Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO443
2009-02-26 07:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/26/09

Tags:  OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA 
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PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #0443/01 0570744
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260744Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1080
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT 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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RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 4993
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RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 0457
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 3199
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7944
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3967
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3914
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 000443 

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 02/26/09

INDEX:

(1) Japan-U.S. summit: High expectations placed on Japan (Part
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 000443

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 02/26/09

INDEX:

(1) Japan-U.S. summit: High expectations placed on Japan (Part 1)
(Asahi)

(2) Interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Armitage: Inviting Japanese premier to Washington first reflects
Obama administration attaching importance to relations with Japan
(Asahi)

(3) Japan-U.S. summit held under adverse circumstances; Crisis tests
true worth of alliance (Nikkei)

(4) DPJ President Ozawa stresses need for relationship of equality
between Japan, U.S., if DPJ gets into power; U.S. 7th Fleet alone
would be sufficient (Tokyo Shimbun)

(5) Government to establish expert panel led by Yosano, not by
bureaucrats, to compile economic stimulus measures in March (Sankei)


ARTICLES:

(1) Japan-U.S. summit: High expectations placed on Japan (Part 1)

ASAHI (Page 2) (Full)
February 26, 2009

In part because of Washington's unprecedentedly prestigious
invitation to him, Prime Minister Taro Aso, sitting next to U.S.
President Barack Obama, showed a glimpse of confidence with his face
beaming with smiles. In the nation, though, Aso has been
significantly losing political ground. With the welcome "ceremony"
over, Aso will be tested over issues to be tackled in cooperation
with the U.S.

Aso in elated mood with prestigious invitation:

"This is a great honor for me as a Japanese person and also as an
Asian," Aso said to Obama in English, with reporters standing behind
them. He expressed his gratitude for the president's invitation of
him to the White House as his first foreign leader guest. He
appeared to be feeling proud as if he were there representing Asia.

After the 80-minute meeting with Obama, Aso told reporters
confidently: "President Obama gave me the impression that he is a

reliable leader with whom I can work hand-in-hand. Our talks were
rich in content." In the summit meeting, Aso introduced that railway
services with lower environmental load than other transport means
have been offered widely in Tokyo. Emphasizing that Japan's
high-speed rail technology is at a high level, Aso encouraged Obama
to introduce an (high-speed rail) system more widely in the U.S.,
saying: "The United States' car culture will change."

Prime Minister Aso began to seek an early summit meeting with
President Obama soon after Obama won the presidential election. In a
phone conversation on Jan. 29 held just after he assumed office, Aso
said at the outset: "Let us hold a meeting at an early date." The
government initially had in mind a summit meeting in late March, but
it jumped at the proposal (for a meeting on Feb. 24) made by
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited Japan, despite
only one week left for preparations and the date being a weekday

TOKYO 00000443 002 OF 006


during the Diet session.

He stayed in the U.S. for only 24 hours. The U.S. neither prepared a
joint document nor hosted lunch or dinner events for Aso. A joint
press conference was not arranged, either. But Chief Cabinet
Secretary Kawamura said in a press conference yesterday explained:
"Tokyo told Washington there was no need to arrange for any events
aside of the meeting," because the meeting was set for the day of
the president's first State of the Union address.

It was politically significant for Aso, who has faced low support
ratings and remains unable to turn the tables, to meet President
Obama, who is drawing international attention. A senior Foreign
Ministry official commented: "It is meaningful for the prime
minister to meet the president at the White House itself. Footage of
the summit meeting will be broadcast across the world."

A lawmaker in supportive of Aso expressed expectations that a
relationship of trust will be built between Aso and Obama, such as
both calling each other Barack and Taro, in the same way as former
Prime Minister Nakasone and former President Reagan calling each
other Ron and Yasu.

Obama did not make any tough requests to Aso, based on his style of
listening to the other side's views when they meet for the first
time.

On Afghanistan, Japan was not asked to dispatch Self-Defense Force
troops but instead, Obama expressed hopes for its cooperation in
Japan's strong area, assistance in improving people's livelihoods.
Obama did not ask Japan to buy U.S Treasury bonds, either.

Aso and Obama reiterated the need for the two countries to cooperate
in a wide range of areas, including the global economy, North Korea,
Afghanistan, and climate change, by further developing their
bilateral alliance. But specifics will be discussed from now. It is
to be seen to what extent the Aso administration with weak political
strength will take action.

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa commented: "It is
impossible for a prime minister who has lost public confidence to
conduct effective negotiations. I do not think the U.S. side
discussed matters with the prime minister seriously."

