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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 004452 
 
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 08/08/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Poll on Koizumi cabinet, political parties, LDP race 
 
(2) Editorial: China between the Defense White Paper's lines 
 
(3) Yasukuni part 2: Argument renouncing separate enshrinement of 
Class-A war criminals shaken; Key Shinto religious teacher refuses 
to express view 
 
(4) Debate on Yasukuni Shrine taking new turn, with focus shifted 
from propriety of prime minister's visits to shrine status 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Poll on Koizumi cabinet, political parties, LDP race 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 8, 2006 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in% age. Parentheses denote the results of a survey 
conducted in July.) 
 
Q: Do you support the Koizumi cabinet? 
 
Yes                      51.1       (50.2) 
No                       39.2       (39.7) 
Other answers (O/A)       2.6        (2.9) 
No answer (N/A)           7.1        (7.1) 
 
Q: Which political party do you support now? 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)                  40.6      (38.6) 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto)     13.0      (14.6) 
New Komeito (NK)                                 3.3       (3.2) 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP)                   1.3       (1.6) 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto)        0.7       (1.0) 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto)       0.1       (0.1) 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon)          0.1       (---) 
Other political parties                          ---       (---) 
None                                            38.7      (39.6) 
N/A                                              1.7       (1.2) 
 
Q: Prime Minister Koizumi has clarified his intention to resign as 
prime minister in September this year when his term as LDP president 
runs out. This September's LDP presidential election is a de facto 
election of the next prime minister. Are you interested in this LDP 
presidential election? 
 
Very interested            33.1 
Somewhat interested        38.6 
Not very interested        18.8 
Not interested at all       8.7 
N/A                         0.7 
 
Q: Who do you think is the most appropriate person for the next 
prime minister? Pick only one from among those listed below if any. 
 
Taro Aso                7.4 
Shinzo Abe             45.2 
Sadakazu Tanigaki       9.2 
Taku Yamasaki           0.9 
 
TOKYO 00004452  002 OF 007 
 
 
Others                  2.0 
None                   30.3 
N/A                     5.1 
 
Q: (Only for those who gave an appropriate person for prime 
minister) Why do you support that person? Pick as many factors as 
you like from among those listed below if any. 
 
Political stance           31.0 
Diplomatic stance          22.2 
Domestic policy             9.7 
Reform-oriented mind       17.5 
Leadership                 16.9 
A sense of balance         18.9 
Young                      28.5 
Friendly                   26.4 
O/A+N/A                     4.5 
 
 
Q: What would you like the LDP presidential election to focus on? 
Pick as many issues as you like from among those listed below, if 
any. 
 
Economic, employment measures 
49.3 
Fiscal reconstruction 
25.9 
Consumption tax 
37.0 
Social security reform, including pension and healthcare systems 
 
56.9 
Low birthrate countermeasures, including childcare support 
26.0 
Educational reform 
16.7 
Administrative reform, including public service personnel cuts 
 
18.8 
Social divide, including income gaps 
18.2 
Yasukuni Shrine issue 
14.5 
Asia diplomacy, including China and South Korea 
25.4 
North Korea issue 
33.1 
Defense, security 
14.6 
Constitutional revision 
9.1 
Public security, crime prevention 
16.1 
Food safety 
14.5 
O/A 
0.2 
Nothing in particular 
3.6 
N/A 
1.3 
 
Q: Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda has clarified that he 
 
TOKYO 00004452  003 OF 007 
 
 
would not run in the LDP presidential election. There is an opinion 
saying the policy debates would be dull with his staying out of the 
race. Do you agree to this view? 
 
Yes                           18.6 
Yes to a certain degree       18.2 
No to a certain degree        18.1 
No                            34.2 
N/A                           11.0 
 
Polling methodology 
Date of survey: Aug. 5-6. 
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: 1,741 persons (58.0% ). 
Breakdown of respondents: Male-49%, female-51% . 
 
(2) Editorial: China between the Defense White Paper's lines 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 8, 2006 
 
The Defense White Paper is a record of the Defense Agency's yearly 
activities. If we try to read its policy-based messages, we need to 
read between the lines. Then, how should we read the white paper for 
2006? This year's white paper, which came out within a month after 
North Korea's missile launches, underscores the importance of 
missile defense. It shows that the Defense Agency is conscious of 
not only North Korea's ballistic missiles but also China's. 
 
