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P 260059Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 000156
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 01//10
INDEX:
1) Top headlines
2) Editorials
Politics:
3) Hirano's comment riles Okinawa (Mainichi)
4) Ozawa refers to his supervisory responsibility (Yomiuri)
5) Gov't to set up Okinawa panel (Sankei)
Defense & security:
6) Japan, U.S. to hold talks on defense against cyber attack (Tokyo
Shimbun)
7) Government to dispatch 300 SDF personnel to Haiti for PKO mission
(Asahi)
Foreign relations:
8) Japanese, Russian foreign vice ministers hold talks (Nikkei)
9) Japanese, Chinese press office heads confer in Beijing (Nikkei)
Economy & trade:
10) JR East Japan to pitch Linear Motor Car, Shinkansen in U.S.
(Asahi)
11) Number of overseas visitors drops for first time in six years
(Mainichi)
12) Magazine sales down for 12th straight year (Asahi)
13) State debt likely reach 973 trillion yen at end of fiscal 2010:
Per-capital debt comes to 7.63 million yen (Nikkei)
14) Finance Minister Kan's economic policy speech to call on BOJ for
appropriate measures (Nikkei)
Articles:
1) TOP HEADLINES
Asahi and Tokyo Shimbun:
Government to send 300 SDF personnel to Haiti for PKO
Mainichi:
Hirano's remarks on Nago election and Futenma relocation stir anger
in Okinawa
Yomiuri:
Ozawa admits supervisory responsibility for aides in connection with
Rikuzan-kai case
Nikkei:
Government to tackle pension reform before Upper House election with
eye on consumption tax hike
Sankei:
U.S. requested downgrading of joint statement on 50th anniversary of
security treaty to bear only signatures of foreign and defense
ministers
Akahata:
Before Lower House Budget Committee, JCP member Takahashi calls for
amending Worker Dispatch Law to eliminate loopholes for protecting
workers
2) EDITORIALS
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Asahi:
(1) Financial regulations in U.S.: Banks must revive their
public-spiritedness
(2) ODA strategy needs a blueprint
Mainichi:
(1) Present specific conditions for 25 percent greenhouse gas
emission cut target
(2) Use Ashikaga case tapes for improving investigations
Yomiuri:
(1) Yonekura must guide Japan Business Federation toward economic
recovery
(2) Long-term support essential for recovery of quake-hit Haiti
Nikkei:
(1) Avoid confusion associated with prices linked to the gasoline
excise
(2) Government must present Yamba Dam alternative plan
Sankei:
(1) Summon Ozawa to testify before Diet
(2) Worker Dispatch Law amendment might deprive people of
opportunities to work
Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Nago's decision clearly reflects its opposition to Futenma
relocation within Okinawa
(2) Conduct intensive deliberations early on question of politics
and money
Akahata:
(1) Nago election expected to spur movement to eliminate bases
3) Strong reaction to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano's remark on not
taking Nago mayoral election result into account in determining
Futenma relocation site
MAINICHI (Top play) (Full)
January 26, 2010
Ai Yokota, Shinichiro Nishida, Teruhisa Mimori, Yoshichika Imoto
The Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate the U.S. forces' Futenma Air
Station (in Ginowan City, Okinawa) to the coastal area of Camp
Schwab (in Henoko, Nago City) has become difficult to implement with
the election of a mayor opposed to the relocation in the recent
ballot. However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano stated at a
news conference on Jan. 25 that "there is no reason why (the
election result) should be taken into account." While it is believed
that this statement was out of consideration for the U.S. side,
which is demanding the implementation of the agreement, there has
been a backlash from Okinawa and within the ruling parties. No
solution is yet in sight to the debate on Futenma's relocation out
of Okinawa set off by the Hatoyama administration.
Nago's mayor-elect Susumu Inamine expressed his displeasure with
Hirano's remark on Jan. 25, saying: "I hope he understands that with
the outcome of the mayoral election, the situation has changed.
People who conduct politics ought to value the popular will." The
citizens of Nago were made to take sides because the Hatoyama
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administration could not decide on a policy. The government's
attitude of giving little importance to this "popular will" and
retaining the Henoko relocation plan as one of its options prompted
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, who accepts the Henoko plan with minor
modifications, to express his doubts: "(Relocation) will be
difficult without the local leader's understanding and
cooperation."
Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the People's New
Party (PNP), riding on the momentum of the victory in the mayoral
election, are pressing the government to withdraw the Henoko plan.
SDP leader Mizuho Fukushima stressed to reporters on Jan. 25 that
"this carries weight as the popular will." PNP policy chief Mikio
Shimoji also said: "It is absurd to discuss this issue without
giving importance to the popular will. We are no longer starting
from scratch."
