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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 002878 
 
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 06/26/07 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule 
 
Opinion polls: 
4) Foreign Ministry's annual poll of US attitudes finds good 
feelings toward and trust in Japan at record highs 
5) Asahi pre-election poll finds public still hopping mad about 
pension issue, two major parties, LDP and Minshuto, evenly matched 
going into the final stretch 
6) Yomiuri survey of Upper House candidates finds pension mess is 
the hot-button campaign issue for Minshuto and LDP 
 
Upper House race: 
7) LDP debating whether Prime Minister Abe should take 
responsibility and step down in case of Upper House defeat, 
particularly if only 44 seats won 
8) Minshuto's Hatoyama says he will step down as party's secretary 
general if the ruling coalition keeps its majority in Upper House 
election 
9) Former Prime Minister Mori: Abe need not step down even if the 
LDP loses election 
10) Abe being forced to change his election strategy, with education 
reform, regional revitalization campaign pitches falling flat with 
the public 
11) Abe's political imprint seen in the 35 proportionate 
representation races 
12) Shocked by the suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka, the LDP 
has yet to choose a replacement candidate to run for his seat 
 
13) Vice Foreign Minister Yachi defends Abe's US statement in April 
on comfort-women issue, says it is up to US Congress now to decide 
on resolution 
 
14) Former defense chief Ishiba calls right of collective 
self-defense the same as the right to defend one's homeland 
 
15) Japan's national debt at its worst at end of fiscal 2006: 834 
trillion yen 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: Tokyo Shimbun: 
MAFF investigation into Meat Hope Co. finds 13 irregularities; 
Illegal sales, including foreign products in domestic products, 
changing expiry dates, started 24 years ago 
 
Mainichi: 
Chongryon deal: Former Public Security Intelligence Agency head 
makes secret arrangement for buying Chongryon headquarters, by 
pretending to trust investor, who later turned down request 
 
Yomiuri: 
All SIA staff to return part of their bonus; 1 billion yen in all 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
Mitsubishi-UFJ Financial Group decides to take more than 15 % 
stake in Matsui Securities House; Internet securities industry to be 
reorganized 
 
 
TOKYO 00002878  002 OF 010 
 
 
Sankei: 
Distorted structure of SIA: Workers' paradise; Working while 
smoking; Taking lunch break ignoring visitors 
 
Akahata: 
Government miscalculates national health insurance allocations: 
1,000 local governments might have been affected; Naha City suffers 
shortage of 550 million yen over 10 years 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Global warming countermeasures: Resourcefulness to involve 
developing countries needed 
(2) New TSE system: It should become a market that can earn high 
marks worldwide 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Third-party pension panel should reach convincing judgment that 
is fair and transparent 
(2) Minced meat scam: Why were such outrageous practices allowed to 
continue? 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Beef-labeling scandal: Consumer trust in food has been betrayed 
again 
(2) Palestinian situation: It is dangerous to leave divisions 
unattended 
 
Nihon Keizai: 
(1) Careful standards should be adopted to restore missing pension 
premium payment records 
(2) Beef-labeling scandal betrays consumer trust 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Pension committee should establish fair and flexible screening 
standards 
(2) Beijing Olympics: Environmental measures hold key to success 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Ferrosilt pollution: It is a crime committed by entire company 
(2) New British prime minister: It is essential for him to work with 
Germany and France 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Bill dismantling SIA: Will the government "dismantle" state 
responsibility as well? 
 
(07062603yk) Back to Top 
 
3) Prime Minister's schedule, June 25 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
09:28 
Arrived at Kantei 
 
10:03 
Met at LDP headquarters with Secretary General Nakagawa, later 
joined by former Education Revitalization Council member Yoshiie. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002878  003 OF 010 
 
 
11:19 
Met at Kantei with Special Advisor Koike. 
 
13:32 
Attended at Nissho Hall in Toranomon symposium to support local 
areas. 
 
13:53 
Recorded radio commercial for Upper House election at LDP 
headquarters, joined by Acting Secretary General Ishihara. 
 
15:39 
Met at Kantei with Health, Labor, and Welfare Minister Yanagisawa, 
joined by Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki. 
 
16:09 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matoba, followed by Lower 
House member Takeshi Noda. 
 
17:01 
Attended LDP board meeting in Diet building. 
 
17:24 
Met at Kantei those who were awarded for their efforts to facilitate 
equal participation in society of men and women. 
 
18:02 
et with State Minister Takaichi. 
 
19:06 
Met at his official residence with Education Reform Council Chairman 
Noyori and council members, attended by Education Minister Ibuki and 
Shiozaki. 
 
