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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9878

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 001364 
 
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 05/19/08 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Appointments requiring Diet approval likely to again come into 
focus in Diet, which is to close in less than one month (Nikkei) 
 
(2) Japan to host ministerial meeting on Northeast Africa on 
sidelines of upcoming TICAD (Nikkei) 
 
(3) EPA with Indonesia: Agreement reached in principle to start in 
July; Nurses, care-givers to be accepted (Nikkei) 
 
(4) MOD reform plan hard to understand; Establishing a body 
assisting the defense minister a priority (Yomiuri) 
 
(5) Reporters' eyes: My views about reporters' assertions on 
poisoning of dumplings imported from China (Mainichi) 
 
(Corrected copy) Ruling parties team agree on revisions to law that 
would penalize by imprisonment even the simple possession of child 
pornography (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Appointments requiring Diet approval likely to again come into 
focus in Diet, which is to close in less than one month 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 19, 2008 
 
Appointments of government agency posts requiring approval from both 
chambers of the Diet are likely to again draw attention in the final 
days of the Diet. In addition to the still vacant post of deputy 
Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor, it is necessary to get Diet approval 
during the current session of the Diet for several posts, some of 
which will be vacated due to the expiration of the term in the fall 
and some of which will be established in the fall. In the ruling 
bloc, an idea is being floated of establishing a provision 
specifying the Lower House's superiority over the Upper House 
regarding Diet-approval requiring posts, but it appears difficult to 
amend the law hurriedly at this point in time. If the ruling bloc 
fails to obtain understanding from the opposition bloc about 
appointments to those posts, some appointments may be deferred to 
the next session of the Diet. 
 
Government, ruling bloc rushing to come out with appointments to 25 
posts in 9 government bodies 
 
"We must reveal all appointments to the Diet by the end of May," one 
government source said, referring to the question of appointments to 
25 posts in nine government bodies of which the government and the 
ruling bloc would like to obtain Diet approval during the current 
Diet session. It takes at least two weeks to go through the 
proceedings to obtain Diet approval. If the term of the current Diet 
session, which is to close on June 15, is not extended, the 
government and the ruling bloc need to fix the appointments by the 
end of May. Otherwise, more vacant posts will be created. 
 
Deputy BOJ post highest priority 
 
The highest priority post is the deputy BOJ governor, which has been 
vacant since Masaaki Shirakawa was promoted from deputy governor to 
governor. A troika management style among the governor and the two 
 
TOKYO 00001364  002 OF 009 
 
 
deputy governors at the bank is the usual management style there. 
The government's strong desire is to present a new proposal to 
appoint someone to the post, along with its proposals for 
appointments to other government body posts, so that the vacancy of 
the deputy governor will be filled swiftly. Prime Minister Yasuo 
Fukuda told reporters on May 14: "The sooner the better." 
 
The government and the ruling parties, however, have yet to recover 
from the legacy of the month of turmoil over the appointment of the 
BOJ governor in March. A government source was cautious about 
(submitting a proposal to appoint someone to the deputy BOJ governor 
post), noting, "We are afraid to show the appointment plan if the 
situation remains the same, namely, even after an agreement was 
reached with a senior DPJ leader, the DPJ could upset it." The 
government and the ruling camp envision even the possibility of 
deferring the appointment to the deputy BOJ governor post to the 
next extraordinary session of the Diet. 
 
Appointments to posts related to a new personnel exchange system 
between the government and the private sector is another headache 
for the government. The system, which is to be established on Oct. 1 
with the aim of monitoring retired bureaucrats landing cushy jobs, 
is intended to consolidate management of reemployment of national 
civil servants. In this regard, five appointments to such posts as 
chair of the Committee to Monitor Reemployment, Etc. need to be 
determined, and those appointments are subject to Diet approval. The 
major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which is opposed 
to retired government officials getting plum jobs, is criticizing 
the system itself for the consolidation of management of 
reemployment of national civil servants. "The system can't be put 
into operation should the chair and the members of the committee not 
determined," one government official said embarrassedly. 
 
DPJ holds key 
 
The current Deposit Insurance Corporation's chair's term of office 
is to expire on June 23. If according to the precedent, the 
government comes out with a proposal to appoint a former Finance 
Ministry official to the post, it is highly likely that the proposal 
will be rejected by the DPJ. 
 
The ruling parties will hurriedly reduce the number of candidates 
for the post by examining moves by the DPJ over whether it will give 
the nod to the ruling bloc's proposed candidate. For the ruling 
bloc, reappointing the senior official whom the DPJ once approved 
may be one option, but the DPJ could turn around from approval to 
opposition as seen in the past cases. The ruling parties have yet to 
fully assess how the DPJ will react. 
 
