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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 000571 
 
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 03/04/08 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Difficulties lie ahead for Defense Ministry reform, with 
confrontation heating up between civilian personnel and uniformed 
officers (Nikkei) 
 
(2) Prime minister orders work for restructuring MOD; Integration of 
civilian and uniformed groups in focus (Yomiuri) 
 
(3) France an ordinary country, Japan abnormal (Sankei) 
 
(4) U.S. military relaxes lockdown; Local heads, civic groups 
criticize reflection as mere pose; Set to pursue step in prefectural 
rally (Okinawa Times) 
 
(5) Political battle over provisional gas tax rate: LDP impatiently 
making frantic effort for early start of Diet deliberations; DPJ 
remain bullish with Ozawa's policy change reflected in party 
atmosphere (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(6) Editorial: Quickly work out measures to protect cultural assets 
from earthquakes (Yomiuri) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Difficulties lie ahead for Defense Ministry reform, with 
confrontation heating up between civilian personnel and uniformed 
officers 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
March 4, 2008 
 
About two weeks have passed since a collision occurred between a 
Maritime Self Defense Force (MSDF) Aegis destroyer and a fishing 
vessel, but the Defense Ministry is still straying off course. 
Explanations by its senior members have changed again and again, and 
a lack of cooperation between the ministry and the Japan Coast Guard 
(JCG) has also been exposed. Particularly, deep-seated mutual 
distrust between civilian personnel from internal bureaus and 
uniformed personnel from the Self-Defense Forces' staff offices has 
been exposed. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended a meeting 
yesterday of the government's panel on reforming the Defense 
Ministry, chaired by Tokyo Electric Power Co. advisor, held for the 
first time after the Aegis collision. In the meeting, Fukuda 
stressed the need for efforts to prevent recurrence of a similar 
incident. But difficulties lie ahead for the drastic reform of the 
ministry. 
 
 "An impermissible incident occurred. I would like you to submit a 
plan to build a new Defense Ministry and a Self-Defense Force (SDF) 
that the public can truly trust," the prime minister said in a harsh 
tone at the outset of the meeting, showing the letter he had 
received from the family of the missing fishermen. The blunders made 
by the Defense Ministry and the SDF after the incident have made 
people wonder if they are trying to cover up information on the 
collision. The prime minister sees this as a problem. 
 
The Defense Ministry had announced that the destroyer spotted the 
fishing boat "two minutes before" the accident but it later changed 
it into "12 minutes." It has been learned that Defense Minister 
Shigeru Ishiba called in the navigating officer of the Aegis 
destroyer to the Defense Ministry and questioned him on the day of 
 
TOKYO 00000571  002 OF 008 
 
 
the accident. But this information was left unveiled for one week. 
It has yet to be clarified whether the ministry had informed the 
JCG, which is responsible for the investigation, of Ishiba's 
questioning of the navigating officer. 
 
Behind the current confusion in the Defense Ministry, many observers 
see not administrative blunders but the long-lasting antagonism 
between civilian personnel and uniformed officers. The hostility was 
also taken up when there were reports on such cases as the leak of 
classified information on the Aegis system by a MSDF seaman and the 
bribery scandal involving former Vice Minister Takemasa Moriya. 
 
In internal bureaus, there is the distrust that uniformed personnel 
might have properly relayed detailed information. In a press 
conference yesterday, Vice Minister Kohei Masuda again apologized 
for the delayed announcement of the facts, saying: "There was no 
persuasive reason." Regarding the ministry's prior notification 
(about the questioning of the navigating officer) to the JCG, the 
vice minister explained, based on information from the Maritime 
Staff Office, that there were call records of 09:05 and 09:06 on the 
day of the accident. But JCG members have said that they cannot 
confirm it. 
 
Meanwhile, uniformed personnel are critical of civilian personnel. A 
former Defense Ministry official said: "Knowledge about the details 
of weapons and the management of units is needed for the formation 
of defense plans. But not all civilian officers have much knowledge 
of such matters." 
 
