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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 TOKYO 000161
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 01/22/08
INDEX:
(1) Bill revising special taxation measures law to be submitted
tomorrow to Lower House; Upper House LDP wants bill to clear Lower
House before end of January (Mainichi)
(2) DPJ having difficulty deciding what approach to take regarding
supplementary budget bill: Decision to be made right before roll
call (Yomiuri)
(3) Consumer minister to be appointed in April (Yomiuri)
(4) Chinese military experts discussing sending troops to North
Korea to deal with a collapse of Kim Jong Il regime (Yomiuri)
(5) Think-tank headed by Yoshiko Sakurai: Delisting North Korea as
state sponsor of terrorism will undermine Japan's confidence in U.S
(Sankei).
(6) Int'l community beginning to undergo sea change: Morimoto
(Sankei)
(7) U.S. FDA declares safety of beef from cloned cattle: Cloned
pigs, goats also safe; Voluntary shipment restraint to be kept in
place (Yomiuri)
(8) Editorial: If cloned beef is marketed, labeling requirement
should be imposed (Mainichi)
(9) TOP HEADLINES
(10) EDITORIALS
(11) Prime Minister's schedule, January 18 (Nikkei)
ARTICLES:
(1) Bill revising special taxation measures law to be submitted
tomorrow to Lower House; Upper House LDP wants bill to clear Lower
House before end of January
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
January 22, 2008
There is a deepening rift in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over
a strategy of passing a bill to revise the special taxation measures
law to maintain the provisional tax rate imposed on gasoline. The
main issue is when the bill should clear the House of
Representatives. The Lower House LDP caucus has insisted that the
legislation should be passed in mid-February by the Lower House, but
LDP members in the House of Councillors are unhappy with the idea.
The government and ruling coalition have decided to submit the bill
on Jan. 23 to the Lower House earlier than the initially scheduled
25th. Since the Upper House LDP has still been endeavoring to
recover from the setback, the focus is on a final decision to be
made by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
In an LDP executive meeting last evening, Fukuda stated: "I leave
managing Diet affairs to the secretary general and Diet Affairs
Committee chairman. As a responsible person, I will make a decision
at a time when I should do so." He indicated in his remarks that he
wanted to curb internal discord over Diet deliberations on the
TOKYO 00000161 002 OF 013
provisional gasoline tax rate.
Meanwhile, Upper House LDP Caucus Chairman Hidehisa Otsuji stressed
in a press conference after the executive meeting: "If the bill is
sent to the Upper House in February, it will be difficult to reach a
conclusion before the end of this fiscal year (March)."
The Upper House LDP's idea is that the ruling coalition will able to
resort to a two-thirds majority override vote in the Lower House
even if the opposition does not put the bill to a vote within 60
days after it is sent to the upper chamber. This means that the bill
must be cleared the Lower House by Jan. 31 in order to secure 60
days before the end of March. Another senior Upper House LDP member
told his aides: "This issue is not logic but a battle." His view is
that force is the only way to enact the bill before the end of this
fiscal year.
The reason for Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki and other Lower House
LDP members being negative about passing the bill within January is
that they are concerned that an early passage of the bill may bring
on political turmoil. Usually a bill amending the special taxation
measures law is sent to the Upper House during the time between late
February and early March. The opposition camp is certain to toughen
its stance if the ruling coalition passes the measures by March 31
through the Lower House after the bill is submitted to the lower
chamber on Jan. 23. However, the Lower House LDP views that if it
rams through the bill, the ruling camp will give the opposition bloc
an excuse to boycott deliberations on the fiscal 2008 budget bill.
The LDP caucus in the Lower House is more concerned about a
political situation that involves the risk of escalating into Lower
House dissolution, which the ruling camp wishes to put off as long
as possible. A senior Upper House LDP member said yesterday: "The
question is how the prime minister will make his final decision."
(2) DPJ having difficulty deciding what approach to take regarding
supplementary budget bill: Decision to be made right before roll
call
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full)
January 22, 2008
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) is having difficulty
deciding what approach to take regarding the fiscal 2007
supplementary budget bill and related bills, such as an amendment to
the Local Distribution Tax Law. Some are calling for opposing the
bills, citing the government's economic misadministration. Others
are insisting on approving the bills before the end of the current
fiscal year, because if the related laws fail to secure Diet
approval by then, it would have a major impact on the finances of
local governments. They are instead calling for focusing on a bill
amending the Special Tax Measures Law, including retaining the
provisional rate imposed on the gas tax.
