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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 15 TOKYO 005070
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 11/01/07
Index:
(1) Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura reveals government's plan on
permanent legislation for SDF overseas missions (Yomiuri)
(2) Halt in MSDF's refueling mission perplexes MSDF personnel with
one MSDF member saying, "Scandal involving MOD has screwed up Diet
deliberations on new antiterror legislation" (Mainichi)
(3) Can oil eliminate terrorism? (Akahata)
(4) Japan must avoid path to international isolation (Nikkei)
(5) Fukuda-Ozawa talks: What Ozawa's motives? Some DPJ members beset
with doubts and fears (Sankei)
(6) Key bills in Diet session: LDP, DPJ exploring ways to reach
common ground: Still gap in views on political funds disclosure
standards (Nikkei)
(7) US consul general: If Okinawa refuses reclamation work, Futenma
relocation plan may return to clean state, indicating judgment
likely come next spring (Ryukyu Shimpo)
(8) Interview with Ryukyu University Prof. Masaaki Gabe, who has
just published his new book "Post-war Japan-US Relations and
Security Treaty" (Sengo-Nichibeikankei to Anzenhoshou) (Mainichi)
(9) Exclusive acquisition of list of LDP, DPJ defense policy makers
(boeizoku-giin) who made a secret tour of the US for 10 nights and
11 days (Shukan Bunshun)
ARTICLES:
(1) Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura reveals government's plan on
permanent legislation for SDF overseas missions
YOMIURI (Top Play) (Full)
Evening, November 1, 2007
In a meeting of the House of Representatives' special antiterrorism
committee this morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura revealed
the government's plan to swiftly launch a discussion on establishing
a permanent law governing the Self-Defense Force's (SDF) overseas
missions, once agreement is reached in deliberations on the
government's antiterrorism special measures bill. Machimura stressed
the need to set up an arena for the ruling and opposition parties to
discuss the possibility of creating a permanent law. This issue is
likely to be taken up in the second round of meeting between Prime
Minister Fukuda and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ozawa
tomorrow. Meanwhile, prior to the expiration of the current
Antiterrorism Special Measures Law at zero hours of Nov. 2, Defense
Minister Ishiba will issue an order to the Maritime Self-Defense
Force (MSDF) at 3:00 p.m. today to withdraw its vessel engaged in
refueling operation in the Indian Ocean, in order to put an end to
its nearly six-year-long refueling operation as part of the war
against terrorism following the terrorist attacks on the US in
2001.
In the government, preparatory work has been conducted on
legislation pertaining to SDF overseas missions, but the Machimura
statement reflects the Fukuda administration's desire to see both
TOKYO 00005070 002 OF 015
ruling and opposition parties discuss the issue.
Machimura said:
"The Liberal Democratic Party has already drafted a bill and shown
it to the people. Responsible officials from both ruling and
opposition parties first should discuss where the issue should be
debated, and then both sides should make efforts to that end as soon
as possible once (deliberations on) the new antiterrorism bill come
to a conclusion."
Defense Minister Ishiba also emphasized: "The government expects
that an arena (for both camps to discuss the issue) to be set up in
the Diet."
In a meeting of the said committee on Oct. 30, Prime Minister Fukuda
said: "This is an important challenge for the future. We must set up
a forum (for such discussions) as soon as possible," indicating a
positive view about establishing a permanent law.
Many have criticized the dispatch of SDF troops overseas based on
time-limited legislation, as was the case of MSDF troops dispatched
on a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, with one arguing: "A
speedy, appropriate step cannot be taken under stopgap
legislation."
In the LDP, a subcommittee to study defense policy laid out in
August 2006 an international peace cooperation bill that would be a
permanent law pertaining to SDF overseas missions. The party also
specified in its campaign manifesto for the latest House of
Councillors election: "We aim at establishing a general law
pertaining to international peace cooperation."
In the DPJ, many members are also in favor of introducing a
permanent law. Former President Seiji Maehara proposed this August
starting a discussion on a permanent law on SDF overseas missions.
Ozawa also is basically positive about this idea. The now defunct
Jiyuto (Liberal Party) - led by Ozawa - submitted to the Lower House
in 2001 a basic bill authorizing the SDF's participation in overseas
operations.
The issue of whether to establish a permanent law may serve as a
"catalytic agent" to promote talks between the ruling and opposition
parties.
