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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 000692 
 
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 02/16/07 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Futenma relocation: Okinawa prefectural government refuses 
screening assessment methods in protest against government's plan to 
send documents detailing assessment methods; Okinawa prepared to 
face administrative lawsuit 
 
(2) US military training intensifying evidenced by gunshots from 
early morning, low helicopter flights, mobilized amphibious ships 
 
(3) Government exploring SDF participation in PRT, eyeing creating 
general legal framework on SDF dispatch overseas 
 
(4) Kasumigaseki confidential: Future course of Administrative Vice 
Minister Yachi 
 
(5) GDP grows 4.8% : Personal consumption lacks vigor due to stalled 
wage growth; Upbeat sales of electronic appliances as reaction to 
sluggish sales in previous quarter 
 
(6) Personal comments by former Ambassador to Thailand Hisahiko 
Okazaki about alterations to exhibits at Yushukan 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Futenma relocation: Okinawa prefectural government refuses 
screening assessment methods in protest against government's plan to 
send documents detailing assessment methods; Okinawa prepared to 
face administrative lawsuit 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Full) 
February 16, 2007 
 
The relocation of Futenma Air Station requires an environmental 
assessment of Camp Schwab, the relocation site. The Okinawa 
prefectural government, however, has notified the Defense Ministry 
that in the event the ministry sent out documents detailing 
assessment methods without the concurrence of the Okinawa 
government, it would not conduct the assessment so that the governor 
would not able to form his opinion on the matter, sources said 
yesterday. The prefectural government has apparently stiffened its 
attitude. On Feb. 15, the Defense Ministry conveyed its desire to 
send the documents the prefectural government at an early date. With 
Okinawa upholding its position, the talks failed to close the gap. 
 
The prefectural government's perception is that once the documents 
are sent out, it cannot refuse accepting them. In order to determine 
the environmental assessment method, the governor, after receiving 
the documents, is required to form his opinion based on public 
opinion following recommendations by the prefecture's environmental 
assessment screening panel. In case the Defense Ministry sends the 
documents without an agreement, the prefectural government may opt 
for forgoing the screening panel's discussion. 
 
In the event the governor fails to form his opinion due to the 
prefectural government's decision not to examine the assessment 
procedures, the Defense Ministry might file a suit against the 
prefectural government for failure to act. The prefectural 
government is prepared to face a suit as a result of its response to 
the matter. 
 
Defense Ministry Finance Division Director Daikichi Monma met at the 
Okinawa prefectural government office with Vice Gov. Zenki Nakazato 
 
TOKYO 00000692  002 OF 009 
 
 
and base disaster prevention officer Reiji Fumoto on Feb. 15 in 
which he explained the ministry's desire to embark on early the 
Futenma relocation environmental assessment procedures. Vice Gov. 
Nakazato, however, reiterated the previous view that the ministry 
should begin the assessment after obtaining local support. 
 
The ministry has repeatedly voiced its desire to begin the 
assessment as early as June in view of the need to observe the 
environment, including corals' breeding season. By calculating 
backward the period necessary for determining the assessment method, 
the ministry has conveyed its intention to send the documents 
detailing methods to the prefectural government by around March. 
 
(2) US military training intensifying evidenced by gunshots from 
early morning, low helicopter flights, mobilized amphibious ships 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 29) (Full) 
February 16, 2007 
 
Northern part of Okinawa 
 
Bang, bang, bang ... Gunshots on the US base echoed across the area 
from early morning. On Feb. 15, US Marines again conducted exercises 
on the east coast of the northern part of Okinawa's main island 
where parachute drop training had been conducted and 
machinegun-armed soldiers were spotted outside the base. Helicopters 
that took off from the 40,532-ton amphibious assault ship Essex 
anchored offshore flew so low that the windows of the houses in the 
area rattled. An angry resident complained, "This is not a 
battlefield." Due to the deployment of troops to Iraq, the US 
military does not have the time to give consideration to the 
sentiments of Okinawa residents, according to a scholar. 
 
At around 8:00 a.m. Feb. 15, jeeps and armored vehicles carrying 
machinegun-armed servicemen patrolled Camp Schwab. Someone in the 
base seemed to be firing blanks. 
 
Some residents witnessed a number of servicemen intimidating mock 
terrorists in T-shirts. It was apparently part of training in an 
envisaged mop-up operation in Iraq or some other place. 
 
Gunshots made Kazuko Abe, 55, of Henoko in Nago, angry. "Over the 
last couple of days, we heard gunshots from early morning until 
about 8:00 p.m. We are not in a battlefield." 
 
