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Cablegate: Daily Summary of Japanese Press 10/15/07-2

Published: Mon 15 Oct 2007 07:48 AM
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PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #4813/01 2880748
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150748Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8567
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 6142
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 3732
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7396
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 2641
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 4438
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9516
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5568
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 6420
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 004813
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 10/15/07-2
Index:
(14) Pentagon Defense Science Board chairman: Discontinuation of
refueling operation might adversely affect US-Japan alliance,
raising questions about Japan's credibility (Mainichi)
(15) Records tell of MSDF refueling operation as act of assistance
for America's war (Akahata)
(16) Sea-based missile defense system to undergo 1st test in
December (Asahi)
(17) DPJ likely to call in Upper House for right to investigate
alleged diversion of Japanese oil for use in Iraq war (Yomiuri)
(18) IPCC has issued warning, based on scientific facts, which has
led to policy measures: International opinion on global warming;
Japanese researchers make major contribution (Yomiuri)
ARTICLES:
(14) Pentagon Defense Science Board chairman: Discontinuation of
refueling operation might adversely affect US-Japan alliance,
raising questions about Japan's credibility
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Abridged slightly)
October 14, 2007
Toshihiko Kawahara, Washington
Pentagon Defense Science Board Chairman William Schneider, in an
interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on Oct. 10, indicated that the
question of continuing the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling
operation in the Indian Ocean might adversely affect the US-Japan
alliance, saying, "Japan's credibility will be questioned if it
cannot continue the refueling operation, a low-risk mission." The
official also indicated that Tokyo's failure to extend the operation
would dampen the United States' support for Japan's bid for a
permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Chairman Schneider first hailed the refueling operation as a product
of major political change in Japan since the 1999 Guidelines for
Japan-US Defense Cooperation. Regarding the ongoing deliberations at
the Japanese Diet, he also explained the United States' viewpoint
this way: "The question is whether this change is long-term or
limited to an age of some political leaders."
Additionally, regarding a possible impact on the US-Japan alliance
by this matter, he took this view: "If Japan cannot continue the
modest refueling operation, what can it continue? Although the
United States, Japan, and Australia have been searching for a new
trilateral alliance of the 21st century, the matter makes (the two
countries) wonder how Japan can contribute to it." The message is
that the reliability of a partner is essential in planning a
long-term security strategy. He also indicated that drawing a clear
line would make relations with other countries difficult in terms of
operations, saying: "The United States can guarantee that Japanese
oil was not used for operations in Iraq. At the same time, in the
event a carrier-borne E2 (early warning aircraft) detects
Iraq-related information in the Indian Ocean, the US cannot rule out
the possibility of it transmitting the information to a combat area
in Iraq."
TOKYO 00004813 002 OF 005
He also raised a question about Japan's bid for a permanent UNSC
seat, noting: "If it is difficult for Japan to accept a security
role, is there any need for the country to become a permanent
member?"
Schneider served as Under Secretary of State in the Reagan
administration. Cultivating close ties to Japan through the missile
defense program, he is known as a Japan expert.
(15) Records tell of MSDF refueling operation as act of assistance
for America's war
AKAHATA (Page 2) (Abridged slightly)
October 13, 2007
Akira Sakaguchi
The government has repeatedly explained that the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's operation to refuel foreign vessels in the
Indian Ocean is not assisting America's war, likening it to such
policing operations as the maritime interdiction operations (MIO) to
crack down on terrorists, funds, weaponry, and drugs at sea. On Oct.
9, the Nikkei carried Tokyo University Professor Akira Kotera's
article saying that conducting policing operations is allowed under
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and that providing fuel to
vessels participating in such operations is also allowed based on
the decision of each country irrespective of the existence of a UN
Security Council resolution. His argument is totally divorced from
reality.
About 80 PERCENT of MSDF oil has gone to US warships. What the US
military has been doing is clear from the Akahata's Oct. 11 article
that discussed activities of the assault landing ship, USS Iwo
Jima.
The Iwo Jima-led expeditionary strike group took part in an
operation in the Middle East for the six months from June 2006.
