JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 04/28/09

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E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 04/28/09 Index: 1) Aso Cabinet support rate at 28 PERCENT , a 7.4 point jump, in Fuji-Sankei poll (Sankei) Defense and security: 2) Basic Space Plan to include research on early-warning satellites (Mainichi) 3) Defense Ministry argues that introducing an early warning system would be enormously expensive (Mainichi) Nuclear diplomacy: 4) Foreign Minister Nakasone in policy speech addresses the nuclear security issue (Asahi) 5) Nakasone in speech calls for technological cooperation to dismantle nuclear weapons (Yomiuri) 6) Prime Minister Aso during meeting with Chinese leaders will announce 5 billion yen package of environmental cooperation aid to China (Sankei) Political agenda: 7) Prime Minister Aso hints at extending the Diet session, may postpone general election until well after the July Tokyo assemble election (Nikkei) 8) Opposition parties decide on all-out confrontation with the ruling parties in the Diet over the supplementary budget bill, hoping to force dissolution and election (Mainichi) 9) Questionnaire of 215 major companies finds 65 PERCENT see economy as worsening, but some see a few signs of hope, as well (Tokyo Shimbun) Swine flu epidemic: 10) Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito form task force on countermeasures against swine flu (Mainichi) 11) Local governments uncertain what to do about swine flu since central government has yet to issue clear instructions (Mainichi) 12) To prevent harmful rumors, MAFF conducts survey to find out voluntary restraint on selling pork (Mainichi) 9 Articles: 1) Poll: Cabinet support rate rises to 28 PERCENT SANKEI (Page 1) (Abridged) April 28, 2009 The Sankei Shimbun conducted a joint opinion poll with Fuji News Network (FNN) on April 25-26. In the poll, the rate of public support for Prime Minister Taro Aso rose 7.4 points from the last survey taken March 28-29 to 28.2 PERCENT and rebounded to the level in last December's survey (27.5 PERCENT ). In the public's preference of political parties for proportional representation in the next House of Representatives election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored 34.6 PERCENT , with the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) at 34.0 PERCENT . The LDP outstripped the DPJ for the first time since the Aso cabinet came into office, showing a clear trend of regaining party strength. In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the LDP stood at 29.2 PERCENT , up 1.7 points, and the DPJ at 21.5 PERCENT , TOKYO 00000970 002 OF 008 down 0.7 points. The gap between the two parties expanded to 7.7 points. The LDP topped the DPJ in the three consecutive polls since DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa's state-funded secretary was arrested March 3 for illicit political donations from a construction company. 2) Early warning satellite research incorporated in space plan MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged) April 28, 2009 Taku Nishikawa A special study group of the government's space development strategy taskforce yesterday worked out a draft of its space master plan as Japan's first national strategy in the area of space development and exploitation. In the security area, the draft master plan recommends setting about research in the direction of developing early warning satellites that can detect ballistic missile launches. In addition, the draft plan sets forth a positive stance of utilizing outer space for such activities as industrial development and national life. The space master plan is a five-year program looking ahead into about 10 years down the road and will be formulated under the Space Law that came into effect last August. The government will ask for public comments and will decide on it in late May. The draft plan advocates developing artificial satellites in nine areas, including earth environment monitoring, advanced information and telecommunications networking, and space science. Japan will launch 34 satellites, double the current number, in fiscal years from 2009 through 2013. The taskforce is currently in the process of consulting with the Finance Ministry for necessary funding and staffing, according to the draft plan. 3) Defense Ministry cautious about huge spending MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged) April 28, 2009 Yasushi Sengoku The government yesterday worked out a draft of its space master plan, incorporating its policy of pushing for research on early warning satellites. Japan has been depending on intelligence from U.S. early warning satellites for the detection of North Korea's ballistic missile launches, so lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are strongly insisting that Japan should have its own early warning satellites. Meanwhile, there are also cautious views from within the Defense Ministry since huge spending will be necessary. This will likely become a major point at issue for Japan's national defense program guidelines and midterm defense buildup plan to be revised late this year. 4) Nakasone unveils Japan's plan to host nuclear disarmament conference next year ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) April 28, 2009 Atsuko Tannai TOKYO 00000970 003 OF 008 Delivering a speech in Tokyo yesterday, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone unveiled the Japanese government's views about comprehensive nuclear disarmament. He expressed his strong support for U.S. President Barack Obama's policy of seeking a nuclear-free world and unveiled Japan's 11-point initiative to achieve that goal. He then announced Japan's plan to host an international