Appointments of which the government wants to obtain Diet approval 
during the current session of the Diet 
 
Expiration date Titles Number of appointments 
Already vacated Deputy BOJ governor/member of the BOJ Policy Board 
2 
 Member of NHK Management Committee 1 
June 23 Governor of Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan (DICP) 1 
June 25 Board member of DICP 1 
June 26 Chair of National Offenders Rehabilitation Commission  1 
June 30 Member of Labor Insurance Appeal Committee 1 
July 4 Members of Land Appraisal Committee 7 
Sept. 30 Members of Council on Information Disclosure/Protection of 
 
TOKYO 00001364  003 OF 009 
 
 
Privacy 3 
Oct. 1 
(New and additional establishment of committees, etc.) Chair and 
members of Committee to Monitor Reemployment 5 
 Members of Committee on Transport and Safety (Which will be a 
reorganized committee of the Aviation and Railway Accidents Survey 
Committee) with C 3 
 
(2) Japan to host ministerial meeting on Northeast Africa on 
sidelines of upcoming TICAD 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
May 19, 2008 
 
Japan will host a ministerial meeting to discuss how to bring 
stability to Northeast Africa, including Sudan, on the sidelines of 
the upcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development 
(TICAD) in Yokohama City, which opens on May 28. Tokyo also is 
making arrangements to host another ministerial meeting to urge 
Israel and the Palestinian Authority to work together to bring peace 
to the Middle East late June or early July by inviting both sides to 
the conference. Through these efforts, Japan aims to hurriedly 
produce actual results so that Japan will become a peace fostering 
nation. 
 
Tokyo expects 10 countries, including Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and 
Central African Republic, to join the ministerial session to discuss 
stability in Northeast Africa. Japan will ask foreign ministers of 
African countries who are to travel to Japan to attend the TICAD to 
take part in the ministerial meeting. 
 
Countries located in Northeast Africa include countries whose 
political situation is unstable, for instance, Sudan, where civil 
war, including genocide in Darfur, is continuing, and Kenya, which 
was thrown into turmoil over the presidential election early this 
year. Japan will build a dialogue with each country and is preparing 
to issue a chairman's statement that will call on them to promote 
confidence-building. 
 
To help the peace process in the Middle East, Tokyo aims to realize 
ministerial-level talks among Israel, the Palestinian Authority, 
Jordan and Japan. Tokyo has already asked relevant officials 
concerned to attend the four-way talks. 
 
This framework will follow the last one formed in August 2007, and 
Tokyo expects Israeli Foreign Minister Livni, a relevant minister of 
the Palestinian Authority, Jordanian Foreign Minister Bashir and 
others to attend the talks. In the session, participants are 
expected to discuss how to give shape to the idea of creating the 
"Corridor for Peace and Prosperity" advocated by Japan and measures 
to ease the tensions. 
 
Ministerial conferences on Northeast Africa as well as peace in the 
Middle East are both intended to put into effect Prime Minister 
Yasuo Fukuda's concept of making Japan a peace fostering nation. 
Both matters are likely to take center stage in the upcoming Group 
of Eight Hokkaido Toyako Summit, so Japan wants to demonstrate its 
stance of proactively contributing to resolving those issues. 
 
As for the situation in Sudan, in early May, Japan sent Senior Vice 
Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera and Parliamentary Secretary for 
Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama to Sudan, and it decided to offer 
 
TOKYO 00001364  004 OF 009 
 
 
some 2 billion yen in aid to Sudan over the next four years starting 
this year. Japan is also in the final phase of coordiantion to send 
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel to the United Nations 
peacekeeping operations in Sudan. 
 
However, the initial group of SDF personnel will be sent solely to 
serve at PKO headquarters, and it is less likely that SDF personnel 
will take part in full-fledged ground troops in the country. Hosting 
the ministerial session on Northeast Africa is also intended for 
Japan to "make up for its slow action when it comes to participation 
in PKO in Sudan," a senior Foreign Ministry official said. 
 
(3) EPA with Indonesia: Agreement reached in principle to start in 
July; Nurses, care-givers to be accepted 
 
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
May 17, 2008 
 
Japan will start accepting foreign workers under an economic 
partnership agreement (EPA). An EPA between Japan and Indonesia 
under which Japan agrees to accept a total of 1,000 nurses and 
care-givers was approved by an Upper House plenary session on May 
¶16. Both governments then held working-level talks and agreed in 
principle to start implementation of the pact in July. The labor 
shortage in the nursing and nursing-care areas is expected to become 
more serious due to Japan's declining birthrate and aging society. 
Many are of the opinion that the future of social security depends 
on whether Japan can successfully open its labor market. The 
touchstone will be whether Japan brings in more guest workers from 
Indonesia and the system becomes established. 
 
