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P 020804Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001976
SIPDIS
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 05//07
INDEX:
(1) Prime Minister Abe's trip of Middle East, focuses on soft
resource diplomacy
(2) Interview with METI Minister Akira Amari: Public, private
sectors should jointly engage in strategic negotiations on energy
resource security
(3) Enhance Japan's presence through fair approach
(4) F-22 flights total over 580; Commander says "noteworthy record";
Increased noise also stressed as "actual achievement"
(5) Coming up with global warming preventive measures is pressing
issue (part 2): Precariousness of reliance on emissions rights
trading; Bulk purchases of rights could hamper energy-conserving
efforts
(6) Yohei Kono should admit that the political decision on "comfort
women" was a mistake
ARTICLES:
(1) Prime Minister Abe's trip of Middle East, focuses on soft
resource diplomacy
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Excerpts)
May 2, 2007
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Middle Eastern countries is
apparently aimed at laying the groundwork to boost ties with oil
producing countries, as seen from 180 business leaders accompanying
him. Keeping in mind China and other countries now joining
competition for energy resources, Abe has taken a soft resource
diplomatic approach to establish mutual relations with these
countries by offering assistance for their efforts for industry
diversification and in the environment and education sectors.
Tour with 180 Keidanren members as showcase
About 180 business leaders are accompanying Prime Minister Abe. The
business delegation is composed of members of Nihon Keidanren (Japan
Business Federation) and chaired by its Chairman Fujio Mitarai.
Representatives from industries other than energy are also joining
the delegation, such as Mitsubishi-Tokyo UFJ Bank Chairman
Shigemitsu Miki; Supreme Advisor to Sony Corp. Nobuyuki Idei; Orix
Chairman Yoshihiko Miyauchi; Nomura Holdings Chairman Junichi Ujiie;
and Hitachi President Kazuo Furukawa.
Keidanren Vice Chairman Fumiaki Watari, Nippon Oil Corp. Chairman,
said in a business forum the delegation held in Saudi Arabia on the
evening of April 28, local time: "In order to upgrade industries in
Saudi Arabia, it is necessary to promote technical cooperation and
cultivate human resources. I think it is imperative (for Japan and
Saudi Arabia) to establish a strategic interdependent relationship
by making efforts to achieve these in a comprehensive way." In a
dinner party hosted by the king that night, Chairman Mitarai and
other business leaders were also invited, indicating Saudi Arabia's
hearty welcome. On April 29, the delegates held a forum in the
United Arab Emirates and exchanged views with representatives from
the government and local companies on technical cooperation. They
held a luncheon meeting in Qatar on May 1.
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
The Prime Minister's Office wants to make investment by private
firms as a showcase of its soft resource diplomacy, while companies
are eager to find business chances in Middle Eastern countries,
which are aiming to modernize their economies by emerging from
dependence only on oil. Both sides' motives coincided, and
eventually a large-scale delegation was formed.
(2) Interview with METI Minister Akira Amari: Public, private
sectors should jointly engage in strategic negotiations on energy
resource security
YOMIURI (Page 7) (Full)
April 30, 2007
Global competition for energy resources is heating up, reflecting
recent rising energy prices. Under such a situation, the Japanese
government and the private sector have jointly launched a resource
diplomacy.
-- What was the main purpose of your recent visits to Kazakhstan and
other Central Asian countries?
Kazakhstan has the second largest volume of uranium reserves in the
world. Among Japan's energy imports, the ratio of uranium remains
low. I would like to see imports of uranium increase. Kazakhstan
also possesses part of the nuclear-fuel technology it developed when
it was part of the former Soviet Union. In this area, too, Japan
will be able to cooperate with Kazakhstan, and it should be possible
for the two countries to establish a complementary relationship in
uranium fuel-cycle strategies.
-- Your recent visit was part of resource diplomacy aimed at
securing uranium?
In the competition for energy, the focus has shifted from oil to
uranium. Several years ago, some said, "There is plenty of uranium."
Now, though, there are an increasing number of nuclear power plants
across the world, bolstering competition for uranium. The fierce
competition has caused uranium prices to soar to a level 16 times
more than before.
-- What do you think of Japan's energy strategy?
In the past, Japan was able to change its strategy for short periods
of time in response to changes in current circumstances. For
instance, although Japan had regard oil as a strategic product, it
began to call it a market commodity. Now that oil-producing
countries have strengthened their hold over concession rights, Japan
considers oil as a strategic product again. The government has
prepared no medium to long-term strategy. That is why some
lawmakers, including me, have made efforts to enact the Basic Energy
Policy Law, offering the nation an energy strategy.
