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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 002550 
 
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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 05/11/06 
 
Index: 
 
1)   Top headlines 
2)   Editorials 
3)   Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
Japan's new diplomacy: 
4)   Sparks likely to fly between Japan, China in newly 
  established UN Human Rights Council 
5)   Japan to take more aggressive stance on abduction issue in 
UN, G-8 Summit 
 
6)   Impressed perhaps by strong US-Japan ties, China taking 
  softer stance toward Japan with agreement to resume meetings of 
  foreign ministers 
 
Yasukuni Shrine issue: 
7)   Business leaders' call on Prime Minister Koizumi to stop 
  visiting Yasukuni strikes resonant chord in ruling camp 
8)   New Komeito head Kanzaki lauds Keizai Doyukai stance against 
Koizumi's Yasukuni Shrine visits 
9)   Prime Minister Koizumi dismisses business leaders report on 
Yasukuni visits, denies connection with economic relations with 
China 
10)  Keizai Doyukai's anti-Yasukuni stance seen as indirect 
support of Yasuo Fukuda to be next prime minister, alarming 
Shinzo Abe supporters 
 
11)  Japanese employee strike at Yokosuka Navy Base averted 
 
12)  US-Japan meeting next week on US beef issue likely to move 
  closer to a down-to-the-wire decision allowing imports to flow 
  again 
 
Political agenda: 
13)  Mori faction finally agrees to allow two candidates run for 
  LDP president from the faction 
14)  Ruling camp to present national referendum bill to current 
Diet session to start Constitutional reform process rolling 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: Mainichi:Yomiuri: 
ChuoAoyama handed 2-month suspension from July; 2,300 client 
companies to be affected; US partner to set up new auditing 
corporation 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
Listed companies post record profits for three consecutive years; 
Current profits up 20% over preceding term, Nikkei survey finds; 
Steel, oil serve as driving force 
 
Sankei: 
Toyota's sales top 20 trillion yen for first time; Production 
expected to rank first before year's end 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Majority of nursing-care funds in Tokyo preserved despite 
guidance by Labor, Health, and Welfare Ministry, expecting 
increase in payouts 
 
TOKYO 00002550  002 OF 010 
 
 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1)  Chuo Aoyama Audit Corporation: The lies that threaten the 
firm's existence 
(2)  Proposals made by Keizai Doyukai: Business world concerned 
over the prime minister's visits to Yasukuni Shrine 
 
Mainichi: 
(1)  Image of US: Improve it not through publicity campaign but 
with action 
(2)  Long-term interest rates rise to 2%; Positive indicator of 
economic vitality 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1)  Conspiracy legislation: Work it out cautiously to wipe away 
concern 
(2)  Connections between businesses and crime syndicates must be 
stopped 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
(1)  Tougher diplomacy needed to stave off Iran crisis 
(2)  Auto industry likely to level off 
 
Sankei: 
(1)  Social withdrawal is a problem concerning society as a whole 
(2)  Upbeat corporate financial statements: Companies should play 
role in correcting income disparity 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1)  Proposals by Keizai Doyukai could help China meddle in 
Japan's internal affairs 
(2)  Taping interrogations will make lay judge system more 
effective 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, May 10 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2)  (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
10:31 
Arrived at Kantei. 
 
11:07 
Took a stroll on the south garden of Kantei. Recorded for the 
government's Internet TV. 
 
14:00 
Met with Agriculture Minister Nakagawa. 
 
15:00 
Met with Ambassador to France Iimura, followed by NPA Director 
General Uruma. 
 
16:33 
Met Asahi Shimbun columnist Yoichi Funabashi. 
 
17:22 
Attended meeting of Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. 
 
TOKYO 00002550  003 OF 010 
 
 
 
19:55 
Had a haircut at Murayoshi Barbershop in Capital Tokyu Hotel. 
 
21:02 
Visited the residence of the late former Lower House member Raizo 
Matsuno to pay respects. 
 
21:18 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
4) New UN Human Rights Council elects 47 nations as members, 
leaving seeds of conflicts; Gulf between developing and 
industrialized nations yet to be bridged; US absence likely to 
make the Council unstable 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 6) (Excerpts) 
May 11, 2006 
 
By Hiroyuki Nakamae, New York 
 
The members of the new United Nations Human Rights Council were 
elected on May 9, ahead of its first meeting set to start in 
Geneva in June. The 47 members of the Council, including Japan, 
will keep watch on despotism and tyranny around the world. 
Compared to the days of the Human Rights Commission, the 
predecessor body criticized as dysfunctional, the number of 
nations violating human rights has decreased drastically. But 
because disputes between the developing and industrialized 
nations over particular issues are yet to be resolved, the 
Council is likely to follow a zigzag path. 
 
