JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 04/23/09

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 000942

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SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 04/23/09

Index:

1) Top headlines
2) Editorials
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule [Nikkei]

4) Prime Minister Aso while in office has decided not to visit
Yasukuni Shrine [Nikkei]

5) Former Secretary of State Kissinger meets Prime Minister Aso
[Mainichi]

Anti-piracy measures:
6) Talks collapse between camps over Diet involvement in SDF
dispatches for anti-piracy missions; Government to ram bill through
Lower House today [Asahi]
7) Democratic Party of Japan gives priority to unity of the
opposition bloc in deciding response to anti-piracy measure
[Nikkei]
8) 2.7 billion yen provided as aid to Somalia unaccounted for
[Tokyo Shimbun]

9) Official development assistance to the Middle East to be doubled,
with aim of helping nations hit by terrorism [Nikkei]

10) JAXA to be moved under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet Office
for such matters as space development, early warning satellites
[Sankei]

Political merry-go-round:
11) Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura blasted by LDP members for
saying that the timing of the next general election should give
consideration to New Komeito [Mainichi]
12) LDP's Ishihara wants campaign pledges (manifesto) to include
promise to increase taxes [Sankei]
13) Former DPJ President Okada wants Ozawa to step down as party
head if he cannot give a clear explanation of his secretary's arrest
taking corporate donations. [Sankei]

Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi:
Norinchukin Bank to book pretax loss of 620 billion yen in fiscal
2008

Mainichi:
IMF expects global economy to shrink 1.3% in 2009

Yomiuri:
Nara court orders hospital to award overtime pay for night and
holiday work to doctors

Nikkei:
Retailers expect sales of private-brand products to increase 35% in
fiscal 2009

Sankei:
JAXA to be transferred to Cabinet Office: Promotion of space
development expected


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Tokyo Shimbun:
Chiba mayor arrested over bribe

Akahata:
Temporary workers and others hold demonstration, calling on
government to protect jobs, businesses, livelihoods

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) Hitachi's misleading fridge ads: "Green buying" must not be
stopped
(2) Offering by prime minister to Yasukuni Shrine contrary to his
argument

Mainichi:
(1) Trade deficit: Support to strengthen competitiveness needed
(2) Inauguration of conference to create safe society: Aso's vision
invisible

Yomiuri:
(1) Set goal for when to resume Monju nuclear reactor
(2) Lawsuit over wages to obstetricians: The state of overwork must
be quickly improved

Nikkei:
(1) The use of government's recapitalization program must be
limited
(2) Japanese firms should craft strategy focusing on domestic demand
in Vietnam

Sankei:
(1) Urgently revise Oran Transplant Law
(2) Revised Industrial Revitalization Law: Specify' management
responsibility

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Aso should pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine in stately way
(2) Use national tests to improve class work

Akahata:
(1) Abolish antipiracy bill that would incur violent actions

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, April 22

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
April 23, 2009

09:02
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto at the Kantei.

10:01
Attended an Upper House plenary session.

11:26
Attended a party celebrating the completion of the JA Building in
Otemachi. Afterward chatted with JA-Zenchu Chairman Moki, followed
by MAFF Minister Ishiba.

13:30

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Met former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger at the Kantei, in the
presence of Fuji Television Chairman Hieda.

14:16
Met New Zealand's Parliament Speaker Smith.

15:12
Met former Prime Minister Abe. Afterward met Japan Prize winners,
concluding University of New Hampshire Professor Emeritus Meadows,
in the presence of Science and Technology Foundation of Japan
President Yoshikawa.

16:31
Met Public Security Intelligence Agency Director General Kitada.

17:35
Attended a Council for Overseas Economic Cooperation meeting.
Afterward met Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura.

18:33
Attended a Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy meeting. Finance
Minister Yosano and Matsumoto stayed on.

20:00
Dined at a Japanese restaurant in Kagurazaka with Cabinet Councilor
Sueyoshi and others.

