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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 18 TOKYO 005290 
 
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 11/19/07 
 
Index: 
 
AMERICAN EMBASSY, TOKYO 
PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION 
OFFICE OF TRANSLATION AND MEDIA ANALYSIS 
INQUIRIES:  03-3224-5360 
INTERNET E-MAIL ADDRESS: otmatokyo@state.gov 
DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 
November 19, 2007 
 
INDEX: 
(1) Editorial: Avoidance of joint press conference a sign of the 
autumn of Japan-US relations (Nikkei) 
 
(2) Fukuda tells President Bush: "The government will make utmost 
efforts for swift passage of new antiterrorism bill (Asahi) 
 
(3) New antiterror bill: Question mark put to DPJ's counterproposal 
(Sankei) 
 
(4) Assistant Secretary of State Hill positive toward taking North 
Korea off US list of state sponsors of terrorism; Abductees' 
families ask US not to delist (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(5) Questions voiced about effectiveness of new system for 
immigration checks, including fingerprints, photos (Asahi) 
 
(6) Asia and Japan-US alliance (Part 3): Fukuda diplomacy gets 
underway; synergy policy to be sent out; Koizumi-Abe policy to be 
repaired (Mainichi) 
 
(7) Nuclear threat: Will nuclear proliferation be prevented? What 
would happen if US launches preemptive attack against North Korea 
(Yomiuri) 
 
(8) DPJ rejects LDP-planned schedule for Upper House deliberations 
on bills (Yomiuri) 
 
(9) "Suspicious party" directly hits the administration; Senior 
government official says, "Why real names now?" (Asahi) 
 
(10) Defense Ministry goofs again, panicked with misinfo: "Missile 
fired at Japan" (Sankei) 
 
(11) Is N-flattop really safe? (Asahi) 
 
(12) Gas fields in East China Sea: Government sounds out China over 
development on Japanese side of median line as well: "If Japan 
test-drills, China will dispatch warships," says Chinese side 
(Sankei) 
 
(13) TOP HEADLINES 
 
(14) EDITORIALS 16 
 
 ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Editorial: Avoidance of joint press conference a sign of the 
autumn of Japan-US relations 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 18, 2007 
 
TOKYO 00005290  002 OF 018 
 
 
 
The first summit meeting between Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and US 
President George W. Bush seems to have been held to prevent winter 
from falling on the Japan-US relationship. The Fukuda-Bush summit 
made us think that the summer that was the Koizumi-Bush era has 
passed, making way for bilateral relations to enter an autumn 
period. 
 
It was symbolic that the two leaders did not hold a joint press 
conference, although they showed up before the TV cameras. 
 
It is normal for pending issues to exist not just in Japan-US 
relations but in all international relations. Some issues are big; 
others, small. After checking into those issues, Foreign Ministry 
officials preparing for the summit decided to play up those areas on 
which the two countries have reached agreement. 
 
The two top leaders or Foreign Ministry officials seem to have 
wanted to avoid minor differences coming up in a press conference 
because the two countries had areas where substantial agreement 
exist. They might have been concerned that if Fukuda and Bush 
answered questions at a press conference, gaps would emerge. 
 
That indicates to us that there are serious issues in security 
relations, which are regarded as foundation of bilateral ties and 
always viewed as being good. Prime Minister Fukuda could not clearly 
spell out the prospect of refueling operations being resumed in the 
Indian Ocean. President Bush could not clearly state that the US 
would not de-list North Korea as a state sponsoring terrorism. 
 
It is common for the US president, along with the top leader of 
another country, to answer questions at a joint press conference. It 
was quite unusual for the leaders of Japan and the US not to hold 
such a press conference. It has been the practice for the US 
president to hold a joint press conference with the Japanese prime 
minister since the first one took place in July 1991 in 
Kennebunkport between Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu and President 
George H. Bush. 
 
In the summit in March 1990 in Palm Springs, Bush and Kaifu held no 
a joint press conference. The reason reportedly was Kaifu had only 
25 hours to spend in the US. However the two were criticized for not 
having a press conference, because Kaifu swam in the pool after the 
summit, and differences in the respective briefings by US and 
Japanese officials emerged. 
 
Early in the 1990s, the US administration was unhappy with Japan's 
contribution to the Gulf war. There was also friction over the 
Structural Impediments Initiative. Friction has remained endemic to 
the bilateral relationship. 
 
Fukuda spent only 26 hours in Washington. He made the right decision 
to meet President Bush prior to his attendance at the East Asia 
summit. The fact that Bush and Fukuda did not hold a press 
conference means the relationship has returned to the state it was 
17 years ago. 
 
The prime minister and the president probably wanted to conceal the 
existence of differences in stances. When the US held summit 
meetings with France and Germany, the leaders revealed in their 
joint press conferences their affirmation to repair relations 
strained by the Iraq war. Is the US now downgrading its relations 
 
TOKYO 00005290  003 OF 018 
 
 
with Japan? 
 
(2) Fukuda tells President Bush: "The government will make utmost 
efforts for swift passage of new antiterrorism bill 
 
ASAHI (Top Play (Excerpts) 
Evening, November 17, 2007 
 
Shinji Inada, Washington 
 
In their first meeting at the White House on the morning of Nov. 16, 
local time, Prime Minister Fukuda and United States President Bush 
confirmed the need for strengthening the Japan-US alliance. The 
prime minister promised to Bush that his government would make 
utmost efforts to pass the new antiterrorism bill designed to resume 
at an early date the Maritime Self-Defense's (MSDF) refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean. The president expressed his 
expectations for the swift resumption of the MSDF operation. On 
issues with North Korea, the prime minister said: "It is important 
for Japan and the US to take joint steps in dealing with the North, 
including the issue of delisting North Korea as a state sponsor of 
terrorism." The president said in reference to the issue of North 
Korea's past abductions of Japanese: "We will never let the issue be 
forgotten." 
 
