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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 TOKYO 002913 
 
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 05/25/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Mitarai-led Nippon Keidanren; Will change Japan by innovation 
to create technology-independent country; Challenge is to root 
out corporate corruption 
 
(2) Close-up 2006 column - Japan-China and Japan-ROK foreign 
ministerial talks: Strategic differences in diplomacy seen by 
China's flexibility, ROK's tough stance 
 
(3) 2006 LDP presidential race (Part 2): Intensifying 
confrontation over Yasukuni Shrine issue; Emphasis on China 
policy 
 
(4) Guam relocation masterplan to be out in July or August: 
Pentagon official 
 
(5) US military housing constructed in Okinawa Prefecture for 
2,936 households over past 27 years since 1979; Costs total 119.7 
billion yen 
 
(6) Editorial: in final phase of current Diet session, what 
should be tackled on priority basis? 
 
(7) Reading the times: Japan's peculiarity seen in Basic 
Education Law 
 
(8) Difficulty in creating measures to reverse declining 
birthrate, with different plans presented by government panel, 
LDP, New Komeito 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Mitarai-led Nippon Keidanren; Will change Japan by innovation 
to create technology-independent country; Challenge is to root 
out corporate corruption 
 
YOMIURI (Page 9) (Excerpts) 
May 25, 2006 
 
The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) yesterday 
formally launched a new leadership arrangement under Fujio 
Mitarai, chairman of Canon. Hopes are being pinned on the 
Mitarai, who is the first chairman elected from the information 
technology and high-tech industrial sector. His selection ushers 
in a new phase of leadership for Nippon Keidanren, which has 
until now been centered on smokestack industries. Canon's 
influence in business circles is smaller than that of Toyota 
Motors, where former chairman Hiroshi Okuda hailed from. The 
organization faces difficult issues, such as rooting out 
corporate wrongdoings in Japan and strengthening relations with 
political circles in order to have its policy lines realized. 
 
Personnel selection 
 
Mitarai's assumption of the chairmanship of Nippon Keidanren 
reflects changes in Japan's industrial structure. Hailing from 
the high-tech sector, he has made clear his intention to aim for 
a technology-independent country with "Innovate Japan" as a 
slogan. For the posts of vice chairmen, he picked Kunai Egashira, 
chairman of Ajinomoto, which is developing genome-related 
technologies, and Fumiaki Watari, chairman of Nippon Oil 
Corporation, who will be responsible for the energy sector. The 
 
TOKYO 00002913  002 OF 013 
 
 
selections show that Mitarai took into account central issues 
facing Japan, such as the fostering of state-of-the art 
technology and securing natural resources. 
 
Nippon Keidanren's membership is now much more diverse than 
before, with such companies as Yoshimoto Co. Jp., Rakuten and 
Softbank having joined. The Mitarai-led Nippon Keidanren will be 
pressed to act in line with the wishes of new industries ranging 
from information technology to the movie industry. 
 
Handicap 
 
With Toyota's total sales topping 21 trillion yen and Canon's at 
approximately 3.7 trillion yen, there is a world of difference in 
the sizes of the two companies. Toyota has so many affiliated 
companies that it is said that most companies in the nation have 
relations with it in some form or other, as one senior official 
of an economic organization put it. Toyota's influence on 
business circles is huge. Mitarai is handicapped in that respect. 
 
Canon has a 20-strong team of staff members that prop up the 
company's activities in business circles. However, its experience 
and scale is far below Toyota's. In fact, Mitarai expects the 
staff members of Nippon Keidanren to fulfill that role. It is 
also unknown to what extent Canon's management method, which has 
been pointed out as a one-man show, can be applied in dealing 
with business circles, where coordination of views is essential. 
 
Leadership 
 
Former Chairman Okuda cited the challenge of curtailing corporate 
wrongdoings as the most important agenda item to be turned over 
to his successor. There is actually no end to the scandals with 
11 companies, including nine Nippon Keidanren member companies, 
recently accused of engaging in bid-rigging in the construction 
of sewage-treatment plants. 
 
