Cablegate: Japanese Morning Press Highlights 10/16/09

VZCZCXRO1381

PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH

DE RUEHKO #2384/01 2882344

ZNR UUUUU ZZH

P 152344Z OCT 09

FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6834

INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY

RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY

RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY

RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//

RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI

RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//

RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//

RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA

RUAYJAA/CTF 72

RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 9271

RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 6916

RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0734

RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 4198

RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 7428

RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1407

RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8068

RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7610

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 002384

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 10/16/09

INDEX:

1) Top headlines

2) Editorials

3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei)

Refueling mission:

4) Parliamentary Secretary for Defense informs U.S. officials Japan

will end refueling mission (Yomiuri)

5) LDP to submit bill for continuation of refueling mission at

special Diet session (Yomiuri)

Futenma relocation

6) Chief cabinet secretary says Futenma decision might not be

reached before Obama visit (Yomiuri)

7) U.S. spokesperson: Futenma accord is an agreement between

governments (Sankei)

8) Futenma relocation issue to be discussed by committee of

ministers (Mainichi)

9) PM says reaching a decision on Futenma will take time (Mainichi)

Child abduction issue

10) Father accused of abducting own children freed (Yomiuri)

Defense & security:

11) U.S. forces realignment costs to be deferred (Asahi)

12) MOD budget shrinks by 1.9 billion yen (Yomiuri)

Foreign relations:

13) Japanese govt. introduces resolution for elimination of nuclear

weapons (Sankei)

14) 19th and 20th century German and French maps indicate Takeshima

belongs to Japan (Sankei)

15) MOFA says allocation of funding for Afghan aid and

global-warming countermeasures to be postponed (Nikkei)

Politics

16) Special Diet session to be convened on Oct. 26 (Yomiuri)

Economy

17) Budget for the next fiscal year is estimated at more than 90

trillion yen (Yomiuri)

Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi:

Land Ministry's fiscal 2010 budget request for public works down 14

PERCENT

Mainichi, Yomiuri & Tokyo Shimbun:

Budget requests for fiscal 2010 top record 90 trillion yen

Nikkei:

Toyota, Daihatsu to jointly develop low-cost car for emerging

markets

Sankei:

Administrative reform panel eyes budget cuts for "model projects"

TOKYO 00002384 002 OF 009

Akahata:

Pensioners across nation call for abolishing elderly health program

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:

(1) Quickly enact law to allow married couples to use separate

surnames

(2) Plan to make Haneda international hub: Strengthen

competitiveness in air

Mainichi:

(1) One month of Hatoyama administration: What should come after

changes made?

(2) World food day: Is starvation a tragedy in distant countries?

Yomiuri:

(1) Revise income indemnity system for farming households to

increase productivity

(2) International "parental authority" issue: Urgently study

possibility of participating in Hague Convention

Nikkei:

(1) Prime minister should not betray public expectations for

budgetary reform

(2) Push ahead with process of JAL reconstruction in transparent

way

Sankei:

(1) Budget requests: Government urged to establish fiscal discipline

to prevent financial collapse

(2) Retrenchment of academic examination reflects inclination toward

Japan Teachers' Union

Tokyo Shimbun:

(1) Make efforts to cut more expenses

(2) System of six years for teachers training: Applicants might

decrease

Akahata:

(1) Give up new Okinawa base plan in accordance with local people's

desire

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, October 15

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)

October 16, 2009

10:26 Met Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa at the Prime

Minister's Official Residence (Kantei).

11:35 Met Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) Chairman

Nobuaki Koga and others. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano and

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Yorihisa Matsuno and Koji Matsui

were also present. Later met National Strategy Minister Naoto Kan.

12:17 Met Hirano.

12:57 Met Hirano.

14:21 Met Cabinet Intelligence Director Hideshi Mitani. Later met PM

Adviser Yoshikatsu Nakayama.

15:08 Met Vice Minister Mitoji Yabunaka and Director General Toshiro

Suzuki of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau of the

TOKYO 00002384 003 OF 009

Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

18:21 Presented appointment paper to playwright Oriza Hirata as

cabinet consultant. Hirano and Matsui were also present.

19:49 Had dinner with Hirata and others at Chinese restaurant in

Kojimachi "Toryu." Administrative Reform Minister Yoshito Sengoku

was also present.

23:20 Arrived at his private residence.

4) Nagashima tells U.S. officials about MSDF pullout plan

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)

Eve., October 15, 2009

Satoshi Ogawa

WASHINGTON-Parliamentary Defense Secretary Akihisa Nagashima met

separately on Oct. 14 with U.S. White House National Security

Adviser Jones, Under Secretary of Defense Michhle Flournoy, and

Assistant Secretary of Defense Wallace Gregson. In the meetings,

Nagashima informed them that Japan will not extend the Maritime

Self-Defense Force's refueling mission, which is being conducted in

the Indian Ocean under a new antiterror special measures law, after

the law expires in January next year, and that Japan will withdraw

the MSDF.