-- What role has the government played in securing energy
resources?
The private sector should be in charge, in principle, in procuring
resources, but matters do not always go smoothly only under the
influence of the private sector. So the government gradually has
begun to take a strategic approach. For instance, it has begun to
strategically link official development assistance (ODA) in order to
secure energy resources, as well as a to include a
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
resource-procurement provision in free trade agreements (FTAs).
-- As China and India are strengthening their economic presence,
competition for resources is intensifying. What response measures
has Japan taken?
There are two kinds of countries: Those eager to secure resources
overseas without regard to appearances, like China; and others
willing to act in compliance with international rules, like Japan.
On the provision of ODA funds to oil-producing countries, as well,
there are the rules set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD). To be sure, countries that act with a
gentlemanlike manner in accordance with rules are placed in a
disadvantageous position.
On the other hand, Japan has the advantage of its technological
power. It has the best technological capability to save energy in
the world. Japan can make use of its energy-saving technologies in
negotiations.
-- What is another strong point of Japan, besides energy-saving
technologies?
Japan has superior technologies related to nuclear power generation.
Japan constructed the largest number of nuclear power plants over
the past decade. Britain and Scandinavia have begun to review their
nuclear power policy. The United States and China have also put
their efforts into nuclear power generation. Many Japanese companies
now possess technology related to constructing nuclear power
plants.
In the Sakhalin-2 project to exploit oil and natural gas in Russia,
Japanese companies' were deprived of their concession rights. Do you
think the government should have been involved in the negotiations?
The government offered indirect support behind the scenes. It is
necessary for the government and the private sector to cooperate in
procuring energy resources. For example, if the government is
indirectly involved in projects through investment or trade
insurance, the government as an involved party will be given
authority to speak out. When two countries cooperate on nuclear
power, their governments are required to sign an agreement, so when
a problem occurs between the private sectors of both sides, the
governments will be able to offer a helping hand in resolving the
problem.
-- What response is Japan going to take to the recent moves among
oil producing countries to keep and develop resources existing in
their own countries?
Oil consuming countries should join hands. Japan, the US, China,
South Korea, and India held a meeting last December. They decided to
regularly hold meetings. These five countries consume almost half of
the oil used in the world by volume. If these countries come
together, they will be able to exert influence. If the five
cooperate to thoroughly promote the use of nuclear power and solar
energy, they will be able to say to oil-producing countries, "We no
longer need oil."
(3) Enhance Japan's presence through fair approach
Commentary by editorial committee member Hiroshi Fuse
TOKYO 00001976 004 OF 008
SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
May 2, 2007
Oil-producing Arab countries in the Persian Gulf area, which Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe has just visited, are called an "El Dorado
floating on oil." But even in the Middle East, there is huge
difference between Iraq and the Palestinian Authority, which can be
compared to a bloody wilderness, and the Gulf countries, which
project the image of having streets filled with gold and silver
treasures.
The oil-rich Gulf area has grown into the world's financial center.
The event symbolic of this phenomenon is that Halliburton Energy
Services, a leading US energy company, in mid-March announced a plan
to establish a new head office in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates
(UAE). Vice President Dick Cheney once served as the CEO of that
company. The decision to transfer the functions of the head office
abroad encapsulates the attractiveness of the Gulf area, which in
developing aspires to become the "capital of the world."
International competition over the Middle East's "El Dorado" is
becoming fierce. The prime minister has visited Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar. These countries either have royal
governments or are emirates and are traditionally pro-American.
Saudi Arabia, where the holy cities of Mecca and Medina are located,
detests socialism as being atheist. It was not until the 1990s that
the Saudis established diplomatic ties with the USSR and China.
However, China and Russia are now increasing their presence in the
Gulf area.
When Saudi Arabian King Abdallah in January last year made his first
foreign trip since assuming the throne, he chose China as the
destination. In response, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Saudi
Arabia to strengthen ties with it. The same year, Crown Prince
Sultan visited Japan. It is obvious that Saudi Arabia is attaching
more importance to its ties with China.
Russian President Putin visited the Gulf nations this February, and
South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun in March. Putin offered
cooperation to Saudi Arabia in such areas as nuclear power and
exploitation of outer space. Russia is considering establishing an
organization for natural gas exporting countries along with Iran and
Qatar.
China has established oil-drilling bases in Africa and Latin
America. Some call China's move the "new colonialism." The Shanghai
Cooperation Organization led by China and Russia is continuing to
grow, giving the impression that global multi-polarization is in
progress in the energy area.
