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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 000540 
 
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 02/06/07 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) US Assistant Secretary of State Hill calls on DPRK to "swiftly 
implement "preliminary steps," adding, "Implementation should be 
carried out in a few weeks" 
 
(2) Foreign minister's remark critical of US Iraq policy might be 
aimed to constrain US request for Japan's cost-sharing in war 
against terrorism 
 
(3) Ruling coalition members unhappy with Prime Minister Abe, with 
one member calling him as "impervious to public opinion" as many 
unaffiliated voters supported opposition backed candidate in Aichi 
gubernatorial race, moving away from LDP 
 
(4) LDP vexed by swing voters turning away from party 
 
(5) Controversial remarks by Defense Minister Akio Kyuma and Foreign 
Minister Taro Aso 
 
(6) Potential uses of base land after reversion in Okinawa's 
central, southern parts (Part 1): Prologue; Camp Kinser's overall 
return in package with Futenma relocation unexpected to Urasoe City; 
Municipal officials upset at conditional return; No schedule in 
sight, local government at loss 
 
(7) US media cynically report on Yanagisawa's remark, saying 
"baby-making machines are also voters" 
 
(8) Health Minister Yanagisawa makes another provocative remark at 
press briefing this morning: "Having two children or more is a 
healthy hope" 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) US Assistant Secretary of State Hill calls on DPRK to "swiftly 
implement "preliminary steps," adding, "Implementation should be 
carried out in a few weeks" 
 
MAINICHI (Page 1) (Full) 
Eve., February 6, 2007 
 
Takayasu Ogura 
 
Ahead of the next round of the six-party talks to reconvene on Feb. 
8, US chief negotiator Christopher Hill, assistant secretary of 
state, today gave an interview to the press corps, including the 
Mainichi Shimbun, at the US Embassy in Tokyo. In the session, Hill 
indicated that after discussions on "preliminary steps" for North 
Korea to dismantle its nuclear arms programs, those steps should be 
implemented in a few weeks. Hill continued, "It is a good sign that 
North Korea has now become willing to return to the multilateral 
talks. There was also a good sign in the (US-North Korea) talks in 
Berlin (in January)." He thus indicated that he was optimistic about 
the implementation of "preliminary steps." 
 
When asked in what form an agreement would be announced if such were 
reached in the resumed six-party talks, Hill stated; "It would be 
fine to announce it in the form of a chairman's statement or a joint 
statement, but I think an agreement should be announced in the form 
of obligating the member nations to do the following.'" 
 
Moreover, Hill indicated that what should be done in addition to 
 
TOKYO 00000540  002 OF 010 
 
 
"preliminary steps" must be mentioned in the (statement) and noted 
that as a medium-term form of discussions, "We may establish working 
groups." 
 
Regarding the working groups, Hill revealed the notion of having 
every member in the six-party talks serve as chair of a working 
group and stated, "The chairman's post managing all the discussions 
will be held by China," indicating that it was desirable to advance 
discussions in line with the current form. 
 
When asked whether North Korea is reportedly calling for a supply of 
500,000 tons or more of heavy oil in return for it to dismantle its 
nuclear development-related facilities, Hill expressed displeasure 
at such a rumor flying around, saying: "Even in the talks in Berlin, 
such a matter did not crop up. I don't know who said such a thing, 
but I won't comment on it." 
 
(2) Foreign minister's remark critical of US Iraq policy might be 
aimed to constrain US request for Japan's cost-sharing in war 
against terrorism 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
February 6, 2007 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso called the Bush administration's Iraq 
policy "extremely naive." In the government, many officials wonder 
why the foreign minister made such a remark criticizing the US 
government just ahead of the planned visit to Japan by Vice 
President Cheney on Feb. 20, and just after Defense Minister Fumio 
Kyuma uttered his criticism of the US. The US is now being pressed 
to significantly increase its antiterrorism budget. It is 
conceivable that the US will ask Japan to partially foot the global 
war-on-terror bill. Keeping such a possibility in mind, a government 
source said, "Aso might have tried in his own way to head that 
off." 
 
"His real aim may have been to underscore that Japan can contribute 
to peace building." "He did not say that the use of force was a 
mistake." In a press conference yesterday, Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Yasuhisa Shiozaki thus defended Aso's remark in an attempt to 
dismiss the concern about a negative impact of the remark on 
Japan-US relations, prior to the planned Japan visit by the US vice 
president. Shiozaki, though, added, "I think his words were somewhat 
inappropriate." 
 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi said, "His remark 
was not intended to deny the US military's strenuous efforts to 
stabilize the security situation in Iraq." He added, "Since the US 
might feel apprehensive (about Aso's remark), we have given our 
explanation in a businesslike manner." 
 
