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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 TOKYO 000543 
 
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 02/29/08 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Okinawa Prefecture calls for several-year environmental impact 
assessment of Futenma relocation site (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(2) Okinawa likely to approve environmental assessment next month 
for Futenma relocation; Panel finishes discussion on additional 
data, calls for multiple-year dugong survey; Prefectural opinion to 
be sent to Okinawa Defense Bureau (Okinawa Times) 
 
(3) Municipalities to be informed about removal of all PCB from U.S. 
bases in Japan when removal process completed; Details unknown until 
next January (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(4) Japanese security guards carry guns outside U.S. bases: Request 
to end practice not complied with; U.S. military gave false reply to 
defense bureau? (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(5) Okinawa gearing up for rally to protest sexual assault by U.S. 
Marine on schoolgirl, with resolutions adopted by prefectural 
assembly, all municipal governments (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(6) Okinawa adopts protest resolutions against alleged U.S. Marine's 
rape of junior school girl; "Let's make Okinawa's voice known to 
Japanese and U.S. governments (Okinawa Times) 
 
(7) Cases involving U.S. military personnel: In four cases, U.S. 
service members not indicted by Japan but three indicted by U.S. and 
found guilty in military trial (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(8) MSDF's lying nature exposed by recent Aegis destroyer collision 
(AERA) 
 
(9) Aegis accident: "Baby birds" syndrome must be corrected (Asahi) 
 
(10) FTC to cooperate with other government agencies in cracking 
down on illegal business practices (Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Okinawa Prefecture calls for several-year environmental impact 
assessment of Futenma relocation site 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
The Okinawa Prefectural Government's environmental impact assessment 
council, chaired by Ryukyu University Honorable Professor Seikou 
Tsukayama, and its environment policy division finalized in its 
 
SIPDIS 
meeting last evening an opinion paper on the environmental impact 
assessment of the site of relocation for the U.S. Marine Corps' 
Futenma Air Station. The Okinawa Defense Bureau has rewritten its 
document concerning procedures for conducting the assessment. The 
paper compiled by the prefecture will be submitted to the Defense 
Bureau. The opinion paper calls on the Defense Bureau to also take 
measures that are not listed in the revised document, such as a 
measure to take several years for the assessment of the impact on 
the dugong's ecological system and of other environmental effects, 
as well as to specify the form of flight training over villages. In 
the meeting, participants also decided to ask the Defense Bureau to 
disclose what items will be assessed and how the assessment will be 
made just before the start of the assessment, in order to confirm 
 
TOKYO 00000543  002 OF 013 
 
 
that the assessment will be made in accordance with the prefecture's 
opinion. 
 
The items cited for the assessment are expected to total about 100. 
The prefecture also pointed out many defects in the new documents 
written in response to the governor's suggestion. 
 
The prefecture intends to submit the opinion paper to the Defense 
Bureau early next week. The bureau has said to the prefecture that 
it will publicize the assessment method and items once again in 
response to its request. Regarding the request for taking several 
years for the assessment, however, the bureau is likely to stop 
short of mentioning it, because it is speeding up the procedure for 
translating the transfer plan into practice. 
 
Even if the Defense Bureau launches the assessment without 
reflecting the prefecture's views, the prefecture will not be able 
to stop the assessment until the stage of screening a preparatory 
document. 
 
The prefecture called in its opinion paper for researching the 
dugong, seagrasses, and the Sterna hirundo over a several years. On 
the dugong, the paper proposes increasing the number of days for the 
assessment and clarifying what type of research equipment will be 
used and where the equipment will be installed. The paper also 
suggests that the survey should be conducted one hour after the sun 
rises and one hour before the sunset. The new document by the 
Defense Bureau notes that it is difficult to specify the form of 
flight training over villages, but the paper calls for giving it 
specific form. 
 
(2) Okinawa likely to approve environmental assessment next month 
for Futenma relocation; Panel finishes discussion on additional 
data, calls for multiple-year dugong survey; Prefectural opinion to 
be sent to Okinawa Defense Bureau 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 1) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
In connection with additional adjustment data on an outline of 
details of the planned environmental impact assessment, required in 
building a replacement facility for the U.S. Futenma Air Station in 
Okinawa, the prefecture environmental assessment council, chaired by 
Professor Emeritus Seiko Tsukayama of the University of the Ryukyus, 
yesterday issued a report (urging the government) to survey noise 
levels and low-frequency sounds by using actual aircraft and to 
conduct a multiple-year survey on dugongs in nearby waters. As the 
next step, the Okinawa prefectural government will in early March 
send "Okinawa's views" on the additional adjustment data to the 
Okinawa Defense Bureau. After receiving the views, the bureau will 
determine the outline of the assessment and re-announce it. The 
prefectural government is expected to approve the assessment as 
early as March. 
 
