VZCZCXRO2540
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #2259/01 2302248
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 172248Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6636
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 1791
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 9426
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 3168
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 7582
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 0006
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4931
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 0921
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1265

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 002259 
 
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 08/15/08 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Poll: Popularity rating for premiership (Yomiuri)  2 
(2) Uruma city demands halt to port calls by US nuclear submarines 
(Okinawa Times)  2 
(3) Most analysts predict economy to revive in second half of next 
year (Nikkei)  3 
(4) Numerical conversion of economic openness to be worked out by 
end of this fiscal year for comparison with other countries (Nikkei) 
 4 
(5) TOP HEADLINES 5 
(6) EDITORIALS 5 
(7) Prime Minister's schedule, Aug. 14 (Nikkei)  6 
(8) Political Cartoons 6 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Poll: Popularity rating for premiership 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 15, 2008 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in percentage) 
 
Q: Who do you think is most appropriate for prime minister among 
those currently seated in the Diet? Pick only one from among those 
listed below. 
 
Taro Aso 24.7 
Shinzo Abe 1.6 
Nobuteru Ishihara 0.9 
Akihiro Ota 0.3 
Katsuya Okada 2.8 
Ichiro Ozawa 9.6 
Naoto Kan 3.4 
Yuriko Koike 1.0 
Junichiro Koizumi 13.0 
Sadakazu Tanigaki 1.3 
Shoichi Nakagawa 0.3 
Hidenao Nakagawa 0.4 
Fukushiro Nukaga --- 
Seiko Noda 0.5 
Yoshihiko Noda 0.1 
Yukio Hatoyama 1.2 
Yasuo Fukuda 3.4 
Seiji Maehara 1.1 
Yoichi Masuzoe 3.4 
Nobutaka Machimura 0.7 
Kaoru Yosano 0.4 
Others 0.3 
None 24.7 
No answer 5.1 
 
Polling methodology 
Date of survey: Aug. 9-10. 
Subjects of survey: 3,000 persons chosen from among all eligible 
voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified 
two-stage random sampling basis). 
Method of implementation: Door-to-door visits for face-to-face 
interviews. 
Number of valid respondents: 1,788 persons (59.6 PERCENT ). 
 
TOKYO 00002259  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
(2) Uruma city demands halt to port calls by US nuclear submarines 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 2) 
August 15, 2008 
 
With regard to the issue in which the US Navy's 6,082-ton Los 
Angeles-class nuclear submarine USS Houston had leaked coolant water 
containing radioactive substances for about two years, Tsuneo 
Chinen, mayor of Uruma City, sent letters to related Japanese and US 
government agencies, the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG), and 
the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, lodging protest and petitioning 
suspension of port calls by nuclear submarines and immediate 
disclosure of results of inspections of all submarines dating back 
to two years in the past. 
 
Chinen said: "Distrust of and anger against the US military have 
grown stronger. (The US military's) poor safety management system 
has been exposed." He protested the fact that there have been 27 
port calls so far this year, already breaking the annual number of 
port calls. Chinen complained, "We have lodged complaints in the 
past demanding that (submarines) not call port, but the number of 
port calls have sharply increased instead." 
 
In addition, he made a strong demand, saying, "From the standpoint 
of protecting the lives, property, human rights, and peaceful 
livelihood of the citizens, we sternly protest the coolant leak and 
continue to strongly demand suspension of future port calls." 
 
The letters were sent to 16 addresses, with the main addressees 
including the US defense secretary; the US ambassador to Japan; the 
commander of the US Forces, Japan; the Japanese prime minister; the 
Japanese foreign minister; the Japanese defense minister; the 
speaker of the Lower House; and the president of the Upper House. 
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine USS Columbus, 
which called port in Okinawa for the first time since the leakage of 
coolant containing radioactive substances came to light, remains 
docked at White Beach as of August 14. The OPG's Military Base 
Affairs Section announced the results of a radiological 
investigation conducted by a task force on Okinawa affairs under the 
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, 
saying, "The values were normal." 
 
