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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 005258 
 
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: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 11/16/07 
 
 
Index: 
 
1) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Prime Minister Fukuda off to Washington: 
2) Prime Minister Fukuda leaves for US to meet with President Bush 
(Yomiuri) 
 
Japan in action: 
3) Prime Minister Fukuda eyes taking environmental initiative at 
East Asia summit (Nikkei) 
4) Abductees' kin in Washington asks US not to cross out North 
Korea's name on terror list (Sankei) 
5) Japan to send election observers to Pakistan (Yomiuri) 
6) Japan, South Africa agree to develop rare metal (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
7) Japan puts off inking economic partnership agreement (EPA) with 
ASEAN (Yomiuri) 
8) JP Bank (Yucho Ginko) stops remittances to Iran, with US bank 
halting transactions (Mainichi) 
 
Fallout from MOD scandals: 
9) Ex-MOD Vice Minister Moriya in Diet summons testifies former 
defense chiefs, Nukaga and Kyuma, wined and dined by defense 
contractor (Asahi) 
10) MSDF refueling bill up in the air (Nikkei) 
11) Ex-MOD Vice Minister Moriya to return retirement money (Yomiuri) 
 
 
Political topics: 
12) DPJ's Ozawa: "President Bush is not supported. What makes them 
feel hesitant?" (Asahi) 
13) Fukuda cabinet's support rate slips 2.8 points to 41.3 PERCENT 
in Jiji poll (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Defense and security issues: 
14) Hiroshima police drop gang rape case against US Marines (Asahi) 
 
15) USAF apologies to Japanese airline crew reps at US Embassy Tokyo 
for near-miss over Guam (Asahi) 
16) ASDF buys night vision goggles made in U.S.A., but all bogus, 
not genuine (Yomiuri) 
 
Articles: 
 
1)  Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, November 15 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Spent the morning at private residence in Nozawa. 
12:37 
Arrived at the official residence. 
 
13:40 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Futahashi at the Kantei. 
 
14:12 
Gave interview to four foreign news organizations, including Xinhua 
News Agency. Then videotaped a message for an event to be held 
 
TOKYO 00005258  002 OF 009 
 
 
before Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet's Japan visit. 
 
15:00 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Iwaki, Assistant Deputy 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Ando and Foreign Ministry Economic Affairs 
Bureau Director General Otabe. 
 
16:13 
Met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura. 
 
16:53 
Arrived at the official residence. 
 
18:22 
Left Haneda Airport by government plane to visit the US. 
 
Articles: 
 
2) Prime Minister Fukuda departs for US 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda left for the United States last night 
from Haneda Airport on a government plane. This US visit is his 
first official oversea trip as prime minister. He will meet with 
President George W. Bush on the morning of Nov. 16 (early on Nov. 
17, Japan time). He is expected to return home on the 17th. Prior to 
his departure, Fukuda told the press corps at the Prime Minister's 
Office: 
 
"I want to engage in frank exchanges of views with the president. It 
is important to make efforts to strengthen and deepen Japan-US 
relations. It is also necessary to promote wide-ranging exchanges." 
 
3) East Asia summit: Prime minister to announce outlay of 200 
billion yen as assistance for environmental policy, featuring 
measures to deal with pollution 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 7) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday decided to propose at the 
upcoming East Asia summit to be held in Bogor, Indonesia, a 
comprehensive set of measures aimed at dealing with environmental 
issues in Asia. According to the plan, Japan will disburse 
approximately 200 billion yen over five years to be used for 
measures to deal with pollution, including air pollution. Fukuda 
will also reveal humanitarian and intellectual assistance, including 
accepting trainees and inter-region cooperation among graduate 
schools. 
 
4) Abductees' families meet Assistant to the US President Jeffrey 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Excerpts) 
November 16, 2007 
 
A delegation to the United States of representatives of the 
Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and 
the Parliamentarians' League to Address North Korea's Abductions of 
Japanese Nationals met on Nov. 14 with Assistant to the President 
and Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey to ask the US 
 
TOKYO 00005258  003 OF 009 
 
 
government not to delist North Korea as state sponsor of terrorism. 
According to reporters, lawmaker Takeo Hiranuma, chairman of the 
parliamentarian's league, said after the meeting that (James 
Jeffrey) said, "President Bush also has been seriously considering 
the abduction issue. We will handle the matter carefully." 
 
