Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO3
2009-01-02 03:36:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 01/02/09

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 020336Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 000003 

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: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 01/02/09

INDEX:

(1) Government to unroll "New Deal Plan," focusing on job creation,
medical services and nursing care (Yomiuri)

(2) Prime Minister Aso resolves in New Year's statement to put
effort into measures to stimulate the economy (Yomiuri)

(3) Prime Minister Aso asks Israeli premier to halt Gaza strikes
(Nikkei)

(4) Prime Minister Aso to probe into possibility of Diet dissolution
after budget is passed; 871 plan to register as candidates in Lower
House election (Tokyo Shimbun)

(5) Opinion poll on where our lives are headed finds 52 PERCENT
pessimistic about long-term future, 80 PERCENT strengthening
defense against future by being frugal (Tokyo Shimbun)

(6) Government speeding up investment-agreement negotiations, with
consideration being given to over a dozen countries, particularly in
the Middle East and Africa; Aim is to secure natural resources and
food (Nikkei)

(7) Interview with LPD Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda: Decision
on Diet dissolution will come in the spring or later (Nikkei)

ARTICLES:

(1) Government to unroll "New Deal Plan," focusing on job creation,
medical services and nursing care

YOMIURI (Page
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 000003

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: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 01/02/09

INDEX:

(1) Government to unroll "New Deal Plan," focusing on job creation,
medical services and nursing care (Yomiuri)

(2) Prime Minister Aso resolves in New Year's statement to put
effort into measures to stimulate the economy (Yomiuri)

(3) Prime Minister Aso asks Israeli premier to halt Gaza strikes
(Nikkei)

(4) Prime Minister Aso to probe into possibility of Diet dissolution
after budget is passed; 871 plan to register as candidates in Lower
House election (Tokyo Shimbun)

(5) Opinion poll on where our lives are headed finds 52 PERCENT
pessimistic about long-term future, 80 PERCENT strengthening
defense against future by being frugal (Tokyo Shimbun)

(6) Government speeding up investment-agreement negotiations, with
consideration being given to over a dozen countries, particularly in
the Middle East and Africa; Aim is to secure natural resources and
food (Nikkei)

(7) Interview with LPD Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda: Decision
on Diet dissolution will come in the spring or later (Nikkei)

ARTICLES:

(1) Government to unroll "New Deal Plan," focusing on job creation,
medical services and nursing care

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)
January 1, 2009

The full contents of a plan the government is drafting in order to
deal with the rapidly worsening employment situation was revealed on
Dec. 31. It is tentatively called the "Employment New Deal Plan."
The plan will undertake to create jobs in specific occupational
areas, such as by assisting individuals to obtain credentials to
work in the medical services or nursing care fields, in which there
are now shortages of employees. To tackle the problem of rapidly
growing unemployment among non-permanent employees, the government

is considering revising the legal system in order to protect their
right to work, centering on such programs as cash payments to cover
job training-related expenses and expansion of assistance to cover
living expenses during the training period, and the terms of
employment.

The plan would increase temporary jobs in administrative offices of
the central and local governments, as well as reopen and expand the
so-called "green jobs" that would nurture a corps of workers to
shoulder responsibility in the forestry industry.

In order to prevent companies from going bankrupt, the main cause of
rapidly growing unemployment, there would be assistance to companies
to revive their businesses, and subsidies would be included in the
measures to cover occupational training expenses through
unemployment insurance available to workers who have lost their
jobs.

In addition, in order to balance the load of working and raising

TOKYO 00000003 002 OF 007


children, income subsidies to persons taking leave to raise children
-- now limited to a maximum one and half year and 30 PERCENT of
one's salary - would be raised in stages, the aim being to enhance
the system of taking leave in order to rear children.

Combined with the simultaneous establishment of an industrial
revival organization, the government also is considering restarting
the program of providing concentrated assistance to revive jobs lost
at companies and to unemployed workers. The program ended in
September 2008. The government in Dec. 2008 came out with a package
of measures to prop up jobs of 1.4 million workers. However, the new
measures being planned have the characteristic of strategically
creating jobs.

The government intends to compile by this spring in the Council on
Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP, chaired by Prime Minister Aso) a
package of specific measures of a "future development plan" that
would focus investment in seven growth areas. This package will
become the main pillar for the new jobs-creation plan. Fiscal
resources would come from the economic emergency-response reserves
included in the fiscal 2009 national budget bill. The government is
also considering obtaining a portion from the allocations in the
fiscal 2009 supplementary budget.