The series of scandals involving the Defense Ministry have added 
fuel to the mutual distrust between civilian personnel and uniformed 
officers. A senior internal bureau member muttered upon hearing the 
news of a collision between a MSDF escort vessel and a freighter in 
Vietnam on March 3, "Not again! They have no feeling of tension." On 
the other hand, a uniformed officer assailed that such scandals as 
the one involving Moriya could depress the morale of people on the 
line. 
 
In the meeting yesterday, harsh views were presented. One 
participant asserted: "The major cause (for the blunder) was a lack 
of basic policy for moves;" and another said: "There is no 
consistency in responses to external matters." The defense minister 
emphasized: "The system of assisting the minister is now being 
questioned." 
 
The defense minister has already announced his reform plan calling 
for integrating civilian personnel and uniformed personnel and then 
forming groups according to function, such as the buildup and 
operation of defense capacity, and explanations in the Diet and to 
the people. Appearing on a TV program yesterday, Ishiba expressed 
his displeasure at the rivalry between civilian personnel and 
uniformed personnel, saying: "Will they be able to take proper 
action in times of emergency?" 
 
Under the defense minister's proposal, however, the organizations 
would be completely changed. In the ministry, there is no mood for 
willingly cooperating in implementing the plan. Ishiba said: 
"Officers should express their views, and those against my proposal 
should openly say that this or that part is improper." But ministry 
officials remain unresponsive. 
 
(2) Prime minister orders work for restructuring MOD; Integration of 
 
TOKYO 00000571  003 OF 008 
 
 
civilian and uniformed groups in focus 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
March 4, 2008 
 
The government decided yesterday to launch a full-scale effort to 
reorganize the Ministry of Defense (MOD), due to the series of 
unfortunate incidents in the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense 
Forces (SDF), including the recent collision between the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer Atago and a fishing boat. The 
government's Council on Reform of the Defense Ministry, chaired by 
Tokyo Electric Power Co. adviser Nobuya Minami, is planning to 
produce a reform plan as early as June, based on Defense Minister 
Shigeru Ishiba's private proposal to integrate and reorganize the 
civilian personnel from internal bureaus and uniformed personnel 
from the Self-Defense Forces' staff offices. Discussions are 
expected to be difficult since many officials in the ministry oppose 
the envisaged reform. 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended yesterday the panel's meeting 
for the first time since the Atago accident. He told the members: 
"An extremely regrettable accident has occurred. Based on the 
lessons we have learned, I would like you to come up with a plan to 
transform MOD and SDF into organizations worthy of public trust." 
 
The council's discussions have been focused on three points: (1) 
ensuring transparency in defense equipment procurement, (2) 
establishing a strict information security system, and (3) ensuring 
civilian control. 
 
As the next step, the panel is set to study specific ways to 
drastically reorganize the ministry. 
 
Specifically, the panel is expected to discuss Defense Minister 
Ishiba's plan to integrate and reorganize the ministry's internal 
bureaus and the SDF staff offices into three sections, each 
responsible for: building up defense capabilities, employment, and 
Diet affairs and public relations. 
 
Under this system, civilian personnel and uniformed personnel, who 
are currently placed in different sections, would work together to 
make the decision-making process more flexible. It is also aimed at 
encouraging civilian personnel and unformed personnel to overcome a 
history of mutual distrust to run MOD and SDF more effectively. 
 
