DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 01/19/10

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 000107 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 01/19/10 INDEX: (1) Editorial: Government must resolve Futenma issue and prevent Japan-U.S. Security Treaty from becoming irrelevant (Sankei) (2) Poll: Hatoyama cabinet, political parties (Asahi) ARTICLES: (1) Editorial: Government must resolve Futenma issue and prevent Japan-U.S. Security Treaty from becoming irrelevant SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) January 19, 2010 Today marks 50 years since Japan and the United States signed the revised current Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, replacing the former security treaty. On the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the security treaty, which is the foundation of the bilateral alliance, Japan and the U.S. should reconfirm the significance of their security treaty and aim to strengthen and develop the alliance relationship for the next 50 years. It is problematic that the U.S.-Japan alliance is facing an unprecedented crisis of becoming irrelevant under the Hatoyama administration, even though this is an important year for the two countries. The plans for the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan that were intended make the U.S. military presence more attuned to the international environment in the 21st century have gone adrift over Futenma relocation, and this has made communications between the top leaders impossible. Prime Minister Hatoyama must decide immediately to implement the existing Futenma relocation accord in order to rectify this situation and to put the planned alliance talks on the right track. In January 1960 then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi and President Dwight Eisenhower signed the existing security treaty, aimed at a more equal and fair alliance, incorporating the U.S.'s obligation to protect Japan, which was not included in the old treaty, and the necessity of talks between the two countries including prior consultations. June 2010 will mark the 50th anniversary of the execution of the revised Japan-U.S. security treaty. Both the security treaty signed in 1951 and the revised treaty have served as the foundation for the bilateral alliance. This year is extremely significant not only for Japan's security and the history of the alliance but also for the Japan-U.S. relationship in the future. In the past half century, Japan and the U.S. have cooperated to deal with such world crises as the Cold War, Gulf War, 9/11 terrorist attacks, and nuclear nonproliferation. The two countries played indispensable roles in the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. The bilateral alliance has also been a stabilizing factor for Japan's security. Due to North Korea's nuclear development and China's military buildup, the Japan-U.S. alliance is becoming increasing important and significant in the 21st century as well. TOKYO 00000107 002 OF 004 Nevertheless, the Hatoyama administration has put off making a decision on the Futenma issue and terminated the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 15, disappointing the U.S., Pakistan, and other countries. As Japan has begun leaning toward China, the U.S. government has become increasingly distrustful of Japan in terms of the strategic relationship among Japan, the U.S. and China. In the recent foreign ministerial meeting, Tokyo and Washington made a token agreement to start talks on deepening the bilateral alliance. However, it is unclear when they will be able to initiate substantive talks on how Japan should contribute to the international community and how the two countries should cooperate in strengthening deterrence. The situation is still up in the air. Taiwan and Southeast Asian nations have also apparently expressed concern about the present condition of the Japan-U.S. alliance. Hatoyama must place top priority on settling the Futenma issue to prevent the alliance relationship from becoming irrelevant. (2) Poll: Hatoyama cabinet, political parties ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) January 19, 2010 Questions & Answers (Figures are percentages, rounded off. Figures in parentheses denote the results of the last survey, conducted Dec. 19-20.) Q: Do you support the Hatoyama cabinet? Yes 42 (48) No 41 (34) Q: Which political party do you support now? Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 36 (42) Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 16 (18) New Komeito (NK) 3 (2) Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2 (1) Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1 (1) Your Party (YP or Minna no To) 1 (1) People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 1 (0) Reform Club (RC or Kaikaku Kurabu) 0 (0) New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0 (0) Other political parties 0 (0) None 36 (31) No answer (N/A) + don't know (D/K) 4 (4) Q: There will be an election this summer for the House of Councillors. If you were to vote now, which political party or which political party's candidate would you like to vote for in your proportional representation blocs? DPJ 36 LDP 23 NK 3 JCP 3 SDP 2 YP 2 PNP 1 RC 0 TOKYO 00000107 003 OF 004 NPN 0 Other political parties 1 N/A+D/K 29 Q: The next question concerns the involvement of Prime Minister Hatoyama in his fund-managing body's falsification of political funds. Do you think Prime Minister Hatoyama should resign to take responsibility for this problem? Yes 30 No 59 Q: Prime Minister Hatoyama apologized for his fund-managing body's alleged falsification of political donations, explaining that he had entrusted everything to his secretary and that he did not know that his fund-managing body had been funded by his mother. Do you approve of this explanation? Yes 16 No 77 Q: The next question concerns the new fiscal year's budget. As a result of incorporating public pledges the DPJ made in campaigning for last year's general election for the House of Representatives, the general account budget totals 92 trillion yen, which is the largest ever, and the government will have to issue deficit-covering bonds to the extent of 44 trillion yen, which is also the largest ever. To what extent do you approve of this budget? (One choice only) Very much 1 Somewhat 35 Not very much 45 Not at all 14 Q: Do you think Prime Minister Hatoyama displayed leadership in last year's budget compilation? Yes 18 No 74 Q: To what extent do you approve of the Hatoyama cabinet's efforts for eliminating wasteful spending in the budget compilation this time? (One choice only) Very much 6 Somewhat 53 Not very much 30 Not at all 9 Q: Prime Minister Hatoyama has changed his ruling party's public pledge to abolish gasoline surcharges and has decided to impose the same amount of gas taxation as ever. Do you approve of continuing the gas surcharges? Yes 38 No 50 Q: The problem of DPJ Secretary General Ozawa's political funds has led to the arrests of Tomohiro Ishikawa, who was a secretary of DPJ Secretary General Ozawa and is now a DPJ lawmaker seated in the House of Representatives, and of two other former secretaries. Do TOKYO 00000107 004 OF 004 you approve of Mr. Ozawa's response to this problem so far? Yes 5 No 88 Q: Do you approve of Mr. Hatoyama's response to the problem of Mr. Ozawa's political funds so far? Yes 12 No 79 Q With regard to the problem of Mr. Ozawa's political funds, has your evaluation of the DPJ declined or remained the same? Declined 59 Remained the same 36 Q: Do you think Mr. Ozawa should resign from his party post to take responsibility for the problem? Yes 67 No 23 Q: The government plans to present to the Diet a bill allowing foreign nationals with permanent resident status in Japan to vote in local elections. Do you approve of vesting foreign nationals residing permanently in Japan with the right to vote in local elections? Yes 60 No 29 Polling methodology: The survey was conducted Jan. 16-17 over the telephone on a computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis. Respondents were chosen from among the nation's voting population on a three-stage random-sampling basis. Households with one or more eligible voters totaled 3,628. Valid answers were obtained from 2,182 persons (60 PERCENT ). ZUMWALT