The Prime Minister's Office (Kantei) and the Foreign Ministry have 
both defended Aso's controversial remark. Behind their stance is 
President Bush's own recognition in a speech in January that his 
efforts to maintain security in Iraq had failed and his appeal for 
understanding for his policy switch. 
 
Aso has insisted since the time he was internal affairs and 
communications minister in the former Koizumi administration, "The 
Iraqis should take charge of maintaining security in their country." 
On postwar security policy in Iraq, as well, Aso is quoted as 
telling his aides, "Compared with General MacArthur, who ran the 
occupation of Japan, while keeping the Emperor and the bureaucracy 
 
TOKYO 00000540  003 OF 010 
 
 
in place, the Bush administration's policy seems naive." 
 
However, a close aide to the foreign minister said, "The recent 
remark by Aso was not intended to criticize the US but was based on 
what President Bush said in his speech." 
 
The Bush administration requested in his budget message for FY2008 
(October 2007 - September 2008) that outlays for fighting terrorism 
should be significantly increased. Focusing on this, some officials 
in the Foreign Ministry believe that the foreign minister might have 
tried to prevent the US from coming up with another request for 
Japan to share the cost." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also told 
reporters at the Kantei last night: "Aso's remark means that Japan 
must fulfill its responsibility in the international community," 
denying the remark was intended to criticize the US. 
 
Prime Minister Abe told cabinet ministers on Feb. 1: "Take a grip on 
yourselves so as to avoid giving the impression of disunity in the 
cabinet." In the Foreign Ministry, too, some are overheard 
expressing concerns about an impact on Japan-US relations of the 
series of controversial statements by cabinet ministers. 
 
Preoccupied with explaining Kyuma's calling the Iraq war "a 
mistake," the Defense Ministry has also been in a great quandary, 
with a senior official saying, "What is going on when even the 
foreign minister makes a remark that rubs the US the wrong way. 
Japan will be in a fix if the situation in the Middle East turns 
into chaos." 
 
(3) Ruling coalition members unhappy with Prime Minister Abe, with 
one member calling him as "impervious to public opinion" as many 
unaffiliated voters supported opposition backed candidate in Aichi 
gubernatorial race, moving away from LDP 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 6, 2007 
 
In the Aichi gubernatorial election on Feb. 4, the candidate backed 
by the ruling parties faced an unexpected uphill battle, although he 
won the race. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a result is being forced 
to come up with a strategy of winning voters unaffiliated with any 
party in the July House of Councillors election. Health, Labor and 
Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa's remark referring to women as 
baby-bearing machines is regarded as the main reason for making 
unaffiliated voters distance themselves from the ruling Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP). Some in the ruling coalition have expressed 
unhappiness with the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei), 
which has supported Yanagisawa, calling the Kantei officials, 
"impervious to public opinion." They have also pointed out gaps 
between the public opinion and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has 
advocated constitutional reform as the main campaign issue for the 
Upper House election. 
 
Yoichi Masuzoe, LDP Upper House Caucus policy chief, who will seek a 
reelection in the summer election, said: "The Kantei is impervious 
to the public opinion and the prime minister acts like the 
proverbial Emperor's New Clothes." In an interview to the Mainichi 
Shimbun yesterday, he severely criticized Abe, saying, "There are 
gaps between public opinion" and Abe, who puts up the political 
slogan of "creating a beautiful country." The ruling camp probably 
sees the outcome of the Aichi gubernatorial race as a typical 
example of the Kantei being impervious to the public opinion. 
Worrying about the negative impact of Yanagisawa's controversial 
 
TOKYO 00000540  004 OF 010 
 
 
remark, calls in the LDP for his resignation were floated at an 
early stage,. However, Abe has never stopped supporting him. In the 
Kantei, such optimistic views are now spreading: "It did not have a 
negative impact on the local elections," said a senior official; and 
an Abe aide chimed in: "We won the race even though it was a bitter 
fight. We will take the offensive. 
 
