DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/19/09

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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/19/09

INDEX:

(1) Moves to oust Aso coming into open in LDP (Tokyo Shimbun)

(2) Okinawa assembly poll: 60 PERCENT disapprove of Guam pact
(Ryukyu Shimpo)

(3) Naval hospital construction to start in FY2009 (Ryukyu Shimpo)

(4) Analysis of U.S. Marines Guam relocation agreement by Kunihiko
Miyake -- Pact designed to maintain deterrence and reduce burdens on
local communities (Sankei)

(5) Disruption by Sea Shepherd unforgivable: Obstructive activities
are crime, terrorism, Agriculture Minister Ishiba underscores
(Suisan Keizai Shimbun)

ARTICLES:

(1) Moves to oust Aso coming into open in LDP

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full)
February 19, 2009

Junior members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) yesterday
started calling for replacing Prime Minister Aso, whose
administration is now on the verge of collapse. Since Shoichi
Nakagawa resigned as finance minister, public support rates for the
cabinet have further nosedived. In what state will he pass his final
days in office?

Junior members openly demanding Aso's resignation

House of Representatives member Masazumi Gotoda openly called for
the prime minister's resignation. He told reporters: "(The prime
minister) should decide by himself on whether to resign. I want him
to take an objective view about himself and decide to transfer
political power. It should be senior lawmakers' responsibility to
entrust the future of the LDP to a younger generation." Gotoda
called for a generational change, citing such names as Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba and State Minister in
Charge of Consumer Affairs Seiko Noda.

Gotoda is close to Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and Policy Research
Council Deputy Chairman Hiroyuki Hosoda. In the latest LDP
presidential race, he supported Yosano. He is in his third term and
does not belong to any faction. In the LDP, however, many are taking
the remarks by Gotoda seriously, instead of taking it as just a
comment by a junior member about a possible resignation of the prime
minister.

The Prime Minister's Office has become nervous since the Gotoda
remark popped up prior to the anticipated passage of the fiscal 2009
budget. Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura assailed: "He should
be aware that the budget is at a critical juncture."

Cynically, though, the predicted passage of the budget will
inevitably trigger moves to oust Aso. Former Secretary General
Hidenao Nakagawa, who has distanced himself from Aso, is making
preparations to form a new parliamentary group after the fiscal 2009
budget bill passes the House of Representatives.


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A bill related to the fiscal 2008 supplementary budget that would
finance a controversial cash handout plan is expected to be brought
back into the Lower House for a revote in late February. The revote
is also likely to be linked to dumping Aso.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi revealed in Moscow on the
18th his intention to sit out a Lower House session if the ruling
coalition forces passage of the bill through a revote. Koizumi's
remarks, following his earlier criticism of the prime minister, are
to express "No" to the Aso administration. More LDP members may
begin echoing Koizumi.

In a meeting of the LDP Reform Implementation Taskforce yesterday,
some participants called for reviewing the party's rules on election
for the premiership, as Lower House member Masahiko Shibayama said:
"Conditions for candidacy and other matters should be fully
discussed." Such calls reflect a desire to bring forward the LDP
leadership race from September.

The main theme in a meeting of about 10 junior and mid-ranking
lawmakers last night was who should be Aso's successor, with one
participant saying: "Unless the party brings in a new prime
minister, the party will not be able to win the next election."

Aso set to hold on for months

Following Finance Minister Nakagawa's resignation, an aide to the
prime minister said: "We had already anticipated there would be
moves to send Prime Minister Aso out of the office. But it will be
impossible to do so unless the prime minister decides to resign by
himself. He has no intention to step down." In the ruling camp, as
well, the dominant view is that the prime minister will not easily
quit. Aso appears to intend to hold on for months.

Aso agreed with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in their meeting
the 18th to arrange a visit to Japan by Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin in May. This agreement shows his strong eagerness to continue
to take charge of government even after the fiscal 2009 budget
clears the Diet.

Aides to the prime minister have suggested compiling an additional
supplementary budget bill after the budget is enacted. This is also
aimed to contain moves to replace Aso, setting forth the need to
buoy up the economy as a just cause.

In order to force the prime minister to resign, there will be no
other means but to adopt a no-confidence motion against the cabinet
in the Lower House or to invoke a provision that stipulates that the
party head can be dismissed with support from the majority of LDP
Diet members and local representatives. Both hurdles are not easy to
overcome. Given this, so a senior LDP member expressed concern that
the party might break up before an election is carried out.

Even if Aso remains in the office until the summer, it will become
impossible for him to continue resisting growing calls for moving up
the party presidential race because a general election will be held
in September.

(2) Okinawa assembly poll: 60 PERCENT disapprove of Guam pact

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Full)
February 19, 2009

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The Japanese and U.S. governments have now signed an agreement to
move U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam. In this regard, the Ryukyu
Shimpo conducted a questionnaire survey of the Okinawa prefectural
assembly's 47 members, excluding one under medical treatment, on
their evaluation of the intergovernmental agreement. In the survey,
they were asked if they could appreciate the Guam relocation pact.
In response to this question, 28 persons (60 PERCENT ) answered
"no," with 16 persons (34 PERCENT ) saying "yes." Negative answers
outnumbered affirmative ones, reflecting the opposition parties'
majority in the prefectural assembly. However, the ruling and
opposition parties were almost split in their evaluation. There were
also negative answers from some of the ruling parties' members.

