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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 001345 
 
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 03/27/07-1 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Poll on Abe cabinet, political parties 
 
(2) Poll on Abe cabinet, its job performance over past 6 months, 
political parties 
 
(3) Six months pass since Abe cabinet inaugurated; Prime Minister 
Abe shifting policy stance toward the right 
 
(4) Start of debate on re-reorganization of central government 
offices 
 
(5) Revision of Kono Statement 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Poll on Abe cabinet, political parties 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) 
March 26, 2007 
 
Questions & Answers 
(T = total; P = previous; M = male; F = female) 
 
Q: Do you support the Abe cabinet? 
 
                      T         P         M        F 
Yes                  35       (36)       33       37 
No                   42       (41)       47       37 
Not interested       22       (22)       20       23 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "yes" to the above question) Why? 
 
       T       P       M       F 
Because the prime minister is from the Liberal Democratic Party 
 
20       (17)       21       18 
Because something can be expected of the prime minister's leadership 
 
10       (11)       10       10 
Because there's a young, fresh image about the prime minister 
 
51       (53)       49       53 
Because something can be expected of the prime minister's policy 
measures 
17       (16)       19       17 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "no" to the above question) Why? 
 
       T       P       M       F 
Because the prime minister is from the Liberal Democratic Party 
 
6       (10)       7       5 
Because nothing can be expected of the prime minister's leadership 
 
53       (49)       47       60 
Because the prime minister is inexperienced, weak 
19       (21)       20       18 
Because I'm opposed to the prime minister's policies 
21       (19)       25       17 
 
Q: Which political party do you support? 
 
TOKYO 00001345  002 OF 011 
 
 
 
       T       P       M       F 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 
27       (26)       28       26 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 
14       (13)       18       10 
New Komeito (NK)       5       (4)       3       7 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 
3       (2)       2       3 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 
2       (2)       1       3 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 
0       (--)       0       -- 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 
0       (1)       --       0 
Other political parties 
2       (1)       1       2 
None 
47       (49)       46       47 
 
Q: The LDP has reinstated former House of Representatives member 
Seiichi Eto, who voted against postal privatization and left the 
LDP. In addition, the LDP has decided to officially recognize him as 
its candidate for this summer's election for the House of 
Councillors. Do you support this? 
 
           T       P       M        F 
Yes       12              13       12 
No        82              83       80 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "yes") Why? 
 
       T       P       M       F 
The LDP should have not ousted him 
34              30       38 
It has been over one year since he voted against postal 
privatization 
34              39       30 
Because his ideas are close to Prime Minister Abe's 
26              23       28 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "no") Why? 
 
       T       P       M       F 
It's strange to give special treatment to a person who is close to 
Prime Minister Abe 
15              12       17 
It's contradictory to the decision to oust him 
75              80       71 
It will have a bad influence on the election 
8              7       9 
 
Q: Agriculture Minister Toshiharu Matsuoka has earmarked about 5 
million yen for his Diet office's utilities in his report of 
political funds. What do you think about this? 
 
       T       P       M       F 
He should resign as agriculture minister 
48              49       47 
There's no need for him to resign as agriculture minister, but he 
should fulfill his accountability 
46              45       46 
There's no problem because he is not required under the law to do so 
 
TOKYO 00001345  003 OF 011 
 
 
 
3              4       3 
 
(Note) Figures shown in percentage, rounded off. "0" indicates that 
the figure was below 0.5%. "--" denotes that no respondents 
answered. "No answer" omitted. Figures in parentheses denote the 
results of the last survey conducted Feb. 24-25. 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted March 24-25 over the 
telephone with the aim of calling a total of 1,000 voters across the 
nation on a computer-aided random digit sampling (RDS) basis. 
Answers were obtained from 1,073 persons. 
 
(2) Poll on Abe cabinet, its job performance over past 6 months, 
political parties 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
March 24, 2007 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in percentage. Parentheses denote the results of a 
survey conducted in February. Some portions already reported.) 
 
Q: Do you support the Abe cabinet? 
 
Yes                      43.8 
No                       43.9 
Other answers (O/A)       4.4 
No answer (N/A)           7.9 
 
Q: Which political party do you support now? Pick only one. 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)                    36.4 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto)       11.3 
New Komeito (NK)                                   2.1 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP)                     1.8 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto)          0.7 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto)         0.1 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon)            0.1 
Other political parties                            --- 
None                                              46.0 
N/A                                                1.5 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "none" to the above question) Pick 
as many reasons as you like from among those listed below, if any. 
 
