Cablegate: Daily Summary of Japanese Press 10/25/06

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CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA.

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TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA
SUBJECT: DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 10/25/06

INDEX:

(1) US taking passive-aggressive approach to North Korea

(2) Former South Korean President Kim Yong Sam: China, South Korea
should apply harsh sanctions, like Japan

(3) Fallout from DPRK's nuclear test: China troubled about eruption
of anti-North Korea public sentiment

(4) UN Security Council resolution and PSI: US expects third
countries to inspect North Korean vessels while in their ports in
order to block nuclear proliferation

(5) Editorial: Okinawa minister's remark -- Fangs hidden behind her
flowery words?

(6) LDP wavering over whether to let former postal rebels rejoin the
party; LDP Upper House expects their cooperation in next election,
while Secretary General Nakagawa concerned about public opinion

(7) Editorial: Arrest of ex-Fukushima governor - Reform needed to
eradicate corruption

ARTICLES:

(1) US taking passive-aggressive approach to North Korea

(Yoshichi Funabashi, Asahi Shimbun columnist)

ASAHI (Page 3) (Full)
October 25, 2006

In reaction to North Korea's nuclear test, even members of the
Republican Party began to call on the Bush administration to review
its North Korea policy.

James Baker, who served as secretary of state in the administration
under President George H. W. Bush, the father of the current
president, said, "Talking with one's enemy is not appeasement."
Senator Chuck Hagel (Nebraska) also reiterated the need for direct
talks between the US and North Korea.

One official in charge of East Asian affairs in the US Department of
State indicated that when influential officials from the
administration of Bush senior offer advice, the current
administration tends to become stubborn, as was the case with the
Iraq war.

State Secretary Rice said that Washington has rejected direct talks
with Pyongyang, citing the experience it had in the bilateral talks
with the North over dinner prior to the six-party talks in the
summer of last year. She said: "They (North Korean officials) want
to talk only with the US. They usually take the approach of reaching
an agreement with the US, violating it, and then blaming the US."

Why does the Bush administration despise direct talks with North
Korea so much?

In his meeting with President Bush in late June, then Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi strongly called for direct talks between the US
and North Korea. But the president did not assent.

TOKYO 00006222 002 OF 011

Bush even said, "We don't have any good options for if that fails."
Unable to use military power, the US administration doesn't want to
be in North Korea's pocket.

The US still remembers that it had to pay a high price over the 1994
Agreed Framework. Although Pyongyang promised to freeze its nuclear
development program, it was secretly pushing ahead with a uranium
enrichment program. The US has a sense of distrust toward North
Korea, deeming talking and reaching any agreements with such a
nation as meaningless.

The fallout of 9/11 is also behind Washington's negative stance
toward bilateral talks with the North.

The Bush administration has little room for diplomacy as a result of
the growing presence in the administration of "sheriffs" in charge
of preventing WMD proliferation and terrorism, as well as "sheriffs"
in charge of cracking down on money laundering related to such
operations.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Armitage has said that at a time
when the US has no military options and is bogged down in a
quagmire, a skillful diplomatic course is needed more than ever, but
Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld blocked his
efforts out of the belief that diplomacy is an expression of
weakness.

On the North's nuclear development, as well, the US has demonstrated
neither leadership nor diplomatic capability. In describing the
features of "Cheney politics," a senior US military officer called
the US stance "a passive-aggressive approach." This description can
be applied to the Bush administration's stance toward North Korea.

Without taking the initiative, the US has launched a passive attack
intended to prompt the other side to make a response and have it
suffer losses caused by its own negligence or to overreact and drive
itself to destruction.

Such a passive attack might be a stance or a political approach, but
is not a strategy or a policy.

(2) Former South Korean President Kim Yong Sam: China, South Korea
should apply harsh sanctions, like Japan

ASAHI (Page 7) (Full)
October 25, 2006

In an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, former South Korean
President Kim Yong Sam, 78, said in reference to North Korea's
nuclear test, "As long as the North continues to call for direct
talks with the United States, that nation is expected to show up at
the six-party talks, which is the solo arena for discussion."
Regarding moves by the international community to apply sanctions on
the North, Kim said: "It is essential (for the international
community) to apply pressure (on the North) while suspending its
economic cooperation (to the nation) for the time being. China and
South Korea should apply the same level of harsh sanctions to those
by Japan and cooperate with it."

