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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0611

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001821 
 
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 07/02/08 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Cover-up of lost USB memory device highlights uniformed group's 
nature to keep information to themselves (Mainichi) 
 
(2) DPJ drafts "Okinawa Vision" that aims at relocating Futenma 
outside of Japan (Mainichi) 
 
(3) Yokosuka wavering over U.S. nuclear flattop's deployment 
(Nikkei) 
 
(4) North Korea already eyeing "next return," keeping nuclear card 
in hands (Nikkei) 
 
(5) Editorial: SDF dispatch to Sudan -- Unreasonable PKO principles 
should be reviewed (Sankei) 
 
(6) Heisei Period version of Maekawa Report proposes reduction of 
burden on young people (Mainichi) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Cover-up of lost USB memory device highlights uniformed group's 
nature to keep information to themselves 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) 
July 2, 2008 
 
The Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) lost a USB flash memory device 
(in February 2007) that contained data on a joint Japan-U.S. 
exercise, but the GSDF covered up that fact. The incident exposed 
the Ministry of Defense's (MOD) nature to keep information within 
uniformed circles and not to inform the "suits" (civilian internal 
bureaus). Despite the principle of civilian control over the 
military, cover-ups have been seen in the pas tht even leave the 
defense minister out of the loop. The USB incident is likely to cast 
a pall over the discussion of the government's Council on Reform of 
the Defense Ministry. 
 
"Nothing has changed since the Maritime Self-Defense Force 
underreported the fuel Japan supplied to a U.S. supply ship," a 
senior civilian official complained recently. 
 
On May 9, 2003, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda explained 
that the MSDF had provided about 200,000 gallons of oil to a U.S. 
oiler in the Indian Ocean. Masayoshi Teraoka, then director of the 
Maritime Staff Office's Plans and Program Division, knew the correct 
amount was 800,000 gallons, but he did not report it to then Defense 
Agency Director-General Shigeru Ishiba. 
 
In February 2007, the GSDF Middle Army headquarters in Itami, Hyogo 
Prefecture, made a big fuss over the loss of the USB memory device. 
The device did not turn up even though the criminal investigation 
command searched for it. The Middle Army headquarters knew about the 
loss all along, but the incident did not reach the ears of civilian 
officials for a long time. 
 
The SDF remains reluctant to disclose information. 
 
Doubts emerged about the amount of oil from the U.S. Navy's 
announcement on May 6, 2003, that its oiler received 800,000 gallons 
of fuel from Japan. According to an MOD interim report, released in 
 
TOKYO 00001821  002 OF 008 
 
 
October 2007, Teraoka said: "I thought there was no need to correct 
the amount because the matter fairly subsided (in the three days)." 
The government denied the diversion of Japanese fuel by the US 
military for use in the Iraq theater based on the 200,000 gallons of 
oil. Correcting the amount to 800,000 gallons would have destroyed 
that ground. To the MOD, forming public opinion was clearly more 
important than telling the truth. 
 
Ryoichi Oriki, GSDF chief of Staff and then Middle Army commanding 
general, said to a Mainichi reporter yesterday: "Information in the 
question is not so vital. Keeping it secret is not really a 
problem." Another uniformed officer also said: "It was not a 
cover-up. The Mainichi Shimbun exaggerated the matter." 
 
Defense Ministry spokesman Katashi Toyota in a press conference 
yesterday admitted that the Ground Staff Office had not informed the 
United States of the loss of the USB device, adding, "It was not 
classified as secret." 
 
Hearing such comments, a civilian official said: "If the data are 
not vital, they should be made public." Another official took this 
view: "The problem is that the USB memory device has not been found. 
It might have been sold through illegal channels." 
 
Views between the uniformed group and the civilian group are wide 
apart. An investigative report on the incident in which the GSDF 
covered up the fact that a colonel had allowed his friend to fire a 
machine gun notes an agreement between the Eastern Army headquarters 
and the Ground Staff Office not to inform the internal bureaus of 
the incident. 
 
Comment by Sophia University Professor Yasuhiko Tajima: Some 
military information must not be made public. The GSDF said that the 
data on the joint Japan-U.S. exercise would not put the general 
public at risk. If so, the force should have disclosed the loss of 
the memory device right away. The incident might promote the trend 
of secrecy that has been growing since 9/11. Having been upgraded to 
ministry status, the Defense Ministry is required to play a grater 
international role and to open it up further. Despite that, the 
ministry appears to be closing itself off to the outside, saying, 
"The military sector is different." 
 
