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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 000796 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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:  DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 02/14/06-2 
 
INDEX: 
 
(8) Japan-North Korea talks: North Korea abandons moratorium on 
missile launching: Pyongyang declaration stripped of meaning 
 
(9) SDP to adopt first party platform 10 years since name change, 
underscoring determination to narrow income disparity 
 
(10) Truth behind Ehime Maru incident: US Navy brass sealed off 
disadvantageous evidence; Responsibility for nuke submarine tour 
not accounted for; Double tragedies combining fatal incident and 
sharing of same lawyers 
 
(11) Foreign Ministry perplexed by the use of name cards with 
title of vice minister by some parliamentary secretaries 
 
(12) Truth about replacement of defense bureau deputy director 
general 
 
(13) Housecleaning at MOFA 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(8) Japan-North Korea talks: North Korea abandons moratorium on 
missile launching: Pyongyang declaration stripped of meaning 
 
SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
February 11, 2006 
 
It has been learned that Pyongyang had told Japan during the 
bilateral talks with Japan, held in Beijing from Feb. 4 through 
8, its intention to abandon a moratorium on missile launching, 
according to several sources informed of Japan-North Korea 
relations. The North's commitment to freeze missile launching is 
mentioned in the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration, issued 
in 2002. Pyongyang's move is viewed as motivated by the desire to 
overshadow the abduction incident, by bringing a nuclear and 
missile issue to the Japanese side's attention, as well as to 
obtain economic assistance from it. The move will in effect strip 
the Pyongyang Declaration of its meaning. The government will 
likely be pressed to make a more difficult response in the 
future. 
 
The said talks concurrently discussed the abduction issue, 
normalization of diplomatic ties and the missile issue. The 
nuclear and missile issue was discussed on the morning of Feb. 7. 
 
According to a source informed of bilateral relations, the 
Japanese side during the meeting called on Pyongyang to totally 
scrap its nuclear weapons and nuclear development program, as 
well as to completely abandon ballistic missiles. The North 
Korean side, however, rejected Japan's requests. On the contrary, 
it declared to the Japanese side, "We want Japan to think that 
there is no longer a moratorium on missile launching." It thus 
indicated that it was ready to launch a missile at any time. 
 
The Japanese side urged the North Korean side to live up to the 
Pyongyang Declaration, but Pyongyang reportedly remained 
unchanged. 
 
The Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration mentions that North 
Korea expressed its readiness to extend the moratorium on missile 
launching after 2003 as well. A Japanese government source is 
 
TOKYO 00000796  002 OF 008 
 
 
increasingly becoming alarmed about the development of the 
matter, noting, "North Korea has clarified its intention to 
abandon the Pyongyang Declaration." 
 
With North Korea, which continues to turn a blind eye to the 
abduction issue, taking on a more hard-line stance on the missile 
issue, Japan's domestic front is bound to intensify its call for 
applying pressure on that nation, including economic sanctions. 
Referring to the possibility of applying pressure on North Korea, 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso during a press conference on Feb. 10 
noted, "It is true that many proposals have been floated in the 
ministry." 
 
North Korea's nuclear and missile issue has been on the agenda at 
the six-party talks, including Japan, the US and China, as well. 
North Korea's indication of a stance of rejecting the moratorium 
on missile launching will likely affect the fate of the six-party 
talks. 
 
In 1998, North Korea test-launched a Taepodong-I with a range of 
about 2,500 kilometers, and part of the missile came down in the 
Pacific Ocean, passing over Japan. 
 
(9) SDP to adopt first party platform 10 years since name change, 
underscoring determination to narrow income disparity 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
February 11, 2006 
 
In its convention that starts today, the Social Democratic Party 
(SDP) will adopt a declaration for the first time in the 10 years 
since the opposition party changed its name. Some have become 
critical of the Koizumi administration's structural reforms in 
the wake of the Livedoor scandal. The SDP will set forth the 
slogan of "a society with a narrow gap between rich and poor" as 
part of efforts to underscore its different policy stance from 
the Koizumi administration's neo-liberalism, based on which the 
administration has promoted reforms. The SDP tends to convey only 
the image of a supporter of the current Constitution, so the 
party aims to increase support by bringing this slogan to the 
fore. In order to realize it, the party must work out specific 
measures. 
 
