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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 005061 
 
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 10/31/07 
 
 
Index: 
 
(1) Nikkei photo: Ambassador Schieffer speaks to the press after the 
12-country briefing of Diet members on MSDF refueling operations in 
the Indian Ocean (Nikkei). 
 
(2) Ambassadors of 12 countries hold briefing session for lawmakers, 
make appeal for continuing MSDF refueling services (Mainichi) 
 
(3) US denies that the expiration of the antiterrorism law tomorrow 
will have an effect on the alliance relationship (Asahi) 
 
(4) Reversing his stand, Ozawa holds first meeting with Fukuda; Two 
leaders alone for 45 minutes behind closed doors (Asahi) 
 
(5) Diet testimony by former Vice Defense Minister Moriya deepens 
suspicions (Mainichi) 
 
(6) Defense Ministry mulls calling in SDF brass for Diet replies 
(Mainichi) 
 
(7) Fair Trade Commission to strengthen oversight by expanding scope 
of M&A cases subject to screening (Nikkei) 
 
(8) Battle between political, business circles and FTC over judge 
system: Focus of amending AML is whether to abolish the system 
(Yomiuri) 
 
(9) Interview with Sadako Ogata, president of JICA: Need for 
stepping up aid to Africa (Asahi) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Nikkei photo: Ambassador Schieffer speaks to the press after the 
12-country briefing of Diet members on MSDF refueling operations in 
the Indian Ocean. 
 
(2) Ambassadors of 12 countries hold briefing session for lawmakers, 
make appeal for continuing MSDF refueling services 
 
MAINICHI.JP (Internet site) (Full) 
October 31, 2007 
 
In connection with the refueling operations in the Indian Ocean that 
the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) has been carrying out for six 
years, ambassadors from 12 countries, including the United States, 
which also receives such fuel, this morning held a briefing session 
for Japanese Diet members at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo to make 
an appeal for continuing the services. Approximately 70 lawmakers 
from the ruling and opposition camps attended. With the current 
Antiterrorism Special Measures Law that forms the grounds for the 
MSDF dispatch expiring on Nov. 1, it is certain that refueling 
operations will be stopped. Since there is no telling when the 
services will be restarted or whether new operations will begin, 
other countries that are participating in the international "war on 
terror" have launched an exceptional effort to persuade the 
lawmakers. 
 
The same ambassadors on Sept. 27, as well, issued a joint statement 
thanking the MSDF for its refueling operations and urging that the 
service be continued, but this is the first time for a large-scale 
briefing session to be scheduled targeting the members of the Diet. 
 
TOKYO 00005061  002 OF 011 
 
 
The 12 co-sponsors included 11 countries, such as the US, Britain, 
France, and Germany, which are carrying out maritime interdiction 
operations (MIO) in the Indian Ocean, and Afghanistan. Attending 
were the ambassadors, military attaches, and other officers. 
However, in contrast to the approximately 50 Liberal Democratic 
Party participants from the Japanese side, the Democratic Party of 
Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) only sent six representatives. There was a 
great difference in interest between the ruling and opposition 
camps. 
 
Each country briefed, with the main presentation by the US 
representative who explained the current situation regarding MIO and 
the amounts of fuel the MSDF provides to each country. Data was 
presented showing that the US relied on the MSDF for 7 PERCENT  of 
its fuel, while Italy and Pakistan's reliance each reached over 90 
PERCENT .  The cancellation of MSDF refueling services would greatly 
impact on the MIO, they appealed. The aim of the briefing was to 
give impetus to Diet debate on the new antiterrorism special 
measures bill, which the government has presented in order to 
continue the refueling. 
 
This question came from the Japanese side (a DPJ lawmaker), 
"Although the refueling operation is important, don't you agree that 
what Japan can do now are only such efforts as removal of weapons 
from former soldiers and social reconstruction?"  In response, the 
Afghanistan ambassador reportedly replied, "We would like to ask 
Japan for various other types of assistance, not just limited to 
refueling activities." 
 
After it was over, US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer told the press 
corps: "Refueling is an operation that transcends issues between 
political parties. I would like to see DPJ President Ozawa in the 
end accept such as an international duty." 
 
