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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 000232 
 
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 01/19/07 
 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
North Korea problem: 
4) North Korean officials told LDP's Taku Yamasaki that Pyongyang 
rejects talks with the current administration in Japan 
5) Abductee family association criticizes Yamasaki for visiting 
North Korea 
6) US-DPRK meeting in Berlin: US now giving priority to finding a 
breakthrough in stalemate on North Korean issues 
 
7) Former UN Ambassador Bolton in meeting with Foreign Minister Aso 
says that Japan is indeed qualified to have a permanent seat on the 
UNSC 
 
8) Japan, Russia to focus current round of diplomatic talks on 
territorial issue, energy 
 
China ties: 
9) Sudden rush of ruling camp politicians to visit China 
10) China agrees to remove ban on Japanese exports of rice 
 
11) US, Japan military forces to engage in command-post exercise, 
Keen Edge 
 
12) Government to submit tough anti-nuclear terror prevention bill 
 
 
Political agenda: 
13) New Komeito head Ota has reservations about Prime Minister Abe's 
election strategy of focusing campaign on constitutional revision 
14) Government/ruling parties plan major government reorganization 
that would include Japan-style USTR 
15) Government, ruling parties welcome BOJ decision not to raise 
interest rates 
 
16) IPCC predicts by end of century 6.3 degrees average rise in 
temperature due to global warming 
 
17) Government advisory council predicts 3.2% nominal economic 
growth over next five years 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Opinion split among BOJ Policy Board members over holding off on 
rate hike 
 
Mainichi: 
IPCC predicts temperature rise of up to 6.3 degrees C by end of 
century 
 
Yomiuri: 
Government's education revitalization panel mulls review of 5-day 
school week 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
 
TOKYO 00000232  002 OF 012 
 
 
BOJ governor: BOJ to gradually adjust rates 
 
Sankei: 
Government's panel on measures to counter the falling birthrate to 
be set up to advocate support for "child-rearing" by entire 
community 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Justice Ministry to toughen punishments on bad drivers 
 
Akahata: 
Japan Post plans to close 738 ATMs, might close 500 post offices 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Postponement of rate hike: Market jerked around by BOJ 
(2) Bid-rigging by MLIT: Investigative authorities' turn 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Bid-rigging by MLIT: Last chance to eradicate it 
(2) Mitsubishi Fuso: Wavering trust in recall system 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Rate hike put off: BOJ's accountability to be called into 
question 
(2) Bid-rigging: Influence of ranking officials involved 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
(1) Government urged to promote growth by cutting expenditures 
(2) BOJ should do best to increase confidence 
 
Sankei: 
(1) BOJ may lose public confidence 
(2) MLIT bid-rigging: Fraud against the nation 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) MLIT bid-rigging: Don't shy from banning amakudari 
(2) Time to crush vested interests 
 
Akahata: 
BOJ: Need for monetary policy that supports family finances 
 
3) 
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, January 19, 2007 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2)  (Full) 
January 18, 2007 
 
09:30 
Met with Vice Defense Minister Moriya, Defense Policy Bureau 
Director General Oko and Defense Agency Headquarters head Mukunoki 
at the Kantei. 
 
10:06 
Met with State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Ota, Special 
Advisor to the Prime Minister Nemoto. Nemoto remained. Then met with 
Vice Foreign Minister Yachi. 
 
11:21 
 
TOKYO 00000232  003 OF 012 
 
 
Met with the Israeli Foreign Minister Livni. Then met with Special 
Advisor to the Prime Minister Yamatani. 
 
12:15 
Met with Michael Green, former senior director for Asian affairs at 
the US National Security Council. Special Advisor to the Prime 
Minister Koike was present. 
 
14:02 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Shimomura, Suzuki and 
Matoba, joined by Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki. 
 
15:06 
Met with US actor Will Smith, followed by Koike. Then met with Diet 
Policy Committee Chairman Nikai and New Komeito Diet Policy 
Committee Chairman Urushibara. 
 
16:08 
Met participants of the Youth Voyage scheme. Then met with Cabinet 
Intelligence Director Mitani. 
 
17:04 
Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy meeting. 
 
18:58 
Dined at Yamazato, a Japanese restaurant at Hotel Okura, with LDP 
caucus in the Upper House head Aoki and secretary general Katayama 
and Shiozaki. 
 
20:36 
Arrived at the official residence. 
 