(3) France an ordinary country, Japan abnormal 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Abridged) 
February 29, 2008 
 
Hiroyuki Noguchi 
 
A Maritime Self-Defense Force supply vessel resumed its refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean after a hiatus of four months for 
foreign naval vessels engaged in antiterror operations. During the 
MSDF's absence, France was amazing with its presence in the Middle 
East and in the Indian Ocean. The French military conducted 
antiterror activities in the Indian Ocean and made four aircraft 
carrier dispatches. In Afghanistan, France has deployed 1,000 ground 
troops, with its air force airlifting troops. France was opposed to 
the Iraq attack. Even so, its international influence has been 
increasing. This is in sharp contrast to Japan, which chose to cut 
 
TOKYO 00000571  004 OF 008 
 
 
off its influence and lost four months on its own. The Self-Defense 
Forces is not expeditionary like France's armed services, which have 
flattops and marines. However, the SDF and the French military are 
almost on the same scale. This is the striking contrast between an 
"ordinary country" that pursues national interests, with its 
diplomacy and military as one, and an "abnormal country" that 
refused to do so. 
 
France outwardly opposed the U.S.-led military attack on Iraq from 
its stance of attaching importance to the United Nations. However, 
that was reportedly intended to defend its energy stake in Iraq. The 
Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) also raised an objection to 
sending an MSDF squadron to the Indian Ocean without a U.N. 
resolution as unconstitutional. However, that was a political tactic 
to allow the party to take over political power. It is only natural 
that a country should act on behalf of its national interests. As 
far as diplomacy and security are concerned, however, a political 
party should not act for its own self interests. 
 
Even the French government, which opposed the Iraq attack, says the 
MSDF's refueling mission is fully in line with the U.N. Charter, 
which the Constitution of Japan honors. The U.N. World Food Program 
(WFP) continues its food aid to Somalia, a country facing the Indian 
Ocean. In November last year, the French navy went on a patrol 
mission to defend WFP support ships against pirates. In Indian Ocean 
waters off Somalia, there were 22 pirate attacks from early last 
year through this point, including two attacks on WFP support ships. 
Somalia neighbors Djibouti, which was a French territory. Currently, 
the French army and air force contribute in part to the defense of 
Djibouti. France carried through its stance of attaching importance 
to the United Nations even though its troop deployment was intended 
to protect its interests. 
 
An "ordinary country" can participate in collective self-defense. In 
January, French President Sarkozy signed an agreement to set up 
bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the French army, navy, 
and air force to station up to 5,000 troops. This is the first time 
for France to station troops in a Persian Gulf state, where the 
French military will keep tabs on the Straits of Hormuz, which is a 
strategic point for crude oil shipping. In other words, France has 
now influence on the oil market. 
 
It is not difficult for an ordinary country to send troops. That is 
because an ordinary country's military law for ordinary times-which 
incorporates the purpose of using its armed forces-can cover a 
considerable portion of its military operations. Meanwhile, an 
abnormal country establishes a special measures law for each 
situation. An ordinary country-unlike an abnormal country-is ready 
for potential situations. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is now 
discussing a permanent law allowing Japan to send SDF troops for 
overseas activities whenever necessary. A permanent law, once 
established, would quicken Japan's overseas troop deployment as 
compared with taking much time to enact a special measures law. 
Under a special measures law, however, SDF activities are 
interpreted as administrative affairs, differing from military 
operations that are prescribed in a military law. This is why Japan 
needs a permanent law. Such a permanent law also shows that Japan is 
an abnormal country. 
 
(4) U.S. military relaxes lockdown; Local heads, civic groups 
criticize reflection as mere pose; Set to pursue step in prefectural 
rally 
 
TOKYO 00000571  005 OF 008 
 
 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 29) (Full) 
March 4, 2008 
 
Despite a flurry of incidents by U.S. service members, the U.S. 
military on March 3 significantly relaxed the base lockdown, 
unilaterally releasing a notice that ended its "period of 
reflection." The step has drawn strong objections from local heads 
and civic groups, saying, "As expected, the reflection was only a 
mere pose," and, "If another incident occurs, how is (the U.S. 
military) going to take responsibility?" 
 
Chatan Mayor Masaharu Noguni harshly criticized the decision, 
saying: 
 
"The lockdown was a kind of performance by the U.S. military. Due to 
organizational slackness, guidance on the series of incidents has 
not reached the lower-ranking soldiers. Given the absence of a sense 
of repentance, we cannot understand the relaxation." 
 
