Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO324
2009-02-12 01:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 2/12/09

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120141Z FEB 09
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INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
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RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 000324 

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 2/12/09

Index:
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 000324

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 2/12/09

Index:

1) Top headlines

2) Editorials

3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei)

4) Secretary Clinton's visit will be the occasion for formal signing
of a U.S.-Japan agreement on relocating Marines on Okinawa to Guam
(Asahi)

5) During Clinton visit, Okinawa's opposition to seek halt to Marine
move to Guam and new runway at Camp Schwab, and closing down of
Futenma Air Station (Akahata)

6) Secretary Clinton wishes to meet DPJ President Ozawa during Japan
visit (Tokyo Shimbun)

7) But "cautious" Ozawa may not wish to meet Clinton (Mainichi)

8) Crimes by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa not declining (Tokyo
Shimbun)

9) Foreign ministers Nakasone, Yu agree in Seoul meeting that Japan,
South Korea will jointly cooperate in assisting Afghanistan, working
through NGOs (Yomiuri)

10) Main points of Japan-ROK foreign ministerial meeting in Seoul
(Yomiuri)

11) Former North Korean spy Kim Hyon-hui to meet family members of
Japanese woman abducted by North Korean agents (Yomiuri)

12) Two abducted Japanese women revealed to be married and living in
North Korea (Tokyo Shimbun)

13) Former Prime Minister Mori, apparently upset by Prime Minister
Aso's recent performance in Diet, calls his replies "terrible"
(Yomiuri)

14) Aso's call for review of postal privatization creates dilemma
for Democratic Party of Japan, which is split on the issue (Yomiuri)


15) Japan Business Federation joins U.S., European organizations
send letter to U.S. Congress on protectionist language in stimulus
bill (Tokyo Shimbun)

16) Japan to propose to United Nations that developing countries be
brought into the new greenhouse-gas reduction scheme (Yomiuri) 11


Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES
Asahi:
Osaka consultancy firm collected over 10 billion yen in suspected
fraud from more than 10,000 members

Mainichi:
Right wing wins majority in Israeli general election: Will peace
process become stagnant?

TOKYO 00000324 002 OF 011



Yomiuri:
Government to subsidize firms that have introduced work-sharing to
hire unemployed people

Nikkei:
One in three listed companies to forego or reduce dividend payouts
for fiscal 2008: 9 PERCENT drop in total amount

Sankei:
Prime minister to visit Sakhalin on the 18th: Will approve Russian
ownership of island? Concern that priority given to practical
advantage

Tokyo Shimbun:
Two female abductees believed to have married in North Korea:
Taguchi with South Korean, Matsumoto with Japanese

Akahata:
Prep rally to call on Toyota Motors to protect jobs, subcontractors

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) President Obama's economic stimulus package: Implement quickly
to win trust
(2) General election in Israel: Do not shut out path to peace
process

Mainichi:
(1) Israel: Administration urged to value peace in Middle East
(2) Arrest over tainted rice: Agriculture ministry should make sure
to prevent recurrence

Yomiuri:
(1) U.S. new financial stabilization measures: Purchases of bad
loans to get under way
(2) Teachers graduate school: Challenge is to strengthen ties with
education boards

Nikkei:
(1) U.S. financial stabilization package falls short of expectation
(2) Israel leans to the right:

Sankei:
(1) U.S. financial stabilization measures: Embody measures that can
satisfy market
(2) Make dialogue between U.S. and Iran lead to overcoming hostile
relationship

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) U.S. economic stimulus package: Concern about protectionism
remains
(2) Aerospace Exhibition: Industry to be promoted, following auto
industry

Akahata:
(1) March 1 Bikini Day: Steady progress to eliminate nuclear
weapons

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)


TOKYO 00000324 003 OF 011


Prime Minister's schedule, February 10

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
February 11, 2009

07:12
Took a walk around his official residence.

09:19
Met with State Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Sato
and Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura in the Diet building. Attended
afterwards cabinet meeting.

