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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 005209 
 
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 09/11/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
(1) Editorial: Proliferation of dangers continues five years after 
9/11 attacks with declining US power 
 
(2) Poll on political parties, LDP presidential election 
 
(3) Tanigaki's strong performance may give life to anti-Abe forces; 
Aso's good fight may result in integration into Abe 
 
(4) Editorial: Abe must not throw away Murayama statement 
 
(5) Possibility surfacing of secretary Iijima staying on in Abe 
administration 
 
(6) METI's Ishiguro may be appointed administrative secretary 
 
(7) War of nerves to contain BSE five years after discovery of first 
infection case; Survey found two infection peaks: Is the second peak 
the last? 
 
(8) "Ozawa vision" aims at winning over conservative vote; Minshuto 
putting up front the issue of correcting social disparity 
 
ARTICLES: 
(1) Editorial: Proliferation of dangers continues five years after 
9/11 attacks with declining US power 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
September 10, 2006 
 
Five years have passed since the terrorist attacks on the United 
States on Sept. 11, 2001. The impact of the attacks was tremendous. 
The US afterward led the war on terror, which brought about great 
changes in the international environment. 
 
From cooperation to disagreement 
 
Immediately after the attacks, President Bush professed, "This is 
war." He later ordered strikes against Afghanistan, a country that 
was then under the rule of the Islamic fundamentalist group Taliban, 
which had links to Al Qaeda and where that terrorist organization 
had bases. The war on terror was aimed at ending the Taliban's rule 
of Afghanistan and was supported by European countries, China, and 
Russia. At the time, all major countries across the world shared the 
same crisis awareness brought about by the 9/11 attacks and acted 
together with the US. 
 
But the Iraq war that the US commenced in March 2003 shifted the 
trend of international cooperation that had continued since the 9/11 
attacks owing to international disagreement and division. Britain 
took part in the war, but Germany, France, certain other European 
countries, China, Russia, and Arab countries were strongly opposed 
to the war. In concert with the launching of the Iraq war, the Bush 
administration worked out a concept for promoting democracy in the 
Middle East. This move, however, was met by objections or a sense of 
wariness in the international community. Critics felt that promoting 
democracy there would be no more than forcing ideas on people 
without paying attention to the realities they were facing. 
 
Weapons of mass destruction were cited as the cause for the Iraq 
war, but no material evidence was ever discovered, and the local 
security situation in Iraq has only continued to worsen, with the 
number of US soldiers killed continuing to rise. Approval ratings 
 
TOKYO 00005209  002 OF 008 
 
 
for President Bush in the US have been dropping sharply, and the 
American public is becoming more inward-looking. The US has found 
difficult even to partially pull its troops out of Iraq, resulting 
in restricting is military deployment capabilities elsewhere in the 
world. 
 
Consequently, America's diplomatic power across the board and its 
global leadership have markedly declined. As a result, the unipolar 
world led by the US as only superpower has started to collapse, and 
there is no prospect in sight for anything to avoid that situation. 
With the emergence of a power vacuum, narrow national interests are 
beginning to erupt all over the world. One example is Iran's nuclear 
weapons program 
 
Since the start of its second term, the Bush administration seems to 
have discarded arguments favoring preemptive action or 
democratization theory advocated by neo-conservatives and instead 
began to attach more importance to pragmatic diplomacy led by the 
State Department. But President Bush still associates himself solely 
with a dualist theory: dividing countries into terrorist states and 
democratic nations, or thinking only whether a country sides with 
the US or not.  Recently, he has begun to describe Islamic radicals 
as "waging a totalitarian war." 
 
Terrorist acts are heinous crimes. The fault lies solely on the side 
that carried out the terrorism. Yet, we nonetheless believe it 
necessary to stress that many on this planet cannot accept America's 
moralistic black and white responses made since the 9/11 incident, 
as well as America's foreign policy that is overly protective of 
Israel. 
 