The Okinawa Defense Bureau initially planned to conduct a wintertime 
assessment in February. The possibility has become strong that this 
will be postponed to December this year. 
 
The council discussed 86 cases in 24 items in a collection of views 
in Okinawa that put together opinions in Nago City and Ginoza 
Village on the additional adjustment data. Of them, council members 
expressed their views on 53 cases. 
 
TOKYO 00000543  003 OF 013 
 
 
 
The report calls for steps to avoid or reduce an impact on the 
environment by, for instance, abolishing the plan to build service 
yards on large expanses of reclaimed land or by building yards on a 
reclaimed area for the replacement facility. 
 
About aircraft noise and low-frequency sounds, the report points out 
the need to clarify the specific form of flight training over 
residential areas, concluding that aircraft could fly over 
residential areas depending on the formation of aircraft. In 
consideration of possible effects on dugongs, the report also calls 
for setting several survey and observation points on the surface and 
under the sea off the Henoko and Kayo districts. 
 
The paper further urges the government to actually fly the aircraft 
that are planned to be used at the replacement facility in order to 
find out noise levels after undertaking coordination with Nago City 
and Ginoza Village that are close to the replacement facility, as 
well as with the prefectural government. It also underlines the need 
to observe and assess the environment at spots as far offshore as 
possible, including points mentioned in Nago's plan. 
 
The prefectural environment policy division has had the council wind 
up its discussion, on the grounds that it has thoroughly discussed 
the additional adjustment data. The division also revealed a plan to 
finalize the prefecture's views and convey them to the Okinawa 
Defense Bureau as early as next week. 
 
The bureau plans to determine the outline of the assessment after 
giving thought to the prefectural views and then re-announce the 
assessment. The environment policy division pointed to the 
possibility that the assessment would start before the end of March, 
indicating that the prefectural government would approve the 
requested assessment after the public announcement. 
 
(3) Municipalities to be informed about removal of all PCB from U.S. 
bases in Japan when removal process completed; Details unknown until 
next January 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 2) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
Tokyo 
 
The United States Forces Japan (USFJ) has informed the Japanese 
government that it will be removing in February Japanese-made 
polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) from its bases across Japan, 
including Okinawa, to the U.S. mainland. However, it was learned 
yesterday that the USFJ will not notify municipalities of the action 
until after the removal process completes. 
 
When asked about whether the removal operation has continued in 
February, the Ministry of Environment (MOE), the supervisory agency 
of the removal, stated that it cannot answer the question, in part 
due to the USFJ's convenience. MOE stated that it has not notified 
any affected municipalities about the removal. The USFJ has now 
indicated that it will continue the removal process until next Jan. 
¶9. This implies that nothing will be clarified before the ongoing 
removal process across the country is completed. 
 
When the similar removals were carried out in (Okinawa) Prefecture, 
the municipalities involved called for disclosing detailed 
 
TOKYO 00000543  004 OF 013 
 
 
information about the removals, including a notice that would be 
issued immediately before the start of the removal process. 
 
According to MOE, what is going to be removed this time from the 
U.S. military facilities is PCB material contained in Japanese-made 
transformers and other devices. Extracted PCB will be carried out of 
the bases based on the type of transformer. Nothing has been made 
clear as to the exact amount of PCB to be removed, the details of 
the removal process, and the times of removals. 
 
Asked why the USFJ refrains from giving a notice immediately before 
the removal process begins or giving an ex post facto notice every 
time each removal is completed, a USFJ spokesperson said: "Because 
PCB is a harmful substance, we need to manage with strict safety." 
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. usually bans 
materials containing foreign-manufactured PCB from entering its 
soil, but at times it sets a timeframe for such materials to be 
brought in from abroad. The applicable timeframe this time is set at 
one year starting on Jan. 7. The previous one was set from April 18, 
2003 through April 17, 2004. During that period, the removed 
materials were brought out of Okinawa by sea on Aug. 15, 2003 and 
April 10, 2004. 
 