Key points in the draft SDF declaration 
 
Following is a partial text of the final draft of SDP declaration 
to be adopted in its convention today. 
 
Aim to create a peaceful society with no gaps 
 
Under neo-conservatism, specific values are imposed on people, 
given market-oriented neo-liberalism, as well as strong 
political, economic, and military power. There is now a neo- 
conservative tendency in the nation. Our party stresses the 
importance of fairness and cooperation in society and proposes 
reforming the current society into another society. We aim to 
create a society that reflects the principles of the Constitution 
and gives priority to preventing the income gap from widening. 
 
Our social democracy 
 
We open the door to all people. Our key principles are "peace, 
freedom, equality, and coexistence." Our party considers our 
 
TOKYO 00000796  003 OF 008 
 
 
nation's history as a victimizer that invaded other Asian 
countries and placed them under our colonial rule and as a victim 
of atomic bombings. 
 
Basic policy tasks 
 
Our party aims to establish a fair market-oriented economy placed 
under social regulations. Labor is indispensable for self- 
fulfillment. We guarantee the principle of equal compensation for 
equal work. We also respect various working styles. Our party 
will take measures to raise the maximum income and residential 
tax rates, strengthen graduated taxation, and review the 
corporate tax. 
 
Based on the spirit of the United Nations Charter, as well as the 
Preamble and Article 9 of the Constitution, our party will work 
hard to denuclearize Northeast Asia and to create a security 
mechanism in the region. The presence of the Self-Defense Forces 
(SDF) apparently infringes on the Constitution, so we will scale 
down and reorganize the SDF into groups engaged in border 
security, disaster relief, and international cooperation, in an 
effort to make the region free from any nuclear threat. Our party 
will change the Japan-US Security Treaty into a peace treaty. 
 
We thoroughly protect the freedom of speech.  We also aim to 
reform the present electoral system to give priority to 
proportional representation over the single-seat constituency 
system. 
 
Roadmap to reforms 
 
The SDP will surely provide an opportunity for every citizen to 
equally take part in society. We aim to establish a social 
democratic government by joining hands with small- and medium- 
sized firms, individual shopkeepers, workers in primary 
industries, and those engaged in civic movements. We aim at 
forming a coalition government while keeping our own policy 
identity. 
 
(10) Truth behind Ehime Maru incident: US Navy brass sealed off 
disadvantageous evidence; Responsibility for nuke submarine tour 
not accounted for; Double tragedies combining fatal incident and 
sharing of same lawyers 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 26) (Abridged slightly) 
February 11, 2006 
 
February 10 marked the fifth anniversary of the Ehime Maru's 
fatal collision with the USS Greeneville off Hawaii. American 
lawyer Peter Erlinder, 57, and his journalist wife Masako Usui, 
51, have coauthored a book titled The Ehime Maru Incident, which 
was published by Shin Nihon Publishing Co. The Tokyo Shimbun's 
Masatomo Asai sat with Erlinder and Usui, who have been 
endeavoring to uncover the whole picture of the accident, to 
learn the truth behind the incident that has never been revealed. 
 
What was not revealed? 
 
"That 16 civilian guests were aboard the Greeneville when the 
accident occurred and that a civilian had his hands on the lever 
when the ship made a rapid ascent to the surface. The Navy has a 
program to invite influential lawmakers and business leaders to 
its vessels to please them, and the Ehime Maru accident occurred 
 
TOKYO 00000796  004 OF 008 
 
 
as part of such a program. The top brass was not held responsible 
for the accident because investigators failed to touch on the 
fact that the civilians were aboard the vessel under obscure 
safety rules." 
 
