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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 001344 
 
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 03/27/07-2 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(6) Extraordinary foreign media reaction to "comfort women" issue 
only serving to drive wedge between Japan, US 
 
(7) Viewpoint in selecting politicians, Ask for views about history, 
war 
 
(8) Base issues: National policy stands in way of citizens' 
expectations 
 
(9) Weak America casts shadow on world; Change in timing between 
Japan, US 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(6) Extraordinary foreign media reaction to "comfort women" issue 
only serving to drive wedge between Japan, US 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
March 27, 2007 
 
Hisashi Utsunomiya 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has faced extraordinary reaction from the 
foreign media to his remark on the "comfort women" issue that "there 
was no coercion." 
 
The March 6 edition of The New York Times (NYT) wrote: 
 
"What part of 'Japanese Army sex slaves' does Japan's prime 
minister, Shinzo Abe, have so much trouble understanding and 
apologizing for? The underlying facts have long been beyond serious 
dispute. During World War II, Japan's Army set up sites where women 
rounded up from Japanese colonies like Korea were expected to 
deliver sexual services to Japan's solders. These were not 
commercial brothels. Force, explicit and implicit, was used in 
recruiting these women. What went on in them was serial rape, not 
prostitution." 
 
A French daily, Liberation wrote in its March 5 edition: 
 
"The former Japanese General Staff Office allowed the sexual slavery 
to ease its soldiers' frustration at the battle front. Tens of 
thousands of women (or 200,000, most of whom were Korean, according 
to historians) were rounded up by force and sold to work in field 
brothels for Japanese soldiers. Many sexual slaves or 'comfort 
women' were unable to survive a horrible environment and many killed 
themselves." 
 
These media reports portrayed the former Imperial Japanese Army as 
if they had carried out a massive "witch-hunt" for women by using 
force. 
 
Abe was also exposed to harsh criticism. 
 
The March 6th edition of Austria's major daily, Presse, said: 
 
"Human beings are raised from their childhood days to tell the truth 
about even minor things. But there is one adult who has no 
hesitation in continuing to refuse to tell the truth about crimes 
that were clearly and obviously confirmed." 
 
 
TOKYO 00001344  002 OF 007 
 
 
South Korea's daily, JoongAng Ilbo, wrote in its March 7 edition: 
"Prime Minister Abe must reflect hard on why his remarks met with 
criticism from not only Asia but also Western media. History must 
not be judged in an arbitrary manner." 
 
The Los Angeles Times in its March 7 edition mentioned the need for 
the Emperor to apologize: 
 
"The emperor . . . could offer a more forceful apology for all 
crimes committed in his family's name." 
 
The ongoing uproar over the comfort women issue came with US 
Congressman Mike Honda's submission to the House Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of a resolution calling on the Japanese government 
to apologize for the comfort women. The resolution insists that 
young women were forced by the former Imperial Japanese Army into 
sexual slavery in the 1930s and 40s. But needless to say, this 
assertion "does not stem from objective facts," as Abe has noted. 
 
The basis for the resolution is the 1993 statement by then Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono, in which Kono made mention of such 
words as "administrative/military personnel directly took part" in 
the recruitment of comfort women and "through coaxing coercion." But 
the statement was created out of consideration for South Korea, 
which at the time was escalating its criticism of Japan, and without 
any clear proof or evidence, as then Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Nobuo Ishihara later revealed. 
 
From the beginning, doubts have been cast on testimonies made by 
women identifying themselves as "former comfort women." 
 
Tsuneyasu Daishido, who had served as an official at the 
 
SIPDIS 
Government-General of Korea, looking back on his own experiences, 
wrote in a book, Ianfu Kyousei Renko wa Nakatta (No coerced 
recruitment of comfort women) published by Tentensha: 
 
"It was inconceivable that forcibly recruiting women was carried out 
without disturbing other ordinary women. Naturally, commotions 
should have occurred across the country, and that they should have 
been known to us." 
 
What he said would be the truth. 
 
On March 11, Abe told domestic media: "I have extended a sincere 
apology and remorse to all those who suffered pain and incurable 
psychological wounds (as comfort women)." But the Boston Globe in 
its March 16 edition said: 
 
"Maybe there is no final comfort for the comfort women, but there 
should be justice." 
 
