JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 02/10/10

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 000276 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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 02/10/10 INDEX: 1) Top headlines 2) Editorials Defense & security: 3) Gov't/ruling party team leaves for Guam today (Tokyo Shimbun) 4) Bill would expand application of base subsidies (Asahi) 5) Okada hopes for March release of report on secret nuclear accords (Asahi) Foreign relations: 6) Okada to assist Ozawa with U.S. trip (Asahi) 7) Foreign Minister Okada leaves for S. Korea today (Yomiuri) Politics: 8) Bill revising National Civil Service Law would establish Kantei leadership in personnel matters (Yomiuri) 9) Diet debate (Yomiuri) 10) PM says DPJ says coalition will continue even though DPJ now has Upper House majority (Sankei) 11) Edano chosen government revitalization minister (Tokyo Shimbun) 12) Ishikawa will not give up Diet seat or quit party (Yomiuri) 13) Ishikawa mulling quitting DPJ (Asahi) Economy: 13) Toyota to recall 430,000 vehicles (Yomiuri) 15) JAL confirms tie-up with American (Yomiuri) ARTICLES: 1) TOP HEADLINES Asahi: Toyota admits to defects in its vehicles Mainichi: Chinese historians call Tiananmen Square incident "political unrest," showing difference from Japanese view Yomiuri, Sankei & Akahata: Toyota to recall 430,000 vehicles worldwide Nikkei: Toshiba to build new chip-making plant at cost of 800 billion yen Tokyo Shimbun: Hatoyama to appoint Edano as administrative reform minister 2) EDITORIALS Asahi: (1) Failure of merger talks of beverage companies: Take up the challenge once again (2) Palestine: Do not forget Gaza's tragedy Mainichi: (1) Ozawa's news conference on remaining in post as DPJ secretary general: This is not the end of the story (2) Draft bill on postal reform: Purpose is unclear TOKYO 00000276 002 OF 008 Yomiuri: (1) Draft bill on postal reform: Avoid the re-expansion of government-sponsored financial services 
(2) Failure of merger talks of major beverage companies: Difference in corporate culture significant Nikkei: (1) Review of financial regulations should be based on reality (2) Ukraine goes back to being pro-Russia Sankei: (1) Ozawa's declaration of "innocence": Nothing but a show of defiance (2) Malpractice by Koito Industries: Malicious neglect of safety Tokyo Shimbun: (1) Business taking advantage of the poor: Outrageous that government support should generate huge profits (2) Ukraine: Hope for balanced national administration Akahata: (1) Politics and money: Why hesitate to ban corporate political donations? DEFENSE & SECURITY 3) Guam visit a journey of people with different dreams in the same bed TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) February 10, 2010 Members of the Okinawa Base Issues Review Committee, a joint panel of the government and the ruling parties, will leave Japan today for Guam to study where to relocate the U.S. military's Futenma airfield currently located in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture. The Social Democratic Party, which is aiming to move Futenma airfield out of Okinawa Prefecture or Japan, wants the Futenma airfield facility relocated to Guam. However, there are cautious arguments within the government from the perspective of maintaining deterrence. The Guam visit will be a journey of people having different dreams while sleeping in the same bed. Those participating in the Guam visit include Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yorihisa Matsuno; Tomoko Abe, chief of the SDP's policy board; and Mikio Shimoji, chief of the People's New Party's policy board. Tomorrow they will visit Andersen Air Force Base and other facilities and hold talks with U.S. military officials. The committee met yesterday and confirmed its Guam itinerary. At the same time, it also decided that the SDP and the PNP will introduce their respective relocation candidate sites when it meets on Feb. ¶17. Guam is to receive about 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa in accordance with a "roadmap" based on an agreement between the governments of Japan and the United States regarding the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. Guam's local communities are opposed to also accepting the functions of Futenma airfield. The government does not want the Futenma issue to have a negative impact on the roadmap, so in reality it wants the SDP to give up on TOKYO 00000276 003 OF 008 relocation to Guam after visiting the island. The government is taking the careful step of visiting Guam in order to forestall criticism from the SDP that it failed to coordinate sufficiently with the ruling parties. 