Jeffrey also added: "Unless conditions are met, we will not delist 
North Korea. The abductions are also our matter, as well." He did 
not mention any specific conditions for the delisting of North 
Korea. 
 
5) Government to send election-monitoring team to Pakistan after 
state of emergency lifted 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The government launched yesterday coordination to send an 
election-monitoring team made of Foreign Ministry officials to 
Pakistan, which plans to hold parliamentary elections in early 
January. The aim is to support Pakistan's effort to promote 
democracy, as the country has played an important role in the war on 
terror. However, since Pakistan has imposed a state of emergency 
nationwide, the government intends to dispatch the 
election-monitoring team after the state of emergency is removed. A 
senior Foreign Ministry official said: "Under the present situation, 
it is difficult for the country to conduct free and fair 
elections." 
 
The monitoring team will likely be made up of a dozen or so Foreign 
Ministry officials and Japanese Embassy staff members in Pakistan. 
The team will engage in supervising those working on elections and 
monitoring polling stations. The government has provided Pakistan 
with about 400 million yen in emergency grant aid through the United 
Nations Development Program (UNDP). 
 
The government conveyed to Pakistan, which declared on Nov. 3 the 
state of emergency, its serious concern that the process of 
promoting democracy would backslide. It has called on the country to 
normalize the situation as early as possible. Foreign Minister 
Masahiko Koumura has announced that Japan will reconsider its 
decision to increase the amount of official development assistance 
(ODA) to Pakistan. 
 
6) Japan reaches agreement with South Africa on development of rare 
metals to pave way for stable procurement 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Japan and South Africa yesterday reached an agreement to pave the 
way for jointly developing rare metals used for autos and mobile 
phones and improving an investment environment in South Africa. 
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari and South 
African President Mbeki met in Cape Town and agreed to promote 
bilateral cooperation. Meeting the press after the talks, Amari 
stressed, "Japan's assistance to help South Africa become 
self-sufficient will lead to a mid- to long-term stable supply of 
resources." 
 
7) Signing EPA with ASEAN to be postponed to next year 
 
 
TOKYO 00005258  004 OF 009 
 
 
YOMIURI (Page 11) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The government announced yesterday that it would put off the signing 
of an economic partnership agreement (EPA), centering on a free 
trade agreement (FTA), with the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN), until 2008. The decision came due to a delay in 
coordinating views about the details of the accord. The government 
said that both sides expect to formally sign the agreement in 
February or March next year. 
 
7) Japan Post Bank to suspend remittances to Iran, following US 
bank's halt of dealings 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Japan Post Bank Co. announced yesterday that it will suspend 
remittances to Iran starting on Nov. 22. This decision is on the 
heels of the decision of the bank in the United States to which 
Japan Post Bank has entrusted account settlements to stop dealings 
with Iran in response to Washington's policy of strengthening its 
sanctions against that nation. Japan Post Bank deals with about 200 
cases of remittance to Iran annually and has so far sent 
approximately 50 million yen in total. The decision will hinder 
remittances to Japanese nationals living in Iran. 
 
8) Moriya testifies that Nukaga and Kyuma were present at wining and 
dining, but both say they do not have such a recollection 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpts) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Former Administrative Vice-Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, 63, 
testified before the House of Councillors Foreign Affairs and 
Defense Committee yesterday that Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga 
and former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma had been present when he was 
being wined and dined by Motonobu Miyazaki, a former managing 
director of defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp. who is 
under attest on suspicion of corporate embezzlement and other 
charges. Nukaga and Kyuma, both former defense chiefs, said after 
Moriya's testimony that they have no recollection of the matter. The 
major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) is 
demanding explanations at the Diet, seeking testimony by the two at 
the House of Representatives. With the DPJ looking to submit censure 
motions against Nukaga and Kyuma, the matter might escalate into a 
question of whether they should resign or not. It has now become 
difficult for a refueling assistance bill designed to resume the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling operation to clear the Diet 
in the current session that was extended to Dec. 15. 
 
