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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 006229 
 
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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 10/26/06 
 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
Political agenda: 
4) Prime Minister Abe: Seems like I've been in office a year and not 
just a month 
5) With the by-elections over, the next political battles will be 
the upcoming Fukushima and Okinawa gubernatorial races 
6) Koizumi still popular and active since stepping down as prime 
minister 
7) "Koizumi's children"  freshmen LDP lawmakers  object to Abe's 
plan to reinstate "postal rebels" in the party 
8) Controversial criminal conspiracy bill, put off until next year, 
may be tough to pass then, too 
9) New Komeito head Ota calls for politics to move from right to 
center 
 
Defense and security issues: 
10) Komeito head Ota raps Foreign Minister Aso and others for 
stirring up the nuclear pot in Japan 
11) Debate over whether Japan should debate having nuclear arms 
remains heated 
12) Diet deliberation starts next month on bill to raise JDA to 
ministry status 
13) Petition drive to block relocation of aircraft-based US Navy 
jets to Iwakuni has gathered 60% of signatures of local population 
14) Basic plan has been completed for extension of MSDF for supply 
duty in Indian Ocean 
 
North Korea fallout: 
15) Government sets timetable for carrying out ship inspections and 
logistical support of US forces under North Korea sanctions scheme 
 
16) JDA chief Kyuma sees Japan soon reaching final conclusion on 
contents of North Korea's nuclear test 
17) JDA chief says US has still not made up its mind on particulars 
of high-seas inspections of North Korean cargo on ships 
 
18) Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shimomura calls for revision of 
Kono statement that recognizes existence and responsibility for 
wartime comfort women 
 
19) Keidanren business mission to accompany Prime Minister Abe on 
trip to Vietnam 
 
20) With CO2 reduction in Japan not occurring under Kyoto Protocol 
plan, government to revise targets to make them reflect reality 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
63 high schools in 10 prefectures fail to teach required subjects 
 
Mainichi: 
65 schools in 10 prefectures shirk teaching required subjects to 
12,000 students 
 
 
TOKYO 00006229  002 OF 012 
 
 
Yomiuri: 
65 schools in 11 prefectures avoid vital subjects 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
Japan Securities Dealers Association to tighten additional share 
sales rules to protect investors 
 
Sankei: 
66 high schools in 11 prefectures fail to provide over 7,000 
students with required subjects 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Tokyo District Court orders daycare center to accept physically 
handicapped Higashiyamato City girl 
 
Akahata: 
Public corporation under control of Land, Infrastructure, and 
Transport Ministry falsified contract 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Abolition of special measures for money lending business only 
natural 
(2) Why did Nara prefectural government keep employee on extended 
sick leave on its payroll? 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Falsified records on high school required subjects must be made 
clear 
(2) Regulations on money lending industry: Special interest rates 
must not be allowed 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) DPJ should cooperate in revising education law 
(2) Fatal child abuse incident in Kyoto: Protecting children 
everybody's business 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
(1) Strategy promoting private-sector technical innovation needed 
(2) Look squarely at bullying 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Education law revision requires DPJ cooperation 
(2) Winning public trust imperative for IP telephone services 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Establish solid system to report child abuse 
(2) Stricter gas mileage rules essential for energy conservation 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Preparations for overseas war intolerable 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, Oct. 25 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2)  (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
08:31 
Attended a meeting of the Education Revitalization Council at 
 
TOKYO 00006229  003 OF 012 
 
 
Kantei. 
 
09:52 
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matoba. 
 
11:00 
Met Vice Foreign Minister Yachi. Later met Tokyo Governor Ishihara. 
 
14:02 
Met Kansai Keizai Doyukai members, including President Shunzo 
Morishita. Followed by Special Advisor Koike. 
 
17:28 
Met former Foreign Minister Machimura. 
 
19:04 
Dined at a French restaurant in the Akasaka Prince Hotel with 
cabinet ministers. 
 