(2) Prime Minister Aso resolves in New Year's statement to put
effort into measures to stimulate the economy

YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
January 1, 2009

Prime Minister Taro Aso has issued a New Year's message dated Jan.

1. In it, he stressed his government's intention of putting every
effort into devising measures to revive the economy that has been
hit by the global financial and economic crisis. The prime minister
stated: "The government will expend all efforts to remove the
nation's anxieties about the economy and peoples' livelihoods. Japan
will become the first country in the world to emerge from this
recession." He expressed his personal resolve by stating, "I will
never run away (from this task). Together with the people of this
nation, we will move ahead steadily." He sought to rouse the nation
by further stating: "We cannot be passive. In order to shape a
hopeful future, we must make it happen."

The statement continued: "The Japanese people until now have upheld
this country Japan by their own choices and efforts. They have
developed this country, while changing it. We must continue to have
a country that is strong and bright." He also expressed his hopes
toward the future by using his pet phrase, "Japan's deep strength."


The prime minister's message, in contrast to those of other premiers
in recent years, did not refer to specific policies, such as in
foreign affairs or education. The characteristic of his statement
was his placing weight on moral arguments.

(3) Prime Minister Aso asks Israeli premier to halt Gaza strikes

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 1, 2009

Prime Minister Taro Aso on the afternoon of Dec. 31 held an
approximately 30 minute telephone conversation with Israeli Prime

TOKYO 00000003 003 OF 007


Minister Ehud Olmert. In it, Prime Minister Aso expressed regret
about the situation of civilians also being killed or wounded by
Israeli military air strikes in the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian
autonomous territories. He also asked Israel to swiftly halt the
attacks.

Commenting on Japan's humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip,
Prime Minister Aso informed Prime Minister Olmert: "We are starting
talks with the Palestinian Authority and relevant international
organizations. He requested that Israel carry out assistance, such
as bringing in relief goods, and he urged the continuation of peace
negotiations.

Prime Minister Olmert indicated his intention to cooperate by
providing humanitarian assistance, adding, "In order to restore
peace, we would like to cooperate with the international community,
including Japan."

(4) Prime Minister Aso to probe into possibility of Diet dissolution
after budget is passed; 871 plan to register as candidates in Lower
House election

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full)
January 1, 2009

With the terms of the House of Representatives legislators set to
expire in September, Prime Minister Taro Aso (president of the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)) intends to seek the right timing for
dissolving the lower chamber in the spring or later, following the
passages of the second fiscal 2008 supplementary budget and the
fiscal 2009 national budget, which is the largest one on record. The
budgets will be passed within the current fiscal year that ends
March 31.

In the regular Diet session that convenes Jan. 5, the second fiscal
2008 supplementary budget and the fiscal 2009 regular budget will be
deliberated on in turn. The prime minister has a strong desire to
see them passed expeditiously. (TN: Another news article has the two
budgets being deliberated in tandem.)

In response, the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has
adopted a policy course of taking a strong confrontational stance
against the ruling camp in order to press for an early dissolution
of the Diet. At the beginning of the regular Diet session, the DPJ
will submit a bill to remove from the second supplementary budget
allocations for a cash payment scheme to workers. The cash payment
idea has been sharply criticized by the public. The DPJ will urge
the ruling camp to adopt its bill.

Centering also on budget deliberations, the DPJ has taken a stance
of trying to shake the administration, while eyeing carefully the
mood of the public toward its Diet tactics. One possible tactic is
to drag out adoption of the budgets in the Upper House, which the
opposition controls.

The prime minister has lost the ability to unify his party, mainly
due to his cabinet's support rates having fallen sharply in the
polls, so it is unclear whether he will be able to pass the two
budgets as planned.

A number of LDP lawmakers, such as former Administrative Reform
Minister Yoshimi Watanabe, have stepped up their criticism of the

TOKYO 00000003 004 OF 007


prime minister, and depending on the situation, the administration
could find itself in a deadlocked situation.

There is also the possibility of an agreement on Diet dissolution
being reached by talks with the DPJ in return for the opposition's
letting the budgets be passed smoothly.