(2) Halt in MSDF's refueling mission perplexes MSDF personnel with
one MSDF member saying, "Scandal involving MOD has screwed up Diet
deliberations on new antiterror legislation"
MAINICHI (Page 28) (Full)
November 1, 2007
The Antiterrorism Special Measures Law is about to expire. The
Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) has been engaged in the refueling
operation in the Indian Ocean, but recently a correction was made to
the amount of oil provided by the MSDF to (a US vessel). In
addition, it was discovered that a log was mistakenly shredded.
Moreover, a scandal involving former Administrative Vice Defense
Minister Takemasa Moriya broke out. MSDF seamen working hard to
supply fuel despite the intense heat on the deck have mixed feelings
on the eve of the expiration of the antiterror law.
TOKYO 00005070 003 OF 015
Diet debate expected, but....
"Unlike the deployment of Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops in
Iraq, our refueling mission has tended to be forgotten. So I was
happy to see the propriety of our mission put on an agenda for
debate in the Diet, but ...," a senior MSDF officer who had served
as a member of a supply unit said regretfully, for the current
session of the Diet, which was initially supposed to discuss the
propriety of the refueling mission, has now become an arena to
pursue the scandal involving the MOD and the Self-Defense Forces
(SDF). This officer added: "A good opportunity for (the SDF) to win
public trust has now been lost. I feel sorry for MSDF personnel who
have worked hard to calmly carry out their mission."
A petty officer second class (31), who as a crew member of the
supply vessel "Towada," whose homeport is the Kure base in Hiroshima
Prefecture, had been dispatched three times to the Indian Ocean to
engage in the refueling mission there, complained about the current
Diet session: "I want the legislators to separate between the
collusive relationship that former Administrative Vice Defense
Minister Moriya had with a company executive and antiterrorism
legislation and debate it in the Diet. I think it's time to have a
substantial discussion about the deployment of SDF personnel for
international peacekeeping. I believe it is necessary to form public
opinion now for that." "Personally, I am proud that I've been
engaged in the mission because I believe that the deployment of the
MSDF is in line with the Japan-US alliance and serves national
interests," this petty officer continued.
"Shredding" unbelievable
A former MSDF officer (59), who had been a crew member of a
destroyer with the Sasebo Base in Nagasaki Prefecture as the last
base for him to serve, said: "(Although there is a rule to keep a
log for a certain period of time), I think a log is not something to
throw away easily even after the ship is retired. Why was the log
shredded? There seems to be something fishy going on."
"I want to serve again"
MSDF personnel harbor mixed emotions when they heard of the decision
to pull out the MSDF vessels from the Indian Ocean.
Petty Officer Second Class Ichimi Namie (40), who had been engaged
twice in refueling operations in the Indian Ocean from 2004 through
2006, said, "I worked hard in the belief that good refueling would
lead to international contributions and prevent terrorism. The
mission is worthwhile. I want to join the mission again." Namie was
willing to join the mission again.
A senior officer working at the Yokosuka Base stressed: "Countries
participating in refueling operations are making desperate efforts.
If Japan pulls out its vessels, it will lose its reputation. Two or
three months of the suspension of the refueling service would be
allowed, but if the suspension lasts for a half year, Japan will
come to be ignored by other countries."
(3) Can oil eliminate terrorism?
AKAHATA (Page 3) (Full)
October 31, 2007
TOKYO 00005070 004 OF 015
Military operations standing in the way of solution
Akira Kasai, a House of Representatives member of the Japanese
Communist Party, pursued the government in a meeting yesterday of
the House of Representatives Special Committee on Antiterror
Measures. His parliamentary interpellations there demonstrated that
the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian
Ocean are undoubtedly intended to back up a US-led 'antiterror
tit-for-tat war' and that Japan is called to switch its support for
the war to diplomatic efforts in order to root out terrorism.
The government maintains that fuel provided by the MSDF under the
Antiterrorism Special Measures Law was not used for military
operations in Iraq. The government also explains that its newly
introduced antiterror legislation is only intended to support
maritime interdiction operations (MIO) for the task of holding
terrorists at bay.
However, Kasai asked the government what the US military is actually
doing.
Kasai showed the troop deployment itineraries of a carrier strike
group (CSG), which is a task force with an aircraft carrier as its
mainstay, and an expeditionary strike group (ESG), also a task force
centering on an assault landing craft. The US military has
seamlessly sent as many as 23 squadrons to the Indian Ocean over the
past three years and a half.
The MSDF provided fuel to vessels that belonged to the US Navy's 5th
Fleet. A ranking officer of the fleet stressed, "We're now engaged
in three wars (i.e., operations in Iraq, operations in Afghanistan,
and seaborne operations including MIO)."