21:57
Returned to his official residence.

4) Prime Minister Aso while in office will not pay homage at
Yasukuni Shrine

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
Eve., April 22, 2009

Prime Minister Taro Aso firmed up his intention today not to pay
homage at Yasukuni Shrine while he is in office. The aim is to avoid
politicizing the issue [prime minister's visiting the shrine]. With
China and South Korea in mind, he has given major diplomatic
consideration to his decision, one aide saying, "If the prime
minister pays homage there, it would not be taken as a private
visit."

5) Aso exchanges views with Kissinger

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
April 23, 2009

Ai Yokota

Prime Minister Taro Aso met with former U.S. Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, 85, at his office yesterday, and they exchanged
views for about 25 minutes on the North Korean issue, Japan-U.S.
relations and other matters. After the meeting, Kissinger told the
press: "(The prime minister and) I spoke of the need to remove the
threat that is caused by North Korean nuclear programs." He also
said this about the abduction issue: "I can sympathize with Japan's
position."

According to the Foreign Ministry, Kissinger is visiting Japan to
coincide with this year's meeting of the Trilateral Commission, to

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be held on April 25-26 in Tokyo, to discuss the financial crisis and
other matters.

6) Antipiracy talks break down

ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged)
April 23, 2009

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New
Komeito yesterday broke down in its talks with the leading
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) over DPJ-proposed
revisions to a government-introduced antipiracy bill, which is for a
new law to endorse the Maritime Self-Defense Force's deployment to
the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. They failed to compromise on the
Diet's role, one of the legislation's focal points. The House of
Representatives Antipiracy and Antiterrorism Special Committee will
meet today and will approve the bill as drafted by the government.
The bill will pass the House of Representatives in its plenary
sitting this afternoon. The DPJ will come up with an amendment, but
it is expected to be voted down.

After the breakdown, Prime Minister Aso told reporters yesterday
evening: "We'll have to ensure the position of those MSDF members
sent out there, and that's what we must consider most. I hope the
legislation will be enacted as soon as possible."

The revision talks focused primarily on the Diet's role. According
to the government-drafted bill, the government is to make a report
to the Diet for its ex post facto approval of its dispatch of the
Self-Defense Forces for overseas antipiracy activities and is to
make a report when the SDF's antipiracy activities are wound up. The
DPJ insisted that the government has to ask the Diet for approval
before sending out the SDF for overseas antipiracy activities.
However, the ruling coalition rejected the DPJ's proposal since the
bill could not be approved in the opposition-controlled House of
Councillors and the government may not be able to dispatch the SDF.
Gen Nakatani, an LDP lawmaker and a former director general of the
Defense Agency, now the Defense Ministry, showed a compromise
proposal to the opposition parties yesterday, indicating that the
Diet can call off the SDF's overseas deployment if both of its lower
and upper chambers decide to do so.

The Diet's role or involvement can be broken down into: 1) prior
approval; 2) ex post facto approval; and 3) parliamentary reporting.
Nakatani's compromise proposal was to vest 'veto power' in the Diet
without touching on prior and ex post facto approval. In the case of
prior approval, the government cannot send out the SDF if either of
the lower and upper houses rejects it. Unlike this, Nakatani's
proposal was that the government's SDF dispatch plan needs decisions
from both houses. Yoshio Hachiro, foreign minister in the DPJ's
shadow cabinet, stuck to "prior" approval. The gap was not closed.

7) Antipiracy bill to pass Lower House today; DPJ gives priority to
common front with other opposition parties; Ruling coalition remains
bullish

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
April 23, 2009

Talks on amending an antipiracy bill between the ruling coalition
and the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) broke down
yesterday. Giving priority to the common front with the Social

TOKYO 00000942 005 OF 009


Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP),which
oppose an easy compromise, the DPJ did not lower its hurdle. The
ruling bloc, too, gave up reaching an accord, concluding that in
order to hold intensive deliberations on the fiscal 2009
supplementary budget bill, the antipiracy bill's passage of the
House of the Representatives within this week was indispensable.
Eagerness for compromise was apparently absent from both sides.