09:56
Met at Kantei with Finance Vice Minister for International Affairs
Shinohara.

10:13
Met with Foreign Minister Nakasone, followed by Consumer Affairs
Minister Noda and Kawamura. Kawamura remained.

12:10
Met with Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Yosano.

13:04
Met with Kawamura and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Matsumoto,
Konoike and Uruma. Kawamura remained. Met Deputy Foreign Minister
Otabe.

14:10
Met with Advisors to the Cabinet Kusaka and Nishimura; Uruma; and
Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Fukuda and Hayashi. Met
afterward with Cabinet Intelligence Director Mitani, Defense
Ministry Defense Policy Bureau Chief Takamizawa, and Defense
Intelligence Headquarters Chief Shimohira. Mitani remained.

16:12
Met with Cabinet Public Relations Secretary Ogawa.

17:13
Met at LDP headquarters with Secretary General Hosoda. Taped message
for public relations, attended by Public Relations Headquarters
Chairman Furuya. .

18:18
Met with Kawamura at his official residence.

19"06
Dined with editorial writers of various media companies at Japanese
restaurant Toufu-ya-Ukai in Shibakoen.

21:06
Returned to his official residence.

Prime Minister's schedule, February 11

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
February 12, 2009

09:31
Took a walk in the area near his official residence.


TOKYO 00000324 004 OF 011


Afternoon
Stayed at home.

4) Marines pact to be inked Feb. 17 during Clinton visit

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
February 11, 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton will shortly visit Japan for the
first time since assuming office. On that occasion, Japan and the
United States will hold a foreign ministerial meeting in Tokyo on
Feb. 17 and will reach a formal agreement on a bilateral arrangement
regarding the planned relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to
Guam, sources have revealed. Japan and the Untied States will
confirm in written form that the two countries will continue
bilateral cooperation to push for the realignment of U.S. forces in
Japan after the Obama administration's inauguration. This is meant
to underscore the importance of the alliance between the two
countries.

According to Japanese government officials, Japan is now going
through final coordination with the United States for Clinton and
Foreign Minister Nakasone to hold a signing ceremony after their
meeting. The bilateral pact is to specify that Japan's fiscal
spending on the relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam is up to
2.8 billion dollars (approx. 250 billion yen). The pact is to
stipulate that the United States will be prohibited from using the
money for any other purposes and that Japanese contractors will be
equally treated in bidding.

In their meeting, Nakasone and Clinton will confirm that the
relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam, which will lessen
Okinawa's base-hosting burden, and the relocation of Futenma
airfield are in an inseparable package. Meanwhile, the government's
coordination with Okinawa has been drawn out over the relocation
site of an alternative facility for Futenma airfield. On this issue
as well, Nakasone and Clinton are expected to concur on pushing for
Futenma relocation. Clinton reportedly gave high marks to the
Japanese government for its earmarking of Guam relocation related
costs in its fiscal 2009 budget. In May 2006, the Japanese and U.S.
governments agreed on a "roadmap" that sets an itinerary for the
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. It says the United States will
move 8,000 Marines and 9,000 family members to Guam by 2014. It also
incorporates the Japanese government's financial backing for that
purpose.

5) Okinawa's opposition lawmakers ask gov't to drop new base plan

AKAHATA (Page 4) (Full)
February 11, 2009

Ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Clinton's scheduled visit to Japan
from Feb. 16, opposition party lawmakers elected from Okinawa
Prefecture yesterday made a request to the Foreign Ministry and the
Defense Ministry over the U.S. military presence in the island
prefecture. In concrete terms, they asked the two ministries not to
sign a bilateral agreement on Japan's sharing of costs for the
planned relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. They also asked
the government to call off the planned construction of a new base at
the Henoko district of Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture and request
the U.S. government to close down and return Futenma airfield at
once. In addition, they asked the two ministries to call for a

TOKYO 00000324 005 OF 011


drastic revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

At the Foreign Ministry, North American Affairs Bureau Deputy
Director General Koji Haneda met the group of lawmakers. Haneda said
the Foreign Ministry was preparing to sign the agreement on the
occasion of Clinton's visit to Japan.