There were many challenges the Defense Agency had to explain in this 
year's white paper. Those challenges include the issues of 
realigning US military bases in Japan and upgrading the Defense 
Agency to the status of a ministry. In addition, there were also 
scandals involving the Defense Facilities Administration Agency. 
When this year's white paper was in the making with final editing, 
North Korea fired a number of missiles. The white paper first 
touches on this incident in a column. North Korea has been a matter 
of security concern to Japan. This year's white paper, however, uses 
seven pages about North Korea right after touching on the defense 
policy of the United States, an ally of Japan. 
 
When it comes to China, this year's white paper differs in a way 
from last year's white paper that came out right after the US 
Department of Defense released its report on Chinese military power. 
In last year's white paper, the Defense Agency, apparently bearing 
it in mind, used restrained expressions so as not to be taken as a 
China-is-a-threat argument. Meanwhile, this year's white paper, 
sparing 11 pages on China, carries a number of concentric circles 
with Beijing at their centers. These circles denote the ranges of 
China's five ballistic missile capabilities. One of them is the 
DF-5, a long-range ballistic missile that covers North America, the 
greater part of the African continent, and Australia within its 
range. 
 
This year's white paper also details missile defense. However, it 
explains missile defense with descriptions from technical 
perspectives and gives no strategic explanations. This year's white 
paper is the first to carry such concentric circles that show the 
ranges of China's ballistic missiles. This is "for easy 
 
TOKYO 00004452  004 OF 007 
 
 
understanding," according to the Defense Agency. However, the 2006 
white paper-if we try to read between the lines in its 
entirety-implies that the Defense Agency is pushing ahead with its 
planned introduction of a missile defense system while bearing in 
mind not only North Korea's ballistic missiles but also China's, and 
that the agency is expecting its deterrent effects. 
 
Publishing a white paper on the defense of Japan means contributing 
to Japan's confidence-building measures or showing Japan's hand to 
foreign countries. The military transparency of a country publishing 
an accurate white paper is said to be high. So its English version 
has an important meaning. On the day following its reporting of this 
year's white paper in a cabinet meeting, the Defense Agency made its 
English version available on its website for the first time. This is 
an estimable approach. 
 
(3) Yasukuni part 2: Argument renouncing separate enshrinement of 
Class-A war criminals shaken; Key Shinto religious teacher refuses 
to express view 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
August 7, 2006 
 
The Mainichi Shimbun contacted the bereaved families of the 14 
Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine along with the 
country's war dead and received responses from 13 of the families. 
Of them, eight families indicated their readiness to accept the 
separation of the souls of their kin from Yasukuni, noting: "We 
never asked the shrine to enshrine our family member there. We just 
want to quietly console the spirits of the deceased like ordinary 
people." Yasukuni Shrine, however, insists, "Even if all the 
bereaved families agree to separate the souls of their deceased 
family members from Yasukuni Shrine, it is impossible for us to do 
so." A sense of the inconsistency of Shinto teaching, which ignores 
the feelings of bereaved families, is beginning to spread across the 
families. 
 
Separating the 14 Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni Shrine is a 
20-year-old argument proposed first by then Prime Minister Yasuhiro 
Nakasone in 1985. 
 
Tadashi Yuzawa, chief priest of Yasukuni Shrine, met in March 2004 
with then Agriculture Minister Yoshinobu Shimamura in a reception 
room of the shrine office. In February, former Prime Minister 
Nakasone called again for separating the Class-A war criminals from 
Yasukuni Shrine on a television program, saying, "Bereaved families 
will support this idea." Shimamura's visit to the shrine was to 
sound out Yasukuni's stance on this. He told Yuzawa, "Unless the 
Class-A war criminals are removed, the emperor will never be able to 
visit Yasukuni Shrine, something that the spirits of the war dead 
want the most." 
 
Yuzawa replied, "Under Shinto teachings, it is not possible to 
separate them from Yasukuni once enshrined." He put on the table a 
piece of paper that carried the words "The souls of the dead 
enshrined at Yasukuni will remain there even if their memorial 
tablets are removed." He continued, "I would rather Mr. Nakasone 
work to persuade China." Yasukuni Shrine released the same day its 
view that rejected the notion of separating Class-A war criminals. 
 
The Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honcho) in Shibuya Ward, 
Tokyo, which overseas 80,000 shrines throughout the nation, 
announced the same view in June 2005. Commenting on the intention of 
 
TOKYO 00004452  005 OF 007 
 
 
Association, an informed source explained: "The announcement 
followed the incident in which Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi cancelled 
her meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi and returned home. It was 
intended to counter pressure from China." It appears that in 
responding to the argument for separating Class-A war criminals from 
Yasukuni Shrine, Shinto shrines began pursuing a political argument, 
quite apart from their religious teachings. 
 
According to the Shinto view, bunshi or separating the enshrined 
deity from the shrine means transferring the deity to another shrine 
for worshiping, in a way similar to lighting a candle with the flame 
of another candle. The common term that is used for separate 
enshrining (bunshi) is equivalent to erasing the enshrinement of 
(Class-A war criminals in this case) as deities (haishi), according 
to Shinto teaching. In the Association's view, in order to transfer 
the memorial tablets of the 14 Class-A war criminals from Yasukuni 
to another shrine, it is necessary to remove all 2.46 
million-memorial tablets of the war dead, too. This is in reality 
impossible. Professor Inoue at the Kokugakuin University Shinto 
Culture Studies Department said, "In theory, separate enshrinement 
of Class-A war criminals is possible. However, if the Association 
says that it will not do that, then that becomes Shinto teaching." 
 
The Association was established in 1946. It has a major influence on 
Shinto shrines for it has authority to set the training courses for 
Shinto priests to be certified. Though it does not have Yasukuni 
Shrine under its jurisdiction, it supports it on the personnel side 
and provides advice on Shinto teachings. 
 
The Association's Shinto Teaching Research Center is responsible for 
Shinto religious theory. Koremaru Sakamoto, professor of modern 
history of Shinto religion at the Kokugakuin University Shinto 
Culture Studies Department, is responsible for the Yasukuni Shrine 
issue there. Sakamoto wrote the shrine's basic view that renounced 
the idea of the separate enshrinement of Class-A war criminals. The 
Association's views are so important that once they are issued, they 
become established teaching, according to a religious scholar. Other 
Shinto teaching committee member simply skimmed through the draft of 
the basic views during a meeting. Sakamoto also serves as an 
editor-in-chief of the Shrine Courier. He is a key figure in the 
Shinto teaching. He has thus far repeatedly explained to influential 
politicians who called for removing Class-A war criminals from 
Yasukuni Shrine, "That is impossible." 
 
Responding to an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, Sakamoto on 
the evening of August 5 said, "I am tired of discussing Yasukuni 
Shrine itself." However, when the interviewer showed him a thesis 
written in 1979, the year following the enshrinement of Class-A war 
criminals at Yasukuni Shrine along with the war dead, he changed his 
countenance and read the thesis silently. He then said, "If proper 
discussions on the matter had been carried out at that time, the 
situation would have been different." 
 
He then said, "I cannot say anything about it. If I did, many things 
would simply crumble. I am just a man who is working for the Jinja 
Honcho. Whether it was wrong or right, (Yasukuni Shrine) did 
enshrine Class-A war criminals. The state took the lead in this 
process." What was the thesis that upset this key Shinto teacher? 
 
(4) Debate on Yasukuni Shrine taking new turn, with focus shifted 
from propriety of prime minister's visits to shrine status 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Slightly abridged) 
 
TOKYO 00004452  006 OF 007 
 
 
August 8, 2006 
 
The Yasukuni issue is one of the major issues in the Liberal 
Democratic Party presidential race. The debate on Yasukuni is taking 
a new turn recently, with the question of what the shrine should 
taking center state, besides the propriety of visits by Prime 
Minister Koizumi and the next prime minister. Foreign Minister Aso 
has proposed turning Yasukuni into a nonreligious corporation and 
then reviewing in a Diet session the list of souls enshrined there. 
Finance Minister Tanigaki has also expressed support for the notion 
of separating Class-A war criminals from the shrine. 
 
Focus shifted to notion of secularizing Yasukuni 
 
Aso proposes in an article, "My viewpoint," written for today's 
Asahi Shimbun that the government first should urge Yasukuni Shrine 
to voluntarily give up on the current status of a religious 
corporation and make it a national war-memorial facility by enacting 
legislation. Aso adds that if the prime minister and cabinet 
ministers go ahead with visiting Yasukuni Shrine under the current 
situation, the visits might turn into a political issue and result 
in undermining even the main purpose of the visits." Based on this 
view, Aso has compiled his private proposal. He reportedly passed 
its copies to Yasukuni Shrine and the Japan War-Bereaved Association 
by the end of July, suggesting that they look into the proposal. 
 
