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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 001378 
 
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 03/29/07-2 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(6) Six months after establishment of Abe administration: Prime 
minister finds himself on horns of dilemma due to hawkish aides 
 
(7) Abe's policy imprint: Multifaceted diplomacy with concern also 
about state of Japan-US relations 
 
(8) ODA that will lead to independence needed 
 
(9) Metal products processed in North Korea imported under guise of 
Chinese products: Two companies searched 
 
(10) Past records of the three military comfort women, who twisted 
US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer around their little fingers 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(6) Six months after establishment of Abe administration: Prime 
minister finds himself on horns of dilemma due to hawkish aides 
 
HIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
March 29, 2007 
 
Hawkish lawmakers in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) were 
supposed to flourish under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Instead, they 
inevitably have been drawn into numerous difficult policy 
skirmishes. Though they want to play up their stock hawkish 
arguments, such a play would cause discord with dovish LDP members 
and the New Komeito. Keeping silent would be a contradiction of 
their efforts during the LDP presidential race to launch a hawkish 
Abe administration. They are troubled about how to deal with various 
issues under Abe, who has begun displaying his originality for 
pushing up his support rates. 
 
"I don't want to hear about it anymore!" In mid-March, when the 
party's effort to revise the national referendum bill was at the 
final stage, LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi Nakagawa 
snapped at a leading conservative lawmaker, Keiji Furuya, who 
insisted on punishing civil servants who might us their positions at 
the time of a national referendum. 
 
Nakagawa himself is a hawk, as evidenced by his concerted action 
with Prime Minister Abe in dealing with the history textbook and the 
abduction issues. Holding a key policy position, Nakagawa is no 
longer allowed to make arbitrary decisions. The policy chief lost 
his patience with Furuya for being too insistent. 
 
The LDP and the New Komeito's policy chiefs assembled at an office 
in the Dietmembers' Office Building on March 28 to discuss the 
option of shortening the legal period preventing women from 
remarrying and other new exceptions to the Civil Law. Although the 
focus was on a judgment by Nakagawa who holds to traditional family 
values, the policy chief concurred with the option without raising 
any objection. 
 
Prime Minister Abe is also struggling. Deputy Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Hakubun Shimomura indicated in a press conference on March 
 
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26: "The military was not directly involved in recruiting comfort 
women." Hearing this, Abe wearing a wry smile said to LDP lawmakers: 
"What made him say such a thing?" Shimomura's comment came shortly 
after the Kantei's (Prime Minister's Official Residence) 
confirmation to abstain from making comments on the comfort women 
 
TOKYO 00001378  002 OF 007 
 
 
issue in the wake of the presentation of a draft resolution 
condemning Japan to the US House of Representatives. 
 
Shimomura has been a member of the Group of Junior Lawmakers, the 
predecessor of the Group of Lawmakers to Consider Japan's Future and 
History Education, which is calling for a review of the Kono 
Statement. 
 
Considering Japan's relations with China and South Korea, the 
government cannot review the statement so easily. The government's 
strategy has been to acquiesce to the group's call for a review of 
the statement, while abstaining from actually doing anything about 
it. Gaps have appeared in this strategy from time to time. 
 
New Komeito Secretary General Kazuo Kitagawa, speaking to the press 
yesterday, criticized Shimomura, saying, "A deputy chief cabinet 
secretary is not in a position to express his own view." Aware of 
 
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Shimomura's sentiment, Abe has not been able to warn him. "Moves by 
hawkish aides seem to be misplaced kindness toward the prime 
minister," an LDP executive noted. 
 
How will they be able to demonstrate hawkish overtones without going 
overboard? A group of lawmakers including Furuya plan to establish 
in May a parliamentary league to promote value-oriented diplomacy to 
strengthen relations with the United States, the Association of 
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Taiwan, and other countries. 
Nakagawa intends to become its advisor, instead of playing a leading 
role in the group. 
 
On March 23, a gathering took place at a Hotel Okura restaurant to 
celebrate the reinstatement of such postal rebels as Furuya and Taku 
Eto, who had been on friendly terms with the Ibuki faction 
(Shisui-kai), including Nakagawa and former Education, Science and 
Technology Minister Bunmei Ibuki, until the Lower House was 
dissolved over postal reform. Nakagawa, under the influence of 
alcohol, yelled cheerfully, "The Shisui-kai members share the same 
vision." 
 