The Democratic Party of Japan also feels that the fact that the
government does not seem to welcome the victory of Inamine, whom the
DPJ endorsed, and insists on not eliminating the Henoko plan as an
option and "considering (the relocation site) from scratch" is an
indication that the issue is at a stalemate. It is near impossible
to find a new relocation site and obtain the approval from the local
community and the U.S. by May, which is the deadline for a solution
to this issue. Responding to queries from Mainichi Shimbun on Jan.
25, the public affairs office of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa said,
"We believe that the existing Henoko relocation plan will be
adopted."
Hirano chairs the Okinawa base issues examination committee of the
government and the ruling parties. He was wary that if he showed an
attitude of attaching great importance to the outcome of the Nago
mayoral election, there might be an avalanche in favor of relocation
out of Okinawa, which could disrupt relations with the U.S. He
stressed again at his news conference on the afternoon of Jan. 25
that the relocation issue will be approached from scratch, saying:
"I can understand that (the election result) is a manifestation of
popular will. But if we always take into account a city's saying
'no,' then the question is 'where do we take (the replacement
facility)?' "
It is believed that Hirano wants to continue to have a free hand
before identifying Futenma's relocation site at one fell swoop.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who pledged Futenma's relocation out
of Okinawa or out of Japan during the House of Representatives
election, told reporters on the evening of Jan. 25: "I regard the
choice made by the citizens of Nago as an expression of their will.
We would like to consider this issue from scratch," repeating his
ambiguous statement.
4) Ozawa refers to his supervisory responsibility
YOMIURI (Top play) (Excerpts)
January 26, 2010
Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa held
yesterday his first regular press conference since submitting to
questioning by the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office in connection
with a violation of the Political Funds Control Law by his fund
management organization, Rikuzan-kai. Ozawa referred to his
supervisory responsibility over his secretary and others who have
been arrested in connection with the case. The DPJ kingpin stopped
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short of mentioning exactly how he is going to take his
responsibility.
The press conference was held at DPJ headquarters. "It is a fact
that I have left (the management of political funds) to those in
charge," Ozawa said about his supervisory responsibility over his
secretary and others, now under arrest. "If they made mistakes, then
I naturally hold some responsibility as head (of the fund management
organization)."
5) Gov't to set up Okinawa panel
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
January 26, 2010
The government held a cabinet ministerial meeting yesterday to
discuss key policies, with relevant ministers attending. In the
meeting, the cabinet ministers concurred on launching a panel at an
early date for the government to hold consultations with officials
from Okinawa Prefecture and its base-hosting municipalities on
economic development measures for Okinawa. Chief Cabinet Secretary
Hirofumi Hirano will study the panel's framework and its discussion
topics, and then present them at a cabinet ministerial meeting. The
government set up a similar consultative body with Okinawa's
prefectural and municipal officials when the Abe cabinet came into
office to discuss a package of economic development measures for the
prefecture's northern districts hosting U.S. military bases. At the
time, the government's implementation of those economic development
measures for the prefecture's base-hosting localities was premised
on their acceptance of the government's proposal to relocate the
U.S. military's Futenma airfield facility from its current location
in the prefecture's central city of Ginowan to the prefecture's
northern coastal city of Nago. The government will revamp this panel
as a new consultative body separate from the Futenma relocation
issue and coordinate to discuss economic development measures for
Okinawa as a whole.
6) Japan, U.S. to step up cooperation against cyber attacks
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged)
Eve., January 25, 2010
The government decided today to step up Japan's cooperation with the
United States in the area of policy planning to counter cyberattacks
that have been spreading globally via the Internet to damage
computer systems. In early February, Japan will host a cybersecurity
meeting with the United States in Tokyo for the first time since the
Hatoyama cabinet came into office to exchange information and
discuss specific countermeasures.
Recently, Google, the U.S. Internet search engine giant, is said to
have come under cyber attack from China. This has developed into a
diplomatic issue between the United States and China. The case is
also expected to be discussed at the planned cybersecurity meeting.
According to government sources, the intergovernmental meeting will
be held with working-level officials from the Cabinet Secretariat of
the Japanese government and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security. In the meeting, the Japanese and U.S. governments will
discuss countermeasures against cyber attacks. In addition, the two
governments are also expected to consult on such issues as
cybersecurity awareness to prevent cyber attacks.