(3) US denies that the expiration of the antiterrorism law tomorrow 
will have an effect on the alliance relationship (Asahi) 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpt) 
Eve., October 31, 2007 
 
Sueya Kaibara in Washington 
 
Commenting on the expiration on Nov. 1 of the Antiterrorism Special 
Measures Law that forms the basis for the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force's (MSDF) refueling operations in the Indian Ocean, a 
responsible official at the US Department of Defense on Oct. 30 
stated: "It is not a problem of the nature of having an effect on 
the alliance relationship. It is a problem to be debated within 
Japan as to what kind or role Japan should play." The official was 
speaking to members of the Japanese press corps in the US. 
 
(4) Reversing his stand, Ozawa holds first meeting with Fukuda; Two 
leaders alone for 45 minutes behind closed doors 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
October 31, 2007 
 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) President Ichiro Ozawa 
used to reject requests for talks (with the Liberal Democratic Party 
president), saying that he would not make backroom deals. Reversing 
such position, Ozawa held a party-head meeting with Prime Minister 
Yasuo Fukuda yesterday. Although they remained wide apart on the new 
 
TOKYO 00005061  003 OF 011 
 
 
refueling legislation, for which Fukuda asked for support, the two 
leaders decided to meet again later this week. With an end to the 
current Diet session only a little over 10 days away, the deadlocked 
divided Diet took an unexpected turn. The 45-minute closed-door 
session, however, has drawn doubts and criticism from within the two 
parties. 
 
Lower House dissolution or grand coalition? Speculations rampant in 
ruling and opposition blocs 
 
The meeting triggered a variety of speculations, such as about a 
secret deal for Lower House dissolution or about forming a grand 
 
SIPDIS 
coalition. 
 
The DPJ is also alarmed at Ozawa's action. He has been playing up a 
plan to take power through the next general election. The 
Fukuda-Ozawa meeting that might have discussed a grand coalition 
allowing the DPJ to join the government made most DPJ lawmakers 
edgy. A senior DPJ member noted, "A grand coalition or Lower House 
dissolution would be the only topic for a discussion without the 
secretaries general." Another senior member denied the grand 
 
SIPDIS 
coalition theory, saying, "If a grand coalition was formed, our 
party would collapse. There will absolutely be no grand coalition." 
 
"Speculations are afoot because the session was held behind the 
closed doors," a mid-ranking DPJ lawmaker said. The secretaries 
general and Diet affairs chiefs of the two parties were allowed to 
be present only at the beginning and the ending of the session. 
Fukuda and Ozawa were alone for about 45 minutes. Denials by Fukuda 
and Ozawa cannot stop people from reading too much into their 
meeting. Some attendees also offered sketchy and stimulating 
accounts. 
 
One lawmaker who had attended the session quoted Prime Minister 
Fukuda as saying at the outset of the meeting: "I have tried for a 
month now, but both domestic and foreign affairs have not proceeded 
well. I would like to consider new ways to move politics with you." 
If a policy was realized by joint efforts by the two parties, that 
would be a step toward a grand coalition. The press asked Fukuda 
last night if he would not rule out forming a grand coalition as a 
new means to conduct politics. In response, Fukuda said: "I don't 
know about forming a ruling coalition, but we need to think of some 
ways to shift politics." 
 
The closed-door session with no third party also drew fire from 
within the ruling bloc. 
 
LDP Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki said during the session: "Holding 
a party-head meeting that is not open might fall short of public 
expectations." In response, an annoyed Ozawa said: "I am a country 
bumpkin, so I cannot do sophisticated things." Receiving a similar 
question from the press, Ozawa also said: "Why do you call this a 
closed-door meeting? It is a formal party-head meeting, of which we 
have informed you properly. If this is still called a closed-door 
session, that is because our views differ." 
 
