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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 002323 
 
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 08/25/08 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's weekend, daily schedules  (Nikkei) 
 
Defense & security issues: 
4) GOJ mulling antipiracy legislation  (Yomiuri) 
5) Nagasaki Prefecture asks GOJ to step up U.S. nuclear sub 
radiation leak monitoring  (Mainichi) 
6) Defense Ministry to release white paper, drawing attention to 
wording for disputed islets  (Nikkei) 
7) Defense Ministry earmarks 95 billion yen for F-15 upgrade due to 
delay in FX selection  (Nikkei) 
8) GOJ to overhaul Japan's defense plan  (Nikkei) 
 
Japan in action: 
9) Japan, Australia to work together on all nuclear powers for 
nuclear disarmament  (Nikkei) 
10) Japan's initiative with Australia for nuclear disarmament aimed 
at urging China to exercise self-restraint  (Nikkei) 
 
China & North Korea ties: 
11) Now that Beijing Olympics is over, Japan to gear up talks with 
China for progress on bilateral issues  (Nikkei) 
12) North Korea likely to start probe into abductions this month 
(Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Political & economic issues: 
13) Diplomatic calendar filled for Prime Minister Fukuda  (Mainichi) 
 
14) Foreign Minister Koumura suggests need for Japan to continue 
refueling mission in Indian Ocean  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
15) LDP to draft manifesto in November for election  (Nikkei) 
16) GOJ eyeing 8-trillion-yen stimulus package  (Yomiuri) 
17) Justice Ministry eyes bills for lawsuits against foreign 
businesses  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Sankei, Tokyo Shimbun and Akahata: 
Beijing Olympics end, baton passes to London 
 
Nikkei: 
Japanese firms boost use of recycled materials due to soaring 
material costs 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) China must take steps toward political reform after Olympics 
(2) Russia must completely withdraw from Georgia 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Baton passed to London 
(2) China must embody harmony 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Olympic baton must pass to next generation 
(2) Test begins with end of Olympics 
 
TOKYO 00002323  002 OF 008 
 
 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Beijing Olympics reflected China at turning point 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Foreign nurses: System must be reviewed based on reality 
(2) Law enforcement: Steady efforts needed 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Hopes for a more open China after Olympics 
(2) Are lavish Olympics necessary? 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Be prepared for torrential rains 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, August 22 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 23, 2008 
 
09:30 
Met at the Kantei with Finance Minister Ibuki, Economic and Fiscal 
Policy Minister Yosano, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura. 
Joined by Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nikai. 
 
10:01 
Attended a cabinet meeting. Later, attended a meeting of the Drug 
Abuse Prevention Office. 
 
10:27 
Met Ibuki, Nikai, Yosano, and Machimura. Followed by Defense 
Minister Hayashi. 
 
11:26 
Met Secretary General Aso and Diet Affairs Committee Chairman 
Oshima. Joined by Machimura. Machimura stayed behind. 
 
12:26 
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries Shionoya and Iwaki. 
 
14:30 
Met Public Security Intelligence Agency Director General Yanagi. 
 
15:02 
Met former LDP Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa and former 
Agriculture Minister Shimamura, supreme advisors of the LDP's action 
policy study group to revive shopping districts, Lower House member 
Kiyoshi Nakano, chairman of the group, and others. Nakagawa stayed 
behind. Followed by Yosano. Later met Foreign Ministry's 
International Cooperation Bureau Director General Kitera and African 
Affairs Bureau Director General Akimoto. 
 
15:49 
Met Nikai, former Defense Agency Director General Aichi, and former 
National Public Safety Commission Chairman Izumi. 
 
16:06 
Met Special Assistant Ito. Followed by Machimura. Later met Yosano 
and Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Saka. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002323  003 OF 008 
 
 
17:40 
Met Shinichi Shogenji, the agriculture department head of the 
University of Tokyo. 
 
18:37 
Met Foreign Ministry's Foreign Policy Bureau Director General 
Bessho. 
 
19:23 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, August 23 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
 
August 24, 2008 
 
Spent the morning at his official residence. 
 
14:16 
Met Tokyo University Professor Yoshikawa, chairman of the Social 
Security National Conference. 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, August 24 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
 
August 25, 2008 
 
Spent all day at his official residence. 
 