(7) Abe's policy imprint: Multifaceted diplomacy with concern also 
about state of Japan-US relations 
 
SANKEI (Page 4) (Excerpts) 
March 29, 2007 
 
Jiro Otani 
 
The six-party talks from the standpoint of the abduction issue 
should have been an occasion for Japan and North Korea to vie with 
each other to get the four other members on its side. As the United 
States further softens its stance toward North Korea, Pyongyang has 
insisted that "the stalemate in talks on the nuclear issue is 
attributable to Japan." The North's strategy is apparently to drive 
a wedge between Japan and the other member nations of the six-party 
talks. If the US and other members all soften their stances toward 
the North, Japan may find itself isolated in the six-party 
framework. 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso said impatiently: "It's not Japan but 
North Korea that is isolated." Indeed, Japan has scored points in 
terms of dragging an inexplicable country like North Korea to accept 
multilateral talks. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Aso both have 
assumed a tough stance toward North Korea, rejecting any compromise 
with it because of the abduction issue. This attitude has achieved a 
 
TOKYO 00001378  003 OF 007 
 
 
successful outcome. Meanwhile, North Korea as well has succeeded in 
luring the US. Will Japan be left behind or will the North be 
isolated? These questions are yet unanswerable. 
 
Prime Minister Abe paid a whirlwind visit to China and South Korea 
last October immediately after taking office and moved bilateral 
ties with those countries one step forward. He also has strengthened 
relations with Europe, India, Australia, and Middle Eastern 
countries, and he has generally broadened the spectrum of Japan's 
diplomacy. By doing so, Abe intends to win as many countries as 
possible to his side in dealing with not only security and economic 
issues but also such outstanding issues as the abductions and reform 
of the United Nations. 
 
Japan has reached agreements with China and other countries to build 
strategic, reciprocal relations. But Japan and China remain unable 
to move forward because they have yet to overcome the strains 
remaining in the relationship. 
 
"Why did this happen? The other side should come here next time." 
This way Abe scolded a senior Foreign Ministry official immediately 
after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in last November in 
Hanoi, Vietnam. Abe's meeting with Hu followed the last one held 
while Abe was visiting China in last October, but what irritated Abe 
was that the meeting took place at a room of a hotel Hu was lodging 
at. 
 
What irritated Abe was the fact that China successively provided the 
venue for talks with him. This signified that China had gained the 
upper hand over Japan. Abe's irritation came from a sense of 
humiliation that he had been easily taken in by China's 
psychological tactic. 
 
Aso as well as Abe remains distrustful of China. Chinese Foreign 
Minister Li Zhaoxing visited Japan in this February and asked the 
foreign minister, "How about visiting China?" This was the fourth 
time for Aso to be asked by China to travel there, but Aso again 
declined: "I have no intention to travel to China for just 
sightseeing." 
 
Japan and China have a number of pending issues to be resolved, for 
instance, what to do about developing gas fields in the East China 
Sea. Aso deems it meaningless to patch things up in order to project 
a superficial friendship by playing along with China's "smile 
diplomacy." 
 
On the other hand, Abe has delayed his visit to the United States. 
That may be seen as a manifestation of his "confidence" that 
Japan-US relations are that firm and solid. In fact, one senior 
Foreign Ministry official said proudly: "The Japan-US alliance is so 
strong that it will not be affected by the delay in the prime 
minister's visit to the US." 
 
However, discord has recently begun to emerge in the otherwise solid 
bilateral relationship. 
 
With the Republic Party's defeat in the US mid-term elections last 
fall, President Bush, who cultivated a close relationship with 
former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is now in a shaky 
situation. Commenting on America's Iraq policy, Defense Minister 
Fumio Kyuma said, "The Iraq war was a mistake," immediately arousing 
distrust among some quarters of the American society. On the 
"comfort women" issue, a resolution condemning Japan was introduced 
 
TOKYO 00001378  004 OF 007 
 
 
in the US House of Representatives. Some US news companies are 
linking the "comfort women" issue to the abduction issue. 
 
A number of heavyweights in the US administration, including Vice 
President Cheney, recently visited Japan, and Aso has stressed that 
there has been no change in Japan's foreign policy centering on the 
Japan-US alliance. In dealing with the abduction issue, both 
countries have reaffirmed many times they will work together, but 
the irony is that the more eager President Bush becomes to resolve 
the North Korean nuclear weapons issue while he is in office, the 
further the abduction issue will be left behind, possibly 
undermining the trust relationship between the two countries. 
 
Abe and Aso are expected to travel to the US in late April. Will 
they reaffirm the solidarity of the alliance and will they be able 
to stick to Japan's position, such as diplomacy toward North Korea 
and China? Abe's foreign policy has now reached a crossroads. 
 