4) DPRK refuses talks with Abe administration 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Deputy Secretary General 
Ryotaro Tanose yesterday revealed that when he, along with former 
LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki, visited North Korea recently, the 
North Koreans told them: "We don't want to have talks with the 
current administration of Japan. We are not going to propose talks 
on the normalization of diplomatic ties." He thus made it clear that 
Pyongyang indicated it would refuse talks with the Abe 
administration. Tanose also revealed that Yamasaki had looked for 
opportunities three times since last May for him to visit North 
Korea. 
 
5) Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea 
criticizes Yamasaki's North Korea visit; Toru Hasuike says media 
reporting on his appreciation of Yamasaki's visit to DPRK was 
"wrong" 
 
SANKEI (Page 27) (Excerpts) 
January 19, 2007 
 
"He's playing to the gallery." "It's dual diplomacy." These remarks 
came from the families of abductees about the recent visit to North 
Korea by Taku Yamasaki, former vice president of the ruling Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP). At a gathering held in Tokyo late yesterday, 
relatives of abductees were all critical of Yamasaki's visit. 
Shigeru Yokota, 74, representative of the Association of the 
 
TOKYO 00000232  004 OF 012 
 
 
Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and the father of 
abductee Megumi Yokota, abducted at the age of 13, commented: "It's 
a negative to make a solo visit to North Korea without approval by 
the government." 
 
Teruaki Masumoto, 51, secretariat chief of the association and the 
younger brother of abductee Rumiko Masumoto, abducted at the age of 
24, said at the gathering that he asked on the phone Toru Hasuike, 
52, deputy representative of the association and the elder brother 
of abductee Kaoru Hasuike, 49, about some media's reporting that 
(Toru Hasuike) met with Yamasaki on Jan. 17 and "appreciated 
(Yamasaki's) visit to North Korea." According to Masumoto, Toru told 
him: "I simply said, 'I don't totally oppose (the visit to North 
Korea), but this remark was reported as 'I appreciated it.' It's 
definitely wrong to do so. I felt like I was exploited by Mr. 
Yamasaki. I was careless." 
 
Toru edged up to Yamasaki, asking, "Isn't that an act of 
self-advertisement?" and "Why don't you act together with the 
government?" Yamasaki simply reiterated his position on his visit to 
North Korea. The meeting between the two took place at Toru's 
request made in his private capacity. When Toru arrived at the place 
of the meeting, TV reporters already arrived there and waited for 
him. 
 
Teruaki said: "The association supports the Abe administration's 
line of pressuring North Korea. The visit to North Korea by a person 
who tends to believe whatever the North Koreans say would only have 
an adverse effect." "I feel something intentional about media 
reporting seemingly motivated by the desire to split (the 
association)," Teruaki added. 
 
Masaru Honma, 62, the elder brother of abductee Yaeko Taguchi, 
abducted at the age of 22, criticized the visit to the North (by 
Yamasaki) in a strong tone: "I feel strong indignation about Mr. 
Yamasaki's visit to North Korea. If he had visited it under the 
delusion that his dialogue with that country will bring results, he 
will end up damaging our campaign." 
 
6) US gives priority to finding breakthrough in stalled 6-party 
talks with talks held in places other than in Beijing; Does this 
mean in effect America's policy toward DPRK has changed? 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
January 19, 2007 
 
Takashi Arimoto, Washington 
 
The US and North Korea continued a third-day of talks in Berlin 
yesterday. It was the first time for the two countries' chief 
negotiators to the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear programs 
to have substantive negotiations in a location other than Beijing, 
the venue for the six-party talks. This development implies that the 
Bush administration has now essentially turned around its previous 
stance toward Pyongyang. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher 
Hill, chief US negotiator to the six-party talks, is scheduled to 
travel to Japan, China, and South Korea starting today for the final 
coordination of views with them in order to restart the six-party 
talks before the end of the month. 
 
No details of the latest talks were disclosed, but US Deputy Press 
Secretary of State Casey told a press briefing yesterday: "The talks 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TOKYO 00000232  005 OF 012 
 
 
were useful and constructive." 
 
According to one official connected with the talks, the talks came 
at the request of the North Koreans. North Korean Vice Foreign 
Minister Kim Gye Gwan, chief negotiator to the six-party talks, came 
up with his country's views in response to the US request made 
during the six-party talks last December for the North to abandon 
its nuclear weapons programs. Kim also brought up what his country 
would request in return for scrapping the programs. Reportedly, they 
also discussed the issue of whether the US would lift the freeze on 
North Korea's account at Banco Delta Asia, a Macao bank. The US 
government is reportedly coming around to finalizing the issue by 
distinguishing between legal and illegal funds. 
 
