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FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
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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//
RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
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RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 3732
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7396
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 2641
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 4438
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 9516
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5568
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 6420

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 004813 
 
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 10/15/07-2 
 
 
Index: 
 
(14) Pentagon Defense Science Board chairman: Discontinuation of 
refueling operation might adversely affect US-Japan alliance, 
raising questions about Japan's credibility (Mainichi) 
 
(15) Records tell of MSDF refueling operation as act of assistance 
for America's war (Akahata) 
 
(16) Sea-based missile defense system to undergo 1st test in 
December (Asahi) 
 
(17) DPJ likely to call in Upper House for right to investigate 
alleged diversion of Japanese oil for use in Iraq war (Yomiuri) 
 
(18) IPCC has issued warning, based on scientific facts, which has 
led to policy measures: International opinion on global warming; 
Japanese researchers make major contribution (Yomiuri) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(14) Pentagon Defense Science Board chairman: Discontinuation of 
refueling operation might adversely affect US-Japan alliance, 
raising questions about Japan's credibility 
 
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Abridged slightly) 
October 14, 2007 
 
Toshihiko Kawahara, Washington 
 
Pentagon Defense Science Board Chairman William Schneider, in an 
interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on Oct. 10, indicated that the 
question of continuing the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling 
operation in the Indian Ocean might adversely affect the US-Japan 
alliance, saying, "Japan's credibility will be questioned if it 
cannot continue the refueling operation, a low-risk mission." The 
official also indicated that Tokyo's failure to extend the operation 
would dampen the United States' support for Japan's bid for a 
permanent seat on the UN Security Council. 
 
Chairman Schneider first hailed the refueling operation as a product 
of major political change in Japan since the 1999 Guidelines for 
Japan-US Defense Cooperation. Regarding the ongoing deliberations at 
the Japanese Diet, he also explained the United States' viewpoint 
this way: "The question is whether this change is long-term or 
limited to an age of some political leaders." 
 
Additionally, regarding a possible impact on the US-Japan alliance 
by this matter, he took this view: "If Japan cannot continue the 
modest refueling operation, what can it continue? Although the 
United States, Japan, and Australia have been searching for a new 
trilateral alliance of the 21st century, the matter makes (the two 
countries) wonder how Japan can contribute to it." The message is 
that the reliability of a partner is essential in planning a 
long-term security strategy. He also indicated that drawing a clear 
line would make relations with other countries difficult in terms of 
operations, saying: "The United States can guarantee that Japanese 
oil was not used for operations in Iraq. At the same time, in the 
event a carrier-borne E2 (early warning aircraft) detects 
Iraq-related information in the Indian Ocean, the US cannot rule out 
the possibility of it transmitting the information to a combat area 
in Iraq." 
 
TOKYO 00004813  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
He also raised a question about Japan's bid for a permanent UNSC 
seat, noting: "If it is difficult for Japan to accept a security 
role, is there any need for the country to become a permanent 
member?" 
 
Schneider served as Under Secretary of State in the Reagan 
administration. Cultivating close ties to Japan through the missile 
defense program, he is known as a Japan expert. 
 
(15) Records tell of MSDF refueling operation as act of assistance 
for America's war 
 
AKAHATA (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
October 13, 2007 
 
Akira Sakaguchi 
 
The government has repeatedly explained that the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's operation to refuel foreign vessels in the 
Indian Ocean is not assisting America's war, likening it to such 
policing operations as the maritime interdiction operations (MIO) to 
crack down on terrorists, funds, weaponry, and drugs at sea. On Oct. 
9, the Nikkei carried Tokyo University Professor Akira Kotera's 
article saying that conducting policing operations is allowed under 
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and that providing fuel to 
vessels participating in such operations is also allowed based on 
the decision of each country irrespective of the existence of a UN 
Security Council resolution. His argument is totally divorced from 
reality. 
 
About 80 PERCENT  of MSDF oil has gone to US warships. What the US 
military has been doing is clear from the Akahata's Oct. 11 article 
that discussed activities of the assault landing ship, USS Iwo 
Jima. 
 
The Iwo Jima-led expeditionary strike group took part in an 
operation in the Middle East for the six months from June 2006. 
During that period, the strike group actually joined Israel's attack 
on Lebanon to rescue US nationals and air strikes on Afghanistan 
(part of Operation Enduring Freedom) and the Iraq war (Operation 
Iraqi Freedom). 
 