Seiken Akamine, a Japanese Communist Party lawmaker seated in the
House of Representatives, pursued the issue: "The government's
cost-sharing plan includes spending on the construction of
infrastructure at Andersen Air Base in the northern part of Guam
Island, but that's irrelevant to the relocation of U.S. Marines from
Okinawa to Guam. We absolutely cannot agree to let the government
spend taxpayers' money on the pretext of mitigating Okinawa's
burden." Haneda insisted, "This project has bearing on the
relocation of Marines to Guam. We will scrutinize this matter well
every year between Japan and the United States and will refer the
budget plan to the Diet."

In addition, Haneda also indicated that the Japanese and U.S.
governments would specify a package plan in the bilateral agreement
to go ahead with the Guam relocation, construct the new base, and
return the sites of U.S. military bases located south of the Kadena
Air Base.

Akamine criticized the government plan severely, saying, "Concluding
such an agreement between Japan and the United States is pressure on
Okinawa Prefecture and its people opposing the government plan."

6) U.S. Secretary of State Clinton seeks meeting with Ozawa

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
February 11, 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sounded out Ichiro
Ozawa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ),on holding a meeting with her during her visit that starts on
Feb. 16, a DPJ source revealed on Feb. 10. According to the source,
a request to hold a meeting on Feb. 17 came through the U.S. Embassy
in Tokyo late last week.

Foreign ministers visiting Japan sometimes meet with opposition
leaders, but it is rare for a U.S. secretary of state to request
such a meeting. In consideration of the backdrop of falling support
rates for the cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso, as well as the
possibility of the DPJ wresting power from the ruling coalition in
the next Lower House election that must be held by the fall,
Secretary Clinton appears to have judged that there is a need to
hold talks with Ozawa regarding the bilateral alliance. Ozawa is
expected to give his reply, while taking into account the current
Diet situation of the ruling and opposition camps engaged in severe
clashes.

If realized, Clinton is expected to explain the Obama
administration's basic policy of placing priority on the U.S.
relations with Japan, as well as to discuss such issues as the
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and relocation of U.S. Marine
Corps' Futenma Air Station (in Ginowan City). Clinton is scheduled
to meet with Aso and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Feb. 17.

7) Ozawa to cautiously decide on whether to accept meeting with U.S.
Secretary of State Clinton

TOKYO 00000324 006 OF 011



MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
February 12, 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has sounded out Ichiro
Ozawa, president of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ),about holding a meeting with during her during her Japan
visit that starts next Monday. Ozawa is expected to make a decision
in a cautious manner on whether to accept the request. The DPJ has
advocated the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air
Station out of Okinawa Prefecture to someplace overseas. This was
not the agreement reached by the Japanese and U.S. governments to
relocate the base to a location elsewhere on the island prefecture.
The U.S. government is strongly concerned about the DPJ view. If a
meeting between Clinton and Ozawa is realized, the Futenma
relocation will likely be on the agenda.

According to DPJ sources, the request for a meeting came in early
February through U.S. Embassy officials. The DPJ was told that
Clinton thought it only natural to meet with the leader of the
largest opposition party. The U.S. would like to hold the meeting on
Feb. 17. Ozawa, however, has yet to make a decision on whether to
accept the request, indicating he is reluctant to see Clinton after
her meeting with Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone. Ozawa
reportedly has told senior party members that he will meet with her
if his schedule allows, but he is giving priority to preparing for
the next general election. Regarding the relocation of the Futenma
Air Station, the DPJ's "Okinawa vision" issued last July calls for
considering moving Futenma to someplace outside of the prefecture,
possibly abroad, taking the change in strategic environment into
account.