The DPJ party leadership, including President Ozawa, Secretary
General Hatoyama and Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka,
on Jan. 21 met in the Diet building and conferred on the
supplementary budget bill. However, failing to decide what approach
to take, they simply confirmed that they would decide whether to
approve them or not right before a roll call in the Lower House,
after determining the development of Diet deliberations.
The DPJ has supported a supplementary budget only once in the past
TOKYO 00000161 003 OF 013
decade. It supported the fiscal 2004 bill, which included
appropriations for reconstruction from the damage caused by the
Chuetsu Earthquake in Niigata Prefecture.
The fiscal 2007 supplementary budget includes measures to make up
for budgetary shortfalls stemming from tax revenues falling short of
the government estimate. There is strong criticism of the government
in the DPJ that the government's economic misadministration has
necessitated the compilation of a supplementary budget.
However, as Internal Affairs Minister Masuda has pointed out that if
the supplementary budget bill and related bills are not enacted
within the current fiscal year, local governments would be cornered
to a considerable extent, the DPJ is concerned that if it opposes
those bills, it could be exposed to criticism from local
governments, as one senior member said.
(3) Consumer minister to be appointed in April
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
January 19, 2008
The government yesterday determined the outline of a system to
promote consumer affairs administration, as declared by Prime
Minister Fukuda in his policy speech the same day. With the aim of
establishing a new body to promote the unification of consumer
affairs administrative functions, the government intends to submit
related bills to the regular Diet session in 2009. Meanwhile, the
government plans to appoint a new minister in charge of consumer
affairs in April. Some speculate that State Minister for Okinawa and
People's Life Kishida is likely to be asked to carry an additional
portfolio.
As a new body, there is the plan of creating a consumer agency in
the Cabinet Office. In the case of an agency, some hundreds of staff
members are needed. Some persons warn that the plan may go against
the government's streamlining efforts through administrative reform.
Given this, some persons propose setting up a very independent
committee with strong authority based on the National Government
Organization Law, like the Fair Trade Commission. The government
plans to recruit personnel well-versed in consumer affairs
administration from such relevant government agencies as the
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Health, Labor
and Welfare Ministry.
What form the new body should take and other details will be
discussed at the Council for Social Policy, an advisory panel to
Prime Minister Fukuda. The government intends to conduct discussion
in March based on recommendations from the council and determine and
specify the structure of the new body in its annual economic and
fiscal policy guidelines due out in June.
The government plans to submit a bill amending the Cabinet Office
Establishment Law and install a consumer affairs minister in April.
It is looking into granting the minister with the strong power to
appoint.
(4) Chinese military experts discussing sending troops to North
Korea to deal with a collapse of Kim Jong Il regime
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly)
January 22, 2008
TOKYO 00000161 004 OF 013
Satoshi Saeki, Beijing
Should North Korea's Kim Jong Il regime face an imminent collapse, a
large number of not only civilians but also armed military troops
and security personnel might become refugees, too, and flock to the
northeastern part of China bordering with North Korea, flowing out
into China. Alarmed at such a possibility, experts of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army and others are discussing a contingency
plan to send troops to North Korea with the aim of restoring law and
order and controlling nuclear weapons, a source familiar with
China-DPRK relations revealed yesterday.
Although China thinks that the situation in North Korea will be
stable for the time being, it seems to be expediting efforts to draw
up emergency measures against unexpected events.
According to the source, the stance of the experts and others is
that a decision on whether to dispatch troops following certain
contingencies in North Korea, such as Kim Jong Ill's sudden death
and a coup d'etat, will be made based on approval by the UN Security
Council. They are also considering dispatching troops independently
in the event an inflow of refugees is imminent. The Chinese
leadership, which has yet to make a final decision on the matter, is
expected to make a cautious decision by giving consideration to
relations with the United States and other factors.
Since the nuclear test in October 2006 by North Korea, concern has
been growing in China over control of nuclear weapons during a
national contingency. Another source underlined the need for study,
saying: "The UN Security Council must discuss how nuclear weapons
must be controlled multilaterally in case not only North Korea but
also other unstable countries, such as Pakistan, fall into chaos."
As a fruit of discussions with Chinese experts last year, the U.S.
