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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002893 
 
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 06/26/07 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Editorial: Iraq Special Measures Law-Is this a Bush 
administration backup law? 
 
(2) Upper House now an arena for ramming bills through Diet 
 
(3) How capable is the Abe administration in coping with challenges? 
Suffers damage in handling pension fiasco; Heavily responsible for 
dealing with environment issue 
 
(4) Interview with Yoshihiro Ozawa, honorary advisor to OIE, on 
propriety of continuing 20-month age limit condition: Meaningless 
under current inspection methodology 
 
(Corrected copy) Hill tells Sasae, "DPRK will shut down its facility 
within three weeks" 
 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Editorial: Iraq Special Measures Law-Is this a Bush 
administration backup law? 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
June 23, 2007 
 
A bill revising the Law Concerning Special Measures for Humanitarian 
and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq-or the so-called "Iraq Special 
Measures Law" for short-cleared the House of Councillors. Under the 
now-revised law, the Air Self-Defense Force's airlift activities 
will be extended for another two years. 
 
In Iraq, there is no end to Islamic sectarian terrorism and attacks 
against U.S. forces, and an increasing number of people have been 
victimized. More countries are now beginning to pull out or reduce 
their troops. As it stands, the question is whether to retain those 
Self-Defense Forces members there. The government had to make such a 
serious decision. However, it is hard to say the government 
fulfilled its accountability in the Diet. 
 
The Iraq war was started with wrong intelligence. Prime Minister 
Koizumi at the time supported the Iraq war, and he sent even SDF 
troops while riding roughshod over public opinion opposed to his 
decision on the SDF's Iraq dispatch. It should be a categorical 
imperative for the government and the ruling parties to own up to 
the fact that this action was wrong from the start. However, both 
the government and the ruling coalition, pretending not to know, 
decided to extend the ASDF's Iraq mission. This is extremely 
regrettable. 
 
In addition, two other serious problems have been left unexplained. 
 
First, there is no exit strategy for when to withdraw the ASDF from 
Iraq. Second, the government has little accounted for what the SDF 
has been doing in Iraq. 
 
The government cannot say anything about an exit strategy. That is 
probably a matter of course for the government. There was a decision 
in the beginning to continue the SDF's activities in Iraq. The 
government considered the Japan-US alliance before anything else and 
sent the SDF to Iraq. The government's judgment on when to withdraw 
all SDF members from Iraq is inevitably up to the United States' 
 
TOKYO 00002893  002 OF 007 
 
 
policy course. That may be what the government has in its heart of 
hearts. 
 
US President Bush met with a serious defeat in last year's midterm 
elections, and he is now in a fix with his approval rating having 
fallen to below 30 %  . The Republican Party is certain to fight an 
uphill battle in campaigning for next year's presidential election. 
What lies behind that is public opinion critical of Bush's Iraq 
policy. 
 
What the SDF is doing in Iraq is a "token" of Japan's support for 
Bush. The Iraq Special Measures Law is for Japan to assist Iraq with 
its reconstruction. In point of fact, however, the law substantially 
purports to support the Bush administration. 
 
What is the ASDF airlifting? According to Diet replies given by the 
government, 95 %   of those that were carried on ASDF C-130 
transports during the nine months through this spring were for the 
multinational forces. The ASDF's actual mission is to buttress up 
the military operations of US forces and other multinational force 
members, isn't it? 
 
Moreover, the ASDF seems to have called off many C-130 transport 
flights to avoid potential attacks. The government ought to account 
in detail for how dangerous it is for the ASDF to carry out its 
activities in Iraq. 
 
The government has been veiling SDF activities in Iraq. Its secrecy, 
however, is obviously going too far. The government must report the 
facts about the SDF's Iraq mission to the Diet. Otherwise, civilian 
control cannot function. 
 
The government has been covering up something that it does not want 
to let us know. This is the same as in the case of the SDF's 
Intelligence Security Corps problem, which the Japanese Communist 
Party recently pursued on the basis of the SDF's in-house 
documents. 
 
The documents in question denote the Intelligence Security Corps' 
surveillance of individuals and groups opposed to the SDF dispatch 
to Iraq. The government has refused to comment on this problem, 
reasoning that the documents were not made public by the government. 
As it stands, we must think the government has no intention at all 
to fulfill its accountability. 
 
