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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 004259 
 
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 07/31/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Upper House election one year away 
 
(2) The late former prime minister and Class-A war criminal, Koki 
Hirota's enshrinement at Yasukuni Shrine: Hirota's bereaved family 
says, "We didn't approve it"; Yasukuni Shrine says, "We didn't 
obtain prior approval from the family" 
 
(3) My view on Yasukuni Shrine (Part 4): Interview with LDP Policy 
Research Council Vice Chairman Keizo Takemi on Chidorigafuchi 
National Cemetery 
 
(4) Debate: Is US beef safe? - part 1 
 
(5) Editorial: US beef should carry labels marking its origin 
 
(6) GSDF pullout from Iraq after completing important mission (Part 
4): Mission accomplished 
 
(7) Concern about ODA budget cuts breaching international 
commitment 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Upper House election one year away 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Abridged) 
July 28, 2006 
 
The Upper House election is just one year away, and it is likely to 
be an uphill battle for the Liberal Democratic Party, which 
accomplished an overwhelming victory in the poll five years ago 
owing to the Koizumi boom. Maintaining a majority will be the top 
priority for a post-Koizumi administration. The largest opposition 
party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) has begun careful 
preparations to force the ruling coalition into the minority. This 
article examines the progress of preparations by political parties. 
 
Stakes high for LDP 
 
In the 2001 Upper House election, the LDP achieved a landslide 
victory by riding Prime Minister Koizumi's coattails. The party is 
greatly concerned about next year's poll, in which 66 of its seats 
will be up for grabs. The party garnered only 49 seats in the Upper 
House election two years ago under the leadership of Koizumi and 
Secretary General Shinzo Abe. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
In anticipation of an uphill battle, the party has begun endorsing 
its candidates several months earlier than usual. The party has 
already determined its second group of candidates. A total of 55 
individuals -- 35 running in electoral districts and 20 seeking 
proportional representation seats -- have begun making moves. But 
the party has postponed selecting the third batch of candidates 
until in October or later in accordance with Koizumi's wishes to let 
his successor take the lead. 
 
Although the LDP Saitama chapter has recommended Keio University 
Associate Professor Toshiharu Furukawa to party headquarters as a 
prospective candidate, when the party will make its decision is 
unknown. "The party should endorse unfamiliar first-time candidates 
as soon as possible," an LDP member said. 
 
 
TOKYO 00004259  002 OF 010 
 
 
The aftermath of the Lower House election last year is also serious. 
Mikio Aoki, chairman of the LDP's Upper House caucus, has repeatedly 
approached independents who left the LDP over postal privatization 
with a view to joining forces with them and eventually allowing them 
to return to the party. 
 
Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe has also suggested their return to 
 
SIPDIS 
the party on the condition that they cooperate with the LDP in next 
summer's Upper House election. 
 
Single-seat constituencies are especially vital for the LDP in 
facing off with Minshuto. In particular, of the seven single-seat 
constituencies where the LDP has yet to endorse a candidate, either 
incumbent lawmakers or prefectural chapters revolted against LDP 
headquarters over postal reform in Yamanashi, Kagawa, Oita, and 
Nagasaki in the previous Lower House election. 
 
As if to add insult to injury, Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) 
has endorsed four incumbents and former LDP members, including 
Hiroko Goto, for the upcoming election. Aoki plans to urge local 
leaders to rise to action at the national secretaries general 
meeting on August 1. 
 
Minshuto focused on single-seat constituencies 
 
Minshuto President Ichiro Ozawa believes winning a majority of the 
single-seat constituencies will lead to the party's victory in the 
election next year. Since May, Ozawa has visited many farming areas 
in the country in an effort to split them off from the LDP. 
 
Minshuto's basic strategy is to force the ruling coalition into the 
minority, resulting in an early dissolution of the Lower House. The 
party's goal specifically is to win at least 15 of the 29 
single-seat constituencies available to garner nearly 60 seats in 
total. 
 
