Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO39
2009-01-08 01:43:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 1/08/09

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #0039/01 0080143
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 080143Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9879
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
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//
RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 4083
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 1732
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 5519
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 9649
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 2292
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7105
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3122
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3170
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 000039 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR E, P, EB, EAP/J, EAP/P, EAP/PD, PA;
WHITE HOUSE/NSC/NEC; JUSTICE FOR STU CHEMTOB IN ANTI-TRUST DIVISION;
TREASURY/OASIA/IMI/JAPAN; DEPT PASS USTR/PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
SECDEF FOR JCS-J-5/JAPAN,
DASD/ISA/EAPR/JAPAN; DEPT PASS ELECTRONICALLY TO USDA
FAS/ITP FOR SCHROETER; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR;
CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA

SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 1/08/09

Index:
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 000039

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR E, P, EB, EAP/J, EAP/P, EAP/PD, PA;
WHITE HOUSE/NSC/NEC; JUSTICE FOR STU CHEMTOB IN ANTI-TRUST DIVISION;
TREASURY/OASIA/IMI/JAPAN; DEPT PASS USTR/PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
SECDEF FOR JCS-J-5/JAPAN,
DASD/ISA/EAPR/JAPAN; DEPT PASS ELECTRONICALLY TO USDA
FAS/ITP FOR SCHROETER; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR;
CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA

SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 1/08/09

Index:

1) Text of Ambassador Schieffer's Asahi (1/7) interview (Asahi)
2) Asahi editor on Ambassador Schieffer's remarks during interview
(Asahi)

Security affairs:
3) Ambassador Schieffer in Yomiuri interview urges Japan to
hurriedly join anti-piracy operations in waters off Somalia
(Yomiuri)
4) Text of Ambassador Schieffer's Yomiuri interview (Yomiuri)
5) Ruling parties set up a project team to study anti-piracy
measures (Yomiuri)
6) Anticipated new law for MSDF dispatch for anti-piracy duty would
ease weapons-use rules to allow firing in cases other than pure
self-defense (Asahi)
7) Ruling camp facing potential hurdle in setting up new law to deal
with pirates: New Komeito remains cautious about dispatch of MSDF
for such duty (Tokyo Shimbun)
8) Okinawa Governor Nakaima in Washington presses for prevention on
incidents by U.S. military personnel (Asahi)

9) Second supplementary budget that includes controversial
cash-handout scheme likely to pass the Lower House on Jan. 13
(Mainichi)
10) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) reveals policy platform to be
used in the upcoming Lower House election (Sankei)

Articles:

1) Main points of interview with U.S. Ambassador Schieffer: A
nuclear-free Korean Peninsula will be in every country's national
interests

ASAHI (Page 8) (Full)
January 7, 2009

Issue of abductions by North Korea

The United States understands the importance of the abduction issue.
In the end, North Korea, too, will come to realize that the key to
having relations with Japan is resolving the abduction issue.

I would advise the Obama administration to take the abduction issue
seriously. No one can remain unmoved after listening to Sakie

Yokota. Mr. Obama, who has two children, will understand this issue.
The Yokotas are extremely courageous and splendid parents. What
impressed me most deeply was walking along with them at the spot
where Megumi-san was abducted.

Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue

What should be first resolved in the Six-Party Talks is the nuclear
issue. Otherwise, the other issues cannot be settled. We continue to
tell North Korea that possessing nuclear weapons will be of no
benefit. Even though we have an action-for-action agreement, North
Korea is not fulfilling its commitment. It is unacceptable for North
Korea to possess nuclear weapons. A denuclearized Korean Peninsula
will be in the best interests of all concerned countries.

Japan-U.S. alliance


TOKYO 00000039 002 OF 010


The Bush-Koizumi era was the golden age of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
But with the Liberal Democratic Party losing the Upper House after
the pension issue was brought to light, the political situation
changed greatly. Japan is a great country. I don't want it to lose
confidence. I want it to fulfill its role in the world. (Democratic
Party of Japan) President Ichiro Ozawa said he would not meet with
foreign ambassadors. When I was ambassador to Australia, I
frequently met with the opposition camp's leaders. I would like Mr.
Ozawa to be more open to meeting the ambassador who succeeds me.
That would be in the best interests of both Mr. Ozawa and the U.S.