Nippon Keidanren this month toughened regulations, including one 
that would not allow companies that received a recommendation to 
leave the organization to become a member again for two years, 
and another that would not let companies expelled to reenroll for 
five years. However, there has never been a case of a membership 
being canceled or members being expelled. 
 
Former Chairman Okuda established a strong personal channel to 
Prime Minister Koizumi, but new Chairman Mitarai's connection 
with political circles is said to be weak. Canon makes no 
political contributions, because it is now subject to regulation 
under the Political Funding Regulation Law since the equity of 
foreign firms in the company tops 50%. 
 
Canon intends to resume political donations once an amendment to 
the law to ease the foreign capital restriction is passed. 
However, Mitarai has said, "I will keep my distance from politics 
to a certain extent." Another challenge he faces is how to 
display his political clout as the "prime minister" in business 
circles. 
 
Interview with Mitarai; will map out my vision early next year 
 
Prior to the plenary session of Nippon Keidanren, Chairman 
Mitarai gave an interview to the Yomiuri Shimbun and other 
dailies. The outline of the interview is as follows. 
 
TOKYO 00002913  003 OF 013 
 
 
 
-- Could you tell us your aspirations? 
 
"My catchphrase is 'innovate Japan.' I would like to map out a 
Mitarai vision in early next year in order to show a 
comprehensive plan for the future of the Japanese economy." 
 
-- What is the showcase of your vision? 
 
"One is establishing a sustainable social security system. The 
tax system issue and promoting the signing of free trade 
agreements (FTA) with Asian countries could also become main 
elements. Government investment in science and technology should 
also be reinforced. The ratio of government investment is only 
about 10%, while that of Europe and the US is 20 to 30%." 
 
-- How are you going to constrain corporate scandals? 
 
"As companies go global, their ethics draws criticism of the 
international community. It is necessary to nurture corporate 
managers with high ethical values." 
 
-- How do you intend to establish relations with political 
circles? 
 
"I will strengthen channels wherever necessary. However, I would 
like to avoid bringing myself too close to them and finding 
myself unable to say what I want to say. I would like to keep 
myself at arm's length with political circles to maintain a 
feeling of tension to some extent." 
 
-- What is your view on the prime minister's visits to Yasukuni 
Shrine? 
 
"It is only natural for him as a Japanese to offer his 
condolences to all the victims of the war and make a no-war 
pledge. However, I would like political circles to settle the 
issue of who will be in charge of doing such things and in what 
form. Political circles should settle this issue, based on the 
wishes and thinking of all the people." 
 
-- What is your perception of the social divide and what measures 
do you intend to take to settle this issue in the future?'' 
 
'Disparities stemming from ability, capability and efforts should 
be allowed, as long s a safety net for the socially weak is 
established and conditions for people to living with peace of 
mind in their old age are met." 
 
(2) Close-up 2006 column - Japan-China and Japan-ROK foreign 
ministerial talks: Strategic differences in diplomacy seen by 
China's flexibility, ROK's tough stance 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) 
May 25, 2006 
 
Seiji Nishioka, Beijing; Akiko Horiyama, Seoul 
 
China and South Korea are both adamant in their opposition to 
Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine, but Beijing 
is showing signs of wanting to improve ties with Japan, while 
Seoul continues its tough stance toward Japan. The meeting 
between Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers this time revealed 
 
TOKYO 00002913  004 OF 013 
 
 
a difference in strategic terms between China and South Korea in 
their diplomacy toward Japan. 
 
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing highlighted his position of 
emphasizing exchanges with Japan in a broad range of areas, 
including economic and security affairs, even though he 
criticized the Japanese leader's visits to Yasukuni Shrine as he 
did before. 
 
