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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 002823 
 
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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 06/22/07 
 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
Political agenda: 
4) Prime Minister Abe: If there is an election defeat, I will take 
responsibility 
5) Prime Minister's office wants to ease the adverse wind against 
the Abe government by extending the Diet, but the ruling camp fears 
the opposite 
6) Opposition parties blast the ruling camp's decision to extend the 
Diet session 
7) Labor law with hike in minimum wage to be shelved due to lack of 
time in the Diet session 
 
Reaction to Hill visit to Pyongyang: 
8) US seems frantic to achieve concrete results in six-party talks 
so sends Assistant Secretary Hill to Pyongyang 
9) Tokyo worried that Japan's abduction issue will be left behind in 
Washington's rush to achieve nuclear results with Pyongyang 
10) US promises to bring up the abduction issue with North Korea 
11) Tokyo stresses US-Japan cooperation as Hill speeds to Pyongyang 
 
 
Afghan aid: 
12) Prime minister in meeting with Afghanistan's vice president 
expresses intention to continue aid 
13) Government sending fact-finding mission to Afghanistan to seek 
human contribution for country's reconstruction 
 
14) LDP league proposes tripling ODA to Africa 
 
Defense issues: 
15) Police suspect GSDF officer of having taken kickbacks in 
connection with Iraq dispatch equipment 
16) Leakage of Aegis intelligence involves multiple legal 
infractions 
 
Beef issue: 
17) US-Japan talks next week on easing conditions for US beef 
imports 
18) Four opposition parties in joint appeal come out against easing 
import conditions for US beef 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Labor ministry sees salary deduction of temp staff illegal 
 
Mainichi & Tokyo Shimbun: 
Diet session to be extended for 12 days; Upper House election to be 
held July 29 
 
Yomiuri: 
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to join French firm on US nuclear fuel 
recycle project bid 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
Japanese auto makers to boost exports from bases elsewhere in Asia 
 
 
TOKYO 00002823  002 OF 011 
 
 
Sankei: 
Secret information still possessed by many MSDF personnel 
 
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Akahata: 
Junior Chamber International Japan declines consignment contract of 
"Yasukuni DVD" 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) With three education-related laws: Education ministry must not 
force uniform school education 
(2) Is revised Iraq Special Measures Law a law to support Bush 
administration? 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Extension of Diet session not a good strategy for the Upper 
House election 
(2) Extension of SDF mission for Iraq: Time to think about an exit 
strategy 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Extension of ASDF mission: Need for continued support for Iraq 
reconstruction 
(2) Cool, prudent operation of revised criminal procedure law 
required 
 
Nihon Keizai (Nikkei): 
(1) A social security numbering system should be created 
(2) Prime Minister Abe should seek the judgment of the people 
 
Sankei: 
(1) We support the Diet extension decision that goes with 
responsibility 
(2) Hill's visit to North Korea: Abduction issue must not be left 
behind 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Tokyo spa blast: Need for safety measures for blind spot in 
urban areas 
(2) Highway tolls should be drastically reduced 
 
Akahata: 
Extension of Diet session: We cannot allow the arrogant Abe cabinet 
to do as it pleases 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, June 21 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2)  (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
07:59 
Had breakfast with Nippon Keidanren Chairman Mitarai and Tokyo 
University Professor Motoshige Ito at a Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka 
restaurant. 
 
09:41 
Arrived at the Kantei. 
 
10:54 
 
TOKYO 00002823  003 OF 011 
 
 
Met with MLIT Minister Fuyushiba. 
 
11:48 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matoba. 
 
14:01 
Held talks with New Komeito Head Ota. Secretary General Nakagawa, 
New Komeito Secretary General Kitagawa and Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Shiozaki were present. Then met with Agriculture Minister Akagi. 
 
15:01 
Attended a meeting of the National Association of Credit Banks held 
at the Keidanren Hall in Otemachi. 
 
15:38 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Suzuki at the Kantei, 
followed by Vice Foreign Minister Yachi. 
 
