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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002102 
 
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 05/10/07 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Poll: 51% favor constitutional revision 
 
(2) DPJ's Ozawa's strategy again suffers a setback with failure to 
decide a joint candidate in talks with SDP for Upper House 
representation in Oita Prefecture 
 
(3) Upper House election in 2007: Postwar generation of LDP 
lawmakers split over whether Abe should take reform line or 
conservative policy 
 
(4) Upper House election: Support organizations undergoing change; 
DPJ seeking support from agricultural cooperatives, religious 
circles; LDP approaching coops 
 
(5) Former Prime Minister Koizumi may resume diplomatic activities 
 
(6) Rumor that Vice Foreign Minister Yachi is most likely candidate 
to serve as chief of the secretariat of Japanese version of NSC 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Poll: 51% favor constitutional revision 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 1) (Full) 
May 3, 2007 
 
Ahead of May 3 Constitution Day, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun conducted 
a public opinion survey. In the survey, a total of 51% answered that 
the Constitution should be amended, with 35% saying they would like 
the Constitution to be upheld as is. As seen from these figures, 
constitutional revision proponents outnumbered opponents. The survey 
also asked respondents to pick one or more problems about the 
Constitution. In response to this question, 29% answered that the 
Constitution stipulates nothing to meet the changing times, allowing 
for establishing environmental rights, including the right to enjoy 
a better environment, and privacy rights, such as the right to 
self-determination on private information. This answer topped all 
other answers. Among other answers, 22% said Constitution Article 9, 
which stipulates Japan's war renunciation, is no longer realistic. 
 
In 2000, the Diet set up a research commission on the Constitution 
in its lower and upper chambers. Since then, the Nihon Keizai 
Shimbun has asked the same question. However, the proportion of 
those in favor of revising the Constitution has been on the decline. 
In the survey this time, their proportion was down 3 percentage 
points from the last survey conducted two years ago on the 
Constitution. Meanwhile, the proportion of opponents to 
constitutional revision was up 6 points. 
 
A national referendum bill, which stipulates procedures for 
constitutional revision, is expected to get through the Diet 
shortly, and constitutional revision has now become more likely. 
However, the general public appears to have become somewhat 
cautious. 
 
The survey was taken by Nikkei Research Inc. on April 27-29 over the 
telephone on a random digit dialing (RDD) basis. For the survey, 
samples were chosen from among men and women aged 20 and over across 
the nation. A total of 1,559 households with one or more voters were 
sampled, and answers were obtained from 865 persons (55.5% ). 
 
 
TOKYO 00002102  002 OF 007 
 
 
(2) DPJ's Ozawa's strategy again suffers a setback with failure to 
decide a joint candidate in talks with SDP for Upper House 
representation in Oita Prefecture 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
May 10, 2007 
 
Muryu Yamada, Daihaku Kasai 
 
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto or DPJ) 
yesterday gave up on the plan to field a unified candidate with the 
minor opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Oita 
constituency for Upper House representation. With both parties' 
prefectural chapters insisting on fielding their respective 
candidates, the Minshuto leadership concluded that there would be no 
election cooperation in the Oita constituency. Minshuto and the SDP 
intend to field a joint candidate in the Akita and Toyama 
constituencies. In the Okinawa constituency, opposition parties are 
expected to back a joint candidate, but the failure in election 
cooperation in the Oita constituency has come as a setback to 
Minshuto President Ichiro Ozawa, who is in pursuit of cooperation 
among the opposition parties, following his party's defeat in the 
Upper House by-election in Okinawa last month. 
 
Failure in fielding a joint candidate in Oita may affect other 
constituencies 
 
"I failed to pick a joint candidate," Ozawa said yesterday at a 
press briefing in party headquarters and revealed his chagrin. 
Coordination began last year behind the scenes to field a joint 
candidate in the Oita constituency but the efforts for coordination 
ran into trouble later. Oita Prefecture was the home prefecture of 
former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama (former head of the SDP), 
and perhaps for that reason, the region is the SDP's strong 
electoral turf. In this past February, the SDP's Oita chapter 
decided to support a medical doctor, Bunroku Matsumoto (64). 
Meanwhile, Minshuto's chapter announced it would support Taiwa Yano 
(50), a former official working for the Saeki city government in 
Oita Prefecture to counter the SDP's move. SDP President Mizuho 
Fukushima already implied the possibility of reviewing overall 
election cooperation with Minshuto. 
 