According to Nagashima, his U.S. counterparts consented to the

pullout plan. He quoted them as saying, "Basically, that is for

Japan to decide itself." Nagashima also said they expressed high

expectations for Japan's plans to assist Afghanistan with its

reconstruction.

On the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air

station in Okinawa Prefecture, Nagashima told the U.S. officials

that there are various views not only among his ruling Democratic

Party of Japan's coalition partners but also within his party.

"Also," Nagashima added, "the political situation in Okinawa is

unclear and we are facing a very difficult situation." The U.S.

officials reiterated the reasons why the current plan was adopted,

according to Nagashima. However, Nagashima did not reveal the

details of their responses. He only said, "We need more and more

opportunities to exchange views with the United States."

5) LDP to include provision requiring Diet approval in bill to

continue refueling mission, with aim of rattling DPJ

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)

October 16, 2009

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has decided to submit to the

upcoming extraordinary Diet session a bill designed to continue the

Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

The party decided yesterday to include in the bill a provision

requiring Diet approval before dispatching Self-Defense Force (SDF)

personnel.

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has indicated it would be difficult

to extend the law authorizing the mission beyond its January

expiration. But some Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) members are

calling for changing the current policy on the condition of

requiring Diet approval. For instance, Parliamentary Vice Defense

Minister Akihisa Nagashima said in a speech on Oct. 5: "Japan's

refueling mission should be extended by revising the existing law to

TOKYO 00002384 004 OF 009

require Diet approval before dispatching SDF personnel." The LDP's

decision is apparently aimed at rattling the DPJ.

The current new antiterrorism special measures law requires only an

ex post facto report to be submitted to the Diet.

The LDP has also started discussing the possibility of submitting a

bill that will allow inspections of cargo on flights head to and

from North Korea to the extraordinary Diet session. This bill was

scrapped in the last ordinary diet session.

6) Hirano implies postponement of decision on Futenma relocation

YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full)

Eve., October 15, 2009

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano, meeting the press this morning,

implied that the government will likely put off its decision until

after U.S. President Obama's visit to Japan in November concerning

the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air

Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the island prefecture's

northern coastal city of Nago. "We will try to reach a conclusion

before President Obama's visit, but at this point we do not have a

solid answer," Hirano said. "We're now looking into the matter," he

added. Hirano also indicated that the foreign minister, defense

minister, chief cabinet secretary, and other cabinet members will

meet to discuss the issue. "If we need to decide things in concrete

terms, then we will of course do so among the relevant cabinet

ministers," he said.

7) Pentagon says Futenma relocation based on

government-to-government agreement, announces Secretary Gates will

visit Japan on Oct. 20

SANKEI (Page 8) (Full)

October 16, 2009

Takashi Arimoto, Washington

The U.S. Defense Department announced on Oct. 14 that Secretary of

Defense Robert Gates will visit Japan on Oct. 20-21 and hold talks

with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Defense Minister Toshimi

Kitazawa, and other Japanese leaders. In the announcement,

department spokesman Geoff Morrell made it clear that the U.S.

government will not accept any changes to the existing plan to

relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station (in Ginowan,

Okinawa Prefecture), saying, "It is not an agreement between

political parties but an accord between the governments of Japan and

the United States."

The Hatoyama administration has indicated that it will hold talks

with the United States in the direction of reviewing the agreement

on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, which was reached under

the administration led by the Liberal Democratic Party. Touching on

this fact, Morrell said: "We will make certain that the new Japanese

government can obtain necessary information so that it will be able

to understand the agreement well. The agreement will serve the

interests of the two countries."

A plan is being mentioned in the Japanese side to integrate Futenma

Air Station into Kadena Air Base. During his recent visit to Japan,

Assistant Secretary of State (for East Asian and Pacific Affairs)

TOKYO 00002384 005 OF 009

Kurt Campbell indicated that realizing such a plan would be

difficult, citing possible operational problems and objections from

local governments.

The U.S. government wants to obtain the understanding of the new

Japanese government by explaining that (the two governments) have

settled on the coastal area of Camp Schwab after examining many

candidate sites.

Parliamentary Defense Secretary Akihisa Nagashima, now visiting the

United States, held talks on Oct. 14 with Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, and Undersecretary of Defense (for

Policy) Michele Flournoy, among others. Based on the fact that there

are calls in the administration for a review of the (Futenma) plan,

Nagashima indicated during the talks that reaching a swift

conclusion would be difficult, saying, "We are in a very difficult

situation."

