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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 004204 
 
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 07/27/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) US beef imports to resume; Anxiety, distrust likely to put dent 
in distribution 
 
(2) Enemy base strike argument lacks substance 
 
(3) Japanese, Chinese foreign ministers agree to cooperate on early 
restart of 6-party talks with North Korea; China touches on Yasukuni 
Shrine issue 
 
(4) Taku Yamasaki's opinion on Yasukuni issue: Secular national war 
memorial should be built 
 
(5) GSDF pullout from Iraq after completing important mission (Part 
2): Tension 
 
(6) Profile of Makoto Iokibe, 8th National Defense Academy 
president-designate 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) US beef imports to resume; Anxiety, distrust likely to put dent 
in distribution 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Slightly abridged) 
July 27, 2006 
 
The government will today decide to resume US beef imports for the 
second time about six months after a second ban was imposed, 
following the discovery of vertebral columns in shipment early this 
year. Beef trade will make a quiet start without fanfare, unlike the 
case last December. Instead, due to growing doubts about the safety 
of US beef, imports will resume amid small expectations and great 
anxieties. 
 
Importers remain cautious for fear of incurring losses; Meat that 
has not cleared customs continues to be held in storage 
 
Explanations 
 
Officials from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and 
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) yesterday 
reported at the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Headquarters at 
Nagata-cho, Tokyo, on prior inspections of US meatpackers authorized 
to export products to Japan they carried out in June and July. 
Participants from an LDP subcommittee raised their voices every now 
and then, "If there is another blunder regarding the imports of US 
beef, the Japanese market will be closed completely." 
 
The inspections conducted by MAFF and the MHLW found that one 
meatpacker had exported beef from cattle processed before it 
obtained authorization from the US government last December when 
beef trade was reinstated. However, both ministries conveyed their 
decision to allow this company to resume exports to Japan subject to 
a condition. 
 
Disagreeing with this policy, the LDP's side suspended a conclusion 
by its subcommittee for the time being. 
 
The panel met again in the evening. Officials from both ministries 
explained in detail such circumstances as that one meatpacker 
exported beef it processed before obtaining Japan-bound export 
 
TOKYO 00004204  002 OF 008 
 
 
authorization and the product has already been shipped to the 
domestic market. LDP members then laid aside their objections and 
approved beef exports by 34 facilities. 
 
The beef import resumption issue this time has evoked the impression 
that US members of Congress from the ruling and opposition parties 
have wrench-opened the Japanese market with the off-year election 
just ahead in November. Japanese consumer distrust in the safety of 
US beef, however, is growing even more, compared to last year, when 
imports were resumed. 
 
Request 
 
Mindful of the wishes of consumers, the LDP made another request to 
both ministries regarding about 830 tons of beef worth 800 million 
yen which arrived in Japan after the second ban was placed last 
December and since then, have been held in storage at warehouses at 
domestic ports. 
 
The government intended to start inspections of those products soon 
after beef trade was reinstated and ship them to domestic markets. 
However, the LDP called on the government to reassure the beef 
import resumption issue will go smoothly before authorizing imports 
of beef that have not cleared customs. Since the LDP wants the 
government to test the water for about three months after the 
resumption of imports, this meat will not be allowed in until 
mid-November. 
 
An official of the Japan Association of Beef Importers and Exporters 
consisting of domestic trading companies complained about the 
measure proposed by the LDP. The price of the beef that has not 
cleared customs will be beaten down. In addition to that, if imports 
are delayed three months, its freshness date will expire, causing 
further losses. The association has requested the US government buy 
back the products, but it turned down the requests straight away. 
 
Wrapping themselves up in suspicion, many retailers and restaurant 
chains are cautious about selling US beef even after the ban was 
removed. As a result, more retailers will refrain from importing US 
beef, putting a dent in the amount of beef shipped to the domestic 
markets. 
 