(8) ODA that will lead to independence needed 
 
ASAHI (Page 15) (Abridged) 
March 27, 2007 
 
Japan's official development assistance (ODA) program marked a 
turning point last year. The government has established the Council 
for Overseas Economic Cooperation (composed of the prime minister 
and four cabinet ministers) and a system to allow the Japan 
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to exclusively handle ODA 
projects, including yen loans. This article searches for the best 
modality for ODA by looking into projects in Uganda and India. 
 
The people of Uganda have lived on bananas, cassavas, corn, millet, 
and other crops that can grow with little rain. Rice has also long 
been popular in the country. 
 
JICA agricultural specialist Tatsushi Tsuboi, 57, has been in Uganda 
for three years endeavoring to popularize the New Rice for Africa 
(NERICA) to improve the country's food situation. The NERICA rice, a 
hybrid of Asian and African varieties, is resistant to drought and 
produces abundant yields. 
 
Tsuboi, who has been assisting in rice farming in developing 
 
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countries for three decades, described NERICA rice as a variety 
capable of bringing changes to farming villages in Africa. Rice 
fetches high prices in the market. Tsuboi believes NERICA will bring 
hard cash to the farmers and help improve their livelihoods. He has 
lectured farmers on the importance of mastering threshing and 
polishing skills to produce value-added rice. 
 
A 54-year-old farmer in Kikoko, north of the country's capital of 
Kampala, has begun growing NERICA with a paddy from the agricultural 
experimental station where Tsuboi works. As a result, his annual 
income has tripled to 3 million shillings (about 210,000 yen). His 
family can now afford to eat rice from time to time. 
 
India's economy has been growing rapidly driven by information 
technology (IT), while leaving behind the manufacturing and farming 
industries. To dissolve the discrepancies, the country has begun 
launching efforts to improve its infrastructure. 
 
A plan to build a 5,800-km cargo railway line connecting four major 
cities is a prime example. Even half of the project would cost 700 
billion yen. A Railways Ministry adviser expressed his eagerness to 
 
TOKYO 00001378  005 OF 007 
 
 
complete the project in several years. JICA, which has been pushing 
ahead with the development and survey for the project, is also eager 
to reform the country's distribution system, with an eye on railways 
and ports, as well. 
 
Building railways would help reduce dependence on automobiles, thus 
preventing environmental pollution. The government is about to 
launch its new ODA program that is omni-directional, based on yen 
loans, and friendly to the environment. 
 
Shifting weight from Asia 
 
Japan's ODA that started as part of the government's postwar 
reparation for Asia has two unique features: an emphasis on Asia and 
yen loans for improving infrastructure. 
 
In 1970, Asia accounted for 98% of bilateral assistance. The ratio 
has dropped to one-third due to the economic growth of Southeast 
Asia and China. 
 
The weight has been shifted to the Middle East and Latin America 
rather than to Africa, however. Africa's ratio has been about 11% 
over the last two decades. 
 
At the 2005 Asian-African Conference, then Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi pledged to double Japan's assistance to Africa in three 
years. Japan is not allowed to throw the international pledge into 
the wastebasket just because the country's financial situation is 
tight. 
 
Enhancing human security is one of Japan's diplomatic pillars. The 
idea is to realize the development and stability of society by 
maximizing individual abilities. 
 
In that context, Japan must expand assistance to Africa. Given the 
fact that 70% of the people in Africa live in farming villages, 
disseminating NERICA rice is directly linked to human security. 
 
Another feature - yen-loan-oriented ODA projects -- has drawn 
criticism from Western countries as self-centered assistance 
intended to promote Japanese industries. In fact, the ratio of 
Japan's grant aid is the lowest among the major aid donors. 
 
Given Asia's growth and Africa's stagnation, there has emerged a 
move to reevaluate the significance of yen loans. "Loans are more 
effective than simple grant aid because the former comes with 
pressure for repayments," an official explained. 
 
The question is not about which is better between grant aid and 
loans but about what is most effective in helping aid-receiving 
countries to become independent. 
 
Japan was the world's largest aid provider for the decade from 1991, 
but the country was overtaken by the United States in 2001 due to 
its financial constraints. Such countries as Britain and Germany 
might also surpass Japan in several years. 
 
In order to gain a respectable position in the world, Japan must 
offer a helping hand actively to other countries. 
 
(9) Metal products processed in North Korea imported under guise of 
Chinese products: Two companies searched 
 
 
TOKYO 00001378  006 OF 007 
 
 
YOMIURI (Page 27) (Full) 
Evening, March 27, 2007 
 
The Hyogo Prefectural Police and Kobe Customhouse today searched the 
offices of Fitting Kuze, a steel pipe manufacturer located in 
Tsubata Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Koyo Corporation, a trading 
 
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company in the Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, on suspicion of violation of the 
Foreign Exchange and Trade Law (import without approval) by 
allegedly importing metal products processed in North Korea under 
guise of Chinese products. The government has placed a total ban on 
imports from North Korea as a sanction for conducting a nuclear test 
last October. Judging that the two companies have imported 
low-priced products processed in North Korea via China, the 
prefectural police are hearing circumstances from their executives. 
 