The Council members elected by the UN General Assembly include 
six nations, such as Cuba, Russia, and China, designated by the 
international human rights organization Human Rights Watch as 
violators of human rights. But the organization gave high marks 
to the election, noting: "The predecessor Human Rights Commission 
had many more nations ignoring human rights." 
 
This comment came because some Commission members, such as Sudan 
and Zimbabwe, did not run for the membership on the Council. 
 
The Commission (composed of 53 states) was a subordinate body to 
the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its members were 
chosen from among the members of ECOSOC. The Commission's 
regionally allocated seats were rotated among the states in the 
region. This system served as a breeding ground for collusive 
ties among them. The status of the Council is higher than that of 
the Commission. The Council is under the direct supervision of 
the UN General Assembly. States wishing to become members of the 
Council need to be endorsed by a majority of the UN member 
states. There is also a provision to suspend membership. 
 
The Commission held a meeting (that lasted for six weeks) once a 
year in spring, but the Council will meet at least three times a 
year (for a total of 10 weeks or more). The Council can also 
convene an emergency meeting. After the election on May 9, UN 
General Assembly President Eliasson said proudly: "Protection of 
human rights, security, and development assistance are the three 
pillars of the UN." 
 
Based on this outcome, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa 
 
TOKYO 00002550  004 OF 010 
 
 
Shiozaki, now visiting the US, expressed his enthusiasm for 
resolving the abduction issue, saying: "We'd like to appeal 
steadfastly to the international audience on the issue." 
 
On the abduction issue, the Commission adopted a resolution 
denouncing North Korea for three years in a row. The General 
Assembly also adopted a similar resolution last year. The family 
members of abductees recently met with US President Bush. The 
abduction issue has been given a boost in recent years. 
 
But these developments are rather exceptional. If North Korea had 
not admitted to the abductions, the Commission would certainly 
have stopped investigating. 
 
More than 100,000 people have been killed in the genocide in 
Durfur, Sudan, but a resolution denouncing Sudan was not adopted 
due to objections from some Commission members. 
 
Can we expect that a Council that does not include Sudan and 
other nations violating human rights will make great strides? One 
diplomat said, "I have no idea at present." There are no major 
differences between the Council and the Commission in terms of 
investigations and recommendations. In addition, "Many developing 
member states tend to voice strong opposition to recommendations 
naming developing nations by name," arguing that industrialized 
nations have an arbitrary human rights policy, the same diplomat 
said. The moves of the US, which did not run for the Council 
membership, could make the Council unstable. 
 
5) Japan to take diplomatic offensive to achieve progress in 
abduction issue 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
May 11, 2006 
 
The government will now further its diplomatic efforts to achieve 
progress on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North 
Korean agents. Meanwhile, Japan has been elected to a seat on the 
United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a new UN body 
scheduled to be launched in June. As a member of the new UN 
council, Japan will lay emphasis on the inhumanity of abductions 
in the international community. In addition, Japan will also work 
on other Group of Eight (G-8) members to take up the abduction 
issue at this July's St. Petersburg G-8 summit. 
 
"Japan has been making a consistent appeal to the world (on the 
abduction issue)," Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki 
told a press conference in New York yesterday after Japan's entry 
into the UNHRC. In his press remarks, Shiozaki stressed the 
importance of resolving the abduction issue while referring to a 
recent meeting of Sakie Yokota, mother of Megumi Yokota, one of 
those abducted to North Korea, and US President Bush in 
Washington. 
 
All eyes are on North Korea's nuclear and missile development in 
the international community. However, Japan will try to draw an 
international attention on the abduction issue in an aim to close 
in on North Korea. While the six-party talks over North Korea's 
nuclear ambitions have now been deadlocked, the United States is 
trying to break the ice with "human rights" as a keyword. The 
Japanese government is taking it as a tailwind for its efforts. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002550  005 OF 010 
 
 
In June last year, Bush met with a Chosun Daily News reporter who 
once spent time at a camp in North Korea. The US government later 
appointed a special envoy for North Korea's human rights. In 
March this year, US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer visited Niigata 
to see the place where Megumi Yokota was abducted. 
 
