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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002288 
 
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 08/20/08 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Diplomacy: 
4) - Ex-envoys to Tokyo on Obama's Japan policy advisory staff 
(Asahi) 
5) Japan to team up with U.S., Taiwan to challenge EU  (Tokyo 
Shimbun) 
6) Prime Minister Fukuda likely to address UNGA in N.Y. next month 
(Yomiuri) 
7) Taipei's new Tokyo envoy named  (Sankei) 
8) Agriculture Minister Ota eyes hosting G-8 farm ministerial in 
Japan  (Nikkei) 
 
Political merry-go-round: 
9) Political situation growing stormy, Diet dissolution likely in 
store for lawmakers  (Nikkei) 
10) Ex-LDP SecGen Nakagawa says new antiterror legislation could 
trigger Diet dissolution  (Sankei) 
11) LDP to propose policy talks with DPJ over MSDF mission in Indian 
Ocean  (Yomiuri) 
12) DPJ's Noda willing to run in party race  (Asahi) 
 
Defense & security issues: 
13) Defense Minister Hayashi meets with Okinawa Gov. Nakaima over 
Futenma relocation  (Yomiuri) 
14) Defense Minister Hayashi negative about moving Futenma 
replacement facility offshore  (Nikkei) 
15) GOJ to make final decision on Futenma relocation site next 
spring or later after environmental assessment  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
16) Justice Ministry told local prosecutors to be "careful" about 
jurisdiction over SOFA personnel  (Yomiuri) 
 
North Korea problem: 
17) Japan, S. Korea confirm cooperation on 6-party talks  (Nikkei) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Tokyo Shimbun, & Akahata: 
Matsunaga takes men's 55-kg wrestling silver, Yumoto men's 60-kg 
wrestling bronze at Olympics 
 
Nikkei: 
Matsushita, Secom to offer services via wireless broadband network 
 
Sankei: 
Russia still trying to place Georgia under its control 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Commotion expected at next Diet session 
(2) Promote reform of bid system to prevent collusive bidding 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Sumo wrestler arrested: Stable master and association must 
assume heavy responsibility 
 
TOKYO 00002288  002 OF 007 
 
 
(2) Push for measure to increase number of lawyers 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Continued refueling mission minimum obligation for Japan 
(2) Full education for foreign wrestlers needed 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Government must face Diet session with determination to dissolve 
Lower House if necessary 
(2) Urban Corporation's bond floatation before failure causing 
distrust 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Have long enough Diet session to enable extension of refueling 
mission 
(2) Don't allow retreat from war on terror with Musharraf's 
resignation 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Diet session should be held earlier 
(2) Pakistan must take a step forward to become democratic state 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Chart course for education based on Constitution 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, August 19 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
09:13 
Had a video message for the JAPAN NET international student exchange 
program taped at LDP headquarters. Afterward attended LDP executive 
meeting. 
 
10:13 
Met METI Minister Nikai at the Kantei, followed by Finance Minister 
Yosano. 
 
12:01 
Attended a government, ruling coalition liaison meeting. 
 
14:30 
Met Japan Institute of International Affairs President Yukio Sato, 
followed by Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi and Vice Chairman Takashi 
Saito of the Tokyo-Beijing Forum Executive Committee. 
 
15:27 
Met Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Masuda. 
 
18:43 
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Futahashi. 
 
19:07 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
4) Mondale, Foley to join Obama's advisory team on Japan 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 20, 2008 
 
TOKYO 00002288  003 OF 007 
 
 
 
Yoichi Kato, Washington 
 
It was revealed yesterday that two former ambassadors to Japan -- 
former Vice President Walter Mondale and former Speaker of the House 
Thomas Foley -- have joined the policy advisory group of presumptive 
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama as honorary 
advisors. 
 
5) Government asks WTO to set up panel for EU tariffs on IT 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 9) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
The government announced yesterday that it will ask the World Trade 
Organization (WTO) to set up a grievance committee (panel), claiming 
that the European Union (EU) has imposed improper high tariffs on 
three kinds of IT equipment, including a multifunction printer. 
Japan, together with the U.S. and Taiwan, will call for a panel on 
Aug. 20. 
 
6) Coordination underway for Prime Minister Fukuda to attend UNGA 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday began coordination with the 
possibility of delivering a speech at the United Nations General 
Assembly, which will start on Sept. 23 in New York. If realized, it 
will be the first time for a Japanese prime minister to deliver a 
speech at the UNGA since then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi did 
in 2005. Fukuda is also looking into the possibility of attending 
two UN meetings -- a UN High Level Meeting on Africa's Development 
Needs on Sept. 22 and the Millennium Development Goal Summit on 
Sept. 25. 
 