(4) Japanese security guards carry guns outside U.S. bases: Request 
to end practice not complied with; U.S. military gave false reply to 
defense bureau? 
 
RYUKY SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
Japanese security guards serving at U.S. military bases in Okinawa 
Prefecture went outside the bases carrying guns loaded with real 
bullets on Feb. 11 and 12 at the order of the commander of the 
military-police unit of the U.S. Marine Corps. Regarding this issue, 
it was found on Feb. 28 that when a labor management officer of the 
Okinawa Defense Bureau visited the Okinawa-based U.S. Marine Corps 
foreign area unit (G-5) on the 13 after the incident, the deputy G-5 
chief did not pass on the fact that the incident already took place, 
saying, "That practice is not being carried out at the moment," a 
statement that can be taken as a false report. It has also been 
revealed that the Okinawa Defense Bureau had asked the U.S. side in 
advance on Feb. 8 to stop the practice, citing that it could 
infringe on the domestic law, but the U.S. military side rejected 
the request and carried out the practice. 
 
Receiving a report on Feb. 21 from the Okinawa Prefectural Police 
that Japanese security guards were carrying guns outside the bases, 
the Okinawa Defense Bureau referred the matter to the U.S. military 
through the Defense Ministry. However, it has not yet received any 
response from it as of the same day. 
 
According to the Okinawa Defense Bureau, at 2:00 p.m., it received 
information from the U.S. Marine Corps Japan-U.S. assistance and 
administration office noting that the chief of the military-police 
unit of the U.S. Marine Corps would release on Feb. 11 an 
announcement that Japanese security guards will be approved to move 
between military bases, while carrying guns. An official responsible 
for labor affairs at the Defense Bureau the same day orally asked 
the assistance and management office to cancel the plan, noting that 
such a practice could infringe on the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces 
Agreement (SOFA) and the Swords and Firearms Control Law. 
 
TOKYO 00000543  005 OF 013 
 
 
 
Following the incident, a labor management official on the 13th 
actually asked the G-5 in writing (to explain details). The deputy 
G-5 chief, who met the official, simply replied, "Coordination with 
the USFJ is now underway. The practice is not being carried outside 
the bases as of this moment." This official, therefore, had the 
perception that the announcement was in fact put on hold. Eizo 
Yanamine, chairman of the All Japan Garrison Forces Labor Union's 
Okinawa District Headquarters on the afternoon of the 28th visited 
the Okinawa Defense Bureau and sought the accounting of what 
happened and the abolition of a practice of having Japanese security 
guards carry guns. Regarding the order given by the commander of the 
military-police unit, Labor affairs management officer Kunio Akamine 
said, "What happened is extremely regrettable. I would like to ask 
the U.S. military to end the practice." 
 
(5) Okinawa gearing up for rally to protest sexual assault by U.S. 
Marine on schoolgirl, with resolutions adopted by prefectural 
assembly, all municipal governments 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
As of yesterday, the Okinawa prefectural assembly and all 41 
municipal assemblies in the prefecture have adopted resolutions and 
/ or opinion papers protesting the recent sexual assault by a U.S. 
Marine on a junior high school girl. The Minami Daito village 
assembly, chaired by Aragaki, held a special meeting yesterday and 
unanimously adopted an opinion paper and a resolution of protest 
calling on the government to completely compensate the victim for 
her sufferings and to review the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces 
Agreement (SOFA). Now that all resolutions and opinion papers set on 
the table, momentum is gearing up for an Okinawa prefectural rally 
to be held on March 23 at the proposal of a social educational group 
and other organizations. 
 
 The Okinawa Prefectural Liaison Council for Development of 
Kodomo-kai (children's association), chaired by Tetsuei Tamayose, 
and other proponents decided yesterday to hold a prefectural rally 
in protest of a series of sexual assaults by U.S. soldiers at a 
squire in front of the baseball field in Chatan Park starting at 
14:00 on March 23. 
 
The liaison council has filed with the prefectural assembly a 
petition calling for a bold revision of the SOFA and a prefectural 
rally to be held under the initiative of the prefectural assembly. 
Chairman Tamayose said: "The adoption of resolutions by all 
municipal governments has been arousing a wave of protests across 
the prefecture. We would like to speed up preparations for the 
Okinawa prefectural rally." He intends to work on other municipal 
governments to attend the rally. 
 