Prevention of breeding of future terrorists 
 
In the war on terror, most Al Qaeda bases were destroyed by military 
power. But the ideas of Al Qaeda have since turned into an ideology 
that has permeated across the world, and Islamic radicals' 
international network has spread to Europe and Asia through cyber 
space on the Internet. Their cause has been helped by the spread of 
mass media reporting on the situation of the Palestinian people. 
Thanks to video footages, many Muslims can easily share an awareness 
that they are the victims of the present international order. 
 
The bomb attacks on the London underground in July 2005 and the 
disclosure of the attempted simultaneous bombing of passenger planes 
in August 2006 revealed that young Pakistanis born and raised in 
Britain had picked up radical thoughts before anyone noticed and 
turned into suicide terrorists. 
 
Most Muslims on the globe reject terrorism and hope to live safely. 
How best to cut the vicious cycle of producing future terrorists 
from among those Muslims? Hard power -- military strength -- and 
security measures are not sufficient to achieve the goal of the war 
on terrorism. A wise response is expected from not only the US but 
also the rest of the world, including education that explains the 
importance of well-balanced diplomacy and co-existence with peoples 
with different cultures. 
 
(2) Poll on political parties, LDP presidential election 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
September 10, 2006 
 
Questions & Answers 
 
TOKYO 00005209  003 OF 008 
 
 
(Figures shown in percentage, rounded off.) 
 
Q: Which political party do you support now? (Parentheses denote the 
results of a survey conducted Aug. 26-27.) 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)   40(38) 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 14(13) 
New Komeito (NK)      3(3) 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP)   1(3) 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 2(2) 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0(0) 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon)  0(0) 
Liberal League (LL or Jiyu Rengo)   0(0) 
Other political parties     1(0) 
None         36(37) 
No answer (N/A) + don't know (D/K)   3(4) 
 
Q: Are you interested in the upcoming LDP presidential election? 
(Parentheses denote the results of a survey conducted Jan. 28-29.) 
 
Yes    63(71) 
No    35(26) 
 
Q: Mr. Shinzo Abe, Mr. Sadakazu Tanigaki, and Mr. Taro Aso have 
announced their candidacies for the LDP presidential election. Who 
do you think is appropriate to become the next prime minister? (One 
choice only) 
 
Shinzo Abe  54 
Sadakazu Tanigaki 11 
Taro Aso   10 
 
Q: Do you expect policy debates in the LDP presidential election 
this time? (Parentheses denote the results of a survey conducted 
Aug. 21-22.) 
 
Yes    26(24) 
No    58(60) 
 
Q: What would you like the next prime minister to pursue first? (One 
choice only) 
 
Pension, welfare reforms  48 
Social divide correction  10 
Local revitalization  9 
Fiscal reconstruction  17 
Constitutional reform  2 
Asia diplomacy correction 9 
 
Q: Mr. Abe is reportedly gathering public support as a candidate to 
become the next prime minister. What do you think is the primary 
reason for his nationwide popularity? (One choice only) 
 
Policy, opinion     5 
Action       10 
Youthfulness      11 
Personal character, image   44 
There's no other appropriate person 25 
 
Q: Mr. Abe has made public his manifesto titled "Japan the 
Beautiful." Do you know his political pledges? (One choice only) 
 
Know about his pledges   11 
 
TOKYO 00005209  004 OF 008 
 
 
Know he has made it public  61 
Don't know about his pledges  27 
 
Q: Would you like the current LDP-led coalition government to stay 
on, or would you otherwise like it to be replaced with a DSP-led 
coalition? (Parentheses denote the results of a survey conducted 
Aug. 21-22.) 
 
LDP-led coalition    44(38) 
DSP-led coalition    34(29) 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted Sept. 8-9 across the 
nation over the telephone on a computer-aided random digit dialing 
(RDD) basis. Respondents were chosen from among the nation's voting 
population on a three-stage random-sampling basis. Valid answers 
were obtained from 1,055 persons (60 percent). 
 
