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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 003534 
 
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 06/26/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Yomiuri Internet poll on LDP presidential election; Over 70% of 
respondents want to see race Abe and Fukuda; Pollees feel 
reform-oriented stance from Abe, a sense of stability from Fukuda 
 
(2) Online research on resumption of US beef imports: Many Japanese 
consumers harbor strong distrust of US beef 
 
(3) Post-Koizumi diplomatic strategy after end of honeymoon-like 
Japan-US relations (Part 1): Criticism of Japan blindly following US 
remains inerasable 
 
(4) USFJ realignment: Gov't seeking to persuade Okinawa 
 
(5) US force realignment: Mainland Japan turning into "another 
Okinawa" 
 
(6) Poll on Prime Minister Koizumi's structural reforms, social 
divide 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Yomiuri Internet poll on LDP presidential election; Over 70% of 
respondents want to see race Abe and Fukuda; Pollees feel 
reform-oriented stance from Abe, a sense of stability from Fukuda 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) 
June 25, 2006 
 
The first online poll on contenders to succeed Prime Minister 
Koizumi conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun found that pollees have 
major expectations of a race between Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe and 
former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda. The survey results also 
showed that many respondents felt a reform-oriented stance from Abe 
and a sense of stability from Fukuda. The survey also found that 
those who like watching TV tended to favor Abe. 
 
Face-off between Abe and Fukuda 
 
The poll asked pollees to choose one of five Liberal Democratic 
Party (LDP) members whom they think is most appropriate as the next 
prime minister. Abe ranked first with 44%, followed by Fukuda with 
26%, Foreign Minister Taro Aso with 5% and Finance Minister Sadakazu 
Tanigaki with 4%. Regarding a possible face-off between Abe and 
Fukuda in the LDP presidential race, both from the Mori faction, 75% 
replied, "Hope to see it," and 24% replied, "Do not hope to see it." 
Among those who support Abe, who is certain to run in the LDP 
presidential race, 64% replied, "Have expectations of him," while 
33% said, "Do not have expectations of him." On the other hand, 
among those who are in favor of Fukuda, who has yet to declare his 
candidacy, 80% "Expect him to run," clearly showing their hope 
Fukuda will run in the election. 
 
TV and potential successors to Koizumi 
 
How does TV affect potential successors to Koizumi? The survey 
classified pollees by the amount of TV they watch, using one-hour 
increments. The rate of those who support Abe stood at less than 30% 
among those who do not watch TV or do so for less than 30 minutes a 
day. However, more pollees who watch more TV tend to support Abe. 
Among those who watch TV more than three hours a day, the rate of 
those who favor Abe reached 50%. 
 
TOKYO 00003534  002 OF 010 
 
 
 
Impressions of potential candidates 
 
The questionnaire included seven questions asking what impression 
pollees have of the five potential candidates. Abe ranked first in 
six questions. In particular, Abe was far ahead of the others in 
terms of having a reform-oriented stance, being friendly, and being 
a desirable person as a supervisor. Fukuda ranked first in terms of 
having a sense of stability. 
 
Aso, who gives the strong impression of being open, came in second 
in terms of being a person with whom pollees want to go out for 
dinner or a drink. 
 
(2) Online research on resumption of US beef imports: Many Japanese 
consumers harbor strong distrust of US beef 
 
YOMIURI (Page 6) (Full) 
June 26, 2006 
 
The Yomiuri Shimbun and NTT Resonant Communication conducted a joint 
online survey. The result of the survey highlighted Japanese 
consumers' harsh views on the safety of US beef. In order to regain 
the popularity of its beef in Japan, the United States has no choice 
but to eliminate Japanese consumers' concern about its beef, 
removing completely risk materials for BSE from the beef to be 
shipped to Japan. 
 
Majority those who opposing resumption of US beef imports concerned 
about US inspection system 
 
The governments of Japan and the United States reached a final 
agreement on June 21 that Japan would resume US beef imports. Japan 
will thus restart US beef imports for the first time in about six 
months. 
 
A total of 71% said that they opposed the resumption of US beef or 
opposed it to a certain extent. More female respondents (76%) 
expressed opposition to the restart of US beef imports than male 
respondents (64%). 
 