16:33 
Met with Nakagawa. 
 
17:04 
Central Disaster Prevention Council meeting. Then met with Afghan 
Vice President Khalili. 
 
19:00 Returned to the official residence. 
 
4) Prime minister: I will take responsibility if LDP is defeated in 
Upper House election 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
In responding to questions from reporters at his official residence 
last night, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said about the decision to 
extend the current Diet session: "I decided it from the viewpoint of 
what should be done for the people." He then admitted that if (the 
Liberal Democratic Party) is defeated in the Upper House election, 
the issue of responsibility for the prime minister, who instructed 
senior LDP members to extend the session, will crop up. He said: 
"The prime minister has a responsibility at all times, every day." 
 
The prime minister criticized LDP members who are against extending 
the Diet session, remarking: "My mission is to ponder what the 
government should do for the sake of the people and not to consider 
how technically we should win the election. Those who do not take 
such a view should resign." 
 
5) Ruling camp's concern grows over Diet extension, although Kantei 
feels relieved 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
June 22, 2007 
 
The House of Representatives will today decide to extend the current 
Diet session. By extending the Diet session, Prime Minister Shinzo 
Abe hopes to assuage to a certain extent public criticism of the 
pension premium-payment fiasco by delaying the election by a week. 
However, many lawmakers in the ruling parties are now growing more 
concerned that there could be just the opposite effect and the 
decision to extend might backfire. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002823  004 OF 011 
 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki explained the purpose of 
the extension at a press conference yesterday: "We will definitely 
be able to get the pension and national civil service bills through 
the Diet." 
 
By respectively enacting the bills removing the five-year statute of 
limitations on pension claims and amending the National Civil 
Service Law during the ongoing session, the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence (Kantei) hopes that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 
will be able to demonstrate his achievements to the public. In 
addition, the Kantei side wishes to obtain public understanding for 
the government's efforts by appointing a committee on the pension 
record fiasco and a third-party panel on pension payments to study 
the issue. 
 
However, concern was raised in meetings yesterday of factions in the 
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Foreign Minister Taro Aso 
stated: "I cannot presume how the extension will turn out." Former 
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said: "There will be positive and 
negative effects." 
 
LDP Upper House Caucus Policy Research Council Chairman Yoichi 
Masuzoe, who will run in the upcoming July election for another 
term, blasted the government's decision to extend the session: 
 
 "The extension will do no good and a lot of harm. We will be 
criticized for extending the session to hide the pension fiasco. 
Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) will pursue the issue in the 
extended session and as a result, cabinet support rating will 
plunge. The prime minister is now in over his head." 
 
An LDP Election Strategy Headquarters member took this view: "I 
think cabinet support rates will not increased, even though the 
voting date is delayed. Especially winning women's support that the 
cabinet has now lost will be difficult." 
 
6) Opposition camp blasts extension of the Diet, calling it the 
"ruling camp's high-handedness"; Vows to further pursue the pension 
issue 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Excerpt) 
June 22, 2007 
 
The opposition parties have strongly criticized the decision to 
extend the current Diet session, using such terms as "the 
high-handedness of the government and ruling parties." Their Diet 
strategy now will be to continue to criticize such, and to pursue 
the government on the pension issue even more, hoping to build more 
voter support in the upcoming Upper House election. 
 
7) Labor-related legislation likely to be carried over to next 
session: LDP leadership in Upper House judges insufficient time 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpts) 
June 22, 2007 
 
There has appeared a strong possibility of three labor-related 
bills, including an amendment to the Minimum Wage Law, being carried 
over to the next session. Following the decision to extend the 
current Diet session by 12 days, moves to seek passage of those 
bills had emerged in the Prime Minister's Office (Kantei) and the 
ruling camp. However, since the LDP leadership in the Upper House 
 
TOKYO 00002823  005.2 OF 011 
 
 
was negative toward the idea, the decision was made at a meeting 
yesterday to put off enactment of the three bills during the current 
session. 
 
