DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/21/09

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 000918

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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/21/09

INDEX:

INDEX:

(1) Dissolution in May losing ground in LDP; New Komeito favors in
August or later [Yomiuri]

(2) U.S. proposes goal of nuclear-free world; Possibly intends to
strengthen deterrence, as well [Nikkei]

(3) LDP, New Komeito to submit basic bill on cutting greenhouse gas
emissions to current Diet session [Asahi]

(4) Hopes pinned on emissions trading: Environment minister reveals
economic policy [Asahi]

(5) Editorial: Eradicate bid-rigging by immediately revising
Antimonopoly Law [Nikkei]

(6) Calls for restrictions on hereditary Diet seats to become source
of contention [Nikkei]

ARTICLES:

(1) Dissolution in May losing ground in LDP; New Komeito favors in
August or later

YOMIURI (Page 4) (Excerpts)
April 21, 2009

When should the House of Representatives be dissolved? Political
maneuvering is still going on in the ruling camp. Although calls in
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for dissolution in May have died
down, some are still insisting on early dissolution. Meanwhile, the
New Komeito, which hates to see the next Lower House election set
close to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in July, has begun
calling for dissolution in August or later. Prime Minister Taro Aso
is struggling to maintain a freehand.

The New Komeito says that if the Lower House election were to be
held before the Tokyo assembly election, it should take place no
later than June 7. But in view of the timetable for Diet
deliberations, this scenario seems difficult. The LDP's coalition
partner has begun talking about in August or later. In fact, New
Komeito Secretary General Kazuo Kitagawa in a speech yesterday
clearly expressed his hope for the election in August or later,
citing the economic situation.

Some in the LDP have begun mentioning dissolving the Lower House in
mid-July for an election in early August. But because the Emperor is
scheduled to officially visit Canada and the United States from July
3 through 17, some think dissolving the Lower House during that
period is difficult.

(2) U.S. proposes goal of nuclear-free world; Possibly intends to
strengthen deterrence, as well

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
Evening, April 17, 2009

Tsuyoshi Sunohara


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U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that his administration
will aim at a world without nuclear weapons. Such a goal would have
been a fantasy during the Cold-War era. Such high ideals also offer
a glimpse into the United States' farsighted plan to take the lead
in nuclear arms reduction without abandoning its position as a
nuclear power.

In early 2007, a U.S. newspaper carried an article that drew the
attention of President Obama, who takes a strong interest in nuclear
disarmament. A set of proposals titled "Toward a Nuclear-Free World"
were authored by a group who included two former secretaries of
state, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, and former Secretary of
Defense William Perry.

In outline, the article called for: (1) a substantial reduction in
the nuclear war potential of nuclear powers; (2) elimination of
tactical nuclear arms deployed by the U.S. or Russia in friendly or
allied countries; (3) ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the United States; and (4) a total ban on the
production of nuclear fission materials for weapons.

As a result of consolidating views in the Obama camp based on the
article on nuclear disarmament, the idea of strengthening the
nuclear nonproliferation system has surfaced as a comprehensive
policy, according to a source connected to the Obama administration.
How to maintain America's nuclear capability in the future was a
point at issue.

At first the Obama camp looked into the possibility of introducing
the reliable replacement warhead (RRW). It is said that RRWs can be
developed without conducting a nuclear test and are technically
highly reliable. If the United States can introduce RRWs in exchange
for nuclear arms reduction, the country would be able to strengthen
its nuclear deterrence even after nuclear disarmament.

The U.S. military and the Republican conservatives are essentially
skeptical about reducing the total number of nuclear warheads
possessed by the United States and Russia to less than 1,000 at a
stroke and ratifying the CTBT. RRWs are a political bargaining chip
to contain such forces of resistance.

If things go as planned, the number of nuclear warheads possessed by
the United States and Russia can be reduced to several hundred.

Driving on without a stop, the United States would apply greater
pressure on such countries as Iran and North Korea to opt for
nuclear nonproliferation. At the same time, the United States would
advocate multilateral nuclear disarmament talks with other nuclear
powers including China. That was the Obama camp's original scenario
to realize a world without nuclear weapons.

Nevertheless, the prevailing view about RRWs, the pivot in this
concept, was that they go hand in hand with the Bush doctrine, under
which the U.S. would not hesitate to carry out preemptive strikes
against enemy countries. The U.S. Congress and the Democratic Party
put a stop to any appropriations for the development of RRWs.
Cautious views were dominant. President Obama decided to suspend the
development of RRWs in March, sending the new nuclear warhead debate
back to square one.