Memorandum to be signed, possibly on the 19th: One step taken toward 
open labor market 
 
The governments of Japan and Indonesia are set to sign a memorandum 
of understanding (MOU) that would allow formal implementation of the 
EPA in July. There is no need for Indonesia to undergo parliamentary 
procedures for ratification. Once the MOU is signed, Japan will 
solicit hospitals and nursing-care facilities that wish to accept 
Indonesian workers. Indonesia will recruit nurses and care-givers 
who wish to work in Japan. Government agencies of both countries 
will serve as brokers and assign workers to hospitals and 
nursing-care facilities. 
 
The number of foreign workers in Japan has increased to about 
750,000, double the number a decade ago. However, 80 PERCENT  of 
those workers are students, trainees or skilled labor trainees. Only 
20 PERCENT  are allowed in as experts in special technical areas. To 
begin with, care-givers are not categorized as belonging to this 
professional area. There is almost no track record of nurses being 
accepted, either. 
 
The EPA has a potential of serving as a breakthrough in revamping 
Japan's labor market, which is said to be closed. The reason that 
the nursing and nursing-care fields have been chosen as an area for 
market-opening is because elderly people who receive services in 
those areas are expected to increase rapidly. However, the young 
labor force that provides such services is decreasing in Japan. The 
Japanese Council of Senior Citizens Welfare Service consisting of 
nursing-care facilities has been making a public appeal that foreign 
workers are indispensable. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001364  005 OF 009 
 
 
However, there are many challenges regarding whether the workers, 
once accepted, will settle into their work places. Indonesian nurses 
and care-givers have to work as assistants with relatively low wages 
before they can obtain Japanese licenses as qualified nurses and 
care-givers. They must return home unless they pass the national 
examination during their periods of stay -- three years for nurses 
and four years for care-givers. Hospitals and nursing-care 
facilities are to provide training opportunities. However, the 
barriers for foreigners aiming to pass written examinations in 
Japanese are high. It would be necessary to provide them with a 
solid assistance system. 
 
Liberalization of trade in items stipulated in the pact is certain 
to be implemented, in addition to the acceptance of nurses and 
care-givers. Indonesia will scrap import tariffs up to 15 PERCENT 
imposed on electric and electronic equipment by 2010. Tariffs up to 
60 PERCENT  imposed on automobiles and trucks will be eliminated by 
¶2016. Japan will also immediately abolish tariffs on almost all 
mined and manufactured goods and tariffs up to about 5 PERCENT  on 
shrimps. No tariffs will be levied on bananas up to 1,000 tons a 
year. 
 
In addition, in order for Japan to secure stable imports of natural 
gas and mineral resources, Indonesia will inform of Japan in advance 
in the event of its introducing a new regulation. The EPA also 
includes bilateral cooperation on coal liquefaction and 
energy-saving technologies. 
 
(4) MOD reform plan hard to understand; Establishing a body 
assisting the defense minister a priority 
 
YOMIURI (Page 15) (Abridged slightly) 
May 17, 2008 
 
By Hidemichi Katsumata, Yomiuri senior writer 
 
Main points 
 
? The Ministry of Defense's (MOD) review work simultaneously covers 
matters that must be addressed immediately and challenges that can 
wait. 
? Reform of MOD must begin with upgrading the Council on Reform of 
the Defense Ministry to a permanent body placed directly under the 
defense minister. 
 
The MOD's reform promotion team is scheduled to present next week 
its own reform plan to the Council on Reform of the Defense 
Ministry, established in the Prime Minister's Office. 
 
Problems associated with the underreported amount of Japanese fuel 
provided to a U.S. supply ship in the Indian Ocean, the recent Aegis 
destroyer's collision with a fishing boat, and a scandal involving a 
former vice-defense minister have all exposed poor communications 
between the civilian group (internal bureaus) and the uniformed SDF 
staff offices. The vice-defense minister also has too much power in 
deciding on policies, procuring equipment, and appointing 
officials. 
 
