VZCZCXRO8241
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #3696/01 2250144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130144Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6383
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA//J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 4937
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 2512
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 6119
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 1541
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 3274
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8328
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 4393
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 5372

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 003696 
 
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 08/13/07-1 
 
 
Index: 
 
(1) DPJ vs. US on the anti-terror law, with basis of confrontation 
being interpretation of UN resolution 
 
(2) Japan, US sign GSOMIA for smooth exchange of classified 
information on MD system and the like 
 
(3) DPJ eyes countermeasures to Antiterrorism Law, focusing on new 
legislation including humanitarian aid 
 
(4) Defense Ministry to strengthen information-safeguard system, 
giving consideration to US concerns 4 
 
(5) Coordination underway for Chinese defense minister to visit 
Japan on Aug. 29 
 
(6) Extra Diet session closes, DPJ lawmaker elected as Upper House 
president; DPJ to submit many bills to Diet session in fall 5 
(7) An unusual situation - entire Abe cabinet to forgo visiting 
Yasukuni Shrine on anniversary of the end of the war 
 
(8) Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki to be replaced in upcoming 
cabinet reshuffle; Foreign Minister Aso most likely to be named LDP 
secretary general 
 
SIPDIS 
 
(9) LDP Upper House to recommend Tetsuro Yano be appointed as new 
cabinet member in planned cabinet shuffle; Fuyushiba, Koike likely 
be retained 
 
(10) Government, LDP float deputy prime minister plan: Foreign 
minister or other key cabinet minister likely to double; Faction 
leader to be appointed 
 
(11) Helo flights rerouted only slightly for Futenma airfield 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) DPJ vs. US on the anti-terror law, with basis of confrontation 
being interpretation of UN resolution 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
August 11, 2007 
 
A United Nations resolution adopted after the September 11, 2001, 
terrorist attacks on the United States form the legal basis for 
operations based on the Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law. The US 
expects the law to be extended by Diet action in order for the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) to continue refueling activities 
for US and other countries' warships in the Indian Ocean, but it has 
come up against Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 
President Ichiro Ozawa, who has expressed opposition to the law. The 
root of their confrontation lies in the interpretation of a related 
United Nations resolution. Although the law has been extended to 
last close to six years, because of the trading of places in the 
Upper House between the ruling and opposition camps, an ambiguous 
point at issue placed on the shelf at the time of the law's 
enactment in 2001 has once more come back into the spotlight. 
 
US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer stressed: "Terrorism could happen 
in Japan, so it is important that the extension of the 
Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law be properly dealt with." 
 
TOKYO 00003696  002 OF 011 
 
 
Foreign Minister Aso replied: "It will be the most debated item in 
the next Diet session. I would like to put in my best efforts to 
extend it." 
 
The exchange between the two occurred two days after the 
confrontational scene between the ambassador and Ozawa. Schieffer on 
Aug. 10 met the foreign minister at the ministry and transmitted 
again the US' position. 
 
The Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law passed by the full Upper 
House in Oct. 2001 with majority approval of the three ruling 
parties - Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), New Komeito and (the now 
defunct) Conservative Party. The majority of the DPJ voted against 
the bill. Ozawa's current assertion overlaps with the argument then 
used by the opposition parties when they voted against the bill: 
"The UN Security Council's resolution does not allow the use of 
force by the US. In order for Japan to support (the US-led action), 
another UN resolution would be necessary." 
 
The current Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law was written based on 
such grounds as UNSC Resolution 1368, which was adopted right after 
the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. The resolution 
criticizes terrorist acts by international terrorist organizations 
as a "threat to international peace and security," and states the 
resolve: "In order to deal with such acts, all means are 
necessary." 
 
After that, the US did not base its own military actions on the UN 
resolution by instead treated it separately as exercising 
self-defense. However, NATO, which joined the anti-terrorist 
campaign in Afghanistan, ranked it as the exercising of collective 
defense with the US. 
 
Ozawa aimed his argument on this point, saying, "The (Afghan) 
operation, centered on the US, cannot be seen as approved by the 
UNSC." 
 