Based on such developments, Institute for Defense Analyses President
and former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Larry Welch

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said, "A plan has surfaced to develop a new nuclear warhead called
the RRR (reusable, replaceable and refurbish) warhead to replace the
RRW," as a new meeting point. By proposing the introduction of the
RRR warhead with an emphasis on the maintenance of existing nuclear
weapons, the Obama administration plans to announce that its
position is divorced from preemptive strikes using nuclear weapons.
It is a scenario to move one step closer to nuclear arms reduction
by changing its slogan, so to speak.

At present, it is unclear how the Obama administration will respond
to political maneuvering over the question of ratifying the CTBT and
the fate of the RRR. Japan pins high hopes on President Obama, who
has referred to the United States' moral responsibility as the only
nuclear power that has used a nuclear weapon. There is no doubt,
though, that there are many twists and turns lying ahead before a
nuclear-free world can be realized.

(3) LDP, New Komeito to submit basic bill on cutting greenhouse gas
emissions to current Diet session

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
April 21, 2009

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito have decided
to submit a basic bill designed to build and promote a low carbon
society (tentative name) as part of effort to propel measures to
combat global warming. They will draft the bill by May and showcase
it in the remaining half of the Diet session. Prime Minister Taro
Aso intends to set in June a mid-term goal of cutting greenhouse gas
emissions to be achieved by 2020. By submitting the basic bill as
well, he apparently wants to indicate that the government and the
ruling bloc are waging a united drive to implement measures to curb
global warming.

Chairman Takeshi Noda of the LDP Headquarters to Promote Measures to
Combat Greenhouse Gases and several others conveyed to the prime
minister their plan to submit the bill to the Diet as
lawmaker-initiated legislation. The prime minister agreed to the
plan. Noda told reporters that the legislation is also essential to
Japan's national strategy.

The ruling parties have yet to work out the specifics of the bill.
Their plan is to create a vision of a low carbon society through
methods such as establishing trends toward people moving away from
life-styles centered on late night activities and boosting the
popularity of energy-saving homes. They also plan to include the
responsibilities of the state, local governments, business operators
and residents for achieving those ends.

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) last year mapped out a basic
bill to combat global warming featuring a cut in greenhouse gas
emissions by 25% by 2020 in comparison with the 1990 level.
Considering possible effects on talks at the UN, which will move
into high gear towards the year's end, the ruling parties' bill is
unlikely to include a mid-term goal. There is a possibility of
revision talks with the opposition camp. If no agreement is reached
with the opposition parties, the ruling parties hope to pass the
bill into law on their own to utilize the passage of the bill as an
example of their achievements in campaigns for the next Lower House
election.

(4) Hopes pinned on emissions trading: Environment minister reveals

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economic policy

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
April 21, 2009

Environment Minister Saito on April 20 released a new vision titled
"Green Economy and Social Reform," a measure to buoy up the economy
that gives priority to environment conservation. This is, one can
say, a revision to the Japanese version of Green New Deal released
in January. As effective measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions,
the package includes a plan to look into introducing an environment
tax and a domestic emissions trading system.

The so-called Saito Vision also incorporates specifics of the growth
strategy, which Prime Minister Aso released early this month, such
as goals of making the environment-related market a 50 trillion yen
market by 2020 through solar energy generation and the dissemination
of electric cars, thereby creating 1.4 million jobs. The package
also includes the recycling of foods and the use of biomass energy.

The trial implementation of a domestic emissions trading system
started last year. The Vision indicates hopes that the system will
be introduced on a full scale, since moves to build an international
market are becoming active.

Concerning the environment tax, the package points out that the
environment market is expected to expand and become activated.
However, since coordination of views with the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry has yet to be made, the vision is attached with a
remark that it was compiled under the responsibility of the
environment minister.

(5) Editorial: Eradicate bid-rigging by immediately revising
Antimonopoly Law

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
April 21, 2009

Deliberations on a bill amending the Antimonopoly Law have started
in the current Diet session. The bill includes measures to broaden
the scope of acts subject to penalties in a bid to deter bid-rigging
or price cartels. In order to get corporate managers and responsible
employees to realize that acts that eat up tax money and damage
consumers' interests do not pay, the government must enact the bill
as soon as possible.

Discussion on tightening the Antimonopoly Law started three years
ago. An advisory panel to the chief cabinet secretary compiled a
report in 2007 calling for stiffer penalties on companies that
violate the law. In response, the government submitted a bill
amending the law to the ordinary Diet session in 2008, but the bill
was scrapped in December of the same year since no deliberations
were held between the ruling and opposition parties. The government
resubmitted the bill to the current Diet session. It is the
legislature's responsibility to enact the bill at an early date.