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) produced last 
October a final report on the accident. 
 
Erlinder and his wife said: 
 
"The report only restated facts that had already been revealed. 
Such a scenario was prepared by (then) Pacific Fleet Commander 
Thomas Fargo and other top-level Navy officers." 
 
In the following month, the US Navy opened a court of inquiry. 
Erlinder was in Japan at the time. 
 
"The court of inquiry was a Navy investigative committee placed 
directly under Commander Fargo. Nobody expected evidence placing 
top-level Navy officers at a disadvantage would come out. In 
fact, no civilian quests were ever summoned, and facts putting 
senior Navy officials in jeopardy were sealed off." 
 
After the court of inquiry, the Navy decided not to call for a 
court martial, and the Greeneville's Captain Scott Waddle 
received an honorable discharge. The top brass was not held 
responsible for the accident. 
 
"The Navy held a court of inquiry to push the blame only on 
Waddle to minimize the impact on the top brass. The Navy had no 
intention of thoroughly uncovering the facts; it simply wanted to 
put an early end to the incident." 
 
Fargo initially had promised to let Waddle visit Japan to offer 
apologies, but the commander began opposing it once the court of 
inquiry was over. 
 
Erlinder and his wife took this view: 
 
"Waddle had shown a stance of blaming his commanding officer, so 
the Navy feared what he would say undesirable things in Japan. 
The Navy figured that a delay in Waddle's trip to Japan would 
prompt the families of the victims and the Japanese public to 
direct their anger at the submarine's captain." 
 
Erlinder also indicated that the NTSB report had failed to touch 
on the structure of the Ehime Maru. 
 
After the accident, some questioned the appropriateness of the 
structure of the Ehime Maru. One speculated that because the 
dining area was situated close to the ship's bottom, the students 
and crewmembers found it difficult to escape the vessel in such 
an emergency. But the NTSB report simply said, "Many lives 
perished because the Ehime Maru sank from rapid flooding." 
 
Neither Japan nor the US tried to closely examine the Ehime 
Maru's hull. The Ehime Maru was towed to shallow waters eight 
months after the accident in line with the wishes of the 
survivors and the families of the victims. 
 
"Although the wrecked hull was the only evidence objectively 
testifying to the circumstances of the collision, Japan did not 
conduct an independent investigation after SDF personnel had 
 
TOKYO 00000796  005 OF 008 
 
 
searched for missing people in the vessel." 
 
Then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori repeatedly said, "We will deal 
with the situation from the perspective of strengthening the 
Japan-US alliance." A key to Japan's true intention behind its 
failure to conduct an independent investigation lay in Mori's 
statement, according to Erlinder. 
 
"The Japanese government was more intent on keeping Japan-US 
military ties intact than on finding missing students. The Ehime 
prefectural government followed the central government's policy 
by turning a deaf ear to the bereaved families' strong desire for 
finding what actually happened at sea." 
 
Erlinder became involved in the Ehime Maru incident following his 
trip to Uwajima in compliance with a request from a Japanese 
lawyer asking him to brief the surviving victims and bereaved 
families on the American legal system two months after the 
accident. 
 
The lawyers hired by the Ehime prefectural government were also 
serving as the attorneys representing the surviving victims and 
bereaved families. Erlinder felt that such arrangements were not 
legally appropriate. Why? 
 
"The Ehime prefectural government had the ownership of the Ehime 
Maru. The prefectural government's defense team was required to 
work in the best interest of the prefectural government in, for 
instance, seeking compensation for the Ehime Maru. But 
considering the possibility that the Ehime Maru's structure 
amplified the scale of the disaster, the surviving victims and 
bereaved families might file a lawsuit against the prefectural 
government as the owner of the ship." 
 
Such a situation conflicted with lawyers' ethics. 
 