Three hovercraft-type amphibious ships hurriedly shuttled between 
waters off Camp Schwab and the Essex. 
 
That afternoon, US military helicopters sporadically flew low over 
residential areas in Taira, Higashi Village, making tremendous 
noise. 
 
According to a 44-year-old woman who saw the helicopters from the 
second-floor veranda of her house, the choppers flew over the 
residential areas in Taira toward the west six times between shortly 
after noon and 4:00 p.m. She said in a shaking voice: "The noise was 
earsplitting, and they flew so low that windows rattled. I was 
terrified." 
 
A US Marine Corps press officer commented: "We cannot make public 
the details of training. We properly notify the Naha Defense 
Facilities Administration Bureau of all training in advance." 
 
 
TOKYO 00000692  003 OF 009 
 
 
Iraq quagmire in backdrop 
 
A series of parachute drop training exercises, soldiers with guns 
pointed to the national highway ... Some ascribe growing troubles 
involving US servicemen in Okinawa to massive deployment to the Iraq 
war, which has turned into a quagmire. 
 
The Stars and Stripes, the US military's quasi-official newspaper, 
reported on Feb. 15 that four US Marines from Okinawa had died in 
action in Iraq in the two weeks from late January. One of them died 
in the crash of the CH46 helicopter from Futenma Air Station. 
 
Professor Masaaki Gabe of the University of the Ryukyus took this 
view about intensifying US military training in Okinawa: 
 
"As seen in the fact that some US troops have been sent twice or 
more to Iraq where civil war is underway, the US military is worn 
out. I assume that becoming tense from combats in Iraq, the US 
military has no room to consider the sentiments of Okinawa 
residents." 
 
Gabe analyzed the parachute drop exercises conducted in Camp Schwab 
and Tsuken Jima training waters this way: 
 
"With so many troops on missions in Iraq, I believe that there are 
not enough soldiers to conduct exercises on the US mainland, as 
before." 
 
(3) Government exploring SDF participation in PRT, eyeing creating 
general legal framework on SDF dispatch overseas 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) 
February 16, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Abe indicated his eagerness to have Self-Defense 
Force (SDF) troops participate in the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization's (NATO) provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) in 
post-Taliban Afghanistan. In response, the government has begun 
discussing the possibility of creating a general legal framework to 
enable SDF personnel's activities overseas, including participating 
in PRTs. However, security in Afghanistan remains bleak, and there 
are also constitutional restrictions to the SDF's participation in 
PRTs' operations that are premised on using weapons. The prime 
minister's remark implying his willingness to launch debate on a 
general legal framework might began to be focused on as an 
international pledge. 
 
In finalizing the prime minister's speech in a NATO executive 
meeting in Brussels in January, the prime minister carried out final 
coordination with Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi, based on a 
draft prepared by the Foreign Ministry. In the speech, the prime 
minister said, "Japan will no longer be shy away from carrying out 
overseas activities involving the SDF." He then praised the role 
that PRTs are playing in Afghanistan. In a press conference after 
the speech, Abe implied his eagerness to have SDF personnel take 
part in PRTs, remarking, "We agreed to work together in assisting 
NATO PRTs' humanitarian and development activities." 
 
For peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, PRTs are utilized. 
Military personnel are responsible mainly for guarding civilians. 
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Professor Kenji Isezaki, who 
served as a special advisor to the Japanese government, revealed, 
"US military officers in Afghanistan asked the Japanese Embassy 
 
TOKYO 00000692  004 OF 009 
 
 
there many times to send SDF personnel to join PRTs." 
 
In the case of Japan, however, SDF personnel are not 
constitutionally allowed to engage in guarding operations. Given 
this, discussion has started in the government on the possibility of 
creating a general legal framework and setting comprehensive 
standards for dispatching SDF troops overseas. 
 
Prime Minister Abe has been eager to enact a general law from 
before. In a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting on 
Feb. 9, Abe made this reply to a question by former Defense Agency 
Director General Shigeru Ishiba, who took the lead in laying out the 
Liberal Democratic Party's draft bill pertaining to SDF personnel's 
overseas activities: "We would like to consider the legislation 
after thorough national debate, including discussion in the ruling 
camp." When he was chief cabinet secretary, a senior official of the 
Cabinet Secretariat heard Abe saying, "PRTs will serve as a trigger 
to spark a debate on a general legal framework." The prime 
minister's indication of Japan's possible participation in PRTs 
probably stemmed from a desire to strengthen the Japan-US alliance, 
as well as to spark a national debate. 
 
