JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/24/09

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E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/24/09 INDEX: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials 3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) Economy 4) Government says economy in deflation (Nikkei) Environment 5) Draft plan for global-warming countermeasures calls for aid to developing countries in two stages (Nikkei) Secret nuclear accord: 6) Foreign Minister admits existence of secret nuclear accord (Mainichi) 7) Foreign Minister says results of investigation of secret nuclear accord to be released in January (Asahi) 8) Foreign Ministry bureau chief turned over secret-nuclear-accord file to his successor (Yomiuri) 9) Existence of secret accord could spark review of three non-nuclear principles (Yomiuri) Futenma issue: 10) Prime Minister indicates intention of reaching Futenma decision this year (Mainichi) 11) Prime Minister says no deadline for Futenma decision (Yomiuri) 12) Diet members from Okinawa call for establishment of panel to examine relocating Futenma facility out of prefecture (Yomiuri) 13) SDP calls for coalition partners to establish new forum for discussion of Futenma relocation issue (Nikkei) 14) Cabinet still divided over Futenma issue (Nikkei) 15) LDP's Okinawa chapter to call for relocating Futenma out of Okinawa (Yomiuri) Politics: 16) LDP and Komeito introduce child pornography draft bill (Yomiuri) 17) "Sympathy budget" to undergo review by budget screening committee (Nikkei) 18) Japan to accept Myanmar refugees (Yomiuri) 19) Decision on super computer pending review (Nikkei) Foreign relations: 20) Hatoyama watches American football telecast with U.S. Ambassador (Sankei) 21) Prime Minister says he barely discussed Futenma issue with Ambassador (Nikkei) Defense & security: 22) Aso administration lobbied for maintaining credibility of U.S.'s "nuclear umbrella (Tokyo Shimbun) Polls: 23) Sankei/FNN poll: Cabinet maintains plus-60 PERCENT support rating (Sankei) 24) Mainichi poll: Cabinet support rating drops 8 points to 64 PERCENT (Mainichi) 25) Mainichi poll: 50 PERCENT of nation wants Futenma facility relocated outside Okinawa or Japan (Mainichi) TOKYO 00002690 002 OF 011 Articles: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Prosecutors to build case against former secretary of Prime Minister Hatoyama over political donations Mainichi: Opinion poll: Cabinet support rate stands at 64 PERCENT Yomiuri: JAL proposes 30 PERCENT pension cut for retirees Nikkei: Hitachi to sign British high-speed railway project possibly within current fiscal year Sankei: Mizutani Construction Co. handed 100 million yen to Ozawa's office before receiving order for dam project Tokyo Shimbun: Higher-than-usual rate of side effects from new H1N1 influenza vaccine reported in Canada Akahata: Welfare Ministry intervenes in screening, aiming to lower levels in care requirement assessment 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) 150th anniversary of evolutionary theory: Let's consider the future of human beings (2) Government urged to establish rules to enable withdrawal from public works projects Mainichi: (1) Income compensation for farmers: Measures to improve productivity needed first (2) Abduction and nuclear weapons: Japan needs to review its strategies Yomiuri: (1) Hatoyama promises to boost aid to developing countries while cutting support for internal organizations (2) Election of EU president: Can Europe increase its influence? Nikkei: (1) How to achieve goal of 25 PERCENT cut in greenhouse gas emissions: Japan should present original idea for creating international system Sankei: (1) COP15 and Japan: Lower Japan's midterm target to practical rate (2) Afghan President Karzai urged to improve public order by eliminating corruption Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Greater ingenuity needed to continue enjoying bluefin tuna despite fishing restrictions TOKYO 00002690 003 OF 011 (2) Support from people around offenders needed to prevent second offenses Akahata: (1) Large cut in military spending unavoidable 3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) Prime Minister's schedule, November 23 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) November 24, 2009 Morning Spent at official residential quarters 17:36 Attended Niinamesai ceremony for Labor Thanksgiving Day at Shinkaden Hall of Imperial Palace 20:38 Arrived at official residential quarters 4) Government in report recognizes economy has entered mild deflationary phase NIKKEI (Top Play) (Lead paragraph) November 21, 2009 The government in its November monthly economic report declared that the Japanese economy has entered a "mild deflationary phase." It is the first time in three years and five months, since June 2006, that the government said Japan is beset by a persistent decline in price levels. Although the domestic economy has begun picking up, falling prices could push down corporate profits and exacerbate unemployment. Worried about such possibilities, the government has decided to quickly draft a second supplementary budget bill focusing on employment measures. Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, speaking to the press, said, "We would like the Bank of Japan to also cooperate in overcoming deflation. 