Relations with China

(Having a dialogue among the U.S., Japan and China) is a good idea.
The U.S.-Japan relationship is the key to the stability of Asia.
Neither the U.S. nor Japan should fear China. I don't think that the
U.S. will ever build the same kind of relationship with China as it
has with Japan. We should urge China to assume more responsibility
in the international community. The U.S.-Japan relationship is the
lynchpin of our Asia-Pacific foreign policy. I am sure the Obama
administration will understand that.

Financial crisis

There are many things that we can learn from Japan's experience
after the economic bubble burst. I would like Japan to give us
advice. If the economies of the U.S. and Japan further integrate,
the chances for success are increased. I urge the elimination of
trade barriers that lead to protectionism and the promotion of
competition. Japan must not lose confidence. It is vital that it as
a major power play a role in the global economy and international
security.

2) Listening to U.S. Ambassador to Japan Schieffer: Japan, don't
slip into obscurity; Raises alarm about inward-looking trend; Urges
building relations what include China

ASAHI (Page 8) (Full)
January 7, 2009

Editor in Chief Yoichi Funabashi

"Japan, I don't want you to lose self-confidence." That was the one
message U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer wanted to send to
Japan as he left his position.

Japan now has a tendency to turn inward as if it has forgotten it is
a power, which may mean that it has lost its self-confidence, and
Japan has yet to make clear what role it wants to play in the world,
for it is not fully showing what it can do. On these points,
America, as its ally, is worried about Japan. When one digests the
concerns expressed by the Ambassador, it seemed so. The
"inward-looking" tendency seems to be manifested by what might be
called Japan's almost having "left the stage" in supporting
stability in Afghanistan and in assisting the war on terror. The
Ambassador is not the only one who remembers with nostalgia the
golden era of the Bush-Koizumi days.

One might say, however, that this "golden age" probably should not
be regarded as the form that an alliance should take. The Koizumi
administration neglected Asia diplomacy. There is an illusion being
entertained that if ties with the U.S. are strengthened, Asia

TOKYO 00000039 003 OF 010


diplomacy will go well. As a result of such self-righteousness, the
government and ruling parties were completely flustered by progress
in U.S.-North Korea talks that excluded Japan, as well as by
U.S.-China talks. The result was a feeling of national isolation and
even worse, a growing feeling of dislike toward America.

The Ambassador said that what he had to rack his brains the most
about was how to keep Japan and the U.S. in step on the North Korea
nuclear issue and to get through the tangle of emotions involved.
Japan has felt uneasy about the slight gap in threat perception that
had grown up between it and the U.S. on such issues as
denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, maritime defense in the East
China Sea, and rising China. The U.S.' stance on the abduction issue
has become a symbolic barometer divining whether or not the U.S. has
"abandoned" its ally Japan. The Ambassador in Oct. 2007 went so far
as to send a special cable directly to President Bush asking that
the removal of North Korea from the U.S. government's list of states
sponsoring terrorism in order to avoid damaging Japan-U.S.
relations. One year later, the U.S. government removed North Korea
from the list. The Ambassador asked Japan for cool-headedness. He
pleaded with Japan to look at the North Korea nuclear issue and
national security in strategic terms.

One more appeal from the Ambassador was on the importance of forming
a multilateral framework for the Asia-Pacific region. He stressed
that in the Asia-Pacific from now "there is need not just for
bilateral alliances centered on the United States, but also a
multilateral framework that includes China." Here, in addition to
policy talks among Japan, the U.S. and South Korea, as well as
Japan, the U.S. and Australia, policy talks should also include one
more involving Japan, the U.S. and China. Although the Ambassador
recognized the importance of having policy talks among Japan, the
U.S. and China, he indicated that he visualized this as not having
the image of being triangular but being like a see-saw. The dynamics
would involve having a stable relationship with Japan and the U.S.
on the one side and China seated on the other side.