Japan is not permitted under the Constitution to exercise the right 
of collective self-defense. The government premised the drafting of 
the Anti-terrorism Special Measures Law on its contents being within 
the scope of the Constitution. Regarding refueling activities of the 
MSDF in the Indian Ocean, the government has given such replies as: 
"It agrees with the purpose of the UN Charter"; and, "Since the MSDF 
will not be using armed force, this is not a case of the use of 
collective self-defense." 
 
On the other hand, Ozawa has referred to the point that UN 
Resolution 1386 was adopted in order to approve the establishment of 
the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to 
preserve peace in Afghanistan, and that there is some leeway for 
Japan, too, to join the ISAF.  However, the ISAF is engaged in 
mop-up operations against the insurgent Taliban forces. Their work 
is quite different from peace-keeping operations. 
 
Ambassador Schieffer said: "(The war on terror) is an international 
problem and not just an American one." By bringing up the question 
of international cooperation (against terrorism), he is trying to 
persuade the DPJ to reconsider its stand. 
 
(2) Japan, US sign GSOMIA for smooth exchange of classified 
information on MD system and the like 
 
 
TOKYO 00003696  003 OF 011 
 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Slightly abridged) 
August 11, 2007 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso and United States Ambassador to Japan 
Thomas Schieffer on Aug. 10 signed at the Foreign Ministry a General 
Security of Ministry Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which contains 
a framework for the prevention of leakage of defense secrets. The 
accord took effect immediately. Japan and the US concluded the 
accord out of the necessity of smoothly exchanging classified 
information on the state-of-art Aegis system and the missile defense 
(MD) system. This agreement puts a restriction on those who are 
allowed to access "classified military information" and requires 
that the information be kept safe. 
 
Under the legislation for the protection of secrets pertaining to 
the Japan-US Mutual Defense Agreement (MDA), the two countries have 
obligated the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and defense-related firms to 
protect defense secrets about equipment provided by the US. This 
legislation, however, does not assume cases of joint studies and 
development to be conducted through technologies provided by Japan 
and the US, and tactical intelligence. 
 
The GSOMIA classifies documents and images concerning technologies, 
operations, and training as "classified military information" and 
obligates the Japanese and US governments and all private-sector 
firms to keep them confidential. In order to put a restriction on 
any transfer of classified military information to third countries, 
as well as on any use of such information for other purposes, the 
two countries have stipulated, for instance: (1) restricting those 
who are allowed to access the information; (2) handling the 
information with special care and keeping it safe; and (3) taking 
every safeguard measure when the information is sent. However, no 
domestic laws in this regard will be tightened. 
 
The US has signed GSOMIAs with some 60 countries, most of which are 
NATO members. With the signing of the GSOMIA between Japan and the 
US, Japan's reliability in terms of protecting intelligence will be 
enhanced, and the US military will accordingly make it easy to place 
orders with Japanese firms for repairing or upgrading cutting-edge 
weapons, such as the Aegis ship. The two countries also can shorten 
the time for consultations on the memorandum of understanding (MOU), 
which they have concluded separately on every item, and hold 
consultations efficiently. In addition, they will be able to promote 
joint studies and development. 
 
(3) DPJ eyes countermeasures to Antiterrorism Law, focusing on new 
legislation including humanitarian aid 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 12, 2007 
 
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has started a discussion on the 
possibility of submitting new legislation that would include new 
humanitarian aid in Afghanistan as countermeasures to the 
Antiterrorist Special Measures Law prior to its expiration on Nov. 
¶1. Views in the party are being unified after President Ichiro Ozawa 
expressed opposition to the said law, but many members are worried 
that if the party remains opposed to the said law, questions might 
be raised about its ability to grab political power. The party's 
move reflects its desire to dodge such criticism by presenting an 
alternative to the law. Based on the law, the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force (MSDF) has offered refueling and water-supply services to 
 
TOKYO 00003696  004 OF 011 
 
 
naval vessels from the United States, Britain and other countries. 
But Ozawa has opposed Japan's continued cooperative services, on the 
grounds that "President Bush initiated the war in Afghanistan 
without obtaining approval from the international community." 
 