They won't carry out their pledges               14.8 
They're only thinking of their interests         26.5 
They're always struggling in their parties       16.5 
They won't resolve problems close to us          17.3 
None of them is trustworthy                      26.6 
Politics is unlikely to change whichever political party I may 
support                                          47.8 
Uninterested in politics                         14.1 
O/A                                               1.5 
N/A                                               2.5 
 
Q: (Only for those who answered "none" to the above question) If you 
had a political party to support in the past one year or so, pick 
the most recent one from among those listed below. 
 
LDP                          10.5 
DPJ                          11.5 
 
TOKYO 00001345  004 OF 011 
 
 
NK                            0.5 
JCP                           1.1 
SDP                           1.4 
PNP                           --- 
NPN                           --- 
Other political parties       --- 
None                         69.6 
N/A                           5.4 
 
Q: What's your impression of Prime Minister Abe from the following 
five aspects? 
 
Action 
He's steadily done what he said       19.5 
He's failed to come up with actual results unlike his policy slogan 
     71.9 
N/A           8.7 
 
Leadership 
He's been displaying leadership         16.1 
He's failed to display leadership       77.5 
N/A                                      6.3 
 
Opinion, belief 
He's translated his opinion and belief into action 
48.7 
He's failed to translate his opinion and belief into action 
41.8 
N/A 
9.5 
 
Reform posture 
Positive about reform       42.3 
Negative about reform       47.5 
N/A                         10.2 
 
Friendliness 
Feel friendly             59.6 
Don't feel friendly       34.9 
N/A                        5.5 
 
Q: Do you have expectations for Prime Minister Abe? 
 
Yes                           27.6 
Yes to a certain degree       26.2 
No to a certain degree        20.0 
No                            24.8 
N/A                            1.4 
 
Q: Prime Minister Abe has been in office for nearly six months. Do 
you appreciate his or his cabinet's performance over the past six 
months? 
 
Appreciate very much              4.5 
Appreciate somewhat              31.8 
Don't appreciate very much       40.3 
Don't appreciate at all          19.8 
N/A                               3.6 
 
Q: If there is anything you can appreciate in what Prime Minister 
Abe or his cabinet has actually done, pick as many as you like from 
among those listed below. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001345  005 OF 011 
 
 
US ties                                                      7.9 
China ties                                                  17.5 
South Korea ties                                             8.6 
Efforts for North Korea issues                              27.9 
Defense Agency upgrade to ministry                          11.0 
Efforts for educational reform                              18.2 
Efforts for social divide correction                         3.2 
Efforts for constitutional revision                          4.9 
Postal rebels' reinstatement in LDP                          3.4 
Response to cabinet ministers' scandals and gaffes           3.3 
Response to political funds, including office spending       3.1 
O/A                                                          0.1 
Nothing in particular                                       38.5 
N/A                                                          3.5 
 
Q: If there is anything you cannot appreciate in what Prime Minister 
Abe or his cabinet has actually done, pick as many as you like from 
among those listed below. 
 
US ties                                                     9.4 
China ties                                                 10.8 
South Korea ties                                            7.9 
Efforts for North Korea issues                             22.7 
Defense Agency upgrade to ministry                          8.6 
Efforts for educational reform                             12.4 
Efforts for social divide correction                       22.8 
Efforts for constitutional revision                         9.1 
Postal rebels' reinstatement in LDP                        31.6 
Response to cabinet ministers' scandals and gaffes         53.9 
Response to political funds, including office spending     37.9 
O/A                                                         0.5 
Nothing in particular                                      13.3 
N/A                                                         3.7 
 
Q: Who do you think is most influential now in government 
administration? Pick only one from among those listed below. 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe                         21.3 
Chie Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki           1.5 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso                          7.1 
LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa            10.1 
LDP House of Councillors Chairman Mikio Aoki       4.4 
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi           17.1 
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori                 7.6 
New Komeito President Akihiro Ota                  0.8 
Others                                             0.5 
None + N/A                                        29.6 
 
Q: What's your impression of the Abe cabinet? (A) It's pulling 
together to work on policy tasks. (B) It's failed to work together. 
Which one is close to yours? 
 
(A)                            3.8 
(A) to a certain degree        9.6 
(B) to a certain degree       28.4 
(B)                           54.2 
N/A                            4.0 
 
Q: Do you think the LDP's nature and political approach have changed 
for the better with Prime Minister Abe coming into office after 
Prime Minister Koizumi? 
 