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has released a
report touching on the idea of dispatching Chinese troops to North
Korea in the event of a contingency there. As purposes for sending
troops, the report mentions: (1) humanitarian duties, such as
supporting (civilian) refugees, (2) peacekeeping, and (3) security
of nuclear weapons and materials. A Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman, however, has denied the existence of such a concept.
(5) Think-tank headed by Yoshiko Sakurai: Delisting North Korea as
state sponsor of terrorism will undermine Japan's confidence in
U.S.
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full)
January 22, 2008
The Japan Institute for National Fundamentals (JINF), a
private-sector think-tank established last December, yesterday held
a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.
Journalist Yoshiko Sakurai is executive director of the think-tank.
JINF aims to contribute to building a self-sustaining nation and to
study basic issues that Japan is facing. With its first press
conference, the group began full-fledged activities.
At the press conference, JINF announced a proposal opposing the
delisting of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, citing
that such a move undermines Japan's confidence in the United
States.
TOKYO 00000161 005 OF 013
The proposal stipulates that Japan should clearly express its
opposition to removing North Korea from the U.S. list of states
sponsoring terrorism by explaining that: (1) the U.S. government
should not remove the DPRK from its blacklist before Japan's
abduction issue is resolved; (2) the U.S. Congress should adopt a
resolution imposing strict conditions for delisting the communist
country as a state sponsoring terrorism; and (3) the Japanese
government and the Diet should inform the White House and Congress
that delisting will damage Japan's confidence in the United States.
JINF has sent its proposal to Japanese legislators in both houses of
the Diet, to the members of the U.S. Congress, and to major American
think-tanks.
Prospectus (gist)
We have an indescribable sense of crisis about the present situation
for Japan. In contrast to growing tensions and instability in the
international situation, it seems that Japan's goal of breaking away
from the "postwar regime" is wavering, and public interest is
leaning toward immediate issues.
Historical issues exist not only in Japan's relations with
neighboring countries but also with the United States, as well. Even
more worrisome than a decline in academic performance and a loss of
moral education is the serious problem of a lack of national
awareness of such by the Japanese people. Taking pride in Japan's
long and unbroken civilization, we want to rethink options for Japan
from an international point of view. As a completely independent
private-sector institute, JINF wants to play a role in building a
self-sustaining country.
JINF directors
Tadae Takubo
JINF deputy director (visiting professor at Kyorin University)
Shintaro Ishihara
(Tokyo governor)
Takashi Ito
(University of Tokyo professor emeritus)
Tomomi Inada
(Lower House member)
Koichi Endo
(Takushoku University professor)
Yoshito Ogura
(Nihon Arco-Iris (TN: phonetic) president)
Tadashi Saito
(Nikkei Publishing Inc. president)
Katsuhiko Takaike
(lawyer)
Saburo Tsukamoto
(Former Social Democratic Party chairman)
TOKYO 00000161 006 OF 013
Takanori Nakajo
(Asahi Breweries honorary advisor)
Terumasa Nakanishi
(Kyoto University graduate school professor
Akihisa Nagashima
(Lower House member)
Osamu Nishi
(Komazawa University professor)
Sukehiro Hirakawa
(University of Tokyo professor emeritus)
Takeo Hiranuma
(former economic planning agency head)
Jin Matsubara
(Lower House member)
Taro Yayama
(Political commentator)
Shu Watanabe
(Lower House member)
(6) Int'l community beginning to undergo sea change: Morimoto
SANKEI (Page 13) (Full)
January 22, 2008
Satoshi Morimoto, director of the Overseas State of Affairs Research
Institute, Takushoku University
The international community will face the biggest watershed in the
post-Cold War era around 2010, with changes beginning to occur in
2008. In the spring, South Korean, Taiwanese, and Russian leaders
will change. In summer, Japan will host the Group of Eight (G-8)
summit at Lake Toya in Hokkaido. After that, there will be the
Beijing Olympics. In autumn, the United States will have a
presidential election. These changes will have a major impact on
international politics and also on the global economy.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are serious issues, as is Turkey's Kurdish
problem. The war on terror will also face a turning point.
Among other issues are the subprime mortgage fiasco, soaring crude
oil prices, and climate change. The United States-whatever
administration may come into office after the presidential
election-will urge its allies to take on further burdens and will
become inward-looking with issues at home in order to restore its
military, hurt in the Iraq war, and turn around its finances.
