VZCZCXRO3592
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #6953/01 3470741
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130741Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9042
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RHMFIUU/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA//J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/COMPATWING ONE KAMI SEYA JA
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 1637
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 9153
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 2584
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 8705
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 0184
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5159
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1255
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2740

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 006953 
 
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 12/13/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) "Team Abe" fails to function in handling road construction tax 
revenue issue 
 
(2) Editorial: The way to reallocate special-purpose road 
construction revenues for more general usage is casting a pall over 
Abe reform 
 
(3) Editorial: Questions remain about the bill revising the Basic 
Education Law 
 
(4) Editorial: North Korea must honestly abandon nuclear ambitions 
 
(5) Editorial: Strengthening relations with India strategically 
important for Japan 
 
(6) Triangular merger: Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki demands 
reconsideration; Keidanren opposing proposal as resurrecting old 
argument 
 
(7) Kasumigaseki confidential: Special advisors to the Prime 
Minister are "losers" 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) "Team Abe" fails to function in handling road construction tax 
revenue issue 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 9, 2006 
 
Can the Abe government establish top-down leadership under the 
Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence)? The test of that was 
draft proposal that the cabinet adopted on Dec. 8 to use road 
construction tax revenues for general purposes. However, the actual 
decision was ultimately delayed to next year or later. Neither Prime 
Minister Shinzo Abe showed any signs of assuming leadership, nor did 
the so-called "Team Abe" installed in the Kantei and parts of the 
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) functioned as it was supposed 
to. We probe into the 10 days of wavering back and forth on the 
road-construction revenue issue. 
 
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Ota urges Abe to state clearly 
 
At the prime minister's office on the evening of Nov. 30, Abe held a 
meeting with Hiroko Ota, state minister in charge of economic and 
fiscal policy. Two days ago, Abe directed the state minister to 
draft a concrete plan to shift the tax revenues for road projects to 
general revenues. Attention was focused on what he would say at an 
advisory council meeting. Ota told Abe, "You should make a clear 
statement." He then said at an advisory panel meeting held soon 
after, "We will review (the road construction tax revenue system) 
including the gasoline tax revenues." 
 
Abe's remarks seemed unexpected, but he and his aides have long been 
mulling over the plan since the September party presidential race. 
Abe had two aims: one was to play up his government's stance of 
placing emphasis on reforms by delving deep into reforming the 
gasoline tax revenue system, on which even former Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi was unable to get going; and the other was to pave 
the way for a hike in the consumption tax rate. 
 
 
TOKYO 00006953  002 OF 009 
 
 
If the gasoline tax revenues, which account for about 80% of the 
road construction tax revenues, are used for the general purposes, a 
hike in the consumption tax would be small. The plan will meet the 
economic policy goal of the Abe administration, which places more 
priority on economic growth than fiscal reconstruction. A senior 
economic agency official pointed out, "The idea originally came from 
former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka." 
Straight talk from Ota, who is regarded as close to Takenaka, has 
given rise to much speculation in the government and ruling 
coalition. 
 
Nobuteru Ishihara quits being punching bag 
 
In their meeting on Dec. 1, LDP Policy Research Council Chairman 
Shoichi Nakagawa and his deputy, Nobuteru Ishihara, who chairs the 
Highways Research Commission, expressed displeasure with Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki's aggressive remarks calling for 
moving the road construction tax revenues to the general revenue 
account in disregard of the LDP's views. Shiozaki and Ishihara are 
old friends. More they get higher posts, more they sense a rivalry. 
 
Complicated feelings of politicians toward the road tax revenue 
issue became a tangled situation. On the night of Dec. 3 at the ANA 
Hotel in Akasaka, Ishihara gave Shiozaki his advice that he "should 
listen to the views of the LDP." Although attention was on which 
person Shiozaki or Ishihara would become the punching bag, Ishihara 
in effect drop out of the skirmish. 
 