As was discussed in the US Department of Defense's Defend America 
News dated Dec. 8, 2006, the strike group's main mission was to 
directly assist OEF and OIF. 
 
What the Iwo Jima did is not an isolated case. There were some other 
cases in which MSDF-refueled US warships took part in the Iraq war. 
Kotera's argument that the MSDF has not refueled foreign warships as 
part of military action is totally groundless. 
 
On Oct. 2, the government released a position paper saying that it 
is not in a position of knowing the subsequent activities of foreign 
vessels after they are refueled by the MSDF. But the main activities 
of the Iwo Jima are easily available through information released by 
the US military. Even in view of the Antiterrorism Special Measures 
Law limiting Japanese oil to vessels taking part in the operations 
in Afghanistan, the government is required to examine the refueling 
operation and immediately halt any acts deviating from the law. 
 
The US military has been using MSO (maritime security operations), a 
 
TOKYO 00004813  003 OF 005 
 
 
broad term, rather than MIO. By this logic, the Iwo Jima-led 
expeditionary strike group's acts last year can be defined as 
assistance for MSO. In fact, almost all naval activities can come 
under MSO by this logic. We must remain on high alert so that the 
government will not replace MIO with MSO in an attempt to justify 
the MSDF's assistance for America's war. 
 
(16) Sea-based missile defense system to undergo 1st test in 
December 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) 
October 13, 2007 
 
The Kongo, an Aegis-equipped ship of the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force, has now completed its renovation with the Standard Missile 3 
(SM-3) mounted for ballistic missile defense (BMD) and will carry 
out its first intercept test in waters off Hawaii in mid-December, 
the Defense Ministry announced yesterday. The Kongo is expected to 
be redeployed in early January next year. For its BMD shield, Japan 
already started in March this year to deploy the Patriot Advanced 
Capability 3 (PAC-3), a ground-to-air guided missile defense system. 
However, this is the first time for Japan to deploy an Aegis ship 
with SM-3 missiles onboard. 
 
The US Navy will cooperate with the MSDF in its planned intercept 
test. An intermediate-range ballistic missile will be launched from 
Kauai Island, Hawaii. The Kongo will be staged in waters situated 
several hundred kilometers away from Hawaii to detect the missile 
with its radar and launch an SM-3 missile to shoot down the missile 
at an altitude of over 100 km in outer space. 
 
After the test, the Kongo will return to the MSDF's Sasebo base in 
the city of Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, for deployment. 
 
According to the Defense Ministry, a lineup of two or three Aegis 
ships can shield Japan entirely with their BMD system. If they miss 
a launched missile, the ground-based PAC-3 system is to intercept 
it. The MSDF will deploy four Aegis ships with the SM-3 onboard by 
the end of fiscal 2011. Meanwhile, the Air Self-Defense Force has 
already deployed the PAC-3 at its Iruma base in Saitama Prefecture. 
In addition, the ASDF is going to deploy PAC-3 batteries at a total 
of 16 air defense missile units in the metropolitan area and other 
areas to cover Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe by the end of fiscal 
¶2010. 
 
(17) DPJ likely to call in Upper House for right to investigate 
alleged diversion of Japanese oil for use in Iraq war 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 14, 2007 
 
The stage for a verbal battle between the ruling and opposition 
parties will move to the House of Councillors' Budget Committee 
tomorrow. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is poised to attack 
the ruling camp in the Upper House over the alleged diversion of 
fuel supplied by the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) to United 
States warships in the Indian Ocean for use in the Iraq war. The 
government and the ruling camp will try to find common ground prior 
to a cabinet decision on Oct. 17 on its new legislation to replace 
the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law. 
 
DPJ Secretary General Hatoyama said in a press conference on Oct. 
 
TOKYO 00004813  004 OF 005 
 
 
12: "The suspicion that Japanese oil was used in the Iraq war has 
become extremely strong." He then indicated he would focus attention 
exclusively on this issue in debate in the Upper House, as well. 
 