Kim served as president from 1993 through 1998. He takes a
conservative stance critical of the Sunshine Policy taken toward
North Korea by President Kim Dae Jung and later by President Roh Moo
Hyun. While in office as president, Pyongyang announced its decision

TOKYO 00006222 003 OF 011

of withdrawing from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
received a visit by former US President Carter, and the 1994
framework accord reached between the US and North Korea. He thus
experienced the tense "first nuclear crisis." Recalling back in such
days, Kim said:

"We were in an touch-and-go situation, with a number of US military
vessels deployed in the surrounding sea areas. I made a phone call
to President Clinton as many as 20 times asking him to refrain from
taking military action. . . . Reaching the US-North Korea accord was
an unavoidable option, but North Korea told a lie and forged ahead
with nuclear development. The result was its major failure."

He then stressed the need for tenacious efforts by countries
concerned, saying

"The North has called for direct talks with the US from before. It
might be difficult to reach a settlement as long as the US continues
to refuse bilateral talks, but the six-party talks should be
continued even if no results are produced. Holding talks itself is
significant."

Further, Kim expressed concern about North Korea's reckless acts and
stressed that the focus should be on China's future moves, saying:

"The North might have believed that once the nation had nuclear
weapons, it would be treated on a footing of equality, but no
countries recognize the North as a big power, and its economic
plight will not be improved even by holding nuclear weapons. . . .
Japan's ban on North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports and
restrictions on trade are effective sanctions. China and South
Korea, major support nations for North Korea, should also cooperate
with Japan. South Korea must immediately suspend such projects as
constructing an industrial complex in Kaicheng and tours to Mr.
Kumgan. It also should stop financial support for the North and
carry out talks, taking advantage of the South Korea-US alliance."

On talks of nuclear option in Japan, Kim made the following remark:

"Considerable strong reactions will inevitably erupt, some
speculating that Japan, which caused WWII, might be aiming to
control the world again. South Korea should never go nuclear,
either."

(3) Fallout from DPRK's nuclear test: China troubled about eruption
of anti-North Korea public sentiment

SHUKAN ASAHI (pp 140-141) (Slightly abridged)
November 13, 2006

Kohei Koizumi, Hideo Sato

"A silly Kim Jong Il is pushing his country into hell step by
step... (omitted portion) The North Korean people can't live in
their own way until the myth of the Kim family disappears."

"North Korea is a rogue state. Their possession of nuclear weapons
is an enormous threat to China. They may threaten us with nuclear
weapons to get food from us."

"Kim Jong Il lacks the guts, so he can't start a revolution."

"Frankly speaking, I want to spank Kim Jong Il."

TOKYO 00006222 004 OF 011

A slew of strident verbal attacks against North Korean leader Kim
Jong Il like the above were posted recently in the blog "Sina," one
of the three major portal sites in China.

North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Oct. 9 and met with strong
objections from the rest of the world. On Oct. 14, the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted a sanctions resolution
against that country. Although China prohibits its people from
criticizing its government, when it comes to North Korea, there are
entries that are as blistering as anti-Japanese ones.

The relationship between China and North Korea is always portrayed
as a "blood alliance" in view of the two countries having fought
side by side in the Korean War. But the Chinese public's discontent
with North Korea is growing so strong behind the scenes at present
that even the government seems unable to bring it under its
control.

When we look at the series of recent movements of China from that
point of view, we can see China has been driven to its wits' end
about what to do about North Korea.

Satoshi Tomisaka, a journalist familiar with the Chinese situation
and the author of the book "Iradatsu Chugoku" (Irritating China),
gave this explanation about rising anti-North Korea sentiment among
the Chinese public:

"Discontent tends to be voiced particularly in three northeastern
provinces (Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang). Trade between this
region and North Korea has been flourishing since 2002, but North
Korean dealers have a tendency to shirk their payments, and they
frequently have taken part in criminal activities, such as smuggling
narcotics and using fake bills. The Chinese government, however, has
not come down hard on such activities, fueling public discontent
instead. Even an incident occurred that a local municipality took
the liberty of stopping a freight train carrying government aid
supplies bound for North Korea."

