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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 003966 
 
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 08/27/07 
 
 
Index: 
 
(1) Editorial: Bush's speech heavily touched on Japan's past 
 
(2) Editorial: DPJ to be tested in it ability to make policy and to 
bring about a dissolution of the Lower House 
 
(3) Editorial: Economic partnership agreement; Concern about fate of 
agricultural policy 
 
(4) Tokyo protests Russian minister's inspection of Northern 
Territories, concerned about such being demonstration of Russia's 
effective control over controversial islands 
 
(5) Iceland to suspend commercial whaling because of low prospects 
for sales to Japan 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Editorial: Bush's speech heavily touched on Japan's past 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
August 25, 2007 
 
People in power tend to interpret historical events to serve their 
own interests. 
 
President Bush, too, seems to have cherry-picked some historical 
events in his speech delivered on August 22 at the Veterans of 
Foreign Wars convention. He specifically cited World War II and the 
Vietnam War in an attempt to justify the Iraq war and underline the 
need to keep US troops there. 
 
In the speech, President Bush said: 
 
"The militarists of Japan and the communists in Korea and Vietnam 
were driven by a merciless vision for the proper ordering of 
humanity. . . .  Some said Japanese culture was inherently 
incompatible with democracy. A lot of Japanese believed that 
democracy wouldn't work." 
 
The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States 
reminded many Americans of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and its 
strategy of suicide attacks. Bush is believed to have referred to 
Japan, knowing that ahead of launching the Iraq war, some in the US 
government had thought of Japan as a prime example of democracy that 
resulted from the use of force. 
 
But it is absurd to view Iraq as an extension of the successful 
democratization of Japan in the postwar period. Japan had 
experienced the Freedom and People's Rights Movement in the Meiji 
Period (1868-1912) and the liberal movement in the Taisho Era 
(1912-1926). It was the popular will not to start a war again that 
prevented militarism from coming back to life in Japan, although it 
was also helped by the Occupation's democratization policy. Unlike 
Iraq, Japan was also free from a battle against the United States. 
 
It is also too simplistic to think that America's withdrawal from 
Vietnam resulted in a large number of Vietnamese refugees and the 
Pol Pot massacres in Cambodia. How much did the Vietnamese people 
suffer because of the US intervention in the war? History ignores 
the fact that US bombings of Cambodia emboldened the Khmer Rouge as 
 
TOKYO 00003966  002 OF 006 
 
 
well. 
 
One of the lessons we can learn from WWII and the Vietnam War 
regarding Iraq is that the future of a country should be left to the 
hands of the people of that country. After eliminating the war 
leaders, things were left to autonomy in Japan and Germany. 
Washington and Hanoi would not have been so close if it were not for 
the United States departure from Vietnam. 
 
In any case, President Bush heavily referred to Japan in his speech, 
which went: 
 
"There were critics who argued that democracy could not succeed in 
Japan because the national religion -- Shinto -- was too fanatical 
and rooted in the Emperor. Some said that that if we did not put the 
Emperor on trial, any steps we may take to create democracy are 
doomed to failure. Instead of abolishing the imperial throne, 
Americans and Japanese worked together to find a place for the 
Emperor in the democratic political system, and as a result, 
Japanese democracy grew stronger." 
 
There is concern in the United States that the conservative trend in 
Japan, as seen in paying homage at Yasukuni Shrine and the so-called 
wartime comfort women issue, would lead to the justification of WWII 
and eventually prompt Japan to turn away from the United States. Was 
President Bush's speech also intended to apply pressure on a Japan 
that never faces up to its past? 
 
President Bush and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have indicated that the 
ties between Japan and the United States are based on common values. 
We would like to see the two leaders thoroughly discuss WWII from 
that perspective. 
 
(2) Editorial: DPJ to be tested in it ability to make policy and to 
bring about a dissolution of the Lower House 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
August 24, 2007 
 
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which was the leading force 
behind the trading of places between the ruling and opposition camps 
in the House of Councillors' election, will reshuffle its "Next 
Cabinet" on Aug. 31. The largest opposition party will then be ready 
for the extraordinary Diet session to be convened on Sept. 10. 
 
President Ichiro Ozawa has advocated the need for a two-party 
system, which enables changes of government. In order to have the 
two-party system take root, it is indispensable for the DPJ to win 
the next House of Representatives election. To that end, the party 
has to overcome two challenges: one is the capability of the DPJ to 
force Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to dissolve the Lower House under a 
situation where it would be possible to win the general election 
that would follow; and the other is the capability to formulate 
policy measures that can demonstrate its capability of assuming the 
political reigns. 
 
