Cablegate: Japanese Morning Press Highlights 11/19/07

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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.

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TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA

SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/19/07

Index:

Prime Minister's weekend schedule: None, after returning from the

US-Japan summit meeting in Washington

Bush-Fukuda summit meeting:

1) In first summit meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister

Fukuda promised to put every effort into early passage of new

antiterrorism bill (Asahi)

2) Main exchanges between President Bush and Prime Minister Fukuda

(Asahi)

3) On North Korea abduction issue, US, Japan remain on different

tracks, despite summit assurances (Mainichi)

4) Families of Japanese abducted by North Korea disappointed with

Fukuda's efforts in Washington summit meeting (Tokyo Shimbun)

5) Fukuda in speech at CSIS calls for more personnel exchanges

between US, Japan (Nikkei)

6) US, disgruntled with tough beef-import restrictions, continues

pressure at the Bush-Fukuda summit meeting (Mainichi)

7) Is the alliance adrift again? asks Asahi correspondent Yoichi

Kato (Asahi)

8) Prime Minister Fukuda travels to Singapore today for ASEAN plus 3

meeting (Mainichi)

Political agenda:

9) Fuji TV poll (small sampling) finds non-support rate for Fukuda

Cabinet now is higher than the support rate: 48.2 PERCENT to 45.2

PERCENT (Sankei)

10) Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ozawa on TV Sunday is

negative about a grand alliance with the LDP, Diet extension, and

antiterrorism law (Sankei)

11) DPJ Secretary General Hatoyama: Rather than making promises to

the US at the summit meeting, it would be better for the prime

minister to debate in the Diet (Tokyo Shimbun)

12) Alarm spreads across the LDP, New Komeito with the DPJ-backed

candidate's win in Osaka mayoralty race; impact expected on

antiterrorism bill deliberations (Sankei)

13) Former Japan director at the Pentagon James Auer denies being

wined and dined by shady defense contractor now under arrest

(Sankei)

Articles:

1) Gist of Japan-US summit

ASAHI (Page 2) (Full)

Eve., November 17, 2007

The following is a gist of the Japan-US summit talks between Prime

Minister Fukuda and President Bush.

Japan-US relations

Prime Minister Fukuda and President Bush agreed that the Japan-US

alliance is the cornerstone for Japan and the United States to

develop their Asia diplomacies and that it plays a role

indispensable for the two countries to deal with global issues.

North Korea

TOKYO 00005272 002 OF 011

Prime Minister Fukuda explained the importance of resolving the

abduction issue and the importance of cooperation between Japan and

the United States, including the issue of delisting North Korea as a

terror sponsor.

President Bush understands that the Japanese government and the

Japanese people are concerned that the United States may leave the

abduction issue behind to deal with North Korea. The United States

will never (sic) forget the abduction issue. The United States

supports the Japanese government's efforts.

Prime Minister Fukuda and President Bush agreed that it is important

to implement the six-party statement as a whole in a well-balanced

way. The two leaders confirmed that Japan and the United States will

continue to cooperate closely with each other.

Indian Ocean refueling resumption

Prime Minister Fukuda vowed to do his best to pass a refueling

assistance special measures bill at an early date in order for Japan

to resume the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in

the Indian Ocean at the earliest possible time.

President Bush appreciated Japan's efforts to resume its refueling

activities.

US beef

President Bush expressed hope that Japan will open its market for

all US beef products in conformity with the international

guidelines.

Prime Minister Fukuda stated that food safety for the Japanese

people is the main premise and that Japan will deal with the matter

on the basis of scientific findings.

Climate change

Prime Minister Fukuda and President Bush agreed that Japan and the

United States will cooperate closely with each other so that

concrete results will be achieved for an effective framework for the

future (with the participation of major greenhouse gas emitters).

The two leaders also agreed that Japan and the United States will

cooperate on technology development and on the peaceful use of

atomic energy for global warming prevention and energy security to

sustain economic growth.

2) Is the alliance adrift again? Commentary by America Bureau Chief

Yoichi Kato

ASAHI (Page2) (Full)

November 18, 2007

After his summit meeting with President Bush, Prime Minister Fukuda

had a meeting with scholars and other experts. The original version

of the address prepared for the session started with the words, "The

US-Japan relationship is now at its friendliest level ever," but the

words he actually delivered were, "Whether it is Iraq or Afghanistan

or North Korea, there are problems everywhere." The tone shifted 180

degrees. At the end of his meeting with President Bush, the prime

minister must have thought that it was not an occasion for praising

the alliance.