Although the party is certain to win more than its 32 seats that 
will be up for reelection, the largest opposition party has been 
slow to determine its candidates. In fact, it has informally decided 
on candidates only for four constituencies: Tokushima, Kagawa, Saga, 
and Kagoshima. Minshuto aims to announce its first group of 
candidates by August 8 and informally decide on all its single-seat 
candidates by mid-August. But coordination has run into difficulties 
in the Tohoku and Chugoku regions. 
 
On July 27, Ozawa exchanged views in Akita with members of Rengo 
(Japanese Trade Union Confederation) Akita and local assemblymen. 
Ozawa is determined to win all four single seats in the Tohoku 
region: Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, and his home turf of Iwate. Ozawa 
has visited eight constituencies, including Akita. Of the four 
constituencies, Ozawa first visited Yamagata, where Minshuto failed 
to win in the 2004 Upper House election. 
 
The party also plans to field multiple candidates in six urban 
constituencies with more than three seats up for grabs. It also aims 
for a replay of the 2004 election in which the party won two seats 
each in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Aichi. 
 
Minshuto plans to undertake full-fledged coordination with other 
opposition parties with the exception of the Japanese Communist 
Party. The LDP's attempt to rehabilitate anti-postal-reform 
lawmakers has been an obstacle for Minshuto. 
 
 
TOKYO 00004259  003 OF 010 
 
 
Keeping status quo a challenge New Komeito 
 
The party wants to add one more seat to its 13 (8 proportional 
representation seats and 5 electoral district seats) up for 
reelection. The election will be a test for the new leadership 
following the resignation of party representative Takenori Kanzaki 
in late September. 
 
The Upper House election will coincide with unified local elections, 
a combination that occurs only once every 12 years. Alarmed that a 
consumption tax hike might become a campaign issue along with other 
matters, the New Komeito announced its first group of candidates in 
May, two months ahead of regular timetable. In order to garner 
votes, the party is planning to use unusual means, such as shifting 
incumbent Yuichiro Uozumi's priority area from southeastern Kanto to 
the Chubu-Hokuriku region. 
 
Japanese Communist Party 
 
The party aims for five proportional seats, up one, and to collect 
6.5 million votes. It also intends to maintain its sole electoral 
district seat in Tokyo and win additional seats in Kanagawa and 
Saitama. 
 
Social Democratic Party 
 
The party has set a target of at least 5 million proportional 
representation votes. Although it currently holds only three seats 
up for reelection, its goal is to win seven electoral districts and 
proportional representation seats. But it has yet to determine its 
candidates except for Secretary General Seiji Mataichi, who will run 
in the proportional representation portion. 
 
Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) 
 
The party envisages forcing the ruling coalition into the minority 
and holding the casting vote. To that end, it is eager to join hands 
with Minshuto. Although only two seats will be up for grabs, the 
party has announced that it will field four proportional 
representation candidates. "We want to field seven to eight 
proportional representation candidates and a number of candidates 
for big urban electoral districts," Secretary General Hisaoki Kamei 
said. 
 
(2) The late former prime minister and Class-A war criminal, Koki 
Hirota's enshrinement at Yasukuni Shrine: Hirota's bereaved family 
says, "We didn't approve it"; Yasukuni Shrine says, "We didn't 
obtain prior approval from the family" 
 
ASAHI (Page 35) (Abridged) 
July 27, 2006 
 
Koji Oide 
 
The late former Prime Minister Koki Hirota was convicted as a 
Class-A war criminal and executed. He and other Class-A war 
criminals were enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine together with the war 
dead (collective enshrinement or goshi). The Asahi Shimbun asked 
Hirota's grandson, Kotaro, 67, a former corporate executive, about 
Hirota's enshrinement at Yasukuni together with the war dead. Kotaro 
voiced his opposition to his grandfather's enshrinement at the 
shrine, noting, "We in the Hirota family have never given our 
approval to the enshrinement at Yasukuni." Yasukuni Shrine enshrined 
 
TOKYO 00004259  004 OF 010 
 
 
Hirota without obtaining his family's approval. It is unusual for 
the families of the Class-A war criminals to voice opposition to the 
collective enshrinement as the Hirota family has done. 
 
