Cablegate: Japanese Morning Press Highlights 08/20/08

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002288

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 08/20/08

Index:

1) Top headlines
2) Editorials
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei)

Diplomacy:
4) - Ex-envoys to Tokyo on Obama's Japan policy advisory staff
(Asahi)
5) Japan to team up with U.S., Taiwan to challenge EU (Tokyo
Shimbun)
6) Prime Minister Fukuda likely to address UNGA in N.Y. next month
(Yomiuri)
7) Taipei's new Tokyo envoy named (Sankei)
8) Agriculture Minister Ota eyes hosting G-8 farm ministerial in
Japan (Nikkei)

Political merry-go-round:
9) Political situation growing stormy, Diet dissolution likely in
store for lawmakers (Nikkei)
10) Ex-LDP SecGen Nakagawa says new antiterror legislation could
trigger Diet dissolution (Sankei)
11) LDP to propose policy talks with DPJ over MSDF mission in Indian
Ocean (Yomiuri)
12) DPJ's Noda willing to run in party race (Asahi)

Defense & security issues:
13) Defense Minister Hayashi meets with Okinawa Gov. Nakaima over
Futenma relocation (Yomiuri)
14) Defense Minister Hayashi negative about moving Futenma
replacement facility offshore (Nikkei)
15) GOJ to make final decision on Futenma relocation site next
spring or later after environmental assessment (Tokyo Shimbun)
16) Justice Ministry told local prosecutors to be "careful" about
jurisdiction over SOFA personnel (Yomiuri)

North Korea problem:
17) Japan, S. Korea confirm cooperation on 6-party talks (Nikkei)

Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Tokyo Shimbun, & Akahata:
Matsunaga takes men's 55-kg wrestling silver, Yumoto men's 60-kg
wrestling bronze at Olympics

Nikkei:
Matsushita, Secom to offer services via wireless broadband network

Sankei:
Russia still trying to place Georgia under its control

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) Commotion expected at next Diet session
(2) Promote reform of bid system to prevent collusive bidding

Mainichi:
(1) Sumo wrestler arrested: Stable master and association must
assume heavy responsibility

TOKYO 00002288 002 OF 007

(2) Push for measure to increase number of lawyers

Yomiuri:
(1) Continued refueling mission minimum obligation for Japan
(2) Full education for foreign wrestlers needed

Nikkei:
(1) Government must face Diet session with determination to dissolve
Lower House if necessary
(2) Urban Corporation's bond floatation before failure causing
distrust

Sankei:
(1) Have long enough Diet session to enable extension of refueling
mission
(2) Don't allow retreat from war on terror with Musharraf's
resignation

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Diet session should be held earlier
(2) Pakistan must take a step forward to become democratic state

Akahata:
(1) Chart course for education based on Constitution

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, August 19

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
August 20, 2008

09:13
Had a video message for the JAPAN NET international student exchange
program taped at LDP headquarters. Afterward attended LDP executive
meeting.

10:13
Met METI Minister Nikai at the Kantei, followed by Finance Minister
Yosano.

12:01
Attended a government, ruling coalition liaison meeting.

14:30
Met Japan Institute of International Affairs President Yukio Sato,
followed by Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi and Vice Chairman Takashi
Saito of the Tokyo-Beijing Forum Executive Committee.

15:27
Met Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Masuda.

18:43
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Futahashi.

19:07
Returned to his official residence.

4) Mondale, Foley to join Obama's advisory team on Japan

ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
August 20, 2008

TOKYO 00002288 003 OF 007

Yoichi Kato, Washington

It was revealed yesterday that two former ambassadors to Japan --
former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Speaker of the House
Thomas Foley -- have joined the policy advisory group of presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama as honorary
advisors.

5) Government asks WTO to set up panel for EU tariffs on IT

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 9) (Full)
August 20, 2008

The government announced yesterday that it will ask the World Trade
Organization (WTO) to set up a grievance committee (panel), claiming
that the European Union (EU) has imposed improper high tariffs on
three kinds of IT equipment, including a multifunction printer.
Japan, together with the U.S. and Taiwan, will call for a panel on
Aug. 20.

6) Coordination underway for Prime Minister Fukuda to attend UNGA

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
August 20, 2008

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday began coordination with the
possibility of delivering a speech at the United Nations General
Assembly, which will start on Sept. 23 in New York. If realized, it
will be the first time for a Japanese prime minister to deliver a
speech at the UNGA since then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did
in 2005. Fukuda is also looking into the possibility of attending
two UN meetings -- a UN High Level Meeting on Africa's Development
Needs on Sept. 22 and the Millennium Development Goal Summit on
Sept. 25.