(3) Tanigaki's strong performance may give life to anti-Abe forces; 
Aso's good fight may result in integration into Abe 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Excerpts) 
September 9, 2006 
 
Supported widely by LDP lawmakers, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo 
Abe holds a commanding lead over Foreign Minister Taro Aso and 
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki in the ongoing LDP presidential 
race. Which of the two - Aso or Tanigaki - will come second after 
Abe is also a focus of attention, as it may affect Abe's management 
of his administration. If Tanigaki garners a large number of votes, 
anti-Abe forces might come back to life, and if Aso comes in second, 
his policies might be integrated into Abe's. 
 
(4) Editorial: Abe must not throw away Murayama statement 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
September 8, 2006 
 
In 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the war's end, 
then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama stated: 
 
"During a certain period in the not too distant past, Japan, 
following a mistaken national policy and through its colonial rule 
and aggression, caused tremendous damage and suffering to the 
peoples of Asian nations. Based on a spirit of humanity, I regard 
these as irrefutable facts of history, and express here once again 
my feelings of deep remorse and state my heartfelt apology." 
 
The statement reflected Murayama's earnest desire to dissolve 
neighboring countries' ill feelings left behind by the last major 
war as a person serving as the prime minister in a milestone year. 
 
Since then, this has taken root at home and abroad as the Japanese 
government's view of history. The statement clearly spoke of Japan's 
view and has played an important role in winning trust of 
neighboring countries. 
 
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, who is quite certain to 
become the next prime minister, does not seem to like this 
statement. 
 
Abe has repeatedly been asked in a press interview and press 
conferences ahead of the LDP presidential election if he would 
follow the Murayama statement once he became prime minister. But his 
 
TOKYO 00005209  005 OF 008 
 
 
answers were always elusive. 
 
Asked for his view on colonial rule and aggression, mentioned in the 
Murayama statement, Abe simply said, "The matter should be left to 
historians." 
 
Abe has been involved with a group of lawmakers critical of 
"masochistic historical views." He might just want to avoid 
recognizing Japan's past acts as aggression and making apologies. He 
also abstained from a vote on the Diet resolution commemorating the 
50th anniversary of the war's end. 
 
Most people, including many historians, regard the war in China and 
Southeast Asia as an act of aggression. All Japanese prime ministers 
since Yasuhiro Nakasone officially recognized it as aggression. 
 
Though the statement bears the name of Prime Minister Murayama, who 
hailed from the Japan Socialist Party, it reflected the Japanese 
government's official view. In fact, it was the coalition cabinet 
composed of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic 
Party of Japan, and Sakigake (Harbinger) that adopted the Murayama 
statement. 
 
Since then, the Japanese government has used it as a guideline in 
showing its historical views. It served as the foundation for the 
Japan-South Korea Joint Declaration, issued in 1998 by then Prime 
Minister Keizo Obuchi and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung. Japan 
also released the Japan-China Joint Declaration with Chinese 
President Jiang Zemin pledging to abide by the Murayama statement. 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi has followed the statement on a variety of 
occasions, including the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration and his 
speech at the Asia-Africa summit last year. Koizumi also released a 
similar statement on Aug. 15 last year, the 60th anniversary of the 
end of WWII. 
 
An Abe administration must not present a vague view on historical 
issues, for such is certain to undermine Japan's Asia policy and 
trust in our country. 
 
We are concerned about how Abe will conduct diplomacy. 
 
(5) Possibility surfacing of secretary Iijima staying on in Abe 
administration 
 
Sentaku (September 2006) 
(Full) 
 
With Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe viewed as certain to become 
the next prime minister, the possibility has now surfaced that Isao 
Iijima, now parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi, will continue as Abe's secretary. 
 
Iijima is an influential aide to Prime Minister Koizumi. He has 
thoroughly excluded the bureaucrats who resisted Prime Minister 
Koizumi's reform plans, as the second-most influential person in the 
Kantei, following the prime minister. Under such a situation, aides 
to Abe and some members of the New Komeito have been overheard 
saying that Iijima's influence is necessary for the next 
administration to continue to carry out Koizumi reforms. 
 
