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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 005350
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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.
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA
SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/28/07
Index:
1) Top headlines
2) Editorials
3) Government to strengthen Japan Coast Guard authority to crack
down on WMD shipments by sea (Yomiuri)
Diet in turmoil:
4) Oft delayed Upper House debate on new antiterrorism bill to
finally start today (Mainichi)
5) Ruling camp to kill Democratic Party of Japan's bill that would
scrap the Iraq assistance law and bring back the ASDF from Kuwait
(Yomiuri)
6) Prime Minister Fukuda sees no need for an early Diet dissolution,
despite the turmoil (Nikkei)
7) Fukushima elected to a third term as head of the Social
Democratic Party (Mainichi)
Defense scandals:
8) Former Vice Defense Minister Moriya expected to be arrested today
on charges of accepting bribes from defense contractor (Nikkei)
9) Upper House to call former defense chief Nukaga to testify on
Dec. 3 on alleged attendance at party of defense contractor, now
under arrest (Sankei)
10) DPJ discloses telephone conversation with Moriya who insists
Nukaga sat in front of him at dinner party hosted by shady defense
contractor (Tokyo Shimbun)
11) DPJ releases the details of questioning Moriya, who testified
"Nukaga's presence" (Sankei)
North Korea problem:
12) Assistant Secretary Hill may travel to Pyongyang next month for
prior coordination of North Korea's report of its nuclear programs
(Asahi)
13) US, North Korea searching for the right formula that would allow
removal of DPRK from terror-sponsoring list (Asahi)
14) Fukuda says the Japan-China relationship has entered its spring
season (Yomiuri)
15) Talks on regulatory reform fail to reach common understanding
(Sankei)
16) Eleven independent public corporations ready to be axed or
merged (Asahi)
ARTICLES:
1) TOP HEADLINES
Asahi, Mainichi:
Brother-in-law confesses to killing woman, 2 girls in Kagawa
Yomiuri:
Moriya took 4 million yen in cash from Miyazaki; Moriya may be
arrested today for taking bribes
Nikkei:
Government eyeing FY2009 start for net taxation of capital gains,
TOKYO 00005350 002 OF 011
dividends
Sankei:
Japan must return supply ship to Indian Ocean: Yukio Okamoto
Tokyo Shimbun:
Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office to launch criminal investigation
into Moriya today; 2 million yen in his wife's bank account
Akahata:
Upper House Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee adopts bill to
rescind Iraq Special Measures Law
2) EDITORIALS
Asahi:
(1) South Korean presidential race: Change to the course of the last
10 years?
(2) We welcome resumed Middle East peace conference
Mainichi:
(1) Prime Minister Fukuda must review road construction plan
(2) Prime minister's eagerness the key to success of
decentralization
Yomiuri:
(1) Law on financial aid for terrorism victims a must
(2) Why did it take so long to find the man who killed woman and two
girls in Kagawa?
Nikkei:
(1) Attract foreign tourists for revitalizing regional economies
Sankei:
(1) Watch carefully Chinese military vessel's first call at Japanese
port
(2) Keeping nationwide mail delivery services essential
Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Chinese military vessel's port call: Delay in defense exchanges
must be overcome
(2) Warning signal flashing for economy
Akahata:
(1) Cooperation with survivors essential in recognizing those
suffering from A-bomb diseases
3) JCG inspections to be stepped up against WMDs
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged)
November 28, 2007
The government decided yesterday to create a new law intended to
crack down on shipborne materials related to nuclear weapons and
other weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Japan currently has no law
to punish anyone shipping WMD-related materials, so there is a limit
to its controls. The scope of the Japan Coast Guard's executable
police authority will be expanded to control relevant shipping as
crime. The new legislation is aimed at increasing the effectiveness
of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) promoted by the
United States and other countries.
TOKYO 00005350 003 OF 011
The newly planned law is intended to control and crack down on
WMD-related materials at sea. Under this law, the JCG will be
allowed to inspect ships that are suspected of carrying WMD-related
materials. In addition, the JCG will also be allowed to confiscate
WMD-related materials upon discovery. The government will also
consider incorporating penalties.
