VZCZCXRO6911
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #0496 0570404
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260404Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1997
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI//N541// PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA// PRIORITY
RUHBANB/OKINAWA FLD OFC US FORCES JAPAN CP BUTLER JA PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/USFJ  PRIORITY
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 6289
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 8684
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 4851
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 6894
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 9956
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1858
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2137
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7925
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8512
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS TOKYO 000496 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, 
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; 
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; 
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; 
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - DESTRUCTION OF 
SATELLITE 
 
¶1. LEAD STORIES: All Tuesday morning papers front-paged 
Prime Minister Fukuda's summit with new South Korean 
President Lee Myung Bak in Seoul on Monday, during 
which the two affirmed the resumption of reciprocal 
visits and enhanced trilateral coordination with the 
U.S. on North Korea. 
 
¶2. "Destruction of Satellite Raises Concern about Arms 
Race in Space" The business-oriented Nikkei 
editorialized (2/26): "As the U.S. followed UN 
guidelines in shooting down a satellite recently, that 
action cannot be termed a violation of international 
rules. At the same time, what took place was far from 
ordinary.... One could speculate that the U.S. took 
advantage of the falling satellite to essentially carry 
out a drill aimed at shooting down a satellite or 
intercepting a missile. The U.S. may have wanted to 
display its missile defense capabilities to North Korea 
and Iran.... The U.S. move may prompt other nations to 
follow suit and cite a falling satellite as an excuse 
to conduct an intercept test. If other countries try to 
compete over satellite attack capabilities, an arms 
race in space could be unleashed. A framework is needed 
to stop nations from readily destroying satellites." 
 
¶3. "MD: Legacy or Burden?" The liberal Mainichi's 
Washington bureau chief Bando wrote (2/26) "It is 
questionable whether the U.S. military's motives 
concerning the recent destruction of a satellite were 
clear enough. While the prevention of potential damage 
caused by the satellite's toxic fuel was cited as the 
reason for its destruction, the chances of a satellite 
falling onto a densely populated area are extremely 
slight. The normal course of action would have been to 
carefully monitor its descent.... A more natural 
interpretation of the event is that the U.S. military, 
in the process of considering how to deal with the 
falling satellite, opted to destroy it as a means of 
killing two birds with one stone. President Bush 
approved the operation in the hope that MD will be a 
legacy of his administration.... However, some in the 
U.S. are concerned that MD deployment will aggravate 
ties with Russia and China or unleash an arms race in 
space. There is a possibility that the Bush 
administration's 'legacy' will turn out to be a burden 
for the next administration." 
 
SCHIEFFER