7) Feng Ji-tai to be appointed as Taiwan's top envoy to Japan

SANKEI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged)
August 20, 2008

Shuto Hasegawa, Taipei

Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced yesterday that it
informally decided to appoint Feng JI-tai, an aide to President Ma
Ying-jeou and former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, as the
next top envoy to Tokyo. Feng, aged 62, has little experience in
Taiwan-Japan relations. However, he lived in Japan for five years
with his father, a diplomat, when he was an elementary and
junior-high school student.

Feng, who studied in the United States, speaks fluent Spanish. He
worked as an expert on international affairs in Ma's office during
the presidential race. He once accompanied Ma on a trip to Japan.
With the appointment of Feng, Ma seems to be reflecting his view in
Taiwan-Japan relations.

8) Agriculture Minister Ota expresses desire to hold G-8 ministerial
in Japan later this year

NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full)
August 20, 2008

TOKYO 00002288 004 OF 007

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Seiichi Ota met with
his Russian counterpart Alexei Gordeyev at his office yesterday and
expressed his desire to hold the first Group of Eight (G-8)
agricultural ministerial in Japan later this year. In the July G-8
Summit (Hokkaido Toyako Summit), a decision was made to hold a G-8
agricultural ministerial to discuss the issue of soaring food
prices, but the timing and place for its first session remained
undecided. Gordeyev welcomed Ota's proposal to hold the meeting
under Japan's lead.

9) Situation in extraordinary Diet session may become tense, with
possible Lower House dissolution looming

NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpt)
August 20, 2008

The government and the ruling coalition decided yesterday to convene
in mid-September the next extraordinary Diet session, which may
affect the fate of the Fukuda administration. Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda has insisted on the need to put high on the agenda a bill
designed to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling
mission in the Indian Ocean beyond its expiration in January. But
the New Komeito remains opposed to the idea of premising the Diet
schedule on a revote in the House of Representatives to pass the
bill. Now that Fukuda is facing difficulty in steering the
government, the situation in the upcoming Diet session is highly
likely to become tense, with eyes on a dissolution of the House of
Representatives for a snap election.

10) LDP's Nakagawa says new antiterror legislation may trigger Diet
dissolution

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
August 20, 2008

Hidenao Nakagawa, former secretary general of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party, has indicated that the LDP should pass a bill
amending the new Antiterrorism Special Measures Law to extend the
Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean
while being prepared for the possibility of the House of
Representatives being dissolved for a general election. "This
legislation is a major point of contention," Nakagawa said in a
seminar of the LDP's Machimura faction held yesterday afternoon at a
hotel in Kanagawa Prefecture's Hakone Town. "If the DPJ (Democratic
Party of Japan or Minshuto) stands against enacting this
legislation, we will then have to seek the people's judgment in a
fair manner under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on whether Japan will
remain a nation that makes international contributions or whether
Japan will cave in to terrorism," he added.

11) Government, ruling bloc to informally ask DPJ for policy talks,
including continuation of refueling operation

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
August 20, 2008

The government and ruling coalition have decided to urge the major
opposition Democratic Party of Japan to hold policy talks with them
with the aim of discussing the questions of continuing the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's refueling operation in the Indian Ocean and of
establishing a consumer affairs agency with an eye on convening the

TOKYO 00002288 005 OF 007

next extraordinary Diet session on September 12. As the venue for
talks, they envisage revision talks on bills by committee directors
of the ruling and opposition blocs.

12) Noda reveals intent to run in DPJ presidential election

ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts)
August 20, 2008

Yoshihiko Noda, 51, chairman of the Public Relations Committee of
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), yesterday said to his aides
that he will run in the upcoming party presidential election, which
will be officially announced on Sept. 8. Within the party, many
members believed that President Ozawa would win a third term without
a formal vote, but those supporting Noda will coordinate views and
soon hold a press conference to formally announce his candidacy.

13) Defense Minister Hayashi discusses Futenma and other issues with
Governor Nakaima in Okinawa

YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly)
August 20, 2008

Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, visiting Okinawa for the first
time yesterday since assuming office, discussed the Futenma
relocation issue and other matters with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima at
the prefectural government office.

