Cablegate: Japanese Morning Press Highlights 10//08

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FAS/ITP FOR SCHROETER; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR;
CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA.

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TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA

SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 10//08

Index:

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

North Korea problem:
4) U.S. sounds out Australia to pay Japan's share of energy
assistance to North Korea (Asahi)
5) With Japan letting others pay its share of aid to North Korea,
concern growing that this could hurt the resolution of the abduction
issue (Yomiuri)

Visit of India's Prime Minister Singh:
6) Prime ministers Aso, Singh hold summit meeting, agree to speed up
work toward a bilateral EPA (Asahi)
7) Aso trying to play up diplomatic skills through visit of India's
premier (Mainichi)
8) Aso's India diplomacy also aims to check China's advances
(Nikkei)

9) Japan to provide Georgia with 20 billion yen in assistance out of
a total international package of aid worth 450 billion yen (Asahi)

10) Aso wants aid to Palestinians to continue (Tokyo Shimbun)

11) Foreign Ministry protests weekly Asahi article slamming Aso
diplomacy as "ruined" (Sankei)

Defense and security affairs:
12) Training that pitted 1 5 against one and led to death of hazed
MSDF petty office was completely unauthorized: Interim MOD report
(Tokyo Shimbun)
13) Defense Ministry plans new internal bureau staffed with many
uniformed officers (Sankei)
14) Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura says Japan planning
compensations for victims of international terrorism (Mainichi)

Political agenda:
15) Aso defends lavish night life at posh restaurants and bars:
Hotel bars are cheap; that's why I use them (Asahi)
16) Lawmaker Shizuka Kamei of small splinter party criticizes
Democratic Party of Japan to being too conciliatory toward LDP in
Diet (Tokyo Shimbun)

Articles:

1) TOP HEADLINES

Asahi:
Financial crisis (Part 3): A blow to Big Three; GM to close
90-year-old Wisconsin plant

Mainichi:
Hospital-search online network did not work for fatal pass-around
case of pregnant woman

Yomiuri:
No delivery slips kept by Aichi, Iwate prefectures involving fund
misuse

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Nikkei:
Government considering temporary tax cuts worth 5 trillion for
midsize, small companies

Sankei:
Tsushima in danger: Survival may require South Korea capital

Tokyo Shimbun:
Interim report on death of MSDF petty officer: 1-on-15 martial
arts-style exercise unnecessary

Akahata:
National Commerce and Industry Federation rally calls for end to low
unit price, high material cost, credit crunch

2) EDITORIALS

Asahi:
(1) Death of pregnant woman: Emergency hospital system must be
improved
(2) Can Chinese economy underpin the world?

Mainichi:
(1) Japan-India summit: Greater cooperation must be welcomed
(2) Pregnant woman dies after refusal from hospitals: Facts must be
brought to light to improve system

Yomiuri:
(1) Safety net must be used for strengthening functions of financial
institutions
(2) Medical care reform urgently needed

Nikkei:
(1) Capital injection in regional financial institutions may result
in industry realignment
(2) Financial crisis requires close Japan-India cooperation

Sankei:
(1) Aid to North Korea: Japan must uphold its principles
(2) Confirmation most important for preventing bank-transfer scams

Tokyo Shimbun:
(1) Linear Chuo Shinkansen project marching toward reality
(2) Local governments must lead movement to stop global warming

Akahata:
(1) Political decision necessary for recognizing sufferers of atomic
bomb diseases

3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei)

Prime Minister's schedule, October 22

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full)
October 23, 2008

08:33
Attended an emergency drill related to nuclear energy at the Kantei.

10:30
Met government spokesman Ogawa.

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11:06
Met LDP Regional Revitalization Committee Chairman Noda and Director
Ishida, with Special Advisor Yamaguchi present.

12:08
Handed a credential to the LDP candidate for the Tochigi
gubernatorial election at party headquarters, with Secretary General
Hosoda and Election Strategy Council Chairman Koga, and others
present. Posed for a photo with the new heads of Lower House
single-seat constituencies' branch offices. Later, posed for photos
and videos for publicity campaign, with Public Relations Office Head
Furuya present. Joined by Public Relations Office Acting Head Seko.