The party-head debate scheduled for Oct. 31 at the Diet has been 
postponed. LDP Upper House Secretary General Masaaki Yamazaki took 
this view yesterday: "The party-head debate (planned for Oct. 31) 
has been called off. If we don't know about what was discussed, that 
would be too secretive. But we really don't know what happened." 
Japanese Communist Party secretariat head Tadayoshi Ichida also 
 
TOKYO 00005061  004 OF 011 
 
 
said: "We cannot give a nod to the idea of the two parties holding 
meetings behind the closed doors." 
 
Ozawa, who has been keeping the upper hand over the ruling parties 
in the current Diet session, accepted Fukuda's request and had the 
face-to-face meeting with him, knowing that it would trigger 
criticism and speculations. What is Ozawa up to? A senior DPJ member 
close to Ozawa explained, "Mr. Ozawa wants to know something from 
Mr. Fukuda in person. They are trying to probe the intention of 
another." His view is that with the Diet session scheduled to end 
shortly, Ozawa met Fukuda in an effort to find a way out of the 
current deadlock. 
 
Ozawa met yesterday afternoon with Deputy President Naoto Kan, 
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, and Upper House Caucus Chairman 
 
SIPDIS 
Azuma Koshiishi to brief them on his meeting with Fukuda. In the 
briefing session, Ozawa reportedly said that Fukuda had made no 
proposals requiring Ozawa's replies by the next meeting. He also 
said about Fukuda's and the LDP's aims, "I really don't know what 
they are thinking about." 
 
Setting up the one-on-one session, the LDP has begun brandishing 
Lower House dissolution and a grand coalition at the DPJ to apply 
pressure on the largest opposition party. 
 
Former LDP Secretary General Hidanao Nakagawa delivered a speech 
yesterday in which he said: "The political situation is alarming. 
People sharing the same view belong to different parties. How should 
the lopsided situation be dissolved? It is important for lawmakers 
to combine efforts. I earnestly hope that the lopsided situation 
will be resolved through talks between the two party heads." 
 
Buds of cooperation on livelihood-oriented issues and personnel 
appointments 
 
Although the party-head session failed to find common ground, there 
have appeared signs of the ruling and opposition blocs shifting away 
from confrontation to cooperation. 
 
"Representing bills to adopt them as chairmen's proposals is one 
way," DPJ Upper House Secretary General Kenji Hirata said in a press 
conference yesterday afternoon. 
 
What have in mind are livelihood-oriented themes, such as the 
legislations to provide relief for drug-induced hepatitis C patients 
and assistance for disaster victims. The idea is to enact them in 
the form of chairmen's proposals in the current Diet session by 
mutually making compromises to avoid a credit-taking race. LDP 
members, too, hold high expectations for the new cooperative policy 
direction. 
 
Stalled procedures for a Diet agreement on personnel appointments 
were also set in motion yesterday. An agreement was reached to 
establish a joint council of the directors of the Steering 
Committees of the two houses of the Diet on Oct. 31. 
 
The DPJ has so far taken a "storm of bills" strategy of presenting 
to the Upper House such bills as banning the government from using 
pension premiums for other purposes and rescinding the Iraq Special 
Measures Law, while adamantly opposing the refueling special 
measures legislation. 
 
 
TOKYO 00005061  005 OF 011 
 
 
Changes have also appeared to deliberations on the refueling 
legislation, a symbol of the DPJ's opposition. In a Lower House 
Antiterrorism Special Committee meeting that started shortly after 
the Fukuda-Ozawa session, DPJ lawmaker Akihisa Nagashima asked: "Is 
the government going to establish a special measures law every an 
act of terrorism occurs?" At the venue the opposition camp was 
supposed to pursue an alleged diversion of Japanese oil and the 
scandal involving former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, many 
asked questions about bills. 
 
A senior New Komeito lawmaker commented in a puzzling tone: "The DPJ 
members earnestly discussed the contents of some bills and 
international commitment. What happened to that party?" 
 
Ozawa's about-face has drawn bewildering reactions from within the 
DPJ. After the Fukuda-Ozawa meeting, a DPJ Upper House member, who 
has been locking horns with the Fukuda administration in the budget 
committee, complained: "It was (Mr. Ozawa) himself that told us not 
to hold prior consultations. I don't want to see him remove the 
ladder." 
 