Iijima, though, has said: "I will go back to Koizumi's office in the 
Parliamentary Hall as a policy secretary after Mr. Koizumi steps 
 
TOKYO 00005209  006 OF 008 
 
 
down as prime minister." But it is also true that Iijima remains 
alert to the possibility of anti-Koizumi forces gaining influence 
again after the Abe administration is launched. Given this, many 
think he might be keeping in mind the possibility of continuing to 
control the Kantei as a close aide to Abe. 
 
(6) METI's Ishiguro may be appointed administrative secretary 
 
Sentaku (September 2000) 
(Full) 
 
The possibility is now growing that Norihiko Ishiguro, councillor of 
the Minister's Secretariat at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and 
Industry (METI), may assume the post of administrative secretary to 
the prime minister in an Abe administration. When then Daiei 
President Kunio Takagi decided in October 2004 to turn to the 
Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan for help, Ishiguro 
"confined" Takagi in a Tokyo hotel in a move to prevent Daiei from 
doing so. At that time, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda 
barked at METI Vice Minister Shuji Sugiyama and had Takagi released. 
 As seen in this incident, the Koizumi administration viewed 
Ishiguro as a core person in the forces of resistance. In the 
slush-money scandal involving METI in the summer of last year, 
Ishiguro reportedly took the lead in covering up the facts by making 
some ministry officials scapegoats, although it was an organized 
crime. 
 
(7) War of nerves to contain BSE five years after discovery of first 
infection case; Survey found two infection peaks: Is the second peak 
the last? 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) 
September 10, 2006 
 
Sept. 10 marks the fifth year since the discovery of the first BSE 
case in Japan. To date, seven BSE-infected cows have been discovered 
this year, but no panic occurred. The analyses of the 28 head of 
cattle identified thus far as having been infected with BSE revealed 
that there have been two infection peaks, centered in Hokkaido. 
Concerned organizations are on edge about preventing BSE infection 
from further spreading. 
 
Two peaks identified in 28 BSE-infection cases 
 
On August 11, the 28th BSE-infection case was identified in 
Hokkaido. Hokkaido's survey team tracked down the cattle raised in 
the same environment as the infected one until it turned 12 months - 
a period when cattle are prone to BSE infection. It was found 
through birth and sales records that 16 other cattle were raised 
together with the one in question. They were all incinerated. 
 
Disposal of BSE-suspected cattle continued on a scale of several 
dozen following the discovery of the first BSE-infection case. 
However, the impact of BSE infection has been limited since the 
introduction of a traceability system and the narrowing down of 
cattle subject to disposal. An official in Hokkaido noted, "Though 
BSE-preventive efforts have become more efficient, we still had to 
dispatch a team of helpers, as there were not a sufficient number of 
local staffers." 
 
Each time a BSE-infected cow has been found, a patient survey, 
including investigations into the origin of feed - Italian-produced 
meat-and-bone meal or Dutch-made animal fat - has been carried out. 
 
TOKYO 00005209  007 OF 008 
 
 
Several infection sources were suspected, but surveyors came across 
infection cases involving cattle that never had contact with such 
sources. Since it takes six to seven years on average to determine 
whether the cattle were infected with BSE, it is difficult to 
specify the causes of the infection. 
 
Even so, the investigations have managed to detect the nature of the 
spread of infection in Japan. 
 
The periods when infected cattle were born can generally be narrowed 
down into two groups - one from the end of 1995 through the summer 
of 1996 and the other from the summer of 1999 through the fall of 
¶2000. The birthplaces were concentrated in Hokkaido. Many experts 
assume that cows infected in the first peak period around 1999 were 
made into meat-and-bone meal to be eaten by other cattle, leading to 
the second peak of infection. 
 
Is the second peak the last? Meat-and-bone meal was totally banned 
in 2001. Since then there have been no other infection cases, 
excepting two, which were born shortly after the ban was 
introduced. 
 