Nagashima also told the U.S. side that there is a strong possibility

that Japan will temporarily withdraw the Maritime Self-Defense Force

(MSDF) from the Indian Ocean, saying the Antiterrorism Special

Measures Law authorizing the MSDF's refueling mission will expire

Jan. 15. About an alternative plan to aid Afghanistan, Nagashima

said, "We are looking into what's best for the country centering on

the civilian sector."

8) Government plans to decide policy on Futenma relocation at

Ministerial Council on Basic Policies with SDP, PNP leaders

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)

October 16, 2009

In a press conference yesterday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi

Hirano indicated that the government would hold a meeting of the

Ministerial Council on Basic Policies joined also by the leaders of

the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP)

to decide what to do about the proposed relocation of the U.S.

Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City, Okinawa

Prefecture. Under the existing plan, the facility would be

transferred to the coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago City. Hirano

said: "A decision naturally should be made at the Ministerial

Council on Basic Policies or at the Committee of Relevant Cabinet

Ministers."

The Ministerial Committee on Basic Policies is tasked with

discussing key policies among the ruling parties. It held meetings

on Sept. 28 and Oct. 9. SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima has revealed her

opposition to the existing plan, as she said in a press conference

on Oct. 14: "I will do my best in the coalition government to

prevent a base from being built off Henoko (in Nago City)." If the

government decides to discuss a policy on the Futenma relocation

issue at the Ministerial Council on Basic Policies, in which the SDP

participates, coordination is not likely to be easy.

9) PM Hatoyama says solution to Futenma relocation issue will "take

some time"

MAINICHI (Page 1) (Full)

Shinichiro Nishida

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama talked to reporters about the review

TOKYO 00002384 006 OF 009

of the plan to relocate the U.S. forces' Futenma Air Station (in

Ginowan City, Okinawa) to the coastal area of Camp Schwab (in Nago

City) at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Oct. 15.

"Elections for the mayor of Nago and the governor of Okinawa will

take place next year, so the situation may change," he stressed.

"Our main concern is the sentiment of the people of Okinawa." He

also said, "We would like to come up with the best solution

acceptable to the people of Okinawa, even if it takes some time,"

indicating that it will be difficult to reach a conclusion before

U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Japan in November.

The Nago mayoral election will take place on January 24. The

incumbent mayor, who has accepted the current relocation plan on the

condition that the runways are moved further offshore, and a rival

candidate, who advocates a review of the plan, have declared their

intentions to run in the election, which is expected to be closely

contested.

The Okinawa gubernatorial race will take place in November 2010.

Hatoyama's statement emphasizes his stance of arriving at a solution

after discerning the Okinawan people's consensus and indicates that

he regards the outcome of the two elections as a basis for gauging

popular opinion in Okinawa.

10) American father arrested on suspicion of abduction released

YOMIURI (Page 39) (Full)

October 16, 2009

The Kurume branch of the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office

released with a suspended indictment on Oct. 15 Christopher Savoie,

38, president of an IT company in Tennessee, who was arrested and

charged with the abduction of minors (his own children).

Savoie was suspected of forcibly taking away his son, 8, and

daughter, 6, both elementary school pupils, in Yanagawa City,

Fukuoka Prefecture, where his ex-wife's home is located, on the

morning of Sept. 28 while the children were on their way to school

with his ex-wife. He was arrested by officers of the Yanagawa Police

Station of the Fukuoka Prefectural Police.

Savoie and his ex-wife divorced in Tennessee last January, and the

ruling of the Williamson County Court in Tennessee on the divorce

stipulates that "either parent needs to obtain the permission of the

other parent to move with the children out of the state." However,

the ex-wife brought the children to Japan in August without

informing Savoie. As a result, the court granted custody of the

children to Savoie, and the local police had obtained a warrant of

arrest for the ex-wife for abducting her children. Savoie has been

asserting that he has the parental rights.

11) Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry request same amount of funds

for U.S. force realignment for next fiscal year

ASAHI (Page 3) (Slightly abridged)

October 16, 2009

In addressing the issue of realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, the

focus of attention is on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine

Corps' Futenma Air Station. The Democratic Party of Japan's policy

manifesto for the last House of Representatives election specified

TOKYO 00002384 007 OF 009

that the party will tackle the issue in the direction of reviewing

the agreed plan. But the Defense Ministry asked for 89 billion yen

for expenses related to the realignment of U.S. forces - the same

amount as in fiscal 2009 - in its budget request. The amount

requested by the Foreign Ministry is 3 PERCENT less than the

previous fiscal year, excluding 17.2 billion yen earmarked for the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in

Yokohama next year. The ministry, however, intends to request more

funds for measures to assist Afghanistan and Pakistan and to protect

the environment.