The survey was conducted on Feb. 17-18, with a questionnaire form
distributed to the 47 prefectural assembly members. Answers were
obtained from all of them by yesterday.

In the opposition parties and neutral-standing groups, all of their
26 members said "no" when asked if they could appreciate the Guam
relocation pact. In the ruling parties, all of the Liberal
Democratic Party's 15 members and one of the New Komeito and Kenmin
Kaigi group's members said "yes." One of the New Komeito and Kenmin
Kaigi group's members and independent members affiliated with the
ruling parties said "no."

In the breakdown of reasons for negative answers, there were views
such as, "It will put taxpayers' money into building U.S. military
bases," and, "It ignores and bypasses local communities by going
ahead with the relocation of Futenma airfield within Okinawa
Prefecture." Meanwhile, most of those affirmative about the Guam
pact answered that it would alleviate Okinawa's base-hosting
burden.

The agreement says Japan and the United States will follow their
roadmap set to implement the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan in
a package. When asked about this, negative answers came from all of
the opposition parties' members and from 32 of the New Komeito and
Kenmin Kaigi group's members and independent members affiliated with
the ruling parties, with affirmative answers from 15 LDP members.

Concerning the issue of relocating Futenma airfield, a total of 16
persons (all LDP members plus one of the New Komeito and Kenmin
Kaigi group's members) said the planned construction site of an
alternative facility for Futenma airfield should be moved to an
offshore area. Meanwhile, nine opposition party members insisted
that Futenma airfield should be moved elsewhere out of Okinawa
Prefecture or Japan. A total of 15 persons belonging to the
opposition parties or among the independents affiliated with the
ruling parties answered that the airfield should not be relocated
and should be removed. In the New Komeito and Kenmin Kaigi group,
four persons answered that the airfield should be moved to an
offshore area or should be moved out of Okinawa Prefecture or Japan.
Among answers outside the options given, one in the Reform Club
referred to "Kadena base relocation, etc.," with two in the Social
Democratic Party and Goken group calling for "removal."

(3) Naval hospital construction to start in FY2009

RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full)
February 19, 2009


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Ginowan-The U.S. military plans to relocate a naval hospital from
Camp Kuwae (Camp Lester) in the town of Chatan to a Ginowan City
area of Camp Zukeran (Camp Foster). In this regard, the Okinawa
Defense Bureau will start the work of constructing the hospital's
main building in fiscal 2009 after a field survey of cultural
properties at the construction site, officials revealed yesterday.
Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha is opposed to the hospital's relocation.
However, the bureau told the Ryukyu Shimpo that it would start
construction work after an excavation of the hospital's construction
site and that scaffolding will be set up there to a certain extent.

"It's not appropriate to build a permanent base in a historic area,"
Iha said. "They have decided to move 8,000 Marines (from Okinawa) to
Guam in the process of realigning U.S. forces in Japan," Iha went
on, "and local people are saying we should review the SACO (Special
Action Committee on Okinawa) agreement." He added, "So we cannot
understand why they've got to build a hospital there." Iha will
visit the Okinawa Defense Bureau today, and he will come up to Tokyo
on Feb. 23 and visit the Defense Ministry and the American Embassy
to request that the construction be suspended.

(4) Analysis of U.S. Marines Guam relocation agreement by Kunihiko
Miyake -- Pact designed to maintain deterrence and reduce burdens on
local communities

SANKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly)
February 19, 2009

The Agreement Concerning the Implementation of the Relocation of III
Marine Expeditionary Force Personnel and Their Dependents from
Okinawa to Guam was signed on the occasion of U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton's first visit to Japan since assuming office.
The agreement will allow 8,000 U.S. Marines and their families to
begin moving from Okinawa (to Guam) within several years, at the
earliest. As a person with a first-hand experience in negotiations
with the U.S. Forces Japan, which was astoundingly obsessed with
retaining its vested interests, I felt a surge of emotion as I saw
the pact inked.

There are many farfetched criticisms of the agreement, such as
"having gone over the head of affected municipalities" or "an
immense amount of burden." Some observers think the fact that
Secretary Clinton visited Japan as her first foreign destination and
that Prime Minister Taro Aso was invited to the White House as the
first foreign leader to meet with President Barack Obama is more
important than the pact itself. The agreement will be extremely
vital for Japan five years, ten years from now, bringing numerous
strategic benefits at the same time.

The Japan-U.S. alliance has evolved under the new regional strategic
environment, while being masochistically criticized as being adrift
since the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. I would like
to examine this point while going over security-related political
documents released recently.

For instance, the Japan-U.S. Joint Statement released in 2000 by the
Security Consultative Committee (2+2 Meeting) notes, "It is
extremely important for China to play a positive and constructive
role," while referring to "persistent instability and uncertainty."
The Transformation and Realignment for the Future released in 2005
specifies that the Japan-U.S. alliance "must evolve to reflect the
changing security environment" and "need to pay attention to

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modernization of military capabilities in the region."