21:15 
Returned to his private residence. 
 
4) Prime Minister Abe: I fee like I've been in office one year even 
though today marks one month since my administration was 
inaugurated 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Asked by reporters last night about his impression of serving in 
office one month today, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded: "I felt 
like it has been one year. There are many domestic and diplomatic 
issues, but I was able to start working on most of those that I had 
promised the public." He stressed that his government had made a 
fairly good start. 
 
As specific achievements, Abe cited his first overseas trips, 
saying, "I visited China and South Korea with a policy of attaching 
importance to Asia. I was able to make a fresh start (by 
successfully repairing relations with both countries)." 
 
At a hotel last night, Abe gave a party in recognition of his 
cabinet members' services. At the party, Finance Minister Koji Omi 
tried to flatter him, saying, "While former Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi was in office, cabinet members got too nervous to speak 
their views. I'm glad that we feel comfortable to speak to you." 
Defense Agency Director General Fumio Kyuma, however, requested 
Abe: 
 
"The number of times administrative vice ministers have visited you 
is less than that under the previous prime minister. I want you to 
make opportunities to hear views directly from the top 
administrators of government agencies. " 
 
5) Abe administration set to face Fukushima, Okinawa gubernatorial 
races following victories in by-elections 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
October 26, 2006 
 
In the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party's victories in the two 
Lower House by-elections held on Oct. 22, election campaigns for the 
 
TOKYO 00006229  004 OF 012 
 
 
Fukushima and Okinawa gubernatorial races will kick off on Oct. 26 
and Nov. 2, respectively. In the races, the ruling coalition and the 
opposition camp will clash head on, as the major opposition Minshuto 
(Democratic Party of Japan) will not jointly support candidates 
endorsed by the ruling parties. The Abe administration will provide 
national-level assistance so as not to offset its victories in the 
by-elections. 
 
LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa is scheduled today to stump 
for the LDP candidate running in the Fukushima gubernatorial race 
and return to Tokyo to attend a rally for the party's Okinawa 
candidate in the evening. 
 
Reflecting the Abe administration's extraordinary enthusiasm, the 
government and the ruling coalition are considering sending Prime 
Minister Shinzo Abe to the two prefectures to stump for the LDP 
candidates. 
 
Although the Abe-led LDP won the Kanagawa and Osaka by-elections on 
Oct. 22, they had been vacated by the deaths of LDP lawmakers in the 
first place. 
 
LDP members have now begun voicing calm views. One said: "It was a 
given that we would win the by-elections. We must buckle down and 
make steady efforts for the Upper House election next summer." 
 
In Fukushima, a former Minshuto Upper House member will face off 
with the LDP candidate, and in Okinawa, opposition parties will 
field a unified candidate against the LDP. "The environments 
surrounding both races seem severer than those of the by-elections," 
Nakagawa said. 
 
The government and the ruling coalition are already under fire in 
Okinawa due to the Futenma Air Station relocation issue, the 
toughest challenge in US force realignment. 
 
Minshuto envisions an all-out battle with the ruling coalition in 
Okinawa, with party head Ichiro Ozawa saying, "Okinawa is vital in 
every respect, including the international situation and Japan-US 
relations." 
 
The two gubernatorial races are important as a prelude to a series 
of local elections leading up to the Upper House election next 
summer. The pattern of the ruling coalition squaring off with the 
opposition camp has already been set up for the Aichi gubernatorial 
race and the Kitakyushu mayoral race next February. 
 
Should Minshuto win either the Fukushima or Okinawa race, the 
largest opposition party is certain to gain momentum and become even 
more confrontational. Tense days await the Abe administration even 
after the by-elections. 
 