Including the SDF's extended Iraq mission, such an attitude shown by 
the government will not raise public trust in the Japan-US alliance 
or the SDF. 
 
(2) Upper House now an arena for ramming bills through Diet 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
June 26, 2007 
 
In the upcoming House of Councillors election (official announcement 
on July 12, the election date set for July 29), the focus of 
attention tends to be on the clashes between the ruling and 
opposition parties, as each side campaigns to win a majority. But a 
more important issue is what the Upper House should be in the 
future. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of 
the two chambers in the Diet. The Tokyo Shimbun considers the 
current situation and the future of the Upper House. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002893  003 OF 007 
 
 
(Team collecting news materials about the Upper House election) 
 
Question: In the ongoing Diet session, there were many scenes in 
which the ruling parties - the Liberal Democratic Party and the New 
Komeito - forcibly took a vote. The Upper House initially should be 
tasked with holding in check in a sensible manner reckless acts by 
the government and the House of Representatives. We wonder why the 
ruling camp in the Upper House doesn't apply the brakes to the 
forcible management of the Diet by the government or the Lower 
House. 
 
Answer: It would be hopeless to pin much hope on the ruling camp in 
the Upper House. On the contrary, the ruling parties have repeatedly 
rammed legislation through the Upper House. Mikio Aoki, chairman of 
the LDP caucus in the Upper House, has maintained his influence over 
the administration by guaranteeing the passage of legislation. The 
Upper House does not hesitate to resort to strong-arm tactics if the 
administration hopes to get legislation through the Diet. The Upper 
House is not a sensible chamber and it is indisputably capable of 
ramming legislation through the Diet. 
 
There is very little chance that bills sent from the Lower House are 
rejected in the Upper House. The contents of deliberations there are 
also a repetition of those in the Lower House, aren't they? 
 
Question: The bills related to postal privatization were rejected in 
August 2005 as a result of many LDP members voting against the 
bills. As shown in this case, the Upper House could play the role of 
checking the Lower House. 
 
Answer: It was acceptable until the legislation was voted down, but 
then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi dissolved the Lower House for 
a general election. As a result, the result of the vote in the Upper 
House was completely ignored. 
 
Moreover, the LDP won an overwhelming victory in the Lower House, 
with the ruling camp garnering votes from two-thirds of all the 
members. Although the legislation had been voted down in the Upper 
House, the bill was preserved with approval from two-thirds of all 
Lower House members again. The Upper House has significantly lost 
its political influence. 
 
To make worse, LDP postal rebels in the Upper House decisively hurt 
the authority of the Upper House. The privatization legislation that 
had been submitted to the Diet after the Lower House election was 
adopted and enacted in the Upper House. Although the contents of the 
original legislation and the revised version were same, most of the 
LDP rebels in the Upper House voted for the bills in the second 
vote. One of the rebels said, "I respected the public will shown in 
the Lower House election," but they must have feared a punishment 
from the party. Their about face was a suicidal act of the Upper 
House. 
 
Question: In the upcoming election, the meaning of the Upper House's 
existence will be tested. The Upper House also appears to be trying 
to find ways to demonstrate its own identity by improving screening 
account settlement. 
 
Answer: With improvement in account-settlement screening alone, it 
cannot be said that drastic reform is being carried out. On inequity 
in the value of a single vote, as well, the fixed numbers of seats 
in Tochigi and Gunma will be decreased by two each, while those in 
Tokyo and Chiba will be increased by two each stating with the 
 
TOKYO 00002893  004 OF 007 
 
 
upcoming election. But the differential in the value of a single 
vote still varies by a factor as high as 4.83 (as of September of 
last year). 
 
Political parties have skirted the issue of reform of the Upper 
House in their election pledges for the coming election. On the 
contrary, the LDP, the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), and the 
People's New Party have even fielded candidates who had been 
defeated in the previous Lower House election. Looking at its 
current situation, it might be natural for the Upper House to be 
criticized as unnecessary. 
 
(3) How capable is the Abe administration in coping with challenges? 
Suffers damage in handling pension fiasco; Heavily responsible for 
dealing with environment issue 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 6) (Slightly abridged) 
June 26, 2007 
 
Interview with international political scientist Hiroshi Nakanishi 
by reporter Yoichi Toyoda 
 
Toyoda: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is taking the brunt of criticism 
for the missing pension premium-payment records. The incident is the 
outcome of accumulated administrative failures. The governing LDP is 
heavily responsible for what happened. What is your view on the 
reason for this issue spreading to fast? 
 