Those WMD-related materials subject to controls include nuclear
weapons and other nuclear explosive devices, as well as biological
and chemical weaponry.
New law to plug in current legal void
The government is going to create a new law for controlling
WMD-related materials at sea. Japan has no law to control suspicious
materials at sea under normal circumstances, so the government
intends to plug this hole in Japan's legal systems.
The government has developed legal systems in order for the Maritime
Self-Defense Force to control ships in Japan's territorial waters
and international waters. These legal systems include a law to
inspect ships in the event of regional contingencies and a law to
control foreign military supplies at sea. Meanwhile, Japan has
fallen behind in dealing with seafaring materials at ordinary
times.
The JCG ordinarily exercises its police authority in order to
prevent crimes and arrest criminals at sea. In addition, the JCG
will also be tasked with cracking down on WMDs at sea.
4) New antiterror bill to be discussed from today in upper chamber
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
November 28, 2007
The House of Councillors in its plenary sitting today will hear an
explanation of the government's newly introduced special antiterror
legislative measure and hold interpellations to start deliberations.
The Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) and other opposition
parties are calling for securing 40 hours or so just as in the House
of Representatives in order to fully deliberate on the new
antiterror bill. That would make it impossible for the bill to get
through the Diet before the current session ends on Dec. 15. The
ruling coalition will reextend the Diet session, aiming to pass the
bill again through a concurring vote of two-thirds or more in the
House of Representatives even after the bill is voted down in the
opposition-controlled House of Councillors. The Diet will now
continue a tense debate on the legislation until the end of the
current session.
The bill cleared the House of Representatives on Nov. 13, when it
was sent to the House of Councillors. The ruling coalition aimed to
have the House of Councilors start its deliberations on the bill in
its plenary sitting on Nov. 14. However, the opposition parties
insisted that the Diet should first investigate suspicions over the
Defense Ministry's scandals involving former Administrative Vice
Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya and Finance Minister Fukushiro
Nukaga. The opposition bench called for fast-tracking a bill to
repeal the Iraq Reconstruction Special Measures Law, so Diet
deliberations on the new antiterror bill have substantially fallen
behind schedule.
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5) Upper House approves bill to withdraw SDF from Iraq; Ruling camp
set to reject it
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
November 28, 2007
A bill to terminate the special measures law on assistance
reconstruction to support Iraq was approved in a meeting yesterday
of the committee on foreign affairs and defense of the
opposition-controlled House of Councillors. The Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ) submitted the bill that would withdraw the Air
Self-Defense Force (ASDF) from Iraq. The DPJ intends to urge the
ruling camp to approve the bill in the House of Representatives,
against the backdrop of changes in the international environment. In
Australia, the Labor Party, which has advocated the partial pullout
of its troops in Iraq, won a great victory in the recent House of
Representatives election. The government and the ruling coalition is
set to vote down and scrap the bill in the Lower House in order to
continue the ongoing airlift activities by the ASDF in Iraq, as
Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura said: "Efforts to stabilize and
reconstruct Iraq are only half done."
In the meeting yesterday, DPJ member Hiroe Makiyama said: "In the
United States presidential election campaign, the Democratic Party,
which has called for withdrawing troops from Iraq, is taking the
lead. In the election in Australia, the candidate of the Labor
Union, which set forth the pullout of its troops from Iraq, also won
a sweeping victory. Recent public opinion is shown in these
results."
Defense Minister Ishiba refuted: "The United Nations has made a
request, and our nation's C-130 transport aircraft can meet the
request in terms of security and stability."
A senior Foreign Ministry official stressed that Japan should
continue ASDF assistance activities in Iraq now that it pulled
Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) troops out of the Indian Ocean.
The official said: "Now is the most important time since peace and
public order in Iraq are being restored. If Japan suspends its
contributions in Iraq, following the MSDF's refueling mission in the
Indian Ocean, Japan might find itself isolated in the international
community."
