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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 001311 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR E, P, EB, EAP/J, EAP/P, EAP/PD, PA; 
WHITE HOUSE/NSC/NEC; JUSTICE FOR STU CHEMTOB IN ANTI-TRUST DIVISION; 
TREASURY/OASIA/IMI/JAPAN; DEPT PASS USTR/PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; 
SECDEF FOR JCS-J-5/JAPAN, 
DASD/ISA/EAPR/JAPAN; DEPT PASS ELECTRONICALLY TO USDA 
FAS/ITP FOR SCHROETER; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR; 
CINCPAC FLT/PA/ COMNAVFORJAPAN/PA. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO PGOV PINR ECON ELAB JA
 
SUBJECT: JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 05/14/08 
 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
4) Final news conference in Washington finds outgoing U.S. 
Ambassador to Japan Ryozo Kato upbeat about U.S.-Japan relations 
(Mainichi) 
 
5) Korea Desk Director Sung Kim in press briefing says U.S., Japan 
and ROK will consult on restarting the Six-Party Talks  (Yomiuri) 
 
6) Prime Minister Fukuda planning trip to Italy in early June 
(Yomiuri) 
 
China quake: 
7) Scale of energy expended in the devastating earthquake in Sichuan 
China was 32 times that of the Osaka-Kobe earthquake  (Mainichi) 
8) Government to provide China quake victims with relief aid 
equivalent to 500 million yen  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
9) Team of Japanese doctors and specialists ready to go help quake 
victims but the Chinese government has yet to ask for such help 
(Yomiuri) 
 
Africa aid: 
10) Japan to assist Africa in improving rice cultivation  (Yomiuri) 
 
11) Vice Foreign Minister Yabunaka calls for increase in Japan's ODA 
budget, especially for African aid program  (Sankei) 
 
Political agenda: 
12) Road tax legislation finally passed by the Lower House revote 
(Asahi) 
13) Next focus of attack against Fukuda Cabinet by Ozawa's 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will be the issue of tapping 
pensions of elderly for medical care  (Yomiuri) 
14) Weary LDP feels a deep sense of impasse in the lopsided Diet 
(Mainichi) 
15) Space bill clears the Lower House  (Mainichi) 
16) New Koga faction in the LDP launched after merger with Tanigaki 
faction  (Asahi) 
 
Defense issues: 
17) Court martial on the 16th of Marine in Okinawa accused of raping 
a schoolgirl  (Nikkei) 
18) Lawmaker Inoue pursues in Diet the issue of the private vehicles 
of U.S. military personnel not being garaged, as required by law 
(Nikkei) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Sankei, Tokyo Shimbun and Akahata: 
More than 20,000 buried alive in China quake, death toll exceeds 
12,000 
 
Nikkei: 
Finance Ministry presents three tentative plans for care insurance 
reform, including one to increase payments by those requiring 
nursing care to 20 PERCENT 
 
TOKYO 00001311  002 OF 012 
 
 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) China earthquake: Speedy rescue operation imperative 
(2) Stalled politics must end after road bill passed 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Road revenue legislation readopted 
(2) Sichuan quake: Survivors must be rescued 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Prime minister must move to free up use of road-related taxes 
(2) Powerful Sichuan quake a disaster before Beijing Olympics 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Road-related taxes must be freed up completely 
(2) China quake requires international aid 
 
Sankei: 
(1) All highway-related tax revenues must be moved into the general 
account through talks between ruling and opposition parties 
(2) Sichuan temblor: Japan must prepare itself against quakes 
through aid 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Road revenue legislation readopted: Time to listen to people's 
voices 
(2) Quake in China: Disaster relief requires cooperation 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Readopted road legislation symbolizes inflexible administration 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, May 13 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
08:01 
Attended a cabinet meeting in Diet. 
 
09:29 
Met with Finance Minister Nukaga at Kantei. Afterwards, met with 
Space Shuttle Endeavour Capitan Dominic Gorie, astronaut Takao Doi 
and others. 
 