The Japan-US summit lasted for about one hour, with Secretary of 
State Rice and other government officials present. According to US 
government sources, Fukuda and Bush held a brief tete-a-tete meeting 
after the summit. Later, they held a joint press conference and then 
attended a luncheon, also joined by Defense Secretary Gates. 
 
On the MSDF's refueling mission, Fukuda stressed great zeal to 
resume the operation, using this expression: "Early enactment of the 
bill." The fact remains, however, that it will be difficult to enact 
the bill unless the current Diet session, due to end on Dec. 15, is 
extended. In the House of Councillors, of which the opposition camp 
has control, discussion has yet to be started, though the bill 
cleared the House of Representatives. Bush in the press conference 
hailed the operations Japan has so far carried out as "very 
important contributions." 
 
Fukuda and Bush also agreed on the need for close cooperation 
between the two countries to urge the North to scrap all its nuclear 
weapons and facilities. Regarding North Korea's status as a 
terrorism-sponsoring country, the Japanese government stopped short 
of disclosing what the two leaders discussed, "based on an agreement 
with the US," as said by a government source. 
 
According to US government sources, however, Bush listed as 
conditions for his judgment on the delisting issue: (1) North 
Korea's disabling of its nuclear facilities; (2) the North's 
declaration of its nuclear development plans; and (3) the abduction 
issue. This indicates that although the president is giving 
consideration to the abduction issue, he does not regard a 
settlement of the issue as a condition for taking North Korea off 
the US blacklist. There reportedly was no request from the prime 
minister in a direct way for the US to refrain from delisting the 
North before the abduction issue is resolved. 
 
Bush told Fukuda: "I am aware that there is concern in Japan that 
the US might reach an agreement with North Korea, leaving the 
abduction issue behind." In the press conference, the president also 
 
TOKYO 00005290  004 OF 018 
 
 
remarked: "We will never forget the abduction victims and their 
families." In this respect, the US government sources explained that 
there is no change in the government's policy regarding the 
delisting issue and that the president's remark indicates an 
intention to continue to urge Pyongyang to settle the abduction 
issue. 
 
On Japan's host-nation budget (the so-called sympathy budget), which 
the Japanese government is considering cutting despite the US' 
opposition to it, Defense Secretary Gates emphasized: "It (host 
nation support for the US Forces, Japan) is the most important 
policy item in Japan-US relations. The issue must be settled without 
fail." Fukuda replied: "I hope the issue will be resolved at an 
early date through thorough talks between the cabinet ministers 
concerned of the two countries." With respect to the issue of US 
force realignment, including the transfer of the US Marine Corps' 
Futenma Air Station, they confirmed that the two countries will 
steadily push ahead with the plan in accordance with the agreed 
roadmap. 
 
(3) New antiterror bill: Question mark put to DPJ's counterproposal 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Abridged) 
November 17, 2007 
 
The government has introduced a new antiterror bill to the Diet in 
order for Japan to resume its refueling activities in the Indian 
Ocean. Meanwhile, the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan 
(Minshuto) is working out a counterproposal bill to prevent and root 
out international terrorism and assist with Afghanistan's 
reconstruction. In its outline, the DPJ's counterproposal expressly 
stipulates that Japan will send the Self-Defense Forces to 
Afghanistan. The DPJ also touches on the pending issue of what to do 
about the government-set standards for SDF personnel's use of 
weapons overseas. In this regard, the DPJ's bill contains something 
that can be seen as a step forward from the government's restrictive 
weapons use standards. However, the DPJ sets difficult preconditions 
for Japan to dispatch SDF troops. One defense source therefore 
wonders if the DPJ is really thinking of sending SDF members. The 
DPJ remains cautious about presenting its bill to the Diet because 
of its parliamentary strategy, or for some other reason. The party 
does not seem willing to challenge the government and ruling parties 
to debate with its own bill. 
 
"Not on the sea but on the land" and "civilian assistance" are the 
catchphrases that adorn the DPJ's counterproposal. The government's 
new antiterror bill is aimed at resuming the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean at an early date. 
However, the DPJ emphasizes civilian assistance in Afghanistan. The 
DPJ-proposed measures include conducting humanitarian and 
reconstruction assistance, as well as sending the Ground 
Self-Defense Force for infrastructure construction. 
 
The DPJ proposes improving Japan's weapons use standards, or the 
rules of engagement (ROE). The current standards, which were applied 
to GSDF troops sent to Iraq, restrict SDF personnel's use of weapons 
to their self-defense or their defense of those under their 
control. 
 
The DPJ, in its counterproposal, allows SDF personnel to use weapons 
"if and when they unavoidably have to do so in order to deter 
resistance to Afghan reconstruction and assistance." This is 
 
TOKYO 00005290  005 OF 018 
 
 
believed to be in line with the United Nations' weapons use 
standards that allow UN forces to use weapons in order for them to 
eliminate those standing in their way when they are on duty. 
 
Meanwhile, one of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's 
defense-related lawmakers has a question about the DPJ-set 
preconditions for sending SDF troops. This lawmaker said, "Their 
bill might actually contain something against sending the SDF." 
 
The DPJ's counterproposal says Japan may conduct its activities in 
1) an area that has reached a ceasefire agreement and 2) an area 
where Afghan civilians will not be affected. The second point can be 
taken as denoting a 'safe area.' However, one defense-related LDP 
lawmaker raised a question: "Its definition is vague. If we 
interpret it in a broad sense, we can't send the SDF. If it's 
something like what the government calls a noncombat area in Iraq, 
that's contradictory to the DPJ's criticism of the government." 
 
Furthermore, an executive member of the DPJ's foreign and defense 
policy committee explained that the SDF's dispatch is premised on a 
ceasefire accord. "I don't know if our party wants to send the SDF 
or if our party does not want to do so," said one of the DPJ's 
middle-ranking lawmakers. 
 
