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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001058 
 
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 02/28/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Minshuto to suspend Nagata's membership for six months; Party 
head refuses to accept resignations of Hatoyama and Noda 
 
(2) Horie e-mail issue: Lawmaker Nagata offers apology at press 
briefing; Suspension of his party membership for a half year 
 
(3) US consul general designate denies changes possible to 
coastal plan, negates US envoy's flexible remarks 
 
(4) LDP presidential race 2006 - Factions melting down (Part 1): 
Junior members rebel against seniority-based factional logic to 
achieve rejuvenation 
 
(5) Editorial: Iwakuni plebiscite-National policy not taboo, 
either 
 
(6) Editorial: Iran's nuclear ambitions - no other choice but to 
clear up suspicions 
 
(7) Editorial: Kyoto Protocol, one year after coming into effect, 
finally set in motion 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Minshuto to suspend Nagata's membership for six months; Party 
head refuses to accept resignations of Hatoyama and Noda 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
Eve., February 28, 2006 
 
House of Representatives member Hisayasu Nagata of Minshuto 
(Democratic Party of Japan) will make a public apology at a press 
conference this afternoon for the uproar he caused by his 
allegation without decisive evidence when he cited an e-mail 
allegedly from former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Hori 
ordering a money transfer to Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 
Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe's son. Following his public 
 
SIPDIS 
apology, the main opposition party will soon decide on punishment 
for Nagata and executive members. The party is expected to 
suspend Nagata's membership for six months. 
 
In an informal executive meeting this morning, Secretary General 
Yukio Hatoyama and Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshihiko Noda 
offered to resign to take responsibility for the e-mail fiasco, 
but party President Seiji Maehara refused to accept them. 
 
Nagata was discharged from the hospital this morning. He will 
convey the party executive his intention that he would withdraw 
his earlier desire to resign his seat. Hatoyama will be present 
at Nagata's press conference. Hatoyama, who has been entrusted to 
handle Nagata's political fate, told reporters, "I have no 
intention to let him give up his seat." 
 
Hatoyama also pointed out, "Both the Diet affairs chief and 
secretary general bear heavy responsibilities." Noda said in the 
 
SIPDIS 
executive meeting, "I leave my political fate to the party head." 
If the resignations of Hatoyama and Noda are accepted, Maehara, 
too, might have to resign. There remains much uncertainty about 
the situation in the largest opposition party. 
 
(2) Horie e-mail issue: Lawmaker Nagata offers apology at press 
 
TOKYO 00001058  002 OF 008 
 
 
briefing; Suspension of his party membership for a half year 
 
MAINICHI Online (Excerpts) 
February 28, 2006, 15:42 
 
House of Representative member Hisayasu Nagata of Minshuto 
(Democratic Party of Japan) this afternoon held a press 
conference in the Diet to give an explanation about the 
controversial e-mail concerning Livedoor Co. Nagata acknowledged, 
"I took the floor in the Diet before obtaining concrete grounds 
for the authenticity of the e-mail." He then apologized: "My 
questioning caused trouble and turned the Diet into an uproar. I 
offer an apology for that." Asked about whether to resign as a 
Diet member, Nagata stated: "I have left this case entirely to 
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama. I'll follow his decision." 
 
SIPDIS 
Minshuto will not ask Nagata to resign as a Diet member and 
instead take a punitive measure to suspend his party membership 
for a half year. 
 
When asked about whether he would apologize to Liberal Democratic 
Party Secretary General Takebe and his second son, Nagata offered 
this apology" "I am extremely sorry for having pursued them by 
giving their names before completing a full investigation." But 
in response to a question of whether (the e-mail) was bogus, 
Nagata took care not to commit himself: "The investigation is 
still continuing to see whether it is entirely groundless or if 
it contains a certain amount of facts." On his course of action, 
Nagata explained he had once indicated his intention to resign to 
the party leadership, but he reiterated, "I have left what I will 
do now entirely up to Mr. Hatoyama." 
 