4) Government eyes antipiracy legislation 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
August 23, 2008 
 
The government decided on Aug. 22 to introduce new legislation to 
clamp down on piracy and other illegal activities by foreign-flagged 
vessels on the high seas. The government specifically plans to 
submit a bill to revise the penal code or a bill to establish a new 
law to an ordinary Diet session possibly next year. Under the UN 
Convention on the Law of the Sea, signatories are allowed to crack 
down on piracy on the open sea. The government plans to take this 
step to increase the security of sea lanes. 
 
5) Nagasaki calls for enhanced system to monitor U.S. 
nuclear-powered vessels in wake of submarine's radiation leak 
 
MAINICHI (Page 24) (Full) 
August 23, 2008 
 
In the wake of the leak of radiation by the U.S. nuclear-powered 
submarine Houston, Nagasaki Gov. Genjiro Kaneko requested on Aug. 22 
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 
(MEXT) to tighten the system to monitor the amounts of radiation at 
Sasebo port in the prefecture which is visited by U.S. Navy 
nuclear-powered vessels. 
 
The petition calls for the establishment of additional radiation 
monitoring posts in the southern area of Sasebo port which has often 
been visited by U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in recent 
years, while pointing out that the leaks of radioactive substances 
 
TOKYO 00002323  004 OF 008 
 
 
for two years are unacceptable. 
 
Upon receiving the petition from Keinosuke Tanaka, chief of the 
Nagasaki governor's office, MEXT Nuclear Safety Division Director 
Shinnichi Kuroki said: "Although we think the current setup is 
sufficient, we are considering whether to seek funding for the 
additional monitoring posts." 
 
6) Government to announce defense white paper for 2008; Description 
of Takeshima likely to draw attention 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
August 25, 2008 
 
The annual White Paper on Defense, or the Defense of Japan, is a 
report on the security environment surrounding Japan and the 
organizational system of the Self-Defense Forces. Defense Minister 
Yoshimasa Hayashi is expected to report on the 2008 version of the 
Defense of Japan to a cabinet meeting on Sept. 5. 
 
The 2008 version includes a new chapter on reform of the Defense 
Ministry and also touches on China's use of space and its growing 
missile force and the intensifying activities of the Russian 
military backed by the economic boom. The report also explains a 
permanent law governing the overseas dispatch of the SDF, a 
highlight in the upcoming extraordinary Diet session. 
 
The description of Takeshima -- a group of islets known as Dokdo in 
South Korea, claimed by both Japan and South Korea -- is also likely 
to draw attention. Since the 2005 version, the Defense of Japan has 
specified: "The questions of sovereignty over the Northern 
Territories and Takeshima, both Japan's inherent territories, 
remains unsettled." The government plans to follow this policy 
direction in the 2008 version as well. The matter is likely to draw 
fire from South Korea, which has fiercely reacted to the reference 
of Takeshima in Japan's new educational guidelines for school 
teachers. 
 
7) Defense Ministry to request 95 billion yen for upgrading F-15s 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
August 25, 2008 
 
The Defense Ministry has decided to incorporate in its 2009 
budgetary request some 95 billion yen for upgrading the Air 
Self-Defense Force's F-15 mainstay fighter jets, including their 
radar systems. The funding covers the upgrading of 22 F-15s and the 
procurement of components for additional 38 F-15s to be used in the 
future. Although the numbers exceed those specified in the Midterm 
Defense Buildup Program up to fiscal 2009, the ministry has 
concluded the funding indispensable in order to maintain the 
country's air defense capability, given the delay in determining the 
next-generation mainstay fighter (FX). 
 
As successors to some 90 F-4 fighters, the ministry planned to 
procure the first seven FXs in fiscal 2009. But that will be slipped 
to the next Midterm Defense Program that stars in fiscal 2010. 
Similarly, the ministry will drop the planned purchase in fiscal 
2009 of next-generation cargo planes (CX) and of the Ground 
Self-Defense Force's AH-64D helicopters due to the delay in 
development and high price tags. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002323  005 OF 008 
 
 
The budgetary request totals 4.8449 trillion yen, up 2.2 PERCENT 
from last year's initial budget. The increase is largely 
attributable to skyrocketing fuel costs. 
 