10:20 
Met with Ambassador to Botswana. Afterwards, met with 
Director-General for Policy Planning and Evaluation of MHLW Usui and 
Deputy Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Saka. 
 
11:16 
Met with Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Yamatani, followed by 
Japan Coast Guard Director-General Iwasaki. 
 
14:52 
Attended a Lower House plenary session. 
 
15:55 
Met with former Prime Minister Kaifu, joined by Land Minister 
 
TOKYO 00001311  003 OF 012 
 
 
Fuyushiba. Kaifu remained. 
 
16:13 
Met with LDP Secretary General Ibuki. 
 
16:35 
Met with former Prime Minister Abe at the First Members' Office 
Building of the Lower House. 
 
17:03 
Met at Kantei with representatives of labor unions from the G-8, 
including Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) Chairman 
Tsuyoshi Takagi, joined by Health and Labor Minister Masuzoe and 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura. Masuzoe remained. 
 
Reporters: "Do you have a plan to report to former Prime Minister 
Koizumi about the (current state of diplomacy)?" 
Prime minister: "Possibly tomorrow by phone." 
 
19:05 
Arrived at Kantei residence. 
 
4) Ambassador to U.S. Kato holds last press conference 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Kazuhiko Kusano, Washington 
 
Ambassador to U. S. Ryozo Kato, who will resign at the end of May, 
held his last press conference on May 12 in Washington. Kato, who 
will have served in his current post for six and a half years, 
becoming the longest-serving Japanese ambassador to the U.S. in the 
postwar period, stressed that Tokyo should continue to make 
Japan-U.S. relations the bedrock of its diplomacy. He stated: "There 
is no other country than the United States that has the capabilities 
to resolve problems." 
 
Kato pointed out changes in the U.S. side, saying: "I have seen many 
cases where the U.S. made decisions after hearing the views of 
Japan." 
 
Kato, who loves baseball, is expected to become the new commissioner 
of the Japan Professional Baseball League Organization. Yesterday, 
he revealed the utility of talks about baseball with U.S. government 
officials, noting: "It helped me when carrying out diplomacy." 
 
5) Japan, U.S., ROK to meet to discuss resumption of six-party 
talks 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Takeo Miyazaki, Washington 
 
U.S. State Department's Office of Korean Affairs Director Sung Kim 
yesterday met with the press and revealed that Assistant Secretary 
of State Christopher Hill, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' 
Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Akitaka Saiki, 
and the South Korean chief delegate to the six-party talks would 
meet possibly early next week to discuss restarting the six-party 
talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. The meeting will be held in 
 
TOKYO 00001311  004 OF 012 
 
 
response to North Korea's recent submission of the operation records 
of its nuclear facility. The venue for the trilateral meeting has 
yet to be decided, but the meeting is expected to discuss the 
resumption of the six-party talks, which have been stalled since 
last September, as Hill has previously indicated an intention to 
hold a trilateral session as a run-up to the six-party talks. 
 
Director Kim stayed in North Korea until May 10. During that time he 
received some 18,000 pages of documents related to North Korea's 
plutonium program from the North Korean side and returned home on 
May 12. Kim appreciated the submission of the documents by noting, 
"This is an important step, as it serves as a basis for (North 
Korea's planned submission of) a nuclear declaration. Seemingly, the 
documents contain every aspect." But when asked about an outlook as 
to when to resume the six-party talks, Kim simply said: "It's too 
early to say anything about the timing of the resumption of the 
talks." 
 
6) Fukuda eyes visit to Italy in early June 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Prime Minister Fukuda is considering attending the Food Summit to be 
held by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United 
Nations in Rome on June 3-5, according to informed sources 
yesterday. 
 
The leaders of Italy, France, and other countries are expected to 
participate in the said conference. Fukuda hopes to meet with the 
leaders on the sidelines of the conference prior to the Lake Toya 
Summit in July. He will make a judgment while ascertaining the Diet 
situation. 
 
7) Energy expended in Sichuan quake 32 times the scale of the 
Hanshin quake 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged) 
May 14, 2008 
 
The size of the Sichuan earthquake's energy was about 32 times the 
Hanshin (Osaka-Kobe) earthquake, Professor Kazuki Koketsu and his 
group at the University of Tokyo Earthquake Research Institute have 
found from their analysis. 
 