According to the investigation, the two companies allegedly imported 
joints for stainless pipes processed in North Korea under guise of 
Chinese products without obtaining approval from the Ministry of 
Economy, Trade and Industry. The shipment arrived in the Kobe Port. 
 
The government last October placed a total ban on imports from North 
Korea as a sanction. In November, METI issued a notification on a 
ban on imports of products processed in the North on a consignment 
basis with materials sent from Japan. 
 
(10) Past records of the three military comfort women, who twisted 
US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer around their little fingers 
 
SHUKAN SHINCHO (Page 62) (Full) 
April 5, 2007 
 
An alarming situation has developed. In connection with a resolution 
presented to the US House of Representatives calling on Japan to 
formally apologize for the comfort-women issue, three former comfort 
women appeared to testify at a hearing. The US ambassador to Japan 
later remarked that he "respected" their testimonies. However, the 
women who got the ambassador to believe their stories had changed 
their testimonies many times in the past, and doubts have been cast 
about their credibility. 
 
(The ambassador said:) "I think that they were coerced to engage 
prostitution. That means they were raped by the Japanese military at 
that point in time." 
 
If US Ambassador Schieffer's comment, as quoted in the New York 
Times (March 17, electronic edition), is true, one can only say that 
he has been twisted around someone's little finger. 
 
You see, the stories told by the three former military comfort women 
who appeared at the House of Representatives hearing on Feb. 15 had 
changed like the wind many times until then.  That is because they 
are all women with a past. 
 
First, modern historian Ikuhiko Hata teaches us about Lee Yong-soo, 
the Korean woman: 
 
"She first appeared in an open forum as former comfort woman in 
¶1992. At the time, she explained the details of her having become a 
comfort woman by saying, "In the fall, when I was a full 16 years 
old, I was shown a red one-piece dress and leather shoes by a 
Japanese man who was wearing a civilian wartime uniform and a combat 
hat. It made me happy, so I left home without my mother knowing 
about it.' In the recent hearing, she chattered on about it the same 
 
TOKYO 00001378  007 OF 007 
 
 
way. 
 
"She has come many times to Japan, including several times this year 
already. I attended her press conferences. In February, she said 
that Japanese soldiers had broken into her home, grabbed her by the 
neck, and dragged her off. In March, she again changed her story, 
saying that a soldier had gagged her and led her off at sword's 
point. Essentially, there are two stories: her leaving home on her 
own and her being carried off by force." 
 
Comfort woman even after the war? 
 
There is also another suspicious aspect of former comfort woman 
Lee's background to point out.  There are three different ages that 
she gives for when she was recruited: 14, 15, and 16 years old. She 
says, "In 1944, when I was 16, I was carried off to Taiwan and 
forced to live as a comfort woman for three years." But this means 
that she continued to work as a comfort woman even after the war 
ended. 
 
Next, Hata speaks about the other Korean woman, Kim Koon-ja, as 
well: 
 
"Some times, she recalls that she had lost her parents at an early 
age and was adopted. She was told to go work as a servant and was 
sent off on a train. Other times, she recalls that two Koreans came 
to her home and that they fooled her into thinking she was going to 
work at a factory.  At any rate, her story is close to leaving home 
on her own. There was no coercive recruitment by the Japanese 
military." 
 
Moreover, regarding Jan Ruff O'Herne, who was then a Dutch citizen 
but is now an Australian, political journalist Nobuaki Hanaoka says: 
 
 
"This incident occurred on the Japanese occupied island of Java in 
Indonesia. Some soldiers forced dozens of Dutch women to engage in 
prostitution, but the military found out about it and closed down 
the brothel.  In other words, this incident can be categorized as 
proving that prostitution was prohibited by the military." 
 
If such were the cases, why did the US ambassador swallow their 
stories whole cloth? Hanaoka sees it this way: "There is also the 
aspect of reporter Ohnishi of the New York Times, which is famous 
for taking anti-Japanese stances, having cleverly drawn out the 
comment." 
 
Hata notes: 
 
"Japan has not retorted, so the public, having erroneous views, has 
been aroused in the United States. I am at a loss for words, but 
this shows failure in our diplomatic strategy." 
 
Outside Japan, various "sakura" (cherry blossoms/decoys) are 
blossoming madly. 
 
SCHIEFFER