4) Government to submit bill to expand application of military base subsidies ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) February 10, 2010 The government adopted in a cabinet meeting yesterday a bill to amend the law related to improving the living conditions in areas surrounding defense facilities. The law stipulates the subsidy system for municipalities hosting bases of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and U.S. forces in Japan. The government submitted the legislation to the Diet on the same day. During budget screening by the Government Revitalization Unit, the government was asked to make the usage of subsidies more flexible and convenient. As a result, the government bill would allow the municipalities to use the subsidies for medical services, community bus operations, and other services. 5) Okada: Secret nuclear pact report should be released in March ASAHI (Page 8) (Full) Eve., February 9, 2010 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, attending a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting this morning, stated: "At a meeting of United Nations Security Council leaders last September, I mentioned that Japan, as a moral responsibility, will have to take the lead in denuclearization. Based on this belief, I'm determined to firmly maintain the three nonnuclear principles." Hatoyama thus indicated that the government will maintain Japan's three nonnuclear principles of "not producing or possessing nuclear weapons and not allowing nuclear weapons into the country." Hatoyama made this comment in reply to a question asked by Hideo Hiraoka, a House of Representatives member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan. Concerning the existence of secret nuclear pacts between Japan and the United States, the Foreign Ministry conducted an investigation of facts in response to Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada's instructions and the ministry wound up the investigation last November. The ministry, in its fact-finding report, will unveil Japanese government documents that confirm the existence of documents that substantiate the arcane deals, the Asahi Shimbun has reported. The ministry will release its findings after an advisory panel of experts has verified the facts. Okada stated: "I hope the results of (the expert panel's) verification will be released in March. Also, I'd like to produce a report on the third party's interpretation of facts and (analysis of) historical backdrop (in addition to the ministry's fact-finding report)." FOREIGN RELATIONS 6) Foreign Minister Okada: If Ozawa decides to visit U.S., I will TOKYO 00000276 004 OF 008 support him ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) February 10, 2010 Commenting at a press conference yesterday on U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell's request for Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to visit Washington in May, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said, "If the secretary general of the largest ruling party decides to visit the United States, I will support him." Asked by reporters about Ozawa's desire to meet with President Obama, Okada avoided commenting directly, saying, "I haven't heard any details about it." 7) Foreign Minister Okada to leave for South Korea today YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) February 10, 2010 Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada will leave for Seoul today to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart. He will meet on Feb. 11 with Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan and make a courtesy call on President Lee Myung-bak. In their foreign ministerial meeting, Okada and Yu are expected to agree to set up the third round of the Japan-South Korea Cultural Exchange Council, which comprises experts from the two countries. They will also reaffirm bilateral cooperation for an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks. POLITICS 8) Government presents draft bill to amend National Public Service Act to strengthen Kantei's power of appointment YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) February 10, 2010 The government presented to the Cabinet Office policy council on Feb. 9 its draft bill to amend the National Public Service Act. The main provisions of the bill include the creation of a new "cabinet personnel bureau" in the Cabinet Secretariat and a "list of candidates for senior officials" across ministerial boundaries to allow the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) to take the initiative in personnel appointments. The Public Prosecutors Office and a number of other bodies are exempted from these rules. The draft bill is scheduled to be approved by the cabinet on Feb. 12, aiming at implementation from April 1. The list of candidate senior officials will include senior bureaucrats and private citizens who applied for job openings offered to the public who are judged to be qualified by the chief cabinet secretary through a screening process. Basically, senior bureaucrats in the ministries will be appointed from this list. However, there is also a provision stating that in order to achieve appointments on merit, including moving officials across ministerial boundaries, by the cabinet as a whole, the prime minister and the chief cabinet secretary will hold prior consultations on appointments with the ministers. The vice minister, who is the top bureaucrat, is regarded to be "of the same grade in the organizational structure" as the bureau director general. It will now be able to demote a vice minister to bureau director general, and it is also possible to demote a bureau director general to a TOKYO 00000276 005 OF 008 department director general. Senior officials of the Public Prosecutors Office, the National Personnel Authority, the Board of Audit, and the National Police Agency are "exempted" from this unified personnel management under the list "in consideration of the specialized nature of their duties." Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano says that the new system "will ensure greater neutrality and independence." With regard to the Imperial Household Agency and the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, while the list will be utilized, prior consultations with the prime minister or the chief cabinet secretary will not be required. Even for the appointments of senior bureaucrats that do not come under the list, there will still be room to make political decisions through a cabinet resolution. However, since the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) once showed a confrontational attitude toward the prosecutors over the violation of the Political Funds Control Law by Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's fund management organization, the Rikuzan-kai, there is an opinion that the new bill "serves to dispel speculations that the DPJ plans to retaliate against the prosecutors through appointments." 9) Gist of interpellations at Lower House Budget Committee on February 9 YOMIURI (Page 13) (Excerpts) February 10, 2010 Local suffrage for permanent resident foreigners Sanae Takaichi (Liberal Democratic Party): Do you plan to grant local suffrage to permanent resident foreigners? Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama: There is still no consensus in the government. Since this is an issue relating to elections, all parties need to reach an agreement. We cannot push for this too forcefully. There are also issues relating to security. We are not yet in a position (to submit a bill) since the government has not drafted a plan. I do not think this requires a revision of the Constitution. Investigation of "secret agreements" Hideo Hiraoka (Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)): When will the experts' committee investigating the "secret agreements" between Japan and the U.S. issue a report? Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada: The investigation of the experts' committee is a thoroughgoing process, and committee members are actively conducting hearings from persons related to these agreements. I am not able to say for sure, but I am hoping that a report will be issued at an appropriate time in March. Official development assistance (ODA) Koichi Yamauchi (Your Party): The ODA budget has been reduced considerably. Hatoyama: Under the tight fiscal situation, we will only implement projects that are absolutely necessary. The budget focuses on Afghanistan, Africa, the environment, and other such issues. TOKYO 00000276 006 OF 008 Structural reforms Toshiaki Koizumi (DPJ): How would you assess the structural reforms of former Prime Minister Koizumi? State Minister for Financial Affairs Shizuka Kamei: They were meant to change the distribution of wealth and the industrial structure, but they did not result in an increase in the people's disposable income. If we do the opposite (of structural reforms),we can open up Japan's future. Okinawa's economic development Mikio Shimoji (People's New Party): Okinawa is in an economic crisis. Minister for Okinawa Affairs Seiji Maehara: The number of tourists visiting Okinawa, which had increased for seven consecutive years, declined last year. We will strive to attract tourists from foreign countries in addition to Japanese tourists. 10) PM Hatoyama: Three-party coalition to be maintained despite DPJ's control of majority in Upper House SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) February 10, 2010 The House of Councillors floor group consisting of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),the Shin-Ryokufukai, the People's New Party (PNP),and the New Party Nippon (NPN) submitted to Upper House President Satsuki Eda on Feb. 9 a notification on the accession to the DPJ of former Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member Kotaro Tamura. This floor group will now consist of 121 members, reaching a majority in the Upper House, not counting Eda (who normally does not take part in voting). Commenting on the fact that it will now be possible to pass bills without the cooperation of the Social Democratic Party (SDP),Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama stated on the evening of Feb. 9: "This is a coalition government, so we would like to continue to work with the SDP and the PNP in a good cooperative relationship," indicating that he