A cautious view that illicit activities must not be made a 
bargaining chip for negotiations is deep rooted in the US, 
particularly in its Department of the Treasury. But another source 
connected with the talks said: "In order to move the nuclear issue 
forward, Secretary of State Rice and other officials are trying to 
settle the issue by a political decision." 
 
The deputy press secretary emphasized that the talks this time were 
"a part of the six-party talks." Until recently, the Bush 
administration, criticizing the US-North Korea Agreed Framework made 
in 1994 under the Clinton administration, had limited its 
participation in negotiations with North Korea to multilateral 
ones. 
 
7) Bolton to Aso: Japan is qualified to become permanent UNSC 
member 
 
ASAHI (Page 7) (Full) 
January 19, 2007 
 
Foreign Minister Aso met with former US Ambassador to the UN Bolton 
at the Foreign Ministry yesterday. 
 
Bolton highly evaluated the role Japan played as a non-permanent 
member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the two 
years that ended late last year. He then expressed his support for 
Japan's bid for a permanent membership, saying, "Japan is qualified 
to become a permanent UNSC member." Aso expressed his appreciation 
for the United States' stance. 
 
After the meeting, Bolton told reporters regarding the new UNSC 
reform plan that Japan is now studying, "It is necessary to hammer 
out a new plan other than the G-4 plan (worked out by four 
countries, including Japan and Germany). 
 
8) Japan, Russia to launch full-fledged talks on northern 
territories, energy 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) 
January19, 2007 
 
The government has decided to start talks between Japanese and 
Russian diplomatic bureau directors, with the aim of deepening the 
dialogue with Russia on such bilateral issues as the Northern 
Territories. Administrative Foreign Vice Minister Shotaro Yachi will 
attend the first "strategic dialogue" that will start in Moscow on 
Jan. 23. In addition, top working-level officials in the energy and 
investment areas will visit Russia around the same time to engage in 
 
TOKYO 00000232  006 OF 012 
 
 
talks to set the environment for investment in oil and gas field 
development. Through these talks, Japan aims to break the impasse in 
the negotiations on the issue of the Northern Territories, a senior 
Foreign Ministry official saying, "We will build mutual confidence 
on both political and economic fronts." 
 
Breakthrough in the territorial negotiations and improvement in 
relations between Japan and Russia are a major diplomatic challenge 
for the Abe administration. The planned talks are part of the action 
program agreed on between former Prime Minister Koizumi and 
President Putin agreed in January 2003. The program is structured 
with six key elements, such as a peace treaty and trade. By sending 
Yachi, who contributed to improving relations with China and South 
Korea, the Japanese government will underscore its determination to 
"have Russia recognize Japan's firm intention," noted a senior 
ministry official. From the Russian side, First Foreign Vice 
Minister Andrew Denisove will attend the strategic dialogue. He will 
engage in talks with Japanese foreign ministry officials for the 
first time. 
 
On Jan. 24, Resources and Energy Agency Director General Harufumi 
Mochizuki will arrive in Moscow to exchange views with executives at 
Gazprom, a Russian government-affiliated company, and hold talks on 
trade and investment between Japan and Russia. Koizumi and Putin in 
January 2003 agreed to resume energy talks, but no major progress 
has been made since then. An official of the Ministry of Economy, 
Trade and Industry deems the meeting with executives at Gazprom as 
"the start of periodic talks" between Japan and Russia. 
 
Russia has suspended supplying oil to Europe since the beginning of 
this year, inviting the European Union's (EU) mistrust. Keeping this 
in mind, Japan intends to assess the Russian government's strategy 
on energy in the Far East. A senior Foreign Ministry official 
defined the series of talks with Russia as "a feeler" to find out 
its policy. 
 
9) Rush of senior-level visitors to China from ruling coalition 
aiming to demonstrate diplomatic thaw 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) 
January 19, 2007 
 
Many senior members from the ruling parties are expected to visit 
China. With the start of four-day-trip to Beijing by the Diet 
Affairs Committee chairmen of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP) and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, three 
executive-level officials plan to visit China. After Prime Minister 
Shinzo Abe made a trip to China last October soon after taking 
office, the once deteriorated bilateral relationship under the 
Koizumi government has been steadily improving. The ruling coalition 
aims at demonstrating the mood of diplomatic thaw between the two 
countries by letting its senior members visit China. 
 