Secretary General Nakagawa keeps silent 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, who is regarded as Abe's backer, 
 
SIPDIS 
kept his silence on the road tax revenue issue. He visited Mexico to 
attend the inauguration ceremony for the new Mexican president from 
Nov. 30 through Dec. 4. He received reports from Shiozaki, but just 
replied, "I understand." 
 
Relations between Nakagawa and senior LDP Upper House members, 
including Chairman Mikio Aoki, have become delicate since Nakagawa 
handled the issue of reinstating postal rebels. If he again locks 
horns with Aoki, who is reluctant to use the gasoline tax revenues 
for general purposes, it could adversely effect Abe's ability to 
manage his government. Nakagawa's silence indicates the weakness of 
Abe's political base in the LDP. 
 
Abe proudly told reporters on the evening of Dec. 8: "It was good 
that the government and ruling parties reached an agreement on the 
matter in line with the principles that I had stated." 
 
But the picture given was one of Team Abe, with the exception of 
Shiozaki, failing to function properly during the process of 
coordinating views between the government and the ruling coalition. 
 
The ruling parties have now laid down arms, having reached a 
conclusion to put off the hard decision to next year. At the last 
stage, however, they seem to have exercised self-restraint with next 
summer's Upper House election in mind, thinking that further 
skirmishes would hurt the Abe government. As seen in the road 
construction tax revenue issue, the Kantei's leadership has moved 
down one more notch. 
 
(2) Editorial: The way to reallocate special-purpose road 
construction revenues for more general usage is casting a pall over 
Abe reform 
 
TOKYO 00006953  003 OF 009 
 
 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 9, 2006 
 
The issue of reallocating special-purpose road construction revenues 
for wider use, the first touchstone for the Abe administration, 
which has inherited the reform policy from the previous Koizumi 
administration, has been settled in an ambiguous way. We have called 
on Prime Minister Abe to clearly set a direction for shifting the 
use of road-related taxes, including the gasoline tax, for wider 
purposes, displaying leadership. However, there is an undeniable 
impression that the issue has been settled with the ruling camp 
steamrollering its way in pursuit of road improvement funds, with 
the prime minister having no visible policy impact. 
 
The government and the ruling camp agreed to make legislative 
changes during the regular Diet session in 2008. The agreement did 
not mention that the gasoline tax, revenues from which account for 
more than 80% of the government's road funds, be subject to an 
amendment due to strong opposition from the ruling parties. It is 
also unconvincing that road construction revenues from local taxes, 
such as the light oil transaction tax, which amount to approximately 
2.2 trillion yen, were not made subject to an amendment. 
 
Though the agreement included a policy of reallocating a portion of 
money exceeding road improvement expenditures for more general 
usage, it also included a plan to draft a mid-term road construction 
program within the next fiscal year. This mid-term plan as requested 
by the ruling camp is tricky, because it could become a major 
justified cause for constructing roads. Road improvement 
expenditures appear to include portions for expanded road-related 
usage. For this reason, there is concern that the size of road 
improvement expenditures will expand. As such, the amount of money 
available as funds for general use is at present unclear. 
 
Reallocation of revenues in the next fiscal year from the automobile 
weight tax, whose usage is not regulated by law, has also been put 
on the back burner. Approximately 570 billion yen from these 
revenues is allocated for road improvement. On the other hand, 
special-purpose road construction revenues have been used to repay 
debts held by the former Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority, and the 
repayment of the debts will be completed this fiscal year. As such, 
about 600 billion yen in a road-construction fund equivalent to 
revenues from the automobile weight tax is estimated to become 
surplus this fiscal year. An amount of money at least equivalent to 
revenues from the automobile weight tax should be used for purposes 
other than road construction. When road construction was boosted as 
a measure to stimulate the economy in the past, the government 
issued government bonds to cover the revenue shortfall. It may be an 
idea to use road funds to reduce the outstanding balance of 
government bonds. 
 