intends to maintain the current coalition framework. With Tamura joining the DPJ-led floor group, following is the number of seats held by each floor group in the Upper House: DPJ, Shin-Ryokufukai, PNP, NPN - 121 LDP, Kaikaku Club - 82 New Komeito - 21 Japanese Communist Party - 7 SDP, Goken Rengo - 5 Independents - 6 11) Hatoyama to appoint Edano as administrative reform minister TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top Play) (Excerpts) Feb. 10, 2010 Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama decided yesterday to appoint Yukio Edano, 45, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) Policy Research Council, as administrative reform minister. Yoshito TOKYO 00000276 007 OF 008 Sengoku now holds the posts of administrative reform minister and national policy minister concurrently. Sengoku will devote himself to his duties as national policy minister from now on, according to government sources. Hatoyama will summon Edano to the Prime Minister's Official Residence this morning and an attestation ceremony will be held at the Imperial Palace. The appointment of Edano is intended to reduce the heavy workload of Sengoku. Edano led the sessions to identify wasteful government spending last fall. Based on his performance at that time, Hatoyama judged Edano to have adaptable skills. Amid falling public support for the administration due to fund-raising scandals involving himself and Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, Hatoyama also hopes to shore up his administration's standing by changing public sentiments. According to aides to Hatoyama, Ozawa has approved the appointment, but Hatoyama's selection of Edano, who distances himself from Ozawa, may affect the relationship between the cabinet and the DPJ. 12) Lawmaker Ishikawa neither to resign nor leave DPJ YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpt) February 10, 2010 Lower House member Tomohiro Ishikawa (36),who was indicted on a charge of allegedly violating the Political Funds Control Law in a land purchase made by Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's political funds management body "Rikuzan-kai," on Feb. 9 told a press conference in Obihiro City, Hokkaido, "I would like to discharge the responsibilities given to me." He thus clarified his stance of neither resigning as a lawmaker nor leaving the party. 13) Lawmaker Ishikawa likely to leave DPJ ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpt) February 10, 2010 Lower House member Tomohiro Ishikawa of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),elected from the Hokkaido Constituency No. 11, who was indicted on the charge of allegedly violating the Political Funds Control Law (false reporting of political funds) in a land purchase made by DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's fund management body, is now likely to leave the DPJ. Ishikawa consulted with close aides to Ozawa on his next course of action. He is expected to reach a final decision shortly. ECONOMY 14) Toyota to recall 430,000 vehicles globally YOMIURI (Top Play) (Lead paragraph) February 10, 2010 Toyota Motor Corp. informed the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry yesterday of a plan to recall about 220,000 cars in response to complaints about brakes in its four models of hybrid vehicle (HV),including the latest version of Prius. The company also notified authorities in the U.S. and Europe of a recall. Toyota will fix brake problems in a total of about 437,000 vehicles. When it was unveiled on Feb. 3 that Toyota had received complaints about TOKYO 00000276 008 OF 008 its vehicles' brakes, the automaker explained there was no problem with their safety. But the company decided to recall the models for reasons including an increase in complaints from users and the ministry's judgment that the vehicles might not conform to safety standards. 15) JAL, American Airlines to maintain alliance YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts) February 10, 2010 Japan Airlines (JAL),currently in the midst of court-protected corporate rehabilitation, formally announced on Feb. 9 that it would break off its tie-up talks with Delta Air Lines and maintain its business alliance with American Airlines. JAL and American Airlines will apply for antitrust immunity status (ATI) under the U.S. Antitrust Act with the U.S. government in mid-February so as to facilitate their joint operations on Pacific routes connecting Japan and the U.S. JAL's bankruptcy administrators' group, consisting of Chairman Kazuo Inamori and executives of the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC),unanimously adopted the decision on JAL's business partner and notified Delta of their decision to terminate the tie-up talks. The battle between the two U.S. carriers to become JAL's business partner, which surfaced in September 2009, has ended with JAL's decision to continue and strengthen its business tie-up with American Airlines, a member of the Oneworld airline alliance to which JAL also belongs. ROOS