On the other hand, according to this newspaper's compilation as of
Dec. 31, a total of 871 persons are expected to declare their
candidacies to run in the next Lower House election, including small
district seats and proportional representation seats. Of the 300
small district seats, the LDP will support candidates in all but 8
districts in which coalition partner New Komeito plans to run
candidates, and in the Hiroshima 6 district, where the situation
remains unsettled.

The DPJ has informally selected candidates to run in 264 election
districts, with direct clashes with the LDP expected in 257 of
them.

(5) Opinion poll on where our lives are headed finds 52 PERCENT
pessimistic about long-term future, 80 PERCENT strengthening
defense against future by being frugal

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full)
January 1, 2009

The Japan Research Institute, of which this newspaper is a member,
carried out a national opinion survey on a direct interview basis on
Dec. 6-7 last year on the theme, Where is our lives headed? The
poll found 52 PERCENT of the nation believing that their lives
would "become worse" or "somewhat worse" ten years from now. This is
a 14-point jump from the result found in the previous similar poll
in Sept. 2003, indicating that people now have increased qualms
about their future livelihoods.

The survey also found that 80 PERCENT of the public are cutting
daily living expenses "very much" or "to a certain degree." This
result shows vividly that people are scrambling to defend their
lifestyles.

Regarding their current lives, only a total of 11 PERCENT of the
public replied that things were "getting better" or "somewhat
better." Another 32 PERCENT said that nothing has changed. But 56
PERCENT replied that their current lives "have become worse."
Compared to the previous survey, there was a three-point drop in
those seeing improvement, while the percentage of those experiencing
a worsening of their daily lives was about the same.

Asked about what life would be like 10 years from now, only 12
PERCENT felt that things would "get better" or "somewhat better."
This is an eight point drop from the last survey. Another 33 PERCENT
felt their lives would not change. This is a five-point drop from
before. However, 52 PERCENT felt that things would "get worse" or
"somewhat worse," a major increase from the last survey.

If the respondents who answered that their lives would get worse are
broken down by age, those in their twenties and thirties fell below
50 PERCENT , but for people in their fifties, the number reached 60
PERCENT , and for those in their 60s, it was 56 PERCENT . So for
middle to advanced aged people, there was a noticeable pessimism
about their future lives.

TOKYO 00000003 005 OF 007



Asked for the reasons why they felt their lives would get worse
(multiple answers),the most picked response with 57 PERCENT of the
respondents was "tax and social security expenditures will rise."
Next, with 46 PERCENT of the public, was "my income will drop,"
followed by 28 PERCENT who picked "social welfare situation will
worsen." For people in their twenties, the most chosen response with
42 PERCENT was "employment will get worse," reflecting the
expansion of feelings of anxiety about their careers. Those in their
fifties and sixties picked income, 52 PERCENT and 60 PERCENT
respectively felt similar anxieties.

Asked to give specific examples of cost cutting (multiple answers),
37 PERCENT of the respondents picked clothing, as well as hobbies
and leisure pleasures. The next favored answer was food expenses,
with 35 PERCENT of the public, after which came utilities costs
with 21 PERCENT . The answers showed clearly that people are cutting
daily living expense as much as possible.

On the question of what policies should be chosen to improve the
economy and consumption (multiple answers),54 PERCENT chose
"improving pensions," 45 PERCENT went for expanding medical and
nursing care, and 25 PERCENT wanted tax cuts.

The questionnaire also asked what policy measures were needed to
maintain the vitality of the society in the future (multiple
answers). The most frequently picked answer with 48 PERCENT was "an
environment that is easy to work in." Next, with 46 PERCENT of the
public, was the answer, "improve the social welfare system so that
everyone contributes his or her fair share." The answer show strong
calls for a stable social security system over short-term policy
measures to cut the burden.

(6) Government speeding up investment-agreement negotiations, with
consideration being given to over a dozen countries, particularly in
the Middle East and Africa; Aim is to secure natural resources and
food

NIKKEI (Page 3) (Abridged)
January 1, 2009

The government will speed up negotiations to sign bilateral
investment agreements with other countries that will strengthen
economic cooperation ties. The aim is to secure natural resources,
as represented by oil and natural gas, and basic food staples, such
as wheat. The government is concentrating in particular on signing
such accords with countries rich in natural resources in the Middle
East, Africa, and South and Central America, as well as food
producing countries. In addition to Qatar, Colombia, and Afghanistan
- countries with which negotiations will start in 2009 - countries
being considered as subject to signing such a treaty will be
increased one after the other to a planned goal of over a dozen. In
addition to assisting the resource development planning of Japanese
companies and expanding trade, the pacts will bring investments into
Japan by companies of the countries signing bilateral investment
treaties with Japan.