The prime minister expressed his desire to reallocate road funds for 
more general usage in his policy speech delivered right after his 
assumption of office. During the meeting of the Council on Economic 
and Fiscal Policy at the end of last month, he categorically said, 
"I will make revenues from the gasoline tax subject to an 
amendment." Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki during an LDP 
meeting made a pitch, saying, "Taking a second look at the usage of 
revenues from the gasoline tax is a touchstone for the government's 
reform drive." However, faced with an insurmountable objection from 
the LDP, his statement resulted in exposing the Kantei's weakness in 
coordination power. 
 
TOKYO 00006953  004 OF 009 
 
 
 
The Kantei wanted to use the issue of reallocating road funds for 
wider usage as a tool to give the impression that the structural 
reform drive is making headway so that the declined cabinet support 
rate following the reinstatement of postal rebels to the LDP can be 
restored. But it turned out badly. It seemed to the ruling camp that 
the Kantei is getting impatient. The ruling camp shrewdly succeeded 
in securing funds for road construction. The settlement this time is 
bound to cast a pall over the prime minister's structural reform 
policy. All the prime minister can do is to steadily bring results 
in the compilation of the fiscal 2007 budget and other areas so that 
the distribution of forces in which the party is strong and the 
Kantei is weak will not take root. 
 
(3) Editorial: Questions remain about the bill revising the Basic 
Education Law 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
December 13, 2006 
 
Upper House deliberations on a bill revising the Basic Education Law 
are now at the final stage. The government and the ruling coalition 
eye the bill's enactment before the end of this week. 
 
The Basic Education Law is important legislation specifying visions 
and principles necessary for nurturing children who will shape the 
country's future. In the effort to rewrite the entire text, all 
articles must be thoroughly examined and discussed. But there still 
remain many questions. 
 
Both the current law that took effect in 1947 and the revision bill 
are packed with such words as "formation of character" and 
"components of the state and society" under "purposes of education." 
The only difference is that the bill with amendments contains "goals 
of education" composed of 20 items, including "patriotism" and 
"respects for tradition and culture." 
 
Loving the nation is only natural. The amendment contains the words 
"respect for other countries," as well. We have pointed out that a 
provision in the law might end up uniformly teaching children to 
love the nation in a certain way. 
 
We are particularly wary of forcing teachers to evaluate children's 
level of patriotism. In the previous Diet session, former Prime 
Minister Junichiro Koizumi rejected the need to evaluate children's 
level of patriotism. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has indicated that 
students' attitudes toward learning Japanese traditions and culture 
would be evaluated. This might end up forcing students to vie to be 
patriotic in the classroom. 
 
What to teach is also a major question. Education Minister Bunmei 
Ibuki cited how predecessors dealt with such events as the 13th 
century Mongol invasion attempts against Japan. The state might end 
up using historical facts in the name of teaching patriotism to its 
advantage. 
 
The second point of contention is the interpretation of the phrase 
"education would be conducted without giving in to improper 
control." In the current law, this part is followed by "directly for 
all the people in a responsible manner." Educators and teachers 
unions have identified this provision as the shield against 
administrative intervention in education. 
 
 
TOKYO 00006953  005 OF 009 
 
 
"Without giving in to improper control" is intact in the amendment. 
But the subsequent part was altered into "to be conducted based on 
this law and other legislation." 
 
Ibuki explained that the change was made to eliminate intervention 
by political associations and that legislation and the ministry's 
official guidelines for school teaching do not constitute "improper 
control," as they represent national wishes. 
 
Ibuki's explanation alludes to a mentality that anything is possible 
as long as the law and the legislation and the guidelines stipulate 
matters. This evokes an uneasiness. 
 
The new basic educational promotion plan poses some questions, as 
well. It might be significant if it would lead to securing necessary 
educational funds. But according to it, local districts are required 
to formulate plans independently by using the state's plans as 
references. The basic plan might become a tool constraining regional 
education, depending on how it is used. 
 