Foreign media's criticism of Japan is likely to continue for a 
while. 
 
The LAT even said (in its editorial on March 7): 
 
"The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's failure to discipline its 
World War II-atrocity minimizers has damaged Japan's international 
reputation. . . . Japan's reluctance to fully acknowledge its 
wartime behavior has hampered the potential of the US-Japanese 
alliance." 
 
These distortions as seen, for instance, in the House resolution and 
 
TOKYO 00001344  003 OF 007 
 
 
groundless media reports are indeed dangerous, because they are 
likely to help drive a wedge between Japan and the US. 
 
(7) Viewpoint in selecting politicians, Ask for views about history, 
war 
 
ASAHI (Page 15) (Full) 
March 27, 2007 
 
By Hiroshi Hoshi, editorial board member 
 
Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii had an unexpected 
experience when he visited Vietnam this January. Key Vietnamese 
government officials referred to a speech by House of 
Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, one remarking, "I was 
impressed." 
 
Kono made the following speech in return for a speech in the Diet by 
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung when he visited Japan last 
fall: 
 
"When asked if our nation after the Meiji Restoration has always met 
the Vietnamese people's expectations, I am hanging my head in shame. 
I think we must never forget that a number of persons died of 
starvation under our nation's military administration during the 
last world war." 
 
In Vietnam under the control of the Imperial Japanese Army in the 
last stage of WWII, many people died of starvation in part because 
of cold-weather damage. Kono's stance of touching on such a 
depressed historical fact was highly appreciated in Vietnam. 
 
In August 1993, when he was chief cabinet secretary in the Miyazawa 
cabinet, Kono issued a statement on the issue of wartime comfort 
women. At that time, the Liberal Democratic Party was defeated in a 
general election and was about to become an opposition party. Kono 
was in a complicated situation in which although he was elected 
president of the LDP, he was unable to become prime minister. 
 
The Kono Statement inserted such expressions on comfort women as: 
"They were coercively rounded up and were placed under a piteous 
situation;" and "(Japan) seriously hurt the honor and dignity of 
many women." The statement received a certain level of appreciation 
from South Korean and other countries' governments, so the comfort 
women issue quieted down for the meantime. 
 
Recently, however, there has been a move in the United States House 
of Representatives to adopt a resolution calling for an official 
apology by the prime minister over the comfort women issue, evoking 
critical voices from LDP members. Some LDP lawmakers are calling on 
the government to review the Kono Statement. Prime Minister Abe 
stated, "Evidence does not exist to prove coercion." In quick 
response, US newspapers reported, "(The prime minister) denied 
coercion." As it stands, the comfort women issue has set off sparks 
these days. 
 
Kono has said little because of his position, but according to his 
aides, Kono takes this view: "If the decision had not been made at 
that timing, it probably would have been unable to make a decision 
under LDP rule afterward. In such a case, South Korea and China 
would have been more distrustful of Japan." 
 
Michael Green (former senior director for Asian affairs at the 
 
TOKYO 00001344  004 OF 007 
 
 
national Security Council), an American knowledgeable about Japan, 
made this remark, drawing much attention: 
 
"Whether comfort women were coercively rounded up or not is not the 
point. Nobody in countries other than Japan is interested in this 
question. The problem is that comfort women suffered a bitter fate. 
Politicians in the capital district of Nagata-cho do not remember 
this basic fact." 
 
As pointed out by Green, the essential point in the wartime 
comfort-women issue is that there were a number of women whose honor 
and dignity were harmed in the war waged by Japan. Politicians are 
now being tested over what response they will make over the issue, 
in short, whether they offer an apology in the face of such a 
historical fact or make light of Japan's responsibility while 
hanging up about the point of "coercion." 
 
Four years have passed since the Iraq war was opened. The government 
and the ruling parties have decided to extend the Iraq Special 
Measures Law, based on which Air Self-Defense Force (SDF) troops 
have been dispatched to Iraq, for another two years. Deliberations 
on this issue were low key. Logistic support is the mission of SDF 
troops, but many American soldiers and Iraqi people have lost their 
lives in the war joined by Japanese troops. International footage 
shows almost everyday family members of war victims abandoning 
themselves to grief. 
 
