TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - NORTH KOREA AND U.S.

UNCLAS TOKYO 000672 SIPDIS STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - NORTH KOREA AND U.S. PLAN TO BUY BAD ASSETS ¶1. LEAD STORIES: Top stories on Thursday morning included a Sankei report claiming that North Korea has begun the work to place a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile on the launch pad in Musudan-ri. ¶2. "Japan Should Make Full Preparations for North Korea's 'Satellite' Launch" The liberal Mainichi editorialized (3/26): "... We need to continue our diplomatic efforts until the last minute to urge North Korea to exercise restraint. An upcoming U.S.-China summit and a trilateral six-party head of delegation meeting among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea would be important venues to make such efforts. However, a government is held responsible for making full preparations for any possible emergencies. Intercepting a missile heading to the U.S. by the missile defense system may constitute Japan's exercise of its right to collective self-defense. However, the move to shoot down the missile within Japanese territory will unlikely pose any problem." ¶3. "Expectations and Anxieties for USG Plan to Buy Bad Assets" The business-oriented Nikkei's editorial wrote (3/26): "The USG made the move to buy bad assets held by financial institutions. Progress was made, as the move addressed the fundamental problem of the current financial crisis. However, we should not let our guard down, as there are many obstacles to completely remove our anxieties about the financial system." ¶4. "U.S. Should Accelerate Purchase of Bad Assets" The moderate Yomiuri's editorial contended (3/26): "The financial crisis will never come to an end if U.S. financial institutions continue to hold a huge amount of bad assets. The negative spiral should be stopped as soon as possible... Regaining trust in government policies is most important. The USG should accelerate coordination with the Congress to prevent the AIG problem from worsening further. Whether the U.S. can remove the anxiety about the financial system holds the key. We hope the U.S. will take every step necessary to overcome the current crisis." ZUMWALT