"If we take up the human rights problem in a positive way, it 
will be possible to apply pressure on China and Russia, which 
have been showing consideration for North Korea," a US government 
official was quoted as saying. Late last year, the Japanese 
government also established an ambassadorial post in charge of 
human rights. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry picked one 
of its parliamentary foreign secretaries as an official in charge 
of human rights. 
 
6) China softens stance toward Japan, reflecting strong Japan-US 
ties; Agrees to resume foreign ministerial 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Excerpts) 
May 11, 2006 
 
Japan and China have agreed to resume later this month bilateral 
foreign ministerial talks after a suspension of about one year. 
The Japanese government hopes to accelerate the dialogue in a 
drive to resolve issues pending between the two countries, 
including oil and gas field development in the East China Sea. 
According to the government's analysis, behind China's switch in 
its stance toward Japan is the judgment that the previous hard- 
line posture only prompted the US to take a tougher line toward 
it, given the current close ties between Japan and the US. 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters yesterday: "China 
might have noticed that it was irrational to continue to reject a 
summit because of a single issue," adding: "The Yasukuni issue is 
no longer diplomatic leverage." 
 
A senior government official also stressed that Japan had not 
made any concessions to bring about a meeting, saying: "While we 
kept the door open, the other side voluntarily stepped in." The 
official also cynically commented on China's response: "Using the 
issue of whether or not to hold a meeting as a bargaining chip is 
indisputably the same approach as North Korea's." 
 
In the cabinet reshuffle in late last October, the prime minister 
appointed Shinzo Abe and Taro Aso, both hard-liners toward China, 
to the positions of chief cabinet secretary and foreign minister, 
respectively. This reflects his priority to strengthening 
relations with the US and Southeast Asian nations. In the meeting 
with President Bush in Kyoto last November, the prime minister 
spent much time explaining his motives behind his visits to 
Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
When Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the US late last month, 
Tokyo reportedly had analyzed in detail China's moves prior to 
the visit and had asked Washington to avoid China from directing 
the brunt of its criticism at Japan during the planned Bush-Hu 
talks. Owing to this approach, China made no reference to Japan 
during the summit. No joint statement was issued, either. A 
diplomatic source said: "China lost face and received a serious 
blow." 
 
Washington has promised that it would treat him as a state guest 
 
TOKYO 00002550  006 OF 010 
 
 
when Prime Minister Koizumi visits to the US planned for late 
June. A senior government official remarked: "China might be 
concerned that the Japan-US summit might be used as an arena to 
contain China." 
 
7) Doyukai's Yasukuni proposal splits ruling bloc 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
Following the presentation of Keizai Doyukai's (Japan Association 
of Corporate Executives) proposal that Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine, debate erupted within the 
ruling coalition yesterday. Koizumi said on May 9, "Business and 
politics are two separate matters." But New Komeito 
Representative Takenori Kanzaki told a press conference 
yesterday: "The business community thinks that his shrine visits 
have begun taking their toll on the economy. I hope (the prime 
minister) will take appropriate measures by grasping the actual 
situation correctly." 
 
Meanwhile, a group of junior LDP lawmakers supporting the prime 
minister's Yasukuni visits adopted a statement yesterday reading, 
"The Doyukai proposal is overly tilted toward economic gains, 
losing sight of the dignity of spiritual culture, the foundation 
for the existence of a state." 
 
8) Komeito's Kanzaki gives high marks to Doyukai proposal 
opposing Yasukuni visits 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
New Komeito Representative Takenori Kanzaki in a conference 
yesterday expressed his support for Keizai Doyukai's (Japan 
Association of Corporate Executives) proposal opposing Prime 
Minister Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, saying: 
 
"I think the organization has a sense of crisis, seeing (the 
Yasukuni issue) not only as a political matter but also as having 
adversely affected the economy." 
 
In reaction to Koizumi's rebuttal that politics and business were 
two separate matters, Kanzaki noted, "I would like to see the 
prime minister grasp economic reality correctly and take measures 
accordingly." 
 
Kanzaki also indicated that the Yasukuni issue must not be turned 
into a campaign issue for the LDP presidential race, saying: 
 
"If a candidate pledges to visit Yasukuni Shrine, that may become 
an obstacle to running the administration when he actually 
becomes prime minister. The matter must be discussed as an issue 
concerning Japan's policy toward entire Asia." 
 