6) Former Prime Minister Koizumi still enjoys popularity; No 
interest in controlling government from behind the scenes 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been living easy since 
he stepped down from office one month ago. He freely travels back 
and forth between his lodging in the parliamentarians' compound and 
his private residence in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He has 
 
TOKYO 00006229  005 OF 012 
 
 
shown no interest in controlling the government from behind the 
scene. He appears to be devoting more time to enjoy listening to 
music, one of his hobbies, being freed from the high tensions of 
spending five and a half years in office. 
 
He called at the secretary general's room of the Liberal Democratic 
Party (LDP) in the Diet building immediately after a plenary session 
of the House of Representatives on Oct. 24. In the room, he met 
former Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe and Taku Yamasaki. He told 
them: "I will not take part in local elections because I don't want 
to intervene in local administration." Yamasaki then said to him, " 
Let's drink together next time!" He replied, "Well, I will see about 
it." 
 
Koizumi is now a member of the Lower House Committee on Discipline. 
He has attended Lower House plenary sessions, but he has not shown 
up for LDP division meetings. He has declared, "I will not appear on 
TV talk shows for the time being. I will not respond to any 
interviews." A source familiar with his office stressed that Koizumi 
needed to recharge his batteries, noting, "He has neither held 
meetings with politicians nor anyone else." 
 
However, Koizumi remains popular among the public. The book "I'm 
Koizumi Junichiro," containing his mail magazines issued while he 
was in office, has sold 40,000 copies so far from Oct. 18 when it 
was put on sale. When he went to Kanagawa and Osaka to give speeches 
for the LDP candidates for the Lower House by-elections, he received 
cheers from enormous audiences. 
 
7) Reinstatement of postal rebels in LDP; Opposing move, "Koizumi 
children" to consider submitting opinion paper at plenary meeting 
today 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership has begun undertaking 
coordination on the issue of allowing lawmakers who voted against 
the postal privatization bill to rejoin the party. In this 
connection, it was learned that lawmakers who were elected for the 
first time in last year's Lower House election are considering 
submitting an opinion paper seeking a cautious approach. Their move 
has presumably been prompted partly by former Prime Minister 
Koizumi's opposition to their reinstatement. The group of 83 
freshman lawmakers will hold a plenary meeting today and confer on 
the issue. 
 
Lower House member Jiro Ono (representing the South Kanto 
Proportional Representation District), who served as secretary (from 
the National Policy Agency) to Koizumi, is spearheading the move. 
Ono and some others intend to release an opinion paper calling for a 
cautious approach to the idea of allowing postal rebels to rejoin 
the party and seek support from members. They intend to eventually 
collect supporters' signatures and submit the paper to the party 
leadership. Opposition is especially strong among the rookie 
lawmakers, the so-called "Koizumi children" who ran against postal 
rebels as "assassins" but were defeated and then reinstated in 
proportional representation districts. Some members of the Group of 
83 are cautious about submitting such a paper, which could give rise 
to a confrontation with the leadership. However, Koizumi's statement 
to former Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe on his cautious stance 
toward the reinstatement of postal rebels at an early date has 
 
TOKYO 00006229  006 OF 012 
 
 
prompted their move to submit the opinion paper. 
 
Former Vice LDP President Taku Yamasaki during yesterday's plenary 
meeting of his faction expressed concern that the reinstatement 
issue could develop into an intraparty standoff. New Komeito head 
Akihiro Ota during yesterday's press conference also noted, "The New 
Komeito supported freshman lawmakers who were dispatched as 
assassins. We must give detailed explanations to their supporters. 
The LDP is accountable for its decision." 
 
8) Bill punishing conspiracy carried over to the next Diet session 
or after; "It will be even more difficult to enact it next year," 
ruling camp says, envisioning Upper House elections 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpts) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Miako Ichikawa, Shigeo Tosa 
 
A vote on the bill amending the Law on Organized Crime, including 
conspiracy, was again carried over to the next Diet session or 
after. Members from the ruling parties of the Lower House Committee 
on Judicial Affairs who had been engaged in creating the amendment 
had shown their enthusiasm, saying that they aimed to enact the bill 
during the current Diet session, but they were unable to make the 
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) and the ruling 
coalition leadership, which give the highest priority to revising 
the Basic Education Law, change their mind. Concerned lawmakers and 
relevant ministries and agencies predict that it will be even more 
difficult to enact the bill in next year's ordinary Diet session, 
given that the Upper House elections are approaching. 
 