Another feature of the DPJ's counterproposal is that the DPJ has 
shelved Japan's participation in the International Security 
Assistance Force (ISAF) and in logistical activities for ISAF. In 
October, DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa wrote an article for a monthly 
magazine. In his article, Ozawa clarified his view suggesting the 
need for Japan to participate in ISAF after the DPJ takes office. 
However, there were objections from within his party. 
 
Also, even after improving the weapons-use standards, the DPJ's 
counterproposal does not allow the SDF to engage in the security of 
civilians working in Afghanistan. Accordingly, Japan will need to 
ask a foreign private-sector security company or a foreign country's 
armed forces to guard civilians. 
 
Furthermore, the DPJ is not even expected to translate its 
counterproposal into a bill and present it to the Diet. 
 
Main points from DPJ counterproposal 
 
? Japan will restrict its activities to civilian activities 
including its participation in a provincial reconstruction team 
(PRT). 
? Japan will send SDF personnel and civilians, including doctors and 
police officers, for agricultural and medical support, disarmament, 
and reforms in the area of public security. 
? Japan will not send SDF combat troops and will limit its 
assistance activities to humanitarian and reconstruction activities 
or infrastructure construction. 
? Japan will not participate in ISAF's antiterror mop-up operations 
and its logistical support. 
? Japan will restrict its activities to an area where a ceasefire 
agreement has been reached or otherwise to an area where Afghan 
civilians will not be affected (safe area). 
? SDF personnel will be allowed to use weapons if and when they 
unavoidably have to do so in order to deter resistance to their 
activities. 
? Japan will establish a basic principle (basic law or permanent 
law) in order to send SDF troops overseas in conformity with UN 
 
TOKYO 00005290  006 OF 018 
 
 
resolutions. 
? If there is a UN resolution, Japan will then consider 
participating in maritime interdiction operations, including 
refueling activities in the Indian Ocean. 
? The legislation is to be enacted into a special measures law valid 
for a period of one year. 
 
(4) Assistant Secretary of State Hill positive toward taking North 
Korea off US list of state sponsors of terrorism; Abductees' 
families ask US not to delist 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
Evening, November 19, 2007 
 
Assistant Secretary of State Hill, the US top envoy to the six-part 
talks to discuss North Korea's nuclear issue, on Nov. 15 met with 
Chairman Takeo Hiranuma of the parliamentary group on the abduction 
issue, Deputy Chairman Shigeo Iizuka of the Association of the 
Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and several others. 
According to Hiranuma, Hill indicated a positive stance toward 
removing North Korea from the US list of state sponsors of 
terrorism, noting, "It is one means of eliciting concessions from 
that nation." 
 
Holding a press conference after the meeting with Hill, Hiranuma 
said that Japanese participants during the meeting said, "North 
Korea is still continuing an act of terrorism, namely the 
abductions. The allegation of nuclear cooperation between Syria and 
North Korea has yet to be cleared up." They strongly asked Hill not 
to delist North Korea, noting, "If North Korea is delisted, it would 
be a major setback for the Japan-US alliance." 
 
In response, Hill reportedly said, "I am not in a position of making 
the decision. President Bush has the authority to decide." Acting 
executive director of the parliamentary group on the abduction issue 
Hitoshi Matsubara indignantly said, "Mr. Hill avoided discussions on 
the issue, by stopping short of directly making a comment. It is 
very lamentable and regrettable." 
 
Iizuka expressed his sense of alarm about a possible response to the 
issue by the US, noting, "We left Japan, saying that we would 
prevent the US from delisting North Korea, but our concern is still 
continuing."  He pinned hopes on Prime Minister Fukuda directly 
calling on President Bush not to take North Korea off the US 
blacklist. 
 
(5) Questions voiced about effectiveness of new system for 
immigration checks, including fingerprints, photos 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Full) 
November 19, 2007 
 
A new system to require foreign visitors to be fingerprinted and 
photographed when they enter the country will be introduced at 27 
airports and 126 ports across the nation starting tomorrow. Japan 
will be the second nation, following the United States, to 
fingerprint foreign visitors. The US introduced the requirement of 
fingerprinting, following the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001. 
But some question the effectiveness of the system, harboring the 
concern that human rights might be abused under it. The visit-USA 
program is said to be a model for Japan's new system, but defects in 
it have been pointed out. 
 
TOKYO 00005290  007 OF 018 
 
 
 
A senior Justice Ministry official said: "I think that if the 
terrorist attacks in the US had not occurred, this kind of law 
should not have been approved." 
 
The government included the idea of establishing the new system in 
the action program it worked out to prevent terrorism following the 
9/11 attacks. The revised Immigration Control and Refugee 
Recognition Law, which was submitted to the regular Diet session in 
2006, was enacted, backed by such views as then Senior Vice Justice 
Minister Taro Kono's that "it's no time to be talking in such a 
leisurely fashion now that al-Qaeda reportedly is targeting Japan." 
 
The Justice Ministry has developed an electronic scanning device 
that cost 3.6 billion yen. About 540 units will be installed at 
immigration facilities across the nation. 
 
Previously, only those who had been taken into custody regularly in 
criminal cases were subject to the requirement of fingerprinting. It 
is estimated that about 8 million foreigners visit Japan annually. 
Of them, about 7 million visitors will likely be subject to the new 
immigration examinations. The scanned fingerprint data will be 
cross-checked against a blacklist on a database. The blacklist 
includes people who have been deported from Japan (about 800,000 
cases) and suspected criminals on the police's wanted list (about 
14,000 cases). 
 
In the past, a senior al-Qaeda member had passed through Japan's 
immigration six times with a different person's passport over the 
four years until he was arrested in Germany in 2003. 
 
 A National Police Agency officer said: "If the system had been 
introduced, it would have been possible to block his reentries." 
 
But Yoichiro Mizukami, a former head of the Tokyo Immigration 
Bureau, raises questions about the effectiveness of the new system, 
saying: "There little information in Japan about terrorists' 
fingerprints. I wonder how the scanned fingerprint data will be 
cross-checked. Japan should first establish a system to collect 
information on its own." 
 