Above all, the basic plan does not provide answers to fundamental 
questions. Is the current Basic Education Law to blame for such 
serious problems as declining academic standards, truancy, and 
bullying? Will those problems go away if the law is revised? Answers 
to those questions have not been presented in Upper House 
deliberations. 
 
(4) Editorial: North Korea must honestly abandon nuclear ambitions 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
December 13, 2006 
 
The six-party talks to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue are 
set to reopen on Dec. 18 in Beijing. This will be the first session 
in 13 months and also since the North conducted a nuclear test in 
October. 
 
The six-party talks are the sole venue that can realize a 
denuclearized Korean Peninsula through diplomatic efforts. They can 
also provide a good opportunity for the North to end its 
international isolation. We hope the North will steadily move toward 
nuclear dismantlement. 
 
The six-party talks that started in 2003 managed to adopt a joint 
statement in September 2005 obligating North Korea to abandon all 
nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs. But disagreement 
between Washington and Pyongyang on establishing a working group to 
discuss the nuclear disarmament process forced the talks to recess 
in November 2005. 
 
The US has subsequently imposed financial sanctions on North Korea 
in reaction to Pyongyang's counterfeiting operations, and the North 
has rejected returning to the negotiating table by citing absurd 
reasons. On top of America's financial sanctions, the international 
community has placed financial sanctions on North Korea based on a 
UN Security Council resolution that followed Pyongyang's ballistic 
missile tests in July and a nuclear test in October. 
 
At long last, Pyongyang in late October expressed its willingness to 
rejoin the multilateral talks. The reason may have been growing 
financial sanctions by the UN, Japan, the US, and other countries 
that have dealt a serious blow to the North's efforts to earn 
foreign currency and exacerbated its economic condition. 
 
TOKYO 00006953  006 OF 009 
 
 
 
The North is demanding that it be treated as a nuclear power on the 
grounds that it has declared itself a nuclear-weapons possessing 
state. It also demands that the financial and economic sanctions be 
lifted. Its demands are unreasonable. In adopting the joint 
statement, the North promised nuclear dismantlement, which is 
essential for realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, as 
specified in the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration and the 
South-North Joint Declaration of the Denuclearization of the Korean 
Peninsula. 
 
China, the chair of the six-party talks, also defines the six-party 
talks that will begin Dec. 18 as part of the continuing process 
leading up to the implementation of the joint statement. The US and 
North Korea have conducted informal bilateral talks brokered by 
China. Short-term objectives include establishing working groups on 
such themes as financial sanctions, normalization of US-DPRK and 
Japan-DPRK relations, food and energy aid, in tandem with freezing 
the North's nuclear activities and having Pyongyang report its 
current situation. 
 
Economic cooperation and assistance by neighboring countries, 
centering on Japan, is also essential at the final stage of 
resolving the nuclear issue. The North has repeatedly demanded that 
Japan be removed from the multilateral framework by citing the 
abduction issue. Pyongyang must realize that such an attitude would 
prompt Japanese public opinion to harden. 
 
Some think that America's diplomatic power has weakened due to its 
having run into a cul-de-sac in its Iraq policies. Unity among 
Japan, the US, and South Korea and cooperation with China and Russia 
are particularly important under such circumstances. US Assistant 
Secretary of State Christopher Hill, America's chief delegate to the 
 
SIPDIS 
six-party talks, is expected to arrive in Beijing as early as this 
weekend to undertake coordination in advance of the upcoming talks. 
The Japanese government is also urged to actively intensify 
cooperation with other countries on the diplomatic front. 
 
Once the talks open, North Korea might try to buy time or demand 
more of compensation while disregarding nuclear dismantlement. Such 
an approach no longer works. Chances are also slim that the United 
Nations will lift its sanctions. We would like to see North Korea 
return to its starting point - its promise in September 2005 to 
abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs -- and 
take sincere action. 
 
