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P 140819Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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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
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RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 6158
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 6935
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 005227
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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/14/07
Index:
1) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei)
Prime Minister Fukuda going to Washington:
2) US beef on agenda for US-Japan summit (Asahi)
3) Prime Minister Fukuda in meeting with President Bush to propose
developing human resources to step up bilateral exchange programs
(Mainichi)
4) Prime Minister Fukuda to bring 'something good' for President
Bush (Yomiuri)
Diet affairs:
5) New antiterror bill clears lower chamber (Yomiuri)
6) DPJ OKs SDF Afghan dispatch for 1 year only (Yomiuri)
7) Outline of DPJ's counterproposal for antiterror measures (Sankei)
Defense & security issues:
8) Japan's antiterror measures likely to be in the doldrums due to
no MSDF presence in the Indian Ocean (Yomiuri)
9) Next US administration also to prioritize US-Japan alliance: CFR
President Haass (Asahi)
10) 3 Okinawa municipalities change mind to accept GOJ plan for USFJ
realignment incentives (Tokyo Shimbun)
MOD scandals:
11) Prosecutors eye indicting ex-Vice Minister Moriya for taking
bribes (Mainichi)
12) Moriya called MOD division in charge after hearing Yamada
Corp.'s explanation about bill-padding (Asahi)
13) Ex-US Yamada exec arrested (Asahi)
Japan-China ties:
14) Former 1st secretary at Chinese Embassy in Japan sentenced to
death on suspicion of leaking military secrets to Japan (Sankei)
15) China fleet to make 1st port call in Japan (Nikkei)
Articles:
1) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)
Prime Minister's schedule, Nov. 13
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
November 14, 2007
09:01
Attended a cabinet meeting in the Diet building.
10:11
Met Policy Research Council Chairman Tanigaki, LDP fiscal reform
study group president Yosano and chairman Sonoda.
11:01
Met UAE Central Bank Governor Suwaidi and others, with Japan-UAE
Friendship Parliamentary League Secretary General Taniguchi present.
Followed by Finance Minister Nukaga, Vice Finance Minister Tsuda,
and others.
12:22
Met Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura.
TOKYO 00005227 002 OF 010
13:41
Attended a Lower House plenary session.
14:31
Met at the Kantei with Vietnamese high school students visiting
Japan for an event of international youth exchange sponsored by
Aeon, with Aeon Honrary Chairman Takuya Okada and former Secretary
General Nakagawa.
15:02
Met Deputy Foreign Minister Yabunaka, Asian and Oceanian Affairs
Bureau Director General Sasae, Southern Asian Affairs Department
Head Atsumi and others.
16:08
Met Yabunaka, North American Affairs Bureau Director General
Nishimiya, METI Deputy Vice Minister Toyoda, Finance Ministry's
International Affairs Bureau Director General Tamaki, Environment
Ministry Global Environment Bureau Director General Minamikawa, and
others,
17:08
Arrived at his official residence.
19:04
Dined with Secretary General Ibuki, Executive Council Chairman Nikai
and Executive Council members at a Chinese restaurant, joined by
Machimura and other present.
19:48
Returned to his private residence in Nozawa.
2) Japan-US summit: US beef imports likely to be on the agenda; US
expected to call for scrapping import conditions
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
November 14, 2007
Japan has set the age of cattle eligible for export to Japan at 20
months or younger. The Japan-US summit to be held on No. 16 will
likely focus on easing this criterion. President Bush is expected to
call for a total scrapping of import conditions imposed by Japan.
However, since Prime Minister Fukuda characterizes food safety as
one of his administration's key issues, he would not be able to
agree to do so so easily. As such, talks on the issue will likely
fail to reach an agreement.
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Wakabayashi
during a press conference yesterday reiterated the Japanese
government's stance, saying, "Japan cannot immediately accept
unconditional imports, can it?"
Wakabayashi yesterday discussed in the Diet with relevant cabinet
ministers how to respond on the issue. The government is undertaking
coordination up to the last minute in the face of the US side's
unprecedentedly hard-line approach.
Since the livestock industry is strong in Texas, the president's
home state, he has been interested in this issue from the very
beginning. There was an unwritten agreement with former Prime
Minister Koizumi, with whom he had a personal relationship of trust,
TOKYO 00005227 003 OF 010
that economic issues are not to be made a bone of contention, as a
government source put it. However, the Japanese side views that with
Koizumi no longer running the government and Bush reaching the final
phase of his tenure, he has now a stronger intention to produce some
sort of results.