7) Feng Ji-tai to be appointed as Taiwan's top envoy to Japan 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Slightly abridged) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Shuto Hasegawa, Taipei 
 
Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Ministry announced yesterday that it 
informally decided to appoint Feng JI-tai, an aide to President Ma 
Ying-jeou and former ambassador to the Dominican Republic, as the 
next top envoy to Tokyo. Feng, aged 62, has little experience in 
Taiwan-Japan relations. However, he lived in Japan for five years 
with his father, a diplomat, when he was an elementary and 
junior-high school student. 
 
Feng, who studied in the United States, speaks fluent Spanish. He 
worked as an expert on international affairs in Ma's office during 
the presidential race. He once accompanied Ma on a trip to Japan. 
With the appointment of Feng, Ma seems to be reflecting his view in 
Taiwan-Japan relations. 
 
8) Agriculture Minister Ota expresses desire to hold G-8 ministerial 
in Japan later this year 
 
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
TOKYO 00002288  004 OF 007 
 
 
 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Seiichi Ota met with 
his Russian counterpart Alexei Gordeyev at his office yesterday and 
expressed his desire to hold the first Group of Eight (G-8) 
agricultural ministerial in Japan later this year. In the July G-8 
Summit (Hokkaido Toyako Summit), a decision was made to hold a G-8 
agricultural ministerial to discuss the issue of soaring food 
prices, but the timing and place for its first session remained 
undecided. Gordeyev welcomed Ota's proposal to hold the meeting 
under Japan's lead. 
 
9) Situation in extraordinary Diet session may become tense, with 
possible Lower House dissolution looming 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpt) 
August 20, 2008 
 
The government and the ruling coalition decided yesterday to convene 
in mid-September the next extraordinary Diet session, which may 
affect the fate of the Fukuda administration. Prime Minister Yasuo 
Fukuda has insisted on the need to put high on the agenda a bill 
designed to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean beyond its expiration in January. But 
the New Komeito remains opposed to the idea of premising the Diet 
schedule on a revote in the House of Representatives to pass the 
bill. Now that Fukuda is facing difficulty in steering the 
government, the situation in the upcoming Diet session is highly 
likely to become tense, with eyes on a dissolution of the House of 
Representatives for a snap election. 
 
10) LDP's Nakagawa says new antiterror legislation may trigger Diet 
dissolution 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Hidenao Nakagawa, former secretary general of the ruling Liberal 
Democratic Party, has indicated that the LDP should pass a bill 
amending the new Antiterrorism Special Measures Law to extend the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean 
while being prepared for the possibility of the House of 
Representatives being dissolved for a general election. "This 
legislation is a major point of contention," Nakagawa said in a 
seminar of the LDP's Machimura faction held yesterday afternoon at a 
hotel in Kanagawa Prefecture's Hakone Town. "If the DPJ (Democratic 
Party of Japan or Minshuto) stands against enacting this 
legislation, we will then have to seek the people's judgment in a 
fair manner under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on whether Japan will 
remain a nation that makes international contributions or whether 
Japan will cave in to terrorism," he added. 
 
11) Government, ruling bloc to informally ask DPJ for policy talks, 
including continuation of refueling operation 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 20, 2008 
 
The government and ruling coalition have decided to urge the major 
opposition Democratic Party of Japan to hold policy talks with them 
with the aim of discussing the questions of continuing the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's refueling operation in the Indian Ocean and of 
establishing a consumer affairs agency with an eye on convening the 
 
TOKYO 00002288  005 OF 007 
 
 
next extraordinary Diet session on September 12. As the venue for 
talks, they envisage revision talks on bills by committee directors 
of the ruling and opposition blocs. 
 
12) Noda reveals intent to run in DPJ presidential election 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Yoshihiko Noda, 51, chairman of the Public Relations Committee of 
the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), yesterday said to his aides 
that he will run in the upcoming party presidential election, which 
will be officially announced on Sept. 8. Within the party, many 
members believed that President Ozawa would win a third term without 
a formal vote, but those supporting Noda will coordinate views and 
soon hold a press conference to formally announce his candidacy. 
 
13) Defense Minister Hayashi discusses Futenma and other issues with 
Governor Nakaima in Okinawa 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, visiting Okinawa for the first 
time yesterday since assuming office, discussed the Futenma 
relocation issue and other matters with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima at 
the prefectural government office. 
 
Nakaima asked for bringing the Futenma issue to an early settlement 
while giving consideration to local residents, saying: "Local 
residents want to see the envisaged (replacement facility) moved 
offshore from the bilaterally agreed plan. In implementing the 
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, it is essential to obtain local 
understanding and cooperation." 
 