Nonetheless, under the government's interpretation of the 
Constitution, SDF personnel are allowed to use armed force only when 
they move to protect Japan from military attacks by "a state or 
equivalent one." SDF troops' use of armed force on duty overseas is 
limited only to when they try to protect people who are with them. 
 
While engaging in PRT operations, troops are in charge of guarding 
their colleagues and civilians who belong to non-government or other 
organizations. In order to draw a line with the category of use of 
armed force, it is also required to specify where they engage in 
activities in order to avoid a fight with "a state." The Cabinet 
Secretariat reached this conclusion through coordination with the 
 
SIPDIS 
Cabinet Legislation Bureau: "Guarding by SDF personnel might be 
interpreted as close to be unconstitutional or unconstitutional." 
 
(4) Kasumigaseki confidential: Future course of Administrative Vice 
Minister Yachi 
 
BUNGEI SHUNJU (Page 234) (Full) 
March 2007 
 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi, who joined the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1969, has increasingly boosted 
his political identity. Beyond the scope of the ministry official 
responsible for diplomatic affairs, Yachi has served as a private 
brain-trust advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a prime 
ministerial assistant in charge of drafting strategies for the Abe 
administration. 
 
According to an official announcement, Yachi met 14 times with Abe 
at the Prime Minister's Official Residence during past four months 
since the Abe government was inaugurated. This means that he met the 
prime minister once a week. Newspaper carried articles about him 
with such titles as "Prime minister's right-hand, Yachi, increasing 
his presence" (Sankei Shimbun article dated Jan. 23); and 
"Administrative Vice Minister Yachi, key person in Abe's 'assertive 
diplomacy'" (Asahi Shimbun Jan. 25). It was unusual for newspapers 
to carry such articles. 
 
Yachi arrived in Moscow on Jan. 22 to hold a strategic dialogue with 
his Russian counterpart Andrei Denisov, and he then visited Beijing 
 
TOKYO 00000692  005 OF 009 
 
 
on the 25th. On Jan. 26-27 he engaged in strategic dialogue with 
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. It is common knowledge in 
the ministry that Yachi is prepared to handle key diplomatic issues 
regarding countries other than Africa, the Middle East, and Latin 
America. 
 
The fact that Yachi manages jobs that the deputy minister for 
political affairs should handle was unveiled when the UN Security 
Council unanimously adopted the resolution condemning North Korea 
for firing missiles last July. 
 
With also strong support by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe and 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, MOFA was able to convince Russia and 
China to approve the resolution by closely cooperating with the 
United States. 
 
Bypassing then Foreign Policy Bureau Director General Masaharu Kono 
and then Deputy Minister for political affairs Tsuneo Nishida, Yachi 
directly gave instructions to the Foreign Policy Bureau's Policy 
Coordination Division Director Nobukatsu Kanehira and Akitaka Saiki, 
minister at the embassy in Washington. It was possible for Yachi to 
do so because he has tremendous authority in the ministry. 
 
All eyes are now focused on the future course of Yachi. He will 
continue to serve in his present post until next January. It was 
believed that Yachi would be picked to be the successor to 
Ambassador to the US Ryozo Kato. Yachi, however, plans to put Deputy 
Minister for political affairs Mitoji Yabunaka in the post of 
ambassador to the US. 
 
Yachi also plans to name Ambassador to Indonesia Shin Ebihara, who 
has walked on a similar path to him and is on the same wavelength 
with him, to be his successor as the next administrative vice 
minister. Reportedly he will retire from the ministry even if Prime 
Minister Abe prepares a post for him in his cabinet and seek a post 
at a university. 
 
(5) GDP grows 4.8% : Personal consumption lacks vigor due to stalled 
wage growth; Upbeat sales of electronic appliances as reaction to 
sluggish sales in previous quarter 
 
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Almost Full) 
February 16, 2007 
 
Gross domestic product (GDP) for the October-December quarter in 
2006 largely exceeded the market forecast with the growth rate 
reaching 4.8% in real terms. The rise is attributable to the highest 
growth in personal consumption in three years. Some market observers 
believe that the trend will back the stance of the Bank of Japan 
(BOJ), which is seeking the right timing for raising the interest 
rate. However, there is deep-rooted skepticism regarding whether 
personal consumption has really recovered. The BOJ will likely be 
pressed to make a difficult decision as to whether to raise the 
interest rate this month. 
 
Recovery of consumption 
 
Given the details of personal consumption in the Oct.-Dec. quarter 
in the GDP statistics, the sales of durable goods, such as 
flat-screen TVs, increased 5.2% from the previous quarter. This is a 
major increase, compared with a 2.2% fall posted in the July-Sept. 
quarter. 
 