In the past Li, taking every occasion, severely lashed out at the 
shrine visits. But during the meeting just concluded, he 
underscored this position: "When China-Japan relations are in 
good shape, both sides can enjoy the benefits, but if both sides 
quarrel, both will be injured. The rest of Asia as well as the 
world hope to see our relations improve." Li thus refrained from 
criticizing shrine visits bluntly, since the Koizumi 
administration will end its term in office in September. 
 
This shift in attitude apparently follows the line seen in 
President Hu Jintao's remarks to former Japanese Prime Minister 
Ryutaro Hashimoto and other Japanese leaders when they visited 
China in March. Hu then sought to stop the shrine visits, but at 
the same time he said, "Developing bilateral ties will meet the 
interests of the two countries," making clear his stance of 
seeking to improve bilateral relations. China is concerned that 
if the current Japan-China relations described as being chilly on 
the political front but being hot on the economic front are left 
unattended, economic relations with Japan would sooner or later 
cool down. 
 
Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon criticized 
Japan yesterday, the day after the Japan-South Korea foreign 
ministerial talks, in an interview with a local TV station in 
Qatar. Referring to the Japan-South Korea dispute, Ban stressed 
that behind it is the history issue, arguing: "The Japanese 
leader has continued visiting Yasukuni Shrine despite 
objections." 
 
The interview was held apparently to listen to Ban's aspirations 
about his candidacy for the post of United Nations secretary 
general, and taking that occasion, Ban appealed on his country's 
assertions to the international audience. The South Korean 
government is likely to continue appealing on Japan's "injustice" 
to overseas mass media. 
 
Major statements on Yasukuni issue made during Japan-China and 
Japan-South Korea foreign ministerial meetings 
 
Foreign Minister Aso     "Japan's position remains the same as we 
have reiterated in the past. I also will make a proper decision 
(about whether to visit the shrine based on my own principles and 
in consideration of my public status." 
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing    "Visits by the Japanese 
leader to Yasukuni Shrine that enshrines Class-A war criminals 
hurt the sentiments of the Chinese people who were harmed 
terribly in the war. The visits have been a political obstacle." 
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon    "I hope to see Japan 
adopt the wise course of not inflicting any more burdens on Japan- 
South Korea relations." 
 
(3) 2006 LDP presidential race (Part 2): Intensifying 
confrontation over Yasukuni Shrine issue; Emphasis on China 
policy 
 
TOKYO 00002913  005 OF 013 
 
 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Abridged slightly) 
May 25, 2006 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, 51, indicated yesterday that 
he would announce his candidacy for the upcoming Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP) presidential election after the mid-July 
summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Prior to 
Abe's remarks, Makoto Koga, 65, co-leader of the Niwa-Koga 
faction in the LDP, explained to Yamasaki faction members his own 
policy recommendation that Class-A war criminals be removed from 
Yasukuni Shrine. Koga also heads the Japan Association for the 
Bereaved Families of the War Dead. 
 
Taku Yamasaki, 69, former LDP vice president, bestowed the 
highest possible praise on Koga, saying, "Mr. Koga's proposal 
that the Class-A war criminals be withdrawn from the shrine is 
calling for a major response. I want to deepen debate on the 
matter." 
 
The two veteran politicians, however, have two different views of 
the Yasukuni issue. Koga believes that Yasukuni Shrine is the 
only war memorial in Japan and the prime minister should pay 
respects at the shrine, while Yamasaki serves as chairman of a 
nonpartisan parliamentary group to consider the creation of a 
national war memorial. 
 
Both are critical of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's China 
policy. Yamasaki was the first to assert that the Yasukuni issue 
would become a major campaign issue in the LDP presidential race. 
Their joint move means that they are trying to put the brakes to 
the moves of Abe, who supports Koizumi's visits to the Shinto 
shrine. 
 
"What does that policy proposal by the Japan Association of 
Corporate Executives (Doyukai) mean?" After a meeting on May 10 
of the Council on Economic and Financial Policy, Abe asked Jiro 
Ushio, a council member and lifetime JACE member. Doyukai adopted 
by a majority vote on May 9 a proposal that Koizumi refrain from 
visiting Yasukuni Shrine. Although Ushio dismissed it in his 
response, Doyukai's proposal has backed the effort to make the 
Yasukuni issue into a campaign issue. 
 