Impact 
 
Yoshinoya D&C, a beef-bowl restaurant chain, will put beef bowls 
back on its menu a month and a half to two months after the 
resumption of US beef imports. However, since the type of meat used 
for beef bowls is now rather expensive and the volume of import is 
small, it will sell beef bowls for only a limited time or over a 
certain period. Previously Yoshinoya directly purchased beef from a 
US meat company. US meat companies will not sell such beef 
separately, because special specifications will be adopted for 
Japan-bound exports. Yoshinoya will have to purchase beef through 
importers. If only a few retailers handle US beef, the amount 
available will be limited and therefore affect the period of sales 
of beef bowls. 
 
The barbecue industry had expected the price of tongues, which has 
been static at a high level, to drop. However, it is inconceivable 
that the price will decline if the shipment volume is small. 
 
(2) Enemy base strike argument lacks substance 
 
 
TOKYO 00004204  003 OF 008 
 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
July 27, 2006 
 
In the wake of the missile launches by North Korea on July 5, many 
cabinet ministers and opposition party executives suggested the 
option of Japan having the capability of striking enemy bases. The 
government indicated that attacking enemy bases was legally 
possible. But in reality, such is next to impossible because Japan 
does not have the proper equipment. Based on another misconception, 
Japan was also accused of mulling a preemptive strike. Some also 
questioned the appropriateness of the enemy base strike argument 
that emerged at a time when China and other countries are trying to 
convince North Korea to return to the six-party talks. 
 
At what point should Japan make a decision? 
 
"People should read reports correctly about what I said in a press 
conference. It is clear that discussion is being conducted in line 
with the nation's exclusively defense-oriented policy." 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe in a press conference yesterday 
exhibited displeasure with former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki, 
who had expressed in a speech concern over enemy strike statements 
by Abe and others. 
 
Shortly after the North test-launched its missiles, Abe and Defense 
Agency Director-General Fukushiro Nukaga cited the government's view 
about possessing an enemy strike capability. Abe and Nukaga's 
comments drew criticism from home and abroad. South Korean President 
Roh Moo Hyun accused them of being supportive of a preemptive 
strike. 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi declared in a press conference on 
July 17 after the G8 summit in Russia: "Japan has no intention of 
launching a preemptive strike against any country." Koizumi 
apparently intended to dispel any suspicions about Japan. 
 
The government's position is that attacking an enemy base and 
launching a preemptive strike are two different concepts. 
 
Based on former Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama's 1956 statement, the 
government's view has been that: (1) it is an act of self-defense to 
strike an enemy base once that country began making preparations for 
attacking Japan with the use of missiles or other weapons; and (2) 
it is unconstitutional to launch a preemptive strike against a 
country that is feared might attack Japan. 
 
But in 1999, then defense chief Hosei Norota replied that in some 
cases, it was lawful to strike an enemy base as soon as that country 
began making preparations for an armed attack before Japan actually 
suffers any damage. Determining exactly at what point an enemy 
country had begun making preparations for an attack is a tough 
question. The Defense Agency holds that it will determine such on a 
case-by-case basis, based on the international situation and the 
motives of an enemy country. But the option of pounding an enemy 
base before Japan suffers damage is not ruled out altogether. Abe 
explained: "In reality, it is extremely difficult to determine at 
what point an enemy began making preparations (for an attack). 
Chances are that a decision will be made only after a missile lands 
in Japan and causes damage." It seems difficult for Japan to launch 
a strike before suffering damage. 
 
Necessary equipment 
 
TOKYO 00004204  004 OF 008 
 
 
 
Is Japan capable of attacking enemy bases? 
 
In line with its strictly defense-oriented policy, Japan has 
regarded it unconstitutional to possess attack weapons, such as 
intercontinental ballistic missiles, long-range bombers, and attack 
aircraft carriers. Japan does not have the capability to strike 
enemy missile bases or other facilities. 
 