On Oct. 5, the ruling coalition leadership approved five bills, 
including the one amending the Basic Education Law and the one 
upgrading the Defense Agency, as priority bills for enactment during 
the current Diet session. The five bills do not include the bill 
relating to conspiracy. Already at this point, the conspiracy bill 
was very likely to follow the same path as it had followed to date 
since 2003, namely that the bill was killed at one point and then 
once again put on agenda and discussed. 
 
Nonetheless, lawmakers of the ruling coalition who are members of 
the committee and the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs did not give up on the idea of enacting the he 
conspiracy bill during the current Diet session. Committee member 
Tadataka Hayakawa of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who is a 
lawyer, and others continued working on the bill so as to make it 
the "sixth important bill." Compared to the government-sponsored 
bill, the bill they worked out narrowed the scope of activities 
subject to conspiracy. Their aim was to show their willingness to 
compromise with the opposition camp, even though it may be difficult 
to get approval from the opposition Democratic Party of Japan 
(Minshuto), which is stepping up its offensive against the ruling 
parties. 
 
9) New Komeito leader Ota in speech urges Prime Abe to move toward 
center course rather than stay on the right 
 
AKAHATA (Page 4) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
In his speech delivered yesterday at the Japan National Press Club, 
 
TOKYO 00006229  007 OF 012 
 
 
New Komeito Chief Representative Akihiro Ota said: "The nation's 
fundamental issues should be discussed on mid-field. If all such 
issues are discussed on right field, we will not be able to obtain 
broad public support." He urged Prime Minister Abe, who is regarded 
as being a hawk politically, to aim at a middle-of-the-road policy 
in the LDP-New Komeito coalition government. 
 
Asked about the fact that Abe has refrained from speaking his views 
on the history issue since he assumed the prime ministership, Ota 
supported Abe, saying, "Mr. Abe has made remarks appropriate for the 
LDP president and prime minister." 
 
Regarding the question of whether Japan should debate a nuclear 
option, he criticized LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi 
Nakagawa and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, arguing: 
 
"Both LDP policy chief Nakagawa and Foreign Minister Aso have the 
tendency of making provocative remarks. Japan is not a situation 
where responsible persons can say that Japan should study a nuclear 
option." 
 
10) New Komeito chief criticizes nuclear remarks by Foreign Minister 
Aso 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
New Komeito head Akihiro Ota during a speech given yesterday at the 
Japan National Press Club criticized statements made by Liberal 
Democratic Party Policy Research Council Shoichi Nakagawa and 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso regarding Japan possessing nuclear arms: 
"They sometimes make provocative statements, but it is not the case 
that anybody is free to study such an issue. When the government is 
taking the position of not allowing the nuclear test by North Korea, 
harboring such an idea in order to counter that nation is not 
good." 
 
11) Debate on whether to debate nuclear option still heated; Foreign 
Minister Aso calls for "allowing debate"; JDA Director-General Kyuma 
stresses "nuclear disarmament"; Opposition parties criticize cabinet 
for "discord" 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Debate on whether Japan should debate a nuclear option, fueled by 
North Korea's nuclear test, has intensified. Foreign Minister Taro 
Aso yesterday again stated that he wanted to see such debate 
allowed, but Defense Agency (JDA) Director-General Fumio Kyuma, who 
is dismissive of having debate in itself, insisted on stressing 
"nuclear disarmament." Meanwhile, the opposition parties, which are 
strengthening their offensive against the cabinet, described the 
cabinet as "not being united." 
 