Kasai asked the government whether it had known those three tasks of
US squadrons refueled by the MSDF. Time and again, Kasai asked about
this point. However, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba only parroted
his answer: "We will have to check out whether it (oil) was used in
conformity with the law." Ishiba did not even answer whether he had
known the tasks of US squadrons the MSDF refueled.
Furthermore, as a specific example, Kasai pointed out a squadron led
by the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship homeported at the US
Navy's Sasebo base.
In August 2004, the USS Essex picked up a contingent of US Marine
Corps troops in Okinawa and left there for attack operations. In the
run-up to attack operations, a helicopter that was readied to be
carried on the Essex crashed on the campus of Okinawa International
University.
At that time, the Foreign Ministry explained that the Essex entered
port at a US military base in Okinawa to sealift those Marine troops
to Iraq.
Actually, the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group was on stage in the
Persian Gulf to defend Iraqi oil facilities. The Marines onboard the
Essex also participated in the Fallujah attack that reportedly
killed several thousand Iraqi citizens.
The USS Juneau, a landing craft that belongs to that expeditionary
strike group, was also refueled twice by the Mashu, an MSDF supply
ship. Kasai unveiled the fact that the USS Juneau took part in the
TOKYO 00005070 005 OF 015
Iraq and seaborne operations. The government, however, has taken the
position that the MSDF-supplied fuel was used for Operation Enduring
Freedom and Maritime Interdiction Operations (OEF-MIO).
Kasai: When did the government confirm it with the US side? Who did
it, and how?
Defense Ministry Operations Planning Bureau Director General
Nobushige Takamizawa: We need time, but we checked it out. We will
explain it to the Diet before long.
In the end, Defense Minister Ishiba could not answer the question.
"I don't know when, where, who, and how," he said.
Kasai urged the Defense Ministry to come up with data. He stressed
that the Defense Ministry could do so if it confirms each time the
MSDF provides fuel. He criticized the government, saying, "People
may well think the Defense Ministry has not checked it out."
Kasai also criticized the government, saying: "The new legislation
is intended to continue providing fuel to the troops that are
carrying out three operations and that are taking the lives of many
civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Meanwhile, the government also asserts that Japan will be isolated
in the world should the MSDF pull out. In this regard, Kasai, using
a panel, demonstrated that only a small number of countries are
participating in the US-led Afghan operations and maritime
interdiction operations while there are 192 countries and areas in
the world. With this, Kasai made it clear that the government's
assertion is unconvincing.
Things worsen with tit-for-tat war; Afghanistan also exploring
peace
Kasai next took up the fact that the revengeful war has deteriorated
the situation, far from eliminating terrorism.
Afghan President Karzai said there has been progress in the "peace
and reconciliation process." With this, Karzai revealed that his
administration has been keeping in touch with the Taliban. United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, meeting the press with Karzai
on Sept. 23, appealed on the necessity of promoting comprehensive
political dialogue for domestic reconciliation.
Kasai: They are waging a retaliatory war and conducting mop-up
operations against the Taliban and others. This situation is
standing in the way of such a political process, so they should stop
it.
Prime Minister Fukuda: They have clarified their determination to
promote the peace process (in Afghanistan). This point is as
important as your (Kasai's) view.
Prime Minister Fukuda owned up to the importance of promoting the
"peace and reconciliation process." Even so, he went on: "The time
has yet to come for us to decide to stop Japan's refueling
activities. Japan should keep up its refueling activities."
Kasai noted that Afghanistan's senate has also resolved to call for
the United States and other coalition members to stop their mop-up
operations. He criticized the government, saying: "I think the
TOKYO 00005070 006 OF 015
Japanese government's brains have frozen since the Sept. 11, 2001
terrorist attacks. The government considers America first rather
than to think of what's actually going on in Afghanistan. This only
means that Japan is on the way to isolation in the world."
(4) Japan must avoid path to international isolation
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly)
November 1, 2007
Hiroyuki Akita, senior writer
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling operation in the Indian
Ocean ends today. The discontinuation of activities that started
under the slogan of the war on terrorism has raised the important
question of how Japan deals with the world.
Comments by Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) President
Ichiro Ozawa, who remains adamantly opposed to the refueling
operation, have been tinged with a sense of distrust of actions of
the United States, the superpower.
Ozawa attended a private meeting in early September in which he
expressed doubts about US foreign policy, saying: "The United States
has the extremely strong isolationist tendency and hates being
constrained by others. The country is egotistic." When he met South
Korean Ambassador to Japan Yu Myung Hwan in early October, he
reportedly expressed concern, noting: "Under (Japan's) current
approach, (the Self-Defense Forces) would be allowed to go anywhere
in the world in accordance with the United States' military
operations."