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7) Government to dispatch 300 SDF personnel to Haiti for PKO
mission
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpts)
January 26, 2010
The Hatoyama cabinet decided yesterday on a policy of dispatching
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel to quake-devastated Haiti for
the purpose of humanitarian rehabilitation support based on the UN
Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) Cooperation Law. The government will
send a Ground Self-Defense Force engineering unit comprising about
300 personnel. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano revealed this
at a press conference yesterday.
Japan will dispatch SDF engineering personnel overseas for the first
time since it withdrew from the UN Mission in East Timor (UNMIET) in
2004.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told the press corps yesterday
evening: "There is work to be done in clearing rubble and building
housing. We are considering sending engineers there."
Following the UN Security Council resolution adopted Jan. 19 to
increase the number of personnel for PKO by 3,500, the government
has been looking into the possibility of dispatching SDF personnel
to the region. The government's policy was approved yesterday by the
cabinet committee on basic policy matters comprising representatives
from the three ruling parties. After the policy was approved,
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa ordered the SDF to prepare to join
the UN mission.
The SDF engineering units to be dispatched will join the UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which has been carrying
out activities in Haiti since the country was hit by the earthquake.
After discussing with the UN side such matters as the type of
operations, regions, and the number of SDF personnel, the cabinet
will decide on an implementation plan. The SDF engineering units
will be dispatched in early February at the earliest.
8) Japanese, Russian vice foreign ministers exchange views
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 26, 2010
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka and Russian
First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Denisov yesterday held their
7th round of strategic dialogue in Tokyo. The two diplomats
exchanged views over the Northern Territories issue and North
Korea's nuclear ambitions. In connection with the regular foreign
ministerial talks on the territorial dispute held last December in
Moscow, they apparently arranged to hold the second round of the
talks during the first half of this year in Tokyo between Foreign
Minister Katsuya Okada and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
9) Japanese, Chinese governments agree to support media exchange
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
January 26, 2010
The governments of Japan and China yesterday held in Beijing a
meeting of their Foreign Ministry Press Bureau director generals.
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According to a briefing by the Japanese side, the two governments
agreed to positively support exchange between the Japanese and
Chinese media. They also agreed to provide the media with timely and
accurate information. Talks between press bureau directors general
of the two countries began in 2006. Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama
from the Japanese side and Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma
Zhaoxu attended yesterday's session, the fourth meeting of this
kind.
10) Central Japan Railway to promote linear motor car and Shinkansen
technologies in U.S.
ASAHI (Page 1) (Slightly abridged)
January 26, 2010
Central Japan Railway Company revealed yesterday that it will
promote its linear motor car and Shinkansen technologies for the
U.S. market as part of its plan to export high-speed railway
systems. The company is eyeing three routes for exporting linear
motor-powered trains. The U.S. government has reportedly decided to
invest 8 billion dollars in the nation's railway consolidation
projects as economic stimulus measures. The company will make
efforts to persuade the U.S. to adopt the Shinkansen technology for
a route in Florida first.
The Japanese railway operator plans to sell the linear motor
technology to the U.S. for three routes: a route covering 65
kilometers between Washington and Baltimore (Maryland), a route
covering 200 kilometers between Chattanooga (Tennessee) and Atlanta
(Georgia), and a route in Pennsylvania. The company is also eager to
export the Shinkansen technology to the U.S. for a route covering
530 kilometers from Tampa to Miami in Florida via Orlando; a route
covering 440 kilometers between Las Vegas (Nevada) and Los Angeles
(California); a route in Texas; and a route in the Midwest.
In Japan, demand for high-speed rail services has reached a plateau,
but the market overseas has been burgeoning in view of environmental
protection and other reasons. Central Japan Railway has decided to
export Japan's top-of-the-line linear motor car technology, in
addition to its Shinkansen technology. The company has surveyed more
than about 150 locations across the world, mainly in the U.S., since
last August, in hopes of capitalizing on the surging market
overseas.
Central Japan Railway will promote the technologies to the U.S., in
cooperation with U.S.-Japan High-Speed Rail Co., a company that
markets its Shinkansen technologies exclusively, and another
American firm. In a press conference yesterday, U.S. Japan
High-Speed Rail Co. President Richard Lawless, a former senior U.S.
government official, revealed that the company has already contacted
concerned U.S. government officials on this matter, remarking: "I
believe the goal will be attained." He said that Washington will
soon announce several routes targeted for its investment.
Central Japan Railway is aiming to export not only trains but its
entire operation system, including signal technology. The company
has offered technical assistance in the past, winning the contract
for the Taiwan High Speed Rail service, which was launched in 2007.
The vehicle for the high-speed railway service between Beijing and
Tianjin in China, which was launched in 2008, was developed based on
the Tohoku Shinkansen "Hayate."