In short, moves to court oil-producing countries are continuing with
an eye on the future depletion of oil resources. It is not easy for
Japan to get by in such an age. It is only natural thus for a major
delegation of members of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon
Keidanren) to join the prime minister in his visit to the Middle
East in order to establish multi-layered relationships with the Gulf
nations. The situation challenges Japan's resourcefulness, business
acumen, and mettle.
Having pride, Arabs tend to dislike blindly following other
countries. The Japanese government in 1973 adopted a pro-Arab Middle
East policy in 1973. However, Japan's once friendly relations with
Arab countries have declined since the start of the Iraq war in
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
2003. Criticism of Japan as blindly following the US has begun to
surface.
Now that the US' policy toward the Middle East apparently has
reached the end of the road, Japan needs to restore its image of
being a "fair country," by promoting a diplomacy based on its own
values. A pro-American Saudi Arabia at times confronts the US over
the Palestine problem or the Iraqi situation. That is because these
are issues that concern the stability of the Gulf nations.
"El Dorado" is not without its own problems. If Japan makes
cooperation with the US an immovable standard in dealing with
various issues concerning the Middle East, it will find it difficult
to enhance its presence in the Gulf area, as it tries to secure for
itself a stable oil supply.
mythical city of gold
(4) F-22 flights total over 580; Commander says "noteworthy record";
Increased noise also stressed as "actual achievement"
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full)
April 28, 2007
The F-22A Raptor, a state-of-the-art fighter jet of the US Air
Force, participated in Japan-US joint training exercises for the
first time. USAF Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, who commands the 27th
Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, an F-22 unit, responded to press
pool coverage at the US Kadena Air Base yesterday afternoon. Lt.
Col. Tolliver revealed that his F-22A Raptor unit has made more than
580 flights during its deployment to Okinawa from February this
year. "It's a noteworthy record for only 12 fighters." With this, he
boasted of the actual results of the flights.
There has been an increase in the frequency of aircraft noise around
the Kadena airbase since the F-22s arrived there. They came from
outside Okinawa for deployment despite the local community's
suffering from aircraft noise. Local communities in the base's
vicinity will likely be disgusted even more by the way fighter jets
have been deployed to the base.
"It was a very good opportunity to build alliance ties between Japan
and the United States," Lt. Col. Tolliver said about the joint
training. "I hope what the ASDF got out of it was great, too," he
added. Asked about future training plans, he said: "We have no plans
to conduct more joint training during the remaining period of our
stay in Okinawa. But in the future, I hope we can."
The 27th Fighter Squadron-currently deployed to Kadena-is the first
F-22 unit deployed overseas. "We've made more than 580 flights with
only 12 fighters," Lt. Col. Tolliver said. He also said, "We carried
out joint training with the US forces' F-15 and F-18 fighters and
Harrier attack fighters, and we were able to deepen our mutual
understanding." However, he said he has not been informed of
anything in detail about how long his F-22 unit will be deployed to
Okinawa, though he had heard his unit would be in Okinawa during
May.
Yesterday's joint training was conducted with the participation of
four F-15 fighters and four F-4 fighters from the ASDF and two F-15
fighters and two F-22 fighters from the US forces.
(5) Coming up with global warming preventive measures is pressing
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
issue (part 2): Precariousness of reliance on emissions rights
trading; Bulk purchases of rights could hamper energy-conserving
efforts
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Excerpts)
April 26, 2007
Staff members of the New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO) held negotiations with trading
companies early this year, entrusted by the government. "Can you
make it a little cheaper," one NEDO negotiator said during the
talks, which were held in a room at NEDO, located in Kawasaki City,
Kanagawa Prefecture. The article for sale was global warming gas
emissions rights owned by the companies. On April 13, the government
announced that it had signed contracts with five trading companies,
including Marubeni Corp. to purchase 6.38 million tons of emissions
rights.
More than 190 billion yen needed
The cost of the purchases of emissions rights is approximately 1,900
yen per ton. According to the government's initial plan, it plans to
cover 1.6% of the 6% reduction target with the purchases of such
rights. The estimate is that it would be necessary for it to
purchase approximately 100 million tons by 2012 at the cost of about
190 billion yen.
Chances are that the government may find it necessary to purchase
such rights more than the amount estimated in the original plan due
to the delay in reduction efforts at offices and households. The
government has secured about 40 billion yen for that purpose for
this fiscal year, more than three times the amount appropriated for
fiscal 2006. However, one senior government official said, "The
budget may not be sufficient."