(2) Interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
Armitage: Inviting Japanese premier to Washington first reflects
Obama administration attaching importance to relations with Japan

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
February 26, 2009

Washington, Yoichi Kato

Asahi Shimbun in an interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State Armitage, who had exchanged views with Prime Minister Aso
over lunch on February 24, asked his view on the prime minister's
U.S. visit and the future of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

The Obama administration chose Japan as the first destination of
Secretary of State Clinton's overseas visits. It then invited the
Japanese prime minister to Washington as the first guest to visit
the White House. This is not just a message to Prime Minister Aso

TOKYO 00000443 003 OF 006


but to all Japanese people, as well as to Asian countries and
Americans, namely, that with Asia rising, relations with Japan are
most important for the U.S. Prime Minister Brown of Britain will be
the next guest to the White House. It means (the Obama
administration attaches importance to) Japan in Asia and Britain in
Europe.

Prime Minister Aso's U.S. visit was a success. It is probably more
meaningful for the two leaders just to have held talks rather than
to focus on the contents of what has been discussed. The two
countries will not be able to bring about a solid alliance unless a
healthy financial system and robust state finances are regained. It
is now widely understood that the environmental and climate-change
issues have become tantamount to security issues. What direction the
Chinese military will take in the future will also be a challenge
for both countries.

The worsening economy will have an impact on the strategic
environment in the Asia-Pacific region in the form of the rise of
economic nationalism, that is to say, the rise of protectionism.
Following economic nationalism, there could emerge a security
threat, which would be greater than the threat of economic
nationalism.

Another impact is that leaders of various countries will become
unable to envision the future over the mid- to long-term. One can
say that the same holds true to Japan-U.S. relations.

Whether the Asia-Pacific region will become unstable or not or at
which level the economy will hit bottom will depend on how China
fares. There is a possibility that if the Chinese economy slows
down, question would arise about the validity of the communist
party's rule.

(The Obama administration) wants to launch the work of expanding the
Japan-U.S. alliance beyond Asia, but it understands that this is a
time-consuming process.

(3) Japan-U.S. summit held under adverse circumstances; Crisis tests
true worth of alliance

NIKKEI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly)
February 26, 2009

Hiroshi Maruya, Fumiyoshi Indo, Washington

After the summit (on Feb. 24) between Prime Minister Taro Aso and
President Barack Obama, the White House issued a press release which
said: "The two leaders agreed to work closely and urgently, as the
world's leading economies, to seek concrete results from the April
London Economic Summit and through the G-8."

The press release concretely noted that the two leaders would work
closely to stimulate demand at home and abroad, to help other
countries respond to the global crisis, and to unfreeze credit
markets. Although the Japanese side did not clearly explained this
schedule, it told a sense of urgency of the Obama administration
that is struggling with economic crisis.

The G-8 Summit in July has been set by Aso and Obama as their
immediate goal. By then, President Obama intends to accelerate
efforts to resuscitate the economy, stabilize financial markets, and

TOKYO 00000443 004 OF 006


rescue the auto industry. President Obama seemed anguished as he
delivered a speech before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24
saying: "There will be no real recovery unless we clean up the
credit crisis."

To win support of some Republicans, the Obama administration was
forced to make major compromises in economic stimulus measures. If
measures are insufficient, markets are certain to apply relentless
pressure. Receiving Prime Minister Aso at the White House as the
first foreign leader, Obama brought up Japan as a great partner.
This showed the realism of the United States, which needs Japan's
cooperation in order to climb out of the crisis.

Japan is not the only country the United States is looking at.
Throughout her recent Asian tour that included China, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton did not conceal her expectations for countries
to continue to hold U.S. Treasury bonds.

As if he was aware of America's intent, Aso told reporters after his
meeting with Obama: "It is important to maintain confidence in the
dollar as a key currency." Japan is the world's second largest
economy and China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds. What
the Obama administration envisages is that Japan and the United
States would take the lead in engaging China in international
cooperation.

During the Democratic Clinton administration, Japan experienced
"Japan passing." With such an experience in mind, a senior
government official excitedly described the early Aso-Obama meeting
as "Japan first."

But the Obama administration's "Japan first" stance does not
necessarily mean putting Prime Minister Aso or the LDP
administration first. "The President invited the Japanese prime
minister, not Mr. Aso personally," a senior U.S. government official
said crisply.

In his meeting with Aso, Obama candidly said to his Japanese
counterpart: "The United States has been working hard. I would like
to see every country, especially large economies like Japan and
China, make efforts to increase (internal) demand." The United
States, which is struggling to turn around the economy, definitely
wants to see Japan implement policies speedily as its ally.

The Aso administration is suffering from dwindling support ratings
and the Ozawa-led Democratic Party of Japan is upholding a
confrontational stance with an eye on the next Lower House election.
What kind of answer is Japanese politics going to give? The July G-8
Summit is only four months away.