Humanitarian assistance, such as medical and food assistance, as 
well as education and vocational training mainly by the private 
sector are floating as countermeasures up for consideration. In 
addition, the main opposition party is also considering as a future 
option logistic support for reconstruction support activities by 
such international groups as provisional reconstruction teams (PRT) 
joined by 27 countries, including the US and Britain, based on UN 
Security Council Resolution 1510. The party's "next cabinet" will 
make a final decision by October. 
 
In this connection, Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama said in a press 
conference on Aug. 10: 
 
"We are working out upgraded measures. It is not true to think that 
we are just disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing. International 
cooperation carries more risks than refueling operations. Although 
it is not easy to conclude that Japan should immediately take 
action, there are ways for Japan to render cooperation, including 
rear support." 
 
In the DPJ, however, many take the view that the SDF should not join 
other operations than peacekeeping operations (PKO) by the UN. One 
senior official said: "Ongoing operations by PRT or under other 
frameworks are not PKO, even though they are based on UN 
resolutions. SDF troops are not allowed to participate in such 
frameworks even for rear support." As it stands, it is uncertain 
whether the opposition party will be able to come up with specific 
assistance measures. 
 
(4) Defense Ministry to strengthen information-safeguard system, 
giving consideration to US concerns 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) 
August 12, 2007 
 
The Defense Agency has decided to integrate the intelligence units 
in the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces next April as 
part of efforts to prevent a recurrence of the leak of classified 
information on the Aegis system by a MSDF seaman. The ministry's 
decision stemmed in part from its consideration to the United 
States' concerns about Japan's loose handling of defense secrets. 
 
The intelligence units, placed under the defense minister, are 
tasked with monitoring SDF members' activities and outside contacts. 
About 670 members are assigned to the intelligence unit of the GSDF, 
about 100 to the MSDF unit, and about 160 to the ASDF unit. The 
Defense Ministry plans to place each unit under an intelligence 
headquarters (tentative name) to be newly established. 
 
It was also revealed yesterday that the US had temporarily stopped 
providing highly confidential software and parts last month for the 
MSDF Aegis destroyer Kongo, which is being outfitted with a defense 
shield to intercept incoming ballistic missiles. 
 
Although the US resumed the supply of parts in early August, a 
senior Defense Ministry official said: "The Pentagon's temporary 
suspension of supply might represent its concerns about a leak of 
 
TOKYO 00003696  005 OF 011 
 
 
information." In the process of Japan's selection of an FX 
(next-generation fighter) model, as well, the US has been reluctant 
about providing Japan with information. Keeping this in mind, 
Defense Minister Yuriko Koike said: "It is an imminent task for 
Japan to strengthen its information-safeguard system. 
 
(5) Coordination underway for Chinese defense minister to visit 
Japan on Aug. 29 
 
MAINICHI (Top play) (Full) 
Eve., August 11, 2007 
 
Ryuko Tadokoro 
 
The governments of Japan and China are making arrangements for 
Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan to visit Japan from Aug. 29, 
sources revealed this morning. If realized, Cao will be the first 
Chinese defense minister to visit Japan since Chi Haotian, who 
visited Japan in February 1998, and he will discuss with his 
Japanese counterpart mutual port calls by both countries' vessels 
and other matters. Japan-China defense exchange, which was suspended 
because of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits 
to Yasukuni Shrine, will now likely resume. 
 
During his visit to China in last October, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe 
agreed with his Chinese counterpart on the promotion of mutual trust 
through the promotion of bilateral defense exchange. During the 
Japan-China summit in April of this year, the Chinese side came up 
with a plan for Defense Minister Cao to visit Japan. According to a 
Japanese Defense Ministry official, Cao is to be staying here in 
Japan for five days starting on Aug. 29. On Aug. 30, a Japan-China 
defense summit is planned, and visits to the Self-Defense Forces 
(SDF) and Kyoto are also planned. In the defense summit, both 
defense leaders are expected to arrange a timetable for People's 
Liberation Army's vessels to make their first port call at a 
Japanese ports this fall. They also are expected to discuss an idea 
of laying a military hotline between Japan and China. In September 
2003 former Defense Agency Director-General Shigeru Ishiba traveled 
to China and met with Cao. 
 