The principal directors of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and
the DPJ of the Lower House Antipiracy Committee continued their
discussions yesterday afternoon. Around that time, DPJ Diet Affairs
Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka met the party's principal director
Yoshio Hachiro in a room in the Diet building and told him: "If a
compromise isn't reached, it's acceptable for us to respond to their
call for bringing the bill to a vote." Four hours later, the talks
ruptured and the decision to vote on April 23 on the
government-sponsored bill was finalized.

Prior Diet approval

The DPJ was unyielding on the issue of prior Diet approval of a
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) dispatch. The ruling bloc presented a
compromise plan that included a provision to allow a Diet resolution
to halt an SDF dispatch. But DPJ Policy Research Committee Chairman
Masayuki Naoshima ordered Hachiro and others not to reach an
agreement. The leadership had decided from the beginning not to
settle on anything less than prior approval.

Behind this stance lay the wishes of the SDP and the PNP. The SDP is
against any SDF dispatch and the PNP made requests about what
revisions the DPJ should demand. DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa
instructed the person in charge to handle the matter in a way the
three opposition parties could remain aligned with each other. This
forced the DPJ to give priority to the tripartite common front. At
the same time, in consideration of conservative members in the party
calling for the establishment of an antipiracy law, the party
leadership had to choose the difficult option of allowing the Lower
House to take a vote on the bill.

Many DPJ members in the opposition controlled-Upper House are of the
view that their party should oppose and dispose of any bill quickly
that might cause a rift in the party or among opposition parties.
Chances are high therefore that the bill will be brought to a vote
before the current Diet session closes on June 3. But uncertainties
still remain, such as the SDP insisting on protracting the
deliberations.

In preparation for the next Lower House election

The LDP's principal director Gen Nakatani held a press conference
after the talks collapsed yesterday in which he said: "We think the
original plan is the best." LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman
Tadamori Oshima told a New Komeito executive on the phone: "It was
good that the talks ended without making any revisions to the
bill."

Irrespective of the results of the revision talks, the ruling
coalition intended from the beginning to have Prime Minister Taro
Aso explain at the Diet the immediacy of the antipiracy legislation,
followed by a vote on the bill at the special committee later this
week and then the bill's passage by the Lower House. The ruling
coalition's bullish stance was underpinned by the belief that

TOKYO 00000942 006 OF 009


antipiracy measures were relatively easy to obtain public support
for, and that the enactment of the legislation would help increase
support for the achievements of the government and the ruling
coalition ahead of the next Lower House election.

8) Approximately 2.7 billion yen in aid for Somalia unaccounted for

TOKYO SHMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
April 23, 2009

In a meeting of the House of Representatives' Antipiracy Special
Committee yesterday, a lawmaker said that approximately 2.7 billion
yen Japan had disbursed for United Nations activities in Somalia
operations remained unaccounted for.

The statement of accounts for fiscal 1993, which has been kept by
the Foreign Ministry, notes that about 2.7 billion yen of the funds
disbursed to international economic cooperation organizations was
appropriated as assistance funds for Somalia. Based on the
statement, Social Democratic Party member Nobuto Hosaka pursued the
government on this issue.

The Foreign Ministry, however, was unable to make a clear reply,
with Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone only saying: "We would like
to make a report upon checking the details." The ministry has
started examining data of that time.

Hosaka assailed: "I guess that the money is unaccounted for,
probably because the Foreign Ministry allocated it on its own
judgment, with no Diet examination."