Asked two reasons for their opposition, 60% said that they had 
doubts about US safety procedures, while 52% cited their concern 
about the US inspection system. The figures showed Japanese 
consumers harbor strong doubts about the US side, since a beef 
shipment last year included risk materials. Some 30% said that the 
Japanese government rushed the resumption of beef imports, giving 
priority to the US. 
 
More than 30% of Japanese consumers prefer Japanese beef 
 
Asked whether there were any changes in their choice of beef after 
the imports of US beef was suspended, 28% said that they were still 
eating imported beef the same as before, 9% responded that they ate 
only domestic beef, and 27% replied they tried to eat Japanese beef. 
Some 30% preferred Japanese beef. 
 
However, 24% responded that they ate less beef than before, 
regardless of whether it is domestic or imported, while only 1% said 
that they did not eat beef at all although they used to. These 
figures indicate that the suspension of US beef imports had a 
serious impact on how consumers think. 
 
 
TOKYO 00003534  003 OF 010 
 
 
Asked whether they would eat US beef after the resumption of 
imports, 40% said they would try not to eat it and 20% said they 
would never eat it, while 6% replied that they had no problem eating 
US beef. 
 
80% negative about using US beef for gyudon (beef bowl) 
 
Asked whether gyudon chains should use US beef, only 3% said that 
they should use it, while 10% responded that they should use it as 
much as possible. Some 47% said that US beef should not be used as 
much as possible, while 33% said it should not be used. 
 
90% say it should be a requirement to label the country of origin 
 
Asked whether they were worried that restaurants would use US beef, 
47% replied, "A little bit," while 39% said, "Concerned about it 
very much." The government mandates the labeling of the country of 
origin on some fresh food and processed food, but it does not oblige 
restaurants to label the country of origin. 
 
Some 67% said that it should be a requirement to label the country 
of origin on restaurant menus and processed food so that people 
would be able to recognize whether US beef was used, while 29% said 
that labeling the country of origin would probably be a good idea. 
 
Excessive elimination a bit too much 
 
US beef imports used to account for about half of all Japan's 
imports of beef. The Japanese government in December 2003 banned the 
import of US beef in the wake of discovery of a cow infected with 
BSE. Last December, Tokyo resumed the imports of US beef from cattle 
20 months and younger without any specified risk materials. One 
month later, however, Japan resuspended imports of US beef after the 
inclusion of vertebral columns in a beef shipment. 
 
The results of the online survey of consumer monitors reflected the 
strong anxiety of Japanese consumers about US beef. In order to 
eliminate this distrust in US beef, the United States must continue 
effective safety inspections, and it is also absolutely necessary to 
prevent a recurrence of misconduct. However, it is a bit too much to 
excessively eliminate US beef. It is important for Japan to create 
an environment where Japanese consumers will be able to choose beef 
based on their own judgment, considering taste, price, and safety. 
 
(3) Post-Koizumi diplomatic strategy after end of honeymoon-like 
Japan-US relations (Part 1): Criticism of Japan blindly following US 
remains inerasable 
 
MAINIHI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 26, 2006 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will leave for the United States to 
meet President Bush in Washington on June 29. This will be the first 
official US visit for Koizumi. The US will give the red-carpet 
treatment to Koizumi prior to his retirement as prime minister this 
fall, arranging a dinner party at the White House and other events 
for him. A government source, though, said: "A visit to the US 
during the Golden Week holidays in May was discussed, but the prime 
minister, out of fear that he might be criticized as blindly 
following the US, declined it and instead visited European Union 
(EU) countries." 
 
The time for the proposed visit was just before Diet debate on the 
 
TOKYO 00003534  004 OF 010 
 
 
postal privatization bills, which would determine the fate of the 
administration. Koizumi has certainly been eager to strengthen 
relations with the US, but he needed to win public support for the 
postal bills and did not want to see the proposed visit result in 
strengthening the image that he has blindly followed the US. 
Afterward, a plan was floated again for a visit to the US in August 
or September around the United Nations general assembly in New York, 
but it also fizzled out due to the dissolution of the House of 
Representatives. Since Koizumi assumed office, he has met with 
President Bush several times a year, but a summit was held just once 
in Kyoto last year. 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi emphatically said in his first meeting with 
Bush in June 2001: "In promoting Japan-US relations, importance 
should be placed not on obedience but on cooperation." This remark 
represented his determination to say what he should say, though he 
would do his best to strengthen the Japan-US alliance, so as not to 
be criticized as being at Washington's beck and call. Since then, 
Koizumi has prepared one message to convey to President Bush for 
each summit. 
 