Whether military exchange plans will be actually implemented is 
still unclear, however. The two governments have been discussing the 
plan to lay the hotline, which cropped up when Abe visited China 
last fall, to date, but the plan has yet to take shape. Meanwhile, 
on its military exchange with the United States, China declared in 
June that it would in September decide on laying a hotline between 
the US and China. A senior Japanese Defense Ministry official noted: 
"China attaches importance to the US. I'm afraid that a timetable 
for Japan-China military exchange may not be fixed until just before 
the event." 
 
(6) Extra Diet session closes, DPJ lawmaker elected as Upper House 
president; DPJ to submit many bills to Diet session in fall 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 11, 2007 
 
A four-day extraordinary Diet session closed on Aug. 10. Satsuki Eda 
of Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), which has now become the 
largest party in the House of Councillors, was elected as Upper 
House president. The DPJ immediately submitted to the Diet a bill on 
the pension record fiasco in a gesture of playing up its adversarial 
 
TOKYO 00003696  006 OF 011 
 
 
stance against the ruling coalition. Although the party did not 
present any censure motions, future Diet sessions will be 
turbulent. 
 
The extra Diet session convened on Aug. 7 started with the elections 
of president and vice president of the upper chamber. When Eda was 
elected as president unanimously, the plenary session was filled 
with cries of joy from the opposition members. Eda stated: "Since 
the structure of the Upper House has been changed substantially, we 
are now facing a political situation which we have never 
experienced." Akiko Santo of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the 
second largest party in the chamber, was elected as vice president. 
Takeo Nishioka of the DPJ assumed the post of the Upper House 
Steering Committee, a key post in parliamentary procedure. The DPJ 
submitted a bill banning pension premiums to be used for other 
purpose than to pay pension benefits, as well as a bill to freeze 
the postal-privatization program, which the party submitted along 
with the Social Democratic Party and the People's New Party. The two 
bills were killed. The opposition intends to resubmit them to an 
extraordinary Diet session to be held in the fall. 
 
The opposition negatively reacted to the setting up research 
councils on the Constitution in both chambers of the Diet, which 
stipulates in the national referendum law, which was approved in the 
previous Diet session, arguing that the opposition won't be able to 
approve of the idea as long as the Abe cabinet, which has interfered 
in the Diet, exists. Therefore, the Upper House was unable to make 
rules stipulating the fixed number of committee chairmen and 
members. 
 
The DPJ has prepared to submit to the extra Diet session in the fall 
about ten bills, including a bill to re-revise the Political Funds 
Control Law and a bill creating an income compensation system for 
individual farmers. The party plans to submit its manifesto 
(campaign pledges) for the latest election, to the Upper House, in 
which the opposition camp holds majority seats. 
 
(7) An unusual situation - entire Abe cabinet to forgo visiting 
Yasukuni Shrine on anniversary of the end of the war 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 11, 2007 
 
On August 10, it became clear that all 16 members of the Abe cabinet 
intend to forgo visiting Yasukuni Shrine on August 15. This is an 
unusual situation, as it is probably the first time since 1955, when 
many cabinet members began to visit the shrine, that no cabinet 
members will visit the shrine on the anniversary of the end of the 
war. Although the cabinet members have given various reasons for not 
visiting the shrine, such as schedule conflicts or political 
philosophy, consideration for China also appears to be a factor. 
Some expressed disgust, such as former Agricultural Minister 
Yoshinobu Shimamura, who called the cabinet members "spineless." 
 
Various cabinet members have explained why they will not visit 
Yasukuni Shrine: "This is something I always decide to do based on 
my beliefs" (Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki); "It is to 
show fairness as the minister who oversees religious affairs" 
(Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 
Bunmei Ibuki); "It is not my religion" (Transport Minister Tetsuzo 
Fuyushiba). 
 