Koketsu and his team analyzed seismic waves that were observed 
around the world, and they found out that the fault that caused the 
earthquake was about 120 kilometers long and about 40 kilometers 
wide and had moved about 15 meters. 
 
The seismic center was north of an earthquake-prone region called 
the "north-south earthquake zone." A part of an earthquake fault 
longer than 300 kilometers-running from northeast to southwest 
through the Longmenshan mountains-is believed to have moved. The 
moment magnitude (Mw), which can be derived from the fault plane and 
other seismic factors to indicate the size of a massive quake more 
accurately, was 7.9 and overscaled the Hanshin earthquake's Mw6.9. 
An Mw increase of 1.0 equals a 32-fold increase of earthquake 
energy. 
 
The tremor that hit Sichuan this time was an earthquake of the 
so-called "reverse fault type." In this type of a quake, two faults 
 
TOKYO 00001311  005 OF 012 
 
 
are pushed from east and west, with one fault plane riding over the 
other fault surface. Koketsu says the Sichuan earthquake was the 
world's largest inland quake of the reverse fault type. 
 
8) Government to provide China with aid worth 500 million yen; 220 
Japanese nationals confirmed safe 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
The government decided yesterday to offer 500 million yen worth of 
emergency grants and supplies to earthquake-hit China. Prime 
Minister Yasuo Fukuda made the decision in response to a request 
from China. The government is making utmost efforts to confirm 
whereabouts of the Japanese nationals staying in Sichuan Province 
devastated by the quake and is also preparing to provide additional 
assistance such as dispatch of international rescue team members if 
requested. 
 
The Foreign Ministry announced last night that about 200 of the 
about 300 Japanese nationals who had submitted papers to stay in 
Sichuan Province for more than three months have been confirmed 
safe. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said in a press 
conference yesterday afternoon: "We have confirmed as of now that no 
Japanese national has been affected by the quake." 
 
The government has emphasized that it is making arrangements to 
dispatch rescue team members from the Fire and Disaster Management 
Agency and other organizations, based on the International Rescue 
Team Dispatch Law. Machimura said: "We have already made 
preparations to send rescue teams and helicopters," besides funds 
and goods. 
 
In a joint meeting of the national defense-related departments in 
the Liberal Democratic Party, views calling for dispatching 
Self-Defense Force (SDF) troops to China were presented in 
succession. A lawmaker responsible for national defense policy urged 
the government to offer to China a plan to dispatch SDF troops, 
saying: "This will provide a good chance to make the real mission of 
the SDF understood." 
 
China, though, has been critical of Japan sending SDF personnel 
overseas. SDF members have never been dispatched to China since 
dispatching troops overseas became possible in 1992. 
 
The government is ready and willing to provide additional 
assistance, with Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura saying: "Japan is 
ready to send trained aid personnel if China makes a request." But 
as Machimura noted, "(China) is a self-sufficient country that wants 
to do everything by itself," the government sees it unlikely that 
Japan will be asked to dispatch a large-scale rescue team. 
 
9) China quake: Japanese doctors unable to start assistance 
activities without request from China 
 
YOMIURI (Page 34) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Japanese groups are getting ready to provide human assistance to 
China's quake-hit area, but so far, no formal request for such have 
come from the Chinese government as of May 13, the second day after 
the disaster. Concerned sources are increasingly becoming 
 
TOKYO 00001311  006 OF 012 
 
 
impatient. 
 
A person in charge of the Japan Rescue Association, a nonprofit 
organization located in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, was 
disappointed, as an official in charge at the Chinese Consulate 
General in Osaka told him that China does not accept any assistance 
from foreign countries. 
 