In May 2003, when Koizumi was invited to President Bush's private 
residence in Crawford, Texas, his message was "power and authority." 
In March 2003, the US and Britain launched an attack on Iraq without 
obtaining a United Nations resolution allowing the use of armed 
force. Koizumi had expressed his support just after the military 
strike began, but in the May summit, Koizumi called on Bush to 
return to the framework of international cooperation, saying: "It 
will be impossible to control the world only with power. The 
authority of the UN is necessary." 
 
Prior to the opening of the war against Iraq, Prime Minister 
Koizumi, together with British Prime Minister Blair, had continued 
efforts to persuade President Bush until the last minute to work to 
win the UN over to his side. In the end, the US agreed to accept a 
UN resolution calling for unlimited inspections looking for weapons 
of mass destruction in November 2002. Some attribute Washington's 
consent to the efforts made by Japan and Britain. A senior Foreign 
Ministry official stressed: "This proves that the prime minister is 
not a US lapdog." But his decision to dispatch Self-Defense Force 
(SDF) troops to Iraq played up Japan's stance of getting close with 
the US. 
 
No matter how eager the prime minister is to express his frank views 
to the US, he has actually worked to strengthen the bilateral 
alliance. In the summit in Crawford, Koizumi and Bush also confirmed 
the "Japan-US alliance in a global context." 
 
Right before the Bush administration was inaugurated, former Deputy 
Secretary of State Armitage and others had compiled what is known as 
 
SIPDIS 
the "Armitage Report." This report listed the following requests to 
Japan: (1) Legislation to deal with contingencies; (2) strengthened 
cooperation between the SDF and the US military, including overseas 
operations; and (3) cooperation on missile defense (MD). The Koizumi 
administration swiftly finished this "homework." The report also 
reiterated the need to "construct an alliance modeled after the one 
between the US and Britain." Armitage stated to senior Foreign 
Ministry officials: "The last challenge left to the Koizumi 
administration is the question of the use of the right to collective 
self-defense." 
 
Sharing strategies with the US, Britain fought with the US military 
in such large-scale military operations as the Gulf War and the Iraq 
 
TOKYO 00003534  005 OF 010 
 
 
War. In order for Japan to become "the Britain of the East," 
Japanese troops will have to be determined to shed blood with 
American soldiers on battlefields overseas, setting aside Japan's 
defense-only policies. 
 
In a speech in Belgium in May, Foreign Minister Taro Aso revealed 
that Japan would look into international cooperation with the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO is a military alliance 
that the US and Canada concluded with Western Europe. Some observers 
analyze that Aso's remarks imply that Japan aims to become a NATO 
member with an eye on a revision of the Constitution in the future. 
 
If Japan continues to rely only on the Japan-US alliance, Japan will 
unavoidably be drawn into US strategies. If this view is taken as a 
lesson learned from the Koizumi administration's deeds, it might be 
natural for some to judge it necessary to grope for ways to 
cooperate with European countries. 
 
Now that Japan and the US are in the best shape ever in the postwar 
period owing to the close personal ties established between 
President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi, the joint statement to be 
issued after the June 29 Japan-US summit will highlight the positive 
results produced via bilateral relations. Meanwhile, an increasing 
number of persons have voiced concerns about Japan-US relations 
being hollowed out now that Armitage and other Japan hands have left 
the Bush administration. Attention is focused on what diplomatic 
strategy the next prime minister will come up with after the end of 
the Koizumi-Bush honeymoon-like relations. 
 