The Ambassador guaranteed that even in the Obama administration, the
importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance would not change. However, the
Ambassador once told a Japanese friend the following: "History is
repeated every time there is a change in administration in the U.S.,
the importance of Japan is always rediscovered. However, if things
continue as they are now, the process of rediscovering Japan under
the next administration will probably be ended. There is danger that
the U.S. will be overwhelmed by China, and that Japan will be put
off in the corner."

Ambassador Schieffer, who has served in Australia as well as Japan,
sees political parties in Japan using diplomacy as a political
football. Even finding the opportunity to meet Democratic Party of
Japan President Ozawa for the first time proved difficult. In
Australia, there is no problem for either the U.S. president or the
U.S. ambassador having separate meetings with opposition leaders.
But that is not the case in Japan. He urged mature politics from
both the ruling and opposition camps that does not use foreign
policy or security affairs as political tools.

3) Interview with U.S. Ambassador Schieffer to Japan: Urges Japan's
participation in anti-piracy operations

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
January 8, 2009

TOKYO 00000039 004 OF 010



U.S. Ambassador to Japan, who is about to leave his post following
the launching on January 20 of the new Obama administration in the
U.S., gave an interview on the 7th to the Yomiuri Shimbun at his
official residence in Tokyo. Concerning measures to cope with
pirates active in waters off Somalia, Africa, the Ambassador urged
Japan to hurriedly join the international effort, saying, "I do not
understand why it takes such a long time for Japan to protect its
own people and commercial ships from pirates.

Referring to anti-terrorist and public security measures in
Afghanistan, to which the new Obama administration will attach
importance, the Ambassador said, "Even if Japan cannot dispatch
Self-Defense Forces' troops due to the constitutional restriction,
it can make a contribution by dispatching civilians." He expressed
his hope that Japan would expand its contributions in such areas as
medical services, building water-supply and sewer systems and
election assistance. He also noted, "If Japan makes a list of
assistance activities it can do in Afghanistan, it would send a
powerful message to the next U.S. administration."

Regarding the North Korea issue, the Ambassador categorically said
that he would advise the Obama administration that it should give
priority to the abduction issue, noting, "It is most regrettable
that we failed to achieve more progress in the abduction issue."

Touching on Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa, the
Ambassador said, "I would like him to meet with my successor. It
would be to in the best interest of both the DPJ and U.S.-Japan
relations." He made this comment, based on a past incident, in which
Ozawa was reluctant to meet with the Ambassador over the issue of
the extension of the Indian Ocean refueling mission by the Maritime
Self-Defense Force. He indicated that in his view Ozawa should
deepen communications with the next U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Referring to the DPJ's opposition to the U.S. forces Futenma Air
Station relocation plan, on which the governments of Japan and the
U.S. had agreed, the Ambassador said, "I am afraid if the DPJ takes
over the reins of government rein, it might say, 'Let's start all
over again by throwing the agreement out the window. The U.S. did
not just reach an agreement only with the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) and the New Komeito."

4) Interview with U.S. Ambassador Schieffer: Asia's stability
depends on Japan-U.S. alliance

YOMIURI (Page 6) (Full)
January 8, 2009

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer responded to an interview
with the Yomiuri Shimbun yesterday.

-- What significance does the planned participation of the Maritime
Self-Defense Force (MSDF) in international anti-piracy efforts off
Somalia have to the U.S.?

That is important not for the U.S. but for Japan. It is hard to
believe there is a country that cannot protect its own people or
vessels from attacks by pirates. Some argue that Article 9 of the
Constitution makes the issue complicated, but pirates are stateless
criminals, although the argument would be convincing if our enemy
were a state. I can hardly understand why it takes so long for Japan

TOKYO 00000039 005 OF 010


to (decide to) protect its people from piracy?

-- What are your thoughts of Japan's contributions in Afghanistan?

Constitutional restrictions might stand in the way of Japan's plan
to send SDF troops, but Japan should be able to make contributions
through a civilian dispatch. There are many areas in which Japan can
render services, for instance, medical care, water supply, and
monitoring of elections. If Japan presents a list of assistance
operations that it could carry out in Afghanistan, in addition to
the MSDF's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, it would be a
powerful message to the incoming (Obama) administration.

-- What view do you have of Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
President Ozawa?