Following Naha municipal government's adoption at its special 
meeting on Feb. 12, other assemblies endorsed resolutions of protest 
and opinion papers in succession. The Okinawa prefectural assembly 
unanimously adopted on Feb. 14 a resolution calling for complete 
compensation for the victim and her family and other two measures. 
 
Federation of women's organizations to take protest action 
 
The National Federation of Regional Women's Organizations, chaired 
by Tsuyako Nakaaze, held its meeting in Kyoto on Fe. 26 and decided 
 
TOKYO 00000543  006 OF 013 
 
 
to take a protest action against the recent case of a U.S. Marine 
raping a junior high school girl in Okinawa. The group will 
determine the contents of a letter of protest and other details. It 
plans to read out the letter in the prefectural rally planned in 
Chatan on March 23. 
 
(6) Okinawa adopts protest resolutions against alleged U.S. Marine's 
rape of junior school girl; "Let's make Okinawa's voice known to 
Japanese and U.S. governments 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 2) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
About two weeks have passed since a U.S. Marine allegedly raped a 
junior high school girl in Okinawa. The prefectural assembly and all 
the prefecture's municipal assemblies yesterday adopted resolutions 
of protest against the alleged rape case. One of the heads of the 
municipalities that host U.S. bases stressed: "We want to make our 
actions an opportunity to make Okinawa's voice known to the Japanese 
and U.S. governments." A civic group, which aims to hold a 
prefectural rally of all parties, has now been encouraged by the 
resolutions of protest adopted by the prefectural and municipal 
assemblies. Mitsuko Tomon, the mayor of Okinawa City, flatly said: 
"It proves that the prefectural residents are angry." She then 
added: 
 
"We must raise our voices of protest against the repeated incidents 
committed by U.S. military servicemen. I want to the prefectural 
rally to be successful in making our anger known to the governments 
of Japan and the United States." 
 
Chatan Mayor Masaharu Noguni emphasized the need for a drastic 
revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement. He stated: 
 
"Such incidents occur anywhere in Okinawa where there are U.S. 
bases. (Adoption of the resolution) sends a message that Okinawa 
residents, who have children and grandchildren, have taken on the 
victim's suffering as their own." 
 
Seiko Nihime, chairman of the Federation of Okinawa High Schools' 
Parents and Teachers Associations, bitterly said: "Although a 
ranking U.S. government official offered an apology, we have to 
clearly express our protests against the incident." He then stressed 
the significance of the unity of the residents of Okinawa, saying: 
"It is important for all municipal governments to unite for one 
purpose." 
 
Okinawa Women's Association Chairperson Haruko Odo underscored: "For 
the sake of the victims, and with the feelings that the damage 
suffered from the bases should be eliminated, we Okinawa residents 
have linked our minds together." He then called for a prefectural 
rally, saying: "I would like to use this favorable wind to lead us 
to the prefectural rally." 
 
Meanwhile, Ryukyu University Prof. Jun Shimabukuro, who is an expert 
on local government, pointed out: "It is only natural for Okinawa to 
adopt a resolution of protest. It is also necessary to consider a 
new response taking advantage of the right to establish ordinances." 
He suggested that measures for victims be decided based on 
ordinances. 
 
NFRWO adopts resolution calling for recurrence of incidents 
 
TOKYO 00000543  007 OF 013 
 
 
 
The National Federation of Regional Women's Organizations, chaired 
by Tsuyako Nakaaze, yesterday unanimously adopted a resolution 
calling for preventing a recurrence of similar incidents in a 
meeting of directors from the prefectures and government-designated 
cities. Okinawa Women's Federation Chairperson Haruko Odo proposed 
the resolution. The national federation will formally announce 
within a few days a written resolution of protest. It plans to 
activities to petition relevant organizations, including the central 
government. 
 
(7) Cases involving U.S. military personnel: In four cases, U.S. 
service members not indicted by Japan but three indicted by U.S. and 
found guilty in military trial 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 2) (Full) 
February 29, 2008 
 
Tokyo 
 
At a session yesterday of the third panel under the Lower House 
Budget Committee, the Ministry of Justice's Criminal Affairs Bureau 
Director-General Kotaro Ono revealed that of criminal cases 
involving U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan, there were 
four in 2007 that were not indicted by the Japanese side but 
indicted by the U.S. military. 
 
