DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 04/28/09

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 000979 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 04/28/09 INDEX: (1) Nakasone strongly criticizes China for possessing nuclear weapons, urges it to fall in step with disarmament move by U.S. and Russia (Asahi) (2) Japan to cooperate with China's efforts to reduce effect of loess, cut CO2 emissions (Asahi) (3) Editorial: Discuss measures to reconstruct failed nation of Somalia (Asahi) (4) Think of statesmen making laws: Gen Nakatani and antipiracy legislation (Nikkei) (5) TOP HEADLINES (6) EDITORIALS (7) Prime Minister's schedule, April 27 (Nikkei) (8) Political Cartoons (Sankei, Tokyo Shimbun) ARTICLES: (1) Nakasone strongly criticizes China for possessing nuclear weapons, urges it to fall in step with disarmament move by U.S. and Russia ASAHI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) April 28, 2009 Atsuko Tannai Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone yesterday delivered a speech promoting nuclear disarmament. The foreign minister used unusually strong language to criticize China for modernizing its nuclear arsenal. Looming in the background is strong concern in Tokyo over the relative increase in the China nuclear threat at a time when momentum is building in the United States and Russia toward reducing inventories of nuclear warheads. In the speech, Nakasone presented Japan's strong resolve to "play the leading role in promoting global nuclear disarmament." He continued, "It goes without saying that the extended deterrence including nuclear deterrence under the Japan-U.S. security arrangements is of critical importance for Japan." Japan intends to seek a path toward nuclear disarmament based on its security environment. According to a ministry source, Nakasone began making preparations for the speech in late February or early March before President Barack Obama delivered his speech in Prague (on April 5) on moving toward a nuclear-free world. As a presidential candidate, Obama promised to aim toward the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. 
Since then, Nakasone anticipated that an opportunity would come for cooperation between Japan and the United States on nuclear disarmament. The foreign minister was critical of China a lack of information disclosure, noting, "China has yet to undertake any nuclear arms reduction. Nor has it disclosed any information about its nuclear arsenal." Nakasone continued: "It is necessary for China and other TOKYO 00000979 002 OF 007 nuclear weapons-possessing states to freeze the development of nuclear weapons and missiles and other delivery vehicles that would slow momentum toward nuclear disarmament." There was concern in the government about a possible harmful effect on the Japan-China summit scheduled to take place on April 29. But a Foreign Ministry official responsible for security affairs explained: "The United States and Russia could go ahead and reduce their nuclear arsenals, but it would be pointless if China were to increase its nuclear weapons. A cap must be put on China's nuclear military expansion." An official responsible for disarmament also commented: "The call on China, in addition to the United States and Russia, to reduce its nuclear arsenal has made the speech convincing." The United States and Russia possess 10,000 nuclear warheads in all. China is estimated to have nearly 200. Japan's foreign and defense experts have grave concerns over China's modernization of nuclear weapons, rapid development of rocket technology, and unclear strategic objectives. The speech underlined Japan's stance to enhance its past efforts as the sole victim of nuclear bombing. In support of measures taken by the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, co-chaired by former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, Nakasone also announced Japan's plan to host early next year an international conference on nuclear disarmament. Japan intends to demonstrate its presence in the international community as a promoter of nuclear disarmament. It is a fact, though, that Japan relies on America's nuclear umbrella. Nakasone presented Japan's pragmatic goal of improving its security environment by giving a boost to the current momentum toward nuclear disarmament. Proposals by Foreign Minister Nakasone Q Nuclear disarmament by all nuclear weapons-holding states ¶1. Leadership of and cooperation between the United States and Russia ¶2. Nuclear disarmament by China and other nuclear weapons-holding states ¶3. Transparency over nuclear arsenals and information disclosure ¶4. Irreversible nuclear disarmament ¶5. Study on future verification Q Measures to be taken by the entire international community ¶6. Bringing the CTBT into effect ¶7. Ban on production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes ¶8. Restrictions on ballistic missiles Q Measures to be taken for peaceful use of nuclear energy ¶9. International cooperation for civil nuclear energy ¶10. Enhancing IAEA safeguards -- Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements and the Model Additional Protocol ¶11. Prevention of nuclear terrorism TOKYO 00000979 003 OF 007 (2) Japan to cooperate with China's efforts to reduce effect of loess, cut CO2 emissions ASAHI (Page 7) (Full) April 28, 2009 Toru Higashioka Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will agree on a comprehensive cooperation plan on environmental protection and energy conservation when they meet in Beijing on April 29, according to informed sources. Under the plan, Japan will assist China's antipollution and waste-disposal efforts. The plan lists 15 problems in four areas to be tackled by the two countries on a priority basis, including loess and acid rain, which have also affected Japan seriously, and superannuated equipment at coal thermal power plants. According