This organization, established after the Hanshin-Awaji Great 
Earthquake, is prepared to dispatch four members and four or five 
rescue dogs to China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on the afternoon 
of the 13th said that China extends its gratitude for and welcomes 
assistance offers made by various countries. On hearing that 
statement, the body once again offered assistance to the Consulate 
General. However, its offer was turned down again. Hiroaki Ishii 
(27) at the Rescue Department regretfully said, "Many people are 
buried alive. We want to go to the quake site as soon as possible." 
 
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs and Communications is preparing about 20 firefighters to 
leave for China as the first step of activities by the International 
Fire-Fighting and Rescue Team. However, under the Japan Disaster 
Relief Team Dispatch Law they cannot dispatch them unless there is a 
request from China. Japanese Red Cross in Minato Ward, Tokyo, which 
is preparing to send doctors and nurses, has yet to decide what to 
do. 
 
A person in charge at MDDA, an international medical assistance 
organization that dispatches doctors to disaster-stricken areas 
abroad, said, "The disaster site is in a mountainous area. It is 
cold during the night. Relief activities must be carried out 
immediately." 
 
10) Government to help Africa double rice production 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
The government decided yesterday to help Africa double rice 
production over the next decade. The government aim to have Africa 
boost productivity and deal with the increasingly serious food 
crisis from a long-term perspective. The assistance in the 
agricultural sector will be incorporated in an action plan to be 
announced at the African Development Conference later this month. 
 
Specifically, the government, making use of its know-how on rice 
cultivation, will take measures to (1) improve species suitable for 
the region; (2) foster experts; (3) teach production methods; and 
(4) improve the goods-distribution system. 
 
11) Vice Foreign Minister Yabunaka stresses need to increase ODA 
budget and offer more assistance to Africa 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka yesterday gave 
a speech at Yokohama City University's Kanazawa Hakkei Campus in 
Yokohama City. In the speech, Yabunaka referred to the significance 
of the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development 
(TICAD) that would take place in the city from May 28, as well as 
the current state of African countries. Some 320 students and 
 
TOKYO 00001311  007 OF 012 
 
 
citizens gathered in the hall to hear the speech. 
 
TICAD is called the "Japan-Africa summit," and Yabunaka emphasized: 
"Major topics for discussion in the TICAD include the environment 
and development issues, both of which are Japan's forte. TICAD has 
drawn international attention. With the Group of Eight Hokkaido 
Toyako Summit nearing, Japan's leadership will be put to the test." 
 
Development of Africa has become a task for the international 
community to address in order to prevent, for instance, poverty in 
Africa from turning into uncertainties for the international 
community. In this context, Yabunaka noted that Japan ranks in the 
fifth in terms of aid to Africa in 2006 after the United States, 
Britain, France, and Germany, and that in recent years, Japan's ODA 
to Africa had sharply decreased. 
 
Speaking of the features of Japan's aid, Yabunaka said: "Experts 
give technical guidance themselves to local people." He asserted 
that in order to increase the ODA budget, it is essential for the 
Japanese public to understand the need to increase ODA and support 
the increase. 
 
12) Road revenue legislation enacted with revote, the third time 
under Fukuda administration 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) 
May 14, 2008 
 
A bill to keep road-related tax revenues earmarked for building and 
improving highways for 10 years cleared the Diet yesterday with a 
two-third House of Representatives override vote of the ruling 
parties. Now that the government and ruling bloc have weathered the 
storm regarding the road issue, they do not intend to extend the 
current Diet session, due to close on June 15. The political focus 
will now shift to such matters as a cabinet shuffle, expected to 
occur after the July G-8 Lake Toya Summit, and the Democratic Party 
of Japan's presidential race in September. 
 
The legislation was readopted with 336 lawmakers voting for it and 
133 against it. The DPJ, Japanese Communist Party, and Social 
Democratic Party voted against it, while the People's New Party did 
not attend the session. Under the Fukuda administration, this is the 
third time that the ruling camp has taken a revote on legislation, 
following one on antiterrorism special measures legislation in 
January and tax-related bills in April that reinstated the 
provisional gasoline tax rate. 
 
Ahead of the revote, the government adopted a cabinet policy of 
freeing up road-related revenues for general spending starting in 
fiscal 2009. Prime Minister last night played up his determination 
to free up road revenued, telling reporters, "The ruling parties, 
including myself, will pursue it in a responsible manner." 
 