There is no doubt that the MOD needs reform. In considering reform, 
there are two types of issues: those that must be addressed 
immediately and those that can wait until after a certain direction 
is set. I feel that those two aspects have become all mixed up in 
 
TOKYO 00001364  006 OF 009 
 
 
the ministry's reform effort under Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba. 
The reason is because Ishiba has already come up with his reform 
plan, which is designed to reorganize the functions of bureaucrats 
and SDF personnel into three major components -- defense capability 
buildup, operations, and accountability to the public -- to 
establish a huge central organization composed of the civilian and 
uniformed groups. 
 
His plan is convincing to some extent. Ishiba said: "The Defense 
Ministry is hard to use. There is a need to consider a system that 
can assist the defense minister, who is an amateur." Reorganizing 
the MOD must not be a predetermined conclusion. In view of 
preventing misconducts by SDF personnel, reform must begin with 
discussing ways to strengthen the system to assist the defense 
minister. 
 
At present, in accordance with Article 12 of the Ministry of Defense 
Establishment Law, the vice-defense minister, the Minister's 
Secretariat director-general, and bureau-directors general first 
hear views from the SDF chiefs of staff on all matters from the 
SDF's basic plan to the operation of units before offering direct 
advice to the defense minister. In Japan's system, civilian officers 
are placed above uniformed officers, whereas in Western countries, 
civilian officers assist the defense chiefs with defense policies 
and military officers with military affairs. 
 
Japan's system derived from the National Police Reserve which was 
launched from bitter lessons learned from the military's reckless 
actions during the war. Civilian officers' domination over the SDF 
has eventually led to clumsy responses to emergency situations, such 
as the Aegis collision and the scandal involving the former 
vice-defense minister. To improve the communication level between 
the civilian and uniformed groups, a system and body must be created 
for the two groups to jointly assist the defense minister. 
 
To do so, the defense council, which has turned into a mere shell, 
must be upgraded to a permanent body directly reporting to the 
defense minister in accordance with the MOD establishment law. 
Reduced power of the vice-defense minister combined with a venue for 
a group of about 10 bureau directors general and SDF chiefs of staff 
to jointly advice the defense minister is certain to result in sound 
civilian control, becoming a symbol of the integration of the 
civilian and uniformed groups. 
 
The venue for MOD reform discussion will be shifted to the Council 
on Reform of the Defense Ministry composed of experts to produce a 
framework in late June. Reorganizing the central body can wait until 
after that. 
 
Some functions are overlapping between the internal bureaus and the 
SDF staff offices, and that incurs waste in such areas as defense 
capability buildup and defense exchanges. The MOD and SDF have been 
making efforts for two years now with the aim of integrating 
operations of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces. A 
variety of problems have been pointed out from the viewpoint of 
operation of units. More challenges are likely to crop up. The MOD 
is expected to arrive at answers to questions, such as ways to 
launch a body composed of civilian and uniformed personnel, in the 
process of addressing such challenges. 
 
(5) Reporters' eyes: My views about reporters' assertions on 
poisoning of dumplings imported from China 
 
TOKYO 00001364  007 OF 009 
 
 
 
MAINICHI ONLINE (Full) 
May 16, 2008, 10:48 AM 
 
By Masami Kojima (member of the Daily Living Information Center) 
 
?Viewpoint of crime needed - overconfidence in strengthened 
inspection dangerous 
 
In this column, a number of reporters have expressed views or 
assertions on the recent food-poisoning outbreak involving 
Chinese-made frozen dumplings. In analyzing the nature of the 
incident, I strongly feel that more should be added to their 
arguments. 
 
Reporter Wataru Yukitomo (in an article dated April 18) stressed the 
need to promote nutritional education. His argument is coincident 
with the one found in an article by reporter Inoue (dated April 4), 
in which he called for a mechanism that would contribute to raising 
the level of food safety even slightly. But no satisfactory debate 
has been conducted on the details of the proposed mechanism. 
Dominant in the media are also views calling for increasing testing 
of agrochemical residues. If a thorough inspection system had been 
introduced, would the poisoning outbreak have been prevented? 
 
It is highly suspected that the pesticide was intentionally mixed 
into the dumplings by other parties. The Japanese Consumers' 
Cooperative Union has decided to reduce the number of goods traded 
and increase the items subject to testing regarding agrochemical 
residues. 
 
But I am concerned about overconfidence in strengthening testing. 
Monitoring inspection is to check whether agrochemicals and 
addictives have been properly used. In a criminal case in which a 
poisonous substance is intentionally mixed into food, therefore, 
even if the frequency of testing and numbers of items subject to 
testing are increased, testing itself would be meaningless. 
 