to a Japanese government source, Japan aims at advancing its cooperation to China, which is now saddled with serious environmental problems, in the environment and energy-saving areas, Japan's strong points, as a symbol of their strategic mutually-beneficial relationship. Japan also expects such cooperation will work to prompt China to participate in a new international framework following the 2012 expiration of the Kyoto Protocol by boosting Chinese people's awareness of the need to contain global warming. Japan intends to cooperate in renovating equipment at coal thermal power plants and developing human resources, as measures to contain global warming and enhance the safety of facilities. The government has decided to accept about 10,000 Chinese trainees in this fiscal year and provide guidance in China. Japan also will promote cooperation in drainage work in farm villages and launch joint projects to purify water, including lake water. To reduce nitrogen and phosphorus, which cause water contamination, Japan is willing to carry out joint research with China. Further, Japan intends to assist China in purifying the seriously polluted Bohai Gulf. To fight air pollution, Japan will assist China's research and technical development efforts on photochemical oxidant, loess, and acid rain. Japan will also transfer its technologies to reduce, recycle, and reuse waste. As part of efforts to spread antipollution measures across local areas, Japan and China have decided to hold the next round of the bilateral energy-conservation and environment forum in a rural city area in China and distribute a Chinese-version collection of Japan's superior energy-saving and other technologies there. To demonstrate the Japanese government's eagerness to tackle the environment issue, Aso is scheduled to visit on the 30th Shougang Steel Corp in suburb of Beijing, known as Capital Steel, in which Japan gave technical guidance regarding the effective use of heat energy and measures to prevent dust dispersion. (3) Editorial: Discuss measures to reconstruct failed nation of Somalia TOKYO 00000979 004 OF 007 ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) April 28, 2009 Japan and many other countries have dispatched warships to guard commercial vessels from possible attacks by pirates in waters off Somalia, Africa. Their efforts, however, are not sufficient enough to eliminate piracy in that region. The international community has finally begun to be aware that there can be no fundamental solution to the problem of piracy without effective international aid to deal with the chaotic situation in Somalia. Somalia, which is part of the so-called "Horn of Africa," faces important sea routes connecting the Middle East, Asia, and Europe through the Suez Canal. In the Cold War era, the war between Somalia and Ethiopia was a proxy war between the U.S. and Soviet Union, which were struggling for influence there. Ironically, the military junta, which had lasted more than 20 years, collapsed in 1991, after the end of the Cold War. The nation has since fallen into a state of anarchy and has become an amalgam of armed tribes fighting to defend their territories. The international community made efforts to improve the situation. Based on the ambitious idea that the U.S. must play an active role to establish peace in the post-cold war period, the UN dispatched American troops to Somalia as peacekeeping operations (PKO) forces in 1992. But counterattacks by armed forces were fierce, and shocking footage of a U.S. soldier's body mercilessly being dragged about was aired across the world. Following this, the dispatched troops were withdrawn from Somalia. Since then, Somalia has become a country with which the U.S. and many other countries have severed relations. The appearances of pirates represent the state of anarchy at sea. A provisional federal government was established through the intermediation of the UN and neighboring countries four years ago. The government settled disputes with some anti-government forces, and a new cabinet under a new president and a new prime minister was launched this year. This government controls only some part of the capital Muqdisho under the support of the African Union's PKO troops. Attacks or abductions of UN members by armed forces have still occurred, and the government has no power to crack down on piracy. In Somalia, 3.2 million citizens, 40 PERCENT of the population there, depend on food provided by the UN and other international institutions. There are 1.3 million refugees in the nation and 400,000 refugees from Somalia outside the nation. The provisional government is quite unreliable. It is certainly just a small bud for now, but the bud must be gradually nurtured. Based on this concept, the UN hosted a meeting of donor countries for Somalia this month. A number of countries, including Japan, participated in the meeting and pledged to offer a total of 25 billion yen to fund such assistance measures as training police officers. The UN Security Council has decided to look into setting up a UN PKO for Somalia by June. TOKYO 00000979 005 OF 007 The International Community must have more interest in the present state of Somalia. In this sense, it was significant that Foreign Minister Nakasone exchanged views with members of the provisional Somalia government last month. The stage for discussion on the government-sponsored antipiracy bill governing the dispatch of Maritime Self-Defense Force members has been moved to the House of Councillors. It is important to discuss details of such contentious issues as weapon-use standards and whether to require Diet approval, but it is even more essential to conduct discussion in the context of aid for Somalia in order to eliminate piracy. (4) Think of statesmen making laws: Gen Nakatani and antipiracy legislation NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) April 24, 2009 