9) Prime minister, in response to corporate leaders' Yasukuni 
proposal, rules out effect of shrine visits on economic relations 
with China 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
 
TOKYO 00002550  007 OF 010 
 
 
In response to a call by the Japan Association of Corporate 
Executives (Keizai Doyukai) on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi 
to forgo visits to Yasukuni Shrine, the prime minister told 
reporters at his official residence last night: "Economic 
relations between Japan and China are expanding as never before, 
and bilateral exchanges are also increasing." He denied there had 
been any effect of his visits to the shrine on the economic 
relationship. 
 
In a press conference yesterday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo 
Abe expressed his displeasure at the economic organization's 
advice, saying: 
 
"The prime minister visits the shrine to pay respects and offer 
condolences to the war dead. If the meaning of a visit to 
Yasukuni Shrine has been misunderstood, a full explanation is 
necessary." 
 
The association of junior lawmakers hoping for peace, considering 
real national interests and supporting Yasukuni visits, a group 
of Liberal Democratic Party's like-minded lawmakers headed by 
Hiroshi Imazu, adopted a statement strongly criticizing Keizai 
Doyukai, noting: "If we are overly eager to pursue economic 
benefits, we will lose sight of the dignity of our spiritual 
culture, the basis for the existence of the state." 
 
10) Doyukai's Yasukuni proposal may be intended to support 
Fukuda; Abe supporters alarmed 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
A set of proposals released on May 9 by Keizai Doyukai (Japan 
Association of Corporate Executives) urging Prime Minister 
Koizumi to cease visiting Yasukuni Shrine has sent a shockwave 
through the government and the ruling coalition. The proposal can 
be taken to mean that the business organization supports former 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, who shares the same 
standpoint, as a candidate in the heated post-Koizumi race. The 
proposal has also alarmed aides to Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo 
Abe, a prime candidate to replace Koizumi who supports shrine 
visits. 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brushed aside the view yesterday 
that his shrine visits have adversely affected relations with 
China by stating to reporters, "Economic relations and 
interaction between Japan and China have expanded." Abe, too, 
expressed a sense of displeasure, saying, "If the significance of 
shrine visits is misunderstood, we must offer a clear 
explanation." 
 
Abe supporters fear that the Doyukai proposal will underpin and 
accelerate the view that the business community is mostly 
supportive of Fukuda. Given the fact that the business body 
released its proposal the day before Fukuda's departure for the 
United States, a mid-level Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker 
commented, "It seems that the organization is tightening the 
noose around Abe." A group of junior lawmakers supportive of 
paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine in the hope of peace and true 
national interests (chaired by Lower House member Hiroshi Imazu) 
also released an emergency statement yesterday reading, "The 
proposal is utterly unacceptable." 
 
TOKYO 00002550  008 OF 010 
 
 
 
11) Union calls off strike at Yokosuka base 
 
TOKYO SHIMBN (Page 27) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
A labor union of Japanese workers at US military bases in Japan 
has called off its strike, which had been set to take place on 
May 18 at the US Navy's Yokosuka base. The All Japan Garrison 
Forces Labor Union (Zenchuro), which affiliates about 16,000 
Japanese employees working at US military bases in Japan, has 
squared off with the Japanese government and US Forces Japan 
(USFJ) over employment conditions. Zenchuro entered into an 
agreement yesterday with its employer, the Defense Facilities 
Administration Agency, announcing that its demands have now been 
almost satisfied. 
 
Zenchuro demanded that the government continue in principle to 
employ all of those base workers desiring continued employment 
after the retirement age under a revised law for the 
stabilization of employment for the aged, which came into effect 
on April 1. However, Japan and the United States faced rough 
going in their negotiations. Zenchuro notified the DFAA on May 8 
of its intention to go on a strike for eight hours from the start 
of work on May 18. 
 
The labor-management agreement stipulates that the government 
will continue its employment of base workers if they satisfy a 
set of standards, including their will to work and health 
conditions. "We've generally cleared our standpoints," Kazuo 
Yamakawa, chief of the secretariat to Zenchuro, stated. "But," 
the union executive added, "we will need to keep tabs on a 
revision of the bilateral labor agreement that details our 
employment conditions." Zenchuro will notify the DFAA today of 
its intention to put off the strike, the union exec said. 
 