While maintaining the triumvirate with Deputy President Naoto Kan, 
and Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, Ozawa reportedly will 
reshuffle other key party portfolios. He will probably place 
emphasis on the Diet Affairs Committee, Policy Research Committee 
and Election Campaign Committee chairmen -- posts which are directly 
engaged in creating a "political situation," and "policy measures." 
 
TOKYO 00003966  003 OF 006 
 
 
 
It is now possible for the opposition bloc to pass censure motions 
against the cabinet and ministers in the Upper House. It is also 
easy for the opposition to exercise the right to investigate state 
affairs. The opposition can now call on the cabinet and public 
offices to submit reports and records, and it also can summon 
witnesses and un-sworn witnesses to testify before the Diet. If 
bills sponsored by opposition lawmakers are submitted first to the 
Upper House, they will be able to clear the Diet. 
 
Censure motions submitted to the Upper House do not have the same 
legal foundation as those submitted to the Lower House. In 1998, 
however, a motion against then defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga, who 
was pressed to take responsibility for the Defense Agency's Central 
Procurement Office's breach of trust scandal, was adopted. As a 
result, Nukaga was forced to quit his post. If a censure motion gets 
public support, it could have sufficient political power. 
 
In a bid to indirectly support the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, 
Japan has dispatched Maritime Self-Defense vessels in the Indian 
Ocean based on the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law, which will 
expire on Nov. 1. 
 
The DPJ has opposed the Antiterrorism Law from the start. In his 
meeting with US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer, Ozawa repeated 
his opposition to the law. Characterizing the law as symbol of the 
Japan-US alliance, the government and ruling coalition strongly hope 
to extend it. In that case, the DPJ should display its 
counterproposals in accordance with the kind of Japan-US relations 
that the DPJ envisions. The DPJ's capabilities of "making policy 
measures" and "carrying out politics" will be tested for the first 
time. 
 
Certain appointments must be approved by both houses of the Diet. 
The Diet has to approve appointments of the Board of Audit 
commissioners and of the NHK Compliance Committee members. Attention 
is especially being focused on the selection of successor to Bank of 
Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui, whose term in office will expire next 
March. The DPJ's basic position is that appointing a former 
bureaucrat as BOJ governor is a problem. If coordination between the 
government and ruling camp ends in failure, the government's work 
will fall into a jumble. 
 
In the 1998 Upper House election, the LDP suffered a defeat and the 
opposition camp controlled the Upper House. Then DPJ President Naoto 
Kan did not take the tactic of forcing the prime minister to 
dissolve the Lower House for a general election, saying: "We will 
not link the financial problem to dissolving the Lower House." He 
lacked the ability to create a change in the political situation. 
 
LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa has called on the DPJ to form 
a grand alliance. However, the LDP and DPJ should wait for public 
opinion to weigh in first in the next Lower House election. 
 
Creating tension in the political situation is the immediate duty of 
the DPJ, the largest opposition party, which is also on a path to 
obtaining the reins of government. 
 
(3) Editorial: Economic partnership agreement; Concern about fate of 
agricultural policy 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
 
TOKYO 00003966  004 OF 006 
 
 
August 27, 2007 
 
Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached 
a consensus on a framework of the signing of an economic partnership 
agreement (EPA). This is going to be the first time for Japan to 
sign an EPA with a regional association. The two parties are 
expected to reach a formal agreement in November and the pact will 
go into effect as early as next spring. The observation has been 
growing that Japan is lagging behind other countries in terms of 
signing free trade agreements (FTA). The agreement is apparently an 
opportunity for it to recover from the setback. 
 
ASEAN is a region that serves as a linchpin in regional cooperation 
in East Asia. It has already signed an FTA with China and South 
Korea, while Japan has so far signed FTAs only on a bilateral basis 
with a few countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia. It is highly 
significant for Japan to sign an FTA with the ASEAN region as a 
whole. 
 
Eliminating most trade tariffs will work favorably to the 
competitiveness of Japanese companies. Once Japan and ASEAN formally 
signs the EPA, Japanese companies will no longer have to pay tariffs 
that have been imposed each time their goods in trade crossed 
borders in the form of parts and semi-finished goods before they 
became end products. 
 
Regarding flat-screen TV sets, over which Japanese manufacturers are 
engaging in fierce competition with South Korea manufacturers, 
Japanese companies will have the edge over foreign competitors when 
they export to ASEAN nations liquid crystal displays or plasma 
panels, key parts for such televisions, and fabricate end products 
there by procuring peripheral parts. 
 