The United States' economy is deeply interdependent with the global
economy. Its economic slump and the emergence of anti-U.S. sentiment
caused by the Iraq war in developing areas have reduced the United
States' leadership. The biggest fantasy in the post-Cold War era was
the image of a unipolar world led by the United States. However, the
image of a multipolarized world is also a misunderstanding. The
world will not be multipolarized. It will only be of a pluralistic
structure.
TOKYO 00000161 007 OF 013
The United States and Russia will come out with their new
administrations' policies by 2010. China will hold an international
exposition. Meanwhile, China will outpace Taiwan in their military
balance. China, backed by its military power, will plot a political
turn of events for Taiwan.
The Korean Peninsula is highly likely to show a big change by that
time. The six-party talks will develop into a regional framework for
East Asia. In that process, the truce will turn into a peace pact.
Actually, inter-Korean reunification is highly likely to be on the
agenda. There is no doubt that the United States will choose China
over Japan to get over issues in Asia.
Lately, Japan and the United States are not getting along well in
their alliance. Japan says it will strengthen its alliance with the
United States. However, Japan is still holding on to its
conventional policy standpoint based on its constitutional
interpretation. Japan is trying to be a free rider in its security
arrangement with the United States. In the United States' eyes,
Japan is neither ready nor effective as an ally. The alliance is now
at a crisis. The question is how to overcome it. It is about time
for Japan to decide on what to do.
The biggest problem for Japan's domestic politics is the Diet's
current lopsidedness, with the ruling coalition holding a majority
of the seats in the House of Representatives and the opposition
parties dominating the House of Councillors. Last year's election
for the House of Councillors ended in the ruling coalition's rout
with no public appreciation of the Abe cabinet's job performance.
However, the Fukuda cabinet is also in a fix due to the balance of
strengths in the two Diet chambers. Public dissatisfaction, mainly
in outlying areas, remains undissolved. The rate of public support
for the Fukuda cabinet is on the decline. The government is
therefore promoting policy measures with emphasis on public life.
This is understandable. However, there is still no way out of the
current political deadlock, resulting in stagnated foreign,
security, and defense policies. This will lead to serious damage to
Japan's national interests.
One possible way for Japan's domestic politics to function is to
form a coalition of the ruling and opposition parties or hold policy
talks between the ruling and opposition parties. Before that,
however, the ruling and opposition parties may change places. A
coalition of the ruling and opposition parties would not last long.
Political realignment is also conceivable.
Meanwhile, the United States and its European allies see Afghanistan
as the main theater of their antiterror operations. They may pull
their troops out of Iraq. However, they tend to reinforce their
military presence in Afghanistan. Japan will now send Maritime
Self-Defense Force vessels back to the Indian Ocean. Then, the
question is if it is all right for Japan to only provide fuel and
water in its Afghan aid. The Diet, in its extraordinary session to
be called this fall, may repeat what it did last year over a newly
enacted antiterrorism special measures law as temporary legislation
with a one-year time limit. In addition, the United States may
pressure Japan to cooperate and send ground troops to Afghanistan.
There is a limit to the option of repeating such temporary
legislation.
That is why some insist on the necessity of establishing a permanent
TOKYO 00000161 008 OF 013
law to send the SDF overseas. This also could trigger political
realignment. At any rate, Japan, in its current status, cannot be a
major power in East Asia.
The United States will choose China over Japan and is now about to
build a security framework for Northeast Asia while acknowledging
North Korea as a nuclear power. The question is whether Japan should
strengthen its alliance with the United States or whether it should
otherwise explore its own security and defense policies in the
belief that the Japan-U.S. alliance has now come to the end of its
life. One other question is whether Japan should choose to maintain
its national stability in its partnership with China while depending
on a regional framework. The Japanese people must decide what Japan
should do.
The most effective option for Japan is to change its bilateral
alliance with the United States into a positive asset. To do so,
Japan will have to be prepared to pay necessary costs and make
sacrifices. Japan cannot entrust its national security to a security
framework for Northeast Asia. Discussing permanent legislation for
Japan to send the SDF for overseas missions is to opt for Japan's
own fate at a crossroads.
(7) U.S. FDA declares safety of beef from cloned cattle: Cloned
pigs, goats also safe; Voluntary shipment restraint to be kept in
place
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)
Evening, January 16, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has examined the safety of
food products made from cloned cattle, pigs and goats and their
offspring and released a final safety assessment report noting that
meat and dairy products from cloned animals are as safe as that from
their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way. Following the
decision, the U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) plans to create a
system that will enable food products from cloned animals to be
smoothly accepted by the market. As a transitional measure, the
livestock industry will continue its voluntary shipment restraint,
which was started in 2001, for some time to come.