Nakanishi: The pension problem came to light, coinciding with an 
already declining public support rate for the Abe administration. My 
sense is that with the Upper House election coming in July, the Abe 
administration was flabbergasted by this incident, which opened old 
political wounds. The Social Insurance Agency's (SIA) pension record 
keeping has been undeniably sloppy with a huge number of premium 
payment records missing. It is understandable that people are angry. 
But in common sense terms, it is not conceivable that the Abe 
administration caused the pension mess. In my view, however, if it 
had dealt with the issue appropriately at the start, the matter 
would not have become such a big problem. 
 
Toyoda: Prime Minister Abe at first aimed to make constitutional 
revision a campaign issue in the Upper House election. But now, he 
has acknowledged that pensions as a campaign issue. The election 
date has been delayed by a week due to the extension of the Diet 
session. How much do you think the pension issue will contribute to 
determining the outcome of the Upper House election? 
 
Nakanishi: Generally speaking, a rumor once spread lasts but 75 
days. So, by delaying the election date, it is conceivable that the 
situation might change. However, I must say that unless something 
major happens, the negative image of the pension fiasco will be 
disadvantageous to the LDP, even though the Diet session has been 
extended for a week. Approval rates for the Abe cabinet have been 
dropping since May. I feel that the public is beginning to get the 
impression that the Abe administration's proposed amendment of the 
Constitution and plans to revitalize the education system are losing 
momentum. How the Abe administration will handle the issue of the 
missing pension premium-payment records will influence the public's 
evaluation of the Abe administration, so this issue will have a 
major impact on the upcoming election. 
 
Toyoda: Participants in the G-8 summit held in Heiligendamm in early 
June agreed to seriously consider halving greenhouse effect gas 
 
TOKYO 00002893  005 OF 007 
 
 
emissions by 2050. However, the base year is unclear. How do you 
rate this agreement? 
 
Nakanishi: Since there had been a strong observation that the summit 
would end with the US and the EU remaining wide apart, it is 
historically meaningful that leading countries shared the perception 
that greenhouse gases will adversely affect humans. It is true that 
Prime Minister Abe served as a bridge between the US and the EU, 
which is apparently the achievement attributable to the Japanese 
government or the Abe administration. However, the details of the 
agreement are extremely ambiguous. Prime Minister Abe proposed a 50 
%   cut from the present level, while a proposal by European 
countries is a 50 %   cut from the 1990 level. Their proposal also 
includes various regulations intended to cut green house gas 
emissions in an effective manner in the process leading up to 2050. 
The US remains opposed to such measures. It has committed to 
becoming involved in terms of looking into a 50 %   cut by 2050. I 
must say that it has made little concessions in real terms. 
 
Toyoda: Japan will host the Hokkaido Toya summit next year. Global 
warming countermeasures will be a key agenda item there. 
 
Nakanishi: Given a schedule to set a general framework for an 
international agreement replacing the Kyoto Protocol within next 
year, the Lake Toya summit will bear a significant meaning. It would 
be a difficult job for Japan to serve as a bridge between the US and 
the EU, whose views are actually wide apart, and wrap up an 
agreement involving emerging countries, such as China, India, 
Brazil, Mexico and South Africa -- countries that are called 
outreach 5 -- and developing countries. Reaching a substantive 
agreement to prevent global warming would be impossible without 
involving those countries. The US would not take part, either, 
without participation of those countries. Whether the Abe 
administration will be in place until next year's summit or not, it 
is true that a very heavy burden has been placed on the Japanese 
government. 
 
Toyoda: What should be done in order to engage the US, China and 
India in an international framework designed to cut global warming 
gases? 
 
Nakanishi: In the US, public opinion has become supportive of 
measures to curb global warming, compared with several years ago. We 
should pay attention to how such a domestic situation will affect 
the presidential election and congressional elections next year. It 
will be unmistakably important for Japan to cooperate with the Bush 
administration, which will come up for the final year next year, 
while observing the moves of the next-term administration and the 
Congress as well as the trend of public opinion. Whether the US can 
come up with a proposal that is acceptable will also be of 
importance to Japan. Another point is whether a framework under 
which China and India assume obligations to some degree will have a 
major impact on US participation. As such, it will be very 
meaningful to work on China and India from an early stage of the 
process, including such strategic dealings as providing 
environmental technology through official development assistance 
(ODA). 
 