The Okinawa City Assembly will hold a Base Affairs Ad-Hoc Committee 
meeting on March 5 to discuss its response to the recent trespassing 
in a private building by a U.S. airman. Committee Chairperson Katsue 
Yonamine said in disgust: 
 
"I wonder how the U.S. military is taking the fact that misconduct 
occurred despite the ban on leaving the bases. Why do they have to 
loosen up the measure, when it is not even now working properly?" 
 
Haruko Odo, who heads a federation of women's groups in the 
prefecture, commented angrily: 
 
"Once a curfew is imposed, it must be kept in place for three months 
in order to produce results. 'Reflection' did not have any 
substance. (The U.S. military) has always been like that for over 60 
years after the end of WWII. We will pursue the matter at the 
upcoming prefectural rally." 
 
Okinawa Heiwa Undou Center Secretary General Hiroji Yamashiro took 
this view: 
 
"They made the decision at the wrong time. How are they going to 
take responsibility if another incident occurs after the ban is 
eased? All we can do is to heighten public opinion by protesting 
(incidents involving U.S. military personnel)." 
 
Prefecture Peace Committee Secretary General Hiroyasu Okubo also 
criticized the step, saying: 
 
"As long are there are bases, crimes will definitely occur. The 
lockdown was only a pose, a makeshift period of reflection. To stop 
taking even that pose is defiant." 
 
Meanwhile, a 33-year-old American running a restaurant in Chatan 
welcomed the decision, noting: "It was natural to remove the family 
members and civilian employees from the ban." 
 
(5) Political battle over provisional gas tax rate: LDP impatiently 
making frantic effort for early start of Diet deliberations; DPJ 
remain bullish with Ozawa's policy change reflected in party 
atmosphere 
 
 
TOKYO 00000571  006 OF 008 
 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
March 4, 2008 
 
Following the passage of the fiscal 2008 budget bill and the bill 
amending the Special Tax Measures Law, including the maintaining of 
the provisional rates on such taxes as the gasoline tax, by the 
Lower House, a full-fledged political battle between the ruling and 
opposition parties kicked off in the Upper House on March 3. The 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) is stiffening its 
stance, saying that it cannot respond to a call for participating in 
Upper House deliberations on the budget bill, because the ruling 
camp rammed those bills through the Lower House. The ruling parties, 
which see securing Diet approval for the bill amending the Special 
Tax Measures Law as a duty that takes top priority, are increasingly 
becoming impatient. 
 
Diet Policy Committee Chairman Seiji Suzuki Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP) stressed during a press conference on Mar. 3: "We are calling 
on the DPJ to take part in Diet deliberations as soon as possible. 
We want it to quickly present a deliberation schedule so that we can 
confer on that." 
 
The ruling parties on Mar. 3 made frantic efforts for an early start 
of deliberations on the budget bill and the bill amending the 
Special Tax Measures Law. As part of such efforts, LDP Diet Policy 
Committee Chairmen Seiji Suzuki and New Komeito Diet Policy 
Committee Chairman Hisashi Kazama of the Upper House on the evening 
of the 3rd visited the Upper House speaker, deputy speaker, the 
Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in an 
effort to strengthen pressure on the DPJ so that it will soften its 
stance. 
 
In the meantime, Upper House Budget Committee Chairman Yoshitada 
Konoike adopted by virtue of his office a schedule for holding 
deliberations on the 4th with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and all 
cabinet ministers in attendance. 
 
He fixed a deliberation schedule, while knowing that it would be 
impossible to hold deliberations in the Upper House with the number 
of participants falling short of the quorum if the opposition 
parties boycott them. However, he expects that if the DPJ's absence 
is highlighted, public criticism of the DPJ would mount, and the DPJ 
as a result would soften its stance. 
 