Concluding that bills of profound importance no longer wait passage, 
now that the road legislation has cleared the Diet, the government 
and ruling bloc have decided not to extend the current Diet session. 
They also apparently want to reduce opportunities for the opposition 
bloc to grill them on the road issue and the highly controversial 
health insurance system for the elderly. 
 
In the wake of the settlement of the road issue, the prime minister 
plans to boost public support for his cabinet, which has dropped to 
 
TOKYO 00001311  008 OF 012 
 
 
20 PERCENT , by earnestly addressing his policy challenges, such as 
consumer affairs, social security, and the global environment. In 
particular, he intends to pave the way by June for establishing a 
consumer affairs agency next fiscal year. The National Council on 
Social Security is also scheduled to produce in June an interim 
report spelling out how the pension, medical, and nursing care 
systems should be revised. The prime minister also intends to come 
up with the government's comprehensive measures against global 
warming to make the upcoming G-8 Summit a success. 
 
Some ruling party members are calling for a cabinet shuffle, saying, 
"The prime minister should launch a new cabinet composed of cabinet 
ministers handpicked by himself in order to buoy up his 
administration." The prime minister is likely to look for the right 
timing to shuffle his cabinet after the summit and into the fall. 
 
Following his party's victory in the latest Lower House by-lection, 
DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa indicated that his party would not submit 
a censure motion against the prime minister in the current session 
of the Diet, saying, "He has been censured by the general public." 
His strategy to face the September presidential race while 
maintaining party unity to be prepared for Lower House dissolution 
and a snap general election. 
 
13) Final phase of Diet session: Medical service system for elderly 
people to come into focus: President Ozawa gives priority to verbal 
confrontation, forgoes submission of censure motion 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Excerpts) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Now that the bill amending the Road Construction Revenues Special 
Exemption Law was enacted in a second vote in the Lower House, the 
focus of the final-phase of the Diet session will move to a battle 
between the ruling and opposition parties over a new medical service 
system for very old people. The opposition camp intends to steadily 
take part in deliberations on bills other than contentious ones, by 
putting off decision-making on the submission of a censure motion 
against Prime Minister Fukuda until the end of the session on June 
¶15. As such, the possibility is strong that the Diet session will 
not be extended. 
 
Diet session unlikely to be extended 
 
Concerning a censure motion against the prime minister, Democratic 
Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) President Ozawa at a press 
conference noted, "The DPJ will consider how to pursue the 
responsibility of the Fukuda cabinet, while revealing through Diet 
debate issues directly related to people's life, such as the new 
medical service system for very old people and the issue of pension 
premium contribution record errors." He thus indicated his policy of 
giving priority to Diet debate, forgoing decision-making on the 
submission of a censure motion until the end of the Diet session. 
 
Four opposition parties held a meeting of policy affairs chiefs in 
the Diet. Participants confirmed a policy of submitting before the 
end of the month a bill aimed at abolishing the said system. DPJ 
Policy Research Committee Chair Naoshima underscored, "It is 
discriminatory to establish a separate medical service system for 
those aged 75 or older." 
 
The DPJ is also mulling drafting a basic law for reforming the 
 
TOKYO 00001311  009 OF 012 
 
 
national government employee system as another element in 
confronting the government and the ruling camp. Some LDP members are 
opposing the idea of limiting contact between politicians and 
bureaucrats. The DPJ hopes it can shake up the ruling parties in 
revision talks. 
 
In response, the government is trying to find a breakthrough in its 
effort to buoy the administration, by piling up achievements both on 
the domestic affairs and diplomatic fronts. 
 