(4) DPJ President Ozawa stresses need for relationship of equality
between Japan, U.S., if DPJ gets into power; U.S. 7th Fleet alone
would be sufficient

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
February 26, 2009

Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa yesterday
criticized the summit between Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S.
President Barack Obama as lacking substance. Ozawa, at the same
time, emphasized that if the DPJ held the reins of government, it
would build a relationship of equality between Japan and the United

TOKYO 00000443 005 OF 006


States. His comment was aimed to underscore differences between a
DPJ government and the LDP-led government, which is "blindly
following" the U.S. policy lead. However, Ozawa's remark will likely
cause misunderstanding in the U.S. administration.

Ozawa severely criticized the Japan-U.S. summit, saying:

"It is impossible for the prime minister, who has lost the 70 to 80
percent of public trust, to promote effective diplomatic
negotiations. I don't think there were concrete achievements."

Ozawa also stated on how the presence of the U.S. forces in Japan
should be in the future:

"Once Japan determines to do on its own as much as possible what it
should be doing, it will become unnecessary for U.S. forces to be
stationed in Japan. I think the presence of U.S. Navy 7th Fleet
would be enough."

Ozawa indicted in his remark as if to say that the presence of U.S.
Army, Air Force and Marines would be unnecessary.

During his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well,
Ozawa stressed: "The Japan-U.S. alliance relationship should not be
a dependent relationship." Ozawa's position is that Japan should
play more of a military role in East Asia than now. He meant that
the Japan-U.S. alliance should be an equal partnership. Ozawa also
underscored: "Japan has to fulfill its responsibility more than
ever."

However, the United States may take Ozawa's remark to mean that he
aims to build up Japan as an independent defense power, emerging
from U.S. influence.

At a press conference yesterday, U.S. Consul General Kevin Maher
immediately criticized Ozawa's 7th Fleet comment. He stated: "The
security environment of Far East cannot be taken that lightly.
(Ozawa) does not understand the indispensability of the Air Force
and Marines."

The relationship between Ozawa and the United States formerly was
not bad including when he was serving as secretary general of the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Ozawa, however, strongly opposed the
Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.
Moreover, his recent remarks could raise eyebrows of the U.S. that
once a DPJ government comes into office, the relationship between
Japan and the United States would change.

One DPJ member said: "I don't understand the aim of his comment.
There is no need for him to make remarks that would tie our hands
after the party assumes the reins of power.

Some in the DPJ view that making clear differences between the LDP
administration and a DPJ government is good in campaigning for the
next general election. However, there is a strong mood of alarm in
the DPJ that this time he has gone too far.

(5) Government to establish expert panel led by Yosano, not by
bureaucrats, to compile economic stimulus measures in March

SANKEI (Top Play) (Full)
February 25, 2009

TOKYO 00000443 006 OF 006



The government on February 24 decided to set up an expert panel
tasked with looking into effective economic stimulus measures. The
aim is to tide over the crisis with flexible measures worked out by
business leaders, academics and opinion leaders, the judgment being
that there is a limit to what a conventional economic package worked
out at the initiative of bureaucrats can do. Minister of Finance,
State Minister for Financial Services and State Minister for
Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano has been serving as a
coordinator of the establishment of the envisioned panel. As such,
he will likely further increase his influence on the Aso cabinet.

Panel members will be picked before the end of the month, based on
the National Council on Social Security, launched during the Fukuda
cabinet. The first meeting will take place in early March at the
Kantei.

Following a preliminary figure for the gross domestic product (GDP)
for the October-December term of 2008 falling by an annualized 12.7
PERCENT , the government and the ruling parties have started looking
into yet another economic stimulus package in the run-up to the
compilation of the first supplementary budget for fiscal 2009.

With public support ratings for the Aso cabinet falling to the lower
10 PERCENT level in various polls, moves to oust him have emerged
in the Liberal Democratic Party. The opposition camp is strongly
calling for dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election after
passage of the fiscal 2009 budget.

Yosano during a TV Asahi talk show on the 22nd said: "Given the
figure of minus 12.7 PERCENT growth, I would like people to put on
their thinking caps. It is not until people from various fields,
such as business circles, the press and academia, agree to
collaborate can an effective economic stimulus package be worked
out.

Behind the launching of such an expert panel is the perception that
there is a limit these days as to what an economic stimulus package
centered on public works worked out by bureaucrats at Kasumigaseki
(Japan's bureaucratic center) can do. They are aware of the harmful
effect of bureaucratic sectionalism and administrative constraints.

Concerning economic stimulus measures, Yosano at a meeting of the
Lower House Budget Committee on the 23rd said, "Whoever becomes
responsible for drafting economic stimulus measures, it is important
for all of us to consider what should be done." This statement can
be taken to indicate a possibility that the Aso cabinet cannot
implement a fresh set of stimulus measures. Some, therefore, take
the view that the expert panel, which has been prepared at the
initiative of Yosano, would be Yosano's study group, one that would
be eyeing a post-Aso political situation.

ZUMWALT