13:17
Met Furuya and Koga.

13:54
Met at the Kantei with participants in the peace-building conference
on Israel and the Palestinian Authority, including Israeli Interior
Minister Sheetrit and PLO chief negotiator Erekat.

14:29
Met Foreign Ministry's Deputy Press Secretary Taniguchi.

15:08
Met METI Vice Minister Mochizuki and Resources and Energy Agency
Director General Ishida. Followed by incoming and outgoing Supreme
Court justice Takeuchi and Tsuno. Later, met Upper House member
Takao Fujii.

16:13
Met Defense Ministry's Defense Policy Bureau Director General
Takamizawa, Defense Intelligence Headquarters Chief Hokazono.

17:32
Met Indian Prime Minister Singh.

18:54
Attended a ceremony to sign a joint statement.

19:10
Held a joint press conference. Later, hosted a dinner party for
Singh.

21:39
Returned to his private residence in Kamiyama-cho.

4) U.S. sounds out Australia, other countries on fuel oil for N.
Korea

ASAHI (Page 9) (Full)
October 23, 2008

Countries participating in the six-party talks over North Korea's
nuclear development programs are going to provide North Korea with
energy aid worth one million tons of fuel oil in return for
disabling its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and Japan's portion in this
energy aid is 200,000 tons. In this regard, the United States has
asked Australia and other countries to take on that amount of energy
aid, according to Japanese government officials.

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Japan takes the position that it cannot take part in energy aid as
long as there is no progress on the issue of Japanese nationals
abducted to North Korea. Meanwhile, the United States and North
Korea have now reached an agreement on a framework for verifying
North Korea's nuclear declaration. In response, the U.S. government
wants to have the six-party talks get going again and also wants to
have prospects for completing energy aid to North Korea even by
asking other countries. In the meantime, the six parties' chief
delegates are expected to meet shortly. On that occasion, it seems
that the U.S. government does not want to let North Korea take
advantage of anything, according to a senior official of the
Japanese Foreign Ministry.

In addition to Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia are also being
talked about as energy providers. This matter is expected to be
discussed in the next round of talks. Japan will basically accept
the outcome there. "The question is which country will take on the
burden," a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said. "That's a
matter to be considered by the four countries (excluding Japan and
North Korea)," the official added.

Australia and other countries are presumably aiming to explore the
possibility of participating in the six-party talks in the future
with their involvement in energy aid to North Korea.

5) Plan for another country to take over share of Japan's energy aid
to North Korea: What effect will this have on abduction issue?

YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts)
October 23, 2008

The U.S. government is looking into the possibility of asking
several countries, including Australia, to take over Japan's
economic and energy aid to North Korea that Japan has put off,
citing the unresolved abduction issue as the reason. The Japanese
government has been urging North Korea to address the issue in a
forward-looking manner, using aid as a bargaining chip. But views
now spreading in government circles are more complex. Some officials
now take the view that one of the means to facilitate the abduction
issue has disappeared, while others think that there will be no
impact.

Asked by reporters about a possible impact of other countries taking
over Japan's aid, Prime Minister Aso on October 22 replied at the
Kantei: "The U.S. in particular fully understands the abduction
issue. The aid assumption issue will neither weaken nor strengthen
Japan's position. It has nothing to do with the matter."

It was decided at the six-party talks that North Korea should be
given 950,000 tons of heavy oil aid in return for disabling its
nuclear facilities. Japan's share is supposed to be 200,000 tons
(approximately 17 billion yen). However, it has taken a stance of
not providing such aid, citing as the reason the lack of progress on
the abduction front. Tokyo has been using energy aid as a tool to
move the abduction issue forward to find a breakthrough. It had not
assumed that non-six-party-talks-member nations, such as Australia,
would assume Japan's role.