"Japan-China relations are important. I want you to do your best," 
Abe yesterday told LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Toshihiro 
Nikai and New Komeito Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yoshio 
Urushibara at the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). The 
two Diet Affairs Committee chairmen told Abe that they were planning 
to visit China. Abe then promised to entrust them with a letter to 
deliver. 
 
The purpose of the planned visit to China by the two is to discuss 
 
TOKYO 00000232  007 OF 012 
 
 
with Chinese officials the implementation of an event commemorating 
the 35th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic ties between the 
two countries. Nikai stressed: "Under the Abe administration, the 
Japan-China relationship has begun to normalize. A successful 
commemoration event will make normalization firm." 
 
Moreover, LDP General Council Chairman Yuya Niwa is now coordinating 
a schedule for a meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing in 
February. There is also a plan to visit China by LDP Secretary 
General Hidenao Nakagawa and New Komeito Secretary Kazuo Kitagawa. 
The rush of party executives from the ruling camp is aimed to 
prepare for a visit to Japan by Premier Wen slated for April, as 
well as to invite President Hu Jintao to visit Japan. 
 
A senior ruling coalition member, who is expected to go to China 
soon, said: "We need to build various communication channels to 
China." There is the view in the ruling camp that the bilateral ties 
should not revert to the way they were under the Koizumi 
government. 
 
Senior-level visitors to China from ruling coalition after Prime 
Minister Abe visited China 
 
December 2006 Former LDP Secretary General Koichi KatoFormer Defense 
Agency chief Gen NakataniLower House Speaker Yohei Kono 
January 2007 New Komeito chief Akihiro OtaLDP's Tsushima faction 
members: Kenji Kosaka; Ichiro Kamoshita; Yuko Obuchi; Masazumi 
Gotoda; Wataru Takeshita; Gaku HashimotoDiet Affairs Committee 
chairmen: Toshihiro Nikai; Yoshiro Urushibara 
February (undecided) LDP General Council Chairman Yuya Niwa 
March (undecided) Secretaries general: Hidenao Nakagawa; Kazuo 
Kitagawa 
 
10) Basic agreement reached on resuming exporting Japanese rice to 
China 
 
ASAHI (Page 10) (Abridged slightly) 
January 19, 2007 
 
Keiko Yoshioka, Beijing 
 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, 
now visiting Beijing, held talks on the morning of Jan. 18 with Li 
Changjiang, director of China's General Administration of Quality 
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. As a result, the two leaders 
reached a basic agreement on lifting a ban on imports of Japanese 
rice by China that have been suspended since 2003. In a press 
conference later in the day, Matsuoka said: "In Hong Kong, Japanese 
rice is being sold for 1,000 yen or more per kilo. In China, we will 
sell Japanese rice as an upscale product, as well." He revealed the 
government's intention to aim for resuming exporting Japanese rice 
starting with that produced in 2007. 
 
The government plans to nail down when exports will resume and other 
conditions before Wen Jiabao visits Japan in April. Besides rice, 
the government plans to work upon China to import Japanese 
agricultural products other than pears and apples that are already 
approved. 
 
The Chinese government changed its quarantine system in February 
2003 and banned imports of Japanese rice for fear of vermin 
infestation. China imported about 1 ton of rice from Japan in 2000. 
 
TOKYO 00000232  008 OF 012 
 
 
Japan has been putting a lot of efforts into rice exports as a 
symbol of its efforts to promote exports of Japanese farm products. 
 
11) SDF, USFJ to conduct CPX 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The Defense Ministry announced yesterday that the Self-Defense 
Forces and US Forces Japan would conduct a joint bilateral command 
post exercise (CPX), codenamed "Keen Edge," from Jan. 29 through 
Feb. 8. The CPX will be conducted for the first time in about one 
year since February last year. It will be carried out with the 
participation of 1,350 persons from the Defense Intelligence 
Headquarters and the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces 
and 3,100 persons from USFJ. The SDF and USFJ will confirm 
procedures for joint action in anticipation of emergencies on the 
Korean Peninsula and in the Taiwan Straits. 
 