In actuality, the Justice Ministry itself seems to have hopes that 
the system will work effectively to reduce the number of illegal 
immigrants, rather than working as an antiterrorism measure. Those 
who had been once expelled from Japan but reentered the nation with 
a different person's passport totaled about 7,000 in 2006, 
accounting for about 13 PERCENT  of all the deportees. It will 
become possible to prevent such persons from entering the nation due 
to the requirement of fingerprinting. 
 
But Masashi Ichikawa, who has tackled this problem as a lawyer at 
the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, criticized the new system, 
remarking: "Is it significant to invest huge money in arresting 
overstaying foreigners? It would be impermissible to introduce any 
measures without proving their necessity, on the pretext of an 
antiterrorism measure." 
 
(6) Asia and Japan-US alliance (Part 3): Fukuda diplomacy gets 
underway; synergy policy to be sent out; Koizumi-Abe policy to be 
repaired 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
 
TOKYO 00005290  008 OF 018 
 
 
November 16, 2007 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday left for the US. Asked about 
the meaning of his first visit to the US as prime minister, he 
stressed, "I will strengthen and deepen Japan-US relations, which 
are important for the smooth promotion of our Asian diplomacy." 
 
As soon as he returns home from the US on Nov. 19, he will leave for 
Singapore to attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) plus Three (Japan, China and South Korea) and the 
East Asia Summit and meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South 
Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. It means that he arranged his US 
visit before the already fixed Asia diplomacy schedule. 
 
The past two administrations took pains to strengthen Japan-US 
relations, but their diplomacy toward Asia was strained because of 
Japan's view of wartime history, set off by former Prime Minister 
Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine and further worsened 
by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's statement on the wartime 
comfort-women issue. Fukuda is aiming at rebuilding Japan's Asia 
diplomacy, based on the self-confidence way he has steadily made 
efforts to repair relations with Asian countries when he was chief 
cabinet secretary and a rank-and-file lawmaker. 
 
When the national referendum law stipulating procedures for 
constitutional revisions was enacted, Fukuda along with former 
Foreign Minister Taro Nakayama visited various embassies in Tokyo, 
including the Chinese embassy, and explained, "There will basically 
no change in Japan's peace policy." 
 
Even after resigning as chief cabinet secretary, he frequently 
attended various events and meetings in Asia. He established 
friendly ties with most Asian ambassadors to Japan, as one of his 
aides pointed out. Heightened expectations of Fukuda among Asian 
countries during the Koizumi and Abe administrations served as a 
factor to land him the premiership. 
 
Defense Academy President Makoto Iokibe highly evaluated Fukuda's 
choice of the US as the destination for his first foreign trip, 
noting, "Since he is viewed as being strong in Asia diplomacy, he 
would have given the impression that he is an Asian expert, if he 
had chosen Asia." 
 
Prime Minister Fukuda in his policy speech given in October 
advocated synergy (kyomei) of strengthening the Japan-US alliance 
and promoting Asia diplomacy. This is the phrase he himself created 
without advice from the bureaucrats. 
 
In discussions with the Foreign Ministry, it was decided to use the 
word "synergy" instead of "resonance" as the interpretation for the 
word "kyomei", because synergy means interaction. One senior Foreign 
Ministry official explained, "If Japan and the US relations enjoy 
amicable relations and Japan and Asia also enjoy amicable relations, 
they would produce amplified results." 
 
However, a blue print for how precisely synergy can be brought about 
has not yet come into sight. 
 
Hilary Clinton, a promising Democrat candidate for the US 
presidential election, mentioned in an article on her foreign policy 
that China would become the most important bilateral relation for 
the US this century. There is the possibility that Japan's Asia 
 
TOKYO 00005290  009 OF 018 
 
 
diplomacy, which is supposed to resonate in harmony with the 
Japan-US alliance, could drift if the alliance ceases to be the axis 
of American foreign policy. 
 
(7) Nuclear threat: Will nuclear proliferation be prevented? What 
would happen if US launches preemptive attack against North Korea 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Slightly abridged) 
November 16, 2007 
 
(The following is a simulation.) 
 
"We confirmed that North Koreans responsible for developing nuclear 
weapons have contacted an Islamic-rooted terrorist group. There is 
the possibility that the North Koreans may sell nuclear weapons to 
the terror group." 
 
Washington conveys the above top-secret information obtained by the 
United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to the Prime 
Minister's Official Residence. The prime minister calls an emergency 
meeting of the Security Council and tells the participants: "If the 
North is found to have sold nuclear weapons to terrorists, the US 
will undoubtedly launch a preemptive strike." The prime minister 
also indicates that in such a case, Japan would become the target of 
North Korea's nuclear missile. 
 
Following North Korea's nuclear testing in October 2006, the five 
other members of the six-party talks succeeded in persuading the 
North to agree to disable some of its nuclear facilities, including 
the nuclear complex in Yongbyon. Since the US began to take a policy 
of dialogue, however, Pyongyang has kept silent about its enriched 
uranium development program and existing nuclear weapons, the number 
of which reportedly is about 10. 
 
Five days after the CIA intelligence is relayed to Japan, Japan and 
the US hold a meeting on joint operations at the Defense Ministry. 
 
"On the day of the start of the war, the US military would fire 
guided missiles, such as a bunker buster, to strike underground 
missile launching sites, like Musudan-ri. The number of missiles to 
be fired in a day would total 4,000." a US military officer says in 
the meeting. 
 
Irritated at this explanation, a senior Self-Defense Force officer 
interrupts the US officer, arguing: "Is it possible to prevent a 
missile launch with that number of guided missiles, five times more 
than the 800 used in the Iraq war?" North Korea has yet to complete 
a missile capable of reaching the US. The Rodong (with the range 
estimated at about 1,300 kilometers), which targets Japan, was a 
mobile liquid propellant ballistic missile, but liquid propellant 
was replaced with solid propellant. In the case of solid fuel, it is 
difficult to detect a missile firing beforehand. 
 
