordination once (the new administration) is launched." "Depending on how Diet deliberations turn out, (Aso-Obama talks) might be postponed until the April 2 financial summit," a senior Foreign Ministry official said. 2) Discord reemerges between Japan and China due to China's continuous independent development of gas field NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) January 6, 2009 Discord between Japan and China is growing over the development of gas fields in the East China Sea. It has become clear that China has independently been developing gas fields in the waters on which an agreement was reached last June to continue talks. Japan has demanded an immediate end to the development. The gas field issue is expected to be taken up in a Japan-China sub-cabinet-level strategic dialogue to be held in Tokyo on Jan. 9. But there are no prospects for compromise on the joint development issue Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone in a press conference yesterday indicated that Japan cannot accept the development of gas field Kashi (Tianwaitian in Chinese),now in question. He said: "Our view is that the matter requires continuous talks and that it is still at a clean state." Meanwhile, China released a statement on Jan. 4 saying that the country will develop (Kashi and other gas fields) by exercising its own sovereignty. The standpoints of Japan and China are wide apart. Japan tried to include gas fields Kashi and Kusu (Duanqiao in Chinese),which were under development by China, in the bilateral agreement reached last June. But China refused it, leading talks being continued. China is continuing to develop the gas field by taking advantage of the gap in the agreement. A Japanese government official said: "Although Kashi is not subject to joint development, the act ignores the spirit of the agreement." 3) Prime minister tells shipowners' association president that government will swiftly study dispatch of MSDF to waters off Somalia NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) January 6, 2009 Prime Minister Taro Aso had a meeting yesterday at his office with Hiroyuki Maekawa, president of the Japanese Shipowners' Association and president of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. In the session, Maekawa called for a maritime security operations order to dispatch the Self-Defense Force to waters near Somalia to deal with growing piracy there. Maekawa said: "We believe escorts by SDF ships in the waters alone will have a strong deterrent effect on piracy." In response, the prime minister said: "The matter is separate from the question of the right to collective self-defense. The presence of police officers can prevent thefts. We will study the matter in an expeditious manner." Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura in a press briefing yesterday also made this comment about the deployment of the Maritime Self-Defense Force: "I would like to see the ruling bloc set up a TOKYO 00000015 003 OF 005 project team to thoroughly discuss what steps are possible and the government come up with a policy direction at the earliest possible time." 4) Assistance to Afghanistan: Government proposes 500 million dollars to strengthen assistance for livelihood-connected sector MAINICHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) January 6, 2009 As additional assistance to Afghanistan, the government on January 5 independently compiled a new package totaling approximately 500 million dollars or about 46.5 billion yen. The package features dispatching civilians instead of Self-Defense Forces personnel the aim being to strengthen assistance for the livelihood-connected sector. The government wants to release the package at an early date after the launching of the new Obama administration in the U.S. on the 20th. The showcase of the assistance measures include: (1) consolidating a security set-up, including the deployment of bulletproof vehicles, in five cities, such as Kabul, Jalalabad, Herat, Mazari Sharif and Bamiyan, and increase experts who will be in charge of providing assistance on the education front, including the construction of schools, and giving agricultural advice in farming villages; (2) reinforcing government officials who will be responsible as liaison officers as non-reimbursable fund cooperation for the NATO Provincial Reconstruction Teams' (PRT) assistance to the livelihood-connected sector; (3) considering the dispatch of civilian experts, such as former SDF members, to the livelihood-connected section of the PRT in the future, etc. The government intends to allocate about 500 million dollars for the package. Apart from this, it will also contribute funds to an Afghanistan assistance fund to be established at NATO's initiative for the strengthening of the Afghan National Army. 5) DPJ's Inuzuka visits Afghanistan ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) January 6, 2009 Tadashi Inuzuka, senior vice foreign minister of the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) "Next Cabinet," visited Afghanistan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for 18 days until yesterday. The DPJ's purpose of sending Inuzuka to the three countries was to come up with concrete measures for Afghan assistant because its policy of making an agreement on suspension of conflict as a condition for dispatching the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to that country had been criticized by the ruling coalition as unfeasible. Inuzuka discussed the matter with government officials of the three countries, as well as with officials from the United Nations and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF). 6) Regular Diet session opens: Ruling, opposition camps expected to confront over economy, employment; Opposition parties demand separation of cash handouts MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) January 6, 2009 The Diet convened on January 5 for a regular 150-day session, where TOKYO 00000015 004 OF 005 the ruling and opposition parties are expected to confront each other with an eye on the Lower House election to be called by this fall. A confrontational mood is already permeating the session. The opposition camp formally asked the ruling camp to separate the flat-sum cash benefit program from the fiscal 2008 second supplementary budget. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) at the Lower House Budget Committee board meeting demanded the summoning of Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) Chairman Fujio Mitarai as an unsworn witness. It has thus become clear that the cash benefit program and the employment issue will become points of contention. The government and the ruling parties are seeking early passage of the second supplementary budget bill and the fiscal 2009 budget bill. The battle between the two camps is bound to heat up. Regarding the second supplementary budget bill, a question-and-answer session in connection with Finance Minister and State Minister for Financial Services Shoichi Nakagawa will be held respectively on the 6th and 7th in a full session of the Lower and Upper Houses. Full-fledged debate will start at the Lower House Budget Committee on the 8th. Prime Minister Taro Aso during the general assembly of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers from both Diet chambers held on the 5th underscored his stance of confronting the DPJ, noting, "The major economic stimulus measure is to have the second supplementary budget bill and the fiscal 2009 budget bill enacted at the earliest possible date." DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa on the first work day of the new year at the party headquarters expressed his desire to see a change in government, saying, "This year will become a historic one. This year, we must obtain people's support in the Lower House election, by putting up a major goal of giving priority to the public good, and reflect that goal in actual politics and administration." 7) DPJ to submit today revision bill for FY2008 second extra budget ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) January 6, 2009 The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),the largest opposition force, yesterday compiled a revision bill extracting the 2 trillion yen cash-payout program from the fiscal 2008 second supplementary budget. The DPJ will present the revision bill today to the House of Representatives. Behind the DPJ's decision is the public's strong reaction against the flat-sum cash-benefit program using reserve funds (or buried funds) from special accounts. The DPJ has intensified criticism, with Deputy President Naoto Kan saying: "That's pork-barreling aimed at the election." The party has set the revision bill as the main issue at the outset of the regular Diet session, contemplating that some in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) may support the revision bill. The revision bill calling on scrapping 2 trillion yen allocated for the cash-payout plan from the revenues and expenditures of the second extra budget for fiscal 2008. Regarding bills related to the use of reserve funds for the flat-sum cash-benefit program, the DPJ is looking into a revision bill designed to separate a portion related to the flat-sum payout plan. 8) Watanabe to leave LDP as early as this week as Aso refuses to accept his request of scrapping cash-payout plan TOKYO 00000015 005 OF 005 YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) January 6, 2009 Yoshimi Watanabe, former state minister in charge of administrative reform, yesterday handed over to Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Senior Deputy Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara a list of proposals calling on Prime Minister Aso to dissolve the House of Representatives quickly and to retract a flat-sum cash-payment plan. Watanabe wrote: "If the prime minister does not consider my recommendations swiftly and sincerely, I will quit the party." Aso, however, does not intend to accept Watanabe's demands. The outlook is that Watanabe will quit the LDP possibly later this week. Watanabe included seven requests in the list such as 1) a 20 PERCENT cut in the labor cost of the national civil servants from fiscal 2009, and 2) abolishment of the system under which the prime minister approves each ministry's mediation of reemployment for civil servants. Aso, however, categorically told reporters last night at his office: "I have said that implementing policy measures is more important than dissolving the Lower House. I have no intention to scrap the flat-sum cash-payout plan." Watanabe is expected to oppose the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008, which contains the 2 trillion yen cash-payment program. Watanabe is aiming at bolting the LDP in mid-January, according to persons close to him. Many LDP members take an icy view toward Watanabe, with one saying: "He trying to play the hero." The view that nobody will follow him has been voiced in succession from even junior and mid-level lawmakers critical of Aso. Therefore, the LDP executives predict that there will be no expansion of the drive to leave the party. 9) LDP member Ichita Yamamoto to launch study group, seeking retraction of sales tax hike MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) January 6, 2008 Eight Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers from both Diet chambers, including Upper House member Ichita Yamamoto, will launch a study group in pursuit of Prime Minister Aso retracting his policy of hiking the sales tax three year's later. The panel will also be joined by Kenichi Mizuno, who is seeking the government to withdraw its decision to reallocate tax revenues for road construction for other purposes, Lower House member Masahiko Shibayama and others. They are all keeping themselves at arm's length with Aso. Some take the view that yet another anti-Aso study meeting will be launched at a time when former State Minister for Administrative Reform Yoshimi Watanabe has effectively announced his decision to secede from the LDP. The prime minister during the New Year's press conference cited a hike in the consumption tax as one campaign issue for the next Lower House election. Members of the envisaged study meeting will urge the prime minister to rethink the plan, arguing that a hike in the sales tax at this point, when business conditions are severe, will spoil the effects of the economic stimulus measures. They will also call for cutting the number of lawmakers and setting a numerical target for administrative reform. SCHIEFFER