Nakaima asked for bringing the Futenma issue to an early settlement
while giving consideration to local residents, saying: "Local
residents want to see the envisaged (replacement facility) moved
offshore from the bilaterally agreed plan. In implementing the
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, it is essential to obtain local
understanding and cooperation."

Hayashi said: "I would like to see (the working-level team
established by the central and Okinawa governments) finalize a
variety of subjects."

14) Defense minister negative about Futenma replacement facility's
offshore relocation

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
August 20, 2008

Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met with Okinawa Prefecture's
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima yesterday at the Okinawa prefectural
government office in the city of Naha. In the meeting, Hayashi and
Nakaima discussed the intergovernmental agreement between Japan and
the United States to relocate the U.S. military's Futenma airfield
in the city of Ginowan to a coastal area of Camp Schwab, a U.S.
military base in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of
Nago. Hayashi indicated a negative view about the governor's
proposal to move the Futenma replacement facility's site to an
offshore area. "It's difficult to change the alternative facility's
site without rational reason," Hayashi said.

15) Government's decision on Futenma relocation likely to slip to
next spring or later

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged slightly)
August 20, 2008

TOKYO 00002288 006 OF 007

Whether or not the government can finish relocating Futenma Air
Station from Ginowan to the coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago by
2014 as initially planned is a delicate question.

Okinawa, Nago and other affected municipalities have asked the
government to move the envisaged replacement facility offshore from
its original plan for fear of deterioration of the environment
surrounding residents near Camp Schwab. Meanwhile, the U.S. side has
been maintaining its stance of not allowing any changes to the
plan.

The results of the environmental impact assessment, now underway in
the vicinity of the planned replacement facility, will not come out
until next spring or later. For this reason, the government, finding
itself torn between Okinawa and the U.S., intends to postpone its
final decision until then.

Meanwhile, Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has suggested that he will not
authorize the project to use the surface of public waters in the
event Okinawa's request is rejected. Difficulty in talks with
concerned municipalities might significantly delay the plan to begin
reclamation work in 2010. The government is likely to find itself
under a lot of pressure for ironing out differences in the views
between Okinawa and the United States.

16) 1953 MOJ directive urged regional public prosecutors offices to
cautiously handle criminal cases involving U.S. service members

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)
August 20, 2008

It has become clear through Ministry of Justice (MOJ) internal
documents that its Criminal Affairs Bureau in 1953informed the
regional public prosecutors offices and other entities to cautiously
exercise jurisdiction regarding criminal cases involving U.S.
service members in Japan.

Documents drawn up in 1972 by the bureau regarding criminal case
jurisdiction for U.S. service members list and explain Japan-U.S.
agreements and MOJ notices on the handling of criminal cases
involving U.S. service members based on the Japan-U.S. Status of
Forces Agreement. A 1953 bureau chief notice reads: "Operationally,
consideration must be paid in an extremely cautiously manner in view
of U.S. Army rank and other factors." Regarding an incident
involving an on-duty U.S. service member over which Japan does not
have primary jurisdiction, the notice indicates that in determining
whether or not the incident occurred in the line of duty, an on-duty
certificate issued by a commander is insufficient as evidence unless
there is counterevidence. Regarding the question of whether the
notices are still in effect, the MOJ simply indicated: "Some are
still effective and some are not."

The MOJ had been keeping the documents in the ministry as classified
materials until the document found their way out of the ministry.
The National Diet Library (NDL) got hold of them in 1990. They had
been open to the public since 1991. Becoming aware of this in May
2008, the ministry asked the NDL to keep them secret, saying that it
could damage the country diplomatically. The NDL closed the
documents to the public on June 23. An NDL source said: "We have
simply followed our internal procedures. It was not that we have
received pressure from the Justice Ministry." A MOJ official said:

TOKYO 00002288 007 OF 007

"Upon holding talks, we would like to disclose some of the
information if possible."

17) Japanese, ROK chief negotiators agree to strengthen cooperation
on North Korea

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
August 20, 2008

Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and
Oceanian Affairs Bureau, met yesterday at his ministry with Kim
Sook, South Korea's chief envoy to the six-party talks. In the
meeting, the two chief negotiators agreed to strengthen cooperation
in order to push forward with the six-party talks. Kim, after the
meeting, expressed hope for Japan's participation in energy support
for North Korea. He told reporters:

"Significant progress was made on the abduction issue (in the recent
Japan-DPRK talks). It is necessary to bring about a situation under
which Japan can join the assistance."

SCHIEFFER

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