14) LDP, DPJ at impasse; new elderly healthcare system to become 
major political issue 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
With the re-approval of a bill amending the Road Construction 
Revenues Special Exemption Law by the House of Representatives, the 
main focus of attention in the Diet has now shifted to maneuvering 
between the ruling and opposition parties over the new healthcare 
system for those 75 and over, with an eye on June 15 when the 
ongoing session ends. Four opposition parties have agreed in general 
to submit a bill abolishing the new medical service system for the 
elderly at the end of next March to the House of Councillors before 
the end of this month. However, their decision to forgo submitting a 
censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda indicates the 
difficulty of forcing Fukuda to dissolve the Lower House to call a 
snap election. Despite the low support rates for his cabinet, Fukuda 
intends to play up his determination to manage his administration, 
with the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido in mind. The 
impasse between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and main 
opposition Democratic Party (DPJ) will likely continue. 
 
DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa clarified a stance of attacking the 
Fukuda administration over the healthcare system for the elderly by 
pointing out problematical points. He stated in press conference: 
"The government has not take any sincere response to the medical 
care system for the elderly and the pension-record mess." 
 
The four opposition parties yesterday held a first meeting of their 
officers in charge of the healthcare system issue. They generally 
agreed to reinstate the old medical service system on April 1 next 
year. The opposition parties also agreed to hold a meeting on May 16 
to boil down such details as when the government should suspend the 
withholding of medical insurance premiums from the pension 
benefits. 
 
The DPJ, however, remains unable to come up with good material to 
hit the government and ruling coalition with during the remaining 
one month of the current session, because it has forgone a plan to 
submit to the Upper House a censure motion against the prime 
minister. Asked about whether his party would submit a censure 
motion against Fukuda, Ozawa just said: "While deliberating on 
issues in which the public have a strong interest, at the Diet, we 
will consider measures to pursue the responsibility of the Fukuda 
cabinet." 
 
One senior member in charge of Diet affairs made this comment: "If a 
censure motion is submitted after deliberations on the medical 
system bill, the submission of the motion would become just a 
ceremony." 
 
 
TOKYO 00001311  010 OF 012 
 
 
15) Lower House passes space bill 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
A lawmaker-sponsored basic bill on outer space, authorizing the use 
of outer space for defense and industrial purposes, was approved 
yesterday in a House of Representatives plenary session by a 
majority of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP), its coalition partner New Komeito, and the main opposition 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The outlook is that the bill will 
be sent to the House of Councillors and it there will be enacted 
during the current Diet session. The Social Democratic Party and 
Japanese Communist Party have rejected the legislation. The bill, 
which would allow the government to expand its space policy to 
security areas, will likely spark controversy. 
 
The government has translated the Diet resolution adopted in 1969 
that the use of space is limited to "non-military purposes." The 
bill, however, stipulates Japan should promote its own aerospace 
industry that contributes to its security. This means Japan would 
remove a ban on the use of space for defense purposes for 
non-encroachment that is allowed by the Outer Space Treaty. 
 
In the wake of the launch of a Taepodong ballistic missile by North 
Korea in 1998, the government now operates three 
intelligence-gathering satellites. Since intelligence the satellites 
get has been provided to the Defense Ministry, some have contended 
that the satellites are spy satellites. 
 
However, the Defense Ministry is not allowed to develop satellites 
on its own and it has limited the use of its technology to "private 
level." The bill aimed to remove those regulations and it would make 
it possible for the ministry to introduce 
technologically-sophisticated reconnaissance satellites and possess 
early-warning satellites for missile defense. 
 
In this regard, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) explains 
that the use of outer space for defense purposes is in line with the 
pacifist spirit of the Constitution and falls within the scope of 
being exclusively for defense purpose only, not violating the 1969 
Diet resolution. The Japanese Communist Party, however, disagrees: 
"The law will null the Diet resolution and promote a 
military-centered space policy." 
 
16) LDP faction Chukochi-kai gets underway without fanfare, launched 
as the new Koga faction; Tanigaki assumes honorary position 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
The Koga and Tanigaki factions, both affiliated with the former 
Miyazawa faction (Kochi-kai) of the Liberal Democratic Party, have 
merged, forming the third largest faction in the party with its 61 
members. Election Committee Chairman Makoto Koga will serve as 
chairman. However, with Sadakazu Tanigaki, a putative party 
presidential candidate, assuming the honorary position of 
representative organizer, the new faction made a start without 
fanfare. 
 