Seven days after the delivery of the information, the US Department 
of Defense spokesman, while showing photos taken by the spy 
satellite KH-11 of several Rodong missiles loaded on trailers, 
demands of the North: "Immediately abandon all nuclear weapons." In 
response, North Korea issues a statement of its Foreign Ministry 
reading: "We will send a crash of thunder against our arrogant 
enemy, who infringes on the autonomy of a nuclear power," indicating 
that the North would use nuclear weapons. The prime minister orders 
the Self-Defense Force to be ready to be mobilized to protect the 
 
TOKYO 00005290  010 OF 018 
 
 
nation. 
 
The Aegis cruiser Kongou dispatched to the Sea of Japan with US 
aircraft carriers is carrying out intercept training. Although the 
intercept missile SM-3 system is highly credible, one vessel is 
capable of loading only eight missiles. All Rodongs are not nuclear 
missiles, but the Maritime Self-Defense Force has only 32 SM3 
missiles, and there is no guarantee that they are capable of 
shooting down all incoming missiles. In preparation for a failure in 
intercepting incoming missiles, the surface-to-air PAC3 missile 
system is installed at Camp Ichigaya in Tokyo to defend the capital, 
with the target set at the western sky. 
 
Ten days after the information was transmitted, the Arab TV station 
Al Jazeera airs an announcement that it claimed had been made 
several days before by the leader of an international terrorist 
group, reading: "We inform the US government that we have obtained 
nuclear weapons." 
 
Of course, the above scenario is a fiction. But once North Korea 
passes its nuclear weapons into terrorists' hands, the US will 
undoubtedly launch a preemptive attack on the North. This is the 
worst-case scenario for Japan. On the assumption of (1) the death of 
leader Kim Jong Il and collapse of his regime, (2) completion of a 
ballistic missile capable of reaching the US, and other imminent 
steps toward a nuclear crisis, the Defense Ministry has been 
discussing the details of an action plan for the Self-Defense Force 
since North Korea conducted a nuclear test in October last year. 
 
It is essential to have North Korea abandon its nuclear facilities 
and weapons by such diplomatic means as the six-party talks and the 
Japan-US alliance. But North Korea seems to be aiming at achieving 
the status of becoming a nuclear power like India and Pakistan. 
 
US Secretary of Defense Gates has said: "Northeast Asia is one of 
the last regions where a nuclear-weapons clash could take place." 
Japan also has to deal with nuclear threats from China and Russia. 
The nuclear threat facing Japan has expanded far larger than we 
think. 
 
(8) DPJ rejects LDP-planned schedule for Upper House deliberations 
on bills 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
November 16, 2007 
 
Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya's testimony yesterday 
under oath to the Diet named Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and 
former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma (as politicians who were wined 
and dined by a former executive of the defense equipment trading 
house Yamada Corp). The revelation will adversely affect the 
government and ruling parties ability to manage Diet affairs. The 
main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ and Minshuto) will 
ask the ruling coalition to shed light on allegations against Nukaga 
and Kyuma, as a condition to start deliberations on the new 
antiterrorism special measures bill and other bills, aiming at 
gaining the intitiative in the House of Councillors. 
 
The ruling camp intends to enact the new antiterrorism legislation 
by Dec. 15, when the extended Diet session ends. The Upper House 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense will be meeting on Tuesday 
and Thursday. The ruling coalition planned to hold deliberations on 
 
TOKYO 00005290  011 OF 018 
 
 
the legislation on Nov. 19 in an Upper House plenary session and 
start interpellations in the committee on Nov. 22. 
 
The DPJ has taken a hard-line stance toward the ruling bloc's plan, 
in part because of the outcome of Moriya's testimony to the 
committee. 
 
In a meeting today of the directors of the Upper House Steering 
Committee, the largest opposition party determined it would reject 
the ruling coalition's proposal of launching deliberations on the 
19th and would not approve it until a debate on a bill to abolish 
the Iraq Reconstruction Support Special Measures Law is over. 
 
Negotiations between the ruling and opposition camps have hit rocky 
ground over a schedule for deliberations on the Iraqi bill. 
 
In yesterday's committee session, the DPJ proposed explaining the 
purpose of the measure on the 20th and beginning deliberations on 
the 22nd. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) suggested 
starting deliberations on the 20th. The DPJ turned down the LDP's 
idea, however. 
 
In order to kill time until Dec. 15, the DPJ leadership has a 
strategy of letting the new antiterrorism bill die when the current 
session ends Dec. 15, by prolonging deliberations on the Iraq bill 
and summoning Nukaga and Kyuma to testify on the allegations. 
 
DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Kenji Yamaoka pointed out in a 
press conference yesterday: "Actually, it has become difficult to 
carry out deliberations on the new antiterrorism bill before the end 
of the session." 
 
A senior LDP Upper House member said yesterday: 
 
"The fact that Moriya said in his testimony that Nukaga and Kyuma 
had been entertained is likely a timely offer for the opposition, 
which wants to delay deliberations on the new antiterrorism bill. A 
negative impact cannot be avoided." 
 
One ruling coalition member said: "Under the present situation, it 
would be difficult to begin deliberations late this month on the new 
antiterrorism bill." 
 
A senior LDP member expressed the intention of avoiding an impact on 
the Diet timetable, saying, "I wonder why Mr. Nukaga and Mr. Kyuma 
are forced to testify to the Diet just because they had been treated 
to dinner. It is enough for them to hold press conferences to 
explain." 
 
A LDP source, however, said: "It is not good that the public takes 
it that the LDP is trying to cover up the allegations" if the party 
neglects the matter. There is a growing view in the ruling coalition 
that it will not be easy to arrange a Diet timetable during the 
remaining term of the session. 
 
