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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 002699 
 
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 05/17/06 
 
Index: 
 
1)   Top headlines 
2)   Editorials 
3)   Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
Yasukuni Shrine issue: 
4)   Senior US congressman in letter calls on Prime Minister 
  Koizumi to stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine 
5)   Yasukuni issue starting to have a negative impact on US- 
Japan relations with leak of senior US congressman's letter of 
admonition to Koizumi 
6)   Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe points out that there are many 
other US congressmen who do not criticize paying homage at 
Yasukuni 
7)   Foreign Minister Aso in speech notes that government cannot 
tell religious institution like Yasukuni Shrine what to do with 
its enshrined souls 
8)   Aso suggests that Yasukuni be secularized and Class-A war 
criminals enshrined there be removed 
 
9)   Warm welcome in Seoul for the Yokotas by family of husband 
  of their daughter Megumi, both abducted by North Korean agents 
 
10)  Rival organizations, Mindan and Chosen Soren, linked to 
  South and North Korea, respectively, to enter into top-level 
  reconciliation talks  first softening in 60 years 
 
Defense issues: 
11)  MSDF emergency training plan also leaked out into the 
  Internet by faulty program 
12)  In Mainichi poll, 72% said that Japan's share of USFJ 
realignment is "too high" 
13)  Special measures law would provide subsidies to communities 
affected by USFJ realignment, but linked to their accepting the 
changes 
14)  Cabinet Office official visiting Okinawa to look into 
development measures 
 
15)  May figures show the economy is in its second longest 
  expansion in postwar Japan, surpassing the bubble years in the 
  1980s 
 
Beef issue: 
16)  Government resolved to restart US beef imports before the US- 
  Japan summit in June 
17)  US, Japan beef experts start dialogue in Tokyo today 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Shigeru Yokota, father of abductee Megumi, meets with family 
members of her husband; Solidarity for settling abduction issue 
 
Mainichi: Tokyo Shimbun: 
Mindan, Chongyron to reconcile after 60 years of confrontation; 
Top level talks to be held today 
 
Yomiuri: 
New earthquake resistance calculation method; 45% of local 
 
TOKYO 00002699  002 OF 011 
 
 
municipalities unable to adopt, Yomiuri survey of 276 local 
governments finds; 60% have taken measures, including increase of 
officials in charge 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
LDP considering raising patients' share in nursing-care insurance 
to 20% ; Portion of unemployment allowance contributed by state 
likely to be abolished 
 
Sankei: 
Government decides to settle US beef import resumption issue 
before bilateral summit 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1)  Families of abductees: We hope to see sympathy for them 
spread 
(2)  Accident at pedestrians' bridge at Akashi City: Public 
prosecutors should sympathize with victims 
 
Mainichi: 
(1)  Revision to Basic Education Law: We cannot sense need and 
urgency to do so 
(2)  Recognition of A-bomb victims; Adopt humane recognition 
method 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1)  Corporate financial report for term ending in March; 
Companies should achieve black figure for fifth year in row with 
aggressive management 
(2)  Libraries: Use it as information center in regional 
districts 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
(1)  Private companies are selling assets. The government should 
follow suit. 
(2)  Long way to go to become investment-oriented country 
 
Sankei: 
(1)  Anti-terrorism measures; Effective legal system urged 
(2)  We want to see in Putin administration dignity as G-8 member 
in Russia 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1)  Basic Education Law: Deepen discussion steadily 
(2)  Recognition of A-bomb victims: Immediate revision of 
recognition guidelines urged 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, May 16 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2)  (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
09:01 
Attended a cabinet meeting in the Diet building. 
 
09:23 
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Nagase at Kantei. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002699  003 OF 011 
 
 
10:15 
Met Egyptian Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit. 
 
11:03 
Attended the farewell service for former Lower House member Raizo 
Matsuno. 
 
12:03 
Arrived at Kantei. 
 
13:16 
Attended a Lower House plenary session. 
 
15:32 
Met at Kantei with soccer coach Zico and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto and 
other players picked for the 2006 World Cup. 
 