During that period, the strike group actually joined Israel's attack
on Lebanon to rescue US nationals and air strikes on Afghanistan
(part of Operation Enduring Freedom) and the Iraq war (Operation
Iraqi Freedom).
As was discussed in the US Department of Defense's Defend America
News dated Dec. 8, 2006, the strike group's main mission was to
directly assist OEF and OIF.
What the Iwo Jima did is not an isolated case. There were some other
cases in which MSDF-refueled US warships took part in the Iraq war.
Kotera's argument that the MSDF has not refueled foreign warships as
part of military action is totally groundless.
On Oct. 2, the government released a position paper saying that it
is not in a position of knowing the subsequent activities of foreign
vessels after they are refueled by the MSDF. But the main activities
of the Iwo Jima are easily available through information released by
the US military. Even in view of the Antiterrorism Special Measures
Law limiting Japanese oil to vessels taking part in the operations
in Afghanistan, the government is required to examine the refueling
operation and immediately halt any acts deviating from the law.
The US military has been using MSO (maritime security operations), a
TOKYO 00004813 003 OF 005
broad term, rather than MIO. By this logic, the Iwo Jima-led
expeditionary strike group's acts last year can be defined as
assistance for MSO. In fact, almost all naval activities can come
under MSO by this logic. We must remain on high alert so that the
government will not replace MIO with MSO in an attempt to justify
the MSDF's assistance for America's war.
(16) Sea-based missile defense system to undergo 1st test in
December
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full)
October 13, 2007
The Kongo, an Aegis-equipped ship of the Maritime Self-Defense
Force, has now completed its renovation with the Standard Missile 3
(SM-3) mounted for ballistic missile defense (BMD) and will carry
out its first intercept test in waters off Hawaii in mid-December,
the Defense Ministry announced yesterday. The Kongo is expected to
be redeployed in early January next year. For its BMD shield, Japan
already started in March this year to deploy the Patriot Advanced
Capability 3 (PAC-3), a ground-to-air guided missile defense system.
However, this is the first time for Japan to deploy an Aegis ship
with SM-3 missiles onboard.
The US Navy will cooperate with the MSDF in its planned intercept
test. An intermediate-range ballistic missile will be launched from
Kauai Island, Hawaii. The Kongo will be staged in waters situated
several hundred kilometers away from Hawaii to detect the missile
with its radar and launch an SM-3 missile to shoot down the missile
at an altitude of over 100 km in outer space.
After the test, the Kongo will return to the MSDF's Sasebo base in
the city of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, for deployment.
According to the Defense Ministry, a lineup of two or three Aegis
ships can shield Japan entirely with their BMD system. If they miss
a launched missile, the ground-based PAC-3 system is to intercept
it. The MSDF will deploy four Aegis ships with the SM-3 onboard by
the end of fiscal 2011. Meanwhile, the Air Self-Defense Force has
already deployed the PAC-3 at its Iruma base in Saitama Prefecture.
In addition, the ASDF is going to deploy PAC-3 batteries at a total
of 16 air defense missile units in the metropolitan area and other
areas to cover Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe by the end of fiscal
2010.
(17) DPJ likely to call in Upper House for right to investigate
alleged diversion of Japanese oil for use in Iraq war
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
October 14, 2007
The stage for a verbal battle between the ruling and opposition
parties will move to the House of Councillors' Budget Committee
tomorrow. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is poised to attack
the ruling camp in the Upper House over the alleged diversion of
fuel supplied by the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) to United
States warships in the Indian Ocean for use in the Iraq war. The
government and the ruling camp will try to find common ground prior
to a cabinet decision on Oct. 17 on its new legislation to replace
the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law.
DPJ Secretary General Hatoyama said in a press conference on Oct.
TOKYO 00004813 004 OF 005
12: "The suspicion that Japanese oil was used in the Iraq war has
become extremely strong." He then indicated he would focus attention
exclusively on this issue in debate in the Upper House, as well.