Military commentator Kazuhisa Ogawa: Misconducts by SDF personnel, 
including the latest loss of the USB memory device, must be 
disclosed 100 PERCENT . In national contingencies, the SDF cannot 
fight without public trust. The lost device is filled with vital 
military data, and a decision must be made accordingly on whether to 
disclose them. A closed committee must be established at the Diet to 
discuss the propriety of disclosing such data. Making a decision at 
the level of the person responsible for the organizational runs the 
risk of resulting in a cover-up. 
 
Impact on MOD reform council inevitable 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura in a press conference 
yesterday said: "The SDF must clearly realize the importance of 
information on national defense. I think the incident will be 
referred to in the final report to be produced by the government's 
Council on Reform of the Defense Ministry." 
 
The council was launched last December at the order of Prime 
Minister Fukuda with the aim of reforming the MOD under the 
 
TOKYO 00001821  003 OF 008 
 
 
leadership of the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). 
 
Concluding that the leaked data are of low importance, MOD officials 
indicated that their impact would be limited. 
 
Nevertheless, MOD reform is underway in the wake of a series of 
misconducts by SDF members, such as a leak of classified Aegis data 
and the outflow of defense information via the Winny file-sharing 
software. Establishing a solid information security system is one of 
the council's top priorities. The latest incident is certain to have 
an impact on the council's effort to draw up its report. 
 
The council is mainly discussing whether to keep the three SDF staff 
offices by integrating them with the internal bureaus or to 
establish mixed units of personnel from both civilian and uniformed 
staff by reorganizing their functions into three major components: 
defense capability buildup, operations, and policy and 
accountability for the pubic. The council has conducted discussion 
and is now on track for keeping the four staff offices in place and 
establishing some mixed units of persons from the Defense Ministry 
and the SDF based on Defense Minister Ishiba's proposal. 
 
Although the council chiefly has high-level classified information 
in mind, the information involved in the latest incident is in the 
category of "handle with care," a leak of which is not subject to 
any criminal charge. The theft of recording media, such as a USB 
flash memory device, within the organization was not expected. 
 
Given the situation, such matters as the handling of information 
whose definition is uncertain and the improvement of the morals of 
SDF personnel are expected to remain on the table for discussion. 
With the approach of the next extraordinary Diet session, in which 
an extension of the MSDF's refueling operation in the Indian Ocean 
is likely to take center stage, the government will be pressed for a 
cautious response. 
 
(2) DPJ drafts "Okinawa Vision" that aims at relocating Futenma 
outside of Japan 
 
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Full) 
Eve., July 2, 2008 
 
A draft revised version of the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) 
"Okinawa Vision," which will become the party basic policy toward 
that prefecture, starting with the issue of U.S. military bases, was 
revealed today. The vision includes a draft revision of the 
Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the compilation of 
which was set off by a string of crimes by U.S. military personnel 
in Okinawa and other parts of Japan. Regarding the U.S. Marine 
Corps' Futenma Air Station (Ginowan City), the vision states: "We 
should look for a way to relocate it outside the prefecture, and in 
view of the changing strategic environment, aim for relocation 
outside of Japan." The vision will be included in the party's 
manifesto (campaign promises) for the next Lower House election. 
 
The original version of the vision was written in August 2005, but 
it was decided to revise it based on consideration of such factors 
as the Japan-U.S. agreement to relocate Futenma Air Station to the 
coastal portion of Camp Schwab (Nago City) and to move Marines 
stationed in Okinawa to Guam. The draft revised version will be 
formally adopted on July 8 at a meeting of the party's shadow 
cabinet, the Next Cabinet. 
 
TOKYO 00001821  004 OF 008 
 
 
 
Revisions of the SOFA that were compiled jointly by the DPJ with the 
Social Democratic Party and the Peoples New Party in April were 
included as is. The revisions specifically include: 1) handing over 
crime suspects to police authorities prior to indictment, a 
procedure now carried out under an improved application of the SOFA; 
2) requiring the U.S. to return to the original state base land that 
is environmentally damaged; 3) a ban on low-altitude flights; and 4) 
registering as foreigners those persons connected with the U.S. 
military who are living off base. The vision states: "a drastic 
revision is to be implemented at once." 
 