(5) Editorial: Strengthening relations with India strategically 
important for Japan 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 13, 2006 
 
Indian Prime Minister Singh will visit Japan as an official guest 
from Dec. 13 through the 16th. Since Prime Minister Vajpayee came to 
Japan in 2001, no Indian prime minister has visited Japan. 
 
A meeting between Singh and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been set 
for Dec. 15. Besides, the Indian prime minister is scheduled to meet 
with the Emperor and Empress, as well as to deliver a speech at the 
Diet. The Japanese government intends to roll out the red carpet for 
him. 
 
Different from China, India shares common fundamental values with 
 
TOKYO 00006953  007 OF 009 
 
 
Japan, for instance, democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of 
speech. India is pro-Japanese, and its economy has remarkably grown 
recently. In order to counter China's hegemonic expansion, too, it 
is important for Japan to deepen and expand relations with India. 
 
In the planned summit, the two leaders are expected to agree on 
plans to initiate negotiations on concluding an economic partnership 
agreement (EPA) early next year, to revise the aviation pact to 
significantly increase the number of regular flights, and to hold an 
annual summit. 
 
India's gross domestic product (GDP) ranks third in Asia, following 
Japan and China. In 2005, it registered a robust 8.4% economic 
growth rate. Although the value of trade between Japan and India has 
been on the rise since 2003, their trade value was not placed on the 
top-20 list, far smaller than that between Japan and China (ranks 
second). 
 
In this sense, it is significant for Japan and India to conclude an 
EPA, centering on a free trade agreement (FTA). The Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, South Korea, and the 
European Union (EU) have already started negotiations or have agreed 
to start negotiations on concluding an FTA with India. 
 
The Indian economy contains a number of problems, including the 
delay in infrastructure construction such as roads, port facilities 
and railways, as well as a lack of programs to deal with poverty. 
India is the top recipient of Japan's official development 
assistance (ODA) funds. The ODA program should be utilized more 
effectively. 
 
However, optimism may not be warranted. China and India has pursued 
a multilateral diplomacy since the end of the Cold War period. 
Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India in late November, prior to 
the Japan-India summit. They confirmed the maintenance of the 
China-India partnership and agreed to expand bilateral trade. The 
border dispute is also moving toward a settlement. The United States 
also is rapidly approaching India by concluding an atomic power 
agreement. 
 
Japan worked to induce India and Australia into the East Asia summit 
conference. An initiative has now emerged of forming a forum for 
four-nation strategic dialogue among Japan, the US, Australia, and 
India, which share common values. The upcoming Japan-India summit 
should be utilized as a good opportunity for Japan to reconfirm the 
importance of relations with India. This year marks a year to deepen 
friendship between China and India. Next year will be a year to 
promote exchanges between Japan and India. 
 
(6) Triangular merger: Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki demands 
reconsideration; Keidanren opposing proposal as resurrecting old 
argument 
 
SANKEI (Page 9) (Excerpts) 
December 12, 2006 
 
It was learned yesterday that regarding the planned triangular 
merger scheme, which is intended to make it easy for foreign 
companies to merge and acquire Japanese companies, Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Shiozaki asked the Finance Minister and the Ministry of 
 
SIPDIS 
Economy, Trade and Industry to ease the system so that foreign 
companies will find it easier to merge with acquire Japanese 
companies. Since the ruling parties have already firmed up a policy 
 
TOKYO 00006953  008 OF 009 
 
 
of toughening measures to prevent the abuse of the triangular merger 
scheme, the Japan Business Federation is opposing the proposal as 
resurrecting the old argument. The unusual announcement of a view by 
Shiozaki is creating a stir. 
 