Although the DPJ has translated its Upper House election pledges 
into a storm of bills, the party really wants to accomplish visible 
results in some fashion, with an end to the current Diet session 
approaching. In the wake of the party-head meeting, there is a 
possibility that the DPJ will accelerate the cooperative policy line 
at a committee level. 
 
(5) Diet testimony by former Vice Defense Minister Moriya deepens 
suspicions 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Full) 
October 30, 2007 
 
In his testimony as a sworn witness at the Diet yesterday, former 
Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, 63, repeatedly 
denied allegations that he had given favors to defense equipment 
trader Yamada Corp. and Nihon Mirise Corp. He revealed his cozy 
relationship with a former executive of Yamada Corp by admitting 
that he had played golf more than 200 times with a former executive 
of Yamada Corp., who also paid for his trip to Hokkaido. Suspicions 
have deepened because Moriya refrained from providing clear answers 
to questions regarding his administrative authority with an eye on 
investigations by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo 
Public Prosecutors Office, and because his answers were odd. 
 
Moriya denied completely any involvement in the selection of the 
engine of the CX next-generation transport aircraft. He said that 
Self-Defense Forces units select defense equipment in terms of 
operation, maintenance and supplementation. 
 
His testimony revealed the existence of an equipment screening 
panel, which in a meeting on Aug. 8, 2003, selected a General 
Electric-made engine from among three major foreign companies. The 
panel, an advisory organ to the defense minister, was composed of 
top-ranking officials, including the director general of the 
Minister's Secretariat, the Defense Policy Bureau chief, and 
chairman of the Joint Staff Council. The panel members assembled to 
discuss important issues. Moriya chaired the panel. 
 
Moriya played golf on over 200 occasions from 1995 to April 2007. 
August 2003, when the panel held that meeting, was during that 
 
TOKYO 00005061  006 OF 011 
 
 
period. There is a possibility that if as the chairman, who had the 
right to make the decision, Moriya received entertainment from 
Yamada Corp. with the knowledge that Yamada was serving as the 
Japanese agent for GE, he could be charged with receiving bribes in 
return for favors. Whether he had this knowledge is an important 
factor in the investigation into the scandal. 
 
When pursued on that point, Moriya appeared perplexed. He avoided 
answering, saying, "Since that is an issue of the authority of the 
administrative vice minister, I would like to have time to consult 
with an attorney." Committee Chairman Takashi Fukaya, however, urged 
the witness to provide an appropriate answer. Moriya then replied: 
"I did not know." Is it true that Moriya was unaware even though he 
had close relations -- playing golf four times a month and mah-jongg 
for money? 
 
Moriya admitted that he had asked an Aircraft Division official why 
a (discretionary contract) could not be concluded with Nihon Mirise 
Corp., which was established by former Yamada Corp. executive 
Motonobu Miyazaki. 
 
He, however, explained that reason, saying: 
 
"Since the (Defense Ministry) has adopted both general competitive 
bidding and discretionary contract systems, I said I didn't 
understand why a discretionary contract was unable to be concluded. 
But I understood it after hearing that the policy was changed by the 
Finance Ministry's instruction that general public bidding should be 
conducted first." 
 
He emphasized that his remark had not suggested that favors were 
given to Nihon Mirise. 
 
(6) Defense Ministry mulls calling in SDF brass for Diet replies 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 29, 2007 
 
The Defense Ministry has plans to let the Self-Defense Forces' brass 
officers attend parliamentary interpellations so they can answer 
questions in the Diet. From the perspective of civilian control, the 
Defense Ministry has customarily had its bureaucrats answer 
questions in the Diet for nearly a half century. Meanwhile, the SDF 
has been tasked with more overseas missions. Accordingly, the 
Defense Ministry is now asked more often about SDF operations and 
equipment. Therefore, the Defense Ministry is going to review its 
parliamentary custom. Some are expecting civilian control to be 
strengthened as a result of imposing accountability on the SDF 
brass. However, there is also a deep-seated feeling of recusal both 
within the ruling parties and within the opposition parties. As it 
stands, this issue will likely become controversial. 
 
