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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, 
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; 
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; 
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; 
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION  STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS 
- TOKYO 
 
 
LEAD STORIES: Most Thursday morning papers front-paged 
follow-up stories on the alleged bid-rigging scandal 
involving senior Japan Defense Facilities Administration 
Agency (JDFAA) officials, with Asahi and Yomiuri articles 
alleging that the collusive practice also occurred in a 
runway extension project at the US Marine Corps Air 
Station in Iwakuni. 
 
¶1. All six dailies carried editorials concerning 
President Bush's State of the Union address. 
 
¶2. "Continued US Commitment to the World Reconfirmed" An 
editorial in the top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri 
commented (2/2): "The 'prescription' President Bush wrote 
for the difficult issues facing the US took on an 
optimistic tone. In his State of the Union address, the 
president defined this year as one that would determine 
the future of the US, pledging that America would 
exercise strong leadership to protect its security and 
prosperity.... Without a positive US commitment, global 
security and the world economic order cannot be 
maintained.... 
 
¶3. "Expectations for the president have been dropping, as 
he registered only 39 percent approval in an opinion poll 
conducted the day of the speech, the lowest level of his 
presidency.... This low support reflects public 
frustration over the president's failure to take 
effective measures to deal with many unresolved issues. 
With three years remaining in office, Mr. Bush's handling 
of Iraq and the economy holds the key to regaining 
support for his administration." 
 
¶4. "Can President Bush Regain Support by Tackling 
Domestic Issues?" The liberal Asahi editorialized (2/2): 
"... The Bush administration has suffered a series of 
setbacks over the past year. President Bush proudly 
declared that the US is winning the war in Iraq. But 
though there has been progress in the creation of a 
political system there, including a new constitution and 
parliamentary elections, armed insurgents persist in 
their attacks, and the number of US casualties continues 
to grow. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the radical 
Palestinian group Hamas, which calls for armed struggle 
against Israel, has won a majority of seats in the 
Palestinian Legislative Council, raising global 
tensions.... 
 
¶5. "Considering these developments, it is understandable 
that public support for Mr. Bush in his second term 
mirrors that of then-President Nixon in the aftermath of 
the Watergate scandal. The ruling Republican Party may 
lose control of Congress if the president remains unable 
to deal effectively with these and other issues ahead of 
the mid-term elections this fall. Mr. Bush may become a 
'lame duck' sooner than expected. To regain the ground he 
has lost, Mr. Bush time and again emphasized in the 
speech that the US would maintain its competitiveness. We 
wonder whether his speech was intended to strike a new 
note on domestic policy while placing on the backburner 
foreign policy initiatives that have failed to produce 
positive results." 
 
¶6. "State of the Union Address Looks Beyond War in Iraq" 
An editorial in the business-oriented Nihon Keizai opined 
(2/2): "While President Bush's State of the Union address 
sounded like a repetition of his call for international 
 
TOKYO 00000577  002 OF 002 
 
 
cooperation and solidarity to spread freedom and 
democracy and fight the war on terrorism, it was at the 
same time different from his previous addresses in that 
he stressed the need for the US to wean itself from its 
excessive dependence on petroleum imported from unstable 
countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. 
 
¶7. "President Bush also called China and India 'new 
competitors,' pointing out the need to strengthen US 
competitiveness. It is clear that President Bush has 
crafted a strategy of maintaining US supremacy as the US 
moves forward with the war on terrorism, which has 
entered the middle stage....  A Gallup poll unveiled on 
January 31 showed 58 percent of respondents saying that 
Bush's second term is 'not going well.' The fact that the 
president is viewed so harshly at a time when the economy 
is not doing badly almost certainly reflects public 
dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq." 
 
SCHIEFFER