16:29 
Attended a party for new executives of the Japan Medical 
Association at the Imperial Hotel. 
 
17:00 
Met the French Polynesian head at Kantei. Later attended a 
meeting of ministers responsible for the monthly economic report. 
 
18:13 
Met METI Minister Nikai. 
 
19:38 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
4) US House chairman sent letter to House speaker expressing 
"concern" over Koizumi's Yasukuni visits 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
Fumi Igarashi, Washington 
 
With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi scheduled to visit the 
United States in late June, US House of Representatives 
International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde has sent a 
letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert expressing his concern 
over Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, a US Congressional 
source revealed on May 15. 
 
The source did not disclose the letter in question in detail 
since it was a personal letter. However, according to the source, 
the letter, mailed in late April, basically welcomed the Japanese 
government's efforts to pave the way for Koizumi's speech before 
the US Congress, while expressing concern over Koizumi's paying a 
visit after returning to Japan to Yasukuni Shrine, which along 
with the war dead also honors Class-A war criminals, including 
wartime prime minister Hideki Tojo. Hyde has not received a reply 
from Hastert. 
 
Hyde, 82, is also a World War II veteran. He sent a letter last 
fall to Ambassador to the US Ryozo Kato expressing his regret 
over visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Koizumi and others connected 
with the Japanese government. 
 
5) Hyde's criticism of Koizumi's Yasukuni visits may affect Japan- 
 
TOKYO 00002699  004 OF 011 
 
 
US relations, LDP presidential race 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) 
May 17, 2006 
 
The government is taking US House International Relations 
Committee Chairman Henry Hyde's criticism of Prime Minister 
Koizumi's Yasukuni visits calmly, regarding it as his personal 
view. But the matter may have an impact on the Liberal Democratic 
Party's presidential election in September with one LDP lawmaker 
saying apprehensively, "It might escalate into an issue that 
casts a dark cloud on Japan-US relations." 
 
Koizumi told reporters at his official residence yesterday: "The 
Japanese public is split on the issue. America is a country of 
freedom, so I'm not surprised if the American public is also 
split." Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe also noted in a press 
conference: "I don't think many American lawmakers are critical 
of the matter (like Mr. Hyde), as they are aware of the 
importance freedom of religion." 
 
Hyde served in World War II. A Foreign Ministry source took this 
view: "Mr. Hyde mistakenly regards the prime minister's visits to 
Yasukuni Shrine as acts to prettify the war. His view does not 
represent the thinking of the entire US Congress." But some are 
sensing a subtle change in the US mood regarding the Yasukuni 
issue. A person connected with the government voiced this view 
yesterday: "The souring of relations between Japan and China, two 
major powers in Asia, does not serve American interests. A view 
attributing strained bilateral relations to the Yasukuni issue is 
gradually spreading in the US." 
 
LDP lawmakers critical of Yasukuni visits hold different views. 
Former Defense Agency Director General Seishiro Edo said, "The 
matter must be regarded as an international issue." Former 
Secretary General Koichi Kato noted yesterday: "The matter will 
 
SIPDIS 
have a tremendous impact on the LDP presidential race. The 
Koizumi cabinet has been counting on the US, but that country has 
now sent a warning signal to Japan." 
 
Of the post-Koizumi contenders, Abe is supportive of Yasukuni 
visits. A person close to Abe said alarmingly, "Anti-Abe forces 
are trying to drive Mr. Abe to a tight corner by taking advantage 
of US concern over the Yasukuni issue." Given the chilly 
relations with China and South Korea, the view is spreading that 
heated debate will take place on Asia policy and historical views 
in the LDP presidential race. Potential successors to Koizumi may 
be forced to pay close attention to reactions in the US. 
 
6) Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe: "Most US Congress members are not 
critical of shrine visits" 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
Meeting the press yesterday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe 
touched on the letter sent by US House Committee on International 
Relations Chairman Hyde in which he said that if Prime Minister 
(Koizumi) plans to address the US Congress during his visit to 
the United States set for the end of June, he needs to pledge 
that he will not visit Yasukuni Shrine, and made this comment: 
"Isn't it that most Congress members, in terms of freedom of 
 
TOKYO 00002699  005 OF 011 
 
 
religion, are not making such a criticism of shrine visits?" "To 
begin with, there is no plan for (the prime minister) to address 
US Congress, nor has Japan indicated it wants to have such an 
opportunity," Abe added. 
 
7) Foreign Minister Aso: "It's impossible" to demand Yasukuni 
Shine should separately enshrine Class-A war criminals 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
Foreign Minister Aso delivered a speech in Tokyo yesterday in 
which he referred to Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni 
Shrine and again indicated that it would be impossible for the 
government to ask the shrine to separately enshrine Class-A war 
criminals, saying: "Whoever will become prime minister, the 
government cannot ask the religious corporation Yasukuni Shrine 
to 'separately enshrine (Class-A war criminals),' because doing 
so is state interference in religious affairs. As long as 
Yasukuni Shrine asserts that separate enshrinement is impossible, 
the government cannot do anything. I think the problem rather 
lies in that such a matter is put in the hands of a religious 
corporation." 
 
8) Foreign Minister Aso sees possibility of turning Yasukuni 
Shrine into a non-religious institution in order to solve the 
problem of separating Class-A war criminals enshrined there 
 
MAINICHI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
May 17, 2006 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso in a speech in Tokyo yesterday on the 
Yasukuni Shrine issue pointed out: "The problem seems to be the 
entrusting to one religious institution the important task of 
honoring the nation's war dead." He seems to be suggesting he is 
thinking of considering the possibility of legally turning the 
shrine into a non-religious institution and then considering a 
way to separate the Class-A war criminals enshrined there. He 
stressed: "No matter who the prime minister may be, for him to 
tell Yasukuni Shrine to separate those enshrined there would be 
seen as the state using its power to interfere in religious 
affairs." He reiterated his thinking that under the 
Constitution's principle of the separation of state and religion, 
it would be improper for the government to work on the shrine to 
remove the Class-A war criminals enshrined there. At the same 
time, he stated: "My feeling is to allow respect to be quietly 
paid to the war dead and their relatives. It is the task given to 
politicians to find a way to create such conditions." 
 
9) Abductee Megumi Yokota's father, Shigeru, meets with family 
members of the man thought to be her husband; Abductees' parents 
will join hands to resolve the abduction issue 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpts) 
May 17, 2006 
 
Seoul, Ryuichi Kitano 
 
Abductee Megumi Yokota's father, Shigeru, 73, and her brother, 
Tetsuya, 37, met in Seoul yesterday afternoon with Choi Gye Wol, 
78, mother, and Kim Young Ja, 47, sister, of South Korean 
abductee Kim Young Nam, who is believed to be Megumi's husband. 
 
TOKYO 00002699  006 OF 011 
 
 
 
Both families met for the first time. Sparked by this meeting, 
both countries' abductee support groups - Japan's Association of 
the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and South 
Korea's Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North 
Korea - aim to work together to make the abduction issue 
understood more widely in both nations and urge both governments 
to take a tough response, including economic sanctions on North 
Korea. The Japanese government, as well, expects this meeting to 
arouse international public opinion. However, the South Korean 
government has distanced itself from the abduction issue partly 
because it has emphasized North-South dialogue. It remains to be 
seen whether the meeting this time will help draw more 
international attention to the abduction issue by the time of the 
Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in Russia slated for 
July. 
 
10) Korean groups Mindan, Chongryun to reconcile to end 60 years 
of animosity; Heads will meet today; May take concerted action on 
Yasukuni issue 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
The top leaders of the pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan 
(Mindan) and the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean 
Residents in Japan (Chongryun), aiming for reconciliation, will 
meet this morning at Chongryun headquarters in Chiyoda Ward, 
Tokyo, to end more than half a century of antagonism and will 
release a joint statement. The move reflects a reconciliatory 
mood sparked by the inter-Korean summit in June 2000. The two 
organizations are expected to fall in line in dealing with such 
issues as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni 
Shrine. Their moves are likely to affect Japanese policies in the 
months ahead. 
 