 
TOKYO 00000692  006 OF 009 
 
 
The sales of semi-durable goods, such as electronic games, also 
increased 2.1% in the same quarter, compared with the previous 
quarter. As long as figures reported in the Oct.-Dec. quarter are 
concerned, the pickup of consumption is being felt in wider areas. 
 
It is true that some commodities are selling good. 
 
The sales of flat-screen TVs, such as plasma TVs and LCD TVs, at the 
Yurakucho outlet of Bic Camera, a leading electronic appliance 
discount store, continue to be brisk since the year-end sales battle 
last year. 
 
A corporate manager, who happened to be at the store, said, "I have 
been considering buying a flat-screen TV from a year ago. I want to 
decided to buy one now, as the prices are beginning to drop." 
 
According to the store, an increasing number of young customers are 
buying large-screen TVs of over 40 inches. 
 
RCN, a market survey company, noted that the sales of large-screen 
TVs in the Oct.-Dec. quarter in 2006 rose more than 30% in terms of 
both value and the number of units, from the July-Sept. quarter, 
which saw a dip in reaction to the World Soccer Cup. 
 
Negative view 
 
The growth in personal consumption has a strong aspect of being a 
reaction to the fall (1.1% ) in the sales in Sept.-July quarter 
caused by the unseasonable weather. 
 
Regarding the actual results of consumption in annual terms, 
consumption in the Oct.-Dec. term stood at 305.6931 trillion yen on 
a par with the Apr.-June quarter level of 305.6875 trillion yen. It 
means that the increase was just to offset the fall in the 
July-Sept. quarter due to the unseasonable weather. 
 
As such, the government remains cautious with State Minister for 
Economic and Fiscal Policy Ota saying, "Income is staying flat. 
Consumption remains weak." It plans to adopt the economic outlook 
that consumption remains weak in the monthly economic report for 
February (to be out on Feb. 19) for the third consecutive month. 
 
The major cause of weak consumption is sluggish growth in wages. 
Employee remunerations in the Oct.-Dec. quarter increased 1.1%, 
compared with the same quarter year earlier. However, according to a 
senior Cabinet Office official, the per-capita income decreased due 
to an increase in the number of employees. 
 
Corporate capital spending rose 2.2%, topping 0.8% recorded in the 
July-Sept, reflecting that capital spending continues to be robust. 
 
However, some leading electronic appliance manufacturers are 
beginning to revise their capital investment plans due to dropping 
prices of their products, as can be seen in the cases of Hitachi and 
Pioneer - both have postponed their plans to build plasma TV plants. 
There is concern that the government scenario of passing on 
corporate prosperity to employees' income if corporate capital 
spending stalls, thereby spreading benefits to the household 
economy, derailing. 
 
 (6) Personal comments by former Ambassador to Thailand Hisahiko 
Okazaki about alterations to exhibits at Yushukan 
 
 
TOKYO 00000692  007 OF 009 
 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Almost full) 
February 7, 2007 
 
The process of modifying exhibits at Yasukuni Shrine's history 
museum "Yushukan" is underway. The process is reportedly expected to 
be completed this coming July. Former ambassador to Thailand 
Hisahiko Okazaki, who as a member of the modification process has 
worked on the changes, wrote his personal comments on that process 
for the Sankei Shimbun. 
 
My objective in the process of modifying the exhibits was to protect 
the intellectual integrity of Yasukuni Shrine. 
 
The first yardstick for alterations is to remove inappropriate 
expressions that may be taken as being intellectually dishonest or 
farfetched. Other criteria, such as consideration to responses by 
certain countries, were deliberately ruled out. The first priority 
is to ensure the intellectual integrity of descriptions. Given the 
changing international situation, we have not taken into 
consideration other countries' responses. 
 
Instead of giving abstract accounts like these, it may be better to 
straightforwardly show the reader the controversial points. 
 
Hull Note 
 
It was not factually correct to describe that President Roosevelt 
(Explanation 1) forced Japan to go to war as a means to get out of 
the Great Depression. This description could be taken as being 
somewhat mean-spirited and could cast aspersions on Yasukuni, so 
this became the first to be removed. 
 
However, the Hull Note (Explanation 2) was in effect meant to close 
negotiations, so we did not raise any objection to a new quotation 
from the Stimson Diary (Explanation 3) saying that all that is left 
would be to wait for Japan to attack. 
 
It is a historical fact that Roosevelt somehow induced Japan to 
carry out the first strike. The indication of this fact does not 
cast aspersions at all Yasukuni Shrine's intellectual integrity. 
 
