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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 003397 
 
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 07/25/07 
 
 
Index: 
 
(1) 2007 Upper House election: Iraq and North Korea -- Efforts to 
develop closer alliance ties undercut by diplomacy by-passing Japan 
 
(2) 2007 Upper House election campaign issues -- Sense of alarm 
against North Korea weak 
 
(3) Editorial: Election 2007 - Diplomacy; "Principles" are 
important 
 
(4) 2007 Upper House election; Probe into economic policy; Interview 
with Hitoshi Tanaka, senior fellow at Japan International Exchange 
Center, on theme of trade policy; Top priority should be given to 
EPA with East Asia 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) 2007 Upper House election: Iraq and North Korea -- Efforts to 
develop closer alliance ties undercut by diplomacy by-passing Japan 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
July 24, 2007 
 
There is a strange map showing the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese 
Continent above the Japanese Archipelago drawn upside down. This map 
is stuck on the wall of the office of a spokesman for the Joint 
Staff Office, which controls Air-Self Defense Force (ASDF) personnel 
dispatched to Iraq. One MSDF personnel, who was once dispatched to 
Iraq, categorically said, "What we are doing in Iraq is for the sake 
of the Japan-US alliance and to defend against North Korea." 
 
Lieutenant General Kunio Orita, general commander of the MSDF troops 
dispatched to Iraq, reiterated the meaning of dispatching MSDF 
personnel to those who have been assigned to the Iraqi mission, "You 
will defend the Sea of Japan and our territory in the land of 
Mesopotamia." 
 
The major duty of MSDF troops in Iraq is transporting US servicemen. 
Colonel Ichiro Ukisu responsible for dispatching MSDF personnel at 
Komaki Air Base stressed, "Supporting the US, which is distressed 
over its Iraq policy, will lead to developing a closer Japan-US 
relationship." 
 
An MSDF source revealed his experience at the US command post in 
Qatar about 600 kilometers in the southeast of Iraq: "When we were 
taken to US forces' command post before dispatching SDF personnel, 
images showing US operations were deleted. US forces revealed the 
details of their operations, including attacks on enemy's hide-out a 
year later, but they did not let us enter the intelligence office. 
However, we had a briefing in that office last fall." The closer 
Japan-US relationship of alliance is in a way the fruit of MSDF 
personnel's efforts. 
 
MSDF operations are quite a contrast to Ground Self-Defense Force 
(GSDF) troops' operations in Samawah, which impressed the Japanese 
people. GSDF troops kept their distance from US troops. In a 
Japanese way, they carried out water-supply services, reconstructed 
and maintained public facilities, and their efforts were highly 
appreciated. However, a GSDF source admitted that there was a tacit 
agreement on role-sharing between US and GSDF troops. The same 
source noted, "The GSDF was for the first time able to accomplish 
 
TOKYO 00003397  002 OF 006 
 
 
international contribution activities in a tangible manner thanks to 
the MSDF assisting the US in the background." 
 
The presence of the ASDF served as a symbol of the bilateral 
alliance and as the premise of new international contribution 
achieved by the GSDF. The same source said: "The reality is that 
Japan must depend on US forces even regarding obtaining intelligence 
on the Chinese continent and the Korean Peninsular. Since it is not 
possible for the SDF alone to defend Japan, it is meaningful for it 
to win the trust of the US military." 
 
President Bush during the bilateral summit with Prime Minister Abe 
this April stated, "My strong feeling toward the abduction issue 
will never weaken." His words satisfied Abe, who had expressed his 
support for the US Iraq policy. 
 
However, the US's handling of North Korea policy after that has made 
the Japanese side harbor many doubts about the "solid alliance." 
Dissatisfaction is being felt in Japan over the progress of 
bilateral talks between the US and North Korea that are bypassing 
Japan, which attaches importance to the abduction issue. 
 