8) Government to fundamentally review National Defense Program 
Guidelines earlier than scheduled with China, North Korea in mind 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 22, 2008 
 
The government has decided to drastically revise the National 
Defense Program Outlines (NDPG) that specifies Japan's basic 
security policy. In addition to reformulating the defense strategy 
in view of changes in the international situation, such as China's 
military buildup and expectations for the Self-Defense Forces' 
international contributions, the government has decided to review 
the NDPG earlier than initially planned in order to have Defense 
Ministry reform reflected in the outlines in the wake of a string of 
inappropriate conducts by ministry officials. The government plans 
to set up an experts' council at the Prime Minister's Office this 
fall for a cabinet decision at the end of 2009. 
 
The NDPG will be reviewed along with a revision of the Midterm 
Defense Buildup Program (FY2010 - FY2014). Its new version is likely 
to show strong concerns over the situations in neighboring 
countries, such as China's defense spending,  which has been showing 
a two-digit year-on-year increase, the unclear future of North 
Korea's planned abandonment of its nuclear weapons, and Russia's 
intensifying activities from the economic boom. 
 
9) Japan to call on all nuclear powers for nuclear arms reduction 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 24, 2008 
 
The government has decided to submit a resolution calling for "all 
nuclear powers" to reduce their nuclear weapons to the United 
Nations General Assembly session, which will begin in late 
September. Since all the recognized nuclear powers -- the United 
States, Britain, China, France and Russia -- except China have made 
efforts for nuclear arms reduction in some fashion, the resolution 
is effectively aimed at China. The expectation is that the motion 
will be adopted by a majority, as the Group of Eight (G-8) members 
will likely support it. 
 
10) Japan to submit to UNGA resolution calling for arms reduction in 
order to urge China 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
August 24, 2008 
 
Commentary 
 
Japan will submit to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly 
session a resolution calling for all nuclear powers to reduce their 
nuclear weapons. The purpose of Japan's decision is to urge China, 
which has continued its military buildup, to exercise restraint by 
involving the other nuclear powers -- the United States, Britain, 
France and Russia. However since UNGA resolutions, different from 
sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council, have no binding force, 
the resolution's influence over China, North Korea and Iran would be 
limited. 
 
TOKYO 00002323  006 OF 008 
 
 
 
The resolutions Japan has submitted to the UN every year calling for 
eliminating nuclear weapons have been adopted by a majority. The aim 
of Japan's resolution this time is to send a strong message to 
China. 
 
11) Government to urge China to make progress on dumplings food 
poisoning issue 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 25, 2008 
 
Following the end of the Beijing Olympics, the government intends to 
urge again the Chinese government to make progress as early as 
possible on such pending bilateral issues as the Chinese-made frozen 
dumplings food poisoning issue and the exploration of gas fields in 
the East China Sea. Tokyo will call on Beijing to continue dialogue 
with the Dalai Lama's side so that the human rights in Tibet will 
not backslide even after the end of the Beijing Olympics. 
 
It was learned in early August that gyoza dumpling poisonings had 
occurred in China. According to a source familiar with Japan-China 
diplomacy, Foreign Minister Koumura, during his China visit last 
week, persistently asked his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and 
other Chinese leaders to provide Japan with information on the 
dumpling poisoning issue. Tokyo intends to speed up cooperation on 
China's investigations into the issue in order to shed light on it. 
 
Although Tokyo and Beijing reached a basic agreement in June on the 
joint development of gas fields, the move has been put on hold 
because of China's reasons such as public opposition on the Web. 
Japan aims to initiate negotiations on specifics as the Olympics are 
now over. 
 
The government has welcomed the resumption in July of dialogue 
between the Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama's side and it 
expects the situation will change for the better by continuing the 
dialogue. However, there is a view in the government that the 
Chinese government held the dialogue with the Dalai Lama's side in 
an attempt to show the world its efforts to improve the human rights 
in Tibet in consideration of the Olympics, according to the source 
familiar with Japan-China diplomacy. 
 
12) North Korea may start reinvestigation into abductions this 
month 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
August 23, 2008 
 
It was learned yesterday that North Korea had conveyed to Japan its 
plan to start the reinvestigation of its abductions of Japanese 
nationals probably before the end of August. Japan and North Korea 
have agreed at working-level talks that Pyongyang will reinvestigate 
its abductions. 
 