He apparently feels it is dangerous to continue dispatching the
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) obediently in compliance with US requests.
Ozawa urges the government to make decisions on dispatching the SDF
based on UN endorsement instead of giving consideration to the
United States. He is opposed to the refueling operation because it
lacks a clear UN resolution.
Sitting on the opposite end is the policy course giving top priority
to the Japan-US alliance, laid by former Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi. What lies beneath it is pragmatism, as seen in Foreign
Minister Masahiko Koumura's comment: "If Japan came to an armed
attack, which is more useful -- the United Nations or the United
States? The answer is clearly the United States."
If Ozawa thinks Japan should shift weight from the Koizumi policy
course to UN-centered diplomacy, he should earnestly debate it in
the current Diet secession which closes on Nov. 10.
But there are no signs of in-depth debates in the divided Diet. The
government is to blame for a series of irregularities that are
casting a pall over the new legislation to continue the refueling
operation. The posture of the DPJ, which has yet to come up with
legislation replacing the refueling operation, is also being called
into question.
Not only lawmakers but also the general public must mull over where
Japan's security should center on. To do so, they must first
contemplate how the dynamics of major powers, such as the United
Sates, China, and Russia, affect Japan.
TOKYO 00005070 007 OF 015
Although the United States and China have been cooperating on the
North Korean issue and other matters, the fate of their cooperation
is unclear. The US Defense Department's strategy toward China is
increasingly based on the following internal analysis: "Water and
energy shortages and the declining birthrate coupled with a rapidly
graying population are serious. Losing latitude from becoming weak
from within, China might become even more hard-edged in dealing with
other countries."
If the United States and Russia became strategically at odds in the
former Soviet bloc and other places, Russia's policy toward Japan
would become severe. According to an information source, moves of
the Russian military in the Far East have become active and Russian
military aircraft are increasingly approaching Japanese airspace.
"Japan's role is most unclear," Russia national Far East research
institute Japan center director Pavlichenko (TN: phonetic)
alarmingly said about Japan's moves.
There is concern that blindly following the United States would
result in the endless dispatch of the SDF. Nevertheless, the
intensification of battles between the United States, China, and
Russia -- permanent UN Security Council members -- would further
weaken the functions of the United Nations, the international body
representing diversified national interests. What Japan must do
first is to tighten up the Japan-US alliance for the sake of its
national interests; discussion on how the United Nations should
function can wait.
In order to respond to repeated queries from Japan about fuel
diversion allegations, US government and military officials
reportedly checked an enormous quantity of data until late at night
for many days. Reportedly some in the US military are wondering why
Japan has so many questions.
Overcoming the political battle, the ruling and opposition blocs
must dispatch the message that Japan is not dropping out of the war
on terror. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's first visit to the United
States planned for later this month must be an opportunity for
that.
If politics becomes inward-looking, Japan might stray away from the
international community and follow a path toward isolation. Will the
Nov. 2 Fukuda-Ozawa meeting be able to trigger a stop to the chaotic
political situation? The results would carry great significance not
only for domestic affairs but also for Japan's presence in the
international community.
(5) Fukuda-Ozawa talks: What Ozawa's motives? Some DPJ members beset
with doubts and fears
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
October 31, 2007
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or
Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa yesterday held a meeting for the
first time. In it, Ozawa refused Fukuda's request for his support
for the new antiterrorism measures bill. He did not budge from his
hard-line stance. After the meeting, he said some members in the
government and ruling parties were upset with the handing of the new
antiterrorism bill. He has told his aides that there would be no
grand coalition (with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party). Some DPJ
lawmakers wonder whether the party-head talks might have been a plot
TOKYO 00005070 008 OF 015
to jolt the DPJ by the prime minister and the ruling camp, and now,
all eyes are focused on what their second meeting on Nov. 2 will
produce.
In a party executive meeting last evening, Ozawa described his
meeting with Fukuda for about 10 minutes. He lashed out at Fukuda in
this way: "The prime minister seems to in a fix due to various
problems, including the new antiterrorism bill." In his informal
meeting with Deputy President Naoto Kan and Secretary General Yukio
Hatoyama, Ozawa said: "I think the government has lost its ability
to make decisions."
Ozawa, also in the executive meeting, stressed:
"If I refuse any proposal, the media will criticize me without fail.
In order to avoid causing the party trouble, I accepted the proposal
for a second meeting. We did not discuss political matters, such as
a grand coalition, Lower House dissolution to call a general
election, and an extension of the current Diet session."