Kazuhiro Araki, representative of the Investigation Commission on 
Missing Japanese Probably related to N. Korea, warned: "The 
abduction of Japanese nationals is after all an affair of another 
country for the US. We must not think that the US will take care of 
the abduction issue since Japan and the US have a relationship of 
alliance. If we totally leave the issue up to the US to work out, it 
will in the end wrap up the issue at its convenience." 
 
The North Korean top envoy to the six-party chief delegates' talks 
held in Beijing this month harshly lashed out at Japan with a look 
that was quite different from the smile he showed to the US, when he 
shook hands with the US chief envoy, He quipped, "The problem will 
never be settled by pressure alone." He acted as if as if the US and 
Japan were walking on different paths, far from being in monolithic 
unity. 
 
(2) 2007 Upper House election campaign issues -- Sense of alarm 
against North Korea weak 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
July 25, 2007 
 
"Families of Japanese abductees have been desperately fighting. I 
want to see heated debates by political parties on what must be done 
to drive Kim Jong Il's regime into a tight corner." 
 
This comment came from a visibly disappointed Ryutaro Hirata, chief 
secretary of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese 
 
SIPDIS 
Kidnapped by North Korea. 
 
A South Korean ship carrying heavy fuel oil left for North Korea on 
July 12, the day the official campaign for the July 29 House of 
Councillors election kicked off in Japan. This was followed by 
Pyongyang's announcement that it had shut down nuclear facilities in 
Yongbyon and the resumption on July 18 of the six-party talks. An 
ostensibly weakening sense of crisis has pushed North Korean issues 
to a backburner in the ongoing election campaign. 
 
On July 5, 2006, North Korea fired a series of missiles toward the 
Sea of Japan, causing a strong sense of alarm in Japan. The North 
 
TOKYO 00003397  003 OF 006 
 
 
conducted a nuclear test on October 9, as well. This prompted the 
Abe administration to set up an abduction issue taskforce that 
eventually produced a list of six items to deal severely with the 
situation. An acute sense of alarm against the North is visibly 
absent today in the final stage of the election campaign. 
 
Prime Minister Abe has always concluded his campaign speech with 
this message: "For the sake of national prestige, we will resolutely 
deal with the abduction issue until all abductees can set foot on 
their motherland." 
 
Meanwhile, Pyongyang is eager to see the hard-edged Abe 
administration removed from power. The Nodong Shinmun, the Korean 
Workers Party organ paper, carried a commentary on July 23 that 
went: "Shinzo Abe and his gang must voluntarily resign from power to 
break with corrupt politics." 
 
Although North Korea has adopted a "smile diplomacy" aimed at 
improving relations with the United States, there is a long way to 
go before it abandons its nuclear programs. A Japan-DPRK working 
group, established during the latest round of six-party talks, is 
expected to meet in August to discuss ways to normalize bilateral 
relations. Japan is urged to come up with innovative ideas to press 
the North hard at the meeting in order to find a breakthrough in the 
abduction issue. 
 
To that end, it is essential for Japan to align with other six-party 
members, especially the United States. But the United States' 
priority is to denuclearize North Korea. Pyongyang has urged 
Washington to remove North Korea from its list of state sponsors of 
terrorism as a condition for denuclearization. US Assistant 
Secretary of State Christopher Hill, US chief delegate to the 
 
SIPDIS 
six-party talks, indicated in a press conference on July 23 that the 
US-DPRK working group would continue discussing in August the 
question of delisting North Korea. Efforts must be made to bridge 
the gap with Japan's standpoint that North Korea must not be removed 
from the US list until the abduction issue is resolved. 
 
The LDP has fielded Kyoko Nakayama, advisor to the prime minister on 
the abduction issue, on the proportional representation segment in 
line with Abe's intention to demonstrate to Kim Jong Il Japan's 
strong interest in the abduction issue. 
 
With Japan's presence in the six-party talks waning, former LDP 
Secretary General Koichi Kato harshly criticized the Abe 
 
SIPDIS 
administration's North Korea policy in a speech in Tokyo on July 17: 
"There have been major developments between Washington and Pyongyang 
over the North Korean nuclear issue. Prime Minister Abe's foreign 
policy is too ideological and that has been preventing the 
administration from taking flexible steps." 
 