On the Futenma issue, the vision stresses that the base should be 
relocated either outside the prefecture or outside the country, 
noting, "Although an environmental impact assessment has begun, the 
situation has reached a deadlock." On the moving of F-15 training 
flights away from Kadena Air Base, which is being promoted as a 
measure to lighten the burden on Okinawa, the vision calls for other 
measures, such as moving the flight zone, "in which the noise damage 
has not at all been alleviated." 
 
DPJ President Ozawa on June 26 in a press conference at Naha City 
pointed out the inequality of the SOFA, saying, "The current 
relationship between Japan and the United States cannot be called an 
alliance." He stated: "Once we are in political power, I would like 
to create a truly equal Japan-U.S. alliance. In so doing, I am 
thinking of measures to resolve the SOFA problem and various issues 
related to the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan." 
 
(3) Yokosuka wavering over U.S. nuclear flattop's deployment 
 
NIKKEI (Page 43) (Full) 
June 30, 2008 
 
The city of Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture will be the first in 
Japan to host a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The city is 
now wavering over the planned deployment of the USS George 
Washington to the U.S. naval base there. Late last month, shortly 
after the city's municipal assembly voted down a proposed ordinance 
for a poll of the city's residents on the nuclear carrier's 
deployment, it was revealed that a fire had broken out on the USS 
George Washington in the Pacific Ocean. The aircraft carrier's 
initially scheduled deployment to Yokosuka in August is expected to 
be delayed. Meanwhile, local residents are feeling uneasy about the 
ship's deployment due to the U.S. Navy's insufficient account of the 
fire. 
 
"An American soldier just killed a taxi driver in March. Even worse, 
a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is coming here..." So saying, a 
43-year-old homemaker lowered her voice as she was interviewed on a 
residential street overlooking the Yokosuka base. 
 
It was 35 years ago when the USS Midway, a conventional aircraft 
carrier of the U.S. Navy, entered port in Yokosuka. Since then, 
Yokosuka has been home to U.S. flattops. The U.S. Navy and local 
residents have established friendly relations through events, 
according to Yokosuka City's base relations division. In 1994, local 
communities started to patrol city streets with U.S. Navy personnel. 
This is the so-called "Yokosuka model," which has been noted as a 
base-hosting locality's pilot approach. 
 
With her scheduled Yokosuka deployment ahead, the George Washington 
 
TOKYO 00001821  005 OF 008 
 
 
caught fire on May 22 when she was plowing through the Pacific 
waters off the coast of South America. The fire, which broke out 
near the stern, damaged the cabling in about 80 areas. In addition, 
a sailor was slightly burned. 
 
"The city should request the United States disclose the accident 
report, and the city government should send a delegation of 
officials to the United States." With this, Masahiko Goto, a lawyer 
representing a group of Yokosuka citizens calling for a local 
referendum on the advisability of hosting a nuclear flattop, rattled 
on when he met with city officials four days after the fire took 
place. 
 
The citizens' group collected signatures from about 48,000 Yokosuka 
citizens, or a seventh of the city's voting population, for a local 
referendum on whether to accept the George Washington's deployment 
to Yokosuka. The group presented the signatures to the city's 
municipal government in May this year. The city's municipal assembly 
rejected the proposed ordinance for a local referendum. However, the 
assembly adopted a petition calling for the state to make further 
efforts to ensure safety and step up its preparedness for disaster 
prevention. 
 
About a week thereafter, the George Washington fire broke out. "It 
was the worst timing," a city official said. U.S. Naval Forces Japan 
headquarters held a press conference, during which its spokesman 
stressed that there is no problem with the nuclear reactors. The 
USNFJ website has made public the progress of repair work to the 
George Washington, whereby the U.S. Navy appears to be showing 
consideration for Japan. 
 
However, the U.S. Navy has reiterated that it is now calculating how 
long the repair work will last and whether the George Washington's 
scheduled deployment to Yokosuka will be affected. As it stands, her 
Yokosuka deployment reportedly could be delayed. "We can't read the 
repercussions," one city official said, with a complex look on his 
face. 
 
"I want the government and the city to urge the United States to 
disclose more information," said a man in his 60s who keeps a store 
along Dobuita-Dori, a street that is within walking distance from 
the base. "Local residents must be made to feel ease of minds," he 
added. 
 