As necessary equipment, Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya cited: 
(1) long-range aircraft; (2) a capability to attack an enemy base 
from outside the tracking range of the enemy country; and (3) a 
capability to jam and destroy other countries' aircraft detection 
radar systems. 
 
The agency is scheduled to deploy an aerial refueling plane at the 
end of the current fiscal year, which will help prolong the 
endurance of F-2 and F-15 fighters. 
 
But a defense official took this view: "It will take time for Japan 
to acquire all equipment independently. We will have to rely on the 
US military when it comes to gathering intelligence on enemy 
bases." 
 
Why at this point? 
 
In the wake of North Korea's missile launches on July 5, Nukaga 
mentioned the enemy attack argument ahead of other cabinet 
ministers. He was also serving as defense chief when Pyongyang 
launched a Taepodong-1 in 1998. Behind Nukaga's controversial 
statement lies a growing threat from the North, which has succeeded 
in test-launching Rodong and Scud missiles to a certain extent. 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Abe followed suit and made similar 
statements. 
 
President Ichiro Ozawa of the largest opposition party Minshuto 
(Democratic Party of Japan) criticized their argument as absurd. But 
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama insisted that Japan's exclusively 
 
SIPDIS 
defense-oriented policy allowed the country to target enemy bases. 
 
The argument also drew strong backlashes from South Korea and 
China. 
 
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki, one of the post-Koizumi 
contenders, called for cautious discussion from a broad perspective 
for the sake of confidence building with neighboring countries. 
 
Former LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato said in a speech: "Japan, a 
mature international power, must have the sense to conduct 
wide-ranging diplomatic activities after taking punitive action 
instead of just making fuss over the North's audacious action." 
 
(3) Japanese, Chinese foreign ministers agree to cooperate on early 
restart of 6-party talks with North Korea; China touches on Yasukuni 
Shrine issue 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
Evening, July 27, 2006 
 
By Toyofumi Amano in Kuala Lumpur 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, now visiting Malaysia, met this morning 
with China's Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, and the two agreed to 
 
TOKYO 00004204  005 OF 008 
 
 
work closely together toward an early resumption of six-party talks 
on the North Korean nuclear issue. Foreign Minister Li also brought 
up the issue of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi paying homage at 
Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
Prior to their meeting, Aso also met with South Korea's Trade and 
Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, and the two affirmed their cooperation 
to carry out the resolution against North Korea adopted by the 
United Nations Security Council. 
 
In his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Li, Aso proposed anew 
that a foreign ministerial meeting be held at the ARF in Malaysia by 
the participants of the six-party talks, including North Korea. But 
afterward, Aso told the press corps that he could not get 
confirmation from the Chinese foreign minister for such a meeting at 
the ARF. 
 
(4) Taku Yamasaki's opinion on Yasukuni issue: Secular national war 
memorial should be built 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
July 26, 2006 
 
Questioner: What is your basic view about Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Yamasaki: I recognize Yasukuni Shrine as one of the facilities 
commemorating the war dead. However, the Emperor does not visit the 
shrine, and there are objections to the prime minister's paying 
homage there. The victims of war, excluding the spirits of the war 
dead, are not enshrined. I would like to build a facility at which 
all the Japanese people and the leaders of foreign countries will be 
able to express their condolences to those who died in national 
affairs. 
 
Questioner: Do you mean that there are limits to Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Yamasaki: One of Yasukuni Shrine's limits is that it is a religious 
facility for worshiping Shinto gods. It is desirable to build a 
secular war memorial facility. 
 
Questioner: What do you think about a view calling for expanding 
Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery? 
 
Yamasaki: Making that cemetery into a war memorial is one option. 
But a council should be formed so that a suitable place for a war 
memorial would be picked. There is one view for building a war 
memorial at the Kitanomaru Park and another for building it at 
Shinjuku-gyoen. 
 