conference on nuclear disarmament early next year. At the outset of the speech titled, "Conditions towards Zero," Nakasone touched on Obama's speech in Prague on April 5 and condemned North Korea for its missile launch that day. He called North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear development a "serious threat" to the international community. Regarding the envisioned international conference, Nakasone said: "The conference is aimed at boosting momentum for the international community to take concerted action to promote global nuclear disarmament" in preparation for success in the next review conference on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) next year. But he stopped short of presenting any specific ideas. In analyzing the situation over nuclear weapons, Nakasone expressed strong apprehension about China's moves, saying: "Its strategic policy direction remains murky, and it has yet to start reducing nuclear weapons. The nation has not disclosed information at all." 5) Nakasone reveals plan to offer technical cooperation for dismantling nuclear weapons YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) April 28, 2009 Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone revealed in a speech at a Tokyo Hotel yesterday Japan's plan to offer technical cooperation in verifying the disbandment of nuclear weapons as part of efforts to promote nuclear disarmament. He also announced that Japan would host an international conference possibly this fall on nuclear security to prevent nuclear materials from being stolen and illegally transferred. Further, the foreign minister expressed his strong support for U.S. President Barack Obama's policy revealed in his speech in Prague of pursuing universal nuclear disarmament. The foreign minister called on China to promote nuclear disarmament and to disclose the number of nuclear weapons it possesses. Nakasone announced Japan's plan to hold an international conference on nuclear disarmament early next year in preparation for a review conference on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in May next year. Toward the U.S., He said: "I expect the nation to swiftly ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the time of the NPT review conference." 6) Aso to pledge 5 billion yen in cooperation for China's environmental protection efforts SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) April 28, 2009 Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are expected to agree on a Japan-China comprehension plan on environmental protection and energy conservation during a meeting to be held when Aso visits China starting on April 29, according to informed sources yesterday. The Japanese government has earmarked approximately 5 billion yen in the fiscal 2009 budget to fund projects to help China rebuild facilities at coal thermal power plants and train engineers. TOKYO 00000970 004 OF 008 Japan also intends to technically assist China's efforts to protect the environment, focusing on such problems as loess and acid rain. While in Beijing on April 29-30, Aso will meet Wen on the afternoon of the 29th and President Hu Jintao on the afternoon of the 30th to exchange views on bilateral cooperation on such issues as developing gas fields in the East China Sea, food safety, including the food-poisoning cases in Japan by Chinese frozen dumplings, as well as the global economy and monetary market. In particular, environment and energy-conservation issues will take center stage in the meetings. In the comprehensive cooperation plan, the two governments intends to give priority to cooperation in such areas as water purification, antipollution, and waste disposal, in addition to improvement in coal thermal power plants. In the water area, the cooperation plan will include measures to promote cooperation in drainage projects in farm villages in China and to implement a lake-water purification project with the Chinese government. In the antipollution area, the plan will propose setting up a forum for bureau director-level officials of the two countries to discuss both countries' antipollution policies. China's consumption of oil doubled over the past decade. Eventually, China has emitted the world's second largest volume of carbon dioxide. The nation is now urged to serious address such tasks as improving its energy efficiency and protecting the environment. Furthermore, the problems of loess and acid rain are becoming more and more serious, as seen from the fact that about 18 PERCENT of China's land has become deserted. Loess has been blown by winds to Japan. Given such circumstances, Aso hopes to make use of the upcoming China visit as an opportunity for Japan and China to develop bilateral technical cooperation in the environment and energy-saving areas, Japan's strong fields. He expects such cooperation to become a symbol of a strategic mutually-beneficial relationship. 