(3) US consul general designate denies changes possible to 
coastal plan, negates US envoy's flexible remarks 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 1) (Abridged) 
February 28, 2006 
 
The United States will no longer accept any changes to the 
planned relocation of the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in 
Okinawa Prefecture to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in the 
prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago, Kevin Maher, director 
for security affairs at the US embassy in Japan, stressed in his 
speech delivered yesterday at a study meeting hosted by Kyodo 
News Service for its subscribers' editorial writers at a hotel in 
the city of Naha. "We (Japan and the United States) have 
basically agreed on the plan, and It would not be desirable to 
negotiate the plan again," Maher said. He is the consul general 
designate to Okinawa. 
 
US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said in a speech on Feb. 
13 that the United States would flexibly respond to proposals 
from local communities, including the city of Nago, for changes 
to the relocation plan. However, Maher's remarks negated the 
ambassador's remarks, indicating that the coastal plan is a de 
facto "final" plan agreed to between Japan and the United States. 
 
In the meantime, Maher also suggested the need for the Japanese 
and US governments to go through technical coordination even 
after releasing a final report on the realignment of US forces in 
Japan. "It will take time to detail specifics, so I think it will 
take months to make specific plans even after the final report 
comes out," he said. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001058  003 OF 008 
 
 
Japan and the United States are now in the final phase of 
negotiations to return bases located in the central and southern 
districts of Okinawa's main island. "If we try to carry out the 
interim report's specifics separately, everything will fall 
apart," Maher said. With this, he noted the necessity of reaching 
a package settlement, stressing that the return of these bases is 
premised on the intergovernmental agreement to relocate Futenma 
airfield along with the coastal plan. 
 
(4) LDP presidential race 2006 - Factions melting down (Part 1): 
Junior members rebel against seniority-based factional logic to 
achieve rejuvenation 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) 
February 28, 2006 
 
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, 68, who heads the Mori 
faction in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has repeatedly 
urged faction members to seal off the topic of the LDP 
presidential election slated for September, underscoring the 
importance of unity in the faction. Mori has a "concept" of what 
he wants for the presidential race, but it has yet to take solid 
shape. 
 
Mori met with former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda at the 
faction office in Tokyo in early January, in which the former 
premier asked Fukuda to take on the faction's No. 2 post. 
 
In response, Fukuda said that he needed more time to consider 
Mori's offer. Days later, Fukuda declined the offer, saying, "My 
assumption of the post would be misinterpreted that I'm bent on 
becoming Prime Minister Koizumi's successor." 
 
The Mori faction has two prospective presidential candidates: 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, 51, and Fukuda. Mori's 
proposal reflected his plan to strengthen the faction's unity 
centering on Abe and Fukuda in the lead-up to the presidential 
race. 
 
Mori figured that if Abe, backed by his high national popularity, 
decided to run in the race, he would easily be able to make 
Fukuda new faction head by promoting him from the No. 2 post. 
That way, neither Abe nor Fukuda would lose face. Abe's decision 
not to seek the presidency would also give Fukuda every reason to 
run in the race as the faction's No. 2. 
 
At heart, Mori believes that the LDP should stick to the 
seniority system in determining its head, and this can explain 
his desire to keep Abe in a holding position. 
 
For any faction, it is best to solidify unity under one leader. 
But Mori intends to pursue a two-track approach, as he feels 
uneasy about carrying through the factional logic of producing a 
joint candidate for forming an uneasy alliance with other 
factions. 
 
During the Jan. 19 faction meeting, Mori angrily said, "You 
should never say 'I'm for Mr. Abe or Mr. Fukuda.'" He especially 
warned House of Councillors member Ichita Yamamoto, 48, "If you 
keep voicing your support for Mr. Abe, you will lose your 
membership in the faction." 
 
That did not stop Yamamoto from telling the press afterward: "I 
 
TOKYO 00001058  004 OF 008 
 
 
didn't do anything wrong. I will keep telling the world that Mr. 
Abe should replace Prime Minister Koizumi, and I will not leave 
the faction, either." 
 