As such, some take the view that there is a possibility of Japan's
influence in the six-party talks would weaken due to its thin
presence, as one government source said. Yukihisa Fajita of the DPJ
during the question-and-answer in the Upper House on the 22nd lashed

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out at the government, "If that is true, it is a major defeat for
Japanese diplomacy."

6) Japanese, Indian leaders pledge to accelerate EPA negotiations

ASAHI (Page 1) (Full)
October 23, 2008

Prime Minister Aso and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh agreed
in their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday on the
need for the two countries to speed up negotiations to conclude an
economic partnership agreement (EPA) at an early date to liberalize
trade in goods and services. The two leaders also pledged to build a
comprehensive framework to promote bilateral security cooperation.
They signed a joint declaration that includes measures to promote
defense exchanges to ensure vessels' safe navigation in the Indian
Ocean.

Aso said in a press briefing after the meeting: "It is a natural
course for the two countries to further deepen economic ties," and
he indicated the importance of Japan and India concluding an EPA at
an early date.

But on measures to simplify the procedures to authorize
pharmaceuticals and to abolish tariffs on auto parts, both sides'
views differ widely. Given this, the joint statement on advancing
the Japan-India strategic global partnership just notes: "We welcome
substantial progress" in the negotiations.

The two leaders also signed a joint declaration on security
cooperation. This is the second case for Japan to express a plan to
build a comprehensive framework in the security area with other
countries than the U.S., following the declaration signed with
Australia.

Asked in the press conference about cooperation between Japan and
India, following the effectuation of the U.S.-India nuclear pact,
Aso stated: "I hope India will implement the accord properly,
including the continuation of its moratorium on conducting nuclear
tests." Singh responded: "We would like to move forward at a pace
that will make the Japanese people feel assured."

The joint statement also refers to global warming. India has opposed
the Group of Eight (G-8) countries' call on every country to share
the long-term goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Softening its stance, India noted in the statement that it will
"give heed" to the goal.

7) Japan-India summit reflect Aso's value-based diplomacy

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
October 23, 2008

The Japan-India summit on October 22 was Prime Minister Aso's first
full-fledged summit. He advocates promoting cooperation with
countries with which Japan shares such values as democracy and a
market economy. This policy is aimed at solidifying Japan's
influence In Asia. How he is going to build relations with China,
which is alert to strengthened Japan-India relations on the security
front, is drawing attention.

Aso underscored at a joint press conference on the 22nd, "I want to

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press ahead with cooperation with India for the sake of peace and
stability in the region. Our cooperation is not targeting China."

Aso met with Australian Prime Minister Rudd on the sidelines of the
UN General Assembly in September. The talks with Prime Minister
Singh highlighted his attaching importance to a framework of Japan,
the U.S., Australia and India as the main pillar of his value-based
diplomacy. A Japan-China summit is set for the 24th. What response
China will make is worthy of attention.

Aso is also devoting his energy to strengthening economic relations
with India. His aim is to further expand relations with India by
accelerating Japanese companies' advance and investment into the
nation through assistance to India's efforts to consolidate
infrastructure. The key element of that policy is the Delhi-Mumbai
Industrial Corridor.

The plan is to connect New Delhi and Mumbai with a high-speed cargo
railway system stretching 1,500 kilometers. The estimated project
cost is more than 10 trillion yen. The two leaders confirmed the
promotion of the initiative, including the establishment of a joint
fund. They also agreed to aim to reach an agreement to sign an
economic partnership agreement (EPA) intended to liberalize trade in
goods and services.

8) Japan-India summit held; Aso wants to display own diplomatic
identity

NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly)
October 23, 2008

Prime Minister Taro Aso's meeting yesterday with India's Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh was the first full-fledged event for Aso's
Asia diplomacy since he assumed office. Looming in the background is
a strategy to upgrade both Japan's relations with India as well as
those with the United States and Australia, Japan's allies, in order
to deal with the rise of China. The strategy overlaps with his
arc-of-freedom-and-prosperity policy course. Prime Minister Aso is
aiming to display his own political identity in Asia diplomacy, as
well.