4) Poll: "Japan-US relations in good shape"-highest ever in US 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
The Foreign Ministry yesterday released findings from its public 
opinion survey conducted in the United States on Japan. In the 
survey, respondents were asked if they thought Japan-US relations 
were in good shape. In response to this question, "yes" accounted 
for 67 %   among the average public and 86 %   among opinion 
leaders. Both figures marked an all-time high. The survey was 
outsourced to a private research firm and conducted from February 
through March this year. For the survey, a total of 1,506 persons 
were chosen from among citizens aged 18 and over, and 256 persons 
from among opinion leaders. "Good shape" was up 4  percentage points 
among average citizens, and up 1 point among opinion leaders. Asked 
if Japan is trustworthy, "yes" accounted for 74 %   among the 
general public and reached 91 %   among opinion leaders. 
 
5) Poll: 92 %   "still angry" at pension problem; LDP, DPJ close in 
popularity 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
June 26, 2007 
 
The proportion of those who think the general public is still angry 
at the government's pension record-keeping flaws reached 92 %  , the 
Asahi Shimbun found from its seventh telephone-based serial public 
 
TOKYO 00002878  004 OF 010 
 
 
opinion survey conducted June 23-24. The proportion of those 
thinking that public anger has now calmed down was only 4 %  . Asked 
about the ruling coalition's way of steering the Diet, 70 % 
disapproved of force to get legislation through, with 17 %   saying 
there found no problem with this under majority rule. As seen from 
these figures, the greater part of those surveyed were critical. 
Meanwhile, ahead of next month's election for the House of 
Councillors, the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan 
(Minshuto) was down to 23 %   as a party of choice for proportional 
representation, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was up a 
bit to 24 %  . The DPJ and the LDP are now about evenly matched. The 
figures, however, show that the DPJ remains unable to take advantage 
of the public criticism of the ruling parties. 
 
In the survey, respondents were also asked if their anxiety over 
their pensions has been dissolved. To this question, "no" accounted 
for 54 %  , with "yes" at only 10 %  . The proportion of those who 
had no anxiety was 31 %  . In addition, a total of 66 %   answered 
that they want the nation's pension system to become a point of 
contention between the ruling and opposition camps in the upcoming 
House of Councillors election. 
 
The Abe cabinet's support rate was 31 %   (32 %   in the last 
survey), with its nonsupport rate at 48 %   (51 %   in the last 
survey). The Abe cabinet's support rate still stays low, but it 
rebounded to around 60 %   among those who support New Komeito, the 
LDP's coalition partner. 
 
6) Pension the focus of 53 %   of LDP candidates, 84 %   of DPJ 
candidates in Upper House election 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Ahead of the July 29 election for the House of Councillors, the 
Yomiuri Shimbun conducted a questionnaire survey of prospective 
candidates. As a point of contention in the election, more than 80 % 
  of those expected to run from the leading opposition Democratic 
Party of Japan (Minshuto) cited the nation's pension system. Among 
those expected to run from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, 
"pensions" accounted for about 50 %  , with "education reform" also 
at about 50 %  . The figures show the two parties' respective 
stances in the run-up to this summer's election. 
 
The survey was conducted from early June with a total of 288 persons 
who are expected to run in the nation's 47 electoral districts or in 
its proportional representation blocs as candidates on the ticket of 
a political party or as independents or minor party candidates. 
Answers were obtained from 263 persons (91.3 %  ). 
 
In the survey, respondents were asked to pick one or more policy 
challenges they will take up in campaigning for the upcoming House 
of Councillors election. In response, the pension issue was named by 
53 %   of LDP candidates and 46 %   of New Komeito candidates. On 
the side of the opposition parties, 84 %   of those running from the 
DPJ selected pension issues, with 82 %   among those running from 
the People's New Party (Kokumin Shinto), 77 %   of Japanese 
Communist Party candidates, and 70 %   of Social Democratic Party 
(Shaminto) candidates. 
 
Asked about the advisability of amending the Constitution, 
affirmative answers accounted for more than 80 %   among LDP and New 
 
TOKYO 00002878  005 OF 010 
 
 
Komeito candidates. Among DPJ candidates, affirmative answers 
accounted for 35 %  , with negative answers at 36 %  . As seen from 
these figures, opinion was split in the DPJ. 
 
Prime Minister Abe has declared his intention to take up 
constitutional revision in the upcoming Diet election. Nevertheless, 
just 13 %   of LDP candidates and 8 %   of New Komeito candidates 
said they would take that approach. 
 