Meantime, a senior DPJ member stated last night: "If a grand
coalition were formed, the LDP would have no choice but to turn over
the prime minister's post to the DPJ. (Prime Minister Fukuda) is
probably not ready to give up his post. So, we must not form a grand
coalition." The senior member expressed displeasure with the idea of
forming a grand coalition, arguing that the DPJ would suffer a blow.
Kan, too, pointed out in the informal meeting with Ozawa and
Hatoyama: "The (prime minister) is trying to create a fait accompli
that he made efforts as much as possible."
Ozawa revealed that he had told the prime minister in a scolding
manner: "You should have a principle (regarding the Self-Defense
Forces' overseas deployment). I think it's not good for Japan to be
at Washington's beck and call."
Some DPJ members are beset with doubts and fears as to why Ozawa
accepted the party-head meeting on Oct. 30 and another on Nov. 2,
with one mid-level member saying, "I wonder whether the structure of
the political world will change."
Ozawa has often used the occasions of his meetings with the
president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) as a
political tactic to rattle the LDP, ever since he left the LDP in
1993 as head of the Japan Renewal Party (JRP), the New Frontier
Party (NFP), and the Liberal Party. A former LDP executive member
made this comment: "His favorite practice is to find the middle
ground by taking a strong-armed approach while creating a high
hurdle."
Ozawa as NFP president held talks twice in April 1997 with then
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on the issue of the time-limit on
use of Okinawa land by the US forces. In the meeting, he managed to
get Hashimoto to agree to create a system under which the government
would take responsibility for the consolidation and reduction of US
military bases in the end. In August 1998 as president of the
Liberal Party, he held a secret meeting with then Chief Cabinet
Secretary Hiromu Nonaka, Ozawa's political enemy, before the Liberal
SIPDIS
Party and the LDP formed a coalition in November that year. After
that, in his meeting with then Prime Minister Obuchi, Ozawa
continued to shake Obuchi by upping and downing hurdles aimed at
agreement to form a coalition with the LDP.
TOKYO 00005070 009 OF 015
"Mr. Ozawa, who had called me a devil, met with even me. It is easy
for him to hold talks with Mr. Fukuda," Nonaka said. "Mr. Ozawa
understands moves in the United States. The idea of having the
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) take part in the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) is his consideration to Washington."
(6) Key bills in Diet session: LDP, DPJ exploring ways to reach
common ground: Still gap in views on political funds disclosure
standards
NIKKEI (Page 3) (Full)
November 1, 2007
There is a mood emerging for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) to reach a compromise on the
bill amending the Political Funds Control Law concerning the
politics and money scandal, and the introduction of a new system for
mandating Diet approval in appointing persons for key posts at
government-affiliated organizations. The DPJ has rejected Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda's call for holding talks on those issues on
the strength of its dominance in the Upper House. However, it has
begun shifting its stance to a strategy of taking the goods home,
though it is still uncertain to what extend its policy shift will
lead to a full compromise.
Sharp change from rejection
Developments over the bill amending the Political Funds Control Law
have evolved swiftly. Kenji Yamaoka, chair of the Diet Affairs
Committee of the DPJ, on the morning of the same day reported to
Deputy President Azuma Okiishi and Vice President Katsuya Okada his
intention to respond to the prime minister's call for holding
revision talks. Obtaining an agreement at a meeting of the Diet
Affairs Committee chairs of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), the
Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP),
Okiishi immediately held a meeting with Tadamori Oshima, chairman of
the LDP Diet Policy Committee.
Yamaoka presented to Oshima a schedule for holding talks on Nov. 1-3
and jointly submit the bill to the Diet as early as on the 5th,
thereby aiming at securing Diet passage for the bill by Nov. 10 at
the end of the current session. Oshima agreed to hold the first
meeting on the 1st, but refrained from giving an immediate reply to
other proposals.
Though the ruling and opposition parties have come to the
negotiating table, the point is whether they can make concessions on
the specifics of the issues. The ruling camp and the DPJ have
compiled their own amendment bills. However, the two sides are wide
apart in their views on standards for disclosing receipts for the
use of political funds and political organizations subject to the
rule.
Both separately held a press conference after the meeting. Oshima
complained, "I cannot understand why a schedule has to be set in
advance." Yamaoka underscored, "If we cannot reach a settlement, we
will do it on our own way." The opposition camp is set for unifying
the bills among opposition parties alone and jointly submitting it
to the Upper House, where they hold a majority. A senior official of
the DPJ Diet Affairs Committee said, "There could be a possibility
of five parties including the New Komeito and opposition parties
jointly submitting a bill."