(4) USFJ realignment: Gov't seeking to persuade Okinawa 
 
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Full) 
June 23, 2006 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi will attend a memorial service today in the 
city of Itoman, Okinawa Prefecture, to commemorate the end of the 
Battle of Okinawa in the closing stages of World War II. In this 
anniversary event, Koizumi will clarify his intention to carry out 
the planned realignment of US forces in Japan, including US military 
bases in Okinawa. In addition, he will promise to alleviate 
Okinawa's base-hosting burden and help with Okinawa's economic 
self-sustainability. However, the GOJ and Okinawa prefectural 
government have yet to enter into consultations over the relocation 
of Futenma airfield and other local base realignment issues although 
one month has passed since their exchange of basic standpoints in 
written form. They have made no headway at all. 
 
On June 7, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masahiro Futahashi met 
three assistants to deputy chief cabinet secretaries and senior 
officials from the Defense Agency, the Foreign Ministry, and the 
Cabinet Office in his room on the fifth floor of the prime 
minister's office. They gathered there to talk about how to rectify 
the present situation in which the government cannot even enter into 
consultations with Okinawa. 
 
Officials there reported on how things were going in Okinawa 
Prefecture and its municipalities hosting US military bases. 
However, they could not hammer out any good ideas. Futahashi 
stressed the importance of timing for Tokyo to persuade Okinawa over 
the US military realignment, and he directed them to find a way to 
open consultations with Okinawa. 
 
The government and Okinawa Prefecture confirmed in their exchange of 
 
TOKYO 00003534  006 OF 010 
 
 
notes on May 11 that the relocation of Futenma airfield is based on 
the government's plan to relocate the airfield's heliport functions 
to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in the island prefecture's northern 
coastal city of Nago. In response, the government made a cabinet 
decision on May 30 to adopt a basic course of action regarding the 
realignment of US forces in Japan. 
 
The government has documented its basic course of action, which says 
the government will set up a consultative body consisting of 
officials from the government, Okinawa Prefecture, and the 
prefecture's base-hosting municipalities in order to work out a 
blueprint for Futenma airfield's alternative and a package of 
economic incentives for base-hosting communities. However, Okinawa 
Prefecture opposed the government's stance of regarding its coastal 
relocation plan as an established course of action. In fact, the 
government cannot even expect to hold its first consultative meeting 
with Okinawa and its municipalities over Futenma relocation. 
 
Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine has stressed that he will not 
compromise. "Okinawa has its own position," Inamine said in a speech 
delivered in Naha on June 21. "We have a long history of 
consultations in the process of working it out," Inamine added. It 
seems that the government cannot easily find a breakthrough. 
 
Koizumi will step down in September. Meanwhile, Inamine has also 
said he will not run in the gubernatorial election set for Nov. 19 
this year. Some cite this situation as one of the reasons why there 
has been no progress in the talks between Tokyo and Okinawa. "It 
would be difficult to reach a settlement while Prime Minister 
Koizumi is in office, so he's reluctant to address the matter," one 
said. 
 
Koizumi himself told reporters at his office yesterday evening that 
the government has been "tenaciously" talking with Okinawa 
Prefecture. "We can't do this in a year," Koizumi admitted. "We've 
now decided on a basic course of action for the future, but it will 
take many more years (to reach a settlement)," he added. 
 
The Defense Agency will work out a construction plan by October this 
year for Futenma airfield's replacement facility. After that, the 
agency will go through procedures for an environmental assessment of 
the Futenma relocation site. In fiscal 2007, the agency would like 
to begin pulling down some of the land-based facilities currently on 
the premises of Camp Schwab. The agency is now getting impatient. 
Some officials are saying the government should bypass Okinawa 
Prefecture to work out a construction plan. "We should first detail 
the plan with the United States," a top-level official of the agency 
said. "And then," this official added, "it's all right to present 
the plan to Okinawa Prefecture and Nago City later on." 
 
In Okinawa Prefecture, as well, the local governing coalition of the 
Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito is at a loss. "Mr. 
Inamine's successor cannot suddenly compromise with the government," 
one local ruling party official said. "But," this official added, 
"if we let an opposition party candidate win the gubernatorial 
election, the (Futenma) relocation will be completely up in the 
air." 
 
The government is expecting its planned package of economic 
incentives for base-hosting localities to serve as leverage to break 
the impasse. In the process of realigning US forces in Japan, the 
government plans to subsidize local base hosts accepting additional 
US military base functions. The government will pay subsidies to 
 
TOKYO 00003534  007 OF 010 
 
 
them in stages according to progress in the construction of newly 
planned facilities. If there is progress in base construction, the 
government will pay subsidies. However, the government will stop its 
subsidization of local hosts if construction work is discontinued 
after encountering local opposition. 
 