"I think the SDF's uniformed members from the Ground, Maritime, and 
Air Self-Defense Forces should state their views from expertise, 
technical perspectives," Defense Minister Ishiba stressed when he 
sat in yesterday on the House of Representatives Special Committee 
on Antiterror Measures. "All advanced countries have their military 
personnel in uniform state their views in parliament," Ishiba stated 
before the committee. "Japan is the only exception," Ishiba noted. 
"Then," he also said, "I wonder if those in uniform must not be 
allowed to come to the Diet, so I would like to ask the Diet to make 
a decision on this matter." He added, "The Defense Ministry and the 
 
TOKYO 00005061  007 OF 011 
 
 
Self-Defense Forces are ready to call in the SDF's uniformed 
members." 
 
Toshio Tamogami, chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force, also 
tuned in to Ishiba. "There are various views even among the 
uniformed members," Tamogami said when he met the press yesterday. 
The ASDF's top brass officer also said: "I think it's only natural 
to do so (reply before the Diet). Those in the Self-Defense Forces 
have a better knowledge of what we're doing, so it might be better 
to have them answer questions." 
 
The Defense Ministry has set up an in-house panel to review civilian 
control in the wake of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's cover-up of 
an error in the quality of fuel it supplied in the Indian Ocean. The 
panel will discuss the matter and reach a conclusion in March next 
year. 
 
According to the Defense Ministry, the SDF's uniformed staff members 
attended about 20 parliamentary meetings after the Police Reserve 
Force, which is the SDF's predecessor, was established. In December 
1959, the ASDF chief of staff at that time made a Diet reply. Since 
then, the SDF's uniformed staff members have never replied before 
the Diet. The Defense Ministry once thought over Japan's prewar 
militarism, and there was a negative atmosphere about their 
appearance on the center stage of government. 
 
"It's now clear that the Defense Ministry is in the habit of 
covering up the truth," Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the 
leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto), told a news 
conference yesterday. "I think it's all right to set up some 
occasions for us to hear their voices, if that's helpful in 
unveiling the truth," Hatoyama added. 
 
However, there are also negative views in the Defense Ministry and 
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. "The uniformed staff may 
increase their voice," one said, adding, "But I think that's a 
problem from the perspective of civilian control." In addition, 
there are also cautious views even among the SDF's uniformed 
officers. "If a supervisor is pursued in the Diet, his troops will 
be let down in their morale," another said. 
 
(7) Fair Trade Commission to strengthen oversight by expanding scope 
of M&A cases subject to screening 
 
NIKKEI (Top Play) (Full) 
October 31, 2007 
 
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to expand the scope of 
merger and acquisitions (M&A) and stock purchase subjected to the 
requirement of reporting to the FTC. Included in the expanded 
requirement will be stock purchases by investment funds and 
triangular mergers in which a target Japanese company is merged into 
a subsidiary formed by an acquiring foreign company for the merger. 
The FTC aims to strengthen its oversight to prevent some companies 
from monopolizing the market through M&As. 
 
The FTC intends to work out details by the end of the year and 
include specific measures in a bill amending the Antimonopoly Law to 
be submitted to a regular Diet session next year. 
 
Under the existing law, if a company of a certain size acquired 
shares of more than 10 PERCENT , 25 PERCENT , or 50 PERCENT  in 
 
TOKYO 00005061  008 OF 011 
 
 
another firm, the company is required to file with the FTC its plan. 
The FTC examines whether the plan has undermined market competition. 
If the FTC judges the market share of the acquiring company as too 
high, the watchdog is authorized to order it to dispose of the 
purchased shares. 
 
The current law requires an acquiring company to report a stock 
acquisition to the FTC within 30 day. But the new legislation would 
enable the FTC to screen M&A plans before actual transactions if 
more than 20 PERCENT  shares are traded. Additionally, investment 
funds under the control of firms with a certain level of turnover 
would also be mandated to report their share-acquisition plans. 
 
Currently, only stock companies are subject to the FTC's M&A 
screenings, and most investment funds are exempt. Meanwhile, in the 
United States and the European Union (EU), authorities examine even 
cases of stock purchases by investment funds, without distinguishing 
investment funds and companies in principle. The business community 
in Japan has begun to propose that investment funds should be 
treated as the same way as companies. 
 