7) LDP desperate to contain arguments for Abe to assume 
responsibility (if election lost); 44 seats as dividing line for 
Abe's resignation 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Excerpts) 
June 26, 2007 
 
There is growing momentum in the ruling coalition, particularly in 
the Machimura faction, to which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe used to 
belong, to contain emerging calls for Abe to assume responsibility 
for the results of the July 29 House of Councillors election. They 
are taking precautions against possible calls in the Liberal 
Democratic Party for Abe to step down after the election should the 
ruling coalition be forced into the minority in the Upper House. 
Given the Abe administration's plummeting support ratings, the LDP 
might erupt with strong calls for Abe to take responsibility in case 
the party ended up winning only slightly over 40 seats in the 
election, which would be an uncontrollable situation. 
 
"The upcoming election will not be an election to risk the reins of 
government. We must not panic and must remain steadfast. There is no 
need to dissolve the House of Representatives." 
 
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori delivering a speech yesterday in 
Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, indicated that even if the ruling 
coalition were forced into the minority by the upcoming election, 
there would be no need for the prime minister to step down or 
dissolve the Lower House. 
 
Ahead of Mori, LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa attempted to 
contain calls for Abe to take responsibility. Appearing on a talk 
show program on June 24, Nakagawa said: "The Upper House election 
will be a midterm test for the administration. The ruling 
coalition's failure to maintain its majority will not entail the 
resignation of the prime minister." 
 
What is common between Mori and Nakagawa is their determination not 
to make Abe, the third premier from the Machimura faction since 
Mori, resign as prime minister within one year after taking office. 
Abe's resignation might endanger Seiwakai's (Machimura faction) 
control over the LDP, which was wrestled from Keiseikai (Tsushima 
faction). 
 
But there is already talk in the LDP about a replay of the 1998 
Upper House election in which the LDP won merely 44 seats and then 
Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto resigned to take responsibility. In 
order for the ruling coalition to keep a majority (122 seats), it 
needs to win 64 seats in the upcoming election. In the event the New 
Komeito keeps its 13 seats, the LDP will need 51 seats. A former 
cabinet minister who keeps his distance from Abe took this view: "If 
the LDP ended up with a couple of seats short of 51, that would not 
escalate into the prime minister's resignation. But if the party 
were six to seven seats short of 51, the prime minister would have 
 
TOKYO 00002878  006 OF 010 
 
 
to resign." The 44-seat line that put an end to the Hashimoto 
administration is surfacing as the dividing line for Abe. 
 
8) Minshuto Secretary General Hatoyama: If LDP, New Komeito win 
majority, I will step down from my post 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
In a speech yesterday at Waseda University, Minshuto (Democratic 
Party of Japan) Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama indicated that he 
would step down from his post if his party failed to force the 
ruling coalition to a minority in the House of Councillors election 
next month. He stated: "I have no intention to remain in my current 
post if my party is defeated. Our victory is to force the ruling 
parties to become a minority." He also said: "If Minshuto wins Upper 
House seats more than the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), it will 
demand the post of Upper House president. But if the party fails to 
win, centrifugal force could have a substantial effect." 
 
Regarding the consumption tax rate, he stated: 
 
"There is a strong possibility that the rate will be hiked in the 
future. However, we have made a political decision that it will be 
difficult to immediately impose a burden on those who are already 
suffering from an increased burden." 
 
9) Former Prime Minister Mori: No need for Abe to resign even if 
ruling coalition loses majority 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, a member of the Machimura 
faction in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), delivered a 
speech in the city of Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture. Referring in it to 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's responsibility if the ruling coalition 
falls short of a majority in the House of Councillors in the July 29 
election, Mori indicated his view that there would be no need for 
Abe to step down from the prime minister's post. He stated: 
 
"The Upper House election will not give voters the chance to choose 
the party they feel should hold the reigns of government. If the 
ruling parties lose a majority, it will be difficult for them to 
deliberate bills in the Upper House. The ruling coalition should 
deal steadily with issues related to people's livelihoods, not bring 
up issues that would be at odds with the opposition camp." 
 
10) Prime Minister Abe's public appeal about his efforts to 
revitalize education and local economies falls flat 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now being forced to review his strategy 
of prioritizing education reform and revitalization of regional 
economies due to the pension record fiasco. 
 
In a rally to back the candidacy of Kosuke Yoshiie, former member of 
the Council on Education Revitalization, who is expected to run in 
the House of Councillors election next month, Abe said yesterday: 
"We need the power to push ahead with education reform." Yoshiie is 
 
TOKYO 00002878  007 OF 010 
 
 
a main candidate of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and able to 
make public appeals about Abe's efforts on education reform. Abe, 
characterizing the current Diet session as a session for placing 
emphasis on education reform, was able to enact three bills related 
to the issue. However, his effort has now been buried by the pension 
fiasco. The pension issue was main topic of discussion in his 
meeting last night with council members. He said in the meeting: "I 
will deal steadily and speedily with the pension issue." 
 