Many LDP lawmakers are critical of Koizumi's Yasukuni visits. 
Lawmakers who are critical of Koizumi include such influential 
lawmakers as former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, Koichi 
Kato, Takeshi Noda and Masahiko Komura, who have distanced 
themselves from Koizumi. Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori is 
one of those calling on Koizumi to be cautious in his actions. 
Hidenao Nakagawa, who has close ties with Abe, does not criticize 
Koizumi and Abe, but he personally favors removing the Class-A 
war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
Meanwhile, about 130 junior and mid-level lawmakers support 
Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
In March at the Japan National Press Club, Yamasaki called for a 
resumption of meetings of the top leaders of Japan and China: 
"China's military buildup is a significant issue for Japan and 
the United States. The top leaders should keep communications in 
order for full preparation for crisis management." Many of those 
critical of Koizumi's visits to the shrine think that it is not 
desirable for Japan to have a leader with views like Abe's. 
 
TOKYO 00002913  006 OF 013 
 
 
 
"It is now a good time to set out a comprehensive policy," said 
Fukuda in a speech late last month. He stressed the need for a 
new doctrine that would be an update version of the "Fukuda 
Doctrine" introduced in the 1970s by the Prime Minster Takeo 
Fukuda, the father of Yasuo Fukuda. He has consciously refrained 
from expressing his desire for the party's presidency, but the 
fact that he attempted to show his foreign policy vision has 
highlighted his political identity as a rival candidate against 
Abe. 
 
Fukuda is a member of the parliamentary group studying the 
creation of a national memorial. He has built up hopes among pro- 
China lawmakers and the forces that have distanced themselves 
from Koizumi. With his high rating in the recent opinion polls, 
China policy has become the buzzword for a battle between Abe and 
Fukuda. 
 
Fukuda, who calls for improvement in Japan-China relations, 
commented on the Yasukuni issue: "If you explain to the one side 
(China) while giving consideration to the other side, 
negotiations will not go well." He has called for the need to 
build a memorial facility that would honor all war victims, not 
an alternative facility for Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
A sense of alarm has heightened among lawmakers supporting Abe 
that China might interfere in the presidential election because 
of the Yasukuni issue. Abe stressed at a press briefing 
yesterday, "We should not allow the other country to interfere in 
the election to pick Japan's prime minister." 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 65, said, "China may think that it has 
succeeded in breaking apart Japan's conservatives." Fukuda also 
repeatedly said, "Whether to visit the shrine or not is a 
domestic problem." Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, 61, 
stated, "An ambiguous strategy is needed for the Yasukuni 
argument." 
 
Possible post-Koizumi contenders are alert to the possibility 
that Yasukuni will become a major campaign issue and that will 
impact on Japan's China policy after Koizumi steps down. Taro 
Yayama, a political commentator, pointed out: "A country that 
will benefit most by splitting Japan's public opinion in two may 
interfere in the election. If such happened, it will be certain 
that the country would say that we picked Japan's prime 
minister." 
 
(4) Guam relocation masterplan to be out in July or August: 
Pentagon official 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
May 24, 2006 
 
AGANA, Guam (Reuters-Kyodo)-US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense 
Lawless, now visiting Guam, noted yesterday that the planned 
redeployment of about 8,000 Marine Corps troops from Okinawa to 
Guam is an important portion of the US military's global 
transformation. The Pentagon is now making a basic plan to 
construct infrastructure (in Guam for the Marine relocation) and 
will present it to the Pacific Command (PACOM) in July or August. 
The plan, with PACOM's approval, will be presented to the US 
Congress, according to Lawless. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002913  007 OF 013 
 
 
Lawless also remarked that Japan has agreed to transform the 
alliance with the United States. "Japan will fulfill heavier 
responsibilities under the alliance," Lawless added. With this, 
the Pentagon official stressed that Japan would undertake more 
roles in the security area. 
 