The Japanese government will lift restrictions on North Korean 
visits and charter flights between the two countries once North 
Korea begins the reinvestigation. 
 
However, it is uncertain whether the reinvestigation will lead to 
the discovery of Japanese abductees and their return home, to which 
Japan has been attaching top priority. 
 
TOKYO 00002323  007 OF 008 
 
 
 
13) Tight diplomatic schedule for Fukuda might affect length of Diet 
session 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
August 25, 2008 
 
In the upcoming extraordinary Diet session, heated debate is 
expected between the ruling and opposition camps over a bill 
designed to extend the New Antiterrorism Special Measures Law beyond 
its expiration next January. But the diplomatic schedule for Prime 
Minister Yasuo Fukuda is tightly packed. Preparations are now 
underway for Japan to hold a Japan-China-South Korea summit in Kobe 
on Sept. 21. Some overseas trips have also been planned. These trips 
by Fukuda will inevitably affect the timetable for deliberations on 
the antiterrorism bill and may also affect the haggling over the 
length of the Diet session in the ruling parties. 
 
Major diplomatic events this year 
 
Sept. 12? Convocation of extraordinary diet session 
Sept. 21? Japan-China-South Korea summit (Japan) 
Sept. 23 ~ UN General Assembly (New York) 
Oct. 24-25 Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) (Beijing) 
Nov. 22-23 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum (Lima) 
Dec. 15-17 East Asia Summit, etc. (Bangkok) 
 
14) Refueling should be continued: Koumura 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
August 25, 2008 
 
Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura attended a meeting yesterday in 
Nagano Prefecture's Karuizawa Town, where he, referring to the issue 
of whether Japan should continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's 
refueling activities in the Indian Ocean, said Japan cannot obtain 
the international community's understanding if Japan pulls out of 
its activities there. 
 
"Japan is constitutionally not allowed to conduct maritime intercept 
operations," Koumura said. "But instead," he added, "Japan is 
providing fuel and water to foreign vessels." 
 
15) LDP to prepare manifesto by November for election 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 25, 2008 
 
The Liberal Democratic Party's National Strategy Office, headed by 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, decided yesterday to set up a mid- to 
long-term vision compilation committee this week to have it compile 
a draft manifesto that includes mid- to long-term policy measures 
for the next House of Representatives election by November. The new 
panel will appoint 21 deputy heads mainly from among those who once 
served as cabinet ministers. 
 
16) Government to finalize economic package worth 8 trillion yen by 
end of August 
 
YOMIURI (Page 1) (Excerpt) 
August 23, 2008 
 
 
TOKYO 00002323  008 OF 008 
 
 
The government yesterday unveiled a draft plan for comprehensive 
economic measures that the government and the ruling camp plan to 
finalize by the end of this month. The draft package includes 
measures worth approximately 8 trillion yen to help small businesses 
raise funds; subsidize fishermen now being affected by the recent 
sharp rise in fuel prices; and to save energy. The government will 
start full-scale talks with the ruling parties next week, aiming at 
finalizing the package by the end of August. 
 
17) Justice Ministry to set rules on civil suits against foreign 
firms 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Excerpts) 
August 25, 2008 
 
The Justice Ministry decided yesterday to draw up a new bill that 
sets rules for civil suits in Japanese court against foreign firms. 
The ministry has already started legal preparations for lawsuits 
against foreign governments. Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka plans 
to submit the two bills to the Legislative Council on Sept. 3 to 
seek its advice. The ministry will step up efforts to establish 
legal systems to deal with international problems that are 
increasing recently as a result of the rapid integration of the 
global economy. 
 
In dealing with international civil cases, courts have so far made 
judgments based on precedent. Under the current system, whether a 
trial will be held in Japan or in the country of the defendant is 
unknown until the suit is actually filed. In cases where the trial 
is held in the country of the defendant, the plaintiff has to bear a 
heavy financial burden. 
 
The Justice Ministry intends to submit the new legislation involving 
foreign governments to the ordinary Diet session next year and the 
one involving foreign firms to the 2010 ordinary session. 
 
ZUMWALT