"I want to warmly embrace my daughter, Megumi, but the abduction 
issue is a state-level issue. A mother is helpless; I have no other 
option but to rely on politics." This message by Sakie Yokota of the 
Association of the Families of Victims of Kidnapped by North Korea 
is directed to all those running in the Upper House election. 
 
(3) Editorial: Election 2007 - Diplomacy; "Principles" are 
important 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Slightly abridged) 
July 25, 2007 
 
TOKYO 00003397  004 OF 006 
 
 
 
Pensions, the consumption tax, jobs: While debates in the Upper 
House election campaign focus on domestic issues, Japan faces an 
increasingly difficult state of affairs on the international scene. 
Friction has arisen in relations with the US over the "comfort 
women" issue and over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
And meanwhile, the North Korean threat has not gone away. A certain 
doubt festers in people's minds - "Is it enough to rely solely on 
the US-Japan alliance?" Discussions about diplomacy remain quiet in 
the campaign, but public awareness of international issues is likely 
to have an impact, however small, on the upcoming elections. 
 
In short, Japan has no "principles." This assertion was made forty 
years ago by Jiro Shirasu, who as then-Prime Minister Shigeru 
Yoshida's right-hand man negotiated with GHQ (Supreme Commander for 
the Allied Powers). According to Shirasu, there was a need to 
clarify Japan's "principles" in order to deal with Europe and the 
US, as acquiescence without "principles" was simply "smoke and 
mirrors aimed at a temporary fix" (Japan without principles 
(Purinshiparu no nai nihon), published by Shincho Bunko). 
 
Swayed by this way of thinking, Japan's response to the "comfort 
women" issue may have seemed like a game of "smoke and mirrors." 
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied that the there was any 
"coercion in the narrow sense" (on the part of the military), the US 
media accused him of "double talk." The ad that Japanese Diet 
members placed in a US newspaper backfired, and the US House of 
Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs passed a resolution 
calling on Japan to apologize. There is a strong chance that the 
full House will pass the resolution, as well. 
 
Of course, this does not mean that the US view of history is 
correct. For example, US officials have stated that the atomic 
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved the lives of millions of 
Japanese civilians and US soldiers. This may sound wild, but the US, 
too, has its own "postwar regime." If the Abe administration aims to 
"break away from the postwar regime," it must exercise patience and 
perseverance in obtaining the understanding of the worldwide 
community. 
 
The upcoming election seems to be a turning point in US-Japan 
relations. Although the Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) places 
great importance on the US-Japan alliance, it is critical of 
providing support for the US in the Iraq War and the "war on 
terrorism." The Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, under which the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force takes part in refueling missions in the 
Indian Ocean, is set to expire in the fall. Even if the ruling 
coalition is able to win a majority in the Upper House, the conflict 
between the ruling coalition and the opposition parties over the 
US-Japan alliance, including the Air Self-Defense Force's missions 
in Iraq, is sure to increase in intensity. 
 
Meanwhile, some in the Liberal Democratic Party insist that unless 
Japan cooperates with the US, it cannot overcome problems with North 
Korea. They see China's military expansion also as a threat. 
However, they have been using this same logic since before the start 
of the Iraq War in 2003. The Japanese government immediately 
supported the Iraq War and sent the Self-Defense Forces to southern 
Iraq. Yet at a time when Japan's safety is threatened by North 
Korea's missile launches and its nuclear test, the US is focusing on 
China as its main partner in the six-party talks. 
 
 
TOKYO 00003397  005 OF 006 
 
 
We thus find the LDP's use of the same logic to explain the 
necessity of the US-Japan alliance unconvincing. In Asia today, 
China, Russia, and India among others are developing an active 
diplomacy, a pursuit which some call the "great game" of the 21st 
century. Solidarity with the US is important, but that alone is not 
enough to survive. Both the LDP and the DPJ must respond to citizen 
awareness of international issues and more concretely discuss how 
Japan should face the future. 
 