The US Marine Corps, in its Guam relocation, plans to move a 
total of about 17,000 personnel-broken down into about 8,000 
troops and about 9,000 family dependents. Their moving will be 
completed by 2014. The Japanese and US governments have explained 
that those Marine troops would be moved from Okinawa to Guam all 
at once, not in stages, after all facilities have been completed. 
 
According to an official of the Defense Agency, the US government 
has informally explained a plan to start infrastructure 
construction in Guam around the latter half of 2007. 
 
The final report on the US military's realignment in Japan 
specifies a plan to relocate the command personnel of the 3rd 
Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) and move the headquarters of 
the 12th Marine Regiment from Camp Hansen. In addition, the final 
report also specifies some other Marine relocation plans, such as 
moving the headquarters of III MEF from Camp Courtney, relocating 
the 3rd Marine Logistics Group from the Makiminato Service Area, 
and relocating the headquarters of the 1st Marine Air Wing from 
Camp Zukeran (i.e., Camp Foster). However, the United States has 
yet to reveal their respective scales. 
 
The cost of Marine relocation to Guam is reportedly estimated at 
10.27 billion dollars. Japan is to pay 6.09 billion dollars or 
710 billion yen for facilities and utilities, including billets, 
power facilities, and waterworks. 
 
(5) US military housing constructed in Okinawa Prefecture for 
2,936 households over past 27 years since 1979; Costs total 119.7 
billion yen 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
May 24, 2006 
 
TOKYO-The government has provided US forces in Okinawa Prefecture 
with housing for a total of 2,936 households, including those at 
Camp Zukeran (i.e., Camp Foster), over the past 27 years since 
the government started housing construction at its expense in 
1979 for US military personnel and their family dependents, 
Defense Facilities Administration Agency Operation Department 
Director General Kenshu Nagaoka revealed yesterday. The total 
amount of housing construction costs has run up to 119.7 billion 
yen, according to Nagaoka. The per-household average unit cost of 
housing construction is approximately 30 million yen in the case 
of a low-rise house with two stories and approximately 31 million 
yen in the case of a high-rise apartment with nine stories. 
 
Nagaoka was replying to a question asked by Keiko Itokazu, an 
independent member of the House of Councillors, in a meeting of 
the Financial Affairs Committee. 
 
The average unit cost of housing construction for US forces 
excludes costs for foundation work and costs for fixtures and 
fittings. The per-household average size of US military housing 
is 145 square meters in the case of a low-rise house and 137 
square meters in the case of a high-rise apartment-respectively 
with three bedrooms, Nagaoka explained. 
 
TOKYO 00002913  008 OF 013 
 
 
 
In the meantime, the per-household average size of local housing 
in Okinawa Prefecture is 77.4 square meters as of 2003, according 
to statistics compiled by the Civil Engineering and Construction 
Department of Okinawa Prefecture. US military housing is nearly 
twice as large as local housing. The government has pumped a huge 
amount of tax money to the extent of about 120 billion yen from 
its "omoiyari yosan" (literally "sympathy budget" or host nation 
support). This fact is likely to become controversial again. 
 
Asked about planned housing integration at Camp Zukeran, DFAA 
Facilities Department Director General Atsushi Watanabe suggested 
the necessity of reviewing the housing integration plan for Camp 
Zukeran since the Japanese and US governments' recently finalized 
report on their talks over the realignment of US forces in Japan 
specifies their agreement to return that base in part. Watanabe 
added, "The decision on this matter will come after 
intergovernmental consultations between Japan and the United 
States over specific matters, such as the scale of base reversion 
and the relocation of US Marines from Okinawa to Guam." With 
this, Watanabe implied the likelihood of reviewing the Camp 
Zukeran housing integration plan. 
 