The Lower House Health, Labor and Welfare Committee had been 
discussing a bill amending the Labor Standard Law to raise the 
premium rate for allowances for overtime work, an amendment to the 
Minimum Wage Law aimed at raiding the minimum wage and a labor 
contract bill to set new employment rules. 
 
The Kantei asked the ruling camp to pass those bills during the 
current session in order to appeal the administration's stance of 
tackling income disparities with the Upper House election just 
ahead. The ruling camp had indicated readiness to adopt the bills 
and send them to the Upper House with progress in deliberations on a 
set of bills to reform the Social Insurance Agency (SIA) in the 
Upper House taken into account. They had calculated that since the 
Japanese Trade Union Confederation wants to see the Minimum Wage Law 
amended, the bill would serve as a material to shake the Democratic 
Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto). 
 
However, the LDP leadership in the Upper House has judged that the 
12-day extension of the Diet session would not guarantee sufficient 
time for deliberations on the three bills. Tetsuro Yano, chairman of 
the Upper House Diet Policy Committee of the LDP, during a meeting 
of the chairmen of the Policy Committees of the ruling parties in 
both Diet chambers yesterday morning categorically said, "The Upper 
House will not be able to pass those bills even at the risk of our 
lives." 
 
8) Hill visits North Korea possibly in hope of concrete results; 
Six-party foreign ministerial to produce statement 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
June 22, 2007 
 
Takashi Arimoto, Washington 
 
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, chief US delegate 
to the six-party talks, visited North Korea on June 21 to ensure 
concrete results toward North Korea's nuclear dismantlement by 
holding a first six-party foreign ministerial in August to produce a 
joint statement. A six-party source, however, described Hill's visit 
before the North shuts down and seals its nuclear families rather 
than after implementing those initial steps as a manifestation of 
"panic." The North might take the initiative in future talks. 
 
Hill visited North Korea at the request of Pyongyang, according to 
the six-party talks. A direct dialogue with the North, however, 
reportedly realized based on an instruction by Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice. The source also said: "Both Secretary Rice and 
Assistant Secretary Hill regard the North as not easily trustworthy. 
They also think that if an agreement is reached in the foreign 
ministerial, the North would follow it." 
 
In the wake of the six-party agreement in February, Hill had 
intended to hold a foreign ministerial as early as April. But his 
plan fell through because of a substantial delay in transferring 
North Korea's frozen funds at Banco Delta Asia in Macao. Further, 
Washington's decision to return the North Korean funds in full under 
Hill's leadership has drawn strong criticism within the United 
States. 
 
TOKYO 00002823  006.2 OF 011 
 
 
 
President Bush has also reportedly expressed his displeasure with 
the lack of progress on the six-party talks despite the US 
concessions. These factors can explain Hill's need to get something 
done quickly. 
 
9) Japan fears abduction issue being left behind 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) 
June 22, 2007 
 
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's visit to North 
Korea has drawn mixed reactions from the Japanese government. A 
senior Foreign Ministry official expressed hope, saying, "It's a 
good opportunity to get Japan's position on the abduction issue and 
other matters across." At the same time, the government is concerned 
that US-North Korea talks on the nuclear issue would move forward 
while leaving the abduction issue behind. 
 
After his meeting on June 20 with Administrative Vice Foreign 
Minister Shotaro Yachi, Hill told reporters that he would stay in 
Japan until the 21st, saying, "I have someone that I want to see." 
 
But there is no evidence that he later met a key Japanese official. 
Instead, he watched a professional baseball game at a ballpark on 
the night of June 20. He apparently needed to stay longer in Japan 
for his visit to North Korea. 
 
The visit to North Korea did not crop up in Hill's talks with 
Foreign Ministry officials on June 19-20, according to ministry 
officials. Foreign Minister Taro Aso officially learned of the visit 
in a telephone call from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at 
9:00 a.m. June 21. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe learned of it at 6:00 
a.m. that day. 
 
According to an informed source, when Foreign Ministry Asian and 
Oceanian Affairs Bureau chief Kenichiro Sasae held a meeting with 
Hill on June 19, Sasae asked Hill to resume the six-party talks 
after the July Upper House election, but Hill rejected it. 
 