The government once planned to build an offshore facility in waters 
off Nago City's Henoko district to take over Futenma airfield's 
heliport functions. This offshore relocation plan, however, was 
derailed. Based on this experience, the government will now 
introduce such a local subsidization system. "The government is in 
dire straits," a senior official of the Defense Agency said. This 
official went on: "If the government only pays money for economic 
stimulus measures and sees no alternative facility constructed, we 
can't get the people's understanding." 
 
When the government planned to relocate Futenma airfield to a Henoko 
offshore site, the government set forth a package of local 
development measures for all localities in the island prefecture's 
northern districts. The government started a 10-year local 
development plan in fiscal 2000. Based on this plan, the government 
has been still budgeting money for development projects for the 
northern districts. However, the Henoko offshore relocation plan did 
not come to pass. The government intends to call off the 10-year 
development plan in exchange for the establishment of a new 
subsidization system. 
 
The government's local subsidization used to be limited to 
infrastructure construction. This time around, however, the 
government will not limit the purpose of its subsidies for 
base-hosting localities. The government will allow them to use its 
subsidies not only for infrastructure construction but also for 
tourism promotion and welfare, thereby aiming to promote Okinawa's 
self-sustainability. 
 
Okinawa Prefecture, however, is strongly opposing this idea shown by 
the government. 
 
On June 12, local heads from 12 municipalities in Okinawa 
Prefecture's northern districts called at the prime minister's 
office, where they asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe to continue the 
government's local development projects for their districts as 
planned. Abe only advised them to make such a request in a meeting 
of the three-party consultative council of officials from the 
government, Okinawa Prefecture, and the prefecture's base-hosting 
municipalities. 
 
On June 22, Okinawa Minister Koike met the press and vowed to 
address local development measures. "I'd like to close the gap 
between the government and local communities while understanding 
Okinawa at present and in the future," she said. However, there is 
no knowing if she can work it out as expected by the government. 
 
(5) US force realignment: Mainland Japan turning into "another 
Okinawa" 
 
ASAHI (Page 9) (Abridged) 
June 26, 2006 
 
By Yoshibumi Wakamiya, director of the Asahi Shimbun's editorial 
board 
 
Okinawa Prefecture marked the 61st anniversary of the end of the 
 
TOKYO 00003534  008 OF 010 
 
 
Battle of Okinawa on June 23. That day, I marched 9 kilometers to 
the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman along with bereaved families in 
sweltering heat. 
 
In the closing days of the Pacific War, a fierce battle took place 
between Japanese and US forces on the island, and 200,000 locals 
lost their lives in less than three months. On the park stands the 
Cornerstone of Peace engraved with the names of the war dead, 
testifying to their indescribable tragedies. 
 
Okinawa's tragedy did not end with the Battle of Okinawa. After the 
war, the prefecture was placed under US control until it was 
returned to Japan 34 years ago. Okinawa is still an "island of US 
bases," hosting 75% of the US military bases in Japan. 
 
On April 12, 1996, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun ran a scoop on a US plan 
to return Futenma Air Station. Japan and the US had reached the 
agreement following the gang rape of an Okinawa schoolgirl by three 
US servicemen in September 1995. 
 
Over 10 years have passed since the agreement was reached between 
then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton to 
return Futenma Air Station "in five to seven years." The airfield 
still sits in a residential area. Just two years ago, a US military 
helicopter crashed onto the campus of Okinawa International 
University, adjacent to Futenma Air Station. 
 
The plan agreed to between Tokyo and Washington to build an 
alternative sea-based airfield off Henoko fell through due to strong 
local opposition. The two governments have reached a new accord to 
build a ground-based heliport. It remains to be seen whether the new 
plan will materialize. Okinawa's determination to block any plan to 
build a new base in the prefecture has not waned. 
 
Both the Okinawa Times and the Ryukyu Shimpo prominently carried 
articles featuring the Constitution this year. Okinawa has a special 
passion for the Constitution. 
 