(3) Most analysts predict economy to revive in second half of next 
year 
 
NIKKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
August 14, 2008 
 
Preliminary data on Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) for the 
April-June quarter released on August 13 by the Cabinet Office 
showed that the GDP fell 0.6 PERCENT  in real terms -- in which the 
effects of price fluctuations are not taken into account -- from the 
previous quarter. The figure amounts to an annualized decline of 2.4 
PERCENT . This means that the economy shrank for the first time in 
four quarters as exports weakened and consumption sank amid soaring 
prices of food and other ordinary products. A view has begun to 
prevail among economists that sluggish growth will continue in the 
July-September quarter and that full-fledged economic recovery will 
take place in the latter half of 2009. 
 
All major economic indicators fell in the April-June quarter. 
 
TOKYO 00002259  003 OF 005 
 
 
 
Exports, which supported the longest postwar economic recovery that 
started in 2002, fell by 2.3 PERCENT  from the previous quarter, the 
first negative growth since the January-March quarter of 2005. The 
US economy grew 1.9 PERCENT  in real terms from the previous 
quarter, far below the potential growth rate. Taro Saito of NLI 
Research Institute said, "European economies are also clearly 
slowing down." As a result, Japanese exports to Europe and the 
United States did not perform well. 
 
Consumer spending, which has been holding steady, marked negative 
growth for the first time in seven quarters, partly in reaction to 
the increase in the January-March quarter due to the additional day 
of this leap year. However, the fall in workers' income also had a 
significant effect. Nominal employee compensation, which is 
calculated by multiplying the nominal wage by the number of 
employees, fell by 0.2 PERCENT  from the previous quarter, the first 
decrease in five quarters. In addition to the fall in compensation, 
bonus payments in June also fell below last year's level, causing 
consumers to withhold spending. 
 
Sluggish growth also forecast for July-September quarter 
 
Asked what they think will happen to growth in real terms in the 
July-September quarter, 10 economists came up with forecasts 
averaging an annualized 0.7 PERCENT  increase over the previous 
quarter, with two of them predicting that the economy will contract 
for two consecutive quarters. The economists' full-year growth 
forecasts averaged 0.7 PERCENT , which is lower than the 1.3 PERCENT 
 projected by the Cabinet Office in July. This is because the 
prevailing view is that consumer confidence is expected to continue 
falling in the future and a severe situation will continue with 
regard to Japanese exports to industrialized nations, as the outlook 
of the US economy remains uncertain. 
 
However, exports to Asia and the Middle East still remain strong. 
The IMF predicts that the growth rate of emerging economies will 
remain high at 6.9 PERCENT  in 2008. Although there remains the risk 
of a post-Olympics slowdown in China, Japanese exports to developing 
countries are expected to prop up the nation's exports in general, 
helping Japan avoid a major downturn in its economic growth rate. 
 
All 10 economists predicted that the Japanese economy will recover 
after 2009. Seven of them predicted that the economy will rebound 
after the second half of 2009. The government, for all practical 
purposes, admitted last week in its monthly economic report for 
August that the Japanese economy has entered a recession. At this 
stage, the prevailing view was that the economy would "recover in 
the first half of 2009." 
 
Seven economists say pump-priming measures "unnecessary" 
 
All 10 economists cited "stability of crude oil prices" and 
"recovery of the global economy centering on the United States" as 
conditions necessary for Japan's economic recovery. The rise in 
crude oil prices squeezes corporate profits and weakens consumers' 
purchasing power by raising commodity prices. However, Kiichi 
Murashima of Nikko Citigroup Ltd. predicted that oil will remain 
around 110 dollars a barrel, with many others holding a similar 
view. 
 