"Mr. Hill seemed reluctant to refer to the abduction issue," a 
Foreign Ministry official said. Another official took this view: 
"With the Upper House election drawing close, the Kantei (Prime 
Minister's Official) is nervous about (how Hill's North Korea visit 
will turn out)." 
 
10) Government asks US to raise abduction issue 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
June 22, 2007 
 
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's visit to North 
Korea has drawn mixed reactions from the Japanese government, with 
some expressing hopes for progress on the six-party talks and some 
others concerned about the abduction issue being left behind. 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last night highlighted his plan to work in 
close cooperation with the United States, saying: "The abduction 
issue is something that Japan cannot compromise on. Japan will work 
closely with the United States." He also said about the 
denuclearization of North Korea: "We must watch closely whether or 
not the North will implement the initial steps." 
 
TOKYO 00002823  007.2 OF 011 
 
 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso had a telephone conversation with US 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday morning ahead of 
 
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Hill's departure for North Korea. Aso asked Rice to tell Pyongyang 
that (1) Japan is ready to normalize relations with North Korea in 
accordance with the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration, and (2) Tokyo 
expects Pyongyang to fully address Japan-North Korea relations, 
including the abduction issue. In response, Rice said: "I assure you 
that Mr. Hill will raise the question of Japan-North Korea 
relations." 
 
Aso's request on the abduction issue comes from concern that the 
nuclear issue would draw undivided international attention following 
the direct US-North Korea talks and the abduction issue would be put 
on the back burner as a result. 
 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi also underlined 
the importance of the abduction issue in his meeting with Hill on 
June 20. 
 
11) Government stresses Japan-US cooperation on North Korea policy, 
but alarmed by US' conciliatory stance 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpt) 
June 22, 2007 
 
The Japanese government has a complicated view toward the visit to 
Pyongyang by US Assistant Secretary of State Hill. One the one hand, 
it is hoping for progress on the nuclear issue, but it also is 
alarmed that the US is easing into a conciliatory stance toward 
North Korea. For Japan, the worst case scenario would be the US and 
North Korea prioritizing their entering into a dialogue, leaving the 
abduction issue behind. Although Japan-US cooperation is being 
stressed, as seen in Foreign Minister Aso and Secretary of State 
Rice urging Pyongyang to seriously deal with the abduction issue, 
the truth is that Tokyo cannot conceal its anxiety about the Hill 
visit. 
 
12) Abe explains plan about continued assistance for Afghanistan in 
meeting with Afghan vice president 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with visiting Afghan Vice President 
Halili at his official residence yesterday and explained Japan's 
plan to continue the fueling mission by Maritime Self-Defense Force 
for the United States military and the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization (NATO) force in the Indian Ocean, as well as Afghan 
reconstruction assistance including grant aid. 
 
Prior to the meeting with the prime minister, Halili attended an 
international conference for stabilizing Afghanistan held in Tokyo. 
In the conference, participants agreed to step up the program for 
support of the integrated disbandment of illegal armed groups (DIAG) 
initiative. Foreign Minister Taro Aso pointed out the necessity for 
strengthened police force, remarking: "By disbanding illegal armed 
groups, it will become possible to establish the rule of the law 
across the nation." 
 
13) Government to dispatch fact-finding team to Afghanistan after 
Upper House election to seek ways to provide human contribution for 
 
TOKYO 00002823  008.2 OF 011 
 
 
reconstruction 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
The government decided yesterday to dispatch a fact-finding team to 
Afghanistan this summer to seek specific measures to help 
reconstruct the nation. Reflecting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 
eagerness to offer personnel contribution to stabilize Afghanistan, 
officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry will 
visit Kabul. Based on the information on the local security 
situation gathered from officials of the Afghan government, the 
United States military, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(NATO), the two ministries will study the possibility of dispatch of 
Self-Defense Force (SDF) troops or civilian police officers. 
 