In making a safety assessment, the FDA analyzed the health condition
of cloned animals. As a result, it has reached the decision that
many cloned animals die before they are born, but those that have
grown big enough for food use are normal in terms of not only
physical conditions but also reproductive capability and behavior.
The FDA also analyzed the constituents of meat and dairy products
from cloned animals and reached the decision that the data show that
the safety of food products from cloned animals is indistinguishable
from their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way in all aspects.
Regarding other animals, such as sheep, the FDA stopped short of
reaching a decision, citing that there are no sufficient data
available.
The FDA says that it will be unnecessary to label food products from
cloned animals as such. In that case, chances are that beef from
cloned cows could be exported to Japan the same as products from
cows bred the old-fashioned way. However, should that happen,
consumers might shy away from U.S. meat as a whole. As such, the
USDA's stance on such issues as labeling is that it depends on the
market's requirement.
TOKYO 00000161 009 OF 013
The FDA released the safety assessment results with the same
conclusion as this time in late 2006. However, since consumer
anxieties about and opposition to food products from cloned animals
were deep-seated, many leading food companies declared that they
would not use such products, even if they were approved.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAFF), 535 cows cloned from somatic cells were born in Japan as of
the end of September 2007. Clonin technology in Japan is very close
to perfection. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW)'s
research team in 2003 released a report noting that it is hard to
think that the safety of meat from cows cloned from somatic cells is
undermined. However, MAFF ordered a voluntary restraint on the
distribution of products from cloned cows.
However, since there are no legal grounds for banning imports of
products from cows cloned from somatic cells, there is the
possibility of U.S. meat from cows cloned from somatic cells or
their offspring imported, contained in ordinary meat shipments.
Japan's Food Safety Commission has yet to release a safety
assessment report on food products from cows cloned from somatic
cells. Provided that their safety is confirmed, in how such products
can be distributed on the domestic market is unclear, because the
production cost of cloned cows is high and it is not known whether
consumers will accept such products.
(8) Editorial: If cloned beef is marketed, labeling requirement
should be imposed
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
January 21, 2008
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released its report that
declared that "meat and milk from cloned cattle are as safe as that
from conventionally bred adult cattle."
The FDA also regarded milk and meat from cloned pigs and goats as
safe to eat. But on cloned sheep, the agency said that it is
impossible to make a judgment due to a lack of data.
In part because of opposition from consumer and other groups,
products from cloned cattle and their offspring will unlikely land
on grocery shelves immediately. Even so, since such products may be
brought into Japan in the future, the government should prepare what
response it should make to such products.
Cloning is to produce an identical copy of an animal using the
genetic material of the original. The cloning process is
accomplished through implanting nuclei of an adult somatic cell from
the preferred donor animal into eggs whose nuclei have been removed
and placing the produced cell - similar to a fertilized egg - into
the uterus of the female. Since the sheep Dolly was created through
this process, various kinds of cloned animals have been produced.
In Japan, the first cloned cow was born in 1998. Attention was paid
to the creation as a technology to make it possible to mass-produce
cattle whose meat is delicious and which has plenty of milk.
The creation of such animals without the sexual reproduction
process, though, requires much caution in ascertaining whether their
products are safe for human consumption. In Japan, 535 cloned
TOKYO 00000161 010 OF 013
animals were produced by the end of last September. Of them, 30
PERCENT were born dead or died after they were born. Experts
attribute this high mortality to the imperfection of the initiated
cell.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) released
a report in 2003 noting: "In an experience in which animals are fed
products from cloned cattle, there was no major difference observed
from when they were fed with products from cattle raised through
ordinary methods." A research team of the Ministry of Health, Labor
and Welfare also announced its report in 2003 stating: "It is
inconceivable that products from cloned cattle as foods will pose a
health risk to humans." Nonetheless, these are not their final
conclusions. MAFF is calling on industries to exercise
self-restraint on shipments. Meanwhile, the meat of cloned cattle
made from a fertilized egg has already been marketed.
The FDA concluded, as a result of studying how cows cloned from
somatic cells were raised and what ingredients are included in their
meat and milk, as well as the outcome of an experience of using
rats, that meat and milk products from animal clones are no
difference from that from conventionally bread cattle. The agency
said it would allow the meat and milk of these cloned animals and
their offspring to be sold without any special labeling. This stance
makes us feel uneasy.