I hope Mr. Ozawa will meet my successor. Dialogue is beneficial for
the DPJ, as well as for Japan-U.S. relations. I am worried that the
Japan-U.S. alliance could be turned into "a political football,"
that is, a tool of political bargaining.

-- Even if a change of government takes place in Japan, do you think
the Futenma-relocation plan agreed on between the two countries
should be abided by?

That is right. Our negotiating partner was not the Liberal
Democratic Party and the New Komeito but the Japanese government. I
fear that the DPJ, once it assumes power, might say, 'let us throw
the accord out the window and start from scratch. I am anxious about
Japan becoming less confident as a result of the current political
confusion.

-- How about the abduction issue?

I am aware that Japan is concerned that it might be left behind (at
the six-party talks due to its stance of attaching importance to the
abduction issue). But I think that is not a possibility. Such evil
acts as abduction will never be tolerated. Needless to say about the
need of its recognizing the abductions, North Korea must clear up
the total picture of what had happened and have all the survivors to
Japan.

-- Will the Obama administration give priority to China over Japan?

There is no need to worry about it. Stability in Asia depends on the
solid Japan-U.S. alliance. I liken relations among the U.S., Japan
and China to a seesaw. A balance can be formed if the U.S. and Japan
sit on one side while China is on the other side. If Japan loses its
confidence in the U.S. and tries to adopt a policy of distancing
itself from the U.S., the three countries will be involved in a
three-cornered relationship and eventually be poorly balanced. Such
a case is dangerous both for Japan and the U.S.

-- What do you think are the greatest achievement and the most
vexing failure you made while in office as ambassador?

I am most disappointed at the lack of progress on the abduction
issue. I am proud of being able to strengthen the U.S.-Japan
alliance.

5) Ruling camp to set up anti-piracy project team


TOKYO 00000039 006 OF 010


YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
January 8, 2009

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito on January 7
held a meeting of their policy chiefs and decided to set up a
project team on measures against piracy. Former Defense Minister Gen
Nakatani will chair the envisaged panel. Security Affairs Division
chief Shigeki Sato will serve as a person in charge at the New
Komeito. The panel will hold its first meeting on January 9 to
confer on how to deal with piracy off Somalia in terms of both the
existing law and the enactment of a new law.

Prime Minister Aso on the evening of the 7th told reporters at the
Kantei: "No Japanese has been taken hostage at the moment. However,
such a possibility is high. It is important for the government to
look into what it can do." The government intends to submit a bill
tentatively called a piracy punishment enforcement law, which
focuses on regulating requirements for the use of weapons, to the
current Diet session. This is because many New Komeito members are
cautious about authorizing the firing of weapons at pirate vessels
in carrying out duties.

In the meantime, some in the Defense Ministry are cautious about
dispatching Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel, by issuing
defense action on the seas under the SDF Law, a measure now under
consideration as a stop-gap measure until the new law is enacted,
citing such reasons as that vessels to be protected are limited and
there are restrictions, such as the use of weapons. New Komeito
Secretary General Yamaguchi at the meeting warned against a view
that MSDF troops must be dispatched, in the belief that the Japan
Coast Guard should primarily be responsible for such a matter.

6) Government plans to relax weapons-use rules to deal with piracy;
New legislation designed to allow SDF to use weapons in other than
justifiable defense

ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly)
January 8, 2009

The government plans to submit anti-piracy legislation to the
current session of the Diet. The use of weapons has been limited to
justifiable defense and other instances for Self-Defense Force
troops on overseas missions. It has become clear, however, that the
government is considering easing the rules to allow the SDF to use
weapons for the purpose of cracking down on piracy. The step is
likely to craw criticism as opening the door for the use of force
overseas, which is prohibited under the Constitution.


According to the outline presented to the ruling bloc from the
government, the legislation is tentatively called the Law Concerning
Treatment of Acts of Piracy. The government has been studying the
option of sending the Maritime Self-Defense Force to deal with
piracy in waters off Somalia. As a result, the law specifies the
protection of foreign vessels, as well, indicating the need for
Japan to take measures under against acts of piracy against foreign
ships and foreign shipmen under domestic legislation. As an item to
be studied for deterring and clamping down on acts of piracy, the
legislation specifies such powers as the use of weapons, as
necessary in carrying out duties.