Kotaro is the eldest son of the late former Prime Minister Hirota's 
eldest son, Hiroo, who is deceased. The former prime minister had 
six children, all of whom are already dead. 
 
Looking back on the days of 1978, when the Class-A war criminals 
were enshrined at Yasukuni, Kotaro said: "We never agreed to the 
collective enshrinement. Even now, we don't think our grandfather is 
enshrined at Yasukuni." This feeling about Yasukuni "represents the 
thinking of the Hirota family," Kotaro said. 
 
The late former Prime Minister Hirota was the only civilian official 
of the seven Class-A war criminals who were executed. He was accused 
of, among other charges, nonfeasance because he did not call for a 
halt to the massacre that occurred and continued in Nanjing even 
though he was serving as foreign minister. Meanwhile, some have 
judged Hirota favorably for persistently opposing the war despite 
pressure from the military. Dutch Judge Roling in the Tokyo Trials 
in fact submitted a statement seeking that Hirota be found innocent, 
arguing: "He did not side with the influential group in Japan 
advocating military aggression." 
 
The Hirota family's family temple is located in Fukuoka Prefecture, 
Hirota's hometown, but because his family placed a portion of his 
hair at a temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, the relatives 
worship there. In April 1955, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 
the predecessor of the current Ministry of Health, Labor, and 
Welfare, was planning to hand the ashes of seven Class-A war 
criminals to their families, but the Hirota family rejected the 
plan. According to Kotaro, the Hirota family has not joined the 
Shiragiku Bereaved Family Association, a group composed of the 
relatives of war criminals. 
 
Kotaro said: "I sometimes visit Yasukuni Shrine and offer a prayer 
to the war dead who lost their lives fighting for the sake of the 
country. My grandfather was neither a serviceman nor one of the war 
dead. I think Yasukuni Shrine has nothing to do with our family." 
 
Yasukuni Shrine's Public Relations Office said, "Before and after 
the war and even today, we have informed the bereaved families, 
including the Hirota family, of enshrinement, but we have never 
sought their prior agreement." 
 
Saburo Shiroyama, the author of Rakujitsu Moyu (Blazing Setting 
Sun), a biographic novel of the late former Prime Minister Hirota, 
commented: "The feelings expressed by a member of the Hirota family 
were the same as I had presumed. I have nothing to add to the family 
member's comments. I think the comments came after taking fully into 
consideration what and how Prime Minister Hirota would say." 
 
It's significant 
 
Statement by Ikuhiko Hata, contemporary historian 
 
In the prewar days, Yasukuni Shrine honored only military personnel 
who lost their lives on the battlefield. The Class-A war criminals, 
especially Koki Hirota, would not have imagined they would be 
honored there. Hirota was a diplomat and not a military official. 
This is a clear difference with the soldiers who went to battle in 
anticipation of being enshrined at Yasukuni if they lost their 
 
TOKYO 00004259  005 OF 010 
 
 
lives. 
 
Yasukuni Shrine Chief Priest Nagayoshi Matsudaira decided to 
enshrine the Class-A war criminals collectively, apparently with the 
aim of underscoring that the Tokyo Trials were unreasonable, but 
before doing so, he should have obtained at least approval from the 
bereaved families. The shrine's negligence in this context has now 
been made clear by the remarks of a Hirota family member. The Hirota 
family has become the first among those bereaved families to raise 
clear objection to the collective enshrinement, and that is 
significant indeed. 
 
(3) My view on Yasukuni Shrine (Part 4): Interview with LDP Policy 
Research Council Vice Chairman Keizo Takemi on Chidorigafuchi 
National Cemetery 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
July 29, 2006 
 
Takashi Tanigawa: Why has the notion of expanding the Chidorigafuchi 
National Cemetery become prevalent now? 
 