TOKYO 00005070 010 OF 015
The DPJ is also trying to find common ground for a bill amending the
Natural Disaster Victims Relief Law and a hepatitis special measures
bill, which it has already submitted to the Diet.
The party at a meeting of the Next Cabinet yesterday, held attended
by President Ichiro Ozawa, decided to enter into talks with the
ruling parties in order to revise the bill amending the relief law.
The DPJ is also working on the ruling camp to revise three
government-sponsored labor-related bills.
DPJ aims at achieving track records while Diet is in session
With the end of the Diet session close at hand on Nov. 11, the DPJ
is motivated by the desire to achieve track records regarding issues
with high public attention. However, whether this move will affect
bills over which both camps are at odds, including the new
legislation to continue refueling activities by the Maritime
Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean and the bill aimed at
prohibiting the diversion of pension premium funds, to which the DPJ
attaches importance, is unclear.
The prime minister during the party head talks with Ozawa on the
30th referred to a new way of moving politics with the aim of
avoiding commotion in the political situation. There is speculation
in the ruling and opposition parties that the party heads might have
discussed the possibility of forming a grand coalition or dissolving
the Lower House. Political parties are increasingly alarmed about
the sudden change in the DPJ's approach, because it came at such a
time.
One senior DPJ official explained that it was a coincidence. The
prime minister avoided touching on the issue, telling reporters, "We
did not discuss that issue."
(7) US consul general: If Okinawa refuses reclamation work, Futenma
relocation plan may return to clean state, indicating judgment
likely come next spring (Ryukyu Shimpo)
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full)
November 1, 2007
In his first regular press conference yesterday afternoon, United
States Consul General in Okinawa Kevin Maher said that if Okinawa
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima disapproves of the planned work of
reclamation in the summer 2009 in preparation for relocating the US
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, "we may have a regrettable
outcome." He implied that the US would leave the Futenma facility
untouched and would also cancel such agreed plans as returning the
bases south of Kadena Air Base to Japan and relocating US Marines
from Okinawa to Guam. Queried about the timing for the US to judge
whether the Futenma plan will move smoothly as scheduled, the consul
general cited sometime around next spring, when the US government
comes up with budgetary measures for constructing facilities in
Guam.
The US government has decided to construct the facilities for
Marines in Guam at its own cost. It plans to launch the construction
work in 2010. Maher said: "The US will determine in the near future
whether it should build facilities in Guam. Necessary procedures for
budgetary allocations for the Guam plan will start around the spring
2008. In this point of view, as well, we would like to see
negotiations for coordination and cooperation between the central
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and local governments move smoothly." He indicated that the US would
reach a conclusion next spring, before the planned completion of the
alternative facility in 2014, on whether the Futenma relocation plan
should be pushed ahead.
On the Futenma relocation plan, as agreed on between the US and
Japan, the governor of Okinawa has asked that the site be shifted
out into the sea. Maher welcomed the present state, however,
remarking: "There is no delay in specific procedures. The undersea
environmental impact assessment is also making headway." He urged
the prefecture to accept the relocation plan, saying: "With its
cooperation, we would be able to complete the facility in 2014 as
planned or even earlier."
Nago City has called for a review of the Futenma relocation plan,
arguing that the agreement reached with then Defense Agency was on
the transfer of the facility itself and that the details should be
determined from now. In reference to Nago's demand, Maher emphasized
that this was the final agreement between the US and Japan, saying:
"Both sides agreed not on a possible site as Nago City insists, but
on a specific location and length of the planned runways."
The consul general declined the Nago municipal government's demand
for a rewriting of the plan, saying: "If the plan is revised at the
present stage, it will be become difficult to build a consensus in
the Japanese government. The US government will also find it
difficult to do so."
(8) Interview with Ryukyu University Prof. Masaaki Gabe, who has
just published his new book "Post-war Japan-US Relations and
Security Treaty" (Sengo-Nichibeikankei to Anzenhoshou)
MAINICHI (Page 4) (Full)
October 30, 2007
Toshimitsu Kishi
I wonder whether those who live in Okinawa can see a different
aspect of Japan-US relations, which may be overlooked by those who
live on mainland Japan. This question always comes across my mind
every time I have an opportunity to see the fruit of research of
Ryukyu University Professor Masaaki Gabe (of international political
science), who, as a resident of Okinawa, where 75 PERCENT of the US
forces' bases is concentrated, has raised questions about America's
Japan policy. His new book "Post-war Japan-US Relations and the
Security Treaty" (published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan) pursues close
links between the revising of the Japan-US Security Treaty and the
return of the administrative right over Okinawa to Japan, and how
the host-nation support (or the so-called "sympathy budget") was
created. The Mainichi Shimbun interviewed Prof. Gabe about his new
book.