Investment agreements are accords that set rules to protect and
liberalize investments by one country in another country in order to
remove or ease restrictions that would harm foreign companies
investing in the other country. Such treaties include provisions
that give foreign companies the same treatment as domestic firms in

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that country. Japan has concluded such pacts with 15 countries and
regions, including China, South Korea, and Russia. In addition,
negotiations are going one with one country and one region. There
are also cases of essentially the same contents being contained as
an "investment chapter" in an EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement).


In newly emerging countries and developing countries, when Japan
wishes to sign an EPA, which puts pressure on that country to
liberalize in a wide range of industrial areas, many cautious views
in that country emerge, the fear being that domestic industries will
be dealt a blow. In dealing with such countries and regions,
priority will be given to signing first an investment treaty.

Investment agreements all over the world now total 2,500. Japan
therefore is far behind other countries in the West in signing such
pacts. An EPA requires several years to complete from start of
negotiations to signing the agreement, but an investment treaty can
be nailed down by negotiations in less than a year. The thinking now
is to strengthen relations with each country by rushing ahead with
such agreements.

There are already many countries in Asia that have investment
agreements and EPAs and the like. For that reason, Japan is
considering giving priority to negotiations with such countries in
other regions as the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain. There are many
countries in the Middle East into which Japanese companies have
advanced. Reportedly, requests for an investment treaty have gone
out to Oman, Bahrain, Libya and other countries in that region.

The Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
last December created an "External Investment Strategy Council." It
has participation by the private sector, such as the Japan Business
Federation (Nippon Keidanren),and the Nippon Export and Investment
Insurance (NEXI),as well as the Japan Finance Corporation. In the
same council, many views are coming out for promotion of investment
agreements with countries in the Middle East and other regions. By
combining investment agreements with other policy tools such as
trade insurance and official development assistance (ODA),relations
with those countries can be further strengthened.

(7) Interview with LPD Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda: Decision
on Diet dissolution will come in the spring or later

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
January 1, 2009

The regular Diet session will be convened on Jan. 5. We asked senior
party officials in the ruling and opposition camps of their outlooks
for maneuvers expected that will lead up a Lower House election. We
start with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General Hiroyuki
Hosoda.

-- What is the strategy for an early passage of the second
supplementary budget for fiscal 2008, the fiscal 2009 national
budget, and bills connected with the budgets?

"Since it is a 14-month budget in order to get us out of recession,
it must be passed without delay. During ordinary times, when the
Budget Committee is in session, the bills related to the budget bill
are not deliberated on, but it would be only natural to deliberate
on the budget in the Upper House Budget Committee during the day and

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on the relevant bills during the evening."

-- The opposition camp is demanding that the money for the cash
payment program be cut out of the second supplementary budget.

"The cash payment plan is essential as an economic stimulus measure.
We have no intention of changing it. The biggest problem of the
recession is that people are saying because the economy is bad, they
won't travel or buy things. It is important for them to feel at
least a little warmth in their hearts."

-- There is a possibility of the bills related to the budget having
to be approved by a two-thirds Lower House vote override. If there
are 17 from the ruling camp who rebel, the bills will not pass the
Diet.

"I cannot conceive at all of anyone rebelling. If we split apart, we
will indeed lose in the election. The sense of crisis overall is
even more serious than it was at the time of the vote on postal
privatization."

-- What about the timing of the dissolution of the Diet and the snap
election that would follow?

"When we have a clear picture that the budget and essential bills
will pass, we can think about such. It is Prime Minister Aso's
decision as to whether it would be better to seek the public's will
as soon as possible after the budget passage from April, or whether
the summer or fall would be better."

-- Is there a possibility of Diet dissolution by talks between the
two camps, or a cabinet to manage the election?

"Inconceivable. We have the responsibility of making policies that
we think are correct."

-- What will be the campaign issues going into the next Lower House
election?

"We will ask the people's judgment on the policies of the coalition
government of the LDP and New Komeito. The budget bill will place at
our disposal maximum policy tools, such as a regional package and
countermeasures to fight the recession. I can't think of anything
more we can do to fulfill the government's responsibility."

ZUMWALT