8) One year after schoolgirl rape, despite preventive measures, no
decline in incidents by U.S. military personnel in Okinawa; Brutal
crimes at worst level in 10 years

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 8) (Full)
Eve., February 10, 2009

On Feb. 10, it was exactly one year since the rape of a schoolgirl
by a U.S. Marine in Okinawa. However, even after preventive measures
were created by the U.S. forces and the government, the number of
incidents by U.S. military personnel has not declined. According to
the Okinawa prefectural police, there was an increase by seven
incidents last year over the year before in penal offenses involving
arrest and prosecution. Such brutal crimes as robbery and rape were
at the highest recorded level in 10 years.

After a U.S. Marine last Feb. 11 was arrested, the U.S. forces had a
"period of self-reflection," implemented such measures as training
to prevent sex crimes, and at one time imposed a total 24-hour
curfew. However, starting with the incident of an assault on a taxi
driver by U.S. personnel troubled for money, including an military
policeman, who is supposed to control military incidents, the number
of incidents increased involving arrests of U.S. soldiers on such
charges as inflicting bodily harm, drunk driving, and foreign
currency counterfeiting.

The Okinawa office of the Foreign Ministry has beefed up its seminar
to promote understanding of Okinawa, the idea being that crime can
be preventing by instilling in U.S. military personnel a respect for
the region. In addition to having young U.S. troops assemble on

TOKYO 00000324 007 OF 011


their bases to listen to lectures on local history and culture, in
January, a Okinawa karate expert trained approximately 200 U.S.
military personnel.

In the lecture by a local historian, such historical incidents are
referred to as the forced takeover of land under the U.S. military
occupation. After listening to the lecture, one soldier raised the
question, "Are we hated in Okinawa?" The Foreign Ministry's local
office plans to continue the program, a spokesman saying, "It is
important to tell them about the reasons and background for the
strong reactions to the bases by local communities."

9) Japan, South Korea agree on specific plans for joint assistance
in Afghan reconstruction

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
February 12, 2009

Risa Kato, Seoul

Foreign Minister Nakasone and his South Korean counterpart Yu
Myung-hwan affirmed in their meeting in Seoul on Feb. 11 that the
two countries would deepen their cooperative relation in the
international community. They agreed on concrete plans for joint
assistance in Afghan reconstruction, such as dispatching Japanese
experts to a South Korean vocational training center in Kabul and
supporting a soybean-plantation project being promoted by a
nongovernmental organization (NGO).

In their foreign ministerial held last June, the two countries had
agreed to hold high-level administrative talks to discuss future
options for international organizations, including a reform of the
UN Security Council. Nakasone and Yu decided to hold their first
meeting in Tokyo in March or April.

During their 70-minute meeting, Nakasone and Yu discussed issues
with North Korea for about 30 minutes. They shared the importance of
cooperation among Japan, the U.S. and South Korea in dealing with
North Korea. Nakasone emphasized: "North Korea is trying to increase
tensions. We must not allow the North to move to divide Japan, South
Korea and the U.S." Yu replied: "Its attempt to raise tensions is
undesirable."

The two ministers also agreed to: (1) upgrade working-level talks
aimed to resume negotiations on an economic partnership agreement
(EPA) from the current division-director level to the vice
minister-level; and (2) continue the 10-year project to have 1,000
South Korean students specializing in science and technology study
in Japan.

10) Main points from Japan-S. Korea foreign ministerial talks

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
February 12, 2009

(The following is a gist of yesterday's meeting between Foreign
Minister Nakasone and South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myong Hwan in
Seoul)

Bilateral relations

Nakasone, Yu: We welcome the fact that shuttle summit diplomacy is

TOKYO 00000324 008 OF 011


becoming a fixed occurrence. We have agreed to continue the cultural
exchange conference between Japan and South Korea for a third term
and to continue the joint program for the two countries' science and
technology students to study in Japan and South Korea.

Fisheries

Nakasone: We need to cooperate on the management of natural
resources in the waters provisionally designated under the bilateral
fisheries agreement between Japan and South Korea.

Yu: We want to hold close consultations.

Drifted refuse

Nakasone: There are (numerous) polytanks (plastic containers)
drifting ashore. I'd like to ask for cooperation to improve the
situation.

Yu: We have been educating and guiding fishermen.