At a meeting of the Lower House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Aso 
made it clear that the government's position was to firmly uphold 
the three nonnuclear principles, noting: "Putting a stop to even the 
move for conducting a debate, including a discussion of why (Japan) 
won't go nuclear, is akin to suppressing freedom of speech." "Given 
North Korea's nuclear possession," he continued, "the situation in 
Far Eastern Asia has changed completely. Despite such a country 
located next door to Japan, do you think it is not a problem even 
 
TOKYO 00006229  008 OF 012 
 
 
though Japan cannot do anything about it?" 
 
On the other hand, Kyuma stated in a speech at the Foreign 
Correspondents Club of Japan: "If nuclear weapons serve as a 
deterrent and thereby other countries give up the idea of possessing 
nuclear weapons, that would be good, but conversely, such a move 
could fuel a nuclear arms race. I'd like every nuclear power to 
scrap their nuclear arsenals in the future." Asked by a foreign 
reporter about a contradiction of his argument that he is calling 
for nuclear disarmament while Japan remains under the US' nuclear 
umbrella, Kyuma answered: "Yes, there is a contradiction indeed, but 
even though a neighboring country has nuclear weapons, Japan won't 
possess them. In the event of an attack, Japan has to depend on the 
United States as a deterrent." 
 
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan's (Minshuto) Policy 
Research Council Chairman Takeaki Matsumoto criticized the 
government at a press conference yesterday: "It's out of the 
question for responsible members of the government to debate whether 
Japan should possess nuclear weapons." Minshuto's position is, 
"Debate in itself on such a matter would send a wrong message," 
according to its Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama. The party, which 
wants to bring "discord in the cabinet" to the forefront, intends to 
call for intensive deliberations on the nuclear row at the Lower 
House Budget Committee. 
 
Even in the ruling parties, the debate is intensifying. The "Forum 
of Traditions and Creativity," a group composed of one-term 
lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headed by Tomomi 
Inada, yesterday decided to hold a study meeting next month and 
invite LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi Nakagawa, who 
triggered the debate on nuclear option, to the meeting to give a 
lecture. This decision reflects the Forum's thinking, as one senior 
member said, that: "It's no good to suppress debate. We want to hear 
Mr. Nakagawa's way of thinking." Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shinzo 
Abe reiterated his previous view to reporters late yesterday: "We 
firmly uphold the three nonnuclear principles. No debate on them 
will take place in my government." 
 
12) Diet deliberations to kick off this month on 'Defense Ministry' 
bill 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
October 26, 2006 
 
The Diet will enter into deliberations this month on a 
government-introduced package of bills upgrading the Defense Agency 
to the status of a ministry, as a result of negotiations between the 
ruling and opposition parties yesterday. The Diet will hear the 
government's explanation of the legislative measures and will hold 
interpellations in a plenary session of the House of Representatives 
tomorrow at the earliest. The government and ruling parties 
prioritize the legislation as well as a bill revising the Basic 
Education Law, aiming to get it through the Diet during its current 
session. The Diet will now deliberate for the first time upgrading 
the Defense Agency, which has seen numerous ups and downs over the 
past decade. 
 
The legislative measures include a bill revising the Defense Agency 
Establishment Law to reconfigure the Defense Agency into a ministry 
and a bill revising the Self-Defense Forces Law to task the SDF with 
overseas activities as a fundamental mission and not an incidental 
 
TOKYO 00006229  009 OF 012 
 
 
one. The bills were introduced to the Diet in its previous ordinary 
session, but the Diet forewent deliberations on the bills partly 
because it was just after the Defense Facilities Administration 
Agency's bid-rigging scandal was brought to light. However, the New 
Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, 
wants the legislation passed during the current Diet session so as 
to avoid possible repercussions on next year's simultaneous local 
elections and House of Councillors election, so the ruling coalition 
will go ahead with Diet deliberations on the legislation. 
 