The government will make a cabinet decision on the US force 
realignment. Asked about when to do so, Defense Agency Defense 
Policy Bureau Director General Kazuo Ofuru explained that the 
government has been proceeding with necessary coordination and 
that he therefore could not say anything definite yet. "The 
government will continue making efforts so we can obtain 
understanding and cooperation from the local public entities 
concerned, and the government will go through necessary 
procedures," Ofuru stated. He added, "We've made coordination 
with Okinawa to a certain extent, but we're still coordinating 
specific plans, so I can't answer." 
 
(6) Editorial: in final phase of current Diet session, what 
should be tackled on priority basis? 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Slightly abridged) 
May 24, 2006 
 
The Diet has only less than one month to end its current session. 
But the ruling coalition has yet to reach a conclusion on whether 
or not to extend the session. 
 
Among those calling for prolonging the session include former 
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and other lawmakers who are eager to 
have a bill amending the Fundamental Law of Education passed in 
the current session. Deliberations on the bill will start at the 
House of Representatives' Special Committee today. In order to 
enact the bill, about 40 extra days will be necessary. 
 
In addition to the education bill, the ruling camp also plans to 
submit this week a national referendum bill that governs 
procedures for revising the Constitution. Unless the session is 
extended for a lengthy period, it will be impossible to secure 
the passage of the bill. 
 
However, Prime Minister Koizumi said: "I have no intention of 
extending the session." His true feelings might be that if an 
administrative reform promotion bill and bills related to medical 
system reform are endorsed, that will be enough. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002913  009 OF 013 
 
 
If that is the case, the current session should be adjourned as 
scheduled. The bill amending the Fundamental Law of Education and 
the referendum bill will affect the nation's fundamental 
policies, that is, education and the Constitution. It is not 
proper to present such key bills in a hasty manner and speak of 
their fates while intertwining them with an extension of the Diet 
session. 
 
Behind calls for an extension of the session is a desire in the 
Liberal Democratic Party to pass the education bill under the 
lead of the popular Prime Minister Koizumi. 
 
The New Komeito, which sees it necessary to offer cooperation 
toward the LDP on this issue, apparently is hoping to have the 
bill passed before the unified local elections and the Upper 
House election next year come closer. 
 
Regarding the education bill, 73% of respondents in an opinion 
poll by the Asahi Shimbun replied: "It is better to continue 
discussion," while only 12% said: "It is desirable to enact it in 
the current Diet session." The poll thus showed the dominant view 
is that more discussions are necessary. 
 
A successor to Prime Minister Koizumi should include the task of 
what to do with the education bill in his administration's 
strategy and grapple with it in earnest. The bill should not be 
hastily enacted in the final phase of the long-lasting Koizumi 
administration. 
 
There are other tasks the ruling and opposition parties should 
address in the current Diet session. 
 
In a joint statement issued when agreement was reached between 
Japan and the US on US force realignment plans, the government 
declared that the Japan-US alliance will "enter a new stage." 
Prime Minister Koizumi is expected to reconfirm this when meeting 
with President Bush during his visit to the US in late June. 
 
Will its contents not depart from the principles of the Japan-US 
Security Treaty? What about Japan's share of the cost for 
relocating US military bases? The government has hardly replied 
to these questions. 
 
In the Diet session, these issues should be intensively discussed 
more squarely. In the Asahi Shimbun poll, 84% said: "The 
government has not yet achieved its accountability." 
 
The Ozawa-led Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) has played up 
a confrontational stance, but the opposition party must conduct 
heated debate in the Diet. There are a host of themes to ask to 
the government, including a resumption of US beef imports and the 
quake-resistance data falsification scam. 
 
(7) Reading the times: Japan's peculiarity seen in Basic 
Education Law 
 
By Ronald Dore, professor emeritus, School of Economics and 
Political Science, University of London 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full) 
May 21, 2006 
 
I wonder whether countries other than Japan have a law that is 
 
TOKYO 00002913  010 OF 013 
 
 
similar to the Basic Education Law. 
 