North Korea problem

Nakasone: We want to maintain and strengthen close-knit cooperation
between Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

Yu: The six-party talks are now at a critical turning point. We also
want to consult closely with the Obama administration. We want to
continue our support as much as we can to resolve the abduction
issue.

Afghan reconstruction aid

Nakasone, Yu: We will cooperate on vocational training and
agricultural assistance. We will look into the feasibility of
further cooperation.

Talks for economic cooperation agreement

Nakasone, Yu: We will raise the current level of bilateral
consultations from working level to vice ministerial level in order
to resume consultations, and we will expedite our studies.

11) South Korean foreign minister: Coordination underway for meeting
between Taguchi's kin and Kim Hyon Hui

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)
February 12, 2009

Risa Kato, Seoul

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone held separate talks with South
Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Foreign Affairs and Trade
Minister Yu Myung Hwan in Seoul on Feb. 11 and exchanged views on
the North Korean issue and other matters.

In a joint press conference that followed the foreign ministerial,
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu indicated that arrangements
were being made for a meeting between Kim Hyon Hui, who was
sentenced to death for the 1987 fatal bombing of a South Korean
airliner, and family members of abductee Yaeko Taguchi, who serves
as Kim's tutor. Yu noted that the time and the place for the planned

TOKYO 00000324 009 OF 011


meeting were under arrangement, saying, "I understand that the
meeting will take place before long."

Taguchi was abducted in 1978. The Japanese government has identified
Kim's Japanese-language tutor named Lee Un Hae as Taguchi. Her older
brother Shigeo Iizuka is chairman of the Association of the Families
of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea.

12) Two abducted Japanese women likely to have married in North
Korea; Taguchi to South Korean man and Matsumoto to Japanese man;
High possibility that they are still alive

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Full)
February 12, 2009

Eiji Tsukiyama, Seoul

Two Japanese women who are on the Japanese government's list of
Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea are believed to have
married in North Korea, a source connected with the government
revealed on Feb. 11. Seventeen nationals are officially recognized
by the Japanese government as victims of abduction by North Korea.
Of them, at least two are likely to be alive in North Korea.

According to the source, the two are Yaeko Taguchi, who was abducted
in 1978 at the age of 22, and Kyoko Matsumoto of Yonago, Tottori
Prefecture, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 29. The source
said that there has been information that Taguchi married a South
Korean and Matsumoto a Japanese.

Taguchi taught Japanese to North Korean agent Kim Hyon Hui, 47, who
fatally bombed a South Korean airliner (in 1987). In 1984, Taguchi
moved to Chungryong-ri in a Pyongyang suburb where Fukie Chimura, a
former abductee who returned to Japan (in 2002),also lived. Taguchi
moved to another military base in 1986. She married a South Korean
man, according to Chimura.

South Korean abductee family group representative Che Song Yong
indicated that he learned from a source connected with North Korea
early in 2006 that a Japanese women different from abductee Megumi
Yokota, who married an abducted South Korean man, was also living
with an abducted South Korean man.

North Korea claimed that Taguchi married Japanese abductee Tadaaki
Hara and died in a traffic accident in 1986. Matsumoto is also
believed to have been on the register of a trading firm connected
with the North Korean military at least until 2002.

13) Mori: Prime minister's remarks at Diet "terrible"
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
February 12, 2009

Yesterday influential Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members, who
have close ties with Prime Minister Taro Aso, presented candidate
advice about the flip flops in his remarks regarding a review of the
postal privatization program. In a speech in Niigata City, LDP
Election Strategy Council Deputy Chairman Yoshihide Suga said:

"The prime minister's remarks are extremely heavy. He should refrain
from making remarks that give misunderstanding to the public and
cause unnecessary run-ins with the party."


TOKYO 00000324 010 OF 011


Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, in a speech in Tokushima City,
pointed out: "His way of answering was pretty bad. There are
differences between my remark about not agreeing with (postal
privatization) and the (incumbent) prime minister's." Meanwhile,
Mori criticized anti-Aso moves in the LDP, saying:

"When they are in a disadvantageous position, they make a fuss. Even
people with good sense are saying bad things about the LDP. There
are many members who say they will form a new party in cooperation
with opposition parties."