Changed for the better                           2.0 
 
TOKYO 00001345  006 OF 011 
 
 
Changed for the better to a certain degree       6.2 
Remain unchanged                                48.1 
Changed for the worse to a certain degree       22.7 
Changed for the worse                           18.1 
N/A                                              2.9 
 
Q: How long would you like the Abe cabinet to stay on? Pick only one 
from among those listed below. 
 
March 2007 
Step down as early as possible       16.1 
About six more years                  7.8 
About 1 more year                    22.1 
2 or 3 more years                    28.3 
As long as possible                  18.0 
O/A                                   0.2 
N/A                                   7.6 
 
November 2006 
Step down as early as possible       5.1 
About six more years                 2.6 
About 1 more year                   11.2 
2 or 3 more years                   34.8 
As long as possible                 36.1 
O/A                                  0.5 
N/A                                  9.7 
 
Polling methodology 
Date of survey: March 17-18. 
Subjects of survey: 3,000 persons chosen from among all eligible 
voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified 
two-stage random-sampling basis). 
Method of implementation: Door-to-door visits for face-to-face 
interviews. 
Number of valid respondents: 1,741 persons (58.0% ) 
Breakdown of respondents: Male-49%, female-51% ; persons in their 
20s-11%, 30s-16%, 40s-16%, 50s-20%, 60s-21%, 70 and over-16% ; big 
cities (Tokyo's 23 wards and government-designated cities)-22%, 
major cities (with a population of more than 300,000)-18%, 
medium-size cities (with a population of more than 100,000)-25%, 
small cities (with a population of less than 100,000)-23%, towns and 
villages-12%. 
 
(3) Six months pass since Abe cabinet inaugurated; Prime Minister 
Abe shifting policy stance toward the right 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
March 27, 2007 
 
The cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe celebrated yesterday its 
six-month anniversary in office. During the past six months, Abe has 
been criticized for not displaying leadership. Public approval 
ratings for the Abe cabinet have continued to decline. However, Abe 
has shown a slight change in his political stance. He appears to 
have begun showing his own political identity. 
 
Koizumi Style 
 
Abe instructed to Administrative Reform Minister Yoshimi Watanabe in 
an informal cabinet meeting on March 22 to come up with a plan to 
reform the civil servant system until the 27th. 
 
Asked by reporters about his instruction to Watanabe, Abe responded: 
 
TOKYO 00001345  007 OF 011 
 
 
"I ordered him to follow my instruction and draft a detailed plan." 
He said five times that he had so instructed. He has recently often 
insisted on his own opinions. His top-down leadership is similar to 
that of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who pushed through 
his postal privatization plan. 
 
When assuming office, Abe underscored that he would place emphasis 
on teamwork, saying, "I want to implement policy measures with the 
participation of many people." He picked those who have similar 
visions and policies to him to serve in the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence and let them handle policy issues, without giving 
specific instructions. 
 
The assessment that he lacks leadership has spread among the people, 
and the Abe cabinet has suffered from poor popular support. 
Therefore, the prime minister has begun to change his policy 
stance. 
 
Some has reacted coolly toward a change in Abe's stance, saying, 
"It's just his performance of trying to impress his leadership. He 
will be tested as to whether he can show a clear direction of reform 
of the public servant system. 
 
Conservative color 
 
Abe's assuming leadership means that he will bring his political 
identity to the fore. 
 
For example, soon after taking office, Abe took a position of 
following the apology statement for the wartime comfort women issued 
by then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono. 
 
Of course, he has still upheld his basic position, but there is a 
delicate change in his recent remarks. 
 
When the US House of Representatives began to discuss seriously a 
resolution criticizing Japan for the wartime comfort women issue, 
Abe met with a group of LDP lawmakers calling for a review of and 
reinvestigation into the Kono statement and pledged to cooperate 
with the party's reinvestigation into the Kono statement. All the 
more because it is well known that Abe is critical of the apology 
statement, some say that he has finally revealed his real view. 
 
Such a change in his stance seems to have taken favorably by 
conservative supporters of the LDP. There is an analysis that 
because of this reason Abe's cabinet support rates in the polls have 
unchanged recently. 
 
It is unknown how unaffiliated voters, who will determine the 
outcomes of the unified local elections and the July Upper House 
race, will take such a change in Abe's stance. The fate of the Abe 
administration, which has begun to shift its policy toward the 
right, remains uncertain. 
 