 
TOKYO 00003696  007 OF 011 
 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso and State Minister in charge of Okinawa 
and Northern Territories Sanae Takaichi have said they cannot visit 
because they will be away on official business. A lukewarm mood is 
floating around this year - a big difference from last year when 
then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine on August 
15 for the first time, sending the media into a frenzy. 
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been vague, saying, "I will not say 
whether or not I am going to visit (Yasukuni Shrine)," and this is 
probably because he has even stronger feelings about visiting 
Yasukuni Shrine than Koizumi. The weakened position of the Abe 
administration after the ruling coalition's big loss in the recent 
Upper House election may have been another factor, as the 
administration does not wish to make waves within the party or 
attract criticism from the outside. 
 
Yet even China, the interventions of which have verged on 
interfering with Japan's domestic affairs, does not seem to have a 
problem with cabinet members other than the premier, chief cabinet 
secretary, and foreign minister visiting Yasukuni Shrine. It is 
 
SIPDIS 
unnatural for no cabinet members, then, to visit the shrine on the 
anniversary of the end of the war. 
 
From the perspective of those involved with Yasukuni Shrine, it 
would be better if cabinet members visited during the spring and 
autumn festivals. By being fixated on August 15, the negative aspect 
of Yasukuni - its ties to previous wars - cannot be ignored. 
 
However in April 1982, the government designated August 15 as a "day 
to remember the war dead and pray for peace." August 15, the 
anniversary of the end of the war, is unmistakably one of the best 
days for the prime minister and his cabinet to visit Yasukuni 
Shrine. 
 
In fact, a bipartisan group of Diet members continues to visit 
Yasukuni on August 15, as well as during the spring and autumn 
festivals. 
 
Prime Minister Abe visited Yasukuni on August 15 when he was the 
deputy chief cabinet secretary and the Liberal Democratic Party 
secretary-general, but those around him say that visiting on August 
 
SIPDIS 
15 was meant to support Koizumi, who was committed to visiting on 
that day, and that Abe himself has no fixation on that day. 
 
However, in the face of the interest in remembering the war dead 
that Koizumi stirred up with his visits to Yasukuni, an anniversary 
of the end of the war where neither the prime minister nor any 
members of his cabinet visit the shrine will be a sad day indeed. 
 
(8) Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki to be replaced in upcoming 
cabinet reshuffle; Foreign Minister Aso most likely to be named LDP 
secretary general 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
August 11, 2007 
 
Following the end of the short extraordinary Diet session, Prime 
Minister Shinzo Abe began coordination on Aug. 10 to shuffle the 
lineups of his cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 
executive. He plans to carry out the shuffle on Aug. 27. The 
likelihood is that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki will be 
replaced. Shiozaki, who is serving in his first cabinet post, has 
 
TOKYO 00003696  008 OF 011 
 
 
played a pivotal role in the cabinet, but he also has symbolized the 
new cabinet which has been criticized for being made up mainly of 
Abe's close friends. Abe seems to have decided that he has no choice 
but to replace Shiozaki, although he has strong confidence in him. 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso will most likely succeed LDP Secretary 
General Hidenao Nakagawa. 
 
Nobutaka Machimura, who heads a LDP faction (to which Abe used to 
belong), is being rumored as a candidate to fill the chief cabinet 
secretary's post. Although there is a rumor that Shiozaki will be 
 
SIPDIS 
moved laterally to other cabinet post, his fate remains an 
uncertainty due to the public's severe view of his performance. 
 
The reason Aso is the most likely candidate for the LDP secretary 
general's post is because he supported Abe to stay on as prime 
minister in meeting they had soon after the July 29 House of 
Councillors election. As candidates for the LDP policy chief and 
General Council chairman, the names of Fukushiro Nukaga of the 
Tsushima faction, Makoto Koga, chairman of the Koga faction, 
 
SIPDIS 
Sadakazu Tanigaki, chairman of the Tanigaki faction, and Diet 
Affairs Committee Chairman Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the Nikai 
faction, are being mentioned. 
 