TOKYO 00005272 003 OF 011

The bilateral relationship has a mountain of difficult issues. In

addition to the delisting of North Korea as a state sponsoring

terrorism, there are such other issues as the Self-Defense Forces

(SDF) resuming refueling operations in the Indian Ocean, changing

Japan's share of the burden of host-nation support for US forces in

Japan (sympathy budget), and the beef import issue. What is feared

the most is a negative chain reaction: 1) if the perception in Japan

is that it is being left behind on North Korean issues, public

opinion will harden toward the US; 2) the resumption of SDF

refueling and progress on the sympathy budget then meet with

setbacks; and 3) the US becomes filled with distrust toward Japan.

Ambassador to the US Ryozo Kato in a recent speech stated that the

situation was "the most difficult since my appointment in Sept.

2001." Michael Green, Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and

International Studies, gave this analysis: "We are probably entering

a period of drift (as occurred after the Cold War)."

More than anything, the strength of the Fukuda administration has

greatly waned. With the election loss, the ruling camp has lost its

power to lead the Diet. On the US side, almost all of the Bush

administration's energy has been used up by the Iraq situation. In

addition, one by one, almost all of the experts on Japan have left

the Bush administration. "There is no one left who wakes up in the

morning thinking about how to strengthen the US-Japan relationship,"

said Green.

The prime minister's meeting with scholars and other experts was an

event aimed at strengthening exchanges between Japan and the United

States. Although measures to counter the gradual tapering off of

experts on Japan may be effective eventually, for the present

situation, they are useless. With the current situation only

becoming more serious, there is a noticeable sense of having reached

a dead end.

Basically, with the national security environment having changed

overnight by the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the US, the problem has

emerged of the alliance not having caught up to that reality. Since

the alliance only has in mind such challenges as the defense of the

Japanese homeland, as well as war on the Korean Peninsula or in the

Taiwan Strait, it needs to be changed so that it can deal with the

terrorist threat that knows no national boundaries. The need again

to redefine the alliance has arisen, as it did after the Cold War.

However, to do so, the administration must have the strength needed.

Although strategic talks was the top theme, the Bush-Fukuda summit

meeting ended only affirming that the bedrock nature of the Japan-US

relationship. The meeting gave a glimpse of the alliance again being

adrift.

3) Prime Minister Fukuda to leave for Singapore today, to explain

"resonant foreign policy"

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)

November 19, 2007

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will leave for Singapore today to attend

the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Plus Three (Japan, China and South Korea). He will explain in the

summit to other Asian countries his vision of foreign policy

promoting "resonance of the Japan-US alliance and Asia diplomacy,"

TOKYO 00005272 004 OF 011

which he told in his summit on Nov. 16 with US President George W.

Bush. He is determined to play up his political identity in the

summit meeting of the ASEAN plus Three. He will return home early on

Tuesday.

Fukuda is expected to hold talks for the first time together with

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and South Korea President Roh Moo

Hyun. After the trilateral meeting, he will then meet separately

with Wen and Roh. Besides meetings with ASEAN member countries, he

will attend the East Asia summit, in which the top leaders of India

and Australia will also take part.

The expectation is that in his meeting with Wen, Fukuda will

announce his intention to visit China in late December at the

earliest, and that he will invite President Hu Jintao to visit Japan

next April. Since the Yasukuni problem has calmed down when Fukuda

revealed that he would not visit Yasukuni Shrine, a cause of trouble

in the Koizumi government, Japan and China can now cooperate freely

in environmental affairs.

The Chinese government has expectations of Fukuda, who is known as

one of the friendliest Japanese politicians toward China. Therefore,

Fukuda and Wen will reconfirm their efforts to develop a strategic

reciprocal relation, which first confirmed between Wen and former

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. However, the two leaders are unlikely to

carry out penetrating exchanges on such single pending issues as gas

exploration in the East China Sea.

The outlook is that in the Japan-China-South Korea summit,

cooperation of the three countries over the North Korea issue will

become the main topic of discussion. This will be against the

background in which there is a possibility the United States will

delist the North as state sponsoring terrorism.