"The prefectural government urged the victims and bereaved 
families to stop using the same lawyers and sought an out-of- 
court settlement instead of a lawsuit. If many of them had 
entrusted the case to the people's lawyers independent of the 
prefectural government, the outcome of their efforts to elucidate 
the whole picture of the accident and negotiations on 
compensation would have been different altogether. The surviving 
victims and bereaved families experienced double tragedies: the 
tragic accident and the sharing of the same lawyers. Such 
elements should not be overlooked." 
 
The book's title The Ehime Maru Incident implies that it was not 
a mere accident but a tragedy resulting from the US Navy's 
attempt to cover up the truth and where responsibility lay and 
the Japanese government's motive not to harm relations between 
Japan and the US. 
 
Erlinder and Asai concluded: 
 
"The report which took the NTSB five years to produce did not 
help uncover the truth. The Ehime Maru incident has taught us 
that in facing accidents or problems caused by huge 
organizations, such as the military and government, the only way 
for settling them fairly and squarely is for citizens to band 
together in taking action and exercising power." 
 
(11) Foreign Ministry perplexed by the use of name cards with 
 
TOKYO 00000796  006 OF 008 
 
 
title of vice minister by some parliamentary secretaries 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 14, 2006 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is now feeling disturbed 
by the fact that several parliamentary secretaries (seimukan), 
including Satsuki Katayama, a parliamentary secretary of the 
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), have started 
calling themselves "vice minister" in English. Katayama and other 
parliamentary secretaries have explained their reason for using 
the title of "vice minister" that they might be mistaken as 
"parliamentary secretariat staff members if they call themselves 
parliamentary secretaries." 
 
The Japanese government has decided that the word kakuryo refers 
to a cabinet minister, fuku-daijin, to the senior vice minister, 
and the word vice minister is used only for jimu-jikan, the top 
administrative office in a ministry or agency. However, a 
seimukan  or parliamentary secretary cannot be called a "vice 
minister." According to MOFA's Personnel Division, which sets 
English titles, the National Administration Organization Law 
differentiates by classifying vice ministers as line officials 
and parliamentary secretaries as staff officials. 
 
However, since some parliamentary secretaries wishing to play up 
their political leadership are now referring to themselves as 
vice ministers, Katayama, too, has followed suit. Both Foreign 
Minister Taro Aso and METI Minister Toshihiro Nikai reportedly 
have endorsed their use of the title of "vice minister." 
 
The Foreign Ministry has urged them to reconsider using the title 
of vice minister, stating, "If they use titles on their cards 
different from those on their passports and official documents, 
it would create confusion." 
 
(12) Truth about replacement of defense bureau deputy director 
general 
 
BUNGEI SHUNJU, March 2006 
(Full) 
 
Tokyo and Washington last October reached an interim agreement on 
the realignment of US forces in Japan. Chisato Yamauchi (entered 
Defense Agency = JDA in 1976), Defense Policy Bureau deputy 
director general responsible for working-level negotiations with 
the US on the JDA side (Administrative Vice Minister Takemasa 
Moriya, entered JDA in 1971) was transferred as of Jan. 30 to 
National Defense Medical College to serve as vice president. 
Hironori Kanazawa (entered JDA in 1977), a press officer at the 
Director General's Secretariat, succeeded him. At the same time, 
Masanori Nishi (entered JDA in 1978), director general of the 
Defense Facilities Administrative Agency (DFAA) Regional Defense 
Facilities Administration Bureau in Naha, was transferred to the 
Technical Research & Development Institute to serve as deputy 
director general. Tsutomu Sato, DFAA facilities inspector, a non- 
career official, was picked to fill his post. 
 