The ruling camp has not taken the Kantei's views seriously. A senior 
LDP Upper House member spoke distinctly: "Since Yanagisawa's remark 
had a significant impact, we will be forced to engage in a tough 
struggle in the Upper House election." Concern is now being 
widespread in the LDP that the party will find it difficult to win 
the election as local assembly members are upset about the 
Yanagisawa comment. The ruling camp's distrust in Abe has spilled 
over into his strategy for the July Upper House election. Abe has 
consistently attached top priority to constitutional amendments and 
the revitalizing of the education system connected to the shape of a 
state, but the Abe cabinet approval rate has continued to drop. A 
senior Koga faction member pointed out: "The public needs policies 
that deal with their daily lives. We cannot win the election on 
foreign policy and views of the state." Regarding the issue of 
narrowing the income gap in society, which Minshuto (Democratic 
Party of Japan) has advocated, Abe has insisted on a strategy of 
increasing the level of wages through economic growth. A government 
source lamented: "Because the prime minister uses difficult words, 
some say that his cabinet makes no sense tp the common people." 
 
Abe strongly reacted against Masuzoe's calling him impervious to 
public opinion, telling reporters last night: "I don't think so." A 
source familiar with the New Komeito, however, called on Abe to 
review his strategy, saying, "He should consider well the reasons 
why unaffiliated voters, whom former Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi had drawn to the LDP, now shy away from the party." 
 
(4) LDP vexed by swing voters turning away from party 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
February 6, 2007 
 
The candidate backed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the New 
Komeito narrowly won the Aichi gubernatorial election on Feb. 4. But 
in the Kitakyushu mayoral race, the candidate supported by the major 
opposition Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) defeated the 
candidate backed by the two ruling parties, exposing unaffiliated 
voters' strong discontent with the ruling coalition. In the election 
two weeks earlier, residents of Miyazaki Prefecture elected as their 
governor former TV comedian Sonomanma Higashi, whose real name is 
Hideo Higashikokubaru. Although the ruling coalition has identified 
Higashikokubaru's victory as a special case resulting from a schism 
in conservative forces, the two ruling parties are fearful that they 
will be forced to fight uphill battles in the upcoming national 
elections. Minshuto, on the other hand, has gained confidence from 
the Kitakyushu race, although it had failed to attract swing voters 
in Miyazaki. 
 
Nakagawa calls for Abe's strong leadership 
 
In an executive meeting last evening, LDP Secretary General Hidenao 
Nakagawa explained the Feb. 4 elections this way: "In Aichi, the 
opposition candidate garnered more young voters than the ruling 
candidate did. In Kitakyushu, about 30% of LDP supporters voted for 
the opposition candidate." 
 
 
TOKYO 00000540  005 OF 010 
 
 
He also indicated that the LDP would closely analyze every district 
to step up responses under the initiative of district leaders. His 
words reflected the party's determination not to repeat the same 
mistakes in the upcoming Upper House election in which the LDP-New 
Komeito coalition is expected to clash with Minshuto head on. 
 
In the wake of Higashikokubaru's victory in the Miyazaki 
gubernatorial race in January, the LDP leadership concluded the need 
to carefully determine its candidates, ascribing the party's defeat 
to its failure to field a unified candidate. 
 
In the Kitakyushu election, a Minshuto-backed candidate without any 
celebrity status achieved victory owing to support by a large number 
of unaffiliated voters. Such can no longer be identified as a 
special case by the LDP. 
 
Asahi Shimbun exit polls showed that floating voters, especially 
young voters, threw their weight behind the Minshuto candidates. 
 
In Aichi, the Minshuto-backed candidate garnered 55% of the 
unaffiliated votes against the LDP-New Komeito candidate's 38%. In 
Kitakyushu, 57% of the swing votes -- more than double the coalition 
candidate's 26% -- went to the Minshuto-endorsed candidate who won 
the race. Furthermore, those who voted for the Minshuto candidate 
were mostly in their twenties to forties. 
 
What can the ruling coalition do to stop such a trend? "There are no 
effective means for unaffiliated voters. First of all, the support 
rate must be raised," commended a senior LDP lawmaker responsible 
for election campaigning. 
 
Secretary General Nakagawa briefed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the 
 
SIPDIS 
results of the Aichi and Kitakyushu elections at the Prime 
Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) yesterday afternoon. Nakagawa 
also said to Abe: "You should display leadership, without reserve. 
We will firmly support you." 
 
Nakagawa's unusual advice came against the backdrop of a Kyodo News 
Service weekend opinion survey in which 30.4% of respondents -- up 
from 21.9% from the previous month -- pointed out the prime 
minister's lack of leadership. Subsequently, Nakagawa expressed a 
sense of alarm to reporters, saying, "This figure must be taken 
seriously." 
 