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), an international
organ responsible for setting safety standards for livestock, in May
this year acknowledged that the danger of BSE is under control
regarding US beef. The acknowledgement is backing the hard-line US
stance.
MAFF has envisaged a scenario of easing the age criterion from the
current "20 months or younger" to "below 30 months." "Below 30
months" is the condition set by South Korea, Taiwan and Russia when
they import US beef. MAFF has come up with the same condition,
because as the cows the US exports are mostly aged 24 months or
younger, setting the criterion at 30 months would be sufficient.
The government's stance is, however, that a premise for easing
import conditions should be scientific knowledge. Japan and the US
have jointly studied the potential BSE danger in the US, but a
report has not yet been compiled to be available for the summit. In
addition, revising import conditions requires approval from the Food
Safety Committee, an independent organ. The prime minister intends
to convey to the president that it would be difficult to revise
import conditions until scientific knowledge is determined.
The prime minister is concerned that the public is increasingly
interested in food safety due to a series of food labeling scams.
Since he pledged in his policy speech made in October that he would
have correct food labeling familiarized and toughen systems applied
to imported food items in order to protect food safety and peace of
mind, he has no other choice but to be cautious about the US beef
issue as well.
3) Prime Minister Fukuda in meeting with President Bush to announce
plan to develop human resources to increase Japan-US exchanges
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
November 14, 2007
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda decided yesterday to announce in his
planned meeting on Nov. 16 with US President George W. an initiative
to increase exchanges between Japan and the United States and to
play up the need for strengthening person-to-person exchange between
the two countries.
The initiative is composed of three pillars: 1) intellectual
exchange; 2) grassroots exchange; and 3) Japanese-language
education. To push forward with intellectual exchange, Fukuda plans
to hold seminars on security, economic and environmental affairs in
cooperation with such major think-tanks with strong influence over
US policy as the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic
International Studies (CSIS). In order to promote grassroot
exchange, he plans to rely on USFJ veterans and the America-Japan
Society, centering on Japanese consulates in the United States. He
also plans to promote measures to promote Japanese language courses
in colleges.
4) Prime Minister Fukuda to take photo of his father and George H.
W. Bush to Washington as souvenir for President Bush
TOKYO 00005227 004 OF 010
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged)
November 14, 2007
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will take a photo of his father and
former President George H. W. Bush, which was taken over 10 years
ago, as a souvenir to his meeting on Nov. 16 with US President
George W. Bush. In their first meeting, the photo will likely help
them build a close relationship.
Appearing in the photo are former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda,
former President George H. W. Bush, and former President Ronald
Reagan. The photo was owned by a friend of Prime Minister Fukuda.
The photo seems to be taken in the early 1990s in Japan. "It is not
known at present when and under what circumstance the photo was
taken," Fukuda's aide said.
5) New antiterrorism bill clears Lower House
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)
November 14, 2007
The new antiterrorism bill aimed at resuming the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's (MSDF) refueling mission in the Indian Ocean
was adopted in a House of Representatives plenary session yesterday
by a majority from the Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito.
The bill was sent to the House of Councillors later in the day. The
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which now holds control of the
Upper House, has opposed the start of deliberations on the
government's bill. Under such a situation, it remains to be seen
whether the bill will be enacted by the end of the current Diet
session on Dec. 15.
In an open vote in the plenary session, the members of the DPJ, the
Japanese Communist Party, and the Social Democratic Party voted
against the bill. The People's New Party's members stayed away from
the voting, reasoning: "It is premature to take a vote." In a press
conference yesterday, DPJ Upper House Secretary General Kenji Hirata
cited as conditions for the party's participation in deliberations
on the bill: (1) The DPJ's own bill aimed to abolish the special
legislation for Japan's aid in Iraq's reconstruction be discussed
before the new antiterrorism bill; and (2) the details of a series
of scandals involving the Defense Ministry be cleared up.