(4) 2007 Upper House election; Probe into economic policy; Interview 
with Hitoshi Tanaka, senior fellow at Japan International Exchange 
Center, on theme of trade policy; Top priority should be given to 
EPA with East Asia 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Full) 
July 25, 2007 
 
-- What are Upper House election campaign issues in terms of trade 
policy? 
 
"It is important to be able to come up with a trade policy 
envisioning the Japanese economy 10 or 20 years from now, and 
factoring in global trends in trade and investment. Given Japan's 
mature economy, aging population and the decline in the birthrate, 
it is difficult for our country to achieve high economic growth 
through domestic demand alone. It must have frontrunner status in 
terms of economic partnership agreements (EPA), and maintain and 
strengthen industrial competitiveness and the labor force. It needs 
to press ahead with a drive to promote liberalization, not through 
responding to foreign pressure but through the use of political 
influence in a proactive manner." 
 
-- Do you think political parties have a blue print for an EPA 
strategy? 
 
"In my view, both the ruling and opposition camps need to come up 
with a clear determination to build a so-called East Asian Community 
through the signing of EPAs with countries that are geographically 
close to Japan and expected to achieve high growth in the future. In 
particular, EPAs between Japan, China, South Korea, India, New 
Zealand and 16 ASEAN member nations are expected to push up Japan's 
GDP by approximately 5 trillion yen. Top priority should be given to 
EPAs. 
 
Farm households' competitiveness must be boosted 
 
-- South Korea has signed an FTA with the US. What is your view of 
this? 
 
"There is criticism that if major powers like Japan, the US and the 
EU sign FTA's, trade liberalization talks at the World Trade 
Organization would stall. However, domestic industries, which would 
suffer disadvantage over auto exports as a result of trade 
liberalization under the WTO, have strongly requested the promotion 
of FTA's. It would be possible to promote EPA talks with the US and 
European countries, after making it clear that business tie-ups with 
East Asia are the top-priority issue." 
 
-- In-depth discussion of reform of the agricultural sector, which 
is working as a drag on Japan's trade strategy, has yet to occur. 
Japan is perhaps the only country that protects specified items with 
tariffs as high as several hundred percent. If Japan were to open 
 
TOKYO 00003397  006 OF 006 
 
 
its market by substantively lowering tariffs, trade talks would go 
smoothly. To that end, it would be better to adopt an income subsidy 
system to make up for the loss in farmers' income when the prices of 
agricultural products drop. In the event of compensating farmers' 
income, it would be necessary to concurrently further encourage 
joint stock companies' entry into the agricultural sector and 
implement measures to expand the scale of farm households. The cost 
competitiveness of Japan's agricultural products must be 
strengthened through cost reduction." 
 
-- Accepting foreign workers is another point at issue. 
 
"Given the manifestos of the ruling and opposition parties, 
liberalization of the labor market does not appear to be major 
campaign issue. It is necessary for Japan to use EPAs to secure 
needed labor for the workforce, such as computer-related skilled 
workers and nurses. Japan's labor market is still rigid, compared 
with that of the US and other countries. If the situation is left 
unheeded, it will have an adverse impact on the economy." 
 
Urges establishment of interest coordination organ 
 
-- In some areas, trade strategy has made little progress due to the 
clash of interests between farmers and industrial interests. 
 
"It is necessary to quickly establish an independent organ 
responsible for coordinating domestic interests. The ruling and 
opposition camps should cooperate to create a mechanism, under which 
an industry-government-academia body composed of private citizens 
from the agricultural and manufacturing sectors propose an EPA 
strategy with a view to the future of Japan. They would also propose 
a set of necessary steps to reform the agricultural sector and the 
labor market in order to achieve that end. The body would make sure 
that the proposed mechanism would become the government's policy. 
The ruling and opposition camps also should show their determination 
to make sure that Japan takes the lead in global trade policy." 
 
SCHIEFFER