Every weekend, Abe has been on the campaign trail desperately 
playing up his policy of attaching importance to local economies in 
speeches for the Upper House election. However, he has not made any 
headway due to the pension controversy. In the city of Yamagata on 
June 24 he had to spend much time explaining the government's 
measures to handle the pension issue, only spending five minutes on 
his plan for revitalizing regional economies. 
 
He was supposed to play up his achievements, but the reality is that 
he was too busy explaining the government's measures for the pension 
record fiasco. 
 
11) 2007 Upper House election: LDP picks candidates, including 
education specialist Yoshiie, Special Advisor Nakayama, 
demonstrating Abe policy imprint 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
The Liberal Democratic Party decided yesterday to field Hiroyuki 
Yoshiie, 36, a member of the government's Education Rebuilding 
Council, as a candidate for the House of Councillors election in 
July. The main ruling party has now completed the recruiting of 35 
candidates to run in the proportional representation segment of the 
election. Besides Yoshiie, who has addressed educational reform, the 
LDP has also picked Special Advisor Kyoko Nakayama, who has been 
long engaged in the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North 
Korea. The lineup of candidates shows the LDP's desire to 
demonstrate Prime Minister Abe's policy imprint. In the LDP, 
however, some wonder if they are attractive enough to get support, 
with one grumbling: "There is no candidate who will be able to score 
significant votes enough to overcome the pension problem." 
 
Prime Minister Abe met Yoshiie at party headquarters yesterday and 
encouraged him, saying: "In order to promote education reform, the 
power to cut through the fog is necessary. I want you to display 
your power and energy in politics by all means." 
 
LDP Secretary General Nakagawa said in a press conference yesterday: 
"(With the endorsement of Yoshiie,) the party has finished the 
process of selecting candidates. We were able to recruit strong 
candidates who will be able to lead the LDP to victory." 
 
On the abduction issue, to which the Abe administration is also 
giving priority, the prime minister personally persuaded Nakayama to 
run in the election. In addition, Abe moved to put up former House 
of Representatives members Seiichi Eto and Kenzo Yoneda, with whom 
the prime minister has acted together on the abductions, history 
textbooks, and other issues. Prime Minister Abe thus selected many 
whose political beliefs are close to his. 
 
The LDP has not put up any other former Lower House members besides 
Eto and Yoneda, probably out of consideration for its junior ruling 
 
TOKYO 00002878  008 OF 010 
 
 
partner New Komeito, with which the LDP has established an election 
cooperation setup. 
 
LDP support groups tend to support former bureaucrats. This time, 
however, many organizations have fielded their members as candidates 
for the first time, such as the Central Union of Agriculture 
Cooperatives and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative 
Associations. Upper House Chairman Aoki and others, worried about a 
decline in LDP support groups' vote-getting power, moved to take 
this strategy. 
 
Meanwhile, the LDP approached many distinguished people in various 
areas, such as soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura, but they declined the 
offers. Secretary General Nakagawa stressed yesterday: "We picked 
persons who have achieved results in special fields. It is not 
correct to think that the party chose them because of their 
popularity." But a senior LDP member was overheard saying: "The 
fickle unaffiliated voter will determine the outcome of the 
election. In this sense, the lineup of candidates is somewhat 
unspectacular." 
 
12) LDP, which has yet to recover from shock of Matsuoka's suicide, 
decides not to field its authorized candidate in a Lower-House 
by-election in Kumamoto 3rd district 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Tetsuya Furuta 
 
A Lower-House by-election to fill the position of former Agriculture 
Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who committed suicide, is set for the 
same day, July 29, as the Upper House election. In order to avoid 
any adverse impact of the so-called Matsuoka shock on the Upper 
House election, the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) decided 
not to put up its official candidate for the Lower House 
by-election. In the Kumamoto constituency for an Upper House seat, 
the LDP's incumbent, Issui Miura, former Lower House member Nobuo 
Matsuno fielded as a new recruit by the major opposition Democratic 
Party of Japan (Minshuto), and the Japanese Communist Party 
(JCP)-backed newcomer Yoshiaki Hashida are expected to vie for a 
seat. What effect will the Matsuoka shock have on the upcoming Upper 
House election? 
 
Yoshiyuki Araki, a Kumamoto Prefectural Assembly member of the LDP, 
eyed as a successor to Matsuoka, applied on June 5 to the LDP 
Kumamoto chapter for its official support for his candidacy for the 
by-election. But on June 7, the Kumamoto chapter decided not to 
field any official candidate, out of consideration of former Lower 
House member Tetsushi Sakamoto. 
 