Mindan and Chongryun have nearly 60 years of antagonism. The 
Joint Declaration released by South Korea and North Korea stated 
reunification of two Koreas upon their own will. Following it, 
the two countries began moving toward reconciliation. South 
Korean President Roh Moo Hyun also has been promoting the 
Sunshine Policy. 
 
But Mindan and Chongryun, partly because of the deep-seated 
animosity between them, have never held a top-level meeting, even 
though there have been exchanges at the local level. 
 
The environment surrounding the two groups, however, changed with 
the election this past February of Ha Byung Ok - who emphasizes 
"reconciliation and harmony between South and North Korean 
residents in Japan" - as head of Mindan's central headquarters. 
Mindan has urged Chongryun to move toward reconciliation and 
declared that along with Chongryun, it will participate in the 
"Japan committee to implement the 6/11 North-South Joint 
Declaration," although Mindan has refused in the past to take 
part in the committee. 
 
Mindan's representative group led by its head Ha will visit 
Chongryun's headquarters today. Chongryun Chairman So Man Sul and 
other leaders will meet them and hold discussions with them, 
focusing on reconciliation and cooperation and uniting for a 
common purpose. 
 
TOKYO 00002699  007 OF 011 
 
 
 
The two groups intend to establish a point of contact office to 
deal with various problems facing Korean residents in Japan, such 
as education and pensions, in both organizations instead of 
establishing a standing consultative body, and promote 
discussions via such an office. 
 
11) MSDF emergency maneuver plans also leaked 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
May 17, 2006 
 
The Maritime Self-Defense Force recently discovered that its in- 
house files had leaked on the Internet, and the MSDF has also 
confirmed that a number of documents, including plans for 
training maneuvers, have been leaked. Those leaked electronic 
documents total 3,000 or so. The operations plan was created in 
anticipation of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula. However, it 
is the first time such a highly confidential MSDF operational 
plan has gone public. Some of those leaked documents were in the 
areas of communications and secret codes. The MSDF consulted with 
the US Navy on their common codes and has now changed all of its 
codes for names and some of its frequencies for radio 
communications. 
 
The MSDF maneuver was conducted for 10 days in November 2003 with 
the participation of some 80 vessels, 170 airplanes, and 26,000 
personnel. 
 
There were three documents detailing scenarios for nearby 
contingencies and national defense mobilization. The three 
documents list case-by-case operations to be conducted by the 
MSDF Sasebo District Fleet-which covers Kyushu and Okinawa-along 
with the Self-Defense Fleet, one of the MSDF's mainstay fleet 
services, and with the US Navy. All those three documents were 
classified but have now been declassified since their disclosure. 
 
The MSDF maneuver scenarios were intended to deal with two of 
Japan's neighbors in the event of contingencies. One scenario was 
that one of the two countries was ready to launch ballistic 
missiles at Japan. The other scenario was that the other country 
claimed territorial rights to an archipelago of islets near 
Japan's southwestern islands. 
 
The MSDF Sasebo District Fleet conducts warning and surveillance 
activities, ship inspections, Japanese evacuation, and demining 
activities in waters ranging from the Tsushima Straits to the sea 
west of Kyushu. 
 
If and when Japan is facing an emergency, the MSDF Self-Defense 
Fleet will be used to escort a carrier group and other US Navy 
services heading for a strategic zone. In the next stage, the 
MSDF will sealift Ground Self-Defense Force troops for their 
landing on the islets. The US Navy will conduct operations 
centering on the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, the US Navy will 
also carry out maritime intercept operations, or MIO for short, 
according to the declassified files. 
 
Among other leaked materials, there were also many files 
regarding radio communications and secret codes for emergency 
use, such as a classified document illustrating frequencies and 
communicable ranges for a mobile radio communication unit to be 
 
TOKYO 00002699  008 OF 011 
 
 
dispatched to a coastal area of Kyushu in the event of 
emergencies. 
 