13) Civic group opposed to relocation of carrier-based air wing to 
Iwakuni collects signatures from more than 60% of local population 
 
AKAHATA (Page 4) (Excerpts) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Seven members of the Association to Keep the Sky over Oshima Quiet, 
a group against the planned relocation of a carrier-based air wing 
to the US Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Base, Yamaguchi Prefecture, 
submitted a petition yesterday calling on Suooshima Town Mayor Fujio 
Nakamoto and Chairman Niiyama to ask the central and prefectural 
governments to suspend the relocation plan. 
 
The group, composed of residents in Suooshima Town, collected 
signatures from 13,130 local residents, more than 60% of the 
population, for the petition calling for suspending the relocation 
plan. 
 
Group Chairman Hiroshi Kawai commented: "We collected signatures 
from more than 60% of the population, showing that a majority of the 
citizens are opposed to the plan. The mayor said that he pays 
respect to the will of the citizens, so association members need to 
fully discuss how the will of the local citizens should be 
represented." 
 
14) Basic plan to extend MSDF mission in Indian Ocean approved 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) yesterday held a national 
defense-related joint meeting at the party headquarters. 
Participants in the meeting approved a basic plan to extend the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force's mission in the Indian Sea, which the 
government is expected to adopt once a bill amending the 
Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law obtains Diet approval, by 
another six months. Since the amendment bill intended to extend the 
term of the law by another year is expected to be enacted in the 
Diet session as early as within this week, the government will adopt 
the basic plan that sets the date for the end of the dispatch at May 
1 next year possibly on Oct. 30 and report the decision to the 
Diet. 
 
15) Japan to wait and see what US does before starting ship 
inspections 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Following up the United Nations Security Council's North Korea 
sanctions resolution, Japan plans to implement ship inspections and 
support US forces in the rear. The government, however, will 
 
TOKYO 00006229  010 OF 012 
 
 
cautiously wait and see about when to go ahead. That is because the 
United States has yet to decide on what to do. The government will 
prepare to take action under the Law Concerning Measures to Ensure 
Japan's Peace and Security in the Event of Situations in Areas 
Surrounding Japan or the so-called "regional contingency security 
law" in order to cooperate with US forces. At the same time, the 
government will strongly pressure North Korea with Japan's own 
sanctions. 
 
In response to the UNSC resolution, Japan and the United States are 
now intensively keeping tabs on ships to and from North Korea and 
boosting their activities under the proliferation security 
initiative (PSI). However, the US government has yet to complete 
interdepartmental coordination between the State Department and the 
Defense Department, according to Japanese government officials. 
 
In the United States, the ruling Republican Party is now on the 
defensive, with the Nov. 7 mid-term elections ahead. The United 
States is therefore expected to take full-fledged action after the 
elections. 
 
Defense Agency Director General Kyuma, in his speech delivered 
yesterday in Tokyo, indicated his view, saying, "The United States 
probably not yet decided on having its warships carry out ship 
inspections on the high seas." 
 
16) Japan to reach conclusion soon on North Korea's nuke test: 
Kyuma 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Defense Agency Director General Kyuma, speaking yesterday before the 
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, referred to North 
Korea's recent nuclear test and indicated that the government would 
shortly make a finding of fact about the nuclear test, as the US 
government has now concluded that North Korea conducted a nuclear 
test. "Based not only on the United States' judgment but also on 
other countries' judgments, I think the Japanese government will 
also reach a conclusion soon," Kyuma said. As grounds for 
determining whether it was a nuclear test, Kyuma said the United 
States detected (nuclear) substances, though the amounts were 
slight. In addition, he said the explosion would have required too 
great an amount of conventional explosives, and that the seismic 
waves picked up were indicative of a nuclear test. 
 
In this connection, Prime Minister Abe told reporters yesterday at 
his office, "I think the possibility is very high, but we have to 
analyze and check it further." 
 