(9) LDP Upper House to recommend Tetsuro Yano be appointed as new 
cabinet member in planned cabinet shuffle; Fuyushiba, Koike likely 
be retained 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
August 12, 2007 
 
The executive of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) caucus in the 
House of Councillors has decided to ask Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to 
appoint two Upper House members, including Tetsuro Yano, as new 
cabinet ministers when he shuffles his cabinet on Aug. 27. Abe 
intends to accept the request from the Upper House caucus, but 
whether he will give two cabinet posts as before remains 
unpredictable. Chances are that Land, Infrastructure and Transport 
Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba of New Komeito and Defense Minister 
Yuriko Koike, who assumed her post in July, will be retained in 
their current posts. 
 
Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso, who is regarded as the most 
likely candidate to serve as LDP secretary general, started 
coordination to pick new cabinet and LDP executive members. Aso 
appears to have made that a condition for accepting the prime 
minister's offer to serve as LDP secretary general. The names of 
such persons as Internal Affairs and Communications Minister 
Yoshihide Suga are being mentioned as candidates for acting 
secretary general. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki will 
 
SIPDIS 
step down from his post. The focus is now on whether he will be 
moved laterally to another cabinet post. 
 
The expectation is that Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo 
Yanagisawa; Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 
Minister Bunmei Ibuki; Finance Minister Koji Omi; National Public 
Security Commission Chairman Kensei Mizote; and Environment Minister 
Masatoshi Wakabayashi, who is now concurrently serving as 
agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister, will be replaced. The 
LDP Policy Research Council and General Council chairmen will likely 
be picked from among faction leaders in the party. Some expect that 
Tadamori Oshima of the Komura faction will be named chairman of the 
Diet Affairs Committee. 
 
TOKYO 00003696  009 OF 011 
 
 
 
(10) Government, LDP float deputy prime minister plan: Foreign 
minister or other key cabinet minister likely to double; Faction 
leader to be appointed 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 11, 2007 
 
A plan to create a post of deputy prime minister in a cabinet 
reshuffle on Aug. 27 has surfaced in the government and the LDP. A 
faction-leader-class veteran lawmaker will be appointed to the post, 
which will be characterized as a watchdog of the cabinet. The aim is 
to orchestrate a solid all-party cabinet lineup, aware of the 
criticism that the current cabinet. The government and the LDP will 
work out specifics in parallel with cabinet reshuffling and Prime 
Minister Abe will decide on the propriety of establishing such a 
post. 
 
Solid cabinet lineup to be orchestrated 
 
Tanigaki likely to be nominated as candidate 
 
The government and the LDP will have a key cabinet minister, such as 
a foreign minister or a finance minister, double as a deputy prime 
minister in order to indicate that the deputy prime minister is the 
number-two person in the cabinet. If the plan is materialized, 
Sadakazu Tanigaki, chairman of the Tanigaki faction, and Yasuo 
Fukuda of the Machimura faction will likely be nominated as 
candidates. 
 
Tanigaki contended with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the 
premiership in the LDP presidential election last year. No members 
of the Tanigaki faction have been given a portfolio. The faction has 
taken this selection of the cabinet ministers as open retaliation. 
Fukuda was also expected to run in the presidential election. 
However, he gave up doing so, because of the fact that Abe was a 
member of the same faction to which he belongs. He also gave 
priority to the unity of the party. 
 
If a person like Tanigaki or Fukuda were appointed deputy prime 
minister, the government would be able to make an appeal to party 
members that it has given consideration to party members' opinion 
that cooperation should be sought from as many people as possible, 
as former Prime Minister Yoshiro put it. It will also be taken as 
proof that the new cabinet lineup is an all-party setup, which 
forces that keep their distance from the Abe cabinet would respect. 
 
 
Deputy prime minister plan aimed at containing criticism of Abe 
cabinet as being cabinet of close allies 
 
Behind the proposal is the desire to contain criticism that the 
upcoming cabinet reshuffle could bring about. Foreign Minister Taro 
Aso is viewed as the most promising candidate for secretary general. 
He is very close to the prime minister. It is in reality difficult 
to exclude all personnel close to the prime minister in the next 
cabinet reshuffle. 
 