The LDP and New Komeito leaderships' plan was to garner additional 
votes on the strength of Abe's popularity in the Upper House 
election, while solidifying their organizations. But with many 
unaffiliated voters turning away from the ruling coalition amid the 
declining cabinet support rate, the LDP and the New Komeito may have 
to change their strategy altogether. 
 
Another LDP election campaign official took this view: "No matter 
how hard we work to cultivate new organizations, we won't be able to 
stop the trend of unaffiliated voters. We are well aware of public 
opinion that thinks the prime minister lacks leadership." 
 
Minshuto gains confidence from absorbing swing votes 
 
Minshuto thinks it has succeeded in absorbing swing votes in the 
Feb. 4 elections by making Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Hakuo 
Yanagisawa's gaffe a campaign issue. 
 
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama said yesterday: "I hear that one 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TOKYO 00000540  006 OF 010 
 
 
out of every three persons gave serious thought to Yanagisawa's 
comment in casting their votes. Each ballot carried significant 
weight." 
 
The largest opposition party, which had failed to make its presence 
felt in the Wakayama, Yamanashi, Ehime, and Miyazaki gubernatorial 
elections, fielded its own candidates for the Feb. 4 races in order 
to force the ruling coalition to fight uphill battles. Confidence is 
spreading among Minshuto lawmakers that offering more options to 
voters for a tenser atmosphere would help the party win the hearts 
of those critical of the ruling coalition. 
 
The Minshuto leadership is aware, however, that swing voters' 
support for their party is so transient that it might not last until 
the Upper House election. 
 
Minshuto President Ichiro Ozawa, speaking to the press in Matsuyama 
City yesterday, said: "(The health, labor, and welfare minister's 
remarks) had an impact on the latest elections, but I don't think it 
was a major factor." The Feb. 4 elections exposed challenges for 
Minshuto, as well. For one thing, the party's strategy of making the 
Yanagisawa gaffe a campaign issue was insufficient to win female 
votes. 
 
The Asahi Shimbun exit polls showed that the Minshuto-backed 
candidate in the Kitakyushu race won more female votes than the 
LDP-New Komeito candidate did. But in the Aichi race, the ruling 
coalition-baked candidate won 52% of the female votes, against the 
opposition candidate's 42%. Minshuto remains unpopular among female 
voters. "Attracting female voters has been a challenge over the last 
ten years. (Expanding the support base) will not be easy," a senior 
Minshuto lawmaker said. 
 
(5) Controversial remarks by Defense Minister Akio Kyuma and Foreign 
Minister Taro Aso 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
February 6, 2007 
 
Satoshi Morimoto, director of Takushoku University Overseas Affairs 
Research Center: Inappropriate in political terms 
 
Defense Minister Akio Kyuma and Foreign Minister Taro Aso have made 
remarks questioning the validity of the Iraq war. It is politically 
inappropriate for the foreign minister and the defense minister, who 
in their respective positions represent the people of Japan, one of 
the closest allies of the US, to say that the Iraq war was a mistake 
or that the US policy toward Iraq is extremely naive. 
 
In my view, the US decision to open war with Iraq was appropriate in 
light of international law. I think that it was also correct that 
the Japanese government supported the US decision. Because of the US 
action, the Hussein regime collapsed and terrorism was contained. 
 
Some in the international community presumably took the position of 
opposing the Iraq war. The US admittedly did not give full account 
on its launching of operations only for the reason of Iraq 
possessing weapons of mass destruction. However, President Bush 
himself admitted that the assumption was not correct. The US has 
recently revised its Iraq policy. History will tell whether it was a 
right move or not. This is something that should be evaluated or 
analyzed after the US ends its occupation policy. Whether the US 
action was correct or not is a matter to be overviewed and 
 
TOKYO 00000540  007 OF 010 
 
 
determined by the US people. 
 
Aso and Kyuma have probably voiced their views as individuals. Now 
that the situation in Northeast Asia is unstable, Japan must rely on 
the US, its ally. With that in mind, the Japanese government has 
dispatched Self-Defense forces to Iraq. At such a time, the cabinet 
ministers in charge of the Japan-US alliance should not have said 
that the US policy toward Iraq was wrong. 
 
Koji Murata, professor at Doshisha University: No friction will 
occur 
 
Remarks made by Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Defense Minister Akio 
Kyuma over the US Iraq policy will have no major impact on the 
Japan-US alliance. Opposition parties and media institutions are 
making an issue over their remarks. It means that they have no other 
materials to use in attacking the Abe administration. 
 