12) Gov't to toughen law against nuke terrorism 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The government will introduce a bill to prevent the dispersal of 
radioactive material to the Diet in its ordinary session in order to 
prevent terrorism using radioactive materials, including the nuclear 
material that could be used to make nuclear bombs. The government 
will create a law ahead of Japan's ratification of a United Nations 
convention adopted in 2005 on nuclear terrorism. The legislation is 
intended to crack down on acts like spreading radioactive material 
with the intent of terrorism. Such illegalities will be subject to 
severe punishment, up to life imprisonment. 
 
Under the planned law, the act of detonating nuclear materials will 
be subject to punishment, according to the Ministry of Education, 
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Other illegal acts subject 
to punishment include: 1) spreading radioactive substances; 2) 
mixing radioactive substances in food products for poisoning; and 3) 
draining radioactive substances for environmental contamination. 
 
As an example to prove "acts with an intent of terrorism," the 
government anticipates a case where it is clear that one taking part 
in such acts contacted another by email or other means of 
communication or otherwise it is clear that such acts were backed 
with money from someone. 
 
The Nuclear Regulatory Law and the Radiation Disorder Prevention Law 
stipulate radioactive material controls. However, imprisonment under 
these two laws is up to 10 years. This bill will stipulate life 
imprisonment as maximum penalty, as well as the Chemical Weapons 
Prohibition Law and the Sarin Prevention Law, which stipulate 
criminal punishment for poisoning. 
 
13) New Komeito's Ota raises questions about LDP's plan to make 
constitutional revision a campaign issue 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged) 
January 19, 2007 
 
New Komeito Representative Akihiro Ota raised questions yesterday 
about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy, revealed in the Liberal 
 
TOKYO 00000232  009 OF 012 
 
 
Democratic Party convention on Jan. 17, to make constitutional 
revision a campaign issue for the Upper House election this summer. 
Ota said: "We should rather make matters closely associated with 
people's lives campaign issues, such as employment, education, and 
disparities." He was responding to a reporter in Yokohama. 
 
Ota indicated that specific contents of constitutional revision 
should be discussed carefully, saying: "Once national referendum 
legislation is enacted, it's important for a constitutional 
deliberative council to conduct discussions under the legislation." 
 
The New Komeito initially intended to produce by last fall a plan to 
add to the Constitution such rights as environmental rights and the 
right to privacy. The plan has been postponed due to the unclear 
prospects for enacting national referendum legislation. The party is 
also calling for upholding Article 9, while Prime Minister Abe is 
eager to revise it. 
 
In the wake of Abe's indication to make constitutional revision a 
campaign issue, a senior Komeito lawmaker took this view: "Our party 
aims for an early enactment of national referendum legislation, but 
that has nothing to do with constitutional revision." His comment 
pointed to a lack of unity between the two ruling parties before the 
election. 
 
14) Government, ruling bloc to give full consideration to further 
reorganization of government agencies, including establishment of 
Japanese equivalent of USTR 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Full) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The government and the ruling parties yesterday decided to look into 
the possibility of further reorganizing government agencies in order 
to drastically review the current central government ministry and 
agency system. The aim is to further streamline administrative 
organizations so as to realize a simplified and effective 
government, a slogan advocated by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Items 
up for consideration will likely include the establishment of an 
information and telecommunications ministry combining the 
information and telecommunications bureaus of the Ministry of 
Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs and Communications (MIC) and a Japanese equivalent of the 
USTR singularly responsible for trade negotiations with foreign 
countries. 
 
Commenting on the further reorganization of government agencies, the 
prime minister underscored to reporters: "The duties of government 
offices are to provide service to the people. They must be able to 
cope with changes in situations concerning Japan." Following the 
prime minister's comment, Liberal Democratic Party Hidenao Nakagawa 
explained that the prime minister indicated his intention to review 
the organizations of government agencies from scratch. 
 
Abe last September announced his intention to tackle a plan for 
further reorganization of government agencies, but concrete 
consideration to the proposal has not been given yet. He decided to 
get down to work at this time presumably motivated by the desire to 
show that his administration is reform-oriented. 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference, 
"Some offices were reorganized without detailed discussions in the 
 
TOKYO 00000232  010 OF 012 
 
 
previous reorganization." He thus revealed the government's plan to 
first probe the effects of the previous reorganization. 
 
As a specific plan, Internal Affairs Minister Suga proposed the idea 
of establishing an information and telecommunications ministry 
integrating the information and telecommunications bureaus of METI 
and MIC so that the nation can cope with global technological 
innovation. 
 
A plan has also surfaced to set up a foreign trade representative 
like the USTR by unifying sections responsible for foreign trade 
negotiations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry 
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and METI. The aim is 
to smoothen trade talks, such as free trade agreement talks. 
 