Speculation had been rife among bureau officials that the 
replacement of Yamauchi was only a matter of time, because the 
disbandment of "Team Yamauchi," which had been responsible for 
talks with the US until the end of last year, had already been 
decided. Winning high praise from Deputy Under Secretary of 
 
TOKYO 00000796  007 OF 008 
 
 
Defense Richard Lawless, responsible for working-level 
negotiations on the US side, Yamauchi's group had been considered 
the strongest JDA team ever in talks with the US. However, Kazuo 
Ofuru (Defense Policy Bureau Director General, entered JDA in 
1973), and DFAA Director General Iwao Kitahara (entered JDA in 
1972), main figures under the Moriya structure, took a dim view 
of the team. To make a long story short, there was confrontation 
between the "international school" and the "domestic school" in 
JDA. 
 
The Yamauchi team consisted of Masatomi Oka (entered JDA in 
1986), a first secretary to the Japanese Embassy in the US, Taro 
Yamato (entered JDA in 1990), senior official of the Defense 
Policy Bureau Defense Intelligence Division, and Mitsuko Hayashi 
(entered JDA in 1993) at the Defense Policy Bureau Defense Policy 
Division from internal bureaus, and Noboru Yamaguchi (major 
general, entered Ground Self-Defense Force in 1972), deputy 
director of the National Institute for Defense Studies, Tetsuro 
Doshita (captain, entered Maritime Self-Defense Force in 1982), 
planning coordinator of Joint Staff Office Fifth Staff Office), 
and Shunji Izutsu (colonel, entered Air Self-Defense Force in 
1986) at the Air Staff Office Defense Division from the uniformed 
group. All members of Team Yamauchi have an international 
background with Oka and Yamato studying at the Fletcher School of 
Tufts University, Hayashi at Oxford University, Yamaguchi at the 
Fletcher School and Harvard University, Doshita at Georgetown 
University, Izutsu at Harvard University and Yamauchi at National 
Defense University. 
 
If the replacement of Yamauchi was the result of the careers of 
the members of his team getting on Moriya's nerves, the JDA as 
ruled by "Emperor Moriya" has become hopeless. 
 
(13) Housecleaning at MOFA 
 
BUNGEI SHUNJU, March 2006 
(Full) 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) personnel transfers in 
the summer will likely have major implications. MOFA's efforts to 
have Japan secure a permanent seat on the UN Security Council 
fell through. The suicide of a staff member at the Japanese 
Consul General in Shanghai came to light. Regarding the 
realignment of US forces in Japan, too, MOFA has dumped the 
coordination of views with local communities on the Defense 
Agency to the great annoyance of government officials. The focus 
of the planned personnel shakeup is on the treatment of 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi (entered MOFA 
in 1969). It had at first been thought that he would retain the 
post, but now the rumor has it that he might be replaced. 
 
Former Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shin Ebihara 
(entered MOFA in 1971) had once been seen as the most likely 
successor to Yachi, but he has been replaced, as he was on bad 
terms with Secretary to the Prime Minister Iijima. Deputy Foreign 
Minister Tsuneo Nishida (responsible for political affairs, 
entered MOFA in 1970), who continually misjudged Japan's chances 
in the drive to secure a permanent seat on the UNSC, and Deputy 
Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka (responsible for economic 
affairs, entered MOFA in 1969), who got on the career track 
midway, have also been removed from the list of potential 
contenders. To begin with, there are no potential vice 
ministerial candidates among those who entered MOFA in 1972 and 
 
TOKYO 00000796  008 OF 008 
 
 
¶1973. Then, it comes to the question of whether to undergo a 
rejuvenation with the selection of Kenichiro Sasae, director 
general of the Asian and Oceania Affairs Bureau, who entered MOFA 
in 1974. However, that option is hard to choose in view of 
keeping a balance with other agencies. 
 
A plan has been floated to choose someone from another agency or 
a private citizen as a stopgap. The Finance Ministry installed 
Masaharu Hino, superintendent public prosecutor at the Nagoya 
High Public Prosecutors Office, when it was shaken by a series of 
scandals. Will the name of a former public prosecutor be floated 
because of the image of fairness that profession has? Or will 
Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon 
Keidanren), whose name was mentioned as a successor to Ambassador 
to China Koreshige Anan, be floated once again? 
 
SCHIEFFER