Most essays contained in the new book were written by Gabe during a
period when the Japan-US "security alliance" was shifting to the
Japan-US "alliance". Only some chapters deal with the latest change
in the bilateral alliance. Gabe's interest throughout the book is
well represented in the following language:
"This book is intended not only for shedding light on the dynamism
of (Japan and the United States) but also for offering a viewpoint
that questions the challenges present-day Japan is facing and also
looks to the future."
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One feature of the book is that Gabe, based on the records kept at
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tracked the political process leading to
revising the US-Japan Security Treaty. In this regard, Gabe
explained: "In the past studies of this kind, many researchers often
referred to diplomatic files, but in Okinawa, the public has much
more interest in military affairs. The military is sensitive about
protecting their interests."
Regarding the reversion of Okinawa to Japan, Gabe casts a new light
on an aspect of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. Kishi played a
leading part in revising the security treaty. The move to return
Okinawa to Japan started in tandem with the move to revise the
security treaty. Secret talks between Kishi and US Ambassador to
Japan MacArthur that began prior to Kishi's visit to the US in June
1957 gave a glimpse of the political process leading to the
reversion of Okinawa.
Taking advantage of the Japanese public's discontent with their
subservient position, Kishi began moving to revise the security
treaty. Along with that, Kishi took up the Okinawa issue and called
for the return of the administrative rights over Okinawa to Japan in
10 years. Kishi's way of thinking time was that: "Anti-US sentiments
caused by rising nationalism in Japan can be calmed down by allowing
the US military to have their bases in Okinawa and the US military
to use those bases freely." At the time, an argument that the return
of the administrative right and the free use of the bases can go
together had already been outlined. This argument later surfaced in
the US in the mid-1960s.
Gabe said:
"For the US, Kishi was the first pro-US prime minister and
politician who sensed the trends in the Cold War. The next
politician following Kishi was Eisaku Sato. During the Cold War,
Japan, as a 'satellite state," was required to come closer to the
West. Shigeru Yoshida and Ichiro Hatoyama placed emphasis on the
power of balance, so I think they were not much trusted by the US."
In 1978, then Defense Agency Director-General Shin Kanemaru declared
that Japan would bear a portion of the costs of the stationing US
troops in Japan or the host-nation support or the "sympathy budget".
A prototype of this host-nation support, too, is found in a
financial deal concerning the reversion of Okinawa, Gabe said.
Immediately before the Japan-US summit meeting in November 1969, a
Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs and a US
special envoy to the secretary of the treasury reached agreement on
a financial deal. The date of the deal was left blank. Sato and
Nixon, after issuing a joint statement, signed that secret
memorandum. Gabe gave this analysis about the memorandum: The
relocation costs included in the memorandum of 65 million dollars
for bases, which Japan is not obligated under the Status of Forces
Agreement (SOFA) to pay, were "the beginning of the "host-nation
support," which is one pillar of Japan-US defense cooperation.
Gabe said that the current Japan-US alliance follows as an extension
of the accumulated secret Japan-US agreements, which have never been
disclosed to the public. He gave this analysis about the path Japan
has taken, one that has been directly linked to Okinawa:
"Based on the security treaty, which was signed along with the (San
TOKYO 00005070 013 OF 015
Francisco) Peace Treaty, post-war Japan made a start, allowing the
US to keep its bases in Okinawa. The security treaty has undergirded
Japan. If Japan reviews the security treaty, it would mean Japan has
to shift its security policy."
Gabe continued: "America's aim was how to change Japan in a way to
meet America's interests. Some Japanese leaders, as well, have made
efforts to play the role as expected by the US. Japan and US may be
in 'complicity'."
The other side of history shown by US government documents may
correct our perceived notion.
The price of the book: 8,400 yen
(9) Exclusive acquisition of list of LDP, DPJ defense policy makers
(boeizoku-giin) who made a secret tour of the US for 10 nights and
11 days
SHUKAN BUNSHUN (Pages 30-31) (Slightly abridged)
November 8, 2007
"Although I don't know whether or not Mr. Miyazaki had requested it
or not, I showed up at the Japanese restaurant because Akiyama said
to me, "Sir, let's dine together. I would like to congratulate you."