(4) Start of debate on re-reorganization of central government 
offices 
 
YOMIURI (Page 11) (Full) 
March 23, 2007 
 
The Committee on Reform of the Central Government Offices, headed by 
Hiroyuki Sonoda, of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Administrative 
Reform Promotion Headquarters heard views of Kiyoshi Mizuno, who 
 
TOKYO 00001345  008 OF 011 
 
 
served as secretary general of the former Administrative Reform 
Council in the Hashimoto cabinet, reorganized the ministries and 
agencies. With this, the LDP has begun a full-scale debate on 
re-reorganization of the central government offices. Six years have 
passed since the Hashimoto government reorganized the ministries and 
agencies into one cabinet office and 12 ministries and agencies in 
January 2001. Social conditions, including globalization and a 
declining birthrate and graying society, have changed greatly. 
Chances are that procedures for giving body to the re-reorganization 
of the central government offices will be pushed forward. 
 
Chairman Sonoda stressed in a meeting of March 22: "We must discuss 
the issue in the concept of transferring jobs 'from the state to the 
prefectures' and 'from the public sector to the private sector,' not 
just reducing the number of ministries and agencies." Prime Minister 
Shinzo Abe pledged in his policy speech in January that he would 
substantially review the basic framework of the administrative, 
education, and economic systems based on the Constitution. 
Therefore, the Abe administration appears to have been motivated to 
play up its stance of placing priority on reform. 
 
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga in 
January proposed setting up an information and telecommunications 
ministry, creating a stir. This idea came up in the process of 
administrative reform by the Hashimoto government in 1997, but it 
was shelved in the face of strong resistance by LDP lawmakers 
connected to postal interests. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and 
Communications (MIAC) is now in charge of regulations on and 
promotion of communications and broadcasting. The Ministry of 
Economy and Industry (METI), the Agency for Cultural Affairs (ACA), 
and Information Technology Headquarters of the Cabinet Secretariat, 
are involved in the promotion of communications and broadcasting. 
 
In the LDP's session on March 22, Mizuno proposed that regulatory 
administration of broadcasting and telecommunications should be an 
independent committee, and that the promotion sector straddling the 
MIAC, METI, and ACA should be merged into an information, 
communication and broadcasting agency. METI is alarmed about the 
MIAC-led idea of establishing an information and communications 
ministry. 
 
Amid the dropping birthrate and an aging population, Japan's tax and 
social security systems will likely become issues. The idea of 
creating a revenue agency, which would collect both taxes and social 
insurance premiums, will likely become an issue. 
 
The largest opposition party, Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) 
proposed streamlining the National Tax Agency as part of effort to 
reform of the NTA, and creating a Revenue Agency, which would also 
collect pension premiums. 
 
However since of about 22 million persons who should pay the 
national pension, only 15% have paid the national taxes, some view 
that whether collecting taxes and pension premiums by one agency 
will be effective is uncertain. 
 
(5) Revision of Kono Statement 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
March 18, 2007 
 
An argument calling for revising the then Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Yohei Kono's statement offering an apology and self-reflection to 
 
TOKYO 00001345  009 OF 011 
 
 
wartime comfort women is gaining momentum. The focus is on whether 
the former Japanese Army forced those women into such servitude. 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is following in the footsteps of the 
statement, claimed, "There is no evidence of coercion in the narrow 
sense of the term, that is to say, there is no evidence that the 
authorities forced those women to serve as comfort women." The Tokyo 
Shimbun asked lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and 
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) about the issue. 
 
Yasuhide Nakayama, Lower House member of the LDP: Urges accurate 
grasp of the matter through reinvestigation 
 
-- Do you think that the Kono Statement should be revised? 
 
"That is the basic thought of many members of the Group of Lawmakers 
who Think about the Future of Japan and History Education. The Kono 
Statement starts with words 'regarding the so-called wartime comfort 
women.' As an unimpeachable historical fact, there were comfort 
women, but there were no military comfort women. Under the then 
state-regulated prostitution system, the authorities recruited 
comfort women in the form of consignment to service providers and 
established wartime brothels. Some lawmakers are skeptical about the 
way hearings were conducted toward former comfort women, the basis 
for the Kono Statement. We would be able to release highly accurate 
results, if a reinvestigation is conducted." 
 
-- Prime Minister Abe has repeatedly said that he would follow in 
the footsteps of the Kono Statement. He also expressed an apology to 
former comfort women. 
 
"Women who worked as comfort women were in poor surroundings. I 
imagine Prime Minister Abe shares the same thought with other prime 
ministers in the past, who sent letters of apology. This is clearly 
demonstrated in his stance of following in the footsteps of the Kono 
Statement. However, in my view, the Kono Statement should be 
revised, because new facts have been discovered since then." 
 
-- The US House of Representative is deliberating on a resolution 
seeking an apology from Japan on this matter. 
 