It was a declaration that he would not abide by the faction's 
seniority system. A generational clash is not confined to the 
Mori faction, the largest faction with two presidential 
candidates. 
 
In the past, the LDP presidency was almost always vied for among 
lawmakers of Mori's generation. Abe's candidacy would signify the 
advent of an age of junior and mid-level lawmakers. 
 
The nation has experienced four general elections since the 
single-seat constituency system in favor of strong party heads 
replaced the multiple-seat system in which factions had played a 
central role in endorsing candidates and providing campaign 
funds. 
 
Today, over 60% of the LDP Lower House members are in their 
fourth term or less. They have strong rivalry against the largest 
opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) led by 43- 
year-old Seiji Maehara. Junior LDP members are eager to rally 
around the party's young leader, Abe, by transcending factional 
boundaries. 
 
Mori also urged faction members to support a bill to amend the 
Imperial House Law by citing a major role played by former Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda of the Mori faction. But Diet 
Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Hakubun Shimomura, 51, objected 
to the submission of the bill to the Diet, fearing that such 
might throw the government and ruling coalition into turmoil and 
sully Abe's name. 
 
Moves to protect Abe are not peculiar to junior and mid-level 
members of the Mori faction. 
 
Last year, a cross-factional policy study group was launched by a 
dozen or so LDP members, including former Land, Infrastructure 
and Transport Minister Nobuteru Ishihara, 48, who is close to 
Abe, and Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, 55, of 
the Niwa-Koga faction. The membership also includes junior 
members of the Tsushima and Niwa-Koga factions supportive of Abe. 
 
Meanwhile, some veteran members are willing to back Yasuo Fukuda, 
69, in the hope of becoming his successor. 
 
Taku Yamasaki, 69, who heads the Yamasaki faction, indicated on a 
television program in January that he found Fukuda's perspective 
agreeable. Yamasaki also said: "The presidential race is not a 
popular contest. Koizumi politics has destroyed the old system, 
and the next prime minister should serve as a consensus builder." 
 
Under Prime Minister Koizumi, who vowed to destroy the LDP, the 
factions have weakened, losing their authority over personnel 
issues and power to speak out. Cross-factional calls for 
political rejuvenation are clearly gaining momentum in stark 
contrast to the traditional seniority-oriented factional logic. 
 
(5) Editorial: Iwakuni plebiscite-National policy not taboo, 
either 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
 
TOKYO 00001058  005 OF 008 
 
 
February 28, 2006 
 
The US Marine Corps' Iwakuni base is at the mouth of the 
Nishikigawa River with the Kintaikyo Bridge in the city of 
Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The base covers an area of more 
than 600 hectares, and the Maritime Self-Defense Force also uses 
the base. 
 
The city's municipal government will promulgate a referendum on 
March 5 to ask its people whether they will accept the planned 
redeployment of US carrier-borne fighter jets to the base. Voting 
and vote counting are slated for March 12. Iwakuni is the second 
municipality in the nation to hold a plebiscite over whether to 
accept a US military base, following the city of Nago in Okinawa 
Prefecture. 
 
According to an interim report released by the Japanese and US 
governments on the realignment of US forces in Japan, 57 US 
carrier-borne fighters and 1,600 US military personnel will be 
relocated from the US Navy's Atsugi base, which is located in an 
urban area of Kanagawa Prefecture, to the Iwakuni base. In 
return, 17 MSDF airplanes and 700 MSDF members will be moved to 
Atsugi. 
 
In the past, the city of Iwakuni has not raised any strong 
objection to the US military's use of the base. The city has 
chosen to live together with the base. 
 
The redeployment plan this time, however, was a different case. 
The government pushed for the plan without listening to local 
views despite its serious impacts, such as noise pollution, on 
the daily lives of local communities. Iwakuni Mayor Katsusuke 
Ihara took it that way and has called for the government to 
retract the plan. Last summer, a group of local residents and 
others collected signatures from about 60,000 people or half of 
the city's population against the plan. The mayor's claim was 
backed by that local anti-redeployment campaign. 
 