An EPA between Japan and ASEAN is important in creating a 
cooperative framework in East Asia. Japan uses the term EPA instead 
of FTA, because the envisaged pact targets broad areas, including 
not only the abolition of or cuts in tariffs but also services and 
investments. 
 
It is necessary for Japan as an industrialized country to establish 
a high-quality relationship of cooperation with ASEAN. Signing an 
EPA with that regional entity will enable Japan to strengthen 
cooperation in human resources, including accepting trainees, while 
strengthening the contents of the pact, such as improving the 
investment environment and taking up intellectual property rights 
issues. Such a possibility will lead to enhancing Japan's presence 
in the process of establishing rules for the formation of an East 
Asia economic community. 
 
Japan's foreign policy toward ASEAN has been to have it accept 
Japan's viewpoint by pledging aid and investment through bilateral 
talks. However, ASEAN now insists on involving the region as a 
whole, claiming that single-country negotiations are disadvantageous 
to ASEAN. 
 
As it has become necessary for Japan to come up with drastic 
proposals, it has decided to remove tariffs amounting to 90 PERCENT 
of the value of imports from ASEAN once the pact takes effect. 
Probably as part of such a decision, it has extensively made 
concessions over the auto area, as can be seen in the agreement that 
five ASEAN countries, such as Thailand, exempted imports of finished 
cars from tariff abolition. 
 
TOKYO 00003966  005 OF 006 
 
 
 
The most difficult trade issue for Japan is how to handle 
agricultural goods. The agreement reached with ASEAN this time has 
exempted rice, sugar and dairy products from liberalization. EPA 
talks with Australia, a major agricultural goods exporter, have 
begun. 
 
The government's agricultural policy can be one reason for the 
Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) crushing defeat in the recent Upper 
House election. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto), 
which has gained the largest number of seats in the election, is 
calling for setting up an individual income compensation system. 
 
A fight over who would be eligible for such a system and what 
mechanism the envisaged system should have is expected to break out 
between the government and the ruling parties. Agricultural policy 
should not relapse into a transitory vote-catching policy. 
 
(4) Tokyo protests Russian minister's inspection of Northern 
Territories, concerned about such being demonstration of Russia's 
effective control over controversial islands 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 27, 2007 
 
Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref on 
August 8 inspected the Northern Territories, such as Kunashiri 
Island, sources revealed yesterday. Back in June, Russian Foreign 
Minister Lavrov inspected Kunashiri and Shikotan Islands. In recent 
years the Russian government, backed by its business boom, has 
accelerated its efforts to develop the Far Eastern region. The 
Japanese government is becoming nervous about this move by Moscow, 
with one government official speculating: "There is a good 
possibility that Russian cabinet members will visit the Northern 
Territories more often than ever in order to demonstrate its 
effective control of them." 
 
According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, Gref, who has been 
tasked with improvement of social infrastructure in distant areas of 
Russia, has led a "social and economic development plan" to develop 
the Kurile Islands, including the disputed four Northern Islands. 
 
Gref arrived in Kunashiri Island by airplane and inspected an 
electric power plant and other facilities and told officials 
concerned that he would speed up the pace of modernizing the airport 
and harbors. Gref also inspected Shikotan Island and the Habomai 
islets from the air. 
 
Japan conveyed its concern via its embassy to Russia, saying that 
because of the territorial issue that is still going on between 
Japan and Russia, it was inappropriate for high-level government 
officials to visit the Northern Territories. However, there has 
reportedly been no response from Moscow. 
 
(5) Iceland to suspend commercial whaling because of low prospects 
for sales to Japan 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 27, 2007 
 
The Fisheries Ministry of Iceland has revealed as of Aug. 26 that it 
would provide no new catch quotas for commercial whaling, which it 
 
TOKYO 00003966  006 OF 006 
 
 
resumed last year for the first time in 21 years. As the reasons for 
the decision, the ministry cites little interest shown by clients in 
whale meat. A senior Icelandic ministry official told Reuters News 
Agency that it will be unprofitable even if the government releases 
catch quotas because no progress has been made in negotiations with 
Japan on sales of whale meat. 
 
Iceland had suspended commercial whaling since 1985, but it resumed 
it last October, in response to complaints from fishermen, such 
voices as: "As a result of whales eating fishes, fish stocks are 
decreasing." Although it planned to catch nine fin whales and 30 
minke whales by the end of this month for commercial purposes, 
Icelandic whalers actually hunted down only seven of each of the 
species. 
 
A senior Icelandic ministry official commented: "The government of 
Iceland is still carrying out negotiations with the Japanese 
government on food-safety standards and export permission, but both 
have yet to reach a conclusion." 
 
Only Norway and Iceland hunt whales for commercial purposes. 
 
MESERVE