5) Measures to curb global warming: Gist of Hatoyama initiative two-step assistance to developing countries NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts) November 24, 2009 The government is looking into a Hatoyama initiative for assisting developing countries as part of measures to curb global warming. The gist of the initiative has now been disclosed. According to the disclosure, the envisaged assistance would be provided in two stages - a period up to 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires, and a period after the adoption of an international framework in 2013. Numerous funds for assistance for developing countries would be consolidated into three and the establishment of an advisory organization designed to promote efficient usage of funds would be proposed. Post-Kyoto Protocol framework talks have almost unanimously reached an agreement at UN taskforce meetings held until now with the aim of reaching a political accord at the 15th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) to be held in December. However, industrialized countries and developing countries are at odds over a goal to cut greenhouse gases and assistance to developing countries. Japan wants to back the talks through the Hatoyama initiative. For assistance to be provided until 2012, a target period from October 2009 through the end of 2012 would be set. Former Prime TOKYO 00002690 004 OF 011 Minister Yasuo Fukuda's Cool Earth Partnership, under which Japan would provide 10 billion dollars or roughly 890 billion yen, would be transformed into a mechanism, which would facilitate the funneling of private funds. The amount of funds would also be boosted. For a period after 2013, a mechanism designed to maximize the effects of assistance would be proposed, based on the analysis that massive amounts of financial assistance to developing countries would be needed. For example, the European Union (EU) stresses that developing countries would require 100 billion euro (roughly 13.3 trillion yen). 6) Foreign minister to officially admit existence of nuclear secret pact, make related documents public in January MAINICHI (Top Play) (Lead paragraph) November 22, 2009 Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada decided yesterday to officially admit the existence of a Japan-U.S. secret pact that allows U.S. warships carrying nuclear weapons to make port calls in Japan. Okada made the decision as the Foreign Ministry's investigation into a secret nuclear weapons pact conducted under his instruction is almost complete, and the ministry has confirmed the existence of related documents. Okada will set up a third-party panel of external experts possibly today and make the results public in January after examining related documents. With this decision, the position taken by the Japanese government up until now of denying the existence of a secret pact will be changed. 7) Okada to release results of investigation into secret nuclear pact in January ASAHI (Page 2) (Full) November 22, 2009 Delivering a speech in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, yesterday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada indicated that the government will set up a new third-party expert committee tasked with examining documents related to Japan-U.S. secret agreements that were found in a ministry investigation, and announce the results of the examination in January. The agreements include one allowing the U.S. military to bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Speaking before reporters after the speech, Okada said the ministry's investigation has almost ended and revealed plans to establish the new panel by the end of this month. Although successive Japanese governments have denied the existence of secret nuclear weapons accords, Okada said in the speech: "The third-party committee will now begin to examine related documents. The results of the examination will be released at the appropriate time in January (of next year). I think this will clarify whether the secret agreements existed or not." 8) Former MOFA bureau director general: "I passed five volumes of documents on a secret nuclear pact on to my successor" YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) November 23, 2009 Documents related to secret accords on brining nuclear weapons into TOKYO 00002690 005 OF 011 Japan made at a time when Japan and the U.S. revised their Security Treaty have been found as a result of an internal investigation carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). In connection with this, former head of the ministry's Treaties Bureau Kazuhiko Togo during a TV Asahi talk show on Nov. 22 noted, "I compiled five volumes of documents related to a secret Japan-U.S. nuclear pact and passed them on to my successor." Togo stopped short of clarifying the details of the documents. However, he said, "The government should come clean with the public about the matter by explaining the details." Togo served as the director general of the Treaties Bureau from July 1998 through August 1999. In interviews with the Yomiuri Shimbun, he revealed that several volumes of documents related to secret nuclear agreements existed. Togo said that he was ready to cooperate with an investigative committee including experts to be set up shortly as well as Diet hearings. 9) Existence of secret nuclear accord to call into question Japan's three non-nuclear principles YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) November 22, 2009 If the government admits the existence of the secret agreement between Japan and the U.S. on bringing nuclear weapons into Japan, the consistency of this agreement with the three non-nuclear principles upheld by Japan is certain to be questioned severely. When the Japan-U.S. security treaty was revised in 1960, it was stipulated that the introduction of nuclear arms by U.S. Forces Japan would require prior consultations with the Japanese government. Past Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) governments used to assert that since there had been no prior consultations, U.S. vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons had not called on Japanese ports or landed in Japan, and that the three non-nuclear principles of not possessing, not producing, and not introducing nuclear arms had been observed. If the secret agreement actually exists, this would mean that no prior consultations took place even when ships carrying nuclear arms called on Japanese ports, which contradicts the claim that the three principles had been observed. In light of this, whether ships and aircraft with nuclear arms on board had actually come to Japan based on this secret agreement will become an issue. A debate on whether the three principles should be reviewed to align them with reality or whether they should be made stricter is certain to emerge. The Japan-U.S. relationship will be affected if the debate turns to the United States' nuclear umbrella. When U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates came to Japan in October, he asked the Japanese side to make sure that the investigation on the secret agreement "will not have an adverse effect on the Japan-U.S. relationship." Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also stressed at that time that "it will be conducted in a manner that will not give rise to friction with the U.S. government." Furthermore, the LDP administrations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which have stubbornly denied the existence of the secret agreement, will face strong criticism. The government's admission of TOKYO 00002690 006 OF 011 the existence of the secret accord is likely to cause a major controversy. 10) Premier to reach conclusion by year's end on Futenma relocation MAINICHI (Top play) (Abridged) November 21, 2009 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama decided yesterday to clarify his decision by the end of the year to review the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in time to earmark the estimated cost of Futenma relocation in the fiscal 2010 budget. Hatoyama is making adjustments in order to announce his intention to consider modifying the government's current plan to relocate Futenma airfield to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago. In campaigning for this summer's election for the House of Representatives, Hatoyama called for Futenma airfield to be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture or Japan. In Okinawa Prefecture, there are growing expectations for his advocacy of Futenma relocation outside Okinawa or abroad. With this in mind, Hatoyama would like to continue exploring other options beyond the end of the year. 11) Premier will not set time limit on Futenma issue YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) November 22, 2009 Prime Minister Hatoyama reiterated yesterday that he will not insist on reaching a conclusion by the end of the year for the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. "If a time limit is set at the outset, it will be extremely difficult to negotiate," Hatoyama said in response to a question from reporters in Tokyo. "We can't negotiate if a deadline is set from the start," he added. 12) Okinawan ruling party Diet members demand new panel on Futenma relocation YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) November 24, 2009 In connection with the question of the relocation of the U.S. forces' Futenma Air Station, the "Uru no Kai," a group made up of ruling party Diet members elected from Okinawa, will ask Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to create a "council for the examination of Futenma relocation" (tentative name) to look into the possibility of relocating the Futenma base out of Okinawa or out of Japan. The envisioned panel will consist of Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano and other concerned cabinet members, who will examine whether there are other possible relocation sites. 13) SDP proposes launching Futenma panel NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) November 21, 2009 The Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party, both allied with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, held a regular meeting of their secretaries general and policy chiefs yesterday. In the meeting, the SDP proposed calling on the government and the DPJ to set up a new consultative body of the three ruling parties to TOKYO 00002690 007 OF 011 discuss the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. 14) Cabinet still inconsistent on Futenma relocation NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged) November 22, 2009 Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has indicated that he will aim to reach a conclusion by the end of the year on the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. "Considering things like the timeframe for making budget requests before the year is out, we will have to reach a conclusion by the end of December," Okada said yesterday in Yokkaiichi, Mie Prefecture. However, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told reporters that evening that it will not be possible to reach a settlement by the end of the year under the current situation. Their remarks show that there are still inconsistencies within the Hatoyama cabinet over the Futenma issue. 15) LDP's Okinawa chapter to call for Futenma relocation outside Okinawa YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) November 21, 2009 On the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, the Liberal Democratic Party's Okinawa prefectural chapter began coordination yesterday to change its basic stance from accepting the currently planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago to calling for Futenma airfield to be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture. The LDP Okinawa chapter will shortly make a final decision on this changeover. In Okinawa Prefecture, the local organizations of the LDP and the New Komeito have accepted the current plan to relocate Futenma airfield to Nago. However, the LDP, which is the largest of all parties in the Okinawa prefectural assembly, holding 16 of its 48 seats, is now about to change its stance to demanding Futenma relocation outside Okinawa Prefecture, so Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who has accepted the planned relocation of Futenma airfield to Nago, is likely to be driven into a difficult position. It will also likely affect how the government handles the Futenma issue. 