The FTC will also study the possibility of mandating independent 
investment funds to report their share-purchase plans. This measure 
is intended to prevent such funds from monopolizing the market as a 
result of purchasing shares in several companies in the same day. If 
US investment fund, Steel Partners, which has stakes in several 
Japanese food companies such as Nisshin Food Products Co., and 
Bull-Dog Sauce Co., plans to buy shares in another food company, it 
could be required to report the plan. 
 
The FTC will further review how to treat overseas parent companies 
and subsidiaries. In judging whether a company that plans an M&A 
should be subject to the reporting requirement, the commission would 
take into consideration, under the new law, the sales of its parent 
company or subsidiaries overseas on the Japanese market. Currently, 
the total sum of assets is used as a basis for judgment, but the 
proceeds of parents firms or subsidiaries overseas are not taken 
into account. 
 
Under the new policy, even in triangle-merger cases, such as US 
Citigroup's purchase of shares in Nikko Cordial Corp. through its 
subsidiary in Japan, the reporting requirement would be applied, 
depending on the rate of acquired shares. 
 
While expanding the scope of investors subject to its screenings, 
the FTC will seek to lighten the burden on companies. It will ease 
its criteria to require reporting only cases of M&A plans exceeding 
20 PERCENT  or 50 PERCENT . In addition, only M&A cases that would 
be treated in an acquirer's consolidated earnings would be subject 
to the reporting requirement. 
 
(8) Battle between political, business circles and FTC over judge 
system: Focus of amending AML is whether to abolish the system 
 
YOMIURI (Page 9) (Full) 
October 31, 2007 
 
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and political and business circles 
are at odds over a judge system to decide whether administrative 
punishment imposed on companies that violated the Antimonopoly Law 
(AML) is appropriate. The FTC intends to submit a bill amending the 
AML incorporating continuation of the system to the regular Diet 
 
TOKYO 00005061  009 OF 011 
 
 
session next year. However, there is growing criticism of the system 
among political and business circles, as the FTC judges the 
propriety of the punishment it has imposed, with one noting, "It is 
a system like public prosecutors administering justice." 
 
FTC assailed from all sides 
 
Responsible officials of the FTC, the Japan Business Federation 
(Nippon Keidanren) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 
(METI) advanced their opinions at an executive meeting of the 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) AML Research Council. Many called for 
the abolition of the judge system, with a representative from METI 
noting, "It lacks fairness for an organ that cracks down on AML 
offenders to serve as a judge," or a representative from METI 
saying, "Given the situation in various industrialized countries, 
Japan is the only country where a competition watchdog doubles as an 
administrative complaints examiner."  Nippon Keidanren has proposed 
a system of directly appealing to a district court in the event in 
which there are complaints about administrative punishment. 
 
Political circles' response toward the FTC's judge system has also 
been harsh. Lawmakers during meetings of the AML Research Council 
and the Legal System Research Council of the LDP criticized the 
system, noting that those who make decisions lack neutrality and 
fairness. A member of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or 
Minshuto) at a meeting of the Lower House Committee on Economy and 
Industry on Oct. 24 criticized the system, noting that the judge 
system should be separated off from the FTC. 
 
The bill amending the AML to be submitted to the Diet this time 
expands the coverage of practices subject to administrative 
surcharges to illegal labeling of commercial products. The statute 
of limitations would also be extended from the current three years 
to five years. Both the ruling and opposition parties generally 
support the proposal. However, the FTC is being assailed from all 
sides. 
 
Reform proposal 
 
It is viewed that the FTC wants to maintain authority by retaining 
decision-making power over AML violation cases. 
 
Concerning the amendment to the AML, the FTC has made preemptive 
moves to contain an argument calling for scrapping the judge system, 
by coming up with such reform proposals as including at least one 
legal professional in the consultative body of judges and not 
appointing a person who has an interest in a violation case. 
However, its proposals have hardly been given high marks. 
 