The amendments to the law include measures to enable the Fair Trade
Commission (FTC) to also levy administrative surcharges on: (1)
companies that attempt to block competitors' market access or shut
competitors out of the market by extreme lowering of prices; and (2)
companies that make use of their advantageous position and put
subcontractors or supplies at a disadvantage.

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This February, the FTC ordered a major music copyright group, known
as JASRAC, to end its usage fee collection practice, defining the
practice as obstructing other firms' market access and as
monopolistic. The revised legislation is expected to work
effectively prevent such acts that tend to be unnoticed by consumers
but hinder sound competition.

The FTC will also impose administrative surcharges on major
supermarkets that repeatedly cut prices unfairly with the aim of
driving out small retailers. Strict measures must be taken against
such violators, but the FTC also has to be careful about applying
the law so as not to undermine companies' cost-reduction efforts.

The draft revision also proposes hiking by 50% the administrative
surcharges on companies that urge other firms to take part in
bid-rigging or other improper practices. Meanwhile, it suggests that
the leniency system for whistle-blowers on their wrongdoings be
expanded and improved. This carrot-and-stick approach is expected to
make companies aware that bid-rigging or price cartels will not
pay.

The draft revision further includes stricter punitive measures.
Violators are now sentenced to a maximum prison term of three years
or a fine of up to 5 million yen, but it proposes extending the
maximum prison term to five years. We regard this as a proper
amendment.

However, on future options for the verdict-assessment system, under
which the FTC judges appeals against its punishment, the draft
revision just notes, "Study will be conducted within fiscal 2009."
The ruling and opposition parties are urged to hold an in-depth
discussion and reach a conclusion at an early date, from the
viewpoint of making the system more transparent and independent from
the FTC.

(6) Calls for restrictions on hereditary Diet seats to become source
of contention

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
April 21, 2009

While the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is preparing to
draft a manifesto (set of campaign pledges) for the next House of
Representatives, the handling of calls for restricting candidates to
run for the Diet seats held by their parents, grandparents or uncles
and aunts has now become a source of contention in the LDP. The
advocate of the restrictions of hereditary Diet seats is Yoshihide
Suga, an aide to Prime Minister Taro Aso and deputy chairman of the
LDP Election Strategy Council. Suga aims to implement the
restrictions from the Lower House election after the upcoming snap
election. Since LDP lawmakers who have considered handing over their
Diet seats to their sons are strongly reacting, internal
coordination will likely stall.

Suga expressed strong eagerness to bring about the restrictions of
the hereditary-seat system [seshusei]. He stated at a gathering
yesterday in Tokyo: "The more I meet strong reactions, the more I
have an incentive to go ahead." With an eye on including in the
manifesto a pledge to place the restrictions of hereditary seats, he
plans to set up a study group to discuss the matter after the Golden
Week holidays. An idea has emerged for setting a certain timeframe

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for restricting the family of a Diet member from running for the
same electoral district. The calls for restrictions on hereditary
seats are aimed to show the LDP's "reform stance" to unaffiliated
voters, who have their "allergy" to that practice. Another aim is to
seek to constrain moves in the LDP to remove Aso from office after
the fiscal 2009 extra budget clears the Diet.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who severely criticized Aso
in February for calling for a review of the postal privatization
program, has announced that his second son will run in the next
Lower House election for the seat he currently holds. Several former
LDP secretaries general, who have close ties to Koizumi, are now
looking into the possibility of letting their sons to take over
their seats in the future. A senior ruling coalition member said:
"The seshusei issue could be the biggest weakness of the anti-Aso
group advocating reforms."

Suga stressed at the gathering: "The LDP will not win the election,
unless it changes its nature."

The LDP will likely aim to bring about the restrictions of the
hereditary-seat system, by revising the party rules, not by setting
up a new law. This is because there is a possibility that such
restrictions might conflict with the freedom of the choice of an
occupation that the Constitution stipulates. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Takeo Kawamura during a press conference yesterday stated: "It is
considerably difficult to legally restrict [the seshusei]."

Britain's House of Commons, in which there are a few
second-generation members, restricts in effect the hereditary seats
by the rules of each party.

LDP members with hereditary Diet seats, who account for more than
one-third of all LDP lawmakers, are wary of the idea of restricting
the hereditary-seat system, thinking that such may lead to the
denial of the meaning of their existence. The fact that Suga has
been informally picked chair of a project team in charge of drafting
the manifesto is also irritating other LDP members. Objections were
presented in succession in an executive board meeting yesterday,
with Nobuteru Ishihara saying: "We should not look disapprovingly at
the hereditary-seat system."

ZUMWALT