6) Prime Minister Fukuda: I don't think early cabinet reshuffle is
necessary
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
November 28, 2007
When asked by the press corps about the possibility of an early
cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday said: "If I
say I will shuffle the cabinet, it will create an uproar. I don't
feel that a cabinet shuffle is necessary." Although some in the
ruling camp believe that the cabinet will be shuffled before the end
of the year after the current Diet session, which will run until
Oct. 15, Fukuda revealed his intention not to shuffle his cabinet.
There is a view in the ruling coalition that as the Fukuda
government has such scandals involving Finance Minister Fukushiro
Nukaga and the Defense Ministry, the prime minister should shuffle
his cabinet, not extend the ongoing Diet session. If Fukuda's
remarks are taken at face value, he might have indicated that he
TOKYO 00005350 005 OF 011
would re-extend the current session until January in order to
prioritize enacting the new refueling bill.
Fukuda stressed: "I am doing my best to hold discussions with the
opposition camp by using various ways" to enact the bill to resume
the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian
Ocean. Since there are no prospects for the bill to clear the Diet,
he intends to step up his approach to the opposition bloc.
As to how to manage Diet affairs, he noted: "I think it would be a
good idea to form sub-committees as need arises, for example." He
indicated that the setting up of sub-committees to flexibly carry
out debate would become a theme up for consideration.
7) SDP head Fukushima secures third term without a vote
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Excerpts)
November 28, 2007
Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima secured her third
term as head of the party without going through a vote as she was
the only candidate in the presidential campaign that started on Nov.
26. The deadline for the ballot was 3:00 p.m. yesterday. Fukushima
indicated in a press conference yesterday she would do her best to
rebuild the party's strength. She stated: "We are now in a severe
situation. We need to expand the party's strength and rebuild
cooperation with citizens."
In the House of Representatives election in 2005 when she became the
party head, the SDP garnered seven seats, increasing its strength by
two seats, but the party obtained only two seats, down one seat from
the seats up for re-election, in the proportional representation
segment of this summer's House of Councillors election. Party
members have decreased and they are aging. The number of SDP
candidates for Lower House elections has been on the decline -- 76
candidates for the 2000 race, 65 in 2003, and 45 in 2005.
8) Former Vice Defense Minister Moriya to be arrested today for
suspected bribery
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
November 28, 2007
The special investigation squad of the Tokyo district Public
Prosecutors Office seems to have decided to arrest former
Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, 63, today on
suspicion of taking such bribes as golf outings worth more than 4.5
million yen over five years from Motonobu Miyazaki, 63, a former
executive of defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp., who is
now under arrest for suspected embezzlement, in exchange for such
favorable business treatment as procurement of defense equipment.
The unusual collusive ties between the former influential vice
minister and the arrested defense equipment firm executive, who
played golf together more than 300 times, are expected to develop
into a major corruption scandal.
The special investigative task force believes that Moriya gave
special favors to Yamada Corp. and trading house Nihon Mirise
founded by Miyazaki in procuring General Electric Co.-made engines
for the Air Self-Defense Force's next generation CX transport jet.
The prosecutors will likely aim at investigating the illicit
dealings in connection with vested interests over the Defense
TOKYO 00005350 006 OF 011
Ministry.
It has been revealed that Miyazaki played golf with Moriya more than
300 times in eight years from April 1998 through June 2006 and the
total amount of green fees Miyazaki covered for Moriya and
accompanying players exceeded 15 million yen.
9) Nukaga to give Diet testimony on Dec. 3; LDP plans to boycott it,
dismissing allegations
SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
November 28, 2007
The House of Councillors Financial Affairs Committee, chaired by
Naoki Minezaki of the Democratic Party of Japan, approved a plan
last night to summon Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and former
Vice-Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya for Diet testimony on the
afternoon of Dec. 3 regarding allegations that Nukaga was present at
a dinner party along with Moriya and others. The plan was adopted in
the absence of the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition
partner New Komeito. LDP Upper House Diet Affairs Committee Chairman
Seiji Suzuki indicated that his party would absent itself from the
planned Diet testimony, saying, "We do not endorse their Diet
testimony."