The government and the LDP conjecture that if Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki is appointed to another ministerial post 
 
SIPDIS 
or if Deputy Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara is appointed for a 
key post, objections can be contained if an influential person is 
 
TOKYO 00003696  010 OF 011 
 
 
installed as deputy prime minister. 
 
Among past deputy prime ministers, some were rivals of the prime 
ministers, and others were influential veteran lawmakers. Some such 
cases are Takeo Miki in the Tanaka cabinet, Kiichi Miyazawa in the 
Takeshita cabinet, Michio Watanabe and Masaharu Gotoda in the 
Miyazawa cabinet, and Tsutomu Hata in the Hosokawa cabinet. 
 
However, amid the prime minister's power base further declining due 
to the crushing defeat in the Upper House election, to what extent a 
deputy prime minister can serve as a man of weight is not known. 
Another problem is whether those nominated as candidates will accept 
such an offer. The deputy prime minister plan will likely become one 
of the focal points in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle, which the 
prime minister hopes to change the current political climate. 
 
(11) Helo flights rerouted only slightly for Futenma airfield 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
August 10, 2007 
 
Japan and the United States have now basically reached an 
intergovernmental agreement on a new perimeter traffic pattern of 
helicopters for the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa 
Prefecture. The Japanese and US governments have reviewed the 
current flight routes of Futenma-based choppers in the wake of the 
August 2004 crash of a US military helicopter on the campus of 
Okinawa International University. The Defense Facilities 
Administration Agency has informed Okinawa Prefecture and Ginowan 
City of a plan that sets up new flight routes for helicopters to and 
from Futenma airfield, officials said yesterday. The plan sets up 
two northerly inbound routes, one of which is away from Okinawa 
International University and skims the University of the Ryukyus. In 
the case of southward outbound helicopters, however, the plan sets 
up a west coast route and does not limit their flights to two 
routes. This is not a big change in the current traffic pattern. The 
US military still conducts heliborne training over urban areas, so 
the plan will not drastically get rid of danger. 
 
The DFAA sent Facilities Planning Division Director Masayoshi 
Tatsumi to Okinawa Prefecture and Ginowan City on Aug. 7 to convey 
the new perimeter traffic pattern of helicopters. Meanwhile, three 
years has passed since the accident. Nevertheless, the current 
flight routes of Futenma-based choppers have yet to be reviewed. 
This may come under fire, and the DFAA is therefore thinking to 
announce the rerouting plan before Aug. 13. The Japanese and US 
governments are expected to announce it today. 
 
The DFAA has explained to Okinawa Prefecture and Ginowan City that 
the US military will conduct its on-base training inside the fence 
as ever. As a safety measure, the US military plans to remove 
on-base obstacles so helicopters can manage to reach the base before 
crashing. The US military has already improved some of the base's 
air traffic control system, according to the DFAA. 
 
Basically, helicopters to and from the northern training area will 
use two routes. The northerly route of Futenma airfield is from a 
fishing port in the Atta district of Kitanakagusuku Village to the 
north of Futenma airfield's runway. The southerly route is set away 
from some densely populated areas and Okinawa International 
University. This route passes over the University of the Ryukyus 
from a point near a fishing port in the Hama district of Nakagusuku 
 
TOKYO 00003696  011 OF 011 
 
 
Village and enters the south of Futenma airfield's runway. 
 
The DFAA also says touch-and-go and other training exercises will be 
conducted inside the fence as ever. However, touch-and-go training 
was seen all over the city even after the accident, according to the 
city's municipal government. 
 
As a safeguard, the US military has now changed Futenma airfield's 
air traffic control system. Inbound aircraft used to approach the 
runway with their pilots' eyes. However, the Futenma base has 
introduced necessary equipment. With its helicopter's crash on the 
campus of Okinawa International University as a lesson, the US 
military plans to remove Futenma airfield's trees and steel towers 
so its aircraft can fly into the base in the event of emergencies. 
 
SCHIEFFER