The DPJ also asked the government at a meeting of the House of 
Representatives Budget Committee to invoke its right to investigate 
state affairs to disclose the truth of these allegations: (1) The US 
aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was deployed after provided with MSDF 
fuel from an US supply ship just before the Iraq war broke out; and 
(2) The US Aegis vessel Paul Hamilton participated in the Iraq war 
after being directly refueled by the MSDF. If the main opposition 
party seeks the investigation right in the Upper House, in which the 
opposition bloc holds a majority, the right will likely be invoked. 
By pursuing the government over the allegation of diversion of 
MSDF-supplied oil, Minshuto aims to buttress the basis for its 
opposition to the MSDF refueling operation and also to delay the 
start of deliberations on the new antiterrorism legislation. 
 
Meanwhile, the government and ruling camp envision this timetable 
for the new legislation: (1) Give an explanation on its contents in 
a Lower House plenary session on Oct. 19; and (2) start 
deliberations at a Lower House Antiterrorism Special Committee 
meeting to be held after Oct. 22. Prime Minister Fukuda intends to 
provide information on the diversion allegation, in a bid to begin 
deliberations on the new legislation at an early date, but no 
prospects are in sight for resolving a deadlock in the situation. 
 
(18) IPCC has issued warning, based on scientific facts, which has 
led to policy measures: International opinion on global warming; 
Japanese researchers make major contribution 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 13, 2007 
 
Groups of scientists warn of global warming. One politician has 
responded to the warning. Behind the decision to award former US 
Vice President Al Gore and the International Panel on Climate Change 
(IPCC) with the Nobel Peace Prize are changes in international 
opinion on the threat from global warming over the past several 
years. In the face of abnormal weather and resultant disasters, 
people have become aware that global warming is an immediate 
threat. 
 
Shuzo Nishioka, an advisor to the National Institute for 
Environmental Studies, which has taken part in the IPCC right from 
its establishment, is pleased with the decision, noting, "Our job of 
issuing warnings against climate change, based on scientific facts, 
and linking it to policy measures was recognized." Concerning global 
warming becoming more of a reality than ever before due to frequent 
droughts and heat waves, he underscored, "We regret that we did not 
issue a strong warning much earlier. I hope the award this time will 
create the opportunity for the entire world to take action toward a 
low-carbon society." 
 
The IPCC has compiled a report every five years or so since the 
first report in 1990. The reports have a major impact on 
international talks, which have resulted in the Framework Convention 
on Climate Change, adopted in 1992, and the Kyoto Protocol, adopted 
in 1997.. 
 
Following recommendations by governments of various countries, 
reports have been written by researchers chosen by the IPCC. More 
 
TOKYO 00004813  005 OF 005 
 
 
than 3,000 scientists, including referees, cooperated in the writing 
of reports. 
 
Reports are in the end adopted at a meeting attended by officials of 
various countries. It has been a usual practice to adopt soft words 
in expressing threats because of scientific uncertainties. However, 
the fourth report, adopted prior to international talks on a 
post-Kyoto Protocol framework, pointed out that there is a strong 
possibility of human activities having brought about global warming. 
It was written, based on a detailed computer-assisted analysis. The 
use of more in-depth expressions in the fourth report than those 
employed in previous reports has in effect put an end to the 
conflict between science and politics. 
 
Kazuo Matsushita, professor at the Kyoto University Graduate School 
of Global Environmental Studies, noted, "The IPCC's activities, 
which have served as a bridge between science and society, have led 
to the award this time. Tough negotiations are expected in the 
process of creating a post-Kyoto framework. The award given this 
time may have a message, 'Think of global warming as an issue 
concerning human beings, moving away from national interests.'" 
 
Japanese researchers made major contributions to the compilation of 
IPCC reports. About 30 Japanese were chosen as representative 
writers responsible for controlling all working groups in compiling 
the fourth report. They were responsible for putting together theses 
sent in from all over the world. 
 
In particular, Japanese researchers have led research on global 
warming throughout the world since the launching of the Earth 
Simulator, registered as the world's fastest supercomputer. The 
fourth report provided data serving as a base for the in-depth 
expression that there is a strong possibility of human activity 
having caused global warming. Akio Kito, chief of the Weather 
Research Department of the Meteorological Research Institute, who 
serves as a representative writer, said, "I think that Japanese 
research using high-performance computers will make more 
contributions in the future." 
 
SCHIEFFER