"A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could be targeted for attack," 
says Hiromichi Umebayashi, a special adviser to Peace Depot, a 
nonprofit organization. Umebayashi, who is familiar with military 
affairs, suggested: "If there is an accident like a radiation leak, 
the metropolitan area will be endangered as well. Japan should call 
for the United States to provide critical information in detail 
about how the George Washington is damaged and what caused the 
accident. Japan should verify safety itself." 
 
(4) North Korea already eyeing "next return," keeping nuclear card 
in hands 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 2, 2008 
 
On June 27, immediately after the U.S. government announced its 
decision to delist North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, a 
North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman emphasized: "I believe that 
 
TOKYO 00001821  006 OF 008 
 
 
if the U.S. completely halts its hostile policy, the 
denuclearization process will make smooth progress." The designation 
of one nation as a terrorism sponsor is a symbol of hostile policy. 
The delisting decision is an important milestone for the North 
Korean regime's stability to be ensured. Now that North Korea has 
been aware of the charm of being a nuclear power, the nation must be 
aiming at "the next reward." 
 
When U.S.-North Korea talks were held in Geneva in March, a North 
Korean representative was fretting over a lack of guarantee from the 
U.S. to delist his nation as a terrorism sponsor. North Korean Vice 
Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan impatiently said: "We have done 
everything that we can do. The U.S. should do something first this 
time." 
 
In U.S.-North Korea talks in Singapore in April, however, Kim's 
facial expression was relaxed. South Korea's Tongkuk University 
Professor Ko Yuwan said: "(The U.S.) might have promised to offer a 
more valuable return (to the North)." 
 
Professor Ko supposes that a more valuable return than the delisting 
measure and energy aid in the second stage might be "an end to the 
hostile policy or an agreement on forming a roadmap." Pyongyang is 
hopeful of obtaining some clue, before President Bush leaves office 
next January, to negotiate with a next U.S. administration in an 
advantageous position. 
 
In the next round of the six-party talks, the focus of discussion 
will be on North Korea's denuclearization in the third step of the 
process. Many observers anticipate that North Korea would demand for 
light water reactors in return for its denuclearization and insist 
that the issue of its nuclear weapons, whose information the nuclear 
report produced recently by Pyongyang did not contain, be negotiated 
in the process of discussing the disarmament issue. Some even expect 
that (North Korea) might propose excluding Japan and South Korea, 
both of which have no nuclear weapons, from the discussions. 
 
Either way, it is certain that North Korea will not easily give up 
its nuclear programs. Since Pyongyang has already carried out 
nuclear tests, it has no decisive negotiating card. Some observers 
think that North Korea might try to grope for a way out while 
relying not only on the U.S. but also on other countries concerned. 
 
In mid-June, the Chinese vice president visited Pyongyang. North 
Korea signed four agreements, including one for economic and 
technical cooperation, with China, which is strongly hoping to 
stabilize the region in the run-up to the opening of the Beijing 
Olympic Games. Some observers anticipate that Kim Jong Il might 
visit China in a bid to deepen China-North Korea relations. North 
Korea has succeeded in winning promises from the U.S. for 500,000 
tons of food and from Russia for aid of wheat. In working-level 
talks with Japan, the North managed to solicit an agreement from 
Japan to gradually remove its economic sanctions in accordance with 
the level of progress on the reinvestigation into the issue of 
Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents. 
 
North Korea appears to have begun to tighten domestic regulations. 
According to a South Korean civic group, all households in all areas 
across the nation excepting Pyongyang reportedly have been banned 
from making toll calls starting on June 15. There is even a report 
that one who had talked about starvation was arrested. North Korea 
is apparently aiming to obtain a "next return" while trying to 
 
TOKYO 00001821  007 OF 008 
 
 
dispel its weak points such as food and energy shortages. Its 
negotiations with Japan and the U.S. are about to enter a crucial 
moment. 
 
(5) Editorial: SDF dispatch to Sudan -- Unreasonable PKO principles 
should be reviewed 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 2, 2008 
 
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel will be dispatched to the United 
Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to help support UN peacekeeping 
operations (PKO), which is deployed in the southern part of Sudan. 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told this to UN Secretary General Ban Ki 
Moon and Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba ordered the SDF to prepare 
for the dispatch. Reportedly, a couple of SDF officers will be sent 
to the headquarters of UNMIS, located in Khartoum, the capital of 
Sudan. 
 