Expected main political events 
 
Nov. 16, 2007 Prime Minister Fukuda holds summit with President Bush 
in US 
Nov. 20 Summit of ASEAN Plus Three in Singapore 
Nov. 21 East Asia summit in Singapore 
Dec. 15 Extra Diet session ends 
 
TOKYO 00005290  012 OF 018 
 
 
Late  December Government's draft budget approved 
Jan. 16, 2008 DPJ convention 
Jan. 17 LDP convention 
Mid- or late-January  Regular Diet session convenes 
 
(9) "Suspicious party" directly hits the administration; Senior 
government official says, "Why real names now?" 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
November 16, 2007 
 
The names of two lawmakers came out from the mouth of former 
Administrative Vice-Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya during his 
second Diet testimony yesterday. Moriya specifically testified that 
Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and Fumio Kyuma -- both former 
defense chiefs and belonging to the Tsushima faction in the Liberal 
Democratic Party -- had been present when he was being wined and 
dined by Motonobu Miyazaki, a former managing director of defense 
equipment trading house Yamada Corp. With the Moriya scandal 
expanding to engulf an incumbent minister in the Fukuda 
administration, the extended Diet session has now plunged deeper 
into chaos. Part of behind-the-scenes personnel connections over the 
defense industry has also come to light. 
 
A pall over refueling assistance bill 
 
In his testimony before a House of Representatives committee 
yesterday, Moriya at first simply said that former defense chiefs 
had been present when he was being wined and dined by Miyazaki, 
whetting the apetites of both the ruling and opposition parties. 
Moriya repeatedly refused to reveal the names of the lawmakers, 
saying: "I would like to refrain from naming names so as not to 
cause trouble for them." But continually pressed to specify the 
individuals, Moriya finally pointed to the two former defense 
chiefs. 
 
The "sudden disclosure" dealt a double blow to the political 
community. It has cast a blight on the management of the business of 
the just-extended Diet. It could rock the entire Fukuda 
administration. 
 
Throughout Moriya's Diet testimony, Nukaga stayed at the finance 
minister's office. As he came out of his office two hours after the 
testimony ended, Nukaga was surrounded by reporters, and he 
repeatedly said, "I have no recollection." 
 
Scheduled to leave shortly for the United States, Prime Minister 
Yasuo Fukuda was also visibly upset. Reporters at the Prime 
Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) asked Fukuda: "How are you 
going to respond to Finance Minister Nukaga?" In response, Fukuda 
said: "How? Well, I don't know if that is a problem. Since he is a 
cabinet minister, why don't you ask him questions (at a press 
conference)?" 
 
The enactment of a refueling assistance bill is the top priority for 
the government and ruling parties during the extended current Diet 
session. They do not want another impediment at this time when there 
are no prospects for the House of Councillors to begin discussing 
the bill. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said in a press 
conference: "In view of accountability, I think people should go ask 
Mr. Nukaga many questions." 
 
 
TOKYO 00005290  013 OF 018 
 
 
It is unlikely that the matter will quiet down with Nukaga's 
explanation. That is because although the government and ruling 
coalition think there is nothing wrong with dining with other 
people, Nukaga has denied being wined and dined (by Miyazaki). 
 
A Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) director of the Lower 
House Special Committee on Prevention of Terrorism last night 
conveyed to an LDP director his party's plan to demand Diet 
testimonies by Nukaga and Kyuma, adding, "In particular, Mr. Nukaga 
in an earlier committee meeting denied a meeting with Mr. Miyazaki." 
Nukaga in a Nov. 7 committee meeting explicitly said, "I have never 
been invited or entertained by Mr. Miyazaki." 
 
The DPJ, the largest party in the Upper House, envisages submitting 
a censure motion depending on Nukaga's response. The fate of the 
refueling assistance bill is murkier. 
 
The government and ruling bloc complied with the opposition camp's 
call for Moriya's testimony on Oct. 29 by putting top priority on 
the bill's passage of the Lower House. But with the revelation of 
the names of the politicians, their plan to separate the Moriya 
scandal from the legislation has now fallen apart. An LDP lawmaker 
who once served as a cabinet minister noted gloomily: "This might 
result in a political crisis over Nukaga. How will that affect the 
budget compilation process? Things could go terribly wrong." A 
senior government official complained, "(Moriya) refused to name 
names at the Lower House. Why today?" 
 
After Moriya's testimony, a senior New Komeito lawmaker said in 
disgust: "Why did he reveal the names of the politicians? I don't 
care if he falls from grace because of suspicions, but I surely 
don't want to see the legislation fall apart with him." 
 
Japan-US defense personal ties come to light 
 
The testimony yesterday offered a glimpse into the opaque defense 
personal ties between political, bureaucratic, and business circles, 
including the defense industry. 
 
Moriya testified that the former defense chiefs who had wined and 
dined with Miyazaki were Kyuma and Nukaga. In addition, Moriya also 
revealed that such persons as Naoki Akiyama, an executive of the 
Japan-US Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange, and former US 
Defense Department Japan desk director James Auer (Director of the 
Center for US-Japan Studies and Cooperation at the Vanderbilt 
Institute for Public Policy Studies) were also present at the 
party. 
 
Led by former Defense Agency Director-General Tsutomu Kawara, the 
membership of the Japan-US Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange 
includes ruling and opposition party defense policy specialists, 
such as Kyuma and former DPJ President Seiji Maehara, Japanese 
defense industry executives, and US defense specialists, such as 
former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. In a way, it is an 
organization linking Japanese and US political circles to the 
defense industry. Yamada Corp. President Yoshihiko Yonezu, who 
testified before the Upper House Foreign Relations and Defense 
Committee yesterday as an unsworn witness, also serves as a director 
of the center. 
 
One of the main figures at the "exchange center" is Akiyama, who is 
known as the "fixer" in that world. Akiyama, who was once close to 
 
TOKYO 00005290  014 OF 018 
 
 
the late LDP Vice-President Shin Kanemaru, is said to have strong 
connections with former Keiseikai members. Moriya testified 
yesterday that Akiyama had invited him to the meeting with Kyuma and 
Miyazaki, saying, "I am going to drink with the minister. Why don't 
you come over?" 
 