Gen Nakatani, 51, a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member, proposed to LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Tadamori Oshima, 62, that the antipiracy bill be revised. He told Oshima: "Don't you think prior Diet approval should be required for Self-Defense Forces (SDF) dispatch for an antipiracy mission?" Surprised at the remark by Nakatani, the chief director of the antipiracy special committee, Oshima said: "Absolutely not!" Nakatani had secretly carried out coordination (on the matter) even with directors from the main opposition Democratic Party (DPJ),but his proposal was turned down by Oshima. The DPJ has placed priority on the issue of prior Diet approval of an SDF dispatch. The ruling camp, however, had predicted that if it did not yield, only the DPJ would be left in the lurch. In a meeting of a nonpartisan parliamentary group, Nakatani said last year: "The DPJ can approve it if it is a special measures law." If so, Diet approval would be required every time when the SDF is dispatched. His colleague in the ruling camp said: "(Nakatani) tries to yield too much." During the Koizumi administration, Nakatani was the first former SDF officer to become Defense Agency chief. He handled the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law and national emergency legislation. People imagined him as a hawk politically and a hard-faced politician. But his real nature is somewhat different from his image. He was born to the founding family of a mid-sized construction company in Kochi Prefecture. His grandfather, Sadayori Nakatani, served as secretary general of Rikken Seiyukai (Friends of Constitutional Government),one of the main political parties in prewar Japan. Sadayori refused to join the Taisei Yokusankai (Imperial Rule Assistance Association) and he eventually retired from the political world. Nakatani, who aimed to be a politician when he was young, went on to the National Defense Academy, without consulting with his parents. He became unconscious during a Ranger unit drill. He also fell off a cliff. Nakatani later served as a secretary to Koichi Kato, 69, who has a strong liberal tint, and then to the late Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa. He has distanced himself from a group of lawmakers calling for a bold security posture. A senior Defense Ministry official, who served for Nakatani, made this comment on him: "(Nakatani) has an TOKYO 00000979 006 OF 007 ideal that the Diet is a venue to make laws through debate. He is a gentle person. He lacks the art of maneuvering deviously, as well as experience." Rear Admiral Koichiro Bansho, 51, who commanded the reconstruction assistance in Iraq, is a close friend of Nakatani. Bansho and Nakatani were in the same class at the National Defense Academy and at the SDF. Bansho said: "Nakatani is pure. It is difficult for him to become a sly person." Nakatani is aware that in the political world, being pure means having both positive and negative aspects. (5) TOP HEADLINES Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Sankei, and Tokyo Shimbun: WHO frontloads emergency meeting on swine flu, considering raising pandemic alert level; Infection confirmed in Europe Nikkei: Japan, China to agree on technological cooperation in developing next-generation cell-phones Akahata: Chairman Shii expresses party's determination to combat national and Tokyo maladministration (6) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) 10 trillion yen national budget: Country deeply in debt (2) Somalia piracy: Failed country must be rebuilt Mainichi: (1) Foreign Ministry Nakasone's speech: Japan must take the leadership in nuclear disarmament initiative (2) Supplementary budget: Keep in mind the risk of issuing government bonds Yomiuri: (1) Dual-use satellite system should be promoted (2) Government's worst economic outlook in postwar period must be overcome by the power of the private sector Nikkei: (1) Extra budget requires thorough Diet deliberations (2) Nakasone disarmament speech a message to the world Sankei: (1) Cabinet must fulfill its responsibility, including extra budget (2) Hitachi mislabeling scandal a damper on dissemination of eco-friendly home appliances Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Swine flu: Infection knows no borders (2) Prime Minister Aso's trip to China: Environmental cooperation helpful to dispel distrust Akahata: (1) Supplementary budget: Critical situation requires deep self-reflection (7) Prime Minister's schedule, April 27 TOKYO 00000979 007 OF 007 NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) April 28, 2009 08:23 Attended a meeting on anti-swine flu measures by cabinet ministers at the Kantei. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura stayed behind. 08:49 Attended a cabinet meeting. Environment Minister Saito stayed behind. 09:15 Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Konoike. 11:30 Met with Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Japan Trad. Followed by Lower House member Kagita. 13:02 Attended a Lower House plenary session. 13:22 Met New Komeito President Ota. 13:31 Attended an Upper House plenary session. 15:03 Attended a meeting of the Education Rebuilding Council at the Kantei. 16:11 Met Deputy Foreign Minister Sasae and Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director General Saiki, with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto present. 17:01 Attended an LDP executive meeting in the Diet Building. Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Oshima stayed behind. 17:32 Arrived at the Kantei. 18:16 Attended a meeting of Keizai Doyukai (Japanese Association of Corporate Executives) members at the Industry Club of Japan in Marunouchi. 18:51 Met with classmates in Gakushuin Elementary School at City Club of Tokyo, a club for members only, in Akasaka. 21:21 Returned to his official residence. ZUMWALT