So I went. Who paid the bill? The truth is I did not pay the bill. I
thought that Akiyama had paid the bill, but I heard that Miyazaki
had paid it."
This was the reply that that then Defense Agency Director General
Fumio Kyuma directly gave to this magazine last December about
having been wined and dined at a high-class turtle-specialty
restaurant in Akasaka by Mr. Motonobu Miyazaki.
A reporter who covers the Ministry of Defense explained: "It was
under the pretext of being a dinner to congratulate Mr. Kyuma for
having been picked to be the director general, but the real purpose
was a meeting for Mr. Miyazaki to explain the details of his
breaking away from Yamada Yoko Corp. (a trading firm specializing in
defense procurement, and to report on his launching his own company,
Nihon Mirise. Miyazaki, whose battle with Yamada Yoko over being an
agent had spread, seemed to called for a meeting with Kyuma.
The person who Kyuma called Akiyama is the director of the
Japan-America Peace and Cultural Exchange Society (formerly called
the Japan-American Cultural Promotion Society), a corporate
juridical person under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry.
Naoki Akiyama also serves as the secretary general of the National
Security Research Institute, which under the umbrella of the other
organization.
Another reporter covering the Defense Ministry stated:
"In addition to a series of defense agency directors general and
national defense policy specialists in the Diet, other illustrious
members of the Society, such as former Defense Secretary Cohen, have
served as directors. In the past, Prime Minister Fukuda and former
Prime Minister Abe once served as directors. Moreover, a number of
executives from companies with defense ministry contracts have sent
directors, as well as financial contributions, so the Society has
served the role of bringing together adhesively
defense-policy-related figures from the political, bureaucratic and
TOKYO 00005070 014 OF 015
civilian sectors."
Akiyama, who pretends to be a "fixer" or "broker" in Japan-US
security relations, set up the dinner between Miyazaki, who was
feuding with his parent company, Yamada Yoko, and Kyuma. However,
the view in Yamada Yoko is that the company will never let Nihon
Mirise in the Defense Ministry's door.
This magazine in the past reported on the suspicions about Akiyama's
credentials and the contents of his activities (April 13, 2006,
issue), but as for the reason why Akiyama is depicted as a "fixer,"
a military affairs journalist gave this explanation: "Akiyama every
year in May in Washington and in November in Tokyo has run a
symposium called the "Japan-US Security Strategy Conference." The
Japanese representatives are members of the National Security
Parliamentarians Council, and Mr. (Shigeru) Ishiba and Mr. (Fumio)
Kyuma have participated. In the United States, the conference has
had the participation of senior US government officials and
military-related persons. It has become standard practice for
defense policy specialists from the Diet (kokubozoku-giin) to travel
to the US during the Golden Week (early May) holidays and visit
Lockheed-Martin and Boeing."
Although the specific contents of the conferences have many puzzling
parts, since it is a chance for defense specialists from the two
countries to meet, there reportedly are lively negotiations carried
out using that forum.
The same source continued:
"In a previous strategic conference, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry
Chairman Takashi Nishioka, who gave the keynote speech, sought
easing of the restrictions on weapons export, as well as the signing
of a military secrets protection agreement between Japan and the US,
which would be the premise for the former request. The Japanese and
US government this May signed such an agreement. Needless to say,
Japan's defense industry, as represented by Mitsubishi, benefits by
obtaining a license to be a procurement agent. They can attain
enormous, permanent benefits by carrying out licensed production for
American weaponry or repair in Japan of American warships."
This magazine has obtained the itinerary and list of names of
defense policy specialists from the Diet and the contractors who
attended the 9th strategy conference held in Washington this May.
From the Liberal Democratic Party, former defense agency heads
Nukaga and Gen Nakatani head the list. The Democratic Party of Japan
names include Seiji Maehara and Yoshinori Suematsu. They left Japan
on April 27 and stayed in the US for ten nights, meeting over dinner
with Secretary of Defense Gates and former Deputy Secretary of State
Armitage. They also had meetings with top executives of Raytheon,
the world's largest manufacturer of missiles, and with aircraft
manufacturers Boeing and Northrop-Grumman. Their final stop was a
tour of Edwards Air Force Base.
Regarding their travel expenses, Akiyama replied to our query: "The
lawmakers put up a total of 200,000 yen, and the rest was covered by
the Society. The actual cost of the trip was about 1.2 million yen."
Although the itinerary varied depending on the lawmaker, most of the
expenses were picked up by the Society.
The collusive relationship between former Vice Defense Minister
Moriya and Miyazaki is just the tip of the iceberg of the defense
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interests involved.
SCHIEFFER