Questioner: What about the call for removing the Class-A war 
criminals from Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Yamasaki: I think the Class-A war criminals should be un-enshrined 
from Yasukuni Shrine. It is abnormal that the Emperor cannot visit 
the shrine. If the Class-A war criminals were separated from the 
shrine, the barrier preventing the prime minister and foreign 
dignitaries from visiting there would be lowered. There is an 
argument about whether Yasukuni visits by the prime minister violate 
the constitutional rule of separation of state and religion, but the 
external problems would disappear. 
 
Questioner: What do you think about criticism of the International 
Military Tribunal for the Far East? 
 
TOKYO 00004204  006 OF 008 
 
 
 
Yamasaki: Japan's postwar period started at a time when Japan 
accepted the Tokyo Tribunal and the San Francisco Treaty. If we now 
deny those two events, the soul of Japan would be cut adrift. Doing 
so, the country may again go down a wrong path. If the Pacific War 
is no longer seen as a mistaken war, Japan's colonial rule and war 
of aggression would be denied. 
 
Questioner: In December 2004 when your served as prime ministerial 
assistant, you sounded Yasukuni Shrine Chief Priest Toshiaki Nanbu 
out on the disenshrinement of Class-A war criminals from the shrine, 
didn't you? Do you have an intention to ask him again? 
 
Yamasaki: I have no such an intention. I learned a lesson from that. 
He showed me that his determination not to do so was as hard as a 
rock. Former LDP Secretary General Makoto Koga, chairman of the 
Japan War-Bereaved Association, has advocated separate enshrinement. 
I cannot do what Mr. Koga himself cannot do. 
 
Questioner: How about making Yasukuni a non-religious organization 
and then separating the Class-A war criminals from the facility? 
 
Yamasaki: I think Yasukuni would not accept such an idea. More than 
30 years ago, there was a suggestion that Yasukuni should be 
maintained by the state, but that notion soon disappeared. The 
spirits of war dead did not go to battlefields thinking that they 
would be enshrined in Yasukuni unconnected with any religious 
faith. 
 
Questioner: Do you think the Yasukuni issue will become a campaign 
issue for the LDP presidential election? 
 
Yamasaki: I think so. Presidential candidates must tell truth about 
whether they will visit the shrine as prime minister. Glossing over 
( their positions) would lower their value as a politician 
 
Questioner: Do you think the next prime minister should visit 
Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Yamasaki: I think the next prime minister should not pay homage at 
the shrine. 
 
(5) GSDF pullout from Iraq after completing important mission (Part 
2): Tension 
 
SANKEI (Page 30) (Full) 
July 25, 2006 
 
On Aug. 10, 2004, at 1:45 a.m. Iraq time, three roaring sounds were 
heard at the Ground Self-Defense Force's camp in the southern Iraqi 
city of Samawah. Col. Yuki Imaura, 47, who commanded the second 
contingent of GSDF troops deployed there to assist with Iraq's 
reconstruction, was still awake on his bed in a bulletproof 
container at the camp. Imaura did not know why, though. And now, he 
thinks that it might be his "instinct" as a commanding officer. 
 
There were three shells, all launched from trench mortars, Imaura 
judged from their flying sounds. Imaura put on his bulletproof 
jacket and helmet right away, then dashed to the command post 300 
meters away from his barracks. He was the first to arrive. 
 
Waiting for his staff to arrive, Imaura first confirmed that there 
was no damage. After that, he relieved the sentries on the watch at 
 
TOKYO 00004204  007 OF 008 
 
 
four posts on the camp. At the command post, he received reports on 
the situation. 
 
One of the relieved sentries said he heard five shells. Another said 
he could hear only two. They differed in what they said. However, 
Imaura thought that they confused firing sounds, flying sounds, and 
landing sounds. His ears heard the roaring sounds of three shells. 
Imaura believed his ears. 
 