A tense atmosphere enveloped the government this April. A cow born 
in 2004 tested positive in the first examination. Looking back on 
the incident, a source close to the Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) noted, "We hoped that it was some kind 
of mistake." 
 
Fortunately, a closer examination found that it was negative. 
Otherwise, MAFF would have been forced to drastically revise 
domestic BSE-preventive measures. 
 
Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, chairman of the Food Safety Commission Prion 
Experts Council and a professor at Tokyo University, said, "We may 
see about 20 infected animals over the next few years. However, the 
thorough application of the regulations will further reduce the 
possibility of infection." 
 
Survey continues to examine whether two young cows that once tested 
positive really had BSE 
 
Of the 28 BSE-infected cattle, one aged 21 months and one aged 23 
months are exceptionally young in comparison with infection cases 
seen elsewhere in the world. In talks with the US to remove the 
second embargo, the government limited cows eligible for imports to 
those aged up to 20 months because of these two cases. However, 
there continues to be debate as to whether they were really infected 
with BSE. 
 
US Secretary of Agriculture Johanns has been calling for Japan to 
raise the age of cattle eligible for exports to up to 30 months 
since the decision in July to resume beef trade, noting, "We want to 
export beef based on international guidelines." 
 
According to the World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE) 
guidelines, boneless meat from cattle aged up to 30 months is safe. 
The reason is that the accumulation of BSE-causing agents in young 
cattle is so small that it is difficult to detect infection through 
inspection, meaning that there is little point in restricting trade 
in cattle in this age bracket. 
 
Those two cows tested negative in other examinations, with the 
amount of prions at a level of between 1/500 and 1/1,000 of the 
 
TOKYO 00005209  008 OF 008 
 
 
regular figure. The European Food Safety Authority has reported that 
the results are unclear. 
 
The National Institute of Animal Health has injected fluid extracted 
from the medulla oblongata of these cows into two special mice to 
see whether the disease is transmittable. Transmission usually takes 
more than 200 days, but no infection has been detected in the two 
mice even two years since the injection of the fluid. It is believed 
that it will take two more years to obtain a final result. Close 
attention is being paid to the outcome of the test. 
 
(8) "Ozawa vision" aims at winning over conservative vote; Minshuto 
putting up front the issue of correcting social disparity 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpts) 
Evening, September 11, 2006 
 
This newspaper has obtained a copy of the set of basic principles 
and policies that Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) President 
Ichiro Ozawa has compiled for the party's leadership election. 
Ozawa calls for ending the "politics of agitation" and moving to the 
"politics of common sense." He wants the party to place at the 
forefront of its agenda the correction of social disparity, 
including the expanding of compulsory education, enriching social 
welfare, and providing farmers with income compensation. In 
addition, on the national security front, the use of the right of 
self-defense would be limited solely to defending the homeland 
(senshu-boei). In foreign policy, he clearly calls for 
"self-reflection regarding the past war," and proposes "coexistence" 
among countries. The contents have a strong awareness of the pending 
birth of an Abe administration, and aims at winning over moderate 
conservative voters to the party's side. 
 
Main points of Ozawa's vision: 
 
-- Expand mandatory education to cover children from five years of 
age to high school. 
 
-- Establish a "parent allowance" for households in which the 
parent(s) also reside. 
 
-- The use of the consumption tax should be designated for 
social-welfare purposes only. 
 
-- There should be free competition for managerial positions in the 
public and private sectors, and the lifetime employment system 
should be applied in principle to non-managerial occupations. 
 
-- For basic agricultural products, introduce a system of specific 
(household specific) income compensation. 
 
-- Subsidies should be transferred in lump sums as a 
self-sufficiency resource. Local towns and villages should be 
integrated into a basic local government entity encompassing about 
three hundred or so such communities. 
 
-- The use of the right of self-defense should be limited solely to 
the defense of the homeland. 
 
SCHIEFFER