According to Moriya's testimony, Nukaga was present at a meeting 
held at a Japanese restaurant in Tokyo's Kanda district probably in 
the year before last when US Defense Department Japan desk director 
James Auer was visiting Tokyo. Miyazaki was there when Moriya 
arrived and then Nukaga came and left first. Other lawmakers were 
also present, according to Moriya. 
 
Kyuma attended a party held two to three years ago at a Japanese 
restaurant in Tokyo's Roppongi district near the then Defense 
Agency. Moriya was invited by Naoki Akiyama, an executive of the 
Japan-US Center for Peace and Cultural Exchanges, which hosts a 
 
TOKYO 00005258  005 OF 009 
 
 
biannual symposium for national defense legislators of the two 
countries, saying, "I am going to drink with the minister. Why don't 
you come over?" Kyuma left the restaurant soon after Moriya arrived 
and he continued to drink with Akiyama and Miyazaki. Moriya said 
that he does not remember what they discussed. 
 
9) Deliberations on new refueling bill to start on Nov. 26 or later 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The future course of new legislation aimed at enabling the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force to resume refueling operations in the Indian 
Ocean, the major point at issue in the current Diet session, has 
become even more unclear in the wake of the summoning of Former 
Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya to the Upper 
House yesterday. The government and the ruling camp are seeking to 
discuss scandals involving the Defense Ministry and the new 
legislation separately. However, with the opposition camp getting a 
boost from the testimony given by Moriya, deliberations on the new 
bill will unlikely start before Nov. 26. 
 
Commenting on the emergence of the names of Kyuma and Nukaga in 
connection with dinner parties hosted by a former executive director 
of a trading house specializing in military procurement, Defense 
Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday said, "It cannot be definitely 
concluded that politicians' attendance at such dinner parties can be 
immediately linked to the existence of a criminal nature." He then 
stressed that deliberations on the new legislation should be 
considered in a separate framework. 
 
Talks between the ruling and opposition camps over a deliberation 
schedule to handle the new refueling bill have made little progress. 
Seiji Suzuki, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Upper 
House Diet Affairs Committee, and Susumu Yanase, chair of the 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) Upper House Diet Affairs 
Committee discussed the deliberation schedule yesterday as well. 
However, a gap remains between the LDP, which is calling for an 
early start of deliberations, and the DPJ, which is giving priority 
to shedding light on the scandals. 
 
With Yanase indicating his perception that it would be difficult to 
enter into deliberations in the Upper House plenary session on Nov. 
19, as sought by the ruling party, the likelihood is that 
deliberations will not take place before Nov. 26. If that is the 
case, it would be more difficult for the new bill to secure Diet 
approval during the current session, which is to last until December 
¶15. Chances are that the government and the ruling parties might be 
urged to discuss the propriety of extending the session. 
 
DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chair Kenji Yamaoka noted, "A step for 
deliberations on the new legislation must come after scandals 
involving the Defense Ministry are unraveled." He has repeatedly 
stressed the DPJ's policy of giving priority to the Iraq 
Reconstruction Assistance Special Measures Law scrapping bill in 
Upper House deliberations. 
 
The DPJ at a meeting of the directors of the Upper House Diplomatic 
and Defense Affairs Committee on the 15th proposed starting 
deliberations on its own bill. It is expected to offer an 
explanation of the bill as early as the 20th. 
 
 
TOKYO 00005258  006 OF 009 
 
 
10) Former Vice Defense Minister Moriya to return entire retirement 
allowance to state coffers 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, 
testifying yesterday under oath to the House of Councillors 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, said that he would return 
his retirement allowance to the state coffers to take responsibility 
for having been excessively wined and dined (by the arrested former 
defense trading house executive) and other reasons. 
 
Moriya stated: 
 
"I am sorry that (Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces) 
personnel have lost the public trust because of what I did. A person 
like me is not qualified to receive a retirement allowance. 
Therefore, I will return it." 
 