What makes this meeting unique is that Japan and India issued a
joint security declaration -- something Japan has adopted only with
the United States and Australia in the past. Effectively designed to
define India as a security-cooperation partner following the United
States and Australia, the joint declaration appears to reflect Prime
Minister Aso's strong wishes.

The two countries envisage cooperation in such areas as sea-lane
security, including measures against piracy, terrorism, and major
natural disasters. To crosscheck external strategies, the framework
of diplomatic and defense dialogue will be expanded at the same
time.

In a joint press conference after the meeting, Prime Minister Aso
emphasized that security cooperation with India is not designed to
target any third country. Prime Minister Singh, too, showed
consideration to China, saying: "No third country must be
sacrificed. That includes China." But such comments might be a
reflection of the two leaders' feelings of alarm toward China.

During his tenure as foreign minister, Aso advocated the arc of

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freedom and prosperity to encourage the democratization of Asia. The
idea was for Japan, the United States, Australia, and India to work
in close cooperation in dealing with China which was gaining a
strong voice as a major power. The idea fell through because it drew
fire from China and also because the United States took a cautious
view, according to a Foreign Ministry source.

Although Prime Minister Aso has not touched on this policy course
since assuming office, there seems to be the same thinking beneath
the move to accelerate security cooperation with India. As for
relations with Australia, a Japan-Australia foreign and defense
ministers' meeting (2 plus 2) is scheduled to take place before the
end of the year to strengthen cooperation.

Meanwhile, Aso's basic policy toward China is to build strategically
and mutually beneficial relations. More specifically, it is to
strengthen bilateral relations through cooperation in fields of
common interest, such as energy and the environment.

The prime minister is expected to hold a summit on Oct. 24 and hold
talks with Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the APEC forum to be
held in late November. The government has also made an informal
proposal of holding a Japan-China-South Korea summit in Japan in
early December.

9) International conference on reconstruction assistance to Georgia
announces 450 billion yen in aid: Japan to provide 20 billion yen

ASAHI (Page 9) (Full)
October 23, 2008

An international conference on reconstruction assistance to Georgia,
which suffered damage in the military conflict with Russia in
August, was held in Brussels on October 22. The meeting, hosted by
the European Commission (EC) of the European Union (EU) and the
World Bank, was joined by about 70 countries and international
agencies. Participating countries announced a plan to disburse a
total of approximately 4.5 billion dollars (approximately 450
billion yen).

Of the 4.5 billion, 2 billion dollars will be grant aid, and 2.5
billion dollars will be provided as loans -- yen loans worth about
200 million dollars (about 20 billion yen) by Japan, 1 billion
dollars (about 100 billion yen) by the U.S., and 500 million euro
(about 63.5 billion yen) by the EC. Reconstruction funds will be
used for the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged in the battle,
the protection of refugees and economic reconstruction aimed to lure
foreign investment.

Russia, which has recognized the independence of South Ocetia and
Abkhazia, was not invited on Georgia's wishes. Even the EU's
monitoring mission cannot enter those two regions. There is
reportedly no plan for the contributions to be directly used for
them.

10) Aso announces continued assistance to Palestinian Authority

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
October 23, 2008

Prime Minister Aso met with Israeli Internal Affairs Minister Meir
Sheetrit and Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestine

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Liberation Organization (PLO), at his office yesterday. They are
visiting Japan to attend a peace-building conference on Israel and
the Palestinian Authority to be hosted by the Japanese government.

Referring to the "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity," an initiative
proposed by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as measures to
support the Palestinian Authority, Aso announced Japan's continued
assistance to the Palestinian people, saying: "If we can link
desires for the future and economic prosperity, it would greatly
contribute to bringing about peace."