16) LDP, New Komeito jointly submit bill banning "simple possession" of child pornography YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) November 21, 2009 On Nov. 20 the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito jointly submitted to the House of Representatives a bill amending the Law for Punishing Acts Related to Child Prostitution or Child Pornography. The bill aims to ban "simple possession" of child pornography 17) Second half of government project screening starts today, "sympathy budget," government share in compulsory education. etc. up for screening NIKKEI (Page 3) (Abridged) November 24, 2009 TOKYO 00002690 008 OF 011 The Government Revitalization Unit (GRU; chaired by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama) will begin the second half of its work and conduct another four days of project screening aimed at weeding out wasteful spending in the FY2010 budget requests. This time the focus is on areas which have so far been treated as "sacred cows," including Japan's share in the expenditures of U.S. Forces Japan (the so-called omoiyari yosan or sympathy budget),the government's share in funding compulsory education, and grants-in-aid in official development assistance (ODA). Under the sympathy budget, the labor cost for Japanese employees working on U.S. military bases (budget request for FY10 is 116.4 billion yen) will be examined. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa objects to the GRU's screening of this expense because this is something that has been agreed upon with the U.S. Yukio Edano, former Democratic Party of Japan Policy Research Committee chairman who presides over the project screening working groups, has indicated that no decision affecting the foundation of the system that would have a significant impact on the Japan-U.S. alliance will be made. 18) Government to accept Myanmar refugees, starting next fall YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) November 24, 2009 The government has decided to accept Myanmarese (Burmese) refugees from Thailand starting from the fall of 2010. The refugees would be accepted as a trial implementation of a program of accepting third-nation refugees refugees who are temporarily protected in other countries. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is calling on various countries to adopt the system as a measure to definitively resolve the refugee issue. With an eye on full-fledged implementation of the system in the future, the government plans to accept 30 refugees from Myanmar per year for three years, totaling 90. It will interview candidates, based on a list provided by the UNHCR around next February, to decide the first group of refugees to be accepted. Refugees accepted will undergo training in the Japanese language and customs for three to four weeks before leaving for Japan. Once they enter Japan, they will undergo a 180-day resettlement program, including job-referral services, assistance for receiving school education, and instruction in Japanese. Assistance by consultants will be provided after that as well. 19) Decision on whether to freeze development of supercomputer technology up to future review NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) November 24, 2009 Referring to the government decision to basically freeze a project to develop supercomputer technology that was reached in the process of screening project programs to identify wasteful spending from among budget requests for fiscal 2010, State Minister for Government Revitalization Yoshito Sengoku on Nov. 23 said, "Whether the project will be abolished as planned will be up to a future review." He made this comment in response to a question from the press corps in TOKYO 00002690 009 OF 011 Okinoshima Town, Shimane Prefecture. Regarding this issue, Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for National Policy Naoto Kan noted on the 22nd: "We will take a second look at (the result of the screening for) science and technology." Sengoku said, "In the screening process, the government has proposed that it should take a second look at the project from the viewpoint of whether it is possible to raise the level of technology using the current approach. Now the issue will be considered from an expert's viewpoint." Concerning the issue of introducing an environment tax, he pointed out: "It is an issue which we should address as soon as possible." 20) Prime minister, U.S. ambassador watch American football game on TV SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) November 23, 2009 On the morning of Nov. 22, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama visited the U.S. Embassy in Akasaka, Tokyo, and held talks with Ambassador John Roos. It is unusual for a Japanese prime minister to call on an ambassador at a foreign embassy in Tokyo. The Prime Minister and the Ambassador are alumni of Stanford University. They watched an American football game, in which their alma mater participated. They seem to have exchanged views on the pending issue of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station (in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture). 21) Prime Minister Hatoyama: I did not talk about Futenma issue with U.S. Ambassador Roos NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) November 23, 2009 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. Ambassador John Roos on No. 22 watched on TV an American football game with Stanford University, their alma mater, at the ambassador's official residence in Akasaka, Tokyo, at a time when the discord between Japan and the United States has been drawing attention over the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa. When asked by reporters about whether he talked about the Futenma issue with the Ambassador, the Prime Minister said, "I hardly talked (about the issue) with Mr. Roos. We did not discuss it at all." 22) Aso administration found to have lobbied U.S. Congressional Commission on Strategic Posture to maintain nuclear umbrella TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Abridged) November 24, 2009 It was learned on Nov. 23 that under the Aso administration, the Japanese government had lobbied the U.S. Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States for the purpose of maintaining the nuclear umbrella. The Japanese government asserted that the U.S. should possess small nuclear bunker-busters, which it currently does not have, and asked that Japan be consulted on the decommissioning of short-range missiles. The above was revealed by a number of sources related to the Commission. Japan, which was apprehensive about the threat of Chinese and North Korean nuclear weapons, was concerned that the unilateral reduction TOKYO 00002690 010 OF 011 of U.S. nuclear weapons might weaken the nuclear umbrella. With the ascension to power of the Obama administration, which is keen on nuclear disarmament, Japan engaged in diplomatic lobbying to ensure the reliability of the nuclear umbrella. Since the above action is incompatible with the basic stance of the Hatoyama administration, which has agreed with the call for a "world without nuclear weapons," the current administration faces a challenge in responding. 23) Poll: Cabinet support rate over 60 PERCENT SANKEI (Top play) (Abridged) November 24, 2009 Prime Minister Hatoyama and his cabinet maintained their high popularity rating of over 60 PERCENT in a public opinion survey jointly conducted by the Sankei Shimbun and Fuji News Network (FNN) on Nov. 21-22, with a support rate of 62.5 PERCENT , up 1.6 percentage points from the last survey conducted Oct. 17-18. Public support for Hatoyama's three predecessors from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet through Prime Minister Taro Aso's cabinet tended to decline after their inauguration. However, the Hatoyama cabinet's support rate has stopped falling and rebounded. In the survey, nearly 90 PERCENT of respondents approved of the Government Revitalization Unit's screening of budget requests from government ministries and agencies to cut wasteful spending. As seen from this figure, the survey results show the public's approval of the Hatoyama cabinet's efforts. However, the Hatoyama cabinet's nonsupport rate also rose 2.2 points. In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan stood at 39.7 PERCENT , down 0.9 points from the last survey. However, its support rate remained at nearly 40 PERCENT , much higher than the leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party's 17.3 PERCENT . The Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party, both allied with the DPJ, were low, with the SDP at 3.0 PERCENT and the PNP at 0.9 PERCENT . The New Komeito stood at 4.5 PERCENT , and the Japanese Communist Party at 3.2 PERCENT . 24) Poll: Cabinet support at 64 PERCENT MAINICHI (Top play) (Abridged) November 24, 2009 The Mainichi Shimbun conducted a nationwide public opinion survey on Nov. 21-22. The rate of public support for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his cabinet was 64 PERCENT , down 8 percentage points from the last survey, conducted Oct. 17-18. The figure is down 13 points from the survey conducted before last on Sept. 16-17, right after the Hatoyama cabinet's inauguration, in which the Hatoyama cabinet's popularity rating marked 77 PERCENT , the second highest ever. In the survey, a total of 74 PERCENT gave affirmative answers when asked if they approved of the Hatoyama cabinet's budget screening to retrench the budget for the next fiscal year. Among reasons given for supporting the Hatoyama cabinet, "because the nature of politics is likely to change" accounted for 78 PERCENT . It may safely be said that the Hatoyama cabinet's high popularity derives from its reformist image. In the survey, respondents were asked what they thought Hatoyama TOKYO 00002690 011 OF 011 should do about the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture. To this question, 50 PERCENT answered that Hatoyama should negotiate with the United States to relocate Futenma airfield outside Okinawa Prefecture or Japan, with only 22 PERCENT saying Hatoyama should accept the current plan to relocate Futenma airfield to the Henoko area of Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture. The figures shows that the public is strongly in favor of Hatoyama's public pledge he made in campaigning for this summer's election for the House of Representatives to move Futenma airfield out of Okinawa Prefecture or abroad. 25) Poll: 50 PERCENT favor Futenma relocation outside Okinawa or Japan Mainichi (Page 3) (Full) November 24, 2009 In the months ahead, the public approval rating for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet will likely be affected by the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture. The Mainichi Shimbun and the Ryukyu Shimpo jointly conducted a public opinion survey in Okinawa Prefecture on Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, in which 70 PERCENT answered "yes" when asked if they thought Japan should negotiate with the United States to move Futenma airfield out of Okinawa Prefecture or Japan. In the latest nationwide survey as well, those who gave the same answer accounted for 50 PERCENT , indicating the public's growing expectations for Hatoyama's stance of relocating Futenma airfield outside Okinawa or abroad. Among those who support the Hatoyama cabinet, the proportion of those in favor of relocating Futenma airfield outside Okinawa Prefecture or Japan was 54 PERCENT . Among those who do not support the Hatoyama cabinet, however, public opinion was split over this issue, as affirmative answers for Futenma relocation outside Okinawa Prefecture or Japan added up to 39 PERCENT , while 31 PERCENT answered that Hatoyama should accept the current plan to relocate Futenma airfield to the Henoko area of Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture. Hatoyama will probably fall short of his supporters' expectations if he makes a decision like simply accepting the current plan. ROOS