Triangular mergers are to be legalized next May. Shiozaki during a 
news conference yesterday noted, "I made that statement because I 
thought that in order to maintain vitality in our low-birth-rate 
society it is necessary to revitalize Japan, by bringing in economic 
growth abroad. I have already conveyed my view that an amendment to 
the tax system should reflect that principle." 
 
The LDP Tax System Research Council intends to adopt measures to 
prevent the abuse of triangular mergers using paper companies for 
the purpose of dodging taxation. Shiozaki called on the panel to 
adjust its plan to the government policy, noting, "I hear various 
discussions are being pursued in the party." 
 
In response, Nippon Keidanren Chairman Fujio Mitarai touched on the 
tax system concerning triangular mergers during a press conference 
yesterday and supported the tax panel's policy, saying, "In Japan 
deferred taxation is not allowed for a merger involving a paper 
company. If it were applied to mergers involving foreign companies 
as an exception, it would collapse the tax system. It is 
illogical." 
 
The US government and the American Chamber of Commerce have been 
opposing regulating mergers through paper companies. Responding to a 
question about whether the US has applied pressure on the Japanese 
government, Shiozaki ruled out such a possibility, saying, "There 
has been no such approach at all." 
 
The position of the LDP tax panel is that it is not possible to 
impede what has been introduced under the corporate law with the tax 
system." A senior member of the panel said, "It is not appropriate 
to adopt the system only with a notification from the National Tax 
Agency. It is necessary to make the system clear under a government 
ordinance and a ministry ordinance in order to prevent its abuse." 
 
(7) Kasumigaseki confidential: Special advisors to the Prime 
Minister are "losers" 
 
BUNGEI SHUNJU (Page 234) (Full) 
January 2007 
 
Two months have passed since the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo 
Abe came into being. Bureaucrats were horrified by the lineup of the 
cabinet members, who are antagonistic toward the bureaucracy. 
 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi and his followers 
are enjoyed the peak of their bureaucratic power. They made Abe's 
visits to China and South Korea in October a success. In a bid to 
avoid the confusion that is going on still in the United States 
after the Republican Party was defeated in the mid-term 
(congressional) elections, Abe plans to go to Europe in January and 
he will then make his first trip to the US as prime minister during 
the next Golden Week holiday period, which runs from late April to 
early May. This is a plan crafted by Yachi and his team. Abe has 
distanced himself from administrative vice-ministers. The only 
exception to that is Yachi, who still wields considerable power. It 
is certain that Yachi will be serving in his current post until 
January 2008. There is no doubt that he will continue to have power 
for at least one year. 
 
TOKYO 00006953  009 OF 009 
 
 
 
In the meantime, special advisors to the prime minister, who were 
appointed with great fanfare, have not done anything remarkable in 
their jobs. Although Special Advisor on National Security Yuriko 
Koike, former environment minister, debuted spectacularly with her 
meeting with US National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, she has 
been playing a low-keyed role since. She added chairs in her office, 
expecting many guests, but they have not been used for a long time. 
 
The framework of a Japanese version of the US National Security 
Council (NSC) is supposed to be firmed up in February 2007, but the 
likelihood is that the Japanese version of the NSC will be modeled 
after that of Britain, which has a parliamentary system like Japan, 
and not the US' NSC, which is quite powerful. In short, a system 
that would allow special advisors to make decisions through 
discussions will not be created. Although Koike built a 
communication channel to Hadley, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa 
Shiozaki, who has undertaken all security affairs, serves as 
Hadley's counterpart. Koike will have to start again from the 
start. 
 
The main job of Special Advisor on Public Relations Hiroshige Seko, 
who was enthusiastic about briefing summit talks, is now talking to 
local correspondents of countries where the prime minister visits. 
 
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in November, 
Seko was a messenger to tell media people, "The briefing by the 
deputy chief cabinet secretary will soon start." 
 
People close to the Kantei have agreed that Yachi and his team, and 
Shiozaki are "winners" and special advisors are "losers." 
 
SCHIEFFER