Meeting the press, Ozawa emphasized that the party leadership would 
neither adopt Yano as an authorized candidate nor recommend him. 
Ozawa explained, "We won't bind the prefectural chapter whoever it 
backs," in effect hinting that he would accept the failure of 
coordination on election cooperation in Oita. Yesterday noon, Ozawa 
telephoned SDP Secretary-General Seiji Mataichi and told him: "Our 
party will not have our own candidate. You may feel dissatisfied, 
but I hope you will understand this." 
 
In the coordination process for fielding a joint candidate in Oita, 
Ozawa himself took pains to engage in the process, out of concern 
that his "strategy" aimed at reversing the positions of the ruling 
and opposition parties by taking advantage of the upcoming Upper 
House election would otherwise collapse if he failed to continue 
election cooperation among opposition parties. But Minshuto's Oita 
chapter refused to entrust coordination to Ozawa. On April 25, 
Matsumoto and Yano were both called to Tokyo, and both were 
persuaded by Ozawa and Mataichi in their last-ditch effort, but 
their effort failed. 
 
In Minshuto, a move is growing to seek to pursue the party's 
 
TOKYO 00002102  003 OF 007 
 
 
identity instead of election cooperation in part because the joint 
candidate backed by opposition parties was defeated in the recent 
Upper House by-election in Okinawa. Yesterday, Mataichi told 
reporters, "I think this failure must not affect (election 
cooperation in other constituencies), but the question lies with how 
each constituency will take the failure," implying the possibility 
that the failure will have an adverse effect on a united front among 
opposition parties, possibly widening the rift among opposition 
parties over election cooperation. 
 
(3) Upper House election in 2007: Postwar generation of LDP 
lawmakers split over whether Abe should take reform line or 
conservative policy 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) 
May 10, 2007 
 
The postwar generation of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members 
have begun to move in an effort to make the Abe administration a 
full-scale administration. 
 
Lower House member Nobuhiro Oumiya suggested to LDP Federation of 
Diet Members for Acceleration of Reform Chairman Yasufumi Tanahashi, 
former science and technology minister, on the afternoon of May 8: 
"Why don't we discuss what we should do to become lawmakers who are 
respected by the people?" Tanahashi replied: "Let's discuss the 
issue, including future options for the House of Councillors, prior 
to the Upper House election." 
 
By activating debates on reforms among mid-ranking and junior 
lawmakers, Tanahashi aims to underscore the image of Prime Minister 
Abe eagerly tackling reforms. 
 
Tanahashi has been elected to the House of Representatives four 
times. Encouraged by freshman lawmakers, including Oumiya, he 
assumed the chairmanship of the reform panel last December. About 
100 middle-ranking or junior lawmakers are members, and former Prime 
Minister Junichiro Koizumi has joined it as an advisor. 
 
When the panel was established, the support rating for the Abe 
administration kept going down due to its decision to reinstate 
so-called postal rebels in the party. Freshman lawmakers known as 
"Koizumi children" were worried about the outcome of the Upper House 
election, one member saying: "If the situation is left unattended, 
Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) will surely defeat the LDP." 
 
Tanahashi highly evaluates Abe's efforts on party reform when he was 
acting secretary general and secretary general. The Tsushima 
faction, to which Tanahashi belongs, is also the home for Defense 
Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga, who has prime ministerial 
ambitions, as well. Tanahashi thinks that the faction should now 
support Abe and not move for the sake of factional interests. He has 
said to party members: "Middle-ranking and junior members serve as 
the engine for reforms. If we advocate reforms, Mr. Abe will surely 
respond. 
 
On the Abe-proposed idea of setting up a new human resource agency 
for public servants, an issue that split the LDP, Tanahashi made 
efforts to build up support for the idea. 
 
Tanahashi said: "In order to move reform plans forward, a long-term 
administration is necessary. It is absolutely necessary for the 
ruling coalition to maintain its majority in the Upper House 
 
TOKYO 00002102  004 OF 007 
 
 
election and make the Abe administration a long-lasting one." 
 
Tanahashi belongs to the successor generation to Abe. He seems to be 
motivated to wait for his turn to come, while pushing ahead with 
generational change under Prime Minister Abe. 
 