There is no end to smugglers and defectors from North Korea in the
region near the China-North Korea border. Last year, in China's
Yanbian, there was an incident in which a North Korean resident,
armed with a gun, shot and killed a Chinese People's Liberation Army
soldier.

In China, criticizing North Korea had been taboo for many years in
part because of the blood-cemented alliance between the two
countries. The first complaint against the North was not voiced
until two years ago, according to Tomisaka.

In 2004, China's leading opinion journal "Strategy and Management"
in its 4th edition published in August of that year carried an essay
titled "The Korean Issue and the Northeast Asian Situation from a
New Angle." The paper unusually rebuked the Kim Jong Il regime this
way:

"North Korea is trying to develop nuclear weapons in defiance of its
public's life or death issues and without making efforts to raise
the living standards.

"It has shown no appreciation for China's political support and
economic assistance, and it has lacked understanding toward and
support for China at a crucial moment."

TOKYO 00006222 005 OF 011

Soon after the release of this edition, the sale of the journal was
banned by the Chinese government, and all copies of that edition
were rounded up. China, encountering vehement protest from North
Korea, did so, reportedly out of fear that that could affect the
six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.

However, the situation is changing after the North's missile
launches this July and its nuclear test just recently.

Tomisaka said:

"Media that do not come under the government's control carry
articles critical of North Korea. Even a newspaper affiliated with
the state-run New China News Agency indirectly criticizes North
Korea, commenting, 'If this goes on, Japan will go nuclear.' The
Chinese government presumably deems it difficult to put more
restraints."

China remains unable to contain a rise in anti-North Korea public
sentiment at home. In addition, China is under strong pressure from
the international community. Sakai Tanaka, journalist well versed on
international issues, explained:

"The United States has regarded itself as the 'world's policeman,'
but it has been exhausted by the Iraq War, so it definitely can't
afford another war. Washington apparently wants China to play a part
in bringing stability to East Asia. Perhaps reflecting this desire,
the US has begun frequently using the expression 'stakeholder' since
the summer of last year to portray China. Washington is prompting
Beijing to behave as a 'responsible big power' instead of seeing a
rising China as a threat. Washington in this context has been
consistent in its attitude of entrusting China with persuading North
Korea not to set off a second nuclear test."

Aside from America's desire, Tomisaka said China is now placed in a
very difficult situation, noting:

"China is perhaps in the most difficult situation in dealing with
the North Korean issue, because its 'kid brother' has now become out
of control. Yet, if this issue were to be resolved by other
countries, for instance, the US or Russia, China would lose its face
as a big power and diminish its influence over the Korean Peninsula.
It must persuade the North somehow on its own."

On Oct. 19, a Chinese delegation led by State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan
visited Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong Il for the first time after
the North conducted a nuclear test. On Oct. 20, Tang met with US
Secretary of State Rice, who was on the tour of Northeast Asian

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countries, and told her: "(My visit to North Korea) was of some
service." Tang is said to have made Kim Jong Il pledge "not to set
off a second nuclear device."

China, using its "blood alliance" with the North, appears to have
saved its face somehow for now, but there are few who take that
pledge "not to set off a second nuclear device" at face value.

"The rest of the world is our enemy." This kind of instruction was
reportedly given by General Secretary Kim Jong Il at a meeting in
Pyongyang of ambassadors assigned to other countries. Kim did not
attend the meeting, but this instruction blasted not only the US
favoring the UNSC resolution but also China and Russia by naming
them this way: "They are untrustworthy."

TOKYO 00006222 006 OF 011

"There's more," said Tomisaka, "More than 10 North Korean Embassy
officials repeatedly protested against China in front of the
(Chinese Foreign Ministry) in Beijing, shouting, 'Betrayer!'"

Is it possible for China to topple the Kim Jong Il regime?

Tomita added:

"That's impossible. If the current regime were to be toppled and if
two Koreas were to be reunified, China would face a big power with a
population of more than 60 million people and nuclear arsenals.
China's real feeling would be that North Korea remains divided as it
is. In addition to that, given that one million or so Chinese were
killed or injured in the Korean War, and given that their bereaved
families still live in the country, if China were to allow the North
to collapse now, there would emerge an eruption of discontent in the
country like, 'What did the sacrifice made at the time mean?',"

(4) UN Security Council resolution and PSI: US expects third
countries to inspect North Korean vessels while in their ports in
order to block nuclear proliferation

YOMIURI (Page 13) (Abridged slightly)
October 25, 2006

A cargo ship has departed from North Korea. How will the UN
resolution be implemented?