SDF troops on overseas missions were allowed to use weapons only in

TOKYO 00000039 007 OF 010


such cases as justifiable defense and emergency evacuations under
the UN Peacekeeping Operations Cooperation Law, the Antiterrorism
Special Measures Law, and the Iraq Reconstruction Special Measures
Law.

Once weapons are allowed to be used against acts of piracy, SDF
troops would be able to fire at the engine of another vessel to
bring it to a halt and do harm to crewmembers even if an SDF vessel
is not attacked.

The relaxation of the weapons-use rules against piracy is likely to
have an impact on the ongoing discussion on a permanent law
governing the overseas dispatch of the SDF.

7) New law on Somalia dispatch a tough nut to crack for ruling bloc

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged)
January 8, 2009

The Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito decided at their
responsible policy officers meeting yesterday to aim at establishing
a new law to deal with piracy in waters off Somalia in eastern
Africa. New Komeito Secretary General Kazuo Kitagawa, however,
indicated in the session that primarily, anti-piracy measures must
be taken by the Japan Coast Guard. The New Komeito is reluctant to
agree to the government and the LDP's plan to dispatch Maritime
Self-Defense Force vessels. The ruling bloc is now faced with
another difficult question.

The ruling bloc's project team met for the first time yesterday, and
decided to aim at producing a bill by the end of March.

Reversing its reluctance, the New Komeito has agreed to establish
new legislation. That is because Japan, too, is being urged to
improve its domestic law under the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea that calls for the cooperation of its signatories for curbing
piracy.

Kitagawa in a press conference yesterday acknowledged the need of
new legislation. At the same time, he said: "Deterring acts of
piracy is part of policing and it is a matter that concerns the
Criminal Code. So we must consider a provision in the Criminal Code.
That is an extremely huge theme concerning the improvement of
domestic legislation." Kitagawa repeatedly pointed to the dispatch
of the JCG, expressing reluctance to send MSDF vessels.

But in reality, sending JCG patrol boats all the way to waters off
Somalia seems difficult, and the LDP wants to push ahead with the
discussion on new legislation with an MSDF dispatch in mind.

Coordination of views between the LDP and New Komeito is likely to
encounter difficulties

8) Okinawa Gov. Nakaima in U.S. calls for prevention of incidents
involving U.S. service members, pointing out Okinawa public's
distrust

ASAHI (Page 33) (Full)
January 8, 2009

Takaki Doi, Washington


TOKYO 00000039 008 OF 010


Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, who is visiting the United States to
ask for the prevention of incidents and accidents by U.S. service
members, held talks with U.S. government officials responsible for
East Asian affairs, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Alexander Arvizu, at the State Department on the afternoon of Jan. 6
(before dawn Jan. 7, Japan time). In the sessions, Nakaima called
for tighter military discipline and the removal of the danger of
Futenma Air Station (in Ginowan, Okinawa). The governor plans to
stay in Washington until Jan. 11 to make similar requests to the
Department of Defense and Congressional members. This is Nakaima's
first visit to the United States as governor of Okinawa. He took
office over two years ago.

The meetings were held behind closed doors. A prefectural source
quoted Nakaima as saying: "U.S. bases in Okinawa form the nucleus of
the Japan-U.S. alliance. For the maintenance of the Japan-U.S.
security system, the excessive base burden on Okinawa must be
reduced." He also explained that in the period between Okinawa's
reversion to Japan in 1972 and the end of 2007, some 5,500 criminal
cases involving U.S. service members in the prefecture occurred and
that of them, 550 were heinous crimes, such as murders and
robberies.

Touching on an incident in which a U.S. Marine in Okinawa allegedly
assaulted a middle-school girl in February 2008, Nakaima said: "Such
an incident has added to the prefectural population's distrust in
the U.S. military. I would like to see the United States take
drastic preventive measures that can reduce the number of incidents
and accidents to zero."