According to the Defense Ministry, Moriya, who retired from the 
ministry in late August, received approximately 75 million yen as a 
retirement allowance in September. 
 
In the ministry, there is a view that he took responsibility in his 
own way. 
 
However, the law on retirement allowances for national public 
servants stipulates that if government officials are charged with a 
case for what they did during their tenure and they are sentenced to 
a jail term, they must return their retirement allowance to the 
state coffers. Since the special investigation squad of the Tokyo 
District Public Prosecutors Office has decided to build a bribery 
case against Moriya, there is also a view in the ministry that there 
is little meaning in what he said, because if he is charged with 
bribery, he will have to return his retirement allowance anyway. 
 
11) Interview with DPJ President Ozawa: "Americans do not support 
President Bush. Why do we have to care (about his reaction)?" 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
-- You have put forward the view that it should be possible for 
Japan to take part in the International Security Assistance Force 
(ISAF). Your party members now fully understand this idea? 
 
I have not suggested that Japan should join any operations. The 
government of the day should determine in which area and to what 
extent Japan should participate after thorough thought. Our party 
promised in its manifestos Japan's participation in United Nations 
operations, so this is not a matter that will be discussed from 
scratch. I wonder why such a simple matter is not understood. 
 
-- The Social Democratic Party (SDP) is against the idea. Will such 
a stance affect electoral cooperation between the two parties? 
 
I don't care whether the SDP is opposed to it. But if the party is 
eager to topple the government led by the Liberal Democratic Party, 
that will do. Japanese are not good at taking a realistic attitude. 
Even in the case of the coalition government of Germany, the parties 
do not necessarily share the same views. Even if there are minor 
 
TOKYO 00005258  007 OF 009 
 
 
differences in our policies, it should be possible for the two 
parties to cooperate with each other. Although it is a different 
matter whether the two parties will form a coalition when (our 
party) wins power, there will be no problem with electoral 
cooperation. With the Japanese Communist Party, cooperation will 
also go smoothly. Nonetheless, when it comes to the question of 
whether our party will form a coalition with it, that is a different 
matter. 
 
-- Some voice concern about the future of Japan-US relations. 
 
There is no need to worry. President Bush has not been supported by 
the American people, so why do we have to care (about his 
reactions)? President Bush's policy has come under heavy fire in the 
US. 
 
-- Did you and Prime Minister Fukuda agree to establish a permanent 
law in your earlier meeting? 
 
No, we didn't. Since principles have not been made clear, it is 
impossible to establish a law. I said: "As long as the 
interpretation of the Constitution remains unclear regarding the 
Self-Defense Forces' overseas missions and security, I won't talk 
about a coalition. I do not accept your proposal for holding talks 
on the government's new antiterrorism bill. It will be impossible 
even if you ask me, kneeling on the ground." (In the second 
meeting,) I said: "The dispatch of SDF troops with no principle is 
unacceptable." The prime minister replied: "I agree. I cannot make a 
decision by myself." In response to my reply: "It is meaningless to 
make questions for the Cabinet Legislation Bureau," the prime 
minister told me: "It was not the Cabinet Legislation Bureau." Since 
its basic principles have been left ambiguous, it will be impossible 
to lay out a basic law. 
 
-- How about the possibility that the DPJ will hold policy talks 
with the LDP on establishing a permanent law prior to the next 
general election? 
 
There is no possibility at all. 
 
-- Once your party assumes political power, will you consider 
establishing a law? 
 
It is necessary to prepare a basic law to complement the 
Constitution by stipulating proper principles on the dispatch of the 
SDF. Unless such a basic law is established, the current 
constitutional problems will persist until the Constitution is 
revised. If our party wins a majority in the next election, we will 
have to start the process of drawing up a basic law. 
 