The Defense Agency and other relevant government offices have
learned from the US military that a cargo vessel that left Nampo, a
seaport southwest of Pyongyang, on Oct. 20. has gone south in the
East China Sea. Although the vessel's destination and what it is
carrying are unknown, a cargo boat was used in the past to transport
weapons to the Middle East. The boat is reportedly under
surveillance by US military satellites.

On Oct. 14, the UN Security Council adopted a sanctions resolution
mandating all member countries to conduct cargo inspections under
their domestic legislation and international law to prevent the
illegal trade in weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological,
and chemical weapons) and ballistic missiles to deliver them. This
can explain why the North Korean cargo is drawing much attention.

Three years ago, the United States unveiled the Proliferation
Security Initiative (PSI) to deal with new threats, such as the
"rogue states" and the potential danger of nuclear proliferation to
terrorist groups. Over 75 countries, including Japan, Britain,
Germany, France, Singapore, and Spain, have endorsed the initiative
and repeatedly conducted cargo inspection training at sea.

But international law does not provide the authority or ground for
inspecting foreign vessels simply because they are suspected of
carrying weapons of mass destruction. In December 2002, the Spanish
Navy ordered a North Korean ship loaded with a large number of Scud
missiles to halt in waters off Yemen for failure to display its
nationality. The vessel was eventually allowed to deliver the
missiles to Yemen as they were proven to be purchased by the country
for defense purposes.

The latest UN resolution against North Korea mandates an embargo on
weapons of mass destruction and missile-related materials,
effectively giving a seal of approval to the PSI. The UN also

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adopted a WMD nonproliferation resolution two years ago prohibiting
member countries from trading in nuclear weapons.

Oct. 22, Hong Kong maritime authorities inspected a North Korean
vessel -- the first since the UN resolution was adopted -- under its
domestic port safety management legislation. It is not known,
however, whether the inspected vessel is the same as the one under
US watch.

The US is expected to continue conveying satellite data on North
Korean vessels suspected of carrying military materials to coastal
countries, such as Japan, China, and Indonesia so that they can
conduct ship inspections in accordance with their respective
domestic legislation.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) also intends to step up guard
and surveillance activities in waters near Japan by P3C patrol
aircraft under Defense Agency Establishment Law Article 5 (on
defense and security duties).

The absence of the phrase "under the authority of the UN Security
Council" from the UN resolution has raised questions about the
effectiveness to conduct cargo inspections. In Japan, focus was on
whether on not the MSDF would carry out cargo inspections in
compliance with the UN resolution specifying weapons of mass
destruction, WMD-related materials, luxury goods, and military
equipment, such as tanks, as subject to inspection.

"America's aim is to block nuclear proliferation. Inspecting cargos
to prevent luxury goods and other items from flowing into North
Korea in Japan's vicinity is low on the US list of priorities," a
senior Defense Agency official said, although things depend on how
North Korea moves.

The US is especially on the lookout for the transport of weapons of
mass destruction and related materials to Iran. North Korean ships
headed for the Middle East are certain to make port calls in third
countries for refueling. Attention is focused on whether third
countries will inspect North Korean vessels in their ports, as the
US expects.

(5) Editorial: Okinawa minister's remark -- Fangs hidden behind her
flowery words?

OKINAWA TIMES (Page 5) (Full)
October 24, 2006

After assuming her post, Minister of State for Okinawa Sanae
Takaichi recently visited Okinawa Prefecture for the first time.
Referring to interactions between the issue of relocating the US
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station and the government's economic
package of economic development measures for the northern region of
Okinawa's main island, Takaichi stated as follows: "It's incorrect
to think that these two matters are not linked to each other."

Takaichi further remarked: "It's also wrong to say the government
will undertake all (of the economic package) even if there's no
progress in the relocation issue." With this, she indicated that the
relocation of Futenma airfield and the implementation of the
economic package for the northern region were linked to each other.

In other words, Takaichi's remarks can be taken to mean that the
government would show its "utmost consideration," in her words, if

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Okinawa accepts the government's plan to lay down a V-shaped pair of
airstrips in a coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago City but that the
government would suspend its economic package if Okinawa opposes the
relocation plan.