In Afghanistan, the security situation is deteriorating as terrorist 
activities by the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, have 
intensified. On June 17, terrorist explosions hurt two Japanese 
nationals in Kabul. Since Abe promised in a NATO meeting in January 
that Japan would increase support for the NATO's provincial 
reconstruction teams (PRT) that facilitate reconstruction in 
Afghanistan's provinces, expectations have been running high for 
Japan to provide a human contribution. 
 
In a press conference in Heiligendamm, Germany, in early June, Prime 
Minister Abe emphasized: "Japan must extend personnel contribution 
proactively," adding: "It is necessary for Japan, as the chair of 
the G-8 summit next year, to carry out its responsibility in dealing 
with international challenges." 
 
Reflecting Abe's determination, the government has decided to send a 
fact-find team to Afghanistan to learn local needs and security 
situation after the House of Councillors election set for late July. 
The Japanese government has offered grant aid, but it has now judged 
it necessary to also offer human contribution. 
 
For SDF dispatch, since the special antiterrorism law governing SDF 
support for the US military and the NATO force in Afghanistan is not 
premised on reconstruction assistance, amendments are necessary. The 
Defense Ministry has also a strong desire to have the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's supply vessels and escort ships continue their 
fueling mission for the US military in the Indian Ocean. 
 
Based on a report by the team, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense 
Ministry intend to cautiously map out personnel contribution 
measures, but there is a possibility that only civilians, such as 
police officers or representatives of non-government organizations 
(NGO), will be dispatched to Afghanistan. 
 
14) LDP lawmakers league proposes tripling ODA to Africa 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
The Japan-African Union (AU) Parliamentarian Friendship League, 
consisting of members of the AU and LDP lawmakers and chaired by 
former Prime Minister Mori, yesterday drafted a set of aid measures 
aimed at tripling official development assistance (ODA) to Africa by 
¶2013. The government plans to increase ODA to Africa to 
approximately 1.7 billion dollars by fiscal 2007. The league noted 
that it wanted to see Japan's aid to Africa increase to the world's 
 
TOKYO 00002823  009.2 OF 011 
 
 
highest level through positive use of yen loans in ODA to that 
continent. 
 
15) Police to quiz GSDF officer over money scandal 
 
TOKYO (Page 1) (Abridged) 
June 22, 2007 
 
Police will question a Ground Self-Defense Force colonel in his 40s 
and a Tokyo-based trading house's executives today on a charge of 
bribery, suspecting that they have given and received money over the 
Defense Ministry's contracts to purchase logistic equipment. 
 
According to the 2nd Investigation Division of Tokyo's Metropolitan 
Police Department (MPD) and other sources, the colonel is mainly in 
charge of equipment procurement. This GSDF officer is suspected of 
having received cash amounting to several hundred thousand yen in 
return for giving special preference to the trading company over 
repair and other contracts. 
 
The trading company, which is headquartered in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, 
has delivered a large number of equipment items used mainly in the 
rear, including outdoor cookers for GSDF members on the front. 
Outdoor cookware was used by GSDF troops sent to Iraq in 2004. In 
addition, the company has also delivered open-air bath units, which 
were provided to people living in localities hit by the 1995 
Osaka-Kobe earthquake or other disasters. Among other items 
delivered to the Defense Agency, there were rice-cooking pots and 
helmets. There were also cupboards and desks used at GSDF 
garrisons. 
 
According to the Ground Staff Office's public relations division at 
the Defense Ministry, there are two types of outdoor cookware. One 
is a trailer type, which is priced at about 8 million yen per unit. 
The other is a portable type for about 1.5 million yen per unit. A 
company in Hamamatsu City manufactures these cookers. The trading 
company has industrial property rights pertaining to these products, 
so it delivered these products on a private contract basis with 
other companies precluded. 
 