It is clear that not only North Korea but also China are included in
such apprehension, though they are not named. The 2+2 Joint
Statement of 2007 mentions the need to "encourage China to improve
transparency in its military affairs, and maintain consistency
between its stated policies and actions."

What about countermeasures?

The U.S.-Japan Roadmap for Realignment Implementation announced in
2006 notes that the realignment is comprehensive that includes not
only Marines in Okinawa but also the Army at Zama, a carrier-based
air wing at Atsugi, the Air Force at Yokota, and missile defense
(MD),while playing up a plan to maintain deterrence and
capabilities and reduce burdens on local communities, including
Okinawa.

The goal of Japan and the United States is to reduce frictions with
local communities and increase the U.S. military's combat power.
They certainly do not regard North Korea and China as their enemies.
The Guam relocation agreement is the new framework's first step for
Japan to survive along with China against the backdrop of the
drastically changing strategic environment in the Asia-Pacific
region of the 21st century.

The agreement offers domestic merits, as well. What is particularly
noteworthy is a plan for the U.S. military to return its bases south
of Kadena Air Base. Although large facilities and areas have been
returned to Japan in the past, lands of this scale have not been
returned recently. A local person concerned estimates that the
return of the bases will generate economic benefits worth 870
billion yen.

Let us consider the matter in business terms. In the agreement,
Japan promised to pay up to 2.8 billion dollars, or 260 billion yen,
which is a lot of taxpayer money. At the same time, it is an iron
rule in the business world to pay a fair price for a valuable good
or service. Regarding the question of relocating Futenma Air
Station, a conclusion must be reached after discussing it thoroughly
in Japan.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, I think the Guam relocation pact is
quite a bargain internationally and domestically. The problem is
Diet deliberations on the pact. Needless to say, sharing risks and
costs is the essence of the Japan-U.S. alliance. The ability to run
the government of those parties that cannot agree to such an accord
would be questioned. Japan's future cannot be entrusted to lawmakers
who use security affairs as a political tool.

Kunihiko Miyake: Entered the Foreign Ministry in 1978 after
graduating from the University of Tokyo Law Faculty. Left the
ministry in 2005 after serving in such posts as first secretary at
the embassy in the U.S., First Middle East Division director,
Japan-U.S. Security Treaty Division director, minister at the
embassy in China, and Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau
counselor. Served as the prime minister's official residence liaison
officer in the Abe cabinet. Currently a Ritsumeikan University
visiting professor and AOI Group president. Age 55.

(5) Disruption by Sea Shepherd unforgivable: Obstructive activities
are crime, terrorism, Agriculture Minister Ishiba underscores

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Suisan Keizai Shimbun (Full)
February 12, 2009

Referring to the issue of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's
obstructive activities, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister
Shigeru Ishiba during a press conference after a cabinet meeting on
February 10 noted, "I realize such activities are crimes and acts of
terrorism. Our country is conducting an investigation in accordance
with the law. Obstructive activities are unforgivable for any
reason. We would like to determine how to respond to the matter,
including the clampdown of such activities."

Ishiba repeated: "Such acts of obstruction are unforgivable for any
reason. It is only natural for Japan to demand (that the concerned
country) deals with such activities in accordance with its laws and
ordinances and protect the lives and properties of the people of our
nation."

Director General Yamada files complaints with ministers of
Netherlands, Australia and U.S. on consecutive days

Fisheries Agency Director General Yamada on February 9-10 called to
the agency the ministers of countries connected with the Sea
Shepherd and filed a stern complaint against the dangerous act of
obstruction by the group, requesting them to clamp down on such
acts.

Yamada on the 9th called the ministers of the Netherlands, with
which the Steve Irwin used for the obstructive activities is
registered, Australia, where the ship makes port calls for
refueling, and the U.S., where the Sea Shepherd's headquarters is
located. He explained to the Dutch and Australian ministers a series
of dangerous activities carried out by the Steve Irwin, using video
images and photos. He then filed a strong complaint, noting, "We
must call this act a crime." Yamada demanded both ministers
implement a clampdown on obstructive activities by the Sea Shepherd
and take measures to prevent or constrain such activities in the
future.

The ministers who were called to the Fisheries Agency on the 9th
both replied that they would convey the request to their home
countries. Dutch Minister Gerald Michels said: "We recognize our
responsibility as a country with which the ship is registered. The
Dutch government made contact with the owner of the ship and some
others after the incident in December last year and called on them
to stop taking action that threatens maritime safety. We are now
trying to determine what happened in the incident this time."

Australian Minister Allan McKinnon replied: "The Australian
government condemns dangerous acts that threaten the safety of human
lives on the sea. It has called on all sources involved to make sure
that they undertake peaceful and responsible activities so as not to
worsen the situation. We will probably investigate the illegal act
of the Steve Irwin in compliance with our domestic law."

Director General Yamada on the 10th called Minister Counselor Robert
Cekuta and filed a request. It appears that a similar complaint was
filed, though the details have not been disclosed.

ZUMWALT