When did the US make a miscalculation? Was it appropriate for the 
Japanese government to offer support in the war? In deciding to 
extend the law pertaining to SDF dispatch, conducting discussion 
must be the minimum duty of politicians. The lack of heated debate 
might be showing that the current government has lost steam. 
 
It is the mission of politicians of both local and central 
governments to discuss history and war. In the upcoming nationwide 
local elections in April and the House of Councillors election this 
summer, voters must question what views each candidate has about 
history and war, in addition to those about welfare and education. 
 
(8) Base issues: National policy stands in way of citizens' 
expectations 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (age 30) (Excerpts) 
March 17, 2007 
 
In the upcoming mayoral election in Ginowan City, Okinawa 
Prefecture, which houses the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, 
the issue of transferring its heliport functions has been the top 
campaign issue. The election has turned into a contest between 
incumbent Mayor Yoichi Iha (55), a reformist, and former Ginowan 
Education Commission's Education Department Head Hokama (59), a 
conservative independent candidate. Iha insists, "Since it will take 
time to transfer the heliport functions to Nago City, transferring 
it to Guam is the quickest way," while Hokama asserts, "The 
municipal government should work together with the central 
government (which pledges to close down the base within three 
years)." 
 
Although both candidates reiterate the need for the land used for 
the Futenma Air Station to be returned to the municipal government 
at an early date, some citizens in Ginowan have suggested that they 
cannot expect too much of them. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001344  005 OF 007 
 
 
In an agreement reached in the 1996 Special Action Committee on 
Okinawa (SACO), Japan and the US decided to construct alternative 
facilities off Henoko, Nago City. The two countries also agreed on a 
plan in which the US military would vacate the Futenma base in five 
to seven years. Although the base transfer took on a realistic touch 
at that time, as a result of views split in Nago City, the plan was 
"killed" in part also because of opposition from civic groups 
calling for environmental protection. In the mayoral election held 
four years ago, Iha, who put forth the slogan of "relocating the 
functions of Futenma overseas within five years," was elected. In 
May of last year, Japan and the US agreed in their final report on 
the realignment of US forces in Japan to relocate the Futenma base 
to a coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago City, in 2014, but 
negotiations among the Okinawa, Nago, and central governments are 
still going on. Citizens in Ginowan want to vote in the hope of the 
Futenma base being transferred, but their expectations are fading. 
 
Taxi driver Inafuku (52), whose house is under a flight route of 
helicopters that generate noise pollution, deplored: "I will go to 
vote with some expectation. But I have mostly given up expecting the 
Futenma Air Station to be transferred." Katsuhiko Kawabata (38), who 
runs a pub intended for US soldiers in front of the gate of Futenma 
Air Station, also said: "For my business, it is desirable that the 
base will continue to exist here. If the base is transferred, I will 
shut down this and open a new bar in another place. It will be 
impossible for the base to be transferred in seven years. There was 
no case in which an original plan was implemented as scheduled." 
Citizens who have coexisted with the base seem to have deep-seated 
skepticism of politics. 
 
In Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which houses the Yokosuka 
Navy Base, a mayoral election will be also held as part of the 
nationwide local elections in April. 
 
In front of Yokosuka Central Station, lawyer Masahiko Goto (47) was 
delivering a speech on March 4, in which he said, "It is important 
to increase the number of assembly members who listen to citizens." 
 
Goto and others collected signatures from about 40,000 citizens, 
more than 10% of all the voters, with the aim of having referendum 
held to see whether or not citizens approve the planned deployment 
of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington at the 
Yokosuka base in 2008. They were greatly concerned about nuclear 
safety. 
 
The municipal assembly, however, voted down the proposed city 
ordinance on Feb. 8 by a vote of 31 to 10 on the grounds that 
"foreign and defense affairs are under the exclusive control of the 
central government." As was the case in Ginowan City, national 
policy stood in the way of citizens' expectations. 
 
An association supporting a referendum, led by Goto, planned to send 
an open written question to each candidate in the unified local 
elections in April. 
 
Goto said: "Only local governments think seriously of their 
citizens' safety. If the number of assembly members who are aware of 
this point increases even slightly, the future of our towns will 
surely change." 
 