 
Keizo Takemi: In the process of administrative and fiscal reforms, 
an argument emerged to utilize nationally owned land and housing 
units for civil servants. There are housing units for civil servants 
next to the cemetery. A project team has been launched under Policy 
Research Council Hidenao Nakagawa to review those units centering on 
the cemetery, and I have undertaken the task as the chair. 
 
Tanigawa: There is a view that the study will result in a new 
national war memorial. 
 
Takemi: The Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery is dedicated to 
unidentified and unclaimed remains of those who died overseas in the 
Pacific War and other wars. It is a national and secular venue to 
offer condolences and prayers. There is no need to change the 
purpose, and the cemetery is compatible with Yasukuni Shrine. That 
should be understood clearly. 
 
Tanigawa: Are you saying that expanding the cemetery is distinct 
from the concept to build a national war memorial? 
 
Takemi: That's right. They are two separate matters. 
 
Tanigawa: You took a first look at the cemetery and housing units 
for civil servants. What is your impression of them? 
 
Takemi: My impression is that they sit in an isolated environment. 
Access to the cemetery is not good. Many people visit there around 
August 15 every year, but there are few restrooms, and other 
facilities need improvements, as well. We need a place where 
visitors can relax and rest. 
 
Tanigawa: Do you envisage visits by foreign leaders? 
 
Takemi: Foreign leaders may visit there once facilities are 
improved. 
 
Tanigawa: What is your view of Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Takemi: The shrine, which is the only place to pay tribute to those 
who died fighting for their country, is controlled by a religious 
 
TOKYO 00004259  006 OF 010 
 
 
corporation. Such an arrangement is improper from a future-oriented 
perspective. Complex equations, such as the relationship between 
state and religion and the provision of a venue to offer condolences 
and prayers, must be resolved. 
 
Tanigawa: What about the memorandum showing Emperor Showa's 
(Hirohito) displeasure with the enshrinement of Class-A war 
criminals at Yasukuni Shrine? 
 
Takemi: It made me realize that the emperor had born in mind how 
precious peace was throughout the postwar period. The memo carries 
historical significance. It was good in that it will prompt the 
public to show an interest (in the Yasukuni issue). I think it will 
also help set off a healthy, probing domestic discussion. 
 
Tanigawa: There is a possibility that an expansion of the cemetery 
will become a campaign issue for the LDP presidency. 
 
Takemi: I will handle the matter carefully so that the matter will 
not become a campaign issue. 
 
Tanigawa: When are you going to reach a conclusion? 
 
Takemi: It will be after the LDP presidential election, but before 
the end of the year. The cemetery was established through a variety 
of discussions. We need to be magnanimous and willing to accept new 
developments. 
 
(4) Debate: Is US beef safe? - part 1 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) 
July 31, 2006 
 
John Queen, president-elect of the National Cattlemen's Beef 
Association (NCBA): We will do our utmost in order to prevent a 
recurrence of any mistake; Do not punish the entire nation! 
 
Prions, the infectious agents that cause BSE in cattle, tend to 
accumulate in specified risk materials (SRM), such as brains, spinal 
cords, etc. We are sorry that we have violated the agreement reached 
with Japan, by shipping veal that contained SRM in January. We have 
done everything we could do in order to settle the problem. We have 
strictly trained inspectors at meat processing plants. At least two 
inspectors check Japan-bound beef products so that no mistake will 
occur. 
 
However, even if the inclusion of such a material is a violation of 
the agreement, the Japanese government must have known that the veal 
shipped by mistake came from a calf that was less than eight months 
of age. The case in point is not a safety issue but an issue 
concerning a trade regulation, namely the removal of SRM. Why on 
earth should the entire United States be punished? 
 