The Upper House Steering Committee's executive board discussed
yesterday how the bill should be treated, but it decided to put off
the ruling-camp-proposed start of discussion today. The ruling bloc
is hoping to hold a briefing on the bill on the morning of Nov. 19,
after Prime Minister Fukuda returns home from the United States on
the 17th and just before he leaves Japan for the East Asia Summit to
be held in Singapore. The DPJ, though, remains unwavering in its
stance. A senior LDP Upper House member said yesterday: "The
briefing is likely to be carried out in a plenary session on Nov.
26, after the prime minister returns from Singapore."
Under the Constitution, the bill will be regarded as rejected in the
Upper House on Jan. 12, 60 days after the bill was sent to the Upper
House. It will become possible for the ruling camp to bring the bill
back into the Lower House for a revote starting on Jan. 12. Keeping
this in mind, the ruling coalition is also considering the
possibility of extending the current Diet session until mid-January
TOKYO 00005227 005 OF 010
of next year or for another one month or so.
6) DPJ antiterrorism bill specifies need for permanent law, limiting
SDF dispatch to one year
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
November 14, 2007
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) drafted a "special measures bill
on prevention and eradication of international terrorism and
reconstruction support for Afghanistan" (tentative name) as its
counterproposal to the government's new antiterrorism special
measures bill. It submitted the bill in a meeting of its foreign and
defense affairs committee yesterday.
The draft approves the dispatch of Self-Defense Force (SDF) troops,
police officers, and doctors to take part in reconstruction
assistance activities in Afghanistan, setting the time limit of one
year. It also specifies the necessity of establishing a permanent
law on SDF overseas missions at an early date. The draft notes that
permanent legislation should stipulate basic principles on
collective security measures in Chapter 7 of the United Nations
Charter, as well as basic principles on invoking the right of
self-defense under the Constitution of Japan.
Limiting areas for SDF activities to "areas for which a ceasefire
agreement has already been reached or areas which have been regarded
as safe for the citizens, the draft bill specifies SDF personnel
should engage in (1) reconstructing farmland and facilities for
agriculture; (2) providing medical care; and (3) transporting and
distributing daily goods. The draft also proposes easing the
standards for use of weapons and adds to the standards "a case in
which it is judged necessary to use a weapon in order to stop
resistance to peacekeeping operations." The draft requires prior
Diet approval for dispatching SDF troops overseas.
As for maritime intercept operations (MIO), including the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's (MSDF) refueling operation, the DPJ referred in
the draft bill to the possibility of allowing the dispatch of the
MSDF, attaching such conditions as the adoption of a new United
Nations resolution. The draft notes: "When a decision is made to
carry out operations based on a UN Security Council resolution,
discussion should be carried out on necessary legal preparations for
Japan to participate in the operations, including on its propriety."
In the meeting yesterday, objections were raised to the contents of
the draft bill in succession, so the party decided to continue
discussion today.
7) DPJ drafts own antiterrorism bill
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full)
November 14, 2007
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) yesterday drafted a special
measures bill on prevention and eradication of international
terrorism and reconstruction support for Afghanistan as its
counterproposal to the government's new antiterrorism special
measures bill.
The draft includes measures to revitalize agriculture; provide
medical care; transport everyday commodities for affected people;
assist police activities; and help promote disarmaments.
TOKYO 00005227 006 OF 010
The draft envisions activities by police officers, doctors, and
civilians in provisional reconstruction teams (PRT) participating in
the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in areas for
which a ceasefire agreement has already been reached or in which
damage has not been inflicted on the civilians.
The draft proposes smoothly arranging permanent legislation to
enable the Self-Defense Force (SDF) to take part in overseas
operations, premised that operations are carried out on a basis of a
United Nations resolution. Based on this condition, the DPJ promises
in the draft to study legal arrangements for SDF participation in
the maritime interdiction operation (MIO), including the refueling
operation. The party is now discussing whether the draft bill should
be made into a text.
8) "Vacuum" in Indian Ocean may affect antiterrorism measures
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Excerpts)
November 14, 2007
As a new antiterrorism special measures bill cleared the House of
Representatives prior to the upcoming US-Japan summit on Nov. 16,
the government now feels at ease, with Administrative Vice Foreign
Minister Shotaro Yachi commenting: "We were able to dispatch a good
message to the United States and the rest of world." However, there
appear such problems as a sharp decrease in information on
terrorists in the Indian Ocean due to the withdrawal of the Maritime
Self-Defense Force.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will tell US President George W. Bush
that he will do his best to enact the new antiterrorism legislation
as early as possible to resume the MSDF refueling operation.