Hayashi said: "I would like to see (the working-level team 
established by the central and Okinawa governments) finalize a 
variety of subjects." 
 
14) Defense minister negative about Futenma replacement facility's 
offshore relocation 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met with Okinawa Prefecture's 
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima yesterday at the Okinawa prefectural 
government office in the city of Naha. In the meeting, Hayashi and 
Nakaima discussed the intergovernmental agreement between Japan and 
the United States to relocate the U.S. military's Futenma airfield 
in the city of Ginowan to a coastal area of Camp Schwab, a U.S. 
military base in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of 
Nago. Hayashi indicated a negative view about the governor's 
proposal to move the Futenma replacement facility's site to an 
offshore area. "It's difficult to change the alternative facility's 
site without rational reason," Hayashi said. 
 
15) Government's decision on Futenma relocation likely to slip to 
next spring or later 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
August 20, 2008 
 
TOKYO 00002288  006 OF 007 
 
 
 
Whether or not the government can finish relocating Futenma Air 
Station from Ginowan to the coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago by 
2014 as initially planned is a delicate question. 
 
Okinawa, Nago and other affected municipalities have asked the 
government to move the envisaged replacement facility offshore from 
its original plan for fear of deterioration of the environment 
surrounding residents near Camp Schwab. Meanwhile, the U.S. side has 
been maintaining its stance of not allowing any changes to the 
plan. 
 
The results of the environmental impact assessment, now underway in 
the vicinity of the planned replacement facility, will not come out 
until next spring or later. For this reason, the government, finding 
itself torn between Okinawa and the U.S., intends to postpone its 
final decision until then. 
 
Meanwhile, Governor Hirokazu Nakaima has suggested that he will not 
authorize the project to use the surface of public waters in the 
event Okinawa's request is rejected. Difficulty in talks with 
concerned municipalities might significantly delay the plan to begin 
reclamation work in 2010. The government is likely to find itself 
under a lot of pressure for ironing out differences in the views 
between Okinawa and the United States. 
 
16) 1953 MOJ directive urged regional public prosecutors offices to 
cautiously handle criminal cases involving U.S. service members 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
It has become clear through Ministry of Justice (MOJ) internal 
documents that its Criminal Affairs Bureau in 1953informed the 
regional public prosecutors offices and other entities to cautiously 
exercise jurisdiction regarding criminal cases involving U.S. 
service members in Japan. 
 
Documents drawn up in 1972 by the bureau regarding criminal case 
jurisdiction for U.S. service members list and explain Japan-U.S. 
agreements and MOJ notices on the handling of criminal cases 
involving U.S. service members based on the Japan-U.S. Status of 
Forces Agreement. A 1953 bureau chief notice reads: "Operationally, 
consideration must be paid in an extremely cautiously manner in view 
of U.S. Army rank and other factors." Regarding an incident 
involving an on-duty U.S. service member over which Japan does not 
have primary jurisdiction, the notice indicates that in determining 
whether or not the incident occurred in the line of duty, an on-duty 
certificate issued by a commander is insufficient as evidence unless 
there is counterevidence. Regarding the question of whether the 
notices are still in effect, the MOJ simply indicated: "Some are 
still effective and some are not." 
 
The MOJ had been keeping the documents in the ministry as classified 
materials until the document found their way out of the ministry. 
The National Diet Library (NDL) got hold of them in 1990. They had 
been open to the public since 1991. Becoming aware of this in May 
2008, the ministry asked the NDL to keep them secret, saying that it 
could damage the country diplomatically. The NDL closed the 
documents to the public on June 23. An NDL source said: "We have 
simply followed our internal procedures. It was not that we have 
received pressure from the Justice Ministry." A MOJ official said: 
 
TOKYO 00002288  007 OF 007 
 
 
"Upon holding talks, we would like to disclose some of the 
information if possible." 
 
17) Japanese, ROK chief negotiators agree to strengthen cooperation 
on North Korea 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 20, 2008 
 
Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and 
Oceanian Affairs Bureau, met yesterday at his ministry with Kim 
Sook, South Korea's chief envoy to the six-party talks. In the 
meeting, the two chief negotiators agreed to strengthen cooperation 
in order to push forward with the six-party talks. Kim, after the 
meeting, expressed hope for Japan's participation in energy support 
for North Korea. He told reporters: 
 
"Significant progress was made on the abduction issue (in the recent 
Japan-DPRK talks). It is necessary to bring about a situation under 
which Japan can join the assistance." 
 
SCHIEFFER