Will the US place a ban on imports of all Japanese vehicles, if some 
Japanese automaker uses fan belts that are banned in the US? The US 
has lost a beef export opportunity worth 1.4 billion dollars a year 
due to Japan's ban on US beef imports. If Japan places a total ban 
on US beef imports for a small mistake without any scientific 
grounds, then it cannot be said that the trade practice is fair. The 
US has made strenuous efforts to prevent a recurrence of any 
inclusion of SRM in shipments. There will be no more mistakes. 
However, we are only human. Should another mistake occur, we want 
Japan to punish only the concerned beef processing plant, instead of 
 
TOKYO 00004259  007 OF 010 
 
 
the whole of the US. 
 
The US conducted BSE tests on roughly 760,000 head of cattle for 
about two years starting in 2004, and identified two infected cases. 
No BSE-infected cows were found among Japan-bound cattle aged 20 
months or younger. In fact, it is impossible to determine through 
inspection whether BSE-causing agents exist in the brains and spinal 
cords of Japan-bound cattle that are aged 20 months or younger. 
However, we remove all SRM from Japan-bound cattle in accordance 
with the agreement with Japan. We consider Japan-bound US beef to be 
extremely safe. In order to identify cattle aged 20 months or 
younger, we adopt a quality system evaluation program for cattle to 
be exported to Japan in order to indicate from which ranches the 
products have been shipped. 
 
It is not necessary for the US to carry out a blanket cattle test, 
because the rate of BSE-infected US beef is extremely low and SRM 
are removed from all cattle. Approximately 37 million head of beef 
cattle are slaughtered in a year in the US. The cost of the blanket 
testing will total 800 million dollars a year, as testing one cow 
costs 20 to 25 dollars. The US Department of Agriculture will 
curtail the number of cattle subject to the BSE test to 40,000 in 
August, but this does not present any problem because the number of 
cattle the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recommends for 
testing is 4,000. 
 
(5) Editorial: US beef should carry labels marking its origin 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 28, 2006 
 
The government placed a ban on imports of US beef due to faulty BSE 
preventive measures in the US, but it yesterday formally decided to 
lift the embargo. Now that the ban has been removed, we want the US 
to make sure that any incident that could raise doubts about the 
safety of its beef, such as the inclusion of so-called specified 
risk materials (SRM), including vertebral columns, in a shipment, 
will not happen again. Since the government has determined that US 
beef is as safe as domestic beef and has now reopened the market, we 
are not particularly nervous about the safety of US beef. However, 
we want the government to familiarize distributors and the 
restaurant industry with a country-of-origin labeling requirement in 
order to enable consumers to make their own decision as to whether 
to eat US beef or not. 
 
Some companies are willing to use US beef, but mindful of consumer 
responses, many retailers and restaurant chains seem cautious about 
selling or using it. That is because they think consumer anxieties 
are still deep-rooted due to the aftermath of the inclusion of SRM 
in a shipment after the removal of the embargo last December. 
Industrial circles will likely wait and see for the time being. 
 
In essence, whether consumption of US beef will recover or not is up 
to consumers. It is not until the number of consumers who buy US 
beef has increased that one can say that trust in US beef has 
recovered. In that sense, it is important that US beef carries 
country-of-origin labels to allow consumers to make a decision. 
Retailers are obligated to attach country-of-origin labels to the 
products they sell. We want them to familiarize themselves more with 
the regulation. 
 
The restaurant industry last July established country-of-origin 
labeling guidelines for food. As a result, an increasing number of 
 
TOKYO 00004259  008 OF 010 
 
 
leading chains now provide such information. We want to see leading 
restaurant chains, as well as other restaurants, adopt the labeling 
system for beef. In case they do not adopt the labeling system, it 
is important for them to train their employees so that they can 
explain the country of origin of the products they handle. 
 