12) Poll: Cabinet support down 2.8 points to 41.3 PERCENT , 
nonsupport up 7 points 
 
TOKYO (Page 2) (Abridged) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The approval rating for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his cabinet 
was 41.3 PERCENT , according to a public opinion survey conducted 
for the month by Jiji Press on Nov. 8-11. The Fukuda cabinet's 
support rate dropped 2.8 percentage points from its inaugural rating 
for last month. The disapproval rating was 31.3 PERCENT , up 7.0 
points from last month. The results can be taken as reflecting a 
 
TOKYO 00005258  008 OF 009 
 
 
recent sequence of scandals, such as former Administrative Vice 
Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya's inappropriate ties with a defense 
contractor, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's coverup of the amount 
of fuel supplied to a US warship, and the Health, Labor and Welfare 
Ministry's failure to inform hepatitis C virus carriers of their 
infection. 
 
In the breakdown of public support for political parties, the ruling 
Liberal Democratic Party stood at 23.4 PERCENT , the same as last 
month. The leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) 
was at 16.3 PERCENT , up 0.1 point from last month. The proportion 
of those with no particular party affiliation was 52.2 PERCENT , up 
0.8 point. 
 
The survey was conducted across the nation with a total of 2,000 
persons chosen from among men and women aged 20 and over. The 
retrieval rate was 65.7 PERCENT . 
 
13) Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office drops gang-rape 
case against US Marines 
 
ASAHI (Page 36) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office yesterday dropped 
its case against four US Marines (aged 19, 24, 34, and 38) stationed 
at US Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Station who had been suspected of 
gang-raping a 19-year-old woman. Prosecutors decided that there was 
insufficient evidence to indict the four because the women's 
statements were indefinite and her memories were partially 
ambiguous. 
 
The Hiroshima Prefectural Police started investigations based on the 
women's complaint. Police sent papers on the case to prosecutors on 
Nov. 6 saying that the four gang-raped in a car before dawn on Oct. 
14 a woman they became acquainted in the city of Hiroshima. 
Following this, the US side will consider whether it is possible to 
file charges against the four in a court-martial under US law. 
 
14) US Air Force apologizes for near-miss over Guam 
 
ASAHI (Page 37) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
A US military aircraft in training came close in August to a JALWAYS 
Sydney-Narita passenger jet (carrying 414 passengers and 
crewmembers) -- flight number 772 -- in the skies over Guam 
(altitude of about 11,500 meters). In this connection, US 5th Air 
Force headquarters aircraft director Michael Bishop and others met 
representatives of the Air Line Pilots' Association of Japan (ALPA) 
at the US Embassy in Tokyo yesterday and offered an apology. They 
also produced a written statement vowing to make efforts to prevent 
a recurrence. It is unusual for the US side to admit fault in a 
near-miss between a US military aircraft and a commercial airplane. 
 
According to ALPA, the US side admitted that the US military 
aircraft had identified the JALWAY jetliner as an unidentified plane 
due to insufficient communication with air traffic control and 
approached it to about 600 meters from behind to correctly identify 
it and that the military aircraft did not follow a set of procedures 
for approaching a plane stipulated by international treaty. 
 
 
TOKYO 00005258  009 OF 009 
 
 
15) ASDF purchased 136 sets of counterfeit night-vision goggles 
 
YOMIURI (Page 38) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The Defense Ministry announced yesterday that the 136 sets of 
US-made night-vision goggles the ministry purchased for security at 
Air Self-Defense Force bases were counterfeit. There is a strong 
possibility that they were products widely available to hobbyists in 
the United States. The ministry will return the products to the 
trading house in Tokyo that had delivered them and seek repayment. 
 
According to MOD, the ministry concluded a contract in March 2006 
with the trading firm to purchase 136 sets of night-vision goggles 
produced by Northrop Grumman at 300,000 yen apiece, for a total of 
41 million yen. The products were delivered in February 2007. An 
outside source this summer reportedly told the ministry that the 
goggles might be fakes. MOD in turn made an inquiry with Northrop 
Grumman and sent photos of the goggles. Northrop Grumman responded 
that the goggles were not produced by the company. 
 
MOD intends to cancel the contract with the trading house and is 
investigating whether the firm delivered the products in the 
knowledge that they were fake. 
 
DONOVAN