Last June, the city's municipal assembly also resolved 
unanimously to oppose the redeployment. Late last month, however, 
a Defense Facilities Administration Agency official visited 
Iwakuni, where the official said the government was not thinking 
of modifying the realignment plan. Touched off by that remark, 
some locals began to insist that the city, premised on its 
acceptance of the plan, should hold a dialogue with the 
government. 
 
Amid the split of public opinion in the city, the mayor brought 
up a referendum as a way of reaching a settlement. 
 
The city's plebiscite ordinance stipulates that its mayor may 
initiate a referendum. The outcome of voting is not legally 
binding. However, the ordinance provides that the city's mayor, 
municipal assembly, and residents should respect the outcome. 
 
When it comes to bases, atomic power plants, and other issues 
relating to Japan's national policy, some note that they are not 
fit for a local referendum. However, the government, just because 
it made the decision, cannot ignore the views of local residents 
who will be heavily burdened with the presence of US military 
bases. The mayor wants to show the views of his city's 
population, so we want to respect his judgment. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001058  006 OF 008 
 
 
We polled Iwakuni citizens last weekend, and the poll found 70% 
opposed to the redeployment. However, there is no knowing how 
many people will actually vote. The city's ordinance stipulates 
that a referendum-if its voter turnout is below 50 % -will be 
nullified with no counting of votes. 
 
In addition, there are complicated circumstances. The city of 
Iwakuni will merge with seven neighboring municipalities and will 
elect its new mayor in April. Some people are opposed to the 
referendum, arguing that the mayor is campaigning before the 
mayoral election. Taking advantage of such an objection, those in 
favor of the redeployment are calling on local residents to stay 
away from the poll. 
 
Meanwhile, there are also unprecedented moves in the city, as 
seen from the fact that there is now a group of anti-redeployment 
locals with no political party coloring. 
 
The 'base-hosting city' of Iwakuni-no longer what it used to 
be-will now go so far as to poll its residents. The government is 
probably most surprised to see such a change in the city's 
attitude. However, the government has pushed for a realignment of 
the US military presence in Japan while leaving base-hosting 
localities in the lurch. The mayor's polling initiative is 
ascribable to such a stance shown by the government. 
 
We want to watch the future course of public opinion to be shown 
directly by the citizenry of Iwakuni to begin with. 
 
(6) Editorial: Iran's nuclear ambitions - no other choice but to 
clear up suspicions 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 28, 2006 
 
Amid growing international suspicions about Iran's nuclear 
development program, Foreign Minister Mottaki visited Japan and 
met with Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Aso told Mottaki that it is 
important for Iran to clear up suspicions about its nuclear 
ambitions and to win international trust if it wants to secure 
the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This is 
indeed the point that might lead to resolving Iran's nuclear 
issue. 
 
Suspicions about Iran's nuclear program turned more serious in 
November 2003, when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
reported that that nation had covertly repeated violations of the 
IAEA safeguards agreement for the past 18 years. 
 
In November 2004, Iran, Britain, France and Germany concluded a 
Paris agreement in which Iran promised to suspend all uranium 
enrichment activity. 
 
Last August, however, immediately after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a 
hard-line conservative, took office as president, Iran reneged on 
the Paris agreement and began uranium conversion, the stage 
before enrichment. This January, Iran restarted uranium 
enrichment-related experiments. 
 
To deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA convened an 
emergency board meeting on Feb. 4 and adopted a resolution to 
refer Iran's nuclear program to the United Nations Security 
Council (UNSC), an international body that can impose sanctions. 
 
TOKYO 00001058  007 OF 008 
 
 
The resolution states that if Iran failed to follow the 
resolution until March 6, Iran's nuclear issue will be sent to 
the UNSC. 
 
Iran and Russia reportedly have agreed in principle on a plan for 
a joint venture of Iranian and Russian firms to conduct uranium 
enrichment in Russia, but the two nations have yet to reach an 
accord that would be able to win international confidence. 
 