Japan introduced a traceability system for perishable foods 
following the discovery of a BSE-positive cow. It has become 
mandatory for retailers disclose the country of origin of the 
products they sell. Some imported beef products, such as Australian 
or New Zealand products, carry country-of-origin labels. The 
fundamental cause of the complicated US beef import issue is that it 
is not possible to grasp the actual BSE situation in the US. In 
order to defuse the anxieties harbored by Japanese consumers, too, 
we hope more US meatpackers will become able to track cattle by date 
and place of birth or where they are raised and disclose such 
information. 
 
(6) GSDF pullout from Iraq after completing important mission (Part 
4): Mission accomplished 
 
SANKEI (Page 30) (Full) 
July 27, 2006 
 
On July 25, a little past 8:30 a.m., Ground Self-Defense Force Col. 
Toshihiro Yamanaka, 45, who commanded the 10th contingent of GSDF 
troops to Iraq, showed up in the international arrival lobby of 
Haneda Airport, where GSDF Gen. Hajime Massaki, chief of the 
Self-Defense Forces' Joint Staff Office, firmly shook the returning 
colonel's hand. The SDF's top brass officer said to the colonel, 
"Good job." The general then shook hands with 280 GSDF members who 
were in the last batch to be back home from Iraq. 
 
"Danger was next neighbor to their mission," Massaki admitted. 
"That's why," he guessed, "they were probably feeling fulfilled." He 
added, "Each of the returning GSDF members looked straight into my 
eyes and shook my hand." So saying, Massaki looked really pleased to 
see them all back home. 
 
In January 2004, Massaki sent out the first contingent of GSDF 
troops to Iraq. He was then in the post of GSDF chief of staff to 
top all GSDF personnel. Since then, two and a half years has passed. 
Massaki, meanwhile, served as chairman of the SDF Joint Staff 
Council and then as chief of the SDF Joint Staff Office. With his 
responsibility becoming heavier, Massaki worked under extreme 
pressure. However, he never forgot-even for one single day-to care 
about the GSDF members working in the southern Iraqi city of 
Samawah. 
 
Every morning Iraq time, Massaki received a report from commanding 
officers in Samawah over the telephone, except when he was on an 
overseas trip or for some other unavoidable circumstances. And he 
did not forget to encourage them. 
 
"I tried to listen to them so that I could let out their pent-up 
feelings," Massaki said. "I wanted to cool them down even for a 
moment," he added. 
 
Massaki not only encouraged the Samawah-based commanding officers. 
Massaki happened to see a female GSDF member with her sleeves rolled 
up in video footage showing how GSDF members were doing in Iraq. 
Massaki warned her commanding officer over the telephone that it was 
a violation of Islamic culture, and he also advised the commander to 
 
TOKYO 00004259  009 OF 010 
 
 
tell all female GSDF members not to show their skin. Also, when 
Massaki discovered an Iraqi woman in a transmitted picture, he 
raised strict caution about pointing the camera at Iraqi women. 
"That's why one in the US forces was shot," he admonished. 
 
At one time, GSDF members held sporting events at their Samawah camp 
with British and Australian forces. Massaki, however, told them to 
get into the local communities of Iraqi people. He pointed to the 
lax atmosphere and urged the GSDF members to pull themselves 
together. 
 
Massaki's heart was always in Samawah. It was his responsibility for 
the GSDF members he sent there, and it was also like parents 
thinking of their children. 
 
The first time Massaki sent GSDF members to Iraq, he had something 
in mind as a matter of fact. Massaki had told himself not to lose 
his head should the GSDF's Iraq detachment unfortunately sustain 
casualties. He wrote down what he would have to say in that 
eventuality. 
 
Massaki had anticipated public sensitivities in Japan to such GSDF 
casualties. However, Massaki had made up his mind to state in his 
prepared press remarks that Japan would have to overcome such a 
tragedy without wasting the loss of valuable lives among those GSDF 
members working in Iraq. Massaki thought to himself that he must not 
show his weakness, so he worded nothing at all in his memo about his 
resignation. 
 