Abe installed Yoshihide Suga and other members in the Federation of 
Diet Members for the Second Chance Program, which worked to boost 
support for Abe in the LDP presidential election last September, to 
key ministerial posts. A certain cabinet minister grumbled: "The 
Tanahashi-led panel might be aiming at ministerial posts in a 
personnel reshuffle to be carried out after the Upper House 
election." 
 
On the other hand, Lower House member Keiji Furuya of the LDP will 
soon launch a parliamentary group to promote a values-oriented 
diplomacy, with the aim of supporting the assertive diplomacy as 
advocated by Abe. About 20 conservatives, including Lower House 
members Kyoko Nishikawa and Kenichi Mizuno, plan to join the 
Furuya-headed new group. Policy Research Council Chairman Shoichi 
Nakagawa, a friend of Abe, will become an advisor. 
 
Furuya is one of the postal rebels who were reinstated in the party 
last December. He has served as six terms in the Lower House, and he 
was ahead of Abe at Seikei University. Both have worked together in 
dealing with the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North 
Korean agents. 
 
Furuya is concerned that Abe has tried to contain his conservative 
favor since assuming the prime minister's post. A mid-ranking 
official of the Ibuki faction also said: "Mr. Abe has been quite a 
different person since he came into office. On the Yasukuni Shrine 
issue and policy toward China, I am not fully satisfied with his 
responses." The members of the Furuya-led parliamentary group are 
determined to speak for Abe. Tanahashi and former Posts and 
Communications Minister Seiko Noda, both of whom come from Gifu, his 
electoral district, once served as cabinet minister, though their 
numbers of elections are fewer than his. Bearing this in mind, 
Furuya also seems to be aiming at entering the cabinet by making 
efforts to give the administration a boost. 
 
Will Abe take over Koizumi reforms as his successor or assume the 
role of flag-bearer for conservatism? Middle-ranking and junior LDP 
members expect Abe to take a different policy line. Attention is 
being focused on which course he would take in the reshuffle after 
the Upper House election. 
 
(4) Upper House election: Support organizations undergoing change; 
DPJ seeking support from agricultural cooperatives, religious 
circles; LDP approaching coops 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 10, 2007 
 
Ichiro Ozawa, head of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or 
Minshuto), made his appeal to the audience at the first meeting of 
the campaign headquarters held at the party headquarters yesterday: 
"There are only two months and a half left until the Upper House 
election. We must do our best just as we did when the election was 
officially announced." The DPJ is ready to stake its fate on 29 
single-seat constituencies, which are now part of the stronghold of 
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The proportion of farm 
households is high in those districts. 
 
TOKYO 00002102  005 OF 007 
 
 
 
Makes big leap-forward advance in isolate islands 
 
DPJ Headquarters in late April received a letter of protest noting: 
"Agricultural cooperatives are in a chaotic state. This could affect 
future campaigns." 
 
The sender was the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA). The 
complaint was about the questionnaires the LDP Agricultural 
Cooperatives Reform Headquarters headed by Masahiko Yamada) sent in 
early April to agricultural cooperatives bypassing JA. The 
questionnaires asked questions upsetting JA, including the propriety 
of disclosing information on the use of subsidies granted to 
agricultural cooperatives and their political neutrality. 
 
There are about 9 million JA members throughout the nation. Ozawa 
during the meeting yesterday harshly criticized JA, noting, "JA has 
become overgrown, producing a harmful effect. I want it to return to 
the starting point and have the party render services to farmers." 
 
There are signs of changes taking place. In the Nagasaki Prefectural 
Assembly members' election, the DPJ made a good show in a 
constituency to which Yamada belongs, especially in areas including 
isolated islands. Yamada analyzed the result: "Our party's 
agricultural policy, such as an income compensation system for each 
farm household, has filtered down among farmers." He will shortly 
establish an agricultural policy forum bringing together former JA 
officials from all over the country. 
 