The Defense Agency has been pressuring Okinawa Prefecture and its
municipalities since last year with incentives for them according to
progress in the construction of a new base.

The Okinawa minister's remarks this time are in line with such an
incentive payment formula. This time around, the Defense Agency and
the Cabinet Office, coupled with each other, came to pressure
Okinawa.

The Cabinet Office has so far placed its emphasis on how to
alleviate Okinawa's base-hosting burden, while distancing itself
from the Defense Agency, which gives priority to improving
deterrence. We wonder if there were some hidden "fangs" behind the
Cabinet Office's flowery words about alleviating Okinawa's burden.

In late August, the Japanese government launched a consultative body
with Okinawa Prefecture and its municipalities, including Nago, to
talk about the issue of relocating Futenma airfield. They supposedly
agreed not to link the new base plan and the economic package. It's
only natural that Okinawa's prefectural and municipal governments
are now at a loss.

Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine asked Takaichi for government aid
to Okinawa so that it can utilize five US military facilities
located south of the Kadena Air Base, including the Makiminato
Service Area, Naha Port Facility, and Camp Kuwae (i.e., Camp
Lester), once they are vacated.

According to the logic of linking, the five facilities will not be
actually returned as long as Futenma airfield is not relocated
elsewhere in Okinawa Prefecture.

However, the Japan-US Special Action Committee on Facilities and
Areas in Okinawa (SACO) agreed in December 1996 to return the sites
of these five facilities. It is unreasonable to link their reversion
to Futenma relocation along with the realignment of US forces in
Japan.

If the economic package is to be implemented in exchange for
Okinawa's burden of hosting more bases, an Okinawa with no bases
will never be achievable.

(6) LDP wavering over whether to let former postal rebels rejoin the
party; LDP Upper House expects their cooperation in next election,
while Secretary General Nakagawa concerned about public opinion

ASAHI (Page 4) (Full)
October 25, 2005

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has been shaken by Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe's remarks about bringing back into the party some former
party members -- the postal rebels -- who left or were removed from
the LDP because they had voted against the government's
postal-privatization bill. A tug of war has come to the fore between
Mikio Aoki, chairman of the LDP caucus in the House of Councillors,
who has called for unconditionally letting them join the fold at an
early date, and the party's Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, who
takes it for granted that the rebels should agree to the

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government's plan to privatize the postal services as a
precondition. The more heated the debate becomes, the more difficult
it will be for the LDP to let them return, if consideration is given
to public opinion.

Nakagawa, who is in charge of this issue, stressed yesterday at a
press conference: "I do not think the prime minister favors
completely the idea of letting the rebels rejoin the party, even
though some party members say so." The reason why Nakagawa spoke for
Abe is that when the prime minister told reporters on the night of
Oct. 23, "I want the secretary general and other party executives to
discuss the issue," his remark was taken "approval of the return of
rebels to the party."

Asked anew about his view by reporters on the night of Oct. 23, Abe
corrected his previous remarks, responding, "We will consider the
issue once we obtain the understanding of the public. I will make a
final decision after hearing the party's opinion." A person close to
the prime minister explained:

"Strict conditions are needed for their return to the party. The
leadership should obtain a signed agreement from each rebel that
they now approve the postal-privatization program and that they will
not seek any corrections."

However, it is difficult for Abe to retract his remarks favoring the
idea of letting the rebels return to the LDP. The reason is that Abe
is the person who shifted his position to allow them to come back.
Appearing on a TV talk show during the September presidential race,
Abe was adamant, saying: "We conducted the Lower House election in
which we asked voters about whether they agreed to the
postal-privatization program or not. But I think that was over. I
will let many party members take part in my vision of creating a new
country (if I become LDP president and prime minister).

Abe's remark strengthened expectations in the party of an early
return to the fold of the rebels.

LDP Upper House Secretary General Toranosuke Katayama underscored
yesterday to reporters:

"I want the prime minister to let those who approve his vision and
policy rejoin the party. In order to deal with major political
issues, it is necessary to increase the number of party members."

In a meeting of the secretaries general of the six LDP factions,
some participants raised views favoring the rebels returning to the
party. Pressure on Abe has increasingly become stronger.