Critics have pointed out that the cooperative union's inspection 
system to prevent food poisoning by pesticide residues or 
microorganisms was insufficient, but I do not think so. 
 
Products made by Tianyang Food Processing were found contaminated 
with pesticide. But even the Japanese Agriculture, Forestry, and 
Fisheries Ministry acknowledged the superiority of its 
hygiene-maintenance system. The cooperative union examined its 
inspection system regarding agrochemical residues and other 
hazardous material at its plant first and then decided to entrust 
production to the company. An executive of a leading Japanese food 
business that was procuring stock for the cooperative union based on 
their tie-up contract grumbled: "The union was taking strict 
measures (for quality management), so we were having hard time 
working together with it." 
 
What should be done to prevent extraneous material or poison from 
being mixed into foods? We should reconfirm the importance of going 
back to the basic principle of process management, instead of vainly 
increasing samples in a monitoring inspection. The basic principle 
is to carefully check whether there is something abnormal or not in 
the stages of cultivation, shipment, processing, distribution, and 
sale of vegetable and other products. It is important to change our 
concept of "inspecting" food to a concept of monitoring the process, 
 
TOKYO 00001364  008 OF 009 
 
 
assuming a possible crime. 
 
The United States has prepared guidelines against such crimes as 
food terrorism. To flexibly deal with such crimes, the U.S. has 
strengthened its monitoring system, with the aim of eventually 
preventing such crimes. 
 
Surveillance cameras should be installed at plants and stores. 
Strict checks should be conducted at the gateways, and uniforms with 
no pocket should be provided to plant workers. The know-how covers a 
wide-range of items and is detailed. Software efforts are expected 
to become necessary, for instance, to encourage farmers to 
thoroughly observe the laws relevant to the use of agricultural 
chemicals and the like. 
 
Officials in charge of food safety in the Ministry of Health, Labor, 
and Welfare were aware of the importance of surveillance and 
crime-preventive measures. But the ministry and the Food Safety 
Commission did not fully disclose information on testing's 
limitation to preventing crimes and on measures to deal with 
intentional mixture of poisonous matter into foods. 
 
In the poisoning of Chinese frozen dumplings, the focus of attention 
tended to be on future options for the inspection system. But the 
focus should be on the cooperative union's lax management of 
information and lack of awareness about the importance of crisis 
management. 
 
As Chairman Toshifumi Yamashita said, although the cooperative union 
received a lot of complaints about dumplings giving off a terrible 
odor found in Miyagi and Fukushima last fall, the information did 
not reached its headquarters. Naturally, the information was not 
shared among consumers' cooperatives. 
 
Although complaints with similar contents had been made several 
times, there was no mechanism to check their connections. The food 
industry is now urged to establish mechanisms to share information, 
like the safety system of emergency information on side-effects of 
pharmaceuticals, as well as to provide information, in order to 
prevent a recurrence of similar mismanagement. 
 
In the first press conference held (on January 30) by the 
cooperative union and Japan Tobacco Inc. after the poisoning 
outbreak, their senior members gave explanations, but the 
explanations were insufficient, causing a chain of distrust in them. 
Though the incident involved human lives, the police did not 
properly relay the information to various sectors. This shows a lack 
of cooperation between the central government, and the relevant 
local governments and police stations. 
 
The dumpling scare resulted in exposing Japan's great dependence on 
China in terms of food supply and also left a number of tasks Japan 
should tackle. Such tasks include future options for its inspection 
and monitoring system, as well as information management. Even so, 
since the safety of frozen foods itself was not questioned, 
consumers have returned to such foods unexpectedly quickly. 
Consumers are behaving wisely while watching developments of the 
situation cool-headedly. 
 
Reporter Hideaki Nakamura posed questions in his article (dated 
February 14) about the proposed integration of consumer regulations. 
If we go ahead with hard-line arguments about future options for the 
 
TOKYO 00001364  009 OF 009 
 
 
inspection system, as Nakamura pointed out, it will just bloat the 
central government bureaucracy. Each consumer must keep strict watch 
on food-related organizations or corporations, as well as on 
consumer policy. 
 
(Corrected copy) Ruling parties team agree on revisions to law that 
would penalize by imprisonment even the simple possession of child 
pornography 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Excerpt) 
May 17, 2008 
 
The Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito's ruling parties 
project team to reconsider the child prostitution and child 
pornography law held a meeting on May 16 and reached general 
agreement on amending the law. Although the current version of the 
law does not ban the simple possession of child porno, such as 
photos or film obtained for one's personal hobby, this will be 
banned, and violations will be subject to imprisonment. 
 
SCHIEFFER