Those four cases occurred during a period from 2004 through 2007. Of 
them, three were indicted by the U.S. side on charge of theft and 
were found guilty in military court. One case committed by a U.S. 
serviceman who was charged with professional negligence resulting in 
bodily injury. The serviceman was indicted on charge of injury, but 
a not guilty verdict was handed down. 
 
Seiken Akamine, a lawmaker of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) who 
took the floor in the session to question, noted: "I suspect that 
the reason why the Japanese side was unable to indict is because it 
was unable to take U.S. military personnel into their custody. In 
this context, I have my doubts about servicemen indicted by the U.S. 
side on the same charges being found guilty. I think there is 
something wrong with the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement 
(SOFA)." 
 
In response, Ono went no further than to say: "Prosecutors, based on 
laws and evidence related to each case, decided whether it is 
appropriate or not to indict U.S. military personnel." 
 
Regarding a joint patrol by Japanese and U.S. authorities, which the 
government decided as part of the efforts to prevent a recurrence of 
crimes committed by U.S. service members, Foreign Minister Masahiko 
Koumura said: "I understand the prefectural police's concern that 
the suspect might be handed over to the U.S. side. I'll undertake 
necessary coordination regarding the exercise of police authority so 
that such would not occur." 
 
(8) MSDF's lying nature exposed by recent Aegis destroyer collision 
 
AERA (Pages 26-27) (Abridged) 
March 3, 2008 
 
Shunji Taoka, military journalist 
 
 
TOKYO 00000543  008 OF 013 
 
 
The Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) once had a reputation for its 
high proficiency. In fact, in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise 
(RIMPAC), which the United States Navy holds every two years by 
inviting allied military forces from the Pacific Rim nations, the 
MSDF outperformed the U.S. Navy, thereby gaining praise from a U.S. 
commander. As if to make an excuse, the commander said: "The 
Japanese crewmembers are two years senior on average than the 
American crew. This difference was significant." 
 
In the past I have accompanied the MSDF's military exercises many 
times and stood at the bridge of a warship at night. On those 
occasions, I always felt the traditions inherited from the former 
Imperial Japanese Navy, whose forte was night battle, when I saw 
MSDF personnel behaving with perfect composure, for instance, their 
way of reporting when they were on lookout duty this way, "A torpedo 
is approaching on the starboard side." In addition, I was impressed 
by the way the captain was giving instructions, and the way the 
quartermaster was reciting what he or she did. 
 
I was therefore astonished to hear of the news reports that the 
Aegis destroyer Atago (with a full capacity of 10,000 tons and whose 
captain was Captain Ken Funato) collided with the fishing boat 
Seitoku-maru (with a full capacity of 7.3 tons and whose captain was 
Haruo Kichisei) before dawn of Feb. 19. I thought to myself then how 
low the  MSDF has degraded itself. An Atago crew member on lookout 
duty spotted the red light of the fishing boat on a starboard bow 12 
minutes before the collision, but the duty officer ignored the light 
and did not even bother to monitor it on radar. The collision was 
apparently caused primarily by the Aegis vessel navigating straight 
ahead carelessly. I wondered what happened to the information about 
the fishing boat? Why did the vessel fail to avoid colliding with 
the fishing boat? The collision was caused by a very rudimentary 
error. At the time of the accident, visibility was 20 kilometers and 
wave height was 50 centimeters. Given those ideal conditions for the 
lookout, the duty officer and other crew members should have 
witnessed the fishing boat approaching with the naked eye. One 
retired vice admiral lamented: "I can't believe it. Did they forget 
seamanship as a result of being desperate to learn how to operate 
high-tech equipment?" 
 
A number of ships, including fishing boats, are seen in waters off 
Nojimazaki cape on Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture coming in and 
out from Tokyo Bay. When the Aegis destroyer was approaching there 
before dawn of that day, the crew should have most carefully watched 
the area, but while the captain was then still in bed, the destroyer 
was on automatic pilot as it approached the shore. This would have 
been one cause of the collision. From the beginning, the destroyer 
does not have to have any automatic pilot device on, given that a 
good number of quartermasters are installed there. If those crew 
members have nothing to do in the ship, they may snooze. The 
destroyer rarely navigates alone, and when it joins in formation, it 
needs to change the course at frequent intervals. That is why an 
automatic pilot was not installed in the destroyer for many years. 
 