11) Foreign Ministry protests to Shukan Asahi over its article,
saying it contradicts the facts

SANKEI (Page 5) (Full)
October 23, 2008

Shukan Asahi, a weekly magazine published by Asahi Shimbun Co. that
went on sale on Oct. 21, carried an article titled "Aso diplomacy
has failed" by journalist Takashi Uesugi. Foreign Ministry Press
Secretary Kazuo Kodama revealed in a press briefing yesterday that
Press Division Director Koichi Mizushima had visited Asahi Shimbun
Co., lodged a protest and demanded a correction to the article,
saying that what is in the article conflicts with the facts. It is
rare for the Foreign Ministry to lodge a protest against a weekly
magazine article.

The article says that Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
Director-General Akitaka Saiki furiously said, "Don't write fake
articles," to MOFA reporters in an off-the-record session in
connection with the U.S. delisting of North Korea as a state sponsor
of terrorism. Press Secretary Kodama said: "Both the contents and
the description that (Saiki) was infuriated contradict the facts.
The article also quotes a senior Foreign Ministry official as
saying, "A cabinet minister as incompetent as Foreign Minister
Nakasone is rare." Touching on this description, Kodama also said:
"Mr. Uesugi's interview with a senior Foreign Ministry official has
not been confirmed, and the article's authenticity is questionable.
The responsibility of Shukan Asahi that carried the article is
grave."

Shukan Asahi has released its Editor-in-chief Kazuomi Yamaguchi's
comment: "We would like to consider a future response upon holding
talks with Mr. Takashi Uesugi who wrote the article."

12) Interim report: Petty officer's one-on-15 exercise unnecessary

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Full)
October 23, 2008

A petty officer 3rd class of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, who
had enrolled in the preparatory course for the MSDF Special Boarding
Unit, died after being fatally injured in a martial arts-style
exercise. In this regard, the Defense Ministry yesterday revealed an
interim report issued by the MSDF accident investigation commission.
The report concluded that there was no need to subject the
25-year-old petty officer, who was about to quit the preparatory
course, to a one-on-15 martial art-style exercise and that the
training was inappropriate.

However, the report failed to refer to the possibility that the
incident was a group assault or a beating of the petty officer by

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instructors and his colleagues. The report mainly stipulated how the
fatal incident occurred. The Defense Ministry said: "We avoided
referring to the details, since the MSDF military police are
separately investigating the incident."

According to the interim report, there was a one-on-15 martial
art-style exercise in May toward another petty officer, and the 15
members possibly believed the exercise was an MSDF tradition
bestowed upon enrollees who left the course early.

The dead man's training was drawn up by one of the 15 members and
ordered by an instructor. The member planned to carry out an
exercise on Sept. 9 since the dead man was to drop out on the 11th.
"I heard him say he wanted to go through with it, but nobody could
have said 'no' in that atmosphere," one of the 15 members was quoted
as saying in the report. This suggests that nobody could say 'no'
because of group psychology.

The commission analyzed the fatal incident from six aspects,
including human and educational training sides. The report wrote
that the training plan and management were inappropriate and it
questioned whether the 15 members were capable of safely
implementing a martial art-style exercise. The report also wrote
that an investigation would be necessary as to whether the two
instructors were qualified.

13) Defense Ministry to create new bureau

SANKEI (Page 2) (Abridged)
October 23, 2008

The Defense Ministry plans to set up a new bureau for defense
buildup planning, officials said yesterday. The newly planned bureau
is to be made up of Defense Ministry bureaucrats and Self-Defense
Forces staff officers. The Defense Ministry's Planning and
Programming Division, currently made up of civilian bureaucrats, and
relevant sections in the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense
Forces' respective staff offices will be integrated for joint work.
This is aimed to put together the three SDF branches' capabilities
and select mainstay equipment for them. The Defense Ministry will
for the first time have an internal bureau with a large number of
SDF personnel. The ministry wants to set up the new bureau in 2010
and will incorporate this plan in its basic policy documentation to
be worked out today for its reform.