4) Abductees' families disappointed with prime minister: "He did not

refer to delisting issue"

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)

Evening, November 17, 2007

Referring to a Japan-US joint press conference held after a summit

between Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and President Bush, Deputy

Chairman Shigeo Iizuka of the Association of the Families of Victims

Kidnapped by North Korea, now visiting the US, expressed his

disappointment that the issue of the US taking North Korea off its

list of state sponsors of terrorism was not take up at the summit.

He said, "It was very regrettable."

Following the joint press conference, Iizuka told reporters his

impression of the summit, "I had the impression that Prime Minister

Fukuda came to the US just to greet the president." He then

disappointedly said, "President Bush during the joint press

conference after the summit said that he would not forget the

abduction issue. However, Prime Minister Fukuda did not mention that

he wants the US not to take North Korea off the US blacklist."

He further stressed, "I think North Korea will be desisted at some

point of the time. However, it must be after the abduction issue is

settled. It is an act of terrorism that North Korea has refused to

return abductees."

Members of the association had hoped to directly ask President Bush

TOKYO 00005272 005 OF 011

not to delist North Korea. Iizuka and other members on Nov. 15 met

with Assistant Secretary of State Hill, the US chief envoy to the

six-party talks, to discuss North Korea issue and strongly call on

the US not to delist North Korea.

5) Prime Minister Fukuda to promote person-to-person exchange; To

provide financial assistance to think-tanks

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)

Evening, November 17, 2007

Hiroaki Ito, Washington

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda held an informal meeting on Nov. 16 with

US think-tank fellows and intellectuals versed in Japan-US relations

on Nov. 16 at the official residence of the minister at the Japanese

Embassy in Washington.

Fukuda, who aims to place emphasis on expanding exchanges of persons

between Japan and the United States, stated in the meeting: "A

relationship of trust is the foundation of diplomacy. Bilateral

relations will become deeper and closer with mutual understanding of

lawmakers, academics and students."

As part of promoting person-to-person exchange, the government will

provide such major US think-tanks as the Center for Strategic and

International Studies (CSIS) and American Enterprise Institute (AEI)

with 150 million yen over three years through the Japan Foundation.

Japan also will offer 100 million yen in two years to ten

organizations, including universities, which are engaged in studies

of Japan.

6) Bush, Fukuda fail to reach agreement on US beef issue;

Dissatisfied US continuing to apply pressure on Japan

MAINICHI (Page 7) (Full)

November 18, 2007

Nobuhiro Saito, Washington

In the Japan-United States summit on Nov. 16, President Bush renewed

his call for Japan's removal of its all import restrictions on US

beef. Reflecting growing irritation among US officials concerned and

livestock farmers at the lack of progress on the issue, the US has

repeatedly made this request. Just before the summit meeting, a US

livestock group criticized Japan's import restrictions, complaining:

"We suffered losses worth approximately 8 billion dollars over the

past four years." The US has thus continued applying pressure on

Japan on the beef issue.

The US, though, also finds it difficult to promote a probing

discussion with Japan on the beef issue, in relation to ongoing

negotiations with South Korea on their free trade agreement (FTA).

Since Washington has called on Seoul to lift its all import

restrictions, the US cannot leave any room for Japan to negotiate

the possibility of keeping some of its import requirements.

According to a Japan-US diplomatic source, there was no exchange of

sharp words in the summit, with both leaders just repeating their

respective conventional views. President Bush said: "I hope Japan

will completely open up its market, based on the international

standard, " with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda replying: "The

TOKYO 00005272 006 OF 011

government will deal with the issue on a scientific basis, on the

major precondition that the safety of food be ensured for the

people."

South Korea has presented the condition of importing US beef from

cattle up to 30 months of age, remaining at odds with the US, which

is calling on South Korea to drop the age-limit restriction. Unless

a settlement is brought to the beef issue, the US Congress and South

Korea's Parliament will never be able to approve their free trade

agreement. Given this situation, the US has put aside negotiations

with Japan. Under such a situation, no tense atmosphere was detected

in a press conference after the summit meeting.

Even so, the major perception gap between Japan and the US remains

unresolved. There is always the possibility of the beef issue

emerging as the cause of a conflict between the US and Japan,

depending on progress in US-South Korea negotiations, as President

Bush has called the beef issue "an important diplomatic issue." US

pressure to urge Japan to remove its import restrictions is likely

to continue in the future.

7) Is the alliance adrift again? Commentary by America Bureau Chief