Koga at a fund-raising and coming-out party held in Tokyo yesterday 
emphatically said, "We want to go hand-in-hand in order to realize a 
 
TOKYO 00001311  011 OF 012 
 
 
Kochi-kai-led administration, when the time comes." 
 
Tanigaki was beside Koga. They swore unity after a hiatus of seven 
and a half years. However, no senior members, including Koga, talked 
about who would assume the premiership if their faction ran the 
government. 
 
Tanigaki, who ran in the presidential race in 2006, had difficulty 
securing 20 sponsors. One senior member of the former Tanigaki 
faction said he had expected that he would be closer to the 
presidency if the two factions merged. However, he is viewed as 
lacking punch as policy research council chairman, as former Mori 
faction member commented. There is an atmosphere of hesitating to 
recommend Tanigaki as a candidate for the premiership. 
 
Even so, there is no other "standard-bearer" in the former Koga 
faction who can replace Tanigaki. Regarding the role Tanigaki is 
expected to play, a person from the former Koga faction who once 
served as a cabinet minister noted, "Having a presidential candidate 
serves as a negotiation card for a new faction. If Mr. Tanigaki 
behaves as such, that will do." 
 
17) U.S. Marine to be court-martialed tomorrow over schoolgirl rape 
 
AKAHATA (Page 15) (Abridged) 
May 14, 2008 
 
The U.S. Marine Corps in Japan announced yesterday that the U.S. 
military would court-martial Tyrone Luther Hadnott, a 38-year-old 
staff sergeant, tomorrow at Camp Zukeran (Camp Foster) in Ginowan, 
Okinawa Prefecture, over an alleged rape. Hadnott was arrested in 
February this year in the Okinawa prefectural town of Chatan for 
allegedly raping a junior high school girl. The court-martial will 
be opened to the Japanese media. 
 
18) No discussion for 4 years on U.S. military personnel's private 
vehicles 
 
AKAHATA (Page 15) (Full) 
May 14, 2008 
 
Anyone buying an automobile is legally required to submit a 
certification of parking space to local police. Meanwhile, this 
certification is said to be unnecessary in the case of U.S. military 
personnel. On this issue, Japan and the United States held a meeting 
of their intergovernmental joint committee in July 2004 and agreed 
to reach a conclusion at the earliest possible date. Notwithstanding 
this agreement, the Japanese and U.S. governments have not discussed 
this matter for about four years. This fact was revealed by Shinichi 
Nishimiya, director general of the North American Affairs Bureau at 
the Foreign Ministry, in his Diet reply to a question asked by 
Satoshi Inoue, a House of Councillors member of the Japanese 
Communist Party, in a meeting yesterday of the House of Councillors 
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. 
 
The Parking Space Law requires all automobile owners to submit a 
certification of parking space in order to eliminate illegal 
parking. In the case of cars privately owned by U.S. military 
personnel, however, they have been illegal with no parking space 
certification submitted. In July 2004, the joint committee agreed to 
submit a certification of off-base parking space. In the case of 
on-base parking space, a special committee was to meet every two 
 
TOKYO 00001311  012 OF 012 
 
 
weeks for intensive discussions. 
 
Inoue asked about the progress of discussions. Nishimiya stated: 
"The special committee last met August 31, 2004. The Japanese and 
U.S. governments differed on this matter and have yet to reach an 
agreement." 
 
In Okinawa Prefecture, a total of 3,039 vehicles owned by U.S. 
military personnel were newly registered in the January-March period 
of 2008. According to Inoue, However, parking space was certified 
for only four cars. 
 
"The agreement itself has not been observed," Inoue stated. "Also," 
he went on, "there have been no discussions." With this, Inoue 
criticized the Japanese and U.S. governments. He quoted the governor 
of Okinawa Prefecture as criticizing the agreement for being failed 
as a "dead letter." He stressed that the situation should be 
improved at once. Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura stated: "There 
is a question as indicated, so we will make efforts to work it out 
so the agreement will be observed." 
 
DONOVAN