Okinawa longed to return to Japan and its pacifist Constitution, as 
such events as blatant human rights violations and sorties during 
the Vietnam War, revealed that Okinawa's reality was the opposite. 
Days before Okinawa's reversion to Japan, Chief Administrator of the 
Government of the Ryukyu Islands Chobyo Yara (who later became 
governor of Okinawa) and Naha Mayor Ryosho Taira urged local people 
to abide by the spirit of the Constitution in the future. Naha built 
a peace monument engraved with Article 9 in 1985. 
 
But their wishes never came true. Throughout the postwar period, 
Japan has kept a delicate balance between its pacifist Constitution 
and the US-Japan Security Treaty. Okinawa has been forced to bear a 
security burden instead of abiding by the spirit of the 
Constitution. Okinawa's sorrow and anger have their roots there. It 
seems to be the only logical explanation for Okinawa's fierce 
opposition to US bases, exemplified by the Henoko relocation plan. 
 
Akira Arakawa, a 75-year old maverick commentator, thinks it was 
just an illusion that Okinawa would be placed under Japan's pacifist 
Constitution. People on mainland Japan have been able to enjoy the 
pacifist Constitution and call for the observance of Article 9 owing 
to the US bases in Okinawa. 
 
An agreement was reached on the realignment of US forces in Japan at 
a two-plus-two meeting in May of the foreign and defense ministers 
 
TOKYO 00003534  009 OF 010 
 
 
of Japan and the United States. 
 
As a result, Okinawa-based US Marines will be relocated to Guam 
apart from Futenma Air Station's relocation, and some US military 
sites will be returned to Japan. Some of the fighters now deployed 
at Kadena Air Base will also be split among six Self-Defense Force 
bases in mainland Japan to conduct joint drills with the SDF. 
Additionally, US Army 1st Corps headquarters will be shifted to Camp 
Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture to keep a watchful eye on the region 
from Asia to the Middle East. 
 
It is good for mainland Japan to share the burden with Okinawa. But 
the US force realignment plan is designed to enhance the Japan-US 
alliance once and for all. In other words, force realignment seems 
to aim at turning mainland Japan into another Okinawa to reinvent 
the whole country into a military archipelago. 
 
During his upcoming visit to the United States, Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi reportedly intends to highlight democracy with 
President George W. Bush as their common value. But the US is still 
unrepentant about its war with Iraq, and Koizumi diplomacy has not 
expressed its regret for strained relations with China and other 
countries. Under such circumstances, is it really good for Japan to 
be integrated into America's military strategy? 
 
Japan should stop relying on the bases in Okinawa. But do the people 
on mainland Japan have such awareness and a sense of urgency? Teruo 
Hiyane, a 66-year-old professor emeritus at the University of the 
Ryukyus, took this view: 
 
"People on mainland Japan would not put up much resistance. 
Experiences in war and histories of struggle for the Constitution 
are completely different between mainland Japan and Okinawa." 
 
Henoko's resistance carries great significance not only for Okinawa 
but also for all of Japan, according to Hiyane. 
 
(6) Poll on Prime Minister Koizumi's structural reforms, social 
divide 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 24, 2006 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in%age.) 
 
Q: What do you think the next prime minister should do about Prime 
Minister Koizumi's restructuring initiative? 
 
Continue it as is            15.6 
Modify it                    55.8 
No need to continue it       23.0 
No answer (N/A)               5.5 
 
Q: Japan's social divide, such as an income gap, is reportedly 
widening. Do you think this is a serious problem? 
 
Yes                           53.3 
Yes to a certain degree       24.3 
No to a certain degree        11.1 
No                             9.6 
N/A                            1.7 
 
 
TOKYO 00003534  010 OF 010 
 
 
Q: Do you think anyone who works hard can overcome such disparities 
in Japan today? 
 
Yes                           14.2 
Yes to a certain degree       18.3 
No to a certain degree        22.6 
No                            42.7 
N/A                            2.1 
 
Polling methodology 
Date of survey: June 17-18. 
Subjects of survey: 3,000 persons chosen from among all eligible 
voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified 
two-stage random sampling basis). 
Method of implementation: Door-to-door visits for face-to-face 
interviews. 
Number of valid respondents: 1,815 persons (60.5%). 
 
DONOVAN