12) US beef: Japan, US to hold meeting possibly next week to boil 
down details prior to decision on import resumption 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 9) (Full) 
May 11, 2006 
 
It is likely that Tokyo and Washington will hold a meeting of 
experts to discuss the US beef import resumption issue next week. 
During the envisaged experts meeting, the two countries will 
likely work out details so that a decision can be reached on 
whether to resume beef imports. The Japanese side is considering 
proposing rules to address potential problems that might crop up 
after the resumption of beef imports. 
 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa 
yesterday met with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. After the 
meeting he told reporters that the US government had noted that 
it would be able to report to Japan the results of the 
reinspections of 37 meat processing plants authorized to export 
to Japan. He also touched on the holding of the experts meeting 
saying, "Now that town meetings with consumers that were held at 
10 locations throughout the nation are over, we can move to the 
next step of exchanging information. 
 
If it was judged at the experts meeting that inspections revealed 
no problems with US meat packers, the Japanese government will 
 
TOKYO 00002550  009 OF 010 
 
 
then discuss in specific terms the conditions for resuming US 
beef imports. 
 
Experts will likely discuss how prior inspections of US meat 
processing facilities by Japan should be carried out, the 
strengthening of quarantine procedures, and the setting up of 
rules on measures to deal with problems that might occur after 
imports resume. 
 
In the event that the governments of Japan and the US reach a 
consensus on conditions for restarting beef trade, the Japanese 
government will again hold town meetings with consumers and 
formally decide to resume imports. 
 
Chances are that such a decision will be reached around the 
bilateral summit to be held in June. 
 
13) Mori faction to allow two candidates to run in LDP 
presidential race 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
May 11, 2006 
 
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who heads a faction in the 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has decided to allow two faction 
members, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe and former Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, to run as candidates in the 
September LDP presidential election, if they decide to do so. 
Mori will reveal the decision in a general meeting today of his 
faction. 
 
Mori formerly had said that it would be desirable for his faction 
to field a single candidate. However, Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi, who used to belong to the Mori faction, then said that 
it would not be necessary for the faction to field only one 
candidate. Many junior lawmakers in the faction subscribe to 
Koizumi's view. 
 
Mori, therefore, appears to have determined not to create discord 
in his faction by forcing his opinion on the members. The faction 
will hold a general meeting today 30 minutes earlier than the 
scheduled noon session in which Mori will explain his view in a 
polite way. 
 
In view of the importance of maintaining the faction's unity, 
Mori still believes that his faction should field one candidate. 
He will likely to exchange views actively with his fellow 
lawmakers, though he will not work to select a single candidate. 
 
14) LDP, New Komeito to submit referendum bill to current Diet 
session, enact it in next session 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
May 11, 2006 
 
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Council 
Chairman Hidenao Nakagawa and the main opposition party, Minshuto 
(Democratic Party of Japan) Policy Research Committee Chairman 
Takeaki Matsumoto discussed yesterday the handling of a national 
referendum bill that stipulates procedures for amending the 
Constitution. The two reached an agreement that the ruling 
coalition would submit the bill to the ongoing Diet session and 
 
TOKYO 00002550  010 OF 010 
 
 
let the largest opposition party seek revisions to the bill 
during deliberations. The ruling coalition intends to submit the 
bill to the Diet before the end of this month, but to enact it 
during the next session. The ruling camp has given up on passing 
it during the current Diet session, since there are wide gaps in 
views with Minshuto on such issues as the age at which people 
should be allowed to vote in the referendum. 
 
At yesterday's meeting, Matsumoto, referring to Minshuto 
President Ichiro Ozawa's May 9 refusal of the ruling camp's 
proposed joint introduction of the bill, told Nakagawa: "It is 
difficult to accept the ruling coalition's bill. So I suggest 
that the ruling camp alone submit its own bill, and then you 
revise it, accepting our views. What about this idea." Nakagawa 
then accepted the suggestion, saying, "Next best thing." 
 
The ruling and opposition camps have remained at odds over three 
issues: the minimum age for granting voting rights; the method of 
writing pros and cons on ballots; and the coverage of the 
referendum. Regarding these three points, many Minshuto lawmakers 
are taking a hard-line stance that they cannot accept the ruling 
coalition's bill unless all of Minshuto's proposals are accepted. 
A senior LDP member, therefore, commented that it would be 
extremely difficult to arrive at an agreement with Minshuto 
without a relationship of trust with that party. 
 
SCHIEFFER