17) US undecided on high-sea inspections: Kyuma 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Defense Agency Director General Kyuma, speaking yesterday before the 
Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, referred to cargo 
inspections incorporated in the United Nations Security Council's 
North Korea sanctions resolution and remarked as follows: "I wonder 
what the United States itself is thinking to do about ship 
inspections and how far. I think the United States has not gone so 
far as to make up its mind to use warships for inspections on the 
 
TOKYO 00006229  011 OF 012 
 
 
high seas." 
 
18) Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shimomura mentions a review of 
"Kono statement" on comfort women 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura yesterday gave a 
speech in Tokyo, in which he referred to "Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Kono's statement" admitting to the military authority's involvement 
in the comfort women issue and "enforcement." Saying this was his 
personal view, Shimomura said there is a need to review the 
so-called Kono statement, saying, "I think we should examine facts 
more carefully and take more time to collect objective and 
scientific knowledge when we think of the issue." 
 
Asked if Prime Minister Abe's historical views have changed from the 
ones he previously had, Shimomura stressed: "It's only natural for 
the prime minister to change his views from when he stated as a 
lawmaker. This change does not mean the prime minister has bent his 
views or that he is sitting on the fence." "Rather than accepting 
100% as is the Kono statement and the so-called Murayama Statement 
(in which Murayama admitted to Japan's colonial rule and aggression 
and offered an apology), the prime minister has given replies based 
on the position he holds," Shimomura added. 
 
19) Keidanren to accompany prime minister to Vietnam in 
mid-November 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 9) (Full) 
October 26, 2006 
 
The Japan Business Federation (Nihon Keidanren) decided yesterday to 
dispatch a delegation headed by Chairman Fujio Mitarai (Canon 
chairman) to Vietnam in conjunction with the planned official visit 
to that nation by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in mid-November. The 
business organization made the decision in response to a request 
from the prime minister. This will be the first case for Keidanren 
to send a delegation in concert with an overseas trip by the prime 
minister. In European countries, the government and companies work 
together to strengthen relations with specific countries. Japan's 
economic diplomacy will take a step closer to the European type. 
 
Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to officially visit Vietnam to 
attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Hanoi 
on Nov. 18-19 and stay there until Nov. 20. Keidanren is planning to 
dispatch its delegation composed of executives from a dozen 
companies operating in Vietnam. Arrangements will be made to have 
delegates attend a meeting between the prime minister and major 
Vietnamese cabinet members, as well as a banquet to be held for the 
Japanese prime minister. 
 
The Vietnamese economy has been sharply growing owing to the Doi Moi 
policy introducing a market economy, and that nation will soon join 
the World Trade Organization (WTO). Keidanren is willing to offer 
indirect support for the negotiations to start next year between 
Japan and Vietnam with the aim of concluding an economic partnership 
agreement (EPA). 
 
20) METI starts reviewing plan to reach targets under Kyoto 
Protocol, given slow progress in CO2 cuts 
 
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ASAHI (Page 9) (Excerpts) 
October 26, 2006 
 
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) started yesterday 
the review of the current plan to reach the nation's targets for 
greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. Japan is required 
to cut its emissions from 1990 levels by 6% between 2008 and 2012 
but it has seen the volume of gas emissions increasing each year. 
The global environment subcommittee under the Industrial Structure 
Council, an advisory panel to the METI minister, will discuss over 
the coming one and a half years if additional measures are necessary 
and what targets should be set for new industries. 
 
Greenhouse gas emissions in FY2005 (quick estimation announced by 
the Environment Ministry) increased 9.1% over 1990 levels. A plan 
adopted in a cabinet meeting in April of last year presented 8.6% as 
the target for emission cuts below 1990 levels for industries, 
including plants, between 2008 and 2012, and 6% for the entire 
nation. Under the current situation, however, it is difficult to 
reach these targets. 
 
SCHIEFFER