12) Poll: 72% see Japan's cost sharing for USFJ realignment as 
"too high" 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
In a telephone-based nationwide public opinion survey conducted 
by the Mainichi Shimbun on May 13-14, respondents were asked 
about the US government's estimate of Japan's cost sharing to the 
extent of approximately 3 trillion yen for the realignment of US 
forces in Japan. In response to this question, 72% said, "It is 
necessary to share the burden but the amount is too high." Those 
who said Japan would have to share the cost for its national 
security accounted for 8%, while another 12% were negative, 
saying, "there is no need to share the burden." As seen from 
these figures, the poll shows that the general public is negative 
about expending such a huge amount of money as Japan's cost 
sharing, even though there is an understanding about Japan 
needing to provide "an appropriate share" for base realignment 
plans, such as those alleviating Okinawa's base-hosting burden. 
 
The Japanese and US governments have now finalized a report on 
the US military's realignment in Japan, incorporating an 
agreement to redeploy 8,000 US Marines from Okinawa to Guam. In 
the survey, respondents were asked how they evaluated this 
agreement. In response, affirmative views totaled more than 60%, 
broken down into 13% saying "yes" and 51% saying "yes to a 
certain extent." Meanwhile, 9% did not evaluate it all, while 17% 
said they did not evaluate it very much. 
 
The Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan are going to enhance 
their interoperability through the US military's realignment. As 
a step, the SDF will locate command functions at US military 
bases in Japan. In the survey, respondents were asked if they 
would support this consolidation. Public opinion, however, was 
split, with "yes" accounting for 45% and "no" reaching 43%. Among 
those who support the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, "yes" 
accounted for 59%, with "no" at 29%. Among those who support the 
leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), however, 
negative opinions topped affirmative ones, with 54% saying "no" 
and 39% saying "yes." Negative answers outnumbered affirmative 
ones among Japanese in their 20s and 30s. As seen from such 
figures, the poll shows that younger generations are negative 
about military integration between the two countries. 
 
13) Government's draft bill to promote US force realignment 
proposes subsidies for base-hosting local communities 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
The government is now drafting a special bill to promote the 
planned realignment of US forces in Japan. The draft bill, 
unveiled yesterday, includes measures to set up a realignment 
subsidy program for base-hosting communities, including Nago 
City, Okinawa Prefecture, to which the US Marine Corps' Futenma 
Air Station will be relocated. The bill also proposes enabling 
the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to offer 
loans to cover the cost of relocating US Marines to Guam by 
 
TOKYO 00002699  009 OF 011 
 
 
expanding its service. 
 
The government intends to set a 10-year term limit for the bill. 
Under the bill, with the subsidy program for local governments 
housing power plants as a reference, subsidies would be paid 
according to the state of progress in construction work. Should 
the relocation process be delayed due to an opposition movement 
or other reasons, the payment would be frozen. 
 
Reflecting on the fact that the plan to relocate the Futenma Air 
Station to off Henoko district (Nago City) was not realized 
despite its generous financial aid for Okinawa Prefecture 
following an agreement reached at the Japan-US Special Action 
Committee on Okinawa (SACO) in 1996, the government plans to 
ready a local-promotion system that contains both "carrots" and 
"sticks." 
 
A decision has already been made to disband the JBIC as part of 
the government's ODA reform, but the government plans to 
establish a loan system intended only for the Guam relocation 
project. 
 
14) Government to send Cabinet Office officials to Okinawa to 
study economic stimulus measures 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 17, 2006 
 
In order to study Okinawa's economic stimulus measures in 
connection with US force realignment, the government will send 
Cabinet Office officials in charge to Okinawa today to exchange 
views with senior prefectural officials. In his talks with Prime 
Minister Junichiro Koizumi on May 11, Gov. Keiichi Inamine asked 
for the government's assistance for the use of US bases being 
returned and the employment of Japanese base workers. 
 