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11) Number of foreign tourists visiting Japan drops for first time
in six years
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Exerpts)
January 26, 2010
Tsuyoshi Terada
The number of foreign tourists who visited Japan in 2009 dropped
1.56 million, or 18.7 percent, from the previous year to 6.79
million, the first decrease in six years and the largest drop since
the government began collecting data in 1964, the Japan National
Tourism Organization said yesterday. The decrease is attributable to
such factors as the global recession following the Lehman shock, the
spread of the new strain of influenza, and the yen's appreciation.
The figure marked a year-on-year drop every month for a record 15
consecutive months between August 2008 and October 2009. The number
fell more than 30 percent from May through June when the new flu
infection spread. Exchange rates have been stable since November
2009, and the number increased owing to an increase in the number of
tourists from South Korea and Australia.
The number of tourists from South Korea, the country topping the
list of visitors to Japan, fell 33.4 percent, and Taiwan, ranked
second, dropped 26.3 percent. All in all, the number of tourists
fell 1.16 million. Meanwhile, China, to which Japan just started
issuing tourist visas last July, ranked third with 1.006 million
tourists. China is the only country among the major countries and
areas that saw an increase in the number of people traveling to
Japan.
12) Magazine sales in 2009 fall for 12th consecutive year
ASAHI (Page 12) (Excerpt)
Evening, January 25, 2010
The Research Institute for Publications, based in Tokyo, announced
yesterday that the estimated sales amount of books and magazines
recorded at distributors in 2009 was 1,935.6 billion yen, marking
the first time in 21 years that the annual sales amount has fallen
below 2 trillion yen. The sales amount is about 82 billion yen, or
4.1 PERCENT , less than that in 2008. The sales of magazines, which
accounted for nearly 60 PERCENT of the total, have dropped for 12
years in a row. The estimated sales volume of books also recorded
its largest ever drop. The drop in sales has been compensated for by
raising magazine prices.
13) National debt likely to reach 973 trillion yen at end of fiscal
2010: Per-capital debt comes to 7.63 million yen
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full)
January 26, 2010
It seems likely that the total amount of the national debt will
reach its highest-ever level of 973.1625 trillion yen at the end of
fiscal 2010. This was revealed in budgetary reference data that the
Finance Minister submitted to the Diet on Jan. 25. Per-capita debt
will reach roughly 7.63 million yen, based on the estimate that the
nation's population as of Jan. 1 is 127.47 million.
The national debt constitutes the total amount of government debt
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combining government bonds, borrowings and short-term government
securities. It is expected to have exceeded the 900 trillion yen
level for the first time at the end of fiscal 2009. The amount at
the end of fiscal 2010 will further exceed that figure by 73.248
trillion yen.
The sharp increase in government debt is ascribable to the issuance
of government bonds worth a record high of approximately 44.3
trillion in the initial budget to finance a revenue shortage in the
fiscal 2010 draft budget. In order to shore up the economy, the
government has repeatedly engaged in major public spending requiring
the issuance of government bonds. As a result, the national debt has
continued to set new highs.
14) Finance Minister Kan to make request to BOJ in economic speech
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full)
January 26, 2010
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Naoto Kan on Jan. 25
finalized a draft of an economic policy speech to be delivered on
the 29th. He will stress a stance of making efforts to achieve
fiscal health, noting that elevating fiscal discipline and securing
trust in state finances will lead to ensuring the people's peace of
mind with respect to the future and become a basis for a vigorous
society and economy. In the speech, which he will deliver as the
state minister for economic and fiscal policy, Kan will make an
unprecedented request to the Bank of Japan (BOJ), noting that he
will expect the BOJ to undergird the economy through appropriate and
flexible management of financial policy.
In the fiscal speech, with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in
mind, he will criticize the existing policy management, using such
words as "dependence on public works" and "excessive market
fundamentalism." He will come up with a policy stance of "using
knowledge to find a third way to create jobs and demand."
Concerning the fiscal 2010 draft budget, he will announce that
although the government will issue government bonds worth a record
44 trillion yen, it has secured fiscal resources without depending
on an increase in the issuance of government bonds. For a tax code
revision, the speech will incorporate a plan to look into a system
of common numbers for tax payments and social security, referring to
the need to reform expenditures and revenues as a package.
He will explain in the economic policy speech that the present
economic situation is still severe. Regarding the future of the
economy, Kan will point out that there is the risk of pushing the
economy downward, citing a further increase in unemployment, concern
about downside risk factors in economic conditions abroad, and
deflation.
He will also announce that he will give priority to nominal economic
indexes, which are directly connected with the people's livelihood,
in economic and fiscal management.
ROOS