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Arvizu was quoted by the same
source as saying in response: "Now that we were able to hear the
actual situation from you in detail, we would like to study the
matter thoroughly. President-elect Obama's transition team is in the
building, so your visit is timely. The transition team is highly
interested in the Okinawa issue and the importance of U.S.-Japan
relations."

9) Tug-of-war over passage on Jan. 13 of second extra budget

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Abridged slightly)
January 8, 2009

The House of Representatives' Budget Committee decided yesterday in
a board meeting to hold a basic question-and-answer session on the
second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 on Jan. 8-9 in the
presence of Prime Minister Taro Aso and all cabinet members. The
ruling coalition forwent passing the second extra budget on Jan. 9
and the budget will likely clear the Lower House on Jan. 13 or
after. The committee put off a discussion on the schedule for a vote
on the budget to a board meeting tomorrow. Bargaining between the
ruling and opposition will likely intensify over a passage of the
budget on Jan. 13, the date the ruling coalition considers the time
limit.

The ruling and opposition parties held a board meeting four times
yesterday to confer on a schedule for deliberations on the second
supplementary budget. Although the ruling coalition proposed
spending two days for the deliberations, the opposition demanded
five days. Consequently, Budget Committee Chairman Seijuro Eto of
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suggested that basic
interpellations be held on Jan. 8-9 and wrap-up interpellations and

TOKYO 00000039 009 OF 010


vote-taking on 13. Regarding the proposal for taking a vote on the
13th, the opposition has placed its decision on hold.

The LDP Diet Affairs Committee initially wanted to get the budget
through the Lower House on the 9th even holding a plenary session.
However, it later judged that it would be wise to avoid a full-blown
clash between the ruling and opposition camps ahead of deliberations
on bills related to the second extra budget and the fiscal 2009
state budget. It has yet to be decided on when to hold deliberations
on three budget-related bills.

However, in order for the House of Councillors to secure same the
number of days as the Lower House, the ruling coalition cannot give
up on its plan to take a vote on the extra budget on the 13th
because it intends to submit to the Diet on Jan. 19 the fiscal 2009
state budget. The probability is that if the voting is put off,
dissatisfaction will grow in the LDP. A senor LDP Diet Affairs
Committee member said: "We will take a vote on the 13th even by the
ruling parties alone."

10) DPJ's action plan for gaining a sole majority in next Lower
House election

SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
January 8, 2009

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) yesterday
revealed its policy action plan for fiscal 2009. The DPJ states in
the plan that 2009 will be the year for the party to fight to bring
about a change in government and that intends to prepare well for
the next election for the House of Representatives with victory in
mind. The party also stresses in the plan that it will win a sole
majority in the next Lower House election. The action plan will be
presented to an executive board meeting on Jan. 13 and adopted at
the party's convention on Jan. 18.

The title of the action plan is "Japan will change by a change in
government. Improving the livelihoods of the people is our top
priority." The subtitle is: "Protect jobs, people's livelihoods and
local communities."

The action plan states that under the leadership of President Ichiro
Ozawa, the DPJ will bring about a sound parliamentary democracy by
taking the reins of government; and that it will form a new
government based on the voices of the people and public confidence
and implement policies swiftly and decisively.

The largest opposition party also states in the action plan that it
will secure a sole majority in the next general election, which
means that it will not presuppose a coalition with the Social
Democratic Party (SDP) and People's New Party (PNP). The action plan
writes that in order for a victory in the general election, the DPJ
will concentrate on support for candidates who will likely win in
single-seat constituency races.

Gist of DPJ's action plan for FY2009

Implement the manifest titled "Top priority on people's
livelihoods."
Pursue the government's idleness to change the Diet and embody a
new Diet after grabbing the reins of government.
Secure a majority in the Lower House election

TOKYO 00000039 010 OF 010


Collect 270,000 rank and file party members and supporters to
create regional organizations.
Strengthen cooperation with Rengo (National Confederation of Trade
Unions) and obtain support from industrial associations that have
supported the Liberal Democratic Party.
Promote national movements to protect employment.
Publicize need for a change in government.
Concentrate on public relations before a change in government,
establish its fiscal condition.
Transmit the policies of the new government to the international
community.

SCHIEFFER