"We have established a subcommittee under the Dietmen's League and 
started discussions on the issue with the move of the US Congress as 
the occasion. Japan and the US have a friendly relationship, but the 
US is seeking an apology from the Japanese government, based on a 
unilateral perception that is not based on objective historical 
facts. It is only natural for us to express our concern." 
 
-- Isn't there concern about the matter developing into a diplomatic 
issue? 
 
"The people have criticized the Japanese government's hitherto 
diplomacy as being kowtow (to the US). If there are historical 
evidence or facts substantiating that Japan did not carry out sordid 
things, we must make efforts to correctly grasp what happened and 
stake out its position." 
 
-- Which should conduct a reinvestigation - the LDP or the 
government? 
 
"It would be fine for the LDP to carry out that work, if the prime 
minister wishes so. However, in that case, there is the possibility 
that even if a highly accurate and balanced result is obtained, some 
may say that the result is biased toward the LDP. In my view, 
 
TOKYO 00001345  010 OF 011 
 
 
reinvestigation by the government will become necessary sooner or 
later from a just and fair perspective." 
 
Yasuhide Nakayama: Graduated from the Seijo University Law 
Department. First elected in the 2003 Lower House election, after 
working at Dentsu Inc. Serving as chairman of the Group of Lawmakers 
who Think about the Future of Japan and History Education consisting 
of voluntary LDP members. Elected twice. 36 years old. 
 
(Interviewer Hitoshi Tojo) 
 
Upper House member Toshio Ogawa of JDP: Coercion in narrow sense of 
the term is pointless argument 
 
-- Do you think it is necessary to review the Kono Statement? 
 
"The involvement of the former Japanese Army became clear through 
appropriate investigation conducted by the government. The 
government offered an apology, based on the result of the 
investigation. Why then is it necessary for it to revise it? It is 
logical for it to thoroughly reflect on Japan's conduct in the past. 
It is strange for it to say that there were no facts on which it 
should reflect." 
 
-- Some disagree with the very fact that there was coercion. 
 
"Service providers played a key role in recruiting comfort women, 
but the military had a direct part in the action. Since it was 
highly likely that it was impossible to defy the military, it is 
unavoidable to decide that there was coercion." 
 
-- The prime minister has recognized coercion in the broad sense of 
the term, including application by those women for recruitments 
against their will due to their financial standing, but he is 
negative toward coercion in the narrow sense of the term. 
 
"Whether it is a narrow sense of the term or a broad sense of the 
term does not matter. The Kono Statement does not mention that the 
authorities were involved in the forcible taking of those women. My 
impression is that the prime minister wants to reject the Kono 
Statement, but since it is impossible for him to do so because of 
his position, he made up the term 'in a narrow sense of the term'. 
However, that is a pointless argument. It would not be accepted." 
 
-- Why do you think the prime minister wants to reject the Kono 
Statement? 
 
"He presumably wants to make a public appeal that he is maintaining 
his own reactionary stance." 
 
-- How do you evaluate the resolution submitted to the US House of 
Representatives? 
 
"Since it is the matter concerning the trustworthiness of our 
country, it will be troublesome if it is accepted. However, behind 
the submission of such a resolution is criticism from the 
international community that Japan is not implementing the Kono 
Statement to the letter. Since Japan is in a position where it must 
offer an apology, the international community would not agree, if it 
insists that the testimony given by comfort women is groundless." 
 
-- Some DPJ members are positive toward revising the Statement. What 
is your view on that? 
 
TOKYO 00001345  011 OF 011 
 
 
 
"The more they make a fuss over the issue, the more likely Japan 
will be judged as not really reflecting on the matter. The party's 
basic stance is that the government should deal with the issue, 
based on the Kono Statement." 
 
-- Will this issue serve as a useful material in pursuing the Abe 
administration? 
 
"As also in the case of the constitutional issue or the Yasukuni 
visit issue, the prime minister's essential characteristic that he 
is a hawk and ethnic nationalist is reflected in the wartime comfort 
women issue. I want to bring into bold the potential danger that the 
Abe administration is reactionary." 
 
(Interviewer Shoichi Takayama) 
 
Toshio Ogawa: Graduated from the Rikkyo University Law Department. 
Elected for the first time in the 1998 Upper House election, for 
which he ran from the Tokyo constituency, after serving as a judge 
at the Shizuoka District Court and a public prosecutor at the Tokyo 
District Public Prosecutors Office. Currently secretary general of 
DPJ members in the Upper House. Attorney. Elected twice. 59 years 
old. 
 
SCHIEFFER