In Britain, there are roughly two reasons why education might 
become a major political issue: One is the issue that has been 
fought over for over a century of how far the state should be 
involved in the curriculum and management of schools established 
by the Orthodox Church of England, if public funds are provided 
to them as it does to public schools. The other issue is at which 
age grouping by ability should be started. From the viewpoints of 
equal opportunity in education and the social divide, the latter 
issue, a never-ending postwar debate, has been a headache for the 
government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, which has been trying to 
change the education system. 
 
In Britain, however, except for academic achievements on reading, 
writing and arithmetic, the educational curriculum, including how 
to teach history, has never become a political issue. 
 
Japan has two unique points: One is the existence of the Basic 
Education Law and the other is that specific points in the law 
have become contentious issues between political parties. Other 
countries see such a situation as intriguing. 
 
It is relatively easy to explain the former point: Japan's prewar 
education system was a means of mobilizing the nation's spirit to 
support war. The Basic Education Law, therefore, was significant 
in the sense that Japan declared that it would completely change 
its education system under its new constitution. 
 
The heated parliamentary debate now on the contents of the law is 
probably ascribable to Japan's defeat in World War II. It is a 
relic of the 40-year battle between Nikkyoso or the Japan 
Teachers' Union (JTU) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over 
the historical meaning of the war. JTU was defeated in that war 
many years ago. In the 1990s, the law that instructed schools to 
fly the national flag and teachers and students to sing the 
national anthem was a symbol of the LDP's complete victory. There 
were cases school heads committing suicide in protest, but the 
number of such incidents were small. Many schools went along with 
the LDP's initiative. 
 
The enemies of those who have moved to the right and now promote 
a normalization of the education system are no longer academics 
who have a "masochistic view of history." They are libers who are 
against inserting the words "nurture patriotism" in the amended 
law, citing that such a concept would restrict freedom of 
thought. The LDP, which aims to create a modern image, has 
avoided the word "patriotism" in its bill. Instead of using that 
word, the party has defined as "loving the nation and homeland, 
while respecting other countries." 
 
The main opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), 
however, uses the definition as "nurturing an attitude which 
loves the nation and respects ancestors." 
 
It is funny that Minshuto is trying to clash with the LDP over a 
definition of nationalism. But that nationalism could be 
extremely narrow. For example, a book tiled "I accuse politicians 
and bureaucrats "Loving China but Oppressing Japan" was published 
this week. 
 
If the purpose of amending the Basic Education Law is to teach 
young generations to love the nation and homeland, respect other 
 
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countries, and contribute to international peace and development, 
the government should set good examples. For example, Japan 
should propose to its neighboring countries that territorial 
issues over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands in Chinese), 
Takeshima (Dokdo in Korean), and Northern Territories be brought 
to the International Court of Justice. Japan like an adult should 
demonstrating that action is more effective than using rhetorical 
expressions, such as the ones in the bill to amend the Basic 
Education Law. 
 
(8) Difficulty in creating measures to reverse declining 
birthrate, with different plans presented by government panel, 
LDP, New Komeito 
 
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Slightly abridged) 
May 23, 2006 
 
In an effort to apply the brakes to the sharply declining 
birthrate, the government and the ruling coalition have decided 
to come up with a set of new countermeasures by the end of this 
month. But the government's expert panel, the Liberal Democratic 
Party (LDP), and the New Komeito have presented their own plans 
separately. It seems difficult to unify views into a single 
report. The issue of how to finance countermeasures has also been 
left untouched. 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe indicated the difficulty of hammering 
out effective measures to stop the decline in a press conference 
yesterday, saying: "It is hard to map out measures that are sure 
to stem the declining trend." 
 
Four plans are now up for discussion by the government's and 
ruling camp's consultative council on countermeasures for the 
falling birthrate, composed of relevant cabinet ministers and 
senior ruling party members. The four plans are those worked out 
by the government's expert panel, the project team of 
parliamentary secretaries, the LDP, and the New Komeito. The 
consultative council will work out measures based on these four 
plans and include them in the Basic Policy for Economic and 
Fiscal Management that will be adopted in a cabinet meeting in 
June. The council intends to translate the measures into action 
as early as fiscal 2007. 
 