Another proposal is to integrate the Ministry of Land, 
Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), which has grown significantly 
after the previous reorganization, with MAFF in conjunction with 
cuts in public works and streamline the integrated entity. 
 
Also on the agenda are: (1) completely spinning off the Securities 
and Exchange Monitoring Committee from the Financial Services Agency 
and increasing the number of personnel of the spun-off panel with 
the aim of strengthening a system to crack down on economic crimes; 
and (2) integrating and reorganizing the personnel and pension 
bureaus of the National Personnel Authority when reforming the 
public servant system. 
 
5) Government, ruling camp welcome BOJ decision not to raise 
interest rate 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
January 19, 2007 
 
A number of government and ruling party members welcomed the Bank of 
Japan's (BOJ) decision not to raise its key short-term interest rate 
yesterday. They were worried about a negative effect of such a 
policy switch on the House of Councillors election in July. Even so, 
they still harbor a strong wariness about a possible decision by the 
central bank to raise the interest rate in the next session of its 
policymaking panel. Heated debate on monetary policy is likely to 
continue. 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters last night: 
 
"The government and the BOJ share the need for Japan to make efforts 
to eradicate deflation and put the economy on a solid and stable 
recovery track. The BOJ made a proper decision." 
 
Finance Minister Koji Omi also told reporters: 
 
"We have basically entrusted specific policy-setting to the BOJ. We 
respect the decision by the BOJ." 
 
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa said: 
 
"That is an appropriate judgment. Based on the view shared with the 
government and from an expert point of view, the central bank made a 
wise decision," 
 
New Komeito President Akihiro Ota also defined the BOJ decision as 
proper. 
 
TOKYO 00000232  011 OF 012 
 
 
 
16) Global temperature to rise 6.3 degrees: IPCC report 
 
MAINICHI (Top play) (Abridged) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The Mainichi Shimbun obtained a draft copy of the fourth assessment 
report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change (IPCC) on global warming. The IPCC report stresses that 
global warming is certainly taking place with greenhouse effect gas 
emissions in human activities, judging from a rise in the earth's 
average temperature and an increase in snow- and ice-melting. The 
report dismisses skepticism about global warming. According to an 
IPCC forecast, the earth's average temperature will go up 6.3 
degrees and sea levels will rise 58 centimeters late in the current 
century as long as human beings continue mass consumption that 
depends on fossil fuel. The report warns that about 3 billion people 
would face water shortages and many water-based creatures would die 
out even with a rise of 4 degrees. Meanwhile, the report emphasizes 
that the temperature's rise would be up to 1 degree and the rise of 
sea levels also can be held down to 19 centimeters if human beings 
shift to an eco-friendly society. 
 
17) CEFP adopts five-year policy enabling country to achieve average 
3.2% nominal growth 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) 
January 19, 2007 
 
The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) chaired by Prime 
Minister Shinzo Abe adopted yesterday a five-year medium-term 
economic strategy. The economic strategy, the first time for the Abe 
administration, aims at bringing the nation's basic fiscal balance 
into the black by FY2011, restoring fiscal health by achieving high 
economic growth. 
 
The policy contains a prediction that the country would be able to 
achieve 3.9% nominal growth in FY2007, up from the earlier 
prediction of 2.2%, with a 3.2% annual average for the next five 
fiscal years. 
 
The government will adopt this policy on Jan. 25. Prime Minister Abe 
told the CEFP yesterday: "The next five years will be extremely 
important for the Japanese economy to enter a new growth period. I 
want to see accelerated reform efforts in order to realize the 
projected scenario." 
 
The policy paper stressed: "By promoting administrative reforms, the 
country will be able to achieve economic growth of the mid-3% level 
or more." It also projected that if the government slashed its 
spending by 14.3 trillion yen in accordance with its 2006 Basic 
Policies for Economic and Fiscal Management, produced last July, the 
nation's nominal growth would increase to 3.9% from 2.2% in FY2007. 
 
The strategy also listed four goals: (1) greater growth potential, 
(2) a society in which people can have second chances, (3) a sound 
and comfortable society, and (4) administrative and fiscal systems 
suitable for the 21st century. The strategy also listed a policy to 
create more opportunities for employing elderly people and 
job-hopping part-time workers and efforts to create an environment 
friendly to childrearing. 
 
 
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SCHIEFFER