DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/13/09-2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 000836 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 04/13/09-2 INDEX: (18) Lower House dissolution likely after enactment of extra budget (Asahi) (19) Taepodong and Japan (part 2): Hard-line policy, convictions, and calculations (Nikkei) (20) JCP Chairman Shii visits Okinawa to meet with Ishigaki Mayor Ohama and local residents; Vows not to allow highhandedness of U.S. military and construction of new base (Akahata) ARTICLES: (18) Lower House dissolution likely after enactment of extra budget ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) April 11, 2009 Giving a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office (Kantei) yesterday, Prime Minister Aso announced the government's new economic package (of measures to overcome the economic crisis), including a fiscal 2009 supplementary budget bill worth about 15 trillion yen. Aso said: "We will ask the opposition parties to support (the extra budget bill and related bills) and try to enact them at an early date." He emphasized his intention to give priority to enacting these economic bills, indicating that the dissolution of the House of Representatives would come after the supplementary budget is enacted. To surely enact the budget-related bills in the current Diet session, some ruling party members have begun to call for a substantial extension of the session, which is due to close on June 3. Aso explained why a large-scale supplementary budget is needed: "We will take every possible measure to seek peace of mind and economic growth. The ongoing crisis is at the largest scale ever, so it is necessary for the people to jointly make efforts to overcome the crisis." Comparing the government's package to the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) emergency package worth 20 trillion yen over the next two years, Aso said: "We have confidence in our package, in view of funding sources and other details. Our package will be far more effective." Asked when he intends to dissolve the Lower House, Aso just replied: "I think it is proper to show points at issue first and then seek the people's judgment. I will make a final judgment at an appropriate time." On the so-called dissolution through talks, that is, dissolving the Lower House after having the extra budget pass the Diet quickly with support from the opposition camp, the prime minister said: "I don't know what I should look for to dissolve the Diet through talks. Frankly speaking, I don't understand that idea well." Aso had indicated the possibility of dissolving the Lower House, even before the supplementary budget is enacted, if the opposition parties raise an objection. In the Liberal Democratic Party, however, the dominant view is that Lower House dissolution should be delayed to sometime after the extra budget passes the Diet, focusing on its largest scale. LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda said: "Once we submit an extra budget bill, we will aim to push the bill through the Diet. The relevant bills also should be enacted (in the current Diet session)." A senior New Komeito member said: "The TOKYO 00000836 002 OF 004 dissolution of the Diet is now far off." The government has decided to submit tax reform bills on April 27 to finance measures in the supplementary budget and to cover the revenue shortfall from the planned cut in the gift tax. It intends to start deliberations on these bills after the Golden Week holidays in May and have them clear the Lower House in mid-May. (19) Taepodong and Japan (part 2): Hard-line policy, convictions, and calculations NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) April 10, 2009 Prime Minister Taro Aso sneaked out of the Lower House plenary session hall into another room on the afternoon of April 7. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member Keiji Furuya (56) went straight to Aso and told him, "The Kantei's stance lacks punch." He asked the prime minister to include a blanket export ban against North Korea in the additional package to be adopted, following the firing of a Taepodong-2 missile by North Korea. Former Prime Minister SHINZO ABE (54),chairman of the LDP Abduction Issue Measures Special Committee, who was also present, nodded deeply in agreement. Aso called Furuya at midnight on the 8th, "I am sorry, but I have decided not to include the blanket ban in the package." Even so, Furuya remains firm in his belief that there talks with North Korea will never occur without pressure. Both Furuya and ABE graduated from Seikei High School and Seikei University. They at one time worked together as secretaries to late Shintaro Abe, the father of SHINZO Abe. Abe, who obtained public support for his firm stance on the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea, moved up the ladder of success, serving as LDP secretary general and chief cabinet secretary. ABE in 2006 took office as the youngest prime minister in the post-war period. However, following the devastating defeat in the Upper House election in 2007, he all of a sudden announced his decision to