The SDF's budget is spent mostly on its procurement of mainstay
equipment, such as tanks and aircrafts on the front. The GSDF, MSDF,
and ASDF staff offices have so far made their respective budget
requests, which are to be coordinated within the Defense Ministry
for internal approval. Each SDF staff office negotiates to secure a
budget at the same level as the preceding fiscal year's budget, so
there has been no change for over 10 years in the SDF's budget
shares at 43 PERCENT to 44 PERCENT for the GSDF and 26 PERCENT to
28 PERCENT for each of the MSDF and the ASDF. This has been pointed
out as a negative impact of something like bureaucratic
sectionalism.

Given such circumstances, a report released in July by an advisory
panel, which was set up at the prime minister's office to reform the
Defense Ministry, suggested the need for the Defense Ministry to
integrate its defense buildup planning sections so the SDF can
appropriately distribute its troop strengths from the Defense

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Ministry's overall perspectives. The report, however, did not go so
far as to refer to whether the new defense buildup planning office
should be set up within the Defense Ministry or should be a special
body that is highly independent like the Equipment Procurement and
Construction Office. The GSDF, MSDF, and ASDF staff offices were
first negative about the idea of integrating their defense buildup
planning sections into an internal bureau of the Defense Ministry
but later insisted on setting up a new internal bureau at the
Defense Ministry. If the new section is set up as a special body, an
internal bureau responsible for Diet replies could remain above it.
The three SDF services therefore inclined to send their crackerjacks
to an internal bureau so their respective views can be reflected.

14) Gov't mulls relief fund for overseas terror victims

MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full)
October 23, 2008

The government has decided to legislate relief measures for Japanese
victims of terrorism overseas as well as those for crime victims at
home, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told a press conference
yesterday. "Western countries already have a system and I have
ordered this be studied immediately," Kawamura said. At his order,
the Cabinet Office will work to study legislative measures.

Earlier in the day, Kawamura attended a plenary sitting of the House
of Councillors, during which he referred to the possibility of
enacting a special measures law for specific incidents. He was
replying to a question asked by Yukihisa Fujita from the leading
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto).

Under Japan's crime victims relief system, victims themselves will
be paid if they are injured or left affected, and in case they died,
payments will be made to their bereaved families. In July, the
government raised its maximum payment to crime victims at home from
about 18.5 million yen to about 39.74 million yen, as well as under
the automobile third party liability insurance system. However,
victims overseas have not been considered for payment.

15) Rebutting criticism of his posh nightlife, Prime Minister Aso
says, "Hotel bars are cheap!"

ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpts)
October 23, 2008

When asked to comment on criticism of his frequent visits to
excusive restaurants and bars at night, Prime Minister Taro Aso told
reporters yesterday: "I think hotels are cheap." He underscored that
restaurants and bars in hotels were cheaper than first-class
Japanese restaurants. He said: "You have distorted the facts by
reporting as if I went to high-class Japanese restaurants every
night. That's not true."

As of Oct. 21, Aso has gone at night to 32 restaurants and bars
since taking office. Of the 32, 23 or more than 70 PERCENT are
restaurants and bars in hotels. He said: "I believe meeting with a
number of people at hotel bars is safe and cheap." According to
official announcements, Aso was often accompanied by one or two
persons, such as his secretaries or a deputy chief cabinet
secretary. However, Aso's remarks yesterday indicated that he has
secretly met with many people at one occasion.

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"If I go to a posh restaurant accompanied by some 30 newspaper
reporters and police officers, the restaurant would say that my
visit obstructs its business. What should I say?" He then pointed
out: "Hotels do not make any complaints." He then said: "I won't
change my style. I have paid the bills myself."

However, hotel bars are not that cheap because they charges extra
fees, in addition to drinks. Aso said last night: "Don't you know
that hotel bars are not that expensive?"

16) Shizuka Kamei criticizes DPJ's stance in Diet as too
conciliatory

TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full)
October 23, 2008

Shizuka Kamei, acting head of the People's New Party, insisted in a
press conference yesterday that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)
should take a confrontational stance in the Diet. He said: "The DPJ
gives us the impression that it is willing to cooperate in
everything if the prime minister decides to dissolve the House of
Representatives."

SCHIEFFER

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