7) Lower House election after Tokyo assembly poll; Deliberations on extra budget start today; Aso hints at possibility of Diet session extension NIKKEI (Page2) (Excerpts) April 28, 2009 The Diet commences today deliberations on the fiscal 2009 extra budget, designed to cover an additional economic stimulus package, holding questioning sessions by party representatives in plenary sessions of the two Diet chambers. Prime Minister Taro Aso, who had taken a stance of not hesitating to dissolve the House of Representatives and calling a general election, yesterday hinted at the possibility of substantially extending the current Diet session beyond June 3, with an eye on a second overriding vote in the Lower House. There is a growing view in the ruling parties that the general election would be held after the July 12 Tokyo Metropolitan assembly election, since it would be difficult to dissolve the Lower House in May. Aso told reporters yesterday: "I don't think that if the House of Councillors refuses to pass the related bills, it would prevent the budget from being implemented. Even if such occurs, it is important to enact them." He indicated in his remark that he would give TOKYO 00000970 005 OF 008 priority to the passage of the extra budget and related bills. Aso is alert to the possibility of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) dragging out deliberations. Aso's basic strategy is to dissolve the Lower House after accumulating achievements once the extra budget and related bills clear the Diet. There is a risk that he will come under criticism if he dissolves the Lower House before the passage of the supplementary budget. A lengthy extension of the ongoing session that ends June 3 would enable the Lower House to readopt the extra budget and related bills in the middle of July, taking advantage of the constitutional 60-day rule, if they pass the Lower House in mid-May. Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori yesterday told Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, who was visiting Mori's office: "Although the cabinet support rate has risen, (Aso) should not ride on his luck." In an April poll conducted by the Nikkei and TV Tokyo, the approval rate for the Aso cabinet increased to 32 PERCENT , while the disapproval rate marked 59 PERCENT . Under such a situation, it is still difficult to take a risk. There is a rumor in the ruling coalition that the Lower House election would be called before the mid-August O-bon holiday break. If that is the case, there are two scenarios: 1) the Lower House to be dissolved on July 14, the official campaign to kick off on July 21, and the snap election to be held on August 2; and 2) Lower House dissolution on July 2, the start of the official campaign on July 28, and the election on August 9. The Emperor and the Empress will visit the United States and Canada on July 3-17. It is possible to dissolve the Lower House and kick off the official campaign during their absence, but such is unprecedented. The Nagasaki peace memorial ceremony will take place on August 9. If the two scenarios are missed, the general election will be held after the terms of the Lower House members expire. There is a possibility that the opposition camp will coordinate the timing of the passage of the extra budget, with the aim of holding the Lower House election and the Tokyo Metropolitan assembly poll the same day, which the ruling bloc wishes to avoid. If such happens, there will a scenario of the Lower House being dissolved on July 19, the official campaign kicking off on July 30, and the voting taking place on July 12. The New Komeito has often asked Aso not to set the Lower House election within one month before and after the Tokyo election. During that time, the New Komeito cannot support the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) election campaign. New Komeito leader Akihiro Ota met yesterday, too, with Aso in the Diet building. 8) LDP, New Komeito to set up task force team on swine flu; DPJ to hold session to hear from ministries MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) April 28, 2009 Yuko Tadokoro, Yu Koyama Following the international expansion of swine influenza, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner New Komeito will discuss today budgetary steps in their project team to deal with the new type flu. The project team, headed by former Health, TOKYO 00000970 006 OF 008 Labor and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki, will discuss budgetary steps for funding measures to cope with swine flu. Prior to this, the New Komeito held yesterday a first meeting of its swine flu task force headed by Chikara Sakaguchi, former health, labor and welfare minister. Sakaguchi said in the meeting: "Depending on developments, the swine flu issue might have an impact on the political situation. We must put all our efforts to prevent the swine flu from entering our country." The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) yesterday set up a swine flu task force office, headed by Policy Research Committee Chairman Masayuki Naoshima. The DPJ team held a first meeting yesterday in the Diet building. About 30 DPJ lawmakers received hearing from five ministries, including the Heath, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the Agriculture, the Foreign Ministry, and the Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. Naoshima pointed out: "The swine flu is spreading more rapidly than we expected." In the meeting, many participants raised such questions as how pork is imported and import ban standards. Upper House Steering Committee Chairman Takeo Nishioka revealed yesterday to the press corps that if the alert level was raised to level 4, whether Diet members should go abroad would be looked into. 9) Poll on 215 companies: Over 65 PERCENT think economy has deteriorated, less pessimistic than previous survey TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Excerpts) April 28, 2009 The Tokyo Shimbun conducted a survey on 215 major companies in the nation about the economy from mid-April through late April. About two-thirds of the companies said that the Japanese economy has deteriorated, indicating that many firms still have severe perceptions about the economy against the backdrop of sluggish exports and personal consumption. At the same time, over 30 percent of the companies said the economy has either bottomed out or leveled off, showing some improvement in business sentiment that was extremely pessimistic in the previous survey conducted late last year. Views were clearly split. A total of over 65 PERCENT of the companies said that the Japanese economy has slipped deeper into recession, with 44.9 PERCENT , the largest group, indicating that it has rapidly deteriorated and 20.6 PERCENT saying it has deteriorated moderately. Many companies pointed out Western economies, sluggish personal spending, and unstable exchange rates as matters of concern. Meanwhile, 23.8 PERCENT said that the economy has leveled off, 7.9 PERCENT indicated it has bottomed out, and 2.3 PERCENT said it is bottoming out. Making a simple comparison is not possible because questions were altered in the latest survey. Even so, the business community was less pessimistic than in the last survey in which 99 PERCENT were seeing the economy as sinking into recession. 