The DPJ also asked the government at a meeting of the House of
Representatives Budget Committee to invoke its right to investigate
state affairs to disclose the truth of these allegations: (1) The US
aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was deployed after provided with MSDF
fuel from an US supply ship just before the Iraq war broke out; and
(2) The US Aegis vessel Paul Hamilton participated in the Iraq war
after being directly refueled by the MSDF. If the main opposition
party seeks the investigation right in the Upper House, in which the
opposition bloc holds a majority, the right will likely be invoked.
By pursuing the government over the allegation of diversion of
MSDF-supplied oil, Minshuto aims to buttress the basis for its
opposition to the MSDF refueling operation and also to delay the
start of deliberations on the new antiterrorism legislation.
Meanwhile, the government and ruling camp envision this timetable
for the new legislation: (1) Give an explanation on its contents in
a Lower House plenary session on Oct. 19; and (2) start
deliberations at a Lower House Antiterrorism Special Committee
meeting to be held after Oct. 22. Prime Minister Fukuda intends to
provide information on the diversion allegation, in a bid to begin
deliberations on the new legislation at an early date, but no
prospects are in sight for resolving a deadlock in the situation.
(18) IPCC has issued warning, based on scientific facts, which has
led to policy measures: International opinion on global warming;
Japanese researchers make major contribution
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
October 13, 2007
Groups of scientists warn of global warming. One politician has
responded to the warning. Behind the decision to award former US
Vice President Al Gore and the International Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) with the Nobel Peace Prize are changes in international
opinion on the threat from global warming over the past several
years. In the face of abnormal weather and resultant disasters,
people have become aware that global warming is an immediate
threat.
Shuzo Nishioka, an advisor to the National Institute for
Environmental Studies, which has taken part in the IPCC right from
its establishment, is pleased with the decision, noting, "Our job of
issuing warnings against climate change, based on scientific facts,
and linking it to policy measures was recognized." Concerning global
warming becoming more of a reality than ever before due to frequent
droughts and heat waves, he underscored, "We regret that we did not
issue a strong warning much earlier. I hope the award this time will
create the opportunity for the entire world to take action toward a
low-carbon society."
The IPCC has compiled a report every five years or so since the
first report in 1990. The reports have a major impact on
international talks, which have resulted in the Framework Convention
on Climate Change, adopted in 1992, and the Kyoto Protocol, adopted
in 1997..
Following recommendations by governments of various countries,
reports have been written by researchers chosen by the IPCC. More
TOKYO 00004813 005 OF 005
than 3,000 scientists, including referees, cooperated in the writing
of reports.
Reports are in the end adopted at a meeting attended by officials of
various countries. It has been a usual practice to adopt soft words
in expressing threats because of scientific uncertainties. However,
the fourth report, adopted prior to international talks on a
post-Kyoto Protocol framework, pointed out that there is a strong
possibility of human activities having brought about global warming.
It was written, based on a detailed computer-assisted analysis. The
use of more in-depth expressions in the fourth report than those
employed in previous reports has in effect put an end to the
conflict between science and politics.
Kazuo Matsushita, professor at the Kyoto University Graduate School
of Global Environmental Studies, noted, "The IPCC's activities,
which have served as a bridge between science and society, have led
to the award this time. Tough negotiations are expected in the
process of creating a post-Kyoto framework. The award given this
time may have a message, 'Think of global warming as an issue
concerning human beings, moving away from national interests.'"
Japanese researchers made major contributions to the compilation of
IPCC reports. About 30 Japanese were chosen as representative
writers responsible for controlling all working groups in compiling
the fourth report. They were responsible for putting together theses
sent in from all over the world.
In particular, Japanese researchers have led research on global
warming throughout the world since the launching of the Earth
Simulator, registered as the world's fastest supercomputer. The
fourth report provided data serving as a base for the in-depth
expression that there is a strong possibility of human activity
having caused global warming. Akio Kito, chief of the Weather
Research Department of the Meteorological Research Institute, who
serves as a representative writer, said, "I think that Japanese
research using high-performance computers will make more
contributions in the future."
SCHIEFFER
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