The center annually holds the Japan-US Security Strategy Conference 
during the consecutive holidays in early May in the United States 
and in the fall in Tokyo. This May, Nukaga led the US tour. 
 
Such lawmakers as Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Maehara were 
absent from the conference held in Tokyo earlier this month. 
Nevertheless, the conference received a video message from Kyuma, 
now hospitalized, in which he said touching on the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's withdrawal from the Indian Ocean, "The view was 
dominant that the Japanese government was at the beck and call of 
the United States." 
 
Although Kawara explained the purpose of the conference was to 
conduct exchanges transcending the political, bureaucratic, 
academic, and business boundaries, some have pointed out that it is 
a breeding ground for collusive ties (among those circles). 
 
Moriya also described Auer, who had been present at the meeting with 
Nukaga, as one of the persons introduced by Miyazaki, whom he came 
to know 23 years ago, saying, "You should also get to know persons 
from abroad." Yamada President Yonezu also testified yesterday that 
his company was in contract with a consultancy run by former US 
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. 
 
Although his testimony offered a glimpse into defense interests 
involving Japanese and US political circles and the connected 
defense industry, Moriya did not reveal what had been discussed at 
the meeting, saying, "I don't remember anything." 
 
"The Defense Ministry has been hit by scandal after scandal 
regarding defense interests. Doesn't that mean the ministry has 
structural problems, such as the defense industry and huge interests 
and collusive ties between political, bureaucratic, and business 
circles?" LDP lawmaker Ichita Yamamoto asked Moriya yesterday. In 
response, Moriya said, "Our organization is not like that at all." 
 
(10) Defense Ministry goofs again, panicked with misinfo: "Missile 
fired at Japan" 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
November 17, 2007 
 
The Defense Ministry got into a panic yesterday with misinformation 
about the South Korean military's test-launching of a missile into 
the Yellow Sea west of the Korean Peninsula. US Forces Japan 
informed the Defense Ministry of the missile test. This information, 
however, was mistaken. 
 
According to Defense Intelligence Headquarters (DIH) sources, South 
Korea launched a missile at 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 16. The sources said 
that the missile was targeted at pre-announced Yellow Sea waters 
situated west of its launching site, and that the missile landed 
there as planned. 
 
The DIH reported the missile's test launch to Joint Staff Office 
divisions. In that process, however, this information was mistakenly 
 
TOKYO 00005290  015 OF 018 
 
 
conveyed. It said, "The missile was launched "in the south direction 
(Japan)." The JSO, with its tensions running high at a stroke, was 
driven to check and see if it was true, according to the sources. 
 
Someone in the JSO suspected that there was something wrong within 
the South Korean military. However, it soon turned out to be 
misinformation resulting from a simple mistake in communication, the 
sources said. 
 
(11) Is N-flattop really safe? 
 
ASAHI (Page 35) (Abridged) 
November 9, 2007 
 
Fumiaki Sonoyama, Asahi Shimbun 
 
The USS George Washington, a US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft 
carrier named after the first US president, will arrive at the US 
Navy's Yokosuka base in August next year for deployment. She is the 
first nuclear flattop to be homeported at a base in Japan. Her 
deployment to Yokosuka means that nuclear reactors with generating 
capacity equivalent to that of an atomic power plant will be 
floating just a little way from Japan's metropolis at all times. Is 
she really safe? 
 
In late October, the USS George Washington, after her yearlong 
renovation, was plowing through the waves of West Atlantic waters on 
a vital training mission for her future deployment to Japan. Next 
spring, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will set sail for Japan 
from Norfolk, Virginia, where she is currently homeported. The 
carrier is loaded with two nuclear reactors, which are of the 
pressurized-water reactor type. Each of her two reactors has a 
thermal power generating capacity of estimatedly about 600,000 
kilowatts. The two reactors' combined power output is well over that 
of Mihama Nuclear Power Plant's Reactor 1 (1,031,000 kW). She is 
really a floating atomic power plant. 
 
"We have excellent technologies, facilities, training programs, and 
operating procedures," said US Navy Capt. Dave Dykhoff, the 
commanding officer of the USS George Washington. The commander was 
on the bridge. "That's why," he proudly went on, "we've never caused 
any reactor accident for over 50 years." 
 
There are no records to show that US nuclear-powered warships 
brought about reactor accidents or major radiological contamination 
in the past. The US Navy ruled out the possibility of such events, 
asserting that it is "extremely inconceivable." 
 
The US Navy says there are four safeguards to keep radioactivity 
inside its nuclear-powered warships should something happen to their 
reactors. One is their fuel itself, which is solid metal that can 
withstand strong shocks. Furthermore, radiated primary cooling water 
does not leak out of a completely welded vessel. Moreover, nuclear 
reactors are housed in robust components. The fourth and last 
barrier is the strong hull of nuclear-powered warships, according to 
the US Navy. 
 
Recently, however, there was an incident that rocked the reliability 
of US nuclear-powered warships. The captain of the USS Hampton, a 
nuclear-powered submarine homeported in San Diego, was relieved of 
his commanding duty because of "a loss of confidence" in his 
leadership. According to a local news report, sailors on the 
 
TOKYO 00005290  016 OF 018 
 
 
submarine failed to do daily safety checks on the sub's nuclear 
reactor and falsified records to cover up the omission. However, 
Cdr. William Silkman, an officer in charge of the USS George 
Washington's nuclear reactors, stressed: "Our internal check system 
functioned, so the problem was discovered and appropriate action was 
taken." 
 
There is no knowing details about the reactor's structure or its 
operating procedures. These are heavily veiled for military 
superiority. In the case of atomic power plants in Japan, the 
Japanese government can inspect them for safety under the Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation Law. However, a nuclear-powered aircraft 
carrier's reactor is untouchable. 
 