Kissinger (Explanation 4) wrote in his book, Diplomacy: "Roosevelt 
must have been aware that there was no possibility that Japan would 
accept (the Hull Note). America's participation in the war was the 
great achievements made through the extraordinary efforts by a great 
and courageous leader." 
 
Should Japan have not attacked the United States, "his job would 
have become more complicated. But in view of his ethical and 
strategic convictions, it was almost certain that he decided to let 
America participate in the war, deeming it as indispensable for the 
future of freedom and the safety of America." 
 
I agree with this interpretation. I think it would be more accurate 
to think that Roosevelt decided to let America participate in the 
war from a strategic and ethical perspective than to think he did so 
in order to get America out of the Depression. I therefore deemed it 
necessary to make a special mention of the "Quarantine Speech" 
(Explanation 5) delivered in 1937. 
 
Northern China operations 
 
The threshold for the China Incident (Japan-China war) was the Marco 
 
TOKYO 00000692  008 OF 009 
 
 
Polo Bridge Incident (Explanation 6), and in resolving the Marco 
Polo Bridge Incident swiftly, such incidents as the Guanganmen 
Incident (Explanation 7), the Tongzhou Incident (Explanation 8), and 
the Second Shanghai Incident (Explanation 9), which expanded a local 
incident in Beijing into a total war, occurred in succession and 
made it impossible to settle it (Marco Polo Bridge Incident). It was 
a historical fact that all these incidents occurred due to China's 
provocation. We will not yield on this point. 
 
After the war, it came to light that the Imperial Japanese Army was 
indirectly involved in such incidents as the assassination of Zhan 
Zuolin (Explanation 10), the Manchurian Incident (Explanation 11), 
and the First Shanghai Incident (Explanation 12), but Japan's 
responsibility for the outbreak of the China Incident was not 
questioned even at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. 
 
However, I do not mean to blame China, as with the US as mentioned 
above. History essentially seeks truths and it is not appropriate to 
debate its good or bad aspects. However, China's provocation of 
Japan stemmed from the acts and behavior of the Japanese Army. 
 
When it came to Japan-China relations after the Manchurian Incident, 
they became stable after signing the Tanggu Truce signed in 1933 
(Explanation 13), but Japan's Northern China operations (Explanation 
14) unfolded in the west of the Great Wall of China were indeed 
viewed as the cause of the war. Portions of postwar historic views 
that put all war responsibility on the military have flaws in view 
of historical fact, but when it came to the Northern China 
operations, they were the result of some Japanese military groups 
deployed in China running wild. No doubt this led to Japan making a 
major mistake. 
 
According to his memoirs, Chiang Kai-shek, who tried to place 
emphasis on confronting the Communist Party, was inflamed with rage 
at Japanese troops' Northern China operations. 
 
It was true that since the Sian Incident (Explanation 15), China, 
where the National United Front Against Japan gained momentum, had 
been in the mood of not allowing Japan to act overbearingly any 
longer. This underlay a number of incidents caused by China around 
the time when the China Incident occurred. 
 
In the modification process this time, when the four Chinese letters 
meaning "Northern China operations" were put in the explanation 
regarding the China Incident, I felt the half of the objective of 
the process was achieved. 
 
Regarding the Nanking Incident (Explanation 16), we paid serious 
attention to original texts that showed only actions based on 
reliable historical facts. I think it would impair the intellectual 
integrity of Yasukuni Shrine if we added more modifications out of 
consideration for other countries' responses, because doing so might 
simply stem from secondhand evidence and propaganda-like 
assertions. 
 
Yasukuni Shrine 
 
In this sort of process, everything essentially should be rewritten, 
and doing so would be necessary sometime in the future. Partial 
modifications have their limit in terms of perfection. What I can 
say at present is, please make a comparison between the current 
explanations and the pre-modified ones. 
 
 
TOKYO 00000692  009 OF 009 
 
 
Regarding the contents of new exhibits, I am ready to take all 
responsibility for that. Every modification and addition is not 
always what I proposed but at least what I approved. 
 
In working on the process, I very much appreciated that I was able 
to take part in it as a plain citizen. If I had been in the post of 
government assistant or counselor, I couldn't have done the job as I 
just did now. Some reporters tried to trick me by asking, "Have your 
reported this to the prime minister?" But I did not such thing at 
all. Probably, the prime minister is unaware of what I have been 
doing. 
 
Nothing in the world is perfect. History allows a myriad of 
interpretations. The government is not responsible at all for this. 
If there is wrong with this, it is "Okazaki who is to be blamed." 
 
More than 2 million souls have been enshrined at Yasukuni, and while 
most died for their country, some did not. There are few places in 
the world like Yasukuni where souls are enshrined. 
 
SCHIEFFER