Prior to the committee meeting, LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman
Tadamori Oshima held a press conference, in which he announced the
party's investigative results that it was impossible for Nukaga to
have attended the dinner party in question, producing transcripts of
a study session Nukaga had attended and photographs of him and his
family members during a dinner that day. According to the LDP's
investigation, Nukaga had a dinner with his family and friends at a
hotel in Tokyo's Ginza from 6:00 p.m. December 4, 2006, the day the
DPJ says Nukaga attended the dinner party in question, and then
attended a defense affairs study session at the Japan-US Center for
Peace and Cultural Exchange office for about an hour and a half from
shortly after 8:00 p.m.
Oshima explained that the dinner party in question started at 6:30
p.m. at the Japanese restaurant Hamadaya in Tokyo attended by eight
persons, including Moriya and former US Defense Department Japan
desk director James Auer, and that Nukaga was not there according to
Auer's account. Oshima said: "After the family dinner, Mr. Nukaga
did not have the time to drop by at Hamadaya."
10) DPJ releases telephone interview with Moriya, who said: "There
was no mistake that Mr. Nukaga was present"
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
November 28, 2007
The following is a gist of telephone conversations between the
Democratic Party of Japan and former Administrative Vice-Defense
Minister Takemasa Moriya, released by the DPJ yesterday.
November 21
DPJ: Did you attend the dinner party held at a Japanese restaurant
at Tokyo's Nihonbashi-Ningyocho on December 4, 2006?
Moriya: I certainly did. There are records taken by a Defense
Ministry driver.
TOKYO 00005350 007 OF 011
DPJ: Was it held by the Association for Communication of
Transcultural Study (ACT)?
Moriya: Yes. It was held in the honor of former US Defense
Department Japan desk director James Auer, who delivered a speech.
DPJ: Who attended the dinner party?
Moriya: Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, the ACT chief director,
Mr. Auer, former Yamada Corp. managing director Motonobu Miyazaki,
and a number of private-sector individuals.
DPJ: Was Mr. Nukaga there throughout the dinner?
Moriya: He left the dinner halfway through, as he was told, "You are
busy."
DPJ: Did Mr. Nukaga talk with Mr. Auer?
Moriya: They talked to each other over drinks.
DPJ: Why was Miyazaki there?
Moriya: I think he attended it because Mr. Auer was there. For
business.... Otherwise, there was no reason for him to be there.
November 22
DPJ: Isn't there any objective fact to prove that (Nukaga) was
present?
Moriya: Mr. Nukaga came late and the person sitting next to Mr. Auer
offered his seat. There is no mistake, because I was sitting across
from the table.
11) DPJ releases the details of questioning Moriya, who testified
"Nukaga's presence"
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
November 28, 2007
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) Diet Affairs
Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka and other leaders met the press
yesterday and released the details of direct questioning by the
party's investigative team of former Administrative Vice Defense
Minister Takemasa Moriya. Yamaoka and other leaders stressed the
need to summon Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga as a witness to the
Diet to make it clear whether Nukaga had joined a dinner party held
at a restaurant in Tokyo on the night of Dec. 4, 2006, together with
James Auer, (former director for Japan in the Department of Defense)
and suspect Motonobu Miyazaki.
During the press briefing yesterday, DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa
noted: "(Mr. Nukaga) is responsible for compiling a budget bill and
submitting it to the next ordinary Diet session. If his words and
actions are contradictory to the facts, it would not only lead to a
crisis for one cabinet member but also create a crisis for the
Fukuda cabinet."
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said that Nukaga would not
have the time to attend the dinner party because he had dined with
TOKYO 00005350 008 OF 011
his family that night, but referring to this, Yamaoka rebutted: (The
time of a digital photo taken of Nukaga and his family dining
together is not reliable because the time could be inserted at
anytime. It would be possible for (Nukaga) to leave in the middle of
the meal with his family to attend the dinner party, given that the
two places are as close as five to 10 minutes by car." Moreover,
Yamaoka noted: "It is the legislators' responsibility and obligation
to probe (whether Mr. Nukaga and Mr. Moriya) gave false statements
or truth."
The DPJ had not made clear until recently who had testified, but in
order to counter the LDP's indication of Nukaga's alibi, the DPJ
revealed that the witness was Moriya, and that the party questioned
him at least four times on Nov. 21, 22, and 27.