10) Opposition to stand against government, ruling camp TOKYO 00000970 007 OF 008 MAINICHI (Page 5) (Excerpts) April 28, 2009 The Upper and Lower Houses will today hold interpellations by representatives from each political party in their plenary sessions regarding the supplementary budget for fiscal 2009. The Diet will now start deliberations on the extra budget. Prime Minister Taro Aso stressed: "I hope that the supplementary budget will be enacted as quickly as possible." However, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka criticized the government-sponsored extra budget, saying: "That is pork-barreling in the runup to the election." The largest opposition party intends to carry out a do-or-die resistance. Political maneuvering over deliberations on the extra budget has intensified between the ruling and opposition camps. In the DPJ, Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, Yamaoka, Deputy President Naoto Kan and Azuma Koshiishi, chairman of the DPJ caucus in the House of Councillors, yesterday discussed their response to the Diet. The DPJ leaders agreed to have the government to explain the budget on April 28 and to ask questions after the Golden Week holidays. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner New Komeito had initially stressed that under the present economic recession, the supplementary budget should be enacted as early as possible, calling for continuing deliberations on May 1 in an aim to have the extra budget clear the House of Representatives on May 8. With this scenario, LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Tadamori Oshima, who is close to Aso, was aiming to constrain the opposition by leaving the possibility of "dissolution in May." Due to the arrest of DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa's secretary over illegal donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co., the support rate for the Aso cabinet has risen and Aso is now wearing an expression of relief. In an LDP board meeting yesterday, Aso underscored: "I want to pass such important bills as the anti-piracy bill and a bill amending the National Pension Law," while expressing his eagerness for an early passage of the extra budget. While the DPJ is suffering a setback, there is a mood in the LDP for allowing Aso to put off the Lower House election. 11) Swine flu: Without clear instructions from central government, a municipality struggling to deal with returnee feeling sick MAINICHI (Page 25) (Abridged slightly) April 28, 2009 A certain municipality in western Japan is struggling to deal with a person feeling sick after returning from Mexico where swine flu has broken out. The person is not showing any symptoms of influenza. Although the local government has asked the central government, it has received no clear instructions. Anxieties are likely to linger on the administration's response. According to the municipality, the person in question has shown such symptoms as coughing, a sore throat, and a fever after returning from Mexico several days ago. It is unclear whether there is any connection with swine flu. The local government was asked over the phone for advice by the person in question who is showing symptoms that are lighter than the TOKYO 00000970 008 OF 008 symptoms typical of regular influenza. But because typical symptoms of swine influenza were unclear, the municipality was unable to make a decision. The municipal government asked the central government for instructions, but there was no clear reply. As a result, the local government has simply advised the person in question to refrain from going out. A source of the local government said: "We are monitoring the symptoms which are weak. I believe there are other municipalities that are finding it difficult to deal with similar cases." 12) To prevent harmful rumors, MAFF conducts survey to find out voluntary restraint on selling pork MAINICHI (Page 25) (Full) April 28, 2009 Tomomi Okuyama The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has begun a survey to find out if there are any supermarkets that are voluntarily restricting selling pork, with a sign saying, "We have stopped selling pork for safety reasons" in connection with swine flu. It is believed that there are only a few cases where pork from such countries as Mexico and the United States are being sold at supermarkets and other places. "One will not be infected with influenza from eating pork," MAFF stressed. Such a sign might spark harmful rumors. In the event such a sign is found, the ministry intends to instruct the store to remove it. The ministry also decided yesterday to ask the restaurant industry not to show any indications that could cause misunderstanding that one could be infected with swine flu from eating, such as removing dishes using Mexican pork from their menus. Matsuya Foods Co., the operator of a beef-bowl restaurant chain, has stopped serving dishes using Mexican pork. If such a situation continues, MAFF will consider making a request to the company individually. ZUMWALT