Lies that should have been noticed 
 
The Maritime Staff Office (MSO) of the Ministry of Defense (MOD) was 
informed about the collision at 4:40 a.m., 33 minutes after the 
accident, but the information reached Defense Minister Ishiba at 
5:38 a.m., one hour afterwards. Prime Minister Fukuda learned of the 
accident around 6:00 a.m. after TV news programs came out with the 
first report of the collision. Given this, it is only natural for 
 
TOKYO 00000543  009 OF 013 
 
 
MOD to come under fire, but what is more serious is the fact that 
the collision was reported by the MSO and MDO in a haphazard way. 
 
On the night of Feb. 19, the MSO announced that an Atago crew member 
on lookout duty spotted the green light in the right direction. The 
crew member saw the light approaching, and later at around 4:06 a.m. 
he confirmed the light as that of a fishing boat. The duty officer 
gave an order for the ship to go astern. 
 
If the Atago crew member had spotted the green light of the fishing 
boat on its starboard, it would mean the fishing boat would have 
been navigating in the right direction or that it would have been 
passing the Atago. In such a case, no collision would have occurred. 
There would have been no need accordingly for the destroyer to go 
astern. The above announcement raised doubts with one MSO officer 
saying: "I can't understand how the two ships were sailing. It's not 
that I am asking whether this report is true or not." 
 
Naturally, Adm. Eiji Yoshikawa, chief of staff of the MSDF, from his 
seamanship, should have been aware that there was something 
questionable about the report, but he reported on the same as the 
announcement to Ishiba. Yoshikawa and Ishiba afterwards called on 
Prime Minister Fukuda at the Prime Minister's Official Residence 
(Kantei) at 4:00 p.m. that day and reported on the same to Fukuda. 
Afterwards, Ishiba told the same at a meeting of the ruling Liberal 
Democratic Party's (LDP) national defense panel. 
 
The report did not refer at all to the fact that the destroyer saw 
the red lights of a few fishing boats that were sailing southwest at 
the time. Nor did the report reveal whether those fishing boats were 
monitored by radar. These things were omitted from the report not by 
confusion but by intention. 
 
Four-month hiding of accident 
 
If the prime minister, who is the top commander of the Self-Defense 
Forces (SDF), is given false reports, no civilian control is 
possible. If the commander on the spot or the mid-level command 
makes false or cosmetic reports to the supervisor or the supervisory 
command, the military organization cannot function properly. 
 
The MSDF has a history of 60 years, dating back to its predecessor 
mine-sweeping unit, which was set up in 1948 in the Maritime Safety 
Agency (currently Japan Coast Guard). Perhaps because of this long 
history, the MSDF tends to be lacking in vigor and deterioration can 
be seen advancing in the organization. Senior officers tend to only 
think of being promoted and protecting themselves. This tendency is 
not only seen in the MSDF but in the Ground Self-Defense Force and 
the Air Self-Defense Force, as well. One senior officer grumbled: 
"Everybody thinks of protecting himself or herself. In this sense, 
the SDF has truly become an organization that thinks only of 
protecting itself." 
 
In this climate, the SDF personnel tend to try to hide scandals and 
mistakes and to think only about how to avoid tarnishing their 
career. Let me give you an example. On last Dec. 14, a fire broke 
out in the destroyer Shirane when the ship anchored in Yokosuka 
Port. The battle command office filled with electronic equipment 
worth 20 billion yen or more was destroyed by fire. But the SDF did 
not even announce which part of the ship had been on fire. 
 
In January of last year, the police seized classified documents on 
 
TOKYO 00000543  010 OF 013 
 
 
the Aegis missile system at the house of a petty officer 2nd class 
of the destroyer Shirane who is married to a Chinese woman. As a 
result of a police investigation of how the documents were 
transmitted, a lieutenant commander, who was the first person to 
leak the documents, was arrested. 
 
When suspicion arose that the fuel oil provided by Japan to other 
countries' vessels in the Indian Ocean might have been used for the 
war in Iraq, it was discovered that the logbook of the supply ship 
Towada had been discarded, an act that violated the archive rules. 
 
Do these scandals have something to do with the atmosphere and human 
relations in the MSDF? 
 
In pre-war Japan, the Naval Academy made its students chant five 
reflections: be of utmost sincerity, be faithful in word and deed, 
be full of vigor, make efforts, and don't be lazy. In terms of these 
reflections, it is laziness to use the automatic pilot in 
heavily-trafficked waters as seen in the collision this time. The 
omission of mentioning either the red light or the radar can never 
be seen as a sincere act. 
 