A government source said yesterday:
"Passing the measure through the Lower House, in which the ruling
coalition has an overwhelming majority, is the minimum requirement.
If the prime minister visits without getting the bill passed in the
Lower House, Japan will lose face."
The MSDF supply vessel Tokiwa and destroyer Kirisame, which carried
out the refueling activities in the Indian Ocean until Nov. 1, are
now on their journey back home. They are expected to return home in
late November.
9) "Japan-US alliance will be important for next US administration
as well," says CFR chairman
ASAHI (Page 6) (Full)
November 14, 2007
A symposium titled "America and East Asia" co-hosted by the Council
on Foreign Relations (CFR), the think-tank that issues the monthly
"Foreign Affairs," and Asahi Shimbun), was held yesterday in Tokyo.
Commenting on Japan-US relations, President Richard Haass
underscored: "Parts of the relationship will change according to the
times, but the importance of the bilateral alliance will remain
unchanged. Japan will be a close partner of the US during the next
US administration as well."
Asked during a question-and-answer session whether China could
TOKYO 00005227 007 OF 010
become a strategic partner of the US, CFR senior fellow Adam Segal
responsible for China affairs noted, "The two countries might be
able to cooperate on many issues, but I do not think it will become
a US partner like Japan and Britain, which share the same values
with the US."
10) Three Okinawan municipalities that were not eligible for US
force realignment subsidies switch their stance and agree to accept
government plan
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full)
November 14, 2007
Kin Town, Ginoza Village and Onna Village, which host Camp Hansen,
on Nov. 13 announced that they would accept a government plan for
the joint use of Camp Hansen with the Ground Self-Defense Force
(GSDF), on which Tokyo and Washington had agreed in connection with
to the realignment of the US forces stationed in Japan. The three
municipalities had been against the joint use of the facility as
leading to an increased burden imposed by the military base.
Accordingly, the Defense Minister excluded the three municipalities
from the list of local governments eligible for realignment
subsidies, which the government extends, according to the degree of
cooperation. This is the first time for any local governments that
were not eligible for subsidies to have changed their stance and
accepted a government plan. The Defense Ministry now intends to
extend subsidies to those three municipalities as well.
Asked why they have changed their stance, officials of the three
municipalities replied that they judged the details of drills and
subsidies provided by the Defense Ministry from a comprehensive
perspective. Okinawa Defense Bureau Director General Kamata released
a comment, which read, "The joint use of Camp Hansen would improve
the training environment of the GSDF and benefit the safety of
prefectural citizens in the event of disasters."
The GSDF First Combine Brigade stationed in Naha City now carries
out drills three to four times a year at the GSDF's training grounds
located in various parts of Kyushu. Shooting and security drills
will likely be carried out at Camp Hansen.
11) Tokyo prosecutors to build bribery case against former Vice
Defense Minister Moriya, question defense officials about CX
procurement
MAINICHI (Top Play) (Lead paragraph)
November 14, 2007
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public
Prosecutors Office seems to be building a bribery case against
former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, 63, and
Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, former executive of defense equipment trader
Yamada Corp., who has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling
corporate funds, because suspicions have deepened that Moriya gave
favors to Miyazaki in selecting an engine supplier for the CX
next-generation transport aircraft in exchange for receiving illegal
profits. The prosecutors yesterday began questioning Defense
Ministry officials and former defense officials.
12) Moriya telephoned Yamada section in charge after being briefed
by company about overcharging Defense Agency
TOKYO 00005227 008 OF 010
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpt)
November 14, 2007
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public
Prosecutors Office yesterday questioned current and former Defense
Ministry officials in connection with the case in which military
equipment trading house Yamada Corp. overcharged the ministry for
the Maritime Self-Defense Force's equipment in FY2000, informed
sources said yesterday. It was also found that former Administrative
Vice-Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, who was serving as Defense
Agency Defense Policy Bureau director general at the time, had
telephoned the section in charge at Yamada after being briefed by
the company about the matter. The investigation squad questioned
some 30 current and former defense officials yesterday with the aim
of finding out whether or not the ministry gave favors to Yamada
Corp.