9) Government to double yen loans to Middle East in ODA priority
distribution policy

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full)
April 23, 2009

The government will announce for the first time starting in fiscal
2009 areas to which official development assistance (ODA) funds will
be provided on a priority basis. The draft of a report due out today
designates as priority assistance areas projects aimed at helping to
strengthen the economic growth potential of Asia, which has been hit
by the ongoing financial crisis, and to fight terrorism, including
assistance for Afghan reconstruction. Japan intends to boost yen
loans to the Middle East almost double that of the previous fiscal
year to 113 billion yen, and to Asia by 100 billion yen to 760
billion yen in fiscal 2009.

The government previously only announced records of ODA
disbursements at the end of a fiscal year after the funds were
provided, but many critics had pointed out that how the money was
use remained unclear. To make ODA spending more transparent and
efficient, the government has decided to announce a basic ODA policy
and region-specific distribution targets at the beginning of each
fiscal year.

U.S. President Barack Obama has already released a strategy to step
up efforts in both military and public welfare areas to stabilize
Afghanistan. Japan has also decided to double yen-loan disbursements
to the Middle East, an amount equivalent to more than one tenth of
the total amount. By helping improve people's livelihoods through
setting up infrastructure, the government hopes to strengthen

TOKYO 00000942 007 OF 009


cooperation with the U.S.

The draft also specifies priority distribution of funds to the
Palestinians with an eye on Middle East peace and to projects
related to reconstruction in Iraq. Through ODA assistance to Gulf
nations, the government aims to deepen relations with oil-producing
countries, as part of its efforts to promote energy security.

10) JAXA to be under Cabinet Office's wing

SANKEI (Top play) (Abridged)
April 23, 2009

The government decided yesterday to transfer the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency, or JAXA for short, to the Cabinet Office. JAXA
is currently under the wing of the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and carries out research and
development in the space aeronautics area. Japan's space development
has so far been limited to scientific purposes. However, the Space
Law came into effect in August 2008, paving the way to the expanded
use of outer space for security and industrial development. As it
stands, the government judged that MEXT would have its own limits to
oversee JAXA. With JAXA's transferral to the Cabinet Office, Japan
is expected to gear up for introducing early warning satellites,
which can detect missile launches, and heightening the performance
of intelligence-gathering satellites or de facto surveillance
satellites.

JAXA's transferral will be incorporated in a five-year space master
plan to be worked out in late May, and it will be set for fiscal

2010.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura has indicated that Japan's
space development would make rapid progress with JAXA's transferral.
"The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
alone is not enough to step up the functionality of space
development in industrial development, security, and all other
areas," Kawamura said yesterday in Tokyo. "The government is in
charge of this task, so it would be better for the Cabinet Office
and JAXA to team up with each other," he added.

JAXA's purpose is limited to "basic research" under the Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency Law. This point has been criticized
within the government and ruling parties for the lack of awareness
to cut costs and improve reliability for commercialization. The
government and ruling parties have therefore reviewed JAXA's
organizational modality in conformity with the law's supplementary
provisions.

11) Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura's comment criticized by ruling
and opposition parties, even though he retracts it

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
April 23, 2009

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, referring to the timing of
the next House of Representatives election, said yesterday: "What
the New Komeito says cannot be ignored," suggesting that the Lower
House not be dissolved around the July timeframe for the Tokyo
Metropolitan Assembly election. However, Kawamura's comment created
a stir in the ruling and opposition parties. From the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party (LDP),one member voiced criticism, saying: "Prime

TOKYO 00000942 008 OF 009


Minister's right to dissolve the Lower House would be tied." An
opposition member rebutted: "That's maneuvering for party
interests."

Kawamura said in a speech yesterday: "We have received a warning
(from the New Komeito) that if the Lower House is dissolved around
(the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election),it won't be able to
support the LDP's campaign for the general election." At a press
conference later in the day, he withdrew his earlier remarks,
saying:

"I made the remarks at a gathering of supporters for the LDP. In
order to make them understand easily, I cited an example. The prime
minister has the right to dissolve the Diet. He is now considering
it from all aspects."

Prime Minister Taro Aso yesterday told the press corps: "I always
give consideration to the New Komeito. However, I will never pick
the date for the election for the sake of the New Komeito."

