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UNCLAS TOKYO 000111 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, 
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; 
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; 
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; 
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - NEW US IRAQ POLICY/NORTH KOREA 
- TOKYO 
 
 
LEAD STORIES: Thursday morning's Yomiuri front-paged a 
report from Washington on the outline of a TV speech 
President Bush was scheduled to make Thursday morning, 
Japan time, which reportedly calls for the dispatch of an 
additional 20,000 US troops to Iraq and for plans to 
transfer responsibility for maintaining security from the 
US military to the Iraqi government by November. 
 
¶1. Most TV networks during their Thursday noon broadcasts 
gave prominent play to President Bush's primetime speech 
on his new Iraq policy. There were no immediate TV 
commentaries. 
 
¶2. "Bush Calls for Iraqis to Take the Lead" Quasi- 
governmental broadcaster NHK's noon news program gave top 
play to the presidential address, with Washington 
correspondent Arioka saying it indicated the president's 
determination to restore order in Iraq and win the war on 
terrorism as soon as possible. Arioka said: "While 
admitting 'defects' in his previous Iraq policy and 
considering the results of the recent midterm elections, 
the president sought public understanding for sending an 
additional 20,000 US troops to Iraq. During the 20-minute 
address, President Bush also warned Iran and Syria not to 
meddle in Iraq's internal affairs." 
 
¶3. NHK quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki as 
welcoming President Bush's new Iraq policy. He expressed 
hope that the new US Iraq policy would successfully lead 
to the restoration of order there and said that the GOJ 
would continue to assist in the country's reconstruction 
through the deployment of an Air Self-Defense Force unit 
on a transport mission and through other humanitarian 
projects. 
 
¶4. "Bush's Final Gamble to Win Iraq War" Most commercial 
networks carried similar correspondent reports on 
President Bush's plans. The reports predicted deepening 
friction between the Bush administration and the 
Democratic Party. 
 
¶5. "Don't Disrupt International Unity Against DPRK" The 
conservative Sankei editorialized (1/11): "PM Abe, who 
was visiting Europe, met with British Prime Minister 
Blair and agreed on the need to apply international 
pressure on North Korea to resolve the North's nuclear 
and missile ambitions as well as the abduction issue.... 
It is important for the world community, based on Japan's 
strong ties with the US and Britain, to apply pressure on 
Pyongyang to bring about progress on these issues. 
Nonetheless, a move is afoot in Japan to 'tear' the net 
that encircles the North, as former LDP Vice President 
Yamasaki arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday for talks with 
senior North Korean officials. Before his departure for 
the DPRK, Yamasaki told Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki 
that he wanted to meet senior North Korean officials and 
discuss the Pyongyang Declaration that PM Koizumi and Kim 
Jong Il concluded in 2002. The senior LDP lawmaker has 
been critical of the Abe administration's intensification 
of pressure on the North, pointing out the absence of 
diplomatic channels between the two nations.... PM Abe 
said that Yamasaki should follow Japan's basic policy on 
North Korea. We would warn Yamasaki not to play into the 
North's divide-and-conquer strategy or disrupt the 
present international unity against Pyongyang." 
 
DONOVAN