16) Many in MSDF violate regulations, possess classified info 
 
SANKEI (Top play) (Abridged) 
June 22, 2007 
 
In connection with the recent case of information leakage, including 
pivotal data about Aegis-equipped vessels, the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force has discovered that MSDF personnel at the MSDF 1st Service 
School-which is located in Etajima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and 
was involved in the incident of information leakage-had violated 
regulations and possessed classified information in large quantities 
even after the incident was brought to light, sources revealed 
yesterday. As seen from this fact, the MSDF was extremely careless 
about information security. In addition to the pivotal data about 
Aegis ships, there was important data about other weapons and their 
performance. Moreover, there was even information about fleet 
operations. Such information was saved on floppy disks and other 
storage media, which were left in desk drawers, according to the 
sources. The incident this time shows a serious situation in which 
the MSDF has still failed to carry out information control in a 
thoroughgoing way. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002823  010.2 OF 011 
 
 
In the wake of the information leak, the MSDF conducted special 
inspections on and after May 20, with a setup of about 60 
inspectors, including those from the Maritime Staff Office, to 
inspect educational units and other MSDF elements across the 
nation. 
 
At the 1st Service School, inspectors rechecked the hard drives of 
computers used by instructors and MSDF trainees there. Inspectors 
also rechecked other storage media, such as USB memory cards and 
floppy disks. As a result, some of those MSDF trainees there were 
found to have had barred data, according to an MSDF officer. 
 
Aegis data falls under the category of "defense secret" or 
"tokubetsu boei himitsu," which is the highest level of 
confidentiality. In addition, those under the category of 
 
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"classified" or "hi" include the performance of sonar systems, 
torpedoes, and various other weapons, as well as antisubmarine 
operations. At the 1st Service School, however, inspectors 
discovered such critical information, data, and "handle-with-care" 
documents. 
 
17) Japan, US to launch talks to ease US beef import conditions as 
early as next week 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 22, 2007 
 
It is almost certain that Japan and the US will launch talks to ease 
Japan's US beef import conditions. Washington on June 22 made a 
request to hold the first round of such talks in Tokyo within next 
week. Tokyo is expected to accept the request shortly. 
 
Vice Agriculture Minister Yoshio Kobayashi during a regular news 
briefing yesterday noted, "We received a request from the US 
government to hold a technical meeting in Tokyo to revise Japan's US 
beef import conditions." 
 
During the planned bilateral meeting, quarantine experts from both 
countries will first determine the need to ease Japan's beef import 
conditions, based on scientific grounds, followed by talks between 
senior officials of both governments on how the import conditions 
should be revised. 
 
The government will then ask the Food Safety Commission, an 
independent organization, to compile a report based on the outcome 
of the talks. The likelihood is that import conditions will be eased 
within the year at the earliest. 
 
Japan limits US beef eligible for export to Japan to cattle up to 20 
months in age and requires the removal of specified risk materials 
(SRM). The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), which sets 
livestock safety standards, has recognized the US as a country with 
a controlled BSE risk and allowed it to export beef from cattle aged 
up to 30 months even without removing SRM. Following the 
recognition, the US has called on Japan to extensively ease its 
import conditions. The upcoming bilateral talks will likely focus on 
easing the cattle age criterion to allow imports of beef from cattle 
aged 30 months or younger. 
 
18) Four opposition parties in joint rally oppose incremental easing 
of restrictions on US beef imports 
 
 
TOKYO 00002823  011.2 OF 011 
 
 
AKAHATA (Page 15) (Excerpt) 
June 22, 2007 
 
Responding to the Abe Cabinet's entering into bilateral talks with 
the United States on easing import conditions on US beef, four 
opposition parties - Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), Japanese 
Communist Party (JCP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the 
Peoples New Party (PNP) - jointly held a rally last night at the 
Second Diet Members' Hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to oppose 
incremental easing of import restrictions. Several hundred citizens 
also attended, including lawmakers, consumer groups, and 
representatives of domestic beef producers. The adopted a position 
opposed to easing the age condition and the abolishment of subsidies 
that allow blanket inspections of domestic cows for BSE. The group 
concluded that compared to Japan, the safety of American beef was 
extremely low. 
 
DONOVAN