Imaura was cool-headed at all times. On Aug. 4, there was a bomb 
attack in the northern Iraqi city of Najaf. Imaura then felt that 
the GSDF camp might come under attack in the near future. He 
therefore conducted antimortar training on Aug. 9. 
 
Meanwhile, Imaura felt that the men in charge of security were 
becoming tense. One of them wondered, "We're working for Iraq, so I 
don't know why we have to come under attack." 
 
It was about a half year after Imaura and his contingent arrived in 
Iraq, where they worked to assist with Iraq's reconstruction, 
representing Japan. During that time, their Samawah camp came under 
mortar attack on April 7 and 29. 
 
On the night of July 14, there was a report from local residents 
about a potential attack on the GSDF's Samawah camp's Gate 1. The 
GSDF tightened the camp's security with more barriers set up at all 
gates. Imaura ordered his staff officers on the watch at each gate 
to fire in the event their gates were broken through. He stayed 
awake through the night at the command post. 
 
Nothing happened that night. "I had prepared myself (that night) to 
become the first commander to use weapons overseas," Imaura said, 
"and I was thinking about what to say to the press the following 
day." 
 
On the morning of Aug. 10, after the GSDF camp was attacked, Imaura 
took the platform in a morning assembly with his men. He was then 
thinking to himself that he must relieve their tension. 
 
Imaura began with an anecdote of Japan's one-time fleet admiral. 
"Combined Fleet Commander in Chief Heihachiro Togo in the Battle of 
the Sea of Japan was lucky," Imaura said to the lined-up GSDF 
members. He went on: "The good or bad luck of troops is up to their 
commander. I'm a lucky guy. You all came along with a man of good 
luck, so I will take you all back home safely." 
 
So saying, Imaura looked around from the platform to see the faces 
of his men. In his eyes, Imaura saw some of the GSDF members there 
shedding tears. And then, Imaura became speechless, forgetting 
himself. "At that moment," he recalled, "I felt we were all one, and 
I also felt tears welling up." 
 
Japan sent the first batch of GSDF troops to Iraq in January 2004. 
The GSDF's deployment there continued for two years and a half, 
during which there were 14 attacks on its Samawah camp and in its 
environs. However, the GSDF and its members have accomplished their 
mission, with no one killed or wounded at all. That owes much to the 
cool-headed judgments of Imaura and all other on-site GSDF 
commanding officers. 
 
(6) Profile of Makoto Iokibe, 8th National Defense Academy 
president-designate 
 
 
TOKYO 00004204  008 OF 008 
 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 27, 2006 
 
Makoto Iokibe, 62, specializes in the history of Japanese politics 
and diplomacy. He is well known in the press for being outspoken on 
security issues. He will take over leadership on Aug. 1 of an 
institution that cultivates and trains Self-Defense Forces (SDF) 
officers, who will work for Japan's security. 
 
He is regarded as liberal, but some call him a realist. Although he 
praises SDF operations in Iraq, he has been a critic of the US 
government's decision to launch the Iraq war. His ability to call a 
spade a spade has probably increased a feeling of confidence in him. 
In 2004, he served as a member of the Council for Security and 
Defense Capability, an advisory panel for Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi. It was Koizumi who selected him as president of the 
National Defense Academy. 
 
Iokibe describes the SDF as the "equipment ready to use to ensure 
the survival of the Japanese people." In the background, there is 
his experience in the Osaka-Kobe Earthquake. Although his home was 
spared, houses surrounding his place were turned into rubble. He 
also received sad news about some of his students. He felt then that 
the SDF was the last resort for such disaster help. 
 
In the wake of North Korea's missile launches, the range of security 
arguments has widened, including calls for possessing the capability 
of attacking enemy bases. Iokibe said, "Brave views were raised, but 
that is the precise time when it is essential we approach issues 
from a broad perspective." He believes that his mission is to 
inculcate in the students a historical perspective and to make the 
SDF into an organization that the public can identify with. 
 
SCHIEFFER