14) DPJ in dilemma over postal issue, eager to attack Aso's remarks
but reluctant about discussing review

YOMIURI (Page 4) (Excerpts)
February 12, 2009

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has been caught in a dilemma
over Prime Minister Aso's statements about a review of the postal
privatization plan. The main opposition party is poised to step up
the attack against the prime minister's recent controversial
remarks, but since the DPJ has also advocated reviewing the postal
privatization plan, the party finds it difficult to go deep into
discussing the postal issue.

Appearing on a TV program on Feb. 10, DPJ President Ozawa criticized
the prime minister's recent inconsistent statements over the postal
privatization, saying: "The people must be questioning his
qualifications as a Japanese prime minister."

Some DPJ members suggested that the party should call for intensive
deliberations on "summing up the postal privatization" process at
the House of Representatives' Budget Committee, but this call is
likely to be pushed out by a growing argument that the party should
not enter into discussions on the postal privatization issue. That
is because the DPJ's call for reviewing the four-company system
overlaps with the prime minister's view. The DPJ has insisted on
reviewing postal privatization, based on the stance of prioritizing
a joint struggle with the People's New Party, which has made
opposition to the postal privatization as the party platform.

A senior DPJ member said: "Our members in urban districts in favor
of reforms have supported the postal privatization, confronting with
those dependent on labor unions as their support base." In the
overall paper issued when the DPJ suffered a crushing defeat in the
Lower House election carried out in 2005 over the postal
privatization issue, the party noted: "Our response to the postal
privatization was unclear." It did not even refer to the postal
issue in the policy platform for the House of Councillors election
in 2007.

Later, the party began to call for a review of the privatization
plan as it deepened cooperation with the People's New Party
leadership, but the DPJ and the LDP both share the view calling for
reviewing the four-company system, although a gap is growing between
the two parties.

15) Japan Business Federation joins nine influential business
organizations to send letter to U.S. Congress calling for revision
of protectionist language in stimulus bill

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts)

TOKYO 00000324 011 OF 011


Eve., February 10, 2009

Jiji Press in Washington

The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) and nine
influential Western business organizations, including European ones,
have signed and sent a letter to leading members of the U.S.
Congress calling for revision of the "Buy American" clause that is
included in the economic stimulus bill. This was revealed by a
connected source.

The language in the bill makes it mandatory to procure U.S.
products, such as steel, for use in public works projects. However,
there is a strong protectionist tinge in the language that has
raised concerns in Japan, the European Union and other countries.
The letter, sent when a joint congressional committee is down to the
wire in ironing out the differences in the Senate and House versions
of the bill, aims to heighten international pressure on the
lawmakers to revise the language.

Other than Japan and Europe, the letter is signed by business
organizations from Brazil, Britain, Canada, India, South Korea,
Germany and Turkey. Fifteen influential U.S. business organizations
including the American Chamber of Commerce are sending their own
letter opposing the language.

16) Japan to propose to UN measures developing countries should take
in tackling greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
February 12, 2009

As part of the new framework of measures to curb greenhouse gas
emissions that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, the Japanese
government has submitted to the UN a paper calling for the
broad-based adoption of a co-benefit system for developing countries
simultaneously tackling greenhouse gas emissions and environmental
pollution.

To promote reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by developing
countries, a clean development mechanism (CDM) has been introduced,
under which industrialized countries that provided technologies and
funds to developing countries can offset the cuts achieved by the
recipient countries against the output of their own country. Japan's
proposal is designed to prioritize co-benefit projects when
implementing the CDM scheme. Japan at a UN taskforce meeting on the
next-term framework to be held in Germany in March will call for
simplifying UN procedures needed for the application of the scheme
or exempting developing countries from registration fees regarding
projects intended to make improvements to measures to address
environmental pollution, water pollution and waste materials.

ZUMWALT