I am not sure whether the word "naive" used by Aso was proper or 
not. When he said "naive," he did not refer to the cause for the 
war. He meant that the US occupation policy in Iraq has not been 
adequate. President Bush himself has admitted that. In that sense, 
there is no fundamental difference in the views of Japanese and US 
governments. 
 
If you listen to Mr. Aso's entire remark, you will know that he 
noted the importance of the Japan-US alliance. It is questionable to 
pick up one particular part of his speech and make an issue over it. 
Given the purport of the remark, no friction will occur between the 
two countries. 
 
Right from the opening of the war, Mr. Kyuma's position has been 
that it will be fine for the Japanese government to understand the 
war, instead of supporting it. I believe he referred to this 
original view of his in his recent remark. The problem is, however, 
he repeatedly has made such a remark, planting the seeds of 
distrust, though he might have made the series of remarks as a kind 
of strategic bargaining toward the US. He has provided opposition 
parties with material to attack, saying that there is discord in the 
cabinet. This has worsened the position of the government. 
 
The US is not reacting that strongly. However, if the Japanese media 
and opposition parties make a fuss over the issue, the American 
public might respond to it. Even if such a thing occurs, it will 
probably not affect the bilateral alliance. 
 
(6) Potential uses of base land after reversion in Okinawa's 
central, southern parts (Part 1): Prologue; Camp Kinser's overall 
return in package with Futenma relocation unexpected to Urasoe City; 
Municipal officials upset at conditional return; No schedule in 
sight, local government at loss 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Full) 
January 31, 2006 
 
Tokyo and Washington have now finalized a report of their talks over 
the planned realignment of US forces in Japan, incorporating an 
agreement to return the sites of US military bases and facilities in 
Okinawa's main island on a large scale. Judging from their location 
and size, the sites of these bases and facilities have considerable 
potential. However, there is still no detailed information about 
when the sites will be returned to local hands. As it stands, many 
landowners and base-hosting localities are at a loss. This series 
 
TOKYO 00000540  008 OF 010 
 
 
verifies how the sites of bases returned in the past have been used 
and looks into local efforts and challenges for the large-scale 
reversion of bases in the central and southern parts of Okinawa's 
main island. 
 
Route 58, a national road running through the island, is where 
traffic is always snarled up with bumper-to-bumper gridlock. In 
contrast to its chronically heavy traffic, there is an area of 
warehouses standing in silence with an overall length of about three 
kilometers along its western side. The area is the Makiminato 
Service Area, a facility of the US Marine Corps, and it is called 
Camp Kinser. 
 
During the Vietnam War, the warehouses on Camp Kinser stored 
war-reserve supplies. In addition, Camp Kinser was where bodies were 
kept and bloody vehicles were washed. In those days, Camp Kinser was 
in full operation as a base in the rear to support US military 
operations on the front. Nowadays, the base has fallen silent, quite 
different from what it used to be in those days. 
 
Now, Camp Kinser is a quiet base. In the past, however, there were 
accidents and incidents involving US servicemen based there. In 
addition, a fire broke out there in 1997 and panicked nearby local 
residents. In 2000, uranium-tipped shell casings, mixed in iron 
scraps sold to locals, were discovered on the private premises in 
the town of Nishihara. As seen from such events, the base harmed 
local communities in its vicinity. 
 
Japan and the United States formally agreed on the overall return of 
Camp Kinser in a report finalized in May 2006 on the realignment of 
US forces in Japan. 
 
The words "overall return" were long awaited by Urasoe City, which 
hosts Camp Kinser. These two words were incorporated in the final 
report. "I couldn't believe it," said Hidemori Mekaru, director of 
the Planning Division of the Planning Department of the Urasoe city 
government. "I was really surprised," Mekaru recalled. At that time, 
Mekaru was sure of the city's development. 
 
In 1996, Japan and the United States finalized a report of 
intergovernmental agreements reached in the Japan-US Special Action 
Committee on Facilities and Areas in Okinawa (SACO). The final 
report of SACO specified a plan to relocate the Naha Port 
Facility-also known as the Naha military port-to a site on the 
western coast of Urasoe City. Mekaru was then in the Planning 
Division of the city's municipal government, and he gave 
explanations to local residents about the military port's planned 
relocation as a base reversion project. In those days, however, the 
military port could not be expected to return into local hands, 
according to Mekaru. "There was no atmosphere or reality for 
creating the plan," Mekaru said. After the SACO final report, 
however, Urasoe shifted its stance from "preparing for the military 
port's return" to "shaping the city's ideal future." Mekaru happened 
to experience two turning points with the final reports of SACO 
agreements and USFJ realignment agreements. "It's a strange turn of 
Fortune's wheel," Mekaru said. With this, he is envisioning how to 
use the port facility's site after its return. 
 