12) Estimate budget requests for fiscal 2010 largest ever, topping

90 trillion yen

YOMIURI (Top Play) (Lead para.)

October 16, 2009

Each government agency has resubmitted its estimate budget requests

for the fiscal 2010 budget. The amount of requests filed by the

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Internal

Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and

Technology, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

have exceeded the level of the fiscal 2009 initial budget due to

outlays for new policies incorporated in the Democratic Party of

Japan's manifesto for the August Lower House election, including

virtually free high school education and an income compensation

scheme for rice farmers. The total amount of the general account

budget will likely reach a record of around 95 trillion yen at the

estimate request stage. The government has determined that there is

now a prospect for achieving the goal to amass 3 trillion yen

through a review of the fiscal 2009 extra budget, which is to be

adopted at a cabinet meeting on Oct. 16. Focus will now be on to

what extent requested amounts can be squeezed at a future screening

stage.

13) Government submits resolution to UN calling for elimination of

nuclear weapons

SANKEI (Page 8) (Full)

October 16, 2009

Masaya Matsuo, New York

The Japanese government submitted on Oct. 15 a resolution to the

United Nations General Assembly First Committee (on Disarmament)

calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Japan has submitted

similar resolutions every year for 15 years since 1994 and all of

the resolutions were adopted at the UNGA. Expectations about the

elimination of nuclear weapons are growing around the world due to

developments such as U.S. President Barack Obama's speech on his

ideal of "a world without nuclear weapons." Under such

circumstances, all eyes will be focused on whether the United

States, which was continuously opposed to the resolutions during the

Bush administration, will shift its position and approve this year's

resolution.

14) Takeshima part of "Japan" in world maps produced by Germany and

France in 19th and 20th centuries

SANKEI (Page 6) (Excerpts)

October 16, 2009

TOKYO 00002384 008 OF 009

Research by Shimane Prefecture's Takeshima Reference Office shows

that Takeshima, an integral part of Japanese territory under illegal

occupation by South Korea, is marked as Japanese territory in world

maps produced in Germany and France in the early 19th centuries and

20th century, respectively.

The maps reinforce the central and Shimane prefectural governments'

claim that "Takeshima has been part of Japanese territory since the

17th century." The cartographic evidence came to light when the

Takeshima Reference Office examined in late September some 50

materials, including world maps, belonging to a man in

Okino-shimacho.

The German map is believed to have been produced in 1872, and the

French map between 1902 and 1904. In the German map, Takeshima,

which is named Liancourt Island, sits next to Utsuryo Island, named

Matsushima, with a border line between Utsuryo Island and the Korean

Peninsula, indicating that Takeshima) is Japanese territory.

In the French map, the names for Takeshima and Utsuryo Island are

indicated along with the word" Jap" signifying that they are part of

Japanese territory.

15) Foreign Ministry puts off budgetary requests for assistance to

Afghanistan, measures to curb global warming: Estimate budgetary

request down 0.4 percent

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)

October 16, 2009

The Foreign Ministry (MOFA) did not incorporate in its estimated

budgetary requests for fiscal 2010, released on October 15, expenses

for key diplomatic policy measures, including assistance to

Afghanistan and measures to curb global warming, which the Hatoyama

administration has begun to consider. Since specific measures have

yet to take shape at the present point, the ministry drafted

requests with an eye only to the fiscal 2010 initial budget. It

intends to work out the details by the time the government adopts

its budget plan at the end of the year.

The total amount of general-account budget requests stands at 667.1

billion yen, down 0.4 percent from the fiscal 2009 initial budget.

Among official development assistance (ODA) items, cooperation in

the form of grants stands at 157.2 billion yen, down 2.3 percent.

Technological cooperation through the Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) is at 150.9 billion yen, down 3.2 PERCENT

.

MOFA has put off budgetary requests for assistance to Afghanistan

and Pakistan, a 25 percent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas

emissions by 2020 in comparison with the 1990 level, and aid to

Africa. This is the major reason for the drop in the amount of

budgetary requests filed by MOFA. The ministry's request for

assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan was no more than about 17.5

billion yen, which is about the same level as the estimated outlay

for the current fiscal year.

16) Extra Diet session to be convened on Oct. 26

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full)

October 16, 2009

TOKYO 00002384 009 OF 009

The government and ruling parties yesterday decided to convene an

extraordinary session of the Diet on Oct. 26. The three ruling

parties had previously agreed to open the extra session on Oct. 23,

but their decision caused backlash from opposition parties and was

changed. The session will likely run for 36 days through Nov. 30.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will deliver his first policy speech

on the 26th.

17) Estimate budget requests for fiscal 2010 largest ever, topping