Even though there are many points that are common to animals raised
in ordinary breeding methods, since cloned animals are bred with a
special technology, importance should be placed on consumers' right
of choice. To that end, it will be necessary to require an
identifying label o cloned food products.
In actuality, it costs a lot of money to produce cattle cloned from
somatic cells, so their offspring are likely to be targets for
distribution. MAFF is now engaged in work to compare cloned cattle's
offspring and ordinary cattle. We should also pay attention to the
outcome of this study.
It is also necessary to have the Cabinet Office's Food Safety
Commission assess the safety of cloned food products. On that
occasion, a labeling requirement should also be discussed.
(9) TOP HEADLINES
Asahi:
Japan Paper Association admits to falsifying recycling data
Mainichi:
NHK Chairman Hashimoto to resign to take responsibility for insider
trading scandal
Yomiuri:
Social Insurance Agency to review pension record probe system
Nikkei:
52 PERCENT of elderly welfare recipients remain without pension
benefits
Sankei:
Diet battle over gasoline tax: Views calling for passing annual
revenue-related bills within January
TOKYO 00000161 011 OF 013
Tokyo Shimbun:
Chuetsu Pulp and Paper president aware of falsified recycling data
one year ago
Akahata:
Antipoverty movements to stop decline in standards for welfare
benefits
(10) EDITORIALS
Asahi:
(1) Diet debate: Competition for persuasive power
(2) Iwakuni mayoral election: Policy of using carrots and sticks
being questioned
Mainichi:
(1) Diet interpellations: Is waste of public funds a DPJ proposal?
(2) U.S. economic measures not good enough to break out of the
vicious cycle
Yomiuri:
(1) DPJ's claims at Diet leave many questions
(2) Need for looking at "negative aspects" of 100 million cell
phones
Nikkei:
(1) Conclusion on provisional tax rates should be reached before end
of March after thoroughgoing debate
(2) Transparent rules necessary for next generation network
Sankei:
(1) Gasoline Diet: Do not repeat needless confrontations
Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Start of Diet debate: Focus on gasoline and pension issues
(2) Emission trading: It better to start early
Akahata:
(1) Demand for easing arms embargo is dangerous idea to facilitate
conflicts
(11) Prime Minister's schedule, January 18
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 19, 2008
09:01
Cabinet meeting at the Kantei. Environment Minister Kamoshita
remained. Then met with Foreign Ministry Economic Affairs Bureau
Director General Obabe and Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Ando.
09:58
Met with Financial Services Agency Sato and Supervisory Bureau
Director General Nishihara.
11:30
Plenary meeting of LDP members of both chambers of the Houses. Then
attended a lawmakers' meeting. Then met with Secretary General Ibuki
and Diet Policy Committee Chairman Oshima.
TOKYO 00000161 012 OF 013
12:02
Lower House plenary session.
12:08
Arrived at the official residence.
15:46
Upper House plenary session.
17:21
Monthly economic report-related cabinet ministers meeting at the
Kantei.
18:02
Met with Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) Chairman
Mitarai, chairman of the Japan-China Culture and Sports Exchange
Year Implementation Committee. Then met with Chief Cabinet Secretary
Machimura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Iwaki, Special Advisor to
the Cabinet Nishimura and Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Saka.
19:22
Met with Finance Ministry International Bureau Tamaki.
20:33
Arrived at the official residence.
Prime Minister's schedule, January 19
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 20, 2008
Spent the day at the official residence.
18:23
Dined with Secretary Fukuda, his eldest son, at a Chinese restaurant
in Higashi-Azabu.
20:13
Arrived at the official residence.
Prime Minister's schedule, January 20
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 21, 2008
09:18
Returned to his private residence in Nozawa.
13:06
Arrived at the official residence.
Prime Minister's schedule, January 21
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 22, 2008
10:00
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Ono at the Kantei.
11:45
Met with Okuda and Kurokawa, special advisors to the cabinet.
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13:02
Lower House plenary session.
16:24
Met with Machimura at the Kantei.
17:00
LDP executive meeting in the Diet.
17:29
Met with Vice Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Erikawa and
Internal Affairs Ministry Administrative Evaluation Bureau Director
General Seki. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Futahashi was present.
Then met with National Police Agency Director General Yoshimura.
18:22
Met with Machimura, Iwaki and Nishimura.
19:57
Arrived at the official residence.
SCHIEFFER