The government's expert panel, headed by State Minister in Charge 
of Measures for the Declining Birthrate Kuniko Inoguchi, focused 
on households with children aged 10 or younger in working out its 
plan. This idea is based on the view that "assistance to low- 
income young couples is urgent," as said by a close aide to 
Inoguchi. One junior LDP member also supported this view, saying: 
"Financial measures are necessary for couples to be able to have 
a first baby while they are young." 
 
The government and ruling camp council are likely to expand the 
child-care subsidy system, a measure proposed by the government's 
expert panel, the LDP, and the New Komeito. But there are 
differences in their specific contents. The expert panel proposes 
that subsidies should be given to up to those in the six grade - 
the same standard as that in the current system, but the New 
Komeito calls for increasing the maximum eligible age to 18. 
 
How to secure fiscal resources is also a difficult issue. 
Inoguchi and others insist that spending on the elderly in the 
social welfare budget should be reduced and that more money 
 
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should be allocated to finance countermeasures to the declining 
birthrate. But some in the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare 
(MHLW) and the LDP are calling for caution. 
 
MHLW Minister Kawasaki proposed squeezing out financial resources 
by reviewing the nation's three main employment insurance 
programs. But the proposal fizzled out as Prime Minister Koizumi 
expressed a negative view about it during a meeting on May 18 of 
the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. The expert panel and 
the New Komeito called for establishing a child-care insurance 
system to have the entire society finance child rearing. 
 
Less costly measures, such as a review of work styles, are also 
being worked out. Deliberations are also underway on measures to 
upgrade the child-care leave system, arrange a smooth back-to- 
work system, and to nurture supporters for child rearing. 
 
Eriko Yamatani, a Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary and a 
main member of the parliamentary secretaries' team, emphatically 
said: "Reviewing work styles is essential. Companies and the 
government should offer a helping hand for families." 
 
Serious battle in government's expert panel 
 
In the expert panel, a standoff is intensifying between State 
Minister in Charge of Measures for Declining Birthrate Minister 
Inoguchi and eight panel members over where emphasis should be 
placed. Some experts say that Inoguchi is getting too far out in 
front. Dissatisfaction at such an approach by Inoguchi might lie 
behind the row in the panel. The expert panel finalized its 
report on May 15. 
 
In the process, Inoguchi reiterated the need for economic aid, 
but many panel members insisted that priority should be given to 
measures to improve the environment to offer economic assistance, 
such as establishing a child-friendly system. 
 
To save panel members' face, the report listed the following 
measures in this order: (1) Diversified child-rearing assistance 
measures for local communities and families; (2) measures related 
to work styles; and (3) economic aid. But Inoguchi was calling 
for allowances for children aged 0-3. 
 
Inoguchi submitted a report titled "New Countermeasures to the 
Declining Birthrate" as in a meeting on May 18 of the Council on 
Economic and Fiscal Policy. The report included measures to 
create a subsidy for young children and to expand public 
subsidies for fertility treatment. These measures were excluded 
from the panel's report submitted on May 15. In reaction, seven 
of the eight panel members issued to the media a statement 
noting: "The report is greatly different in content from the one 
submitted on May 15." 
 
Panel member Yoji Anda, vice chairman of the Japan Federation of 
Service and Distributive Workers Unions, said: "The dominant view 
in the expert panel was that economic aid would be less effective 
without support for local communities or families and reviewing 
work styles. We judged it necessary to reveal that our thinking 
is different." In reaction, Inoguchi said: "The Council on 
Economic and Fiscal Policy is an area for discussion on budget 
allocations, so I presented economic aid measures," adding: "In 
public surveys or town meetings, many called for economic 
assistance. Panel members might have had a misunderstanding." 
 
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SCHIEFFER