step down. ABE often says, "I have not had an election since I stepped down." This remark indicates his guilty conscious for dumping the administration on others to take over and thoughts that he cannot possibly end his career as is. Furuya inherited his uncle's electoral power base as his son-in-law and was elected six times. He had hardships, such as he was forced to leave the party temporarily, when he opposed postal privatization. He has not yet served as a cabinet minister. Among lawmakers elected in Gifu Prefecture, Seiko Noda (48) has already served as cabinet minister. Many lawmakers have heard Furuya complaining, "If I were shrewder, I would have served as cabinet minister once or even twice by now." He is spearheading hard-liners against North Korea. Some made a cool-headed comment on Furuya's words and deeds, noting that he is trying to go mainstream, using the missile issue." LDP members are in agreement in condemning the North. However, only 20 or so LDP members appeared in the Foreign Affairs Division's meeting held on the 6th, following the firing of the Taepodong 2. The party is somehow engulfed by a sense of fatigue over the North Korea issue, regarding which there are no signs that a settlement is in the works. TOKYO 00000836 003 OF 004 (20) JCP Chairman Shii visits Okinawa to meet with Ishigaki Mayor Ohama and local residents; Vows not to allow highhandedness of U.S. military and construction of new base ASAHATA (Top play) (Abridged slightly) April 12, 2009 While the Japan-U.S. agreement to move U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam is drawing much attention in the Japanese political world, Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Executive Committee Chairman Kazuo Shii visited Okinawa On April 11. On his first day in Okinawa, Shii visited the city of Ishigaki. Earlier, on April 3-5, local residents had fiercely protested the forcible visits of U.S. naval vessels to Ishigaki Port, a civilian port,. After touring the port, Shii met with Mayor Nagateru Ohama, who had spearheaded the anti-port call drive, and also exchanged views with local residents who had taken part in the drive. Flourished as a frontier town, Ishigaki is Japan's southern most city known for its nature and culture. Although a large number of islanders suffered tremendously from malaria during the war, the island has followed a peaceful path as an island with no U.S. bases throughout the postwar era. The two U.S. minesweepers' call at Ishigaki Port in the face of opposition from local residents led by Ohama has sparked fury in the island. Chairman Shii started off his meeting with Ohama at the city hall with the remark, "I pay my respects to the island-wide battle." Ohama explained that Ishigaki Port is one of the most crowded ports in the country and that he opposed the port calls to protect the port and the citizens as the administrator of the port. While expressing his gratitude to Shii, the mayor also said, "Owing to the citizens' power, we were able to demonstrate our strong will. I don't want to see U.S. naval vessels visit the port ever again." The mayor added: "During the war, one out of every seven or eight islanders died because of malaria. The citizens feel strong rage toward the war." Further, explaining that Ishigaki Island has been selected not only as Japan's best diving area but also as the world's No. 3 diving area, he emphatically said, "We don't need naval vessels here." In the meeting, the mayor also called for revisions to the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). In response, Shii indicated that the SOFA must be revived completely before the bilateral security treaty is abandoned. The chairman also described the port call by the U.S. naval vessels in defiance of opposition of the city of Ishigaki, which has declared itself as a peace-loving port, as utterly impermissible, adding that the government has acknowledged to respect the wishes of local governments even under the current SOFA. In the meeting with local citizens, Shii, clad in a laid-back Okinawa shirt, said: "I feel indignant at the port call by the U.S. naval vessels that trampled on your voices wishing to protect peace. We would like to work in a fashion completely linked to your three slogans of not allowing port calls by U.S. naval vessels, not allowing turning Ishigaki Port into a military port, and completely revising the SOFA." Shii concluded the meeting with local residents with this comment: "I was moved by your truly deep desire for peace. I am keenly aware that you are fighting to defend peace at all costs. I was moved by TOKYO 00000836 004 OF 004 Okinawa's heart and soul that truly love peace and Article 9 (of the Constitution). Let us join forces together so as not to allow the highhandedness of the U.S. military and the construction of a new base. We would like to spearhead the drive to bring about a new world where Japan has no military alliance and Okinawa has no bases." While in Okinawa, Shii was accompanied by JCP House of Representatives members Seiken Akamine and Norihisa Tamura and others representing the Kyushu-Okinawa proportional representation bloc. ZUMWALT