Sakamoto, a former LDP prefectural assembly member, ran as an 
independent in the Kumamoto 3rd electoral district for the Lower 
House election in 2003 and defeated Matsuoka. Matsuoka somehow won 
election under the proportional representation system. In the Lower 
House election in 2005, Matsuoka revenged a defeat. 
 
Soon after Matsuoka killed himself, a rumor flew around that 
Sakamoto was expressing his eagerness to run for the Lower House 
by-election. Sakamoto, who had planned to run for the next Lower 
House election, has made it clear that he would back Mimura and has 
deepened cooperation with him. If the prefectural chapter endorses 
 
TOKYO 00002878  009 OF 010 
 
 
Araki as an official LDP candidate, Sakamoto would get cranky, 
thereby causing the Miura camp to fall into disarray. 
 
However, if the prefectural chapter puts Sakamoto on the LDP ticket, 
a fierce objection would be raised by the Araki-Matsuoka camp; as a 
result, the Miura camp could split up. Caught in between the 
"pro-Matsuoka" group and the "anit-Matsuoka" group, the prefectural 
chapter was forced to be on the sidelines. 
 
Araki and Sakamoto eventually announced they would run as 
independents. The LDP  Prefectural Chapter's Secretary General 
Katsunari Nishioka visited major Diet members elected from Kumamoto 
Prefecture at their offices in the Diet Members' Building in 
mid-June and conveyed to them the prefectural chapter's policy that 
"with priority given to the Upper House election, Diet members and 
prefectural assembly members will not intervene at all in the 
upcoming Lower House-by-election." In an interview with the Tokyo 
Shimbun, Nishioka stressed: "If Diet members or prefectural assembly 
members have a hand in the by-election, the split could spread to 
the entire prefecture and affect the Upper House election." 
 
13) "It's up to US Congress' decision" on whether to take a vote on 
House comfort-women resolution 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
At a press briefing yesterday, Administrative Vice Foreign Minister 
Shotaro Yachi referred to the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs' 
move to take a vote today on the resolution calling on Prime 
Minister Abe to offer an official apology to former comfort women 
and noted: "The prime minister during his visit to the United States 
in late April offered a heartfelt sympathy and an apology." "I don't 
think our efforts to explain about Japan's attitude have something 
to do with the move for vote-taking. It is the US Congress that will 
make a decision whether to take a vote or not. I have nothing to add 
about this," Yachi added. 
 
14) Ishiba: Right to collective self-defense is right to defend 
country 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Former Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba delivered a 
speech in the Mainichi Public Opinion Forum, held yesterday by the 
Mainichi Shimbun in Fukuoka City. In it, Ishiba said: "The right to 
collective self-defense was born in order to allow small countries 
to defend themselves on the assumption that the United Nations fails 
to function property in time of a conflict." Ishiba also rebutted 
the opposition camp's argument that if the right to collective 
defense was made constitutional, Japan would end up having a hand in 
America's acts of aggression, saying: "The right is not designed to 
let a country join a major power's highhandedness but to defend 
itself from such." 
 
15) National debt reaches record high of 834 trillion yen as of end 
of fiscal 2006; Amount combined with debts held by local governments 
tops 1,000 trillion yen 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
TOKYO 00002878  010 OF 010 
 
 
 
The outstanding balance of government debt including government 
bonds and borrowings as of the end of fiscal 2006, released by the 
Finance Ministry on June 25, reached a record high of 834.3786 
trillion yen, up 0.8 %   from the preceding year. The amount 
combining the outstanding balance of debts held by local governments 
reaches approximately 1,001 trillion yen, topping the 1,000 trillion 
yen level for the first time. 
 
The amount translates into the state shouldering debts 17 times 
higher than the expected tax revenues for fiscal 2006 worth 
approximately 49 trillion yen. The outstanding balance of debts per 
capita including babies comes to 6.53 million yen in terms of the 
amount held by the state, and 7.83 million yen in terms of debts 
combining those held by both the central and local governments. 
 
The outstanding balance of all local governments as of the end of 
fiscal 2006 is estimated to reach approximately 201 trillion yen. 
The balance calculated by subtracting duplicated portions between 
the central and local governments (approximately 34 trillion yen) in 
the special account for local allocation tax from the amount 
combining the outstanding balance of national debt, including the 
amount of outstanding government bonds issued to procure funds for 
special corporations, and the outstanding balance of debts held by 
local governments comes to approximately 1,001 trillion yen. 
 
SCHIEFFER