(9) Weak America casts shadow on world; Change in timing between 
Japan, US 
 
 
TOKYO 00001344  006 OF 007 
 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Full) 
March 23, 2007 
 
Tetsuya Jitsu, Washington 
 
US Columbia University Professor Stiglitz and his group worked out 
an estimate of the Iraq war's economic costs. Their estimate totaled 
over 2.2 trillion dollars (approximately 250 trillion yen), 
equivalent to 20% of the United States' gross domestic product. The 
estimate factored in war costs and other economic impacts, such as 
the rising price of crude oil. "Its impact on productivity and 
national life will remain for decades," Stiglitz noted. 
 
In early March, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Gates testified in the US 
Senate. "I have deep concern about the United States' 
competitiveness," Gates said. He stressed that the United States did 
not look to make investments for the future to improve the level of 
education and secure superior immigrants. With this, he tacitly 
criticized the Bush administration for its war priority. 
 
Four years have passed since the United States started the Iraq war. 
In Iraq, the death toll of US troops has now topped 3,000. The 
Democratic Party is strongly calling for the Iraq-based US troops to 
be back home. President Bush takes the position that the United 
States would face destructive consequences after pulling out the US 
troops out of Iraq. As it stands, the Democratic Party and the Bush 
administration are now seriously squaring off over the Iraq war. The 
protracted war has not only divided public opinion in the United 
States but is also spoiling the United States and its power. 
 
The United States is also hurt in its international prestige. 
 
BBC, a British broadcaster, conducted an international public 
opinion survey in 25 countries. According to its findings released 
in January this year, only 29% answered that the United States had a 
plus impact on the world. The figure was down from 40% two years ago 
and dropped further from 36% last year. 
 
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced late last year that it 
would gradually raise the ratio of Euro in its foreign currency 
reserves from the current level of 2% to 10% . Russia has already 
reduced its dollar holdings. In addition, some other oil producing 
countries seem to be distancing themselves from the dollar. Such 
moves, which will affect the dollar's credibility, have something to 
do with the United States' fix in Iraq. 
 
A weak America casts a shadow on challenges facing the world. 
 
"We want to show negotiation results somehow to the US Congress." 
(US Trade Representative Schwab) 
 
"It's no good to say only what is convenient to the United States." 
(Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Nath) 
 
In early March, US Trade Representative Schwab moved for bilateral 
talks to break through the stagnated Doha round of World Trade 
Organization (WTO) multilateral trade negotiations. However, his 
foreign counterparts were cold. Some in Europe and Asia say the 
responsibility for the stagnation rests with the United States that 
is too busy with Iraq to display its leadership. Meanwhile, the US 
Congress, now dominated by the Democratic Party, urges the Bush 
administration not to make any easygoing concessions. The US 
administration has limited steps to take. The WTO talks are now 
 
TOKYO 00001344  007 OF 007 
 
 
being clouded over ahead with no leader. 
 
The United States is also wavering in its policy over the nuclear 
issues of Iran and North Korea. The Bush administration has now 
decided to lift its financial sanctions on North Korea. Behind the 
scenes, the Bush administration is seen to be eager for results on 
the diplomatic front. 
 
The weakening of US power will of course affect Japan as a US ally. 
The United States' results-oriented policy toward North Korea 
differs subtly from Japan's position. Some in Japan are also 
critical of the United States, saying it will send a wrong message 
to Pyongyang. 
 
In the United States, however, some people are dissatisfied with 
Japan's failure to complement their hurt leadership. Japan is seen 
as an onlooker in the Doha round. 
 
"What I can see from Japan's way of responding to history issues is 
Japan that devotes itself to dealing with trouble before its eyes, 
rather than playing a leading role in the world," says a US expert 
on Japan. 
 
"We live in a nonpolar world." With this, the International 
Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a think tank based in the 
United Kingdom, came up with an analysis in its annual report for 
this year. "US power is strong enough to establish an agenda for 
international activity but is too weak effectively to implement that 
agenda globally," the analysis says. Japan should now consider its 
own role with an eye on global changes brought about by the Iraq 
war. 
 
SCHIEFFER