Seven of the economists said that the package of economic stimulus 
 
TOKYO 00002259  004 OF 005 
 
 
measures that the government plans to compile at the end of August 
is "unnecessary." The prevailing view among the economists is that 
the demand-creating measures strongly requested by the ruling 
parties are unlikely to have a dramatic effect. Even those who 
replied that the measures are "necessary," are calling for measures 
that will lead to structural reform, such as corporate tax cuts and 
deregulation. Takahide Kiuchi, senior economist at Nomura Securities 
Financial and Economic Research Center, said, "Priority should be 
given to measures that will increase Japan's potential growth rate 
from a medium to long term perspective." 
 
Seven of the economists predicted the domestic economy will rebound 
in the second half of 2009. An easing of crude oil prices and a 
global economic recovery led by the U.S. were cited as necessary 
conditions. But Kiichi Murashima of Nikko Citigroup Ltd. predicted 
oil will remain around 110 dollars a barrel, with many others 
holding a similar view. 
 
(4) Numerical conversion of economic openness to be worked out by 
end of this fiscal year for comparison with other countries 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 15, 2008 
 
The government will introduce an economic openness index system 
showing in figures to what extent the Japanese economy is keeping 
pace with globalization. It will work out such an index, based on 
the track records of the number of foreign students Japan has 
accepted and direct foreign investment in Japan. It will also work 
out such indexes for the U.S., European countries and Asian 
neighbors, based on similar data to allow objective comparison with 
other countries. 
 
In order for Japan to continue economic growth in the face of the 
declining birthrate and the aging society, it is absolutely 
necessary for Japan to have human resources and investment from 
abroad. Its aim is, therefore, supporting efforts to open the 
Japanese economy, by ferreting out challenges facing Japan, whose 
globalization is lagging behind Europe and the U.S. 
 
Such an index will be worked out, based on the number of foreign 
visitors to Japan, the situation as to Japanese companies doing 
business overseas, and the degree of trade liberalization. 
 
To be precise, the government is considering using such data as how 
many foreign students Japan has accepted per a population of 10,000, 
the number of foreign tourists to Japan, the comparison of direct 
foreign investment in Japan with gross domestic product, and the 
proportion of foreign companies to companies listed on stock 
exchanges. It is also considering utilizing the share of trade 
amounts with EPA (economic partnership agreement) partners in the 
entire trade amount. 
 
Japan is way behind the U.S. and Europe in these areas. For 
instance, the per capita number of foreign tourists to Japan is 
about one-ninth of that of Britain. The proportion of foreign 
companies to companies listed on stock exchanges is only 
one-twentieth of that of Britain. 
 
Regarding areas that are especially lagging behind, the government 
intends to urge concerned government agencies to boost efforts to 
open the market, by setting numerical targets. It also plans to 
 
TOKYO 00002259  005 OF 005 
 
 
confirm whether this measure is producing results, by releasing such 
an index on a regular basis. 
 
(5) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: Mainichi: Yomiuri: Tokyo Shimbun: Akahata: 
Japanese gymnast Uchimura takes silver medal in men's all-around 
 
Nikkei: 
European, Japanese, U.S. economies in slowdown 
 
Sankei: 
China winning more medals than anticipated 
 
(6) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Summer marking 63rd anniversary of the war's end; Beyond 
"dislike for Japan" and "dislike for China" 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Anniversary of the end of World War II: Japan urged to engage in 
international cooperation in its own way, emerging from 
inward-looking stance 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) We want to make August 15 day for quiet memorial day 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Who will hand down the preciousness of peace to the next 
generation? 
(2) Implementing agreement of ceasefire indispensable 
 
Sankei: 
(1) August 15: We want to make sure ties between Japan and the U.S. 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) August 15: Thoughts on the day of the anniversary of the end of 
World War; Return to humanism 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Create era when the resolve to pursue peace holds good 
 
(7) Prime Minister's schedule, Aug. 14 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 15, 2008 
 
11:58 
Met with METI Minister Nikai and Vice METI Minister Mochizuki at his 
official residence. 
 
14:01 
Met with Consumer Administration Minister Noda and Cabinet Office 
Director General Fujita. 
 
18:25 
Met with Finance Minister Yosano. 
 
SCHIEFFER