Now that the SDF are dispatched abroad more often than in the past, 
making a correct report from their deployed location is more 
important than ever. The trigger for the Manchurian Incident was an 
attack by the Imperial Japanese Army, but the Japanese military 
abroad reported to Tokyo that the Japanese troops were engaged in 
war in self-defense after being attacked by the Chinese forces. The 
government and the press took action in the belief that that report 
was true. 
 
The way the SDF reported on the Atago collision with a fishing boat 
should give the SDF an important lesson. The SDF should take this 
opportunity to educate its personnel to practice utmost sincerity 
under the slogan, "Anyone who falsifies reports is not SDF." 
 
(9) Aegis accident: "Baby birds" syndrome must be corrected 
 
ASAHI (Page 11) (Full) 
February 28, 2008 
 
Kazuhisa Ogawa, military analyst 
 
Crisis management needs action at an appropriate timing. Crisis 
management taskforces in advanced countries make it a rule to give a 
three-minute briefing with options to commanding officers, based on 
an initial report of what happened. Commanding officers make a 
decision within 15 minutes. On the front of emergency medical care 
as well, it goes without saying that initial treatment is done 
within 15 minutes. 
 
The Atago, an Aegis destroyer of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, 
collided with a fishing boat in waters off Chiba Prefecture, leaving 
two crewmen missing. This accident was belatedly reported within the 
government. It took one and a half hours to report its occurrence to 
the defense minister and two hours to the prime minister. In this 
respect, I cannot but say the government is disqualified from crisis 
management. If it had been a ballistic missile or a terrorist 
attack, Japan would have undoubtedly sustained a deadly blow. The 
Self-Defense Forces is a government-controlled organization of armed 
forces. In respect of this civilian control as well, such a delay in 
communication is pregnant with serious problems. 
 
TOKYO 00000543  011 OF 013 
 
 
 
I also have experienced one incident. In February 2006, the MSDF's 
confidential information leaked large quantities on the Internet 
 
SIPDIS 
from a personal computer owned by one of an MSDF destroyer's crew. 
At that time, press reporters inquired of the MSDF Maritime Staff 
Office about that leak of confidential information. However, the 
then Joint Staff Council chairman, who heads all SDF personnel, was 
not informed of the information leak incident. Five hours after 
that, I touched base with him. Until then, the top SDF officer did 
not know anything about it. The then Defense Agency director general 
was not informed of it, either. SDF staff officers in charge were 
aware of it. However, they did not report the incident for they 
could not understand how serious it was. 
 
Needless to say, in the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake disaster, Japan 
failed to manage a number of crises due to delays in communication. 
Such blunders are too numerous to mention, as seen from the cases of 
the Ehime Maru incident in waters off Hawaii, a North Korean spy 
ship spotted off the island of Amami Oshima, and a Chinese 
nuclear-powered submarine that violated Japan's territorial waters. 
There was an error of command and control judgment due to a delay in 
communication. I have called this a "baby birds syndrome." The rank 
and file is only waiting for instructions from those above them, 
with their mouths open like baby birds waiting for feeding from 
their parents. Top-echelon officers also sigh with their mouths 
open, saying there is no information from their people at the front. 
As a result, they do nothing. This inaction exposes the nation to 
danger. 
 
Then, the question is what to do. Here, I would like to present a 
model case, with the accident this time as a lesson. 
 
First, the government should build a real-time information sharing 
system for all of its crisis management organizations to share the 
first report of an accident. The Defense Ministry and the SDF, 
teaming up with the Japan Coast Guard, should be ready to take 
action for rescue operations within about five minutes after 
receiving the first report of an accident, and then to send 
reinforcements. Crisis management organizations should have an 
intelligence evaluation team on standby at all times. If and when 
there is a case that should be left to the prime minister's 
decision-making, the team should report the case to the prime 
minister within about five minutes after the first report. The team 
is to be made up of those who can judge whether the reported case is 
such that the prime minister or the defense minister must be shaken 
out of bed even in the middle of the night and what options should 
be presented in that case. 
 