Moriya's testimony made to the DPJ was specific like Nukaga joined
the dinner party belatedly and sat down next to Auer. A senior DPJ
member said with confidence: "Our party obtained Mr. Moriya's
approval about what our party revealed during today's press
conference." Late yesterday, DPJ Deputy President Naoto Kan said at
a gathering of the DPJ Lower House members: "This may topple the
Fukuda cabinet."
12) Hill hints at a revisit to DPRK next month, perhaps for prior
coordination on declaration of nuclear programs
ASAHI (Page 6) (Full)
November 28, 2007
Yoshihiro Makino, Kei Ukai, Nobuyoshi Sakajiri
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the US chief
representative to the six-party talks to discuss North Korea's
nuclear issue, is considering revisiting North Korea in early
December, a source revealed. On Nov. 27, government officials from
Japan, the United States, South Korea, China, and Russia arrived in
Pyongyang to inspect the ongoing process of disabling North Korea's
nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, the chief negotiators in the
six-party talks are expected to meet shortly in Beijing.
According to a US State Department official, Hill plans to visit
Japan, South Korea, China from Nov. 27. China is sounding out the
possibility of holding a meeting of the six-party chief negotiators
on Dec. 6-8. If this plan is realized, Hill will join the meeting
while visiting China. However, North Korea has not responded yet to
this plan, the official said.
On Nov. 27, Hill strongly suggested the possibility of revisiting
North Korea at an airport in a suburb of Washington, telling
reporters: "There may be an announcement shortly indicating a visit
to another place." If his revisit to North Korea is realized, Hill
is likely to visit the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. Speaking of
America's undertaking of the nuclear issue, including whether to
delist the North as a state sponsor of terrorism, Hill noted that
"I'd like to have an opportunity to explain" that to North Korea.
According to an official involved, Hill is considering revisiting
the North after South Korea. The planned meeting of the chief
representatives is expected to focus on North Korea's declaration of
all its nuclear programs as agreed on in the six-party talks. A
source connected with the six-party talks commented: "(Hill) may
plan to make prior coordination so that North Korea can respond to a
TOKYO 00005350 009 OF 011
full declaration of its nuclear programs."
Meanwhile, according to China's Xinhua News Agency, a group of
government officials and nuclear experts from five countries of the
six-party talks excluding North Korea arrived in that country on
Nov. 27 in order to see how far the disablement process, which is
going on in line with the six-party agreement, is advancing. On Nov.
28, the group will visit Yongbyon, where nuclear facilities are
concentrated, and return to Beijing on Nov. 29.
Joining the group from Japan is Tomiko Ichikawa, director of the
Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation, Science and Nuclear Energy
Division. She will be the first Japanese government official to
visit the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon. As part of economic
sanctions against North Korea, Japan has suspended dispatching
government officials to the North, but on Nov. 26, Foreign Minister
Koumura released a statement, in which he said: "I decided to
dispatch her to the North so that Japan will be actively engaged in
the disablement process."
13) US, DPRK probing each other's intentions, with US requesting, "A
declaration of nuclear programs should be made first," and DPRK
arguing, "Delisting should come first"
ASAHI (Page 6) (Full)
November 28, 2007
Kei Ukai, Washington
When asked by the Asahi Shimbun on Nov. 26 about a declaration of
all the nuclear programs as agreed on in the six-party talks, one
North Korean official said, "We are watching whether the United
States is meeting its commitments," revealing that the North is
looking for the right timing for it to submit a declaration, while
watching the US government's move to delist the North as a state
sponsoring terrorism.
Horse-trading is continuing between Washington, which intends to
remove the North from the list of state sponsors of terrorism after
examining the contents of the North's declaration of all its nuclear
programs, and Pyongyang. Tokyo has been opposed to delisting the
North without any progress on the abduction issue.