On Dec. 22, 2005, Urasoe City's Mayor Mitsuo Gima called at the 
Defense Agency, where he met with the agency's administrative deputy 
director general, Takemasa Moriya. "The government has expropriated 
the military port over the past 60 years," Gima said. The mayor went 
on, "It's outrageous that the government attached conditions to the 
 
TOKYO 00000540  009 OF 010 
 
 
military port's return after making the decision on its return." So 
saying, the mayor came out with his anger. Japan and the United 
States have agreed on the relocation of Futenma airfield, whereas 
the sites of US military bases and facilities in the central and 
southern parts of Okinawa will not be returned as long as there is 
no progress in the planned relocation of Futenma airfield to Henoko 
in the city of Nago. The military port is among those US military 
bases and facilities in Okinawa's central and southern localities, 
so the military port is also in a package with Futenma relocation. 
The mayor was upset at this precondition. 
 
In 1980, the city's officials created a blueprint for the city's 
reuse of the military port's site after its return. In the past, 
they have retouched the blueprint. The military port's return in a 
package with Futenma relocation was unexpected to the city. "How can 
we accept such a precondition?" With this, all in the Planning 
Division were dissatisfied. This fact depicts a base-hosting 
locality at the mercy of Japan-US realignment talks. 
 
(7) US media cynically report on Yanagisawa's remark, saying 
"baby-making machines are also voters" 
 
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Full) 
Evening, February 6, 2007 
 
Hiroaki Wada, Washington 
 
Focusing on Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa's 
controversial remark calling women baby-making machines, the major 
US media, including CNN TV, the Los Angeles Times, and Time Magazine 
(electronic edition), reported on Feb. 5 that "a number of difficult 
problems lie ahead of the ruling parties in Japan," with analysis 
attached of the present state of the Abe administration, which is 
suffering from plummeting public support rates. 
 
In its popular morning program, CNN cited the Yanagisawa remark as 
"one of the articles that received the largest number of hits on our 
website this morning." The newscaster then made this cynical 
comment: "Since those 'baby-making machines' are also voters, (the 
minister) had no choice but to apologize." 
 
The Los Angeles Times carried an article dispatched from its Tokyo 
correspondent on the political situation in Japan. The article 
analyzed that the Abe government has been in disarray, affected by a 
series of political gaffes, such as Foreign Minister Aso's criticism 
of the US Iraq occupation policy as "naive" and Defense Minister 
Fumio Kyuma's comment calling the US decision to launch the Iraq war 
"a mistake," not to mention the Yanagisawa remark.Time noted: "In 
Japan, male chauvinism is publicly accepted. But even in such a 
country, the (Yanagisawa) remark upset women." 
 
(8) Health Minister Yanagisawa makes another provocative remark at 
press briefing this morning: "Having two children or more is a 
healthy hope" 
 
MAINICHI online news 
February 6, 2007 
 
Tatsuya Tamaki 
 
Emerging from a cabinet meeting this morning, Health Minister Hakuo 
Yanagisawa again offered an apology for his recent provocative 
remark calling "women child-bearing machines," saying, "I'd like to 
 
TOKYO 00000540  010 OF 010 
 
 
offer my apology for my inappropriate remark." Reiterating his 
intention not to step down from the post, Yanagisawa stressed 
firmly, "I'll do what I can do to carry out my duties." When asked 
about measures to halt the falling birthrate, Yanagisawa stated: "We 
must consider a policy approach that will meet the very healthy hope 
(of young people) who want to have two or more children after they 
get married." 
 
Health Minister Yanagisawa's remark "A couple with two children is 
healthy" raises doubts 
 
ASAHI online news 
February 6, 2007, 13:07p.m. 
 
Health Minister Yanagisawa's latest remark seems likely to create 
another stir. The new remark cropped up just before the opposition 
parties made a move to bring Diet management back to normal. Before 
the controversy over his old remark has yet to quiet down, 
Yanagisawa made another controversial comment at a press conference 
this morning, saying that young people were in a "healthy condition" 
because "they want to get married and to have two or more 
children." 
 
SCHIEFFER