15) Government remains upbeat on economy in report for May 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
May 17, 2006 
 
State Minister in Charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru 
Yosano submitted in a ministerial meeting yesterday a monthly 
economic report for May noting that the economy "is recovering." 
The government maintained its upbeat assessment of the economy 
for the third consecutive month on solid individual and corporate 
spending, as well as rising exports. The government's 
confirmation of recovery in May stretches the period of the 
current recovery, which started in February 2002, to 52 months, 
surpassing the second-longest economic boom in the postwar period 
called "bubble economy" (51 months starting in December 1986). 
 
Should the economy continue to recover through November, it will 
exceed the so-called Izanagi boom (57 months from November 1965). 
In a press conference yesterday, Yosano confidently said: "I 
think the current recovery will easily surpass it." 
 
But there are also signs of change, such as slowing capital 
investment, which has served as an engine to pull along the 
economy. Yosano commented on this: "Since the economy has 
steadily improved, a phase of some kind of adjustment is 
unavoidable. It is necessary to carefully watch moves of oil 
 
TOKYO 00002699  010 OF 011 
 
 
prices and exchange rates." 
 
16) Government decides to settle US beef import resumption issue 
before bilateral summit 
 
SANKEI (Top Play) (Excerpts) 
May 17, 2006 
 
The second ban on US beef imports continues, following the 
inclusion of specified risk materials (SRM), a material banned in 
Japan as a mad cow disease risk, in US beef shipments. In order 
to settle this issue, the government yesterday decided to resume 
imports before the bilateral summit, slated for late June. The 
judgment is that if it decides to reinstate the beef trade after 
the summit, it could be interpreted that the judgment was made 
under pressure from the US and that if it puts the issue on the 
backburner, it could develop into a major dispute between the two 
countries. 
 
Japanese and US government experts are expected to meet in Tokyo 
today and tomorrow to discuss the resumption of US beef imports 
by Japan. The US has already completed the re-inspection of beef 
processing plants that are authorized to export products to Japan 
and submitted the outline of the report to Japan. Discussions by 
experts will likely focus on the outline of the report. 
 
The Japanese side wants to discuss with the US side on the 
situation of the reinsertions of US meat processing plants and 
conditions for restarting beef imports. A Foreign Ministry source 
noted, "If the US provides clear explanations, bilateral talks 
will move toward the next step." 
 
The US has indicated its readiness to allow Japanese inspectors 
to accompany US inspectors, when they spot-check meat packers 
after imports resumed. The Japanese side is considering the 
possibility of reinforcing quarantine procedures. 
 
Japan intends to pursue bilateral discussions and reach a final 
decision, after determining the efficacy of such measures 
designed to prevent a recurrence. 
 
17) Japanese, US experts to meet today over US beef imports 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Slightly abridged) 
May 17, 2006 
 
In a move to lift Japan's ban on US beef imports, the Japanese 
and US governments will start a two-day working-level expert 
meeting in Tokyo today. If no problem is found in the results of 
the re-inspections conducted by the US government of meat- 
processing facilities with licenses to ship beef to Japan, both 
sides will discuss specific conditions for Japan to resume 
imports. 
 
Japan intends to present the US with measures that will be 
convincing to Japanese consumers, such as inspections of 
slaughterhouses in the US before resuming imports, snap 
inspections after restarting imports, and enhancement of the 
nation's quarantine system. The US is also "willing to accept any 
requests," as said by a senior Agriculture Department official. 
Both sides now expect that there will be major progress on 
resumption conditions. 
 
TOKYO 00002699  011 OF 011 
 
 
 
Once agreement is reached on conditions, the government will 
explain to consumers the agreed contents. If it finds no defects 
in the US systems, Japan will officially decide to lift its ban 
on US beef imports. Many observers anticipate the final decision 
would come in mid-June, just before Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi leaves for the US. Participating in the meeting will be 
Acting Under Secretary of Agriculture Lambert and others from the 
US side and responsible division chiefs of the Foreign Ministry, 
the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, and the Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries Ministry from the Japanese side. 
 
DONOVAN