The six-party agreement says North Korea should declare all its
nuclear programs by the end of the year. US Assistant Secretary of
State Christopher Hill indicated an outlook in a US House public
hearing on Oct. 25 that the first list of (nuclear programs) would
come out within two weeks, but the first list has not been submitted
yet. The US intends to check the first list against information
given by other countries and then bring out a final declaration. If
the submission of the list is delayed, a final declaration may not
be made within the deadline. On Nov. 27, Hill told reporters: "The
list will be submitted within a couple of days." He also indicated
the possibility that the list would be shown to the group of
government officials and nuclear experts from the five countries
that arrived in North Korea on Nov. 27 in order to see progress on
the disablement process. A high-level US State Department official
noted: "The situation has not yet reached the point of delisting
North Korea."
14) Prime minister: Spring has already arrived in Japan-China
relations
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YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
November 28, 2007
Prime Minister Fukuda received a courtesy call by members of the
Japan-China journalist exchange conference, composed of
representatives of Japanese and Chinese news organizations, at his
official residence yesterday.
In response to a remark by a Chinese journalist: "We hope spring
will come soon in Japan-China relations," Fukuda said: "I think
spring has already arrived in Japan-China relations." He added: "I
hope that the spring will last as long as possible. Because when
summer comes, something that upsets us might occur."
Prime Minister Fukuda was keeping in mind the anniversary of the end
of the war on Aug. 15. In the Koizumi administration, the prime
minister and cabinet ministers visited Yasukuni Shrine, making China
nervous and eventually causing cracks to appear between the two
countries. Former Prime Minister Abe did not reveal whether he would
visit the shrine.
Unlike these predecessors, Prime Minister Fukuda has clearly said he
would not visit Yasukuni Shrine. The prime minister, treated
cordially by China, is scheduled to visit China at the end of the
year or early next year.
15) No agreement reached in open debate on double-billing system
SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
November 28, 2007
The government's Regulatory Reform Conference, chaired by Nippon
Yusen K.K. Chairman Takao Kusakari, carried out an open debate with
the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) yesterday on a
double-billing system - part of care covered by medical insurance
and part not covered. Taking advantage of the Tokyo District Court's
ruling on Nov. 7 that it is illegal for insurance not to cover any
medical fees in such a case, the reform panel called for completely
removing restrictions, but a ministry official countered: "To
maintain the current safe medical-care structure, certain rules are
necessary," standing firm on the ministry's view that the current
double-billing system should be maintained.
At the outset of the debate, Chairman Kusakari implicitly criticized
the MHLW for its stance of not approving in principle a hospital
that provides both healthcare covered by insurance and private
treatment even after the government's defeat in the recent lawsuit,
saying: "We want the ministry to conduct discussion from the
viewpoint of offering medical services for the sake of the people."
In the debate, a representative from the reform panel said: "If the
ruling by the Tokyo District Court is confirmed, it will prove that
providing both healthcare covered by insurance and elective
treatment itself is not banned." But a MHLW official argued: "Since
medical treatment at the patient's own expense will become common,
the patient's burden will become improperly heavier." Another
official claimed: "Specific medical treatment without any scientific
grounds will be promoted." Regarding the ruling by the Tokyo
District Court, Health Insurance Bureau Director General Kunio
Mizuta said: "The ruling is not to judge the propriety of the
double-billing system (but to judge the plaintiff's individual
TOKYO 00005350 011 OF 011
treatment case)."
Further, a panel member urged the ministry to present data of
negative effects expected to appear as a result of lifting the ban,
but there was no clear-cut reply from the ministry.
16) Panel of experts proposes the scrapping or privatization on 11
independent administrative corporations, including housing
assistance organization
ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpt)
November 28, 2007
The government's council of learned persons for reducing and making
more efficient government administration (chaired by Kikkoman
Chairman Yusaburo Shigeki) selected 11 out of a total of 101
independent administrative corporations (dokuritsu gyousei houjin or
doppou) for scrapping or privatizing, such as the Urban Revival
Organization and the Housing Financial Assistance Organization.
Chairman Shigeki then presented the panel's report to Prime Minister
Fukuda. Upon receiving the proposals, the government will draw up a
plan within the year to consolidate and rationalize the
corporations, but the focus will be how effective will the
leadership of the Prime Minister's office be, since until now there
has been strong resistance from the ministry or agency having
jurisdiction over the corporations.
SCHIEFFER