The government had at first estimated that promoting forestation
would largely boost the absorption of global warming gases by
forests, enabling it to address the 6% reduction target. However,
forestation and tree thinning efforts have not made headway as
planned, giving rise to increased dependence on the purchases of
emissions rights trade.
The cost of the purchases of emissions rights is less than one-tenth
of the cost needed to cut the same amount of global warming gases
through the introduction of technical innovation and
energy-conserving facilities. The low cost is one of the attractive
points of emissions rights. Japan is rushing to obtain emissions
rights through joint effort between government and the private
sector due to dwindling room for domestic efforts for energy
conservation. The steel and electric industries have invested about
10 billion yen a year to cover the amount falling short of the
target. Banks and trading companies have made inroads into the
trading market with the aim of reselling such rights.
However, if the government and companies get used to the bulk
purchases of low-cost emissions rights and opt to obtain such rights
in an easy-going manner, it could put a dent on the motivation to
conserve energy consumption on the domestic front.
Opposition to proposal for setting up framework
Some members of the government's advisory council urged that a
strict method similar to that of the EU, which imposes an emissions
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
framework on each company and punishes those that have violated the
rule, should be adopted. This is a method of urging companies to cut
global warming gas emissions, combining strengthened rules and
emissions rights trading. However, the Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI) and the industrial sector are against the idea,
noting that if such a system were introduced, companies would
transfer their plants abroad to avoid strict rules, which could lead
to industrial hollowing-out. It will likely take time to reach a
consensus.
If Japan continues to rely on emissions rights trading without any
principles, it could delay the process of creating post-Kyoto
protocol rules. Yoichi Kaya, executive director of the Research
Center of Innovative Technology for the Earth, warned, "Emissions
rights trading would be effective in the immediate term. However,
making effort to shift energy resources is essential for a
fundamental solution." It is absolutely necessary for Japan to
determine the international situation over measures to deal with
global warming and the reality it is facing and then decide on its
policy quickly.
(6) Yohei Kono should admit that the political decision on "comfort
women" was a mistake
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
May 2, 2007
Shinzo Abe's first visit to the United States as prime minister was
taken as a trip for him to make an "apology" for the comfort women
issue. We wonder why the person who made the prime minister play
such a humiliating role refuses to talk about his own political
responsibility. That person is House of Representatives Speaker
Yohei Kono.
It is widely known that the Kono Statement was issued by a political
decision based on the request by South Korean authorities, who
insisted that the bilateral dispute over history would be resolved
if Japan admitted there was "coercion," without confirming whether
the government had actually coerced foreign women (to become comfort
women).
The comfort-women resolution submitted to the US House of
Representatives by Congressman Mike Honda was drafted based on the
Kono Statement. Should the Congress adopt the resolution, the
Japan-US relations will be immeasurably damaged, even though the
resolution is nonbinding. We were amazed when Mike Honda described
the comfort women the "largest example of human trafficking in the
20th century." Since Honda is now known throughout the world, he
will without a doubt be reelected. We see this as an odious saga of
a politician who has placed priority on holding on to his seat in
the Congress no matter how much he slanders another country.
Because of Prime Minister Abe's visit, the situation has changed in
the United States. In order to prevent the resolution from being
adopted, however, Kono should admit that the political decision made
at that time was a mistake (but he doesn't necessarily have to
announce it). His actions would be complete if he stepped down from
the Lower House speaker's post and gave up his Diet seat. If so, the
US government's reaction would be completely changed. Kono would
then be able to leave his mark on history as a former LDP president
who saved the nation from a crisis.
Major European and US news media (and Japanese correspondents) show
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SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 05//07
a woeful lack of study. The Chinese and South Korean media think
that hurling abuse purposely is reporting "news." That's nonsense.
Chinese and South Korean media do not issue newspapers, but they
publish "organ papers." Therefore, what we need to do is basically
ignore them.
I had no way to know or understand how terrible the media in
democratic European countries and the United States are. If you add
something about "Japan bashing," it sells. The western media lack
the capability to consider how "war and sex" were handled in their
own countries.
It is only natural to give serious consideration to the many women
who were forced into tragic situations during the war. However, many
correspondents do now know even the basic facts: There existed
legalized prostitution run by agents; soldiers paid money to the
comfort women; and since there was a hygienic safety problem, the
military for that reason oversaw the wartime brothels. This is the
basis for the worldwide scale "crisis in the media."
I have been a newspaper reporter for about some 30 years. I was
taught that writing articles based on the facts is a very basic rule
of news reporting. "Hunting down comfort women," "sexual slaves" and
the like were fictional productions. If the European and US media
come to realize that fact, they should issue "corrections." This is
also a basic principle for the media.
DONOVAN