There was also an event that bears it out. 
 
In September last year, when the USS Honolulu, a US Navy 
nuclear-powered submarine, called at Yokosuka, a slight amount of 
radioactive substances was detected in waters near the nuclear 
submarine. 
 
At that time, the US military denied the discharge of radioactive 
substances from the USS Honolulu as a result of its own survey. 
Meanwhile, an expert panel of the Ministry of Education, Culture, 
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released a report, saying: "We 
cannot rule out the possibility of such radioactive substances 
having leaked out of the nuclear submarine. However, we also cannot 
categorically determine that the radioactive substances leaked out 
of the nuclear submarine." With this, the MEXT panel avoided 
reaching a conclusion even without embarking on the USS Honolulu. 
 
A group of Yokosuka citizens called for disclosing the USS 
Honolulu's logbook and her reactor operating records. However, the 
Japanese government did not ask the US government to provide data. 
 
In 1968, the USS Enterprise first visited Japan. Since then, US 
nuclear-powered flattops have made a total of 13 port calls in 
Japan, arriving at Yokosuka or Sasebo. They used to anchor off shore 
and stay for several days. The USS George Washington, unlike their 
port calls, will be homeported in Yokosuka, so she will be berthed 
there for a total of about six months a year. 
 
Late last year, a group of Yokosuka citizens and others opposing the 
USS George Washington's deployment to Yokosuka called for a poll of 
local residents on her deployment to Yokosuka. The anti-homeporting 
group collected signatures from 37,858 citizens or 10.64 PERCENT  of 
the city's voting population. The group collected more signatures 
than those from the minimum number of voters required by law to 
request a local referendum. The city's assembly voted down the 
request with a majority of votes against it, stating: "The aircraft 
carrier issue, on which the city has no decision-making authority, 
is inappropriate for a poll of residents." However, local misgivings 
will never die out. 
 
(12) Gas fields in East China Sea: Government sounds out China over 
development on Japanese side of median line as well: "If Japan 
test-drills, China will dispatch warships," says Chinese side 
 
SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
November 17, 2007 
 
Sankei Shimbun learned on Nov. 16 that regarding a plan for Japan 
 
TOKYO 00005290  017 OF 018 
 
 
and China to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, the 
Japanese government had put out a feeler to China, noting that it 
would approve joint development in part of the Japanese side of the 
median line, provided that China accepts joint development in an 
area straddling the median line, including Shirakaba (Chunxiao in 
Chinese). The Japanese side categorically made this proposal to 
China at a bureau director-level meeting on the 14th. In this 
connection, it was also found that when a Japanese negotiator hinted 
at the possibility of test drilling due to the stalemate in the 
talks, the Chinese side said that if the Japanese side does that, 
the Chinese Navy will dispatch warships. 
 
The government had thus far called on China to jointly develop gas 
fields on the Chinese side of the median line, ruling out joint 
development on the Japanese side of the median line, because it is 
within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). 
 
The Japanese side during the talks also conveyed its policy of 
excluding areas around the Senkaku Islands, claimed by China, and 
areas around the continental shelf belonging to Japan and South 
Korea, from joint development. 
 
The government has decided to approve joint development in part of 
the Japanese side of the median line, motivated by the desire to 
elicit concessions from China with a soft approach, thereby securing 
concrete results when Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is said to be 
strong in Japan-China relations, visits China for the first time as 
prime minister, as a Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) source 
put it. 
 
Under such circumstances, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura 
on the 16th met with Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai at the 
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). He conveyed the 
government's intention to settle the joint development issue by the 
time the prime minister visits China. Coordination is now underway 
for the prime minister to visit that nation as soon as the end of 
this year. Ambassador Cui said, "China has the sincerity and 
resolution to jointly make efforts to settle the issue at an early 
time in an appropriate manner." 
 
It was confirmed in the Japan-China joint statement, released when 
Premier Wen Jiabao visited Japan this April, that both countries 
would compile a report on concrete measures to launch joint 
development by the fall of this year." 
 
If the two countries reach an agreement on areas subject to joint 
development, they will sign a bilateral agreement that stipulates 
that they put on hold drawing a demarcation line in the said areas 
for a certain set period of time, respectively shoulder 50 PERCENT 
of the cost of development, and go fifty-fifty on the right to 
natural gas produced. However, the Chinese side insists that the 
area in dispute is between the Japan-China median line and the 
Okinawa trough. 
 
(13) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Widespread padding of local election expenses angers citizens, some 
leading to lawsuits 
 
Mainichi: 
Food price hikes looming amid shortages on international grain 
 
TOKYO 00005290  018 OF 018 
 
 
market 
 
Yomiuri: 
Poll: Only 4 of 47 prefectures say they can reach government's goal 
of 50 PERCENT  cancer screenings 
 
Nikkei: 
Government to streamline depreciation rules to reduce corporate tax 
accounting cost 
 
Sankei: 
2 million people facing crisis due to subprime loan fiasco 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
DPJ-supported Hiramatsu wins Osaka mayoral election 
 
Akahata: 
70 PERCENT  of Japanese temples support Article 9 of the 
Constitution 
 
(14) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Proposals for hopeful society: Residents' power can change 
communities 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Don't make light of reform of National Consumer Affairs Center 
(2) It is not too late for Japan to approve treaty to ban cluster 
bombs 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Revision of Immigration Law: Use fingerprints, photos to boost 
security 
(2) Ban on counterfeit goods: Treaty without China's participation 
meaningless 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Revitalize regional economies: Use economic blocks to strengthen 
engine of growth 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Japan-China gas exploration talks: Japan must hold to fair 
assertion 
(2) Osaka mayoral election: Reform should be continued 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Thoughts at beginning of week: Restore labor environment that we 
can appreciate 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Japan should take the lead in drafting a treaty to ban cluster 
bombs 
 
SCHIEFFER