The FTC is seeking understanding for continuation of the judge 
system, citing that the examination section responsible for 
investigating AML violations and the judgment section are clearly 
divided and that judges need legal knowledge as well as economic 
expertise. 
 
Speculation 
 
Some take the view that business circles are against the judge 
system out of another desire. Its real intention is to oppose the 
idea of toughening regulations, such as expanding the coverage of 
practices subject to administrative surcharges. However, given the 
situation in which bid-rigging practices are frequently occurring, 
 
TOKYO 00005061  010 OF 011 
 
 
the public would see its opposition as corporate egoism. As such, 
they want to halt the move to amend the law itself, with focus on 
the maintaining of the judge system, as Hosei University Professor 
Daitaro Kishii explained. 
 
If the judge system has to be abolished or altered due to opposition 
from business circles, it would become necessary to substantially 
rewrite the amendment bill. Should that occur, chances are that the 
FTC would not be able to submit the bill itself. 
 
The FTC wants to persuade business and political circles. However, 
some take the view that the FTC would not be able to get off without 
doing anything about it, as a METI official put it. 
 
(9) Interview with Sadako Ogata, president of JICA: Need for 
stepping up aid to Africa 
 
ASAHI (Page 9) (Full) 
October 31, 2007 
 
Noriyuki Wakisada, Hirotsugu Mochizuki 
 
Sadako Ogata stresses the need to step up aid to Africa as she did 
in the past to help refugees in Africa when she served as United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Why now again? The Asahi 
Shimbun interviewed her. 
 
Question: How has the situation in Africa changed since the 1990s, 
when you were making a great effort to help refugees? 
 
Ogata: Africa was in a serious situation because of, for instance, a 
string of disputes that created millions of refugees. When I see 
conflicts occurring even now in Sudan and Congo and Zimbabwe 
collapsing, my heart aches. But all in all, the number of conflicts 
are on the decline, and Africa's economic growth rate is close to 
six percent on average. Leaders of Africa have begun calling for the 
rest of the world to help Africa establish systems for higher 
education and construct infrastructure. 
 
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) 
will hold a meeting in Japan next May after a lapse of five years. 
The question is how to spur economic growth (in Africa) while 
eliminating poverty. Ahead of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in 
Lake Toya, Hokkaido, slated for next July, I think Japan should send 
a clear message to the international audience. 
 
Question: What do you think is the difference between Japan's aid 
and other countries'? 
 
Ogata: The United States and European nations at times suspended 
their aid to "fragile states" that lack the ability to govern. But 
my idea is that we should decide to continue aid in consideration of 
the way the people should be instead of how the state should be (as 
shown in the idea of "human security"). Enhancing the people's 
ability would lead to building a good country. I'd like to attach 
importance to linking development of the people's capabilities at 
the grass-roots level to economic growth. 
 
Question: Several years ago, the international community addressed 
the issue of reducing the debts of African nations. Loan-based 
support for infrastructure construction could again saddle African 
nations with debts. 
 
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Ogata: Sometime in the past we moved away from the idea of 
constructing buildings and instead placed emphasis on antipoverty 
measures, but calls for construction of infrastructure have been 
emerging at home and abroad since last year. However, we will not 
force countries lacking repayment capacity to borrow money. When 
(JICA) merges with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation's 
(JBIC) loan sector, we can combine yen loans with technical 
cooperation and quickly implement them. 
 
Question: Japan has shown signs of approaching aid to Africa in 
various ways, as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Amari is 
set to visit Africa shortly as part of resource diplomacy. 
 
Ogata: I have raised JICA's aid to Africa to 22 PERCENT  of the 
whole since taking office as president of JICA four years ago, and 
we've now seen such results as the spread of new rice for Africa in 
the agricultural sector. Industry and resources development will be 
the next sectors to grow. JICA has long helped Asia. Asia is now 
growing. As a future project, we would like to help Africa in 
cooperation with Asian nations. I think it is possible to increase 
our aid to Africa. I'd like to nourish the emerging hope in Africa. 
And I've told my staff to come up with good proposals regarding aid 
to Africa. 
 
SCHIEFFER