Now that the memo is no longer needed, Massaki looks back on the 
GSDF's Iraq mission over the past two and a half years. 
 
"I'm sure," Massaki recalled, "the GSDF's organization, its way of 
working, and its training exercises are good enough to make it in 
the international community." He added, "We're in the age of 
internationalization, so we'd like to make still greater 
contributions to peace and stability in the region." 
 
In addition, Massaki underscored the GSDF's dispatch of troops to 
Iraq from all its district armies in Japan and also laid emphasis on 
the GSDF's experience in Iraq. "We can get big power from this 
experience," he said. He went on, "And our visible, invisible assets 
in the future are immeasurable." 
 
His words were filled with a sense of satisfaction as the SDF's top 
brass hat with the GSDF's accomplishment of an important mission. 
 
This is the last of a four-part series, GSDF pullout from Iraq after 
completing important mission. 
 
(7) Concern about ODA budget cuts breaching international 
commitment 
 
YOMIURI (Page 13) (Excerpts) 
July 19, 2006 
 
Tsuneo Sugishita, professor at Ibaraki University 
 
SIPDIS 
 
The government on July 7 adopted at a cabinet meeting basic policy 
guidelines on economic and fiscal management and structural reforms, 
prepared by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. 
 
The basic guidelines are intended to bring the primary balance into 
 
TOKYO 00004259  010 OF 010 
 
 
the black by around fiscal 2011. It has already been reported that 
to be specific, the aim is to cut expenditures by up to 14 trillion 
yen and reform the tax system. However, intensive discussions were 
not held on cuts in official development assistance (ODA). In this 
article, I would like to delve into the possible impact of 
continuous cuts in the ODA budget. 
 
The Finance Ministry has already drafted the ceiling for budget 
request estimates for fiscal 2007. A year-on-year reduction rate for 
the fiscal 2007 ODA budget to be released on July 21 is estimated to 
be between 2% and 4%. The ODA budget will be slashed approximately 
140 billion yen from the current level by fiscal 2011 if an annual 
reduction rate over the next five years is estimated at about 4%, 
the average reduction rate for the past three years. 
 
This means that 80% of the grant aid portion (approximately 170 
billion yen) and 90% of the amount appropriated to the Japan 
International Cooperation Agency (JICA), an organization that 
implements technical cooperation, will disappear. 
 
Aside from yen loans, which are funded by funds for fiscal 
investment and loans, technical cooperation and grant aid, which are 
funded by the general-account budget, are bound to suffer a big 
blow. 
 
To begin with, the ODA budget has continued to suffer cutbacks since 
fiscal 1997. The general account in the fiscal 2006 initial budget 
earmarked approximately 760 billion yen for ODA, down about 35% from 
the fiscal 1997 initial budget, the peak year for ODA. Given other 
major spending items in the tight budget compiled in the same fiscal 
year, cuts in public works expenses stood at 16.4% and cuts in 
defense-related expenses at 2.7%. A comparison with these spending 
items highlights the heavy cuts to ODA. 
 
A complex issue concerning ODA is that fluctuations in ODA funds are 
always closely related to the livelihood of the peoples of 
developing countries. Approximately 400 billion yen has been slashed 
from the ODA budget since fiscal 1997. As a result, more than 40% of 
ODA recipients now receive less than half the amount they received 
prior to fiscal 1997. 
 
It has been reported that cuts in Japan's ODA are seriously 
affecting medical services and food situations in those countries. 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi during last year's G-8 Summit pledged to 
boost ODA by 10 billion dollars over the next five years. However, 
if an ODA budget is compiled based on the adopted basic policy 
guidelines, a breach of Japan's international commitment will emerge 
as an issue. 
 
As the future of the state depends on this policy, it is not 
possible to oppose it. However, even if the nation's primary balance 
is reconstructed in five years' time, the government will face the 
question of the purpose of fiscal reconstruction if Japan becomes 
isolated in the international community and loses its credibility. 
 
SCHIEFFER