Hiroshi Nakanishi: Born in 1962 in Osaka. Studied in the US after 
graduating from the Kyoto University Graduate School Law Department 
Research Course in 1987. Became professor at the same department in 
¶2002. Serving as a professor at the Kyoto University Public Policy 
Graduate School starting since 2006. Studied under now-dead Masataka 
 
TOKYO 00002893  006 OF 007 
 
 
Kosaka, an international political scientist. His works include 
"What is international politics?" published by Chuko-Shinsho. 
 
(4) Interview with Yoshihiro Ozawa, honorary advisor to OIE, on 
propriety of continuing 20-month age limit condition: Meaningless 
under current inspection methodology 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) 
June 25, 2007 
 
There is major misunderstanding about BSE. The testing all cattle 
for human consumption for BSE can be cited as a typical case. Most 
people believe that the safety of beef will be guaranteed by blanket 
testing. But as long as Japan continues to adopt its current 
inspection methodology, this view is mistaken. 
 
Under the current methodology, only part of the animal's brain is 
extracted and examined. Even if a cow were infected with BSE, if 
abnormal prion proteins have not reached the brain, the cow would 
test negative and be shipped to market. That's why American and 
European experts think that the removal of specified risk materials 
is most important, and do not recommend blanket testing, 
 
Even in Western European countries where a large number of infected 
cows were found, experts do not think that BSE testing of all cattle 
is a meat-safety measure. In Britain, people eat beef from cattle 30 
months of age or younger that need not undergo a screening test for 
BSE. 
 
Testing is important for surveillance purposes to find infected 
cattle. In this case, however, it is sufficient to test cattle 30 
months or older, because the accumulation of abnormal prion proteins 
is considered to be almost impossible to detect in cattle younger 
than 30 months. In most countries in Western Europe, tests are done 
only on cattle aged 30 months or older. In Japan, the government has 
explained that blanket testing is a means to guarantee the safety of 
beef, creating a major misunderstanding among the Japanese people. 
 
Meanwhile, many slaughterhouses in Japan still carry out the 
practice of pithing, which has been prohibited in Western countries. 
There is the danger of abnormal prion proteins in the brain flowing 
into the blood and contaminating the meat in this process. 
 
That is why the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has yet 
to recognize Japan as a controlled-risk nation for BSE. The United 
States was classified in this category this May. 
 
BSE is a disease linked to the transfer gene called Transmissible 
Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). A 21-month-old cow and a 
23-month-old cow were identified as infected with BSE in 2003. In 
its two-year test on mice injected with their brain tissue, the 
National Institute of Animal Health found no symptoms of BSE in the 
tested mice. Since infection was not confirmed, it cannot be 
concluded that the two cattle had contracted BSE. 
 
This research result makes it even more meaningless to set the age 
limit of cattle at 20 months in terms of both import and domestic 
screening test. Japan should first step up efforts to ensure the 
safety of domestic meatpacking plants before criticizing other 
countries. 
 
(Corrected copy) Hill tells Sasae, "DPRK will shut down its facility 
within three weeks" 
 
TOKYO 00002893  007 OF 007 
 
 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Full) 
Eve., June 23, 2007 
 
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the chief US 
negotiator in the six-party talks, arrived in Japan this morning and 
met with his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae, director-general 
of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. 
 
Hill said to Sasae that he confirmed during his meetings with North 
Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, the chief negotiator in 
the six-party talks, and Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun North Korea's 
will to fully implement the first-stage action, including shutdown 
of the nuclear facility in Yongbyon, in line with the February 
agreement. Hill told Sasae that the shutdown of the facility would 
be completed within three weeks. Both Japanese and US negotiators 
agreed to accelerate talks to push North Korea to implement 
"next-phase action," including disabling all the nuclear facility. 
 
On the abduction issue, Hill told Sasae that he urged North Korea to 
address it positively, by noting, "Japan is the second largest 
economic power in the world. It's important to improve relations 
with that country." On the other hand, Hill said, "There was no 
fresh response from the North Korean side." 
 
SCHIEFFER