13) Former Yamada US subsidiary president arrested
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full)
November 14, 2007
Osamu Akiyama, 70, former president of Yamada International Corp., a
US subsidiary of Yamada Corp., returned from the United States to
Japan yesterday. Akiyama is suspected to have conspired with
Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, former managing director of Yamada Corp. and
former president of Japan Mirise.
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public
Prosecutors Office arrested Akiyama yesterday on suspicion of
embezzling company funds and forging documents.
Yakimaya is reported to have played a central role in building slush
funds by Yamada's US subsidiary. The special investigation squad is
expected to pursue him on this point as well.
14) Former Chinese Embassy official sentenced to death, suspended
for two years, in military court-martial on suspicion of leaking
classified information to Japan
SANKEI (Top play) (Excerpts)
November 14, 2007
Tadashi Ito, Beijing
Executive director Wang Chingchuan, 51, of the China Association for
International Friendly Contact (CAIFC; chaired by former Foreign
Minister Huang Hua), which has ties to a wide range of Japanese
quarters, has been sentenced to death, suspended for two years, for
leaking military information to a Japanese national, sources
familiar with Japan-China relations revealed. Wang's subordinate,
Chai Yungkuang, Asian affairs department deputy director, was also
reportedly sentenced to three years in prison for corruption. The
CAIFC is now faced with the greatest crisis since its
establishment.
Hailing from the Chinese military intelligence department, Wang, a
former colonel, had served as a CAIFC agent in Japan since the
1980s. He served as a first secretary at the Chinese Embassy in
Japan for several years until 2001. Having built a wide range of
ties to people in all walks of life in Japan, he has frequently
TOKYO 00005227 009 OF 010
visited Japan after returning to China.
According to the sources, Wang, after undergoing the National
Security Ministry's investigations since last fall, was indicted
this spring on charges of leaking military secrets and was sentenced
to death (with a possibility of being reduced to life imprisonment
two years later) in a closed court-martial this spring.
Wang's death sentence has been a top secret in China, with only a
handful of Chinese people aware of it. According to the sources,
Wang handed military data to a certain Japanese around summer last
year, and part of it was made public and that eventually led to his
arrest.
However, the contents of the data and the identity of the Japanese
national remain unclear. The person who obtained information might
face a charge of espionage. But there has been no query about the
Japanese person in question from the Chinese side, according to
concerned Japanese authorities.
The CAIFC was established in 1984 as a Chinese military-affiliated
organization to promote private-sector exchanges with other
countries. Expanding the organization under support by the late
Deputy President Wang Chen (honorary CAIFC chairman) and former
Central Advisory Committee Chairman Deng Xiaoping, the CAIFC's
leadership includes high-raking female members, such as Deng's third
daughter, Deng Rongshi, and former ambassadors to Japan.
The CAIFC was also supported by the late Japan Foundation chairman
Ryoichi Sasakawa. Forging friendly ties to Deng Xiaoping and Wang
Chen in the 1980s, Sasakawa provided the organization with 10
billion yen in a Sasakawa peace fund. Backed by political leaders
and funds, the CAIFC has grown into a central organization of
exchanges with Japan.
But the bloated organization has developed in recent years a
tendency to use exchanges with Japan for doing business and gaining
vested interests. Raising questions about such a tendency, Japan
Foundation (chaired by Yohei Sasakawa) dissolved the relations of
friendship with the organization in March this year. There is a
possibility that the Chinese government, too, has embarked on
normalizing the CAIFC.
15) Chinese ship to visit Japan on Nov. 28 for 1st time
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
November 14, 2007
A Chinese naval vessel will visit Japan from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1
for the first time, government officials revealed yesterday. The
Chinese warship is a destroyer, which is scheduled to arrive at
Harumi in Tokyo for exchange programs with the Maritime Self-Defense
Force, including communication training and concerted navigation.
The MSDF also has plans to send a vessel to China next year. Their
mutual visits could make Japan and China gear up for bilateral
cooperation in the security area.
Japan and China once agreed in 1998 on mutual fleet visits. However,
China was repulsed by the joint development of a missile defense
system between Japan and the United States. Since then, their mutual
visits have been up in the air. The two countries were about to make
mutual fleet visits in May 2002. Eventually, however, those
TOKYO 00005227 010 OF 010
scheduled fleet visits were shelved due to then Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine and other issues.
DONOVAN