The prime minister, when informed of an accident, issues a statement 
for public faith and then orders thoroughgoing preventive steps to 
be taken (within about 10 minutes after the first report). The 
government dispatches a heliborne information-gathering team to the 
scene of that accident from the prime minister's official residence 
or the Defense Ministry's roof heliport to prevent information 
confusion and cover-up (within 15-20 minutes after the first 
report). The defense minister arrives there on a helicopter to offer 
apologies or for other purposes (within 30 minutes after the first 
report). 
 
As we have seen, the prime minister's decision-making without delay 
is needed, as well as civilian control under the political 
initiative. 
 
TOKYO 00000543  012 OF 013 
 
 
 
To tell the truth, this is part of a national security council's 
functions. Former Prime Minister Abe's cabinet presented a bill to 
the Diet for this NSC initiative. The bill, however, was scrapped in 
the end. In its blueprint, the NSC was an entity designed to show 
feasible solutions to problems as a 'control tower' of the 
government's bureaucracy and as the prime minister's brain trust. 
Prime Minister Fukuda seems to have conformed to a suggestion from 
some bureaucrats claiming that the existing organizations can 
respond to eventualities. However, the existing organizations do not 
function, as is evident also from the accident this time. I hope the 
government will immediately present the bill to the Diet again to 
establish public safety with the opposition parties' understanding. 
 
(10) FTC to cooperate with other government agencies in cracking 
down on illegal business practices 
 
NIKKEI (Top Play) (Full) 
February 27, 2008 
 
In a bid to strengthen its efforts to crack down on illegal business 
practices, such as dumping, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will 
create a framework to investigate companies in cooperation with 
other government agencies, including the Ministry of Economy, Trade 
and Industry (METI). Under the envisaged framework, officials of 
related government agencies would double as FTC officials so that 
they can conduct on-the-spot investigation into companies under the 
FTC's jurisdiction. It will also establish a system of other 
government agencies reporting on illegal business practices. It will 
thus toughen a surveillance system in cooperation with other 
government agencies that have jurisdiction over relevant industrial 
circles so that it can collect information and investigate unfair 
business practices in a flexible manner. 
 
METI officials to double as gasoline dumping monitors 
 
Under the envisaged framework, the FTC will strengthen its crackdown 
capability in such business areas as gas stations, the construction 
industry and liquor stores. Calls for cracking down on dumping, 
under which some companies sell products below cost, thereby 
shutting their competitors out of the market, or the abuse of 
dominant bargaining position, with which major companies force 
disadvantageous transactions on their sub-contractors, are growing 
stronger. The FTC has toughened surveillance on dumping and issued 
warnings against 1,031 cases in fiscal 2006. However, only one order 
to stop such a practice was issued. 
 
In a bid to correct this situation, the FTC will toughen crackdowns 
on unfair business practices, by setting up a cooperative system 
with related government agencies. It has already reached an 
agreement with METI, which is in charge of small and medium-size 
businesses and has jurisdiction on gas stations, to introduce the 
new system. 
 
Under the new framework -- temporary doubling system, the FTC will 
appoint officials of related government agencies to double as FTC 
officials on a temporary basis and have them investigate illegal 
business practices. Appointed officials will be transferred to the 
FTC head office or its local offices and conduct on-the-spot 
investigation and check related papers under the FTC's supervision. 
 
Regarding the doubling system, those with appointing power can make 
 
TOKYO 00000543  013 OF 013 
 
 
personnel appointments without any inhibition, based on the National 
Civil Service Law and the rules laid down by the National Personnel 
Authority. There is no need to take such procedures as revising 
relevant laws. Since the FTC can issue such an order, it can deal 
with illegal business practices in a more flexible manner, including 
increasing officials doubling as FTC officials, depending on the 
size of issues and their urgency. 
 
Regarding the reinforcement of the reporting system, the FTC is now 
undergoing coordination with related agencies with the possibility 
of exchanging a memorandum with them. Under the plan, the FTC would 
ask related government agencies to investigate unfair business 
practices and the government agencies would report on information 
obtained from involved sources, such as what competitors of 
offending companies have to say. The FTC would then conduct 
on-the-spot investigation, by using officials who are dispatched 
from other government agencies, if there is a strong possibility of 
illegal practices being involved. 
 
Following a flurry of crackdowns on major bid-rigging practices and 
cartels, the FTC finds it difficult to monitor unfair business 
practices with its 500-strong inspection system. Calls for toughing 
the use of government agencies with jurisdiction over related 
business areas have been mounting stronger. 
 
SCHIEFFER