Based on a UNSC resolution, about 70 countries participated in 
UNMIS. Since the UNMIS meets the requirements for the PKO 
Cooperation Law, it is only natural for Japan to join the PKO in 
Sudan. 
 
UNMIS was established in March 2005. Based on the peace agreement 
between the government made up mainly of Muslims in the northern 
part and the anti-government force based in the southern region 
where there are many Christians, UNMIS is tasked with facilitating 
the voluntary return of refugees and providing demining assistance. 
UNMIS has 8,712 military personnel and 631 civilian police 
personnel. We hope SDF officers will fulfill their duty. 
 
It is desirable for Japan to dispatch SDF personnel. To that end, it 
is indispensable to prepare a suitable environment. 
 
The PKO Cooperation Law stipulates five principles for the dispatch 
of SDF personnel --1) the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement 
between warring parties, 2) acceptance of peacekeepers by the 
parties, 3) adherence to strict neutrality, 4) if these three 
principles are not met, the SDF is required to withdraw, and 5) the 
allowance of the minimum use of arms. 
 
The SDF personnel are allowed to use weapons only when they protect 
themselves. They are not allowed to use the authority to eliminate 
conduct preventing them from fulfilling their duty, which is the UN 
rule of conduct. Therefore, the SDF cannot stave off illegal acts 
and thus cannot fulfill the same duties as other countries' troops. 
 
Japan is now deploying 51 SDF officers to UN peacekeeping 
operations. The number 51 is extremely small, compared with the 
10,597 sent by Pakistan and China's 1,981. Japan is 83rd in rank 
among 117 countries and it ranks last among the G-8 members. The 
reason is because there is no PKO to which Japan can apply the five 
principles. 
 
For example, the SDF cannot participate in the UN Mission in Darfur 
(UNMID) to assist peacekeeping operations there because a ceasefire 
agreement is not reached between warring parties. 
 
Prime Minister Fukuda told UN Secretary General Ban: "Japan as a 
peace cooperation state will carry out comprehensive contribution." 
 
TOKYO 00001821  008 OF 008 
 
 
Since he said so, Fukuda must establish quickly a permanent law that 
would allow the SDF to join any PKO. An advisory panel to Prime 
Minister Fukuda has come up with a report calling for review of the 
PKO Cooperation Law, which does not allow the SDF to help friendly 
troops in emergencies. Fukuda should face up to this report. 
 
(6) Heisei Period version of Maekawa Report proposes reduction of 
burden on young people 
 
MAINICHI (Page 1) (Full) 
July 2, 1008 
 
The complete text of the Heisei-Period version Maekawa Report, to be 
released July 2 by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy's 
experts study group on structural changes and the Japanese economy, 
has been revealed. The report proposes a globalization of Japan to 
enable it to make the most of its human resources and capital at 
home and abroad. The aim is to maintain Japan's position as a 
leading player in the global economy. It urges the government to 
reduce the burden imposed on young people by revising the social 
security system, including the public pension system. The goal is to 
rejuvenate the economic system so that a society can be created in 
which young people can have hope for the future. 
 
The subtitle of the report is "Rejuvenate the Japanese Economy in 
the Global Economy." It proposes a path for Japan to follow, based 
on analysis of the state of the global economy, including soaring 
crude oil and grain prices. It points out problems about the present 
situation in the global economy, in which older people are 
increasingly becoming dominant as societies age, making young people 
feel helpless. The report determines that it is imperative to take a 
second look at the system of benefit payments, such as pensions and 
medical services for elderly people. 
 
The report also stresses the need to create a policy-making system 
that will focus on adjusting the sense of unfairness felt by each 
generation so that young people's views can be reflected in 
government policies. As part of such efforts, the report calls for a 
system that will accommodate representatives of each generation, 
allowing young people to join government advisory councils. The 
report, which aims to build such a society over 10 years' time, 
calls for: (1) the correction of disparities between irregular 
employees and regular employees; (2) establishment of market rules 
that do not discriminate between domestic and foreign companies; (3) 
more efficient management of public pension funds; and (4) raising 
of the share of business start-ups (at present about 4 PERCENT ). In 
order to put an end to the declining birthrate and the aging 
society, the report sets a target of raising the total fertility 
rate to 1.7 or 1.8 persons. 
 
The panel wants its report to be used by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda 
in a message on Japan's future vision he plans to transmit to the 
international community at the G-8 Summit in Hokkaido. 
 
SCHIEFFER