LDP Upper House Chairman Mikio Aoki's opinion is that in order to
insure a victory in the next year's Upper House election,
cooperation of the rebels, who have influence in their single-seat
constituencies, is absolutely necessary. Abe and Nakagawa are
concerned about whether voters accept such an idea.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi yesterday told former
Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe: "If we rely on votes from the post

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office masters and other vested interests, we will lose the Upper
House election." He meant that if the LDP allowed the rebels to
return to it unconditionally, voters would see this as inconsistent
with last year's dissolution of the Lower House to call a snap
election and the LDP would lose the race.

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One of Abe's aides said: "If we accept the Upper House's hard-line
argument, the party will come under fire from the public."

Yet, of the 12 independent lawmakers, who are rebels in question,
only Takeo Hiranuma, former international economy, trade and
industry minister, voted against the postal bill after last year's
Lower House election. All rebels, including Hiranuma, however, voted
for Abe in the prime ministerial election. Therefore, the dominant
view in the LDP is that the rebels will be able to return to the
party. The last obstacle is whether the LDP can secure the public's
understanding, as Abe said yesterday.

(7) Editorial: Arrest of ex-Fukushima governor - Reform needed to
eradicate corruption

MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full)
October 24, 2006

Former Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato was arrested by the special
investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office
on suspicion of receiving bribes. Sato stepped down as governor in
September, taking moral responsibility for the arrest of his younger
brother on charges of involvement in a bid-rigging scandal. The
former governor claims that he is totally innocent, saying, "I am
completely clean." If his hands are dirty, however, it would be a
serious breach of trust to the prefectural residents. Was his image
of being "a clean governor" a fabrication?

Sato is charged with taking a large amount of money from a general
construction company, a bid-winner for the Kido dam construction
project that the prefecture plans. The contractor purchased land --
well above market value -- belonging to a menswear company run by
Sato's brother. This is seen as a reward to Sato for helping win the
bid. His brother has been rearrested on additional charges.

By taking advantage of the governor's authority, Sato's brother ran
the show in rigging bids in the construction industry on public
works projects ordered by the prefectural and selected bid-winners.
In return for this, the brother received kickbacks. These
bid-rigging practices appear to have been conducted under the lead
of the then governor. It is outrageous if it is true that Sato,
known as an incorruptible governor, engaged in wrongdoings while
serving five terms or 18 years in office, taking advantage of his
brother's services.

In 1976, 30 years ago, then Fukushima Gov. Kimura was arrested on
charges of bribery. It is unprecedented to have two governors of the
same prefecture arrested. Former Gov. Sato must have known how that
earlier scandal created serious turmoil and stalemate in the
prefectural administration. Sato was regarded as one of the
governors promoting decentralization efforts. He is doubly guilty
for having disappointed people looking forward to "the age of the
regions."

Construction firms always crowd around governors, who have authority
over public works projects, and offer bribes at high levels so that
they will be chosen as successful contractors by a rigging of the
bids. The construction industry continues its bid-rigging practices.
In 1993, the arrests of the governors of Ibaraki and Miyagi
prefectures brought to light the collusive ties they had with
construction firms. Learning from this lesson, local governments
have made efforts to reform the bidding system to prevent illegal
practices. However, the breeding ground of corruption has yet to be

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eliminated.

In 2000, Fukushima Prefecture introduced a system to make public bid
ceilings in advance in order to improve bidding transparency.
Ironically, however, the Kido dam project was a showcase public
works project for the fiscal year. By disclosing the estimated
price, companies could set their bidding prices at a high-level, but
there was also an aspect of the set up making bid-rigging practices
by construction firms easier. Therefore, the bidding price for the
Kido dam project reached 97% of the bid ceiling.

Another problem was the fact that the prefectural assembly, which
has oversight over prefectural administration, did not do its work.
Far from that, many prefectural assembly members reportedly received
cash from Sato's brother. The practices were indeed deep-rooted.

In Wakayama Prefecture, too, the chief of the disbursements office
was recently arrested on suspicion of involvement in a government
office-led bid rigging on a project ordered by the prefecture. The
two bid-rigging scandals have suggested the urgent need for a
drastic reform of the bidding system of public works projects.

The official campaign for the Fukushima gubernatorial election will
kick off on Oct. 26. Candidates should come up with a bidding system
to prevent future corruption.

SCHIEFFER

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