In the LDP, a former cabinet member made this comment: "He made an
unnecessary remark. The prime minister holds the right on Lower
House dissolution."

Kawamura's comment drew a mixed reaction from the New Komeito. One
New Komeito member said: "I think it is a message that the Lower
House dissolution and the Tokyo election will not be close together.
A senior member, however, expressed unhappiness with the fact that
Kawamura described the party's request as 'a warning," noting: "His
comment sounds like our party was threatening the LDP." Secretary
General Kazuo Kitagawa said: "The right to dissolve the Lower House
is a sole prerogative of the prime minister. I don't remember giving
any warning."

Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary General Yukio
Hatoyama at a gathering yesterday in Yokohama said: "The chief
cabinet secretary giving consideration to the New Komeito means that
he is pursuing party interests. The Lower House should be dissolved
as quickly as possible."

12) LDP's Ishihara: Consumption tax hike in 2011 should be included
in manifesto for Lower House election

SANKEI (Page 5) (full)
April 23, 2009

Nobuteru Ishihara, senior deputy secretary general of the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),revealed yesterday his outlook that
the LDP would include in its manifesto (set of campaign pledges) for
the next House of Representatives election a pledge to increase the
consumption tax, probably in fiscal 2011. He gave this outlook in a
round-table discussion in Tokyo held by the People's Council to
Create a New Japan, which is made up of experts.

Ishihara stated there: "I think that measures to make up for the
deficit will be included , such as a consumption tax hike in fiscal
2011 after the economy recovers."

Referring to the fact that the distribution of the copies of the
manifesto is limited to such certain places as venues to deliver
speeches, Ishihara stressed that conditions should be eased further,
saying: "It is only natural that an environment should be created so

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that voters can refer to the manifesto."

13) DPJ's Okada: A change will be in government impossible unless
Ozawa accounts for donation scandal

SANKEI (Page 5) (Excerpts)
April 23, 2009

With his secretary having received illegal donations from Nishimatsu
Construction Co., the question of whether Democratic Party of Japan
(DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa will step down from his post has
continued to smolder in the main opposition party. DPJ Vice
President Katsuya Okada, whom many DPJ lawmakers anticipate will
become the next party head, has taken a wait-and-see approach,
although he is beginning to make more specific remarks about Ozawa.
There is a view in the party that in order to wipe away the negative
image of Ozawa, Okada, who has a clean image, is most suitable to
become the next party leader. Meanwhile, some DPJ members are
alarmed about his political stance, which is described as a kind of
fundamentalism. Okada's judgment is that now is not the right time
to take action to remove Ozawa from his post.

Okada delivered a speech yesterday in a Tokyo Hotel, in which he
strongly urged Ozawa to give a sufficient explanation about the
donation scandal involving Nishimatsu. He said:

"Under the situation where 60 to 70 percent of the public thinks
they cannot fully understand (Ozawa's) explanation, it is impossible
to bring about a change in government."

He also said: "The DPJ is now being tested. We must deal calmly with
the matter." He suggested that all party members unite to overcome
the negative impact of the scandal.

Okada's comment reflects a sense of crisis in the DPJ that if Ozawa
resigns as party head, the chance for the party to take power will
slip away. This feeling lies behind the mood in the party favoring
Okada as the one to replace Ozawa. A mid-level lawmaker said:

"Junior members in the House of Representatives are looking forward
to Okada's becoming the party head. Lawmakers coming from the former
Japan Socialist Party also favor Okada."

Okada has yet to actively campaign to succeed Ozawa because he does
not have his own group and has not used his personal influence on
the party. Okada's prediction is that if he becomes the LDP
president, he would be at a disadvantage, dependent on what actions
Deputy President Naoto Kan and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama
would take.

However, there are also many in the DPJ who are strongly alarmed
about Okada stepping into the presidency.

ZUMWALT