Assuredly, the right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes 
should be afforded to Iran, as it has claimed. That right is 
stipulated in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Iran is 
a member of the NPT. But that right comes with obligations, for 
instance, accepting a ban on nuclear weapons development and 
nuclear inspections specified in the NPT. 
 
Iran has stated it wants to use nuclear energy for peaceful 
purposes like Japan. But it took Japan nearly three decades 
before the IAEA recognized Japan as a nation that would never go 
nuclear, after examining its nuclear process ranging from uranium 
enrichment to reprocessing and then putting it into the group 
qualified for integrated safeguards - simple nuclear inspections. 
 
Foreign Minister Mottaki, who served as ambassador to Japan for 
four and a half years until the end of 1999, should have been 
well informed about these circumstances of Japan. We hope to see 
him strive to persuade his nation. 
 
Iran's nuclear issue perhaps has a variety of aspects, such as 
national dignity, the public's support and security. But the only 
path for Iran to follow would be to use nuclear energy for 
peaceful purpose while maintaining transparency, just as Japan 
does. 
 
(7) Editorial: Kyoto Protocol, one year after coming into effect, 
finally set in motion 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 5) (Full) 
February 28, 2006 
 
The Kyoto Protocol has finally set in motion one year after it 
came into effect in February of last year, through various events 
including the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations 
Framework Convention on Climate Change late last year. At least 
that is the impression that Japan now receives. But once 
countries begin to be involved in emission-right markets, they 
are expected to start moving actively. In that race, Japan must 
not be left behind. 
 
"(The Kyoto Protocol) has finally started moving," grumbled 
representatives from major domestic nongovernmental organizations 
when the Montreal Conference ended late last year. Government 
sources are also excited about setting out on a voyage in an 
unpredictable sea. 
 
In the series of conferences in Canada late last year, a trigger 
was finally pulled. A roadmap was finally drawn up for each 
country to continue talks on greenhouse gas-emission cuts in the 
second term starting in 2013 and to review the Kyoto Protocol. 
 
Agreement has been reached on the above two commitments under the 
Kyoto Protocol, and arrangements have been made to continue 
economic benefits and losses to be accrued in the process of 
 
TOKYO 00001058  008 OF 008 
 
 
fulfilling the commitments in and after 2013. 
 
Ten months after the declaration of "starting the game," the 
trigger was pulled. Rules were set, and the game of reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions will be played without any concern. We 
have no choice but to move forward. 
 
Under the so-called Kyoto Protocol mechanisms, countries are 
allowed to trade emission rights with other countries. 
 
The government will soon help to fund projects in developing 
countries for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 
return for emission credits. The Nagoya Environment Stock 
Exchange (NCTX) has gradually succeeded in joining hands with 
Asian markets. 
 
The European Union (EU) has issued a message urging Japan to 
cooperate with (other countries). In order to encourage companies 
to participate in green projects, it is imperative to improve the 
market. Europe has already engaged in such transactions 
earnestly. To catch up with Europe, Japan should strengthen 
cooperation with the international market by upgrading its system 
and soliciting many companies to participate in such projects. 
 
Now that the trigger has been pulled, the trend of the 
international community has apparently changed. 
 
In the US, 35 states have pushed ahead with their own emission- 
cut plans. They are also making preparations for transactions in 
emission rights. In some of these states, the governor is from 
the Republican Party. They are ready to take part in the market 
beyond the boundary of individual states. The US is an "economic 
power that loves markets." Prosperous in the environment stock 
markets could be used to bring back the US to the Kyoto Protocol. 
 
All countries now find it difficult to attain their emission-cut 
goals set in the Kyoto Protocol. Now that the trigger has been 
pulled, they should continue to search only benefits to be 
accrued from reducing greenhouse gases, instead of finding good 
excuses for cutting themselves free from their gas-cutting 
obligation. 
 
SCHIEFFER