However, there is a slim chance of the DPJ responding to a call for 
taking part in Diet deliberations at an early date. 
 
DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chair Susumu Yanase on the afternoon of 
the 3rd triumphantly said, when Suzuki notified his party of the 
committee's decision to hold by virtue of his office an Upper House 
Budget Committee meeting: "We have no intention whatsoever of 
attending deliberations. If we did, it would worsen the situation." 
 
Senior DPJ members, including President Ichiro Ozawa, on the 
afternoon of the 3rd vowed to continue the stance of not responding 
to a call for taking part in Upper House deliberations, citing that 
the relationship of trust between the ruling and opposition parties 
has collapsed with the ruling camp forcing bills, including the 
budget bill, through the Lower House. 
 
The ruling parties are calling for holding talks to revise the bill 
amending the Special Tax Measures Law. The DPJ is determined not to 
 
TOKYO 00000571  007 OF 008 
 
 
respond to their call, unless the LDP comes up with a revision plan, 
a senior Diet Affairs Committee member said. It is also determined 
not to agree to set up a consultative organ. Even if it took part in 
Upper House deliberations, it wants to prioritize deliberations on 
its own counterproposals. 
 
The strategy of attaining cuts in gasoline prices by letting the 
provisional tax rate expire at the end of March, thereby forcing the 
Fukuda cabinet to dissolve the Lower House for a snap election, is 
also regaining ground in the DPJ. 
 
Behind a hard-line stance like this is Ozawa's clear confrontational 
stance. He noted: "The current LDP-New Komeito administration and 
the Fukuda cabinet are unsteady. It would be better to hold a 
general election for the sake of the public." 
 
A change in the stance of Ozawa -- whom party members had suspected 
since the grand coalition hurly-burly last fall that he might join 
hands with the prime minister -- is apparently reflected in the 
hard-line stand. 
 
(6) Editorial: Quickly work out measures to protect cultural assets 
from earthquakes 
 
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Abridged) 
February 29, 2008 
 
A strong earthquake in Kyoto and Nara may collapse or burn many of 
the temples that are designated as national treasures or key 
cultural assets, including world's cultural assets. 
 
The government's Central Disaster Prevention Council has produced 
its first report on possible damage to be caused by a major 
earthquake to cultural assets. It was a shocking report on 
earthquake prediction. In actuality, however, for most of such 
buildings, satisfactory measures against an earthquake or a fire 
have not been taken. It is our responsibility to protect historic 
cultural assets for the sake of future generations. Measures must be 
urgently hammered out. 
 
The report focuses on whether a quake registering a strong 6 or over 
on the Japanese seismic scale could occur in a zone of active 
faulting in the Kinki or Chubu metropolitan district and on where 
the flames would spread. 
 
There are about 260 buildings designated as national treasures or 
important cultural assets houses in the zone of the Hanaore Fault 
running from Shiga Prefecture through Kyoto Prefecture, mainly in 
Kyoto. Of the 17 temples and castles as the world's cultural 
heritage in Kyoto, Kiyomizu Temple, Toji and other 11 assets are 
located within this region. 
 
An earthquake in the zone of the Ikoma Fault in eastern Osaka is 
estimated to affect a region that houses about 220 national 
treasuries or important cultural assets, including Horyu-ji and 
Todai-ji. 
 
A major quake will inevitably deal a serious blow to cultural 
assets. Even so, quake-proof measures have been taken only for 
20-some cultural assets in the zones mentioned above in recent 
years. 
 
 
TOKYO 00000571  008 OF 008 
 
 
Since 2005, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has provided subsidies 
for earthquake inspections of the buildings to which a number of 
tourists visit. The inspections found a high possibility that 
Nijo-jo may collapse in a great earthquake. 
 
In Kyoto, only seven cultural assets underwent an earthquake 
inspection with the agency's subsidies. The owners should hurriedly 
have their assets inspected and make them resistant to earthquakes. 
 
SCHIEFFER