Shinshuren to recommend DPJ candidate for first time in 18 years 
 
Yoshito Sengoku, who called for the establishment of the DPJ 
Buddhist Lawmakers' League (BLL), chaired by Secretary General Yukio 
Hatoyama, made a speech at its inauguration ceremony, "It is a major 
event for Japanese political circles that religious circles and the 
DPJ have established a relationship like this." The secretary 
general of the Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF) was seen standing by 
him. The JBF is joined by 102 religious sects and groups, including 
the Soto sect and the Jodo shin sect, which account for 
approximately 90% of temples throughout the nation. The DPJ for the 
first time recommended a priest belonging to the Honganji-ha of the 
Jodo shin sect, which is said to have many DPJ supporters. The JBF 
will likely support the DPJ in the upcoming Upper House election. 
One senior BLL official has analyzed, "Dissatisfaction with the 
LDP-New Komeito administration is mounting in religious circles due 
to its proposal to amend to the Constitution and the Yasukuni shrine 
issue." 
 
The New Federation of Japanese Religious Organizations (Shinshuren) 
with membership of 69 religious groups will recommend a DPJ 
candidate in the Upper House election. This is the first time for it 
to do so since the one in 1989. 
 
LDP pins hopes on secret party members 
 
The LDP is also doing its utmost. A meeting with the Pal System 
Federation was held at LDP Headquarters on Apr. 18. The Pal System 
is a home delivery service of food operated by the Cooperative 
Association. One senior LDP official said, "Coops have the image of 
being close to the DPJ or the Japanese Communist Party. However, LDP 
supporters also shop at coops." The membership of the Coop 
Association in seven prefectures and Tokyo totals 1 million. Kazuaki 
Miyaji, head of LDP Party Organizational Headquarters, is trying to 
 
TOKYO 00002102  006 OF 007 
 
 
lure senior coop officials, saying, "We hope we can hold talks with 
each block of coops throughout the nation." 
 
Postal organizations, which appear to have given up on the LDP, are 
showing moves to swing back to it. About 30% of special postmasters 
are said to be hereditary postmasters who privately own post office 
buildings. Some special postmasters who do not want to be 
transferred to other areas have begun to appeal to the LDP for help. 
A source related to postal policy said, "There should be quite a 
number of special postmasters who are LDP members." 
 
(5) Former Prime Minister Koizumi may resume diplomatic activities 
 
SENTAKU (Page 44) (Full) 
May 2007 
 
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reportedly will return to 
the center of the diplomatic stage after the House of Councillors 
election in July. He has shied away from the government of Prime 
Minister Shinzo Abe, saying, "Prime Minister Abe should carry out 
his own diplomacy as he likes." Abe has placed priority on diplomacy 
toward China, South Korea, and the United States. Koizumi, 
therefore, appears to want to complement Abe's foreign policy by 
carrying out diplomacy toward the Middle East, which Japan has put 
aside, and toward the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
(ASEAN), where he achieved results. 
 
Koizumi reportedly has said that he would like to be made an "envoy" 
to lay the groundwork for Abe's diplomacy at the ASEAN summit to be 
held later this year. He also wants to exchange views with the 
leaders of ASEAN and Middle East, as well as economic officials. One 
of Abe's brain-trust advisors said, "I wish he would not meddle in 
our business." 
 
(6) Rumor that Vice Foreign Minister Yachi is most likely candidate 
to serve as chief of the secretariat of Japanese version of NSC 
 
SENTAKU (Page 45) (Full) 
May 2007 
 
Under the auspices of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the government aims 
to create a Japanese version of National Security Council (NSC) next 
April. The rumor is that Administrative Vice Foreign Minister 
Shoichi Yachi is the most likely candidate for chief of the 
secretariat of the planned NSC. The reason for the rumor is that 
 
SIPDIS 
"Yachi, as Abe's brain-trust advisor on foreign policy, is most 
trusted in the government office district of Kasumigaseki," said a 
source familiar with the Prime Minister's Official Residence 
(Kantei). Another reason is that at the prime minister's direction 
Yachi's retirement was extended for a year until next March. 
 
The secretariat, which would become the think tank of the NSC, will 
be composed of 10 to 20 government staff and political appointees 
from the private sector. It is responsible for analyzing economic 
and energy issues by policy and foreign policy with China and North 
by region so that it will come up with Japan's mid- and long-term 
national strategy. All the more because the secretariat of NSC will 
have great influence in order to set the direction of Japan's 
national strategy, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and 
the National Police Agency are reportedly having a close contest 
behind closed doors in order to secure the post of chief of the 
secretariat. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
TOKYO 00002102  007 OF 007 
 
 
DONOVAN