Aso has decided not to pay homage at Yasukuni Shrine until his 
proposal is put into practice. Finance Minister Tanigaki has also 
clearly said he would forgo a visit to the shrine for the time 
being. Tanigaki said: "The enshrinement of Class-A war criminals has 
become a thorn stuck in the throat," adding that "the ball is in the 
court of Yasukuni Shrine," urging Yasukuni to take some step." 
 
Aso and Tanigaki share a view that Yasukuni Shrine to make an 
independent judgment, but Aso reiterates the need that a decision 
should be made on which souls be enshrined at Yasukuni, including a 
review of the enshrinement of Class-A war criminals. LDP Policy 
Research Council Chairman Hidenao Nakagawa, who is close to Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Abe, has also referred to a plan to resubmit a 
bill designed to place Yasukuni under state jurisdiction. 
 
Meanwhile, Abe indicated in a press conference yesterday a negative 
view about the review of the status of Yasukuni Shrine. He said: 
"Reviewing the religious status of Yasukuni Shrine and the enshrine 
dietary is not a matter on which the government can express its 
views." In contrast, Aso has stressed the need to review the status 
of the shrine with a view to the prime minister visiting the shrine. 
Aso and Abe, who visited the shrine this April, thus take different 
stances about this issue, though they take similar views on foreign 
policy. 
 
Even so, since Aso, Tanigaki, and Abe are all members of the Koizumi 
cabinet, if Prime Minister Koizumi pays homage at Yasukuni on Aug. 
15, it is uncertain to what extent they can discuss the matter. In a 
speech yesterday, Nakagawa criticized Aso's private proposal, 
remarking: "It would be fine for him to expound his theory, but 
doing so as a member of the government should be avoided from the 
viewpoint of religious freedom secured in the Constitution." 
 
High hurdles to overcome before realization 
 
Debate on a review of the status of Yasukuni Shrine is heating up. 
But there are several high hurdles to clear, like what to do about 
 
TOKYO 00004452  007 OF 007 
 
 
the notion of secularizing the shrine, how to treat the souls of 
Class-A war criminals, and how to sum up World War II. 
 
Former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki insists on the need to 
construct a national secular war memorial. In a speech yesterday, he 
said: "The notion of secularizing the shrine was discussed some 30 
years ago, but it is hard to believe that the shrine will agree to 
return the status of a religious corporation." 
 
Starting from the 1960s through the 1970s, the LDP submitted five 
times a Yasukuni bill designed to turn the shrine into a special 
corporation and to defend the spirits of the war dead on the state's 
responsibility, on the premise of Yasukuni coming up with this 
proposal. But the bill was killed in June 1974. 
 
Yasukuni Shrine was willing to be placed under state control. In 
part because the shrine was under the jurisdiction of the Army and 
Navy Department when the war terminated, Yasukuni announced in 1969 
plans to emerge itself from the status of a religious corporation. 
Once the religious status is removed from the shrine, it will become 
able to receive funds from the central and local governments because 
donations from them will no longer infringe on the principle of 
separation between religion and politics. 
 
But this plan was dropped because it was difficult to secularize the 
shrine itself, in addition to strong criticism of the idea of 
placing Yasukuni under state control as "returning to prewar 
conditions." At that time, the conservative and progressive forces 
were at loggerheads. 
 
The Legislative Bureau House of Representatives cited as conditions 
for making Yasukuni Shrine into a nonreligious facility "changing 
Shinto prayers into simple words intended for the souls of the war 
dead," "abolishing the sale of paper fortunes," and the like. 
Yasukuni Shrine, though, reacted fiercely to these conditions, 
claiming: "That will make the shrine an unidentified facility, with 
no souls enshrined." The Japan War-Bereaved Association, who had 
been in favor of placing Yasukuni under state jurisdiction, also 
gave it up in response to the shrine's reaction. The bereaved group 
shifted the main purpose of its activities to bringing about an 
official visit to the shrine by the prime minister. 
 
If a bill related to Yasukuni Shrine is submitted to the Diet and 
once debate on Yasukuni issues starts, politicians will have to face 
up to the heavy task of summing up World War II. Politics, including 
the LDP, will be tested over its capabilities. 
 
SCHIEFFER