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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 002415 
 
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 09/03/08 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Prime Minister Fukuda skips SDF conference, not even sending a 
proxy; Unprecedented and unheard of omission (Mainichi) 
 
(2) Three possible scenarios for Lower House dissolution and general 
election (Mainichi) 
 
(3) Poll on new Fukuda cabinet, political parties (Nikkei) 
 
(4) Fiscal discipline on verge of collapse with government inundated 
with requests for pork-barrel spending (Asahi) 
 
(5) With Fukuda's resignation announcement, uncertainty looming over 
basis for economic growth (Nikkei) 
 
(6) (Corrected copy) Essay by Asahi columnist Yoshibumi Wakamiya on 
the Hiroshima Summit: Next time the U.S. President should come 
(Asahi) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Prime Minister Fukuda skips SDF conference, not even sending a 
proxy; Unprecedented and unheard of omission 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
Eve., September 3, 2008 
 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda this morning was absent from the annual 
meeting of senior level officers of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) 
that was held at the Ministry of Defense. It is customary for the 
prime minister to instruct senior SDF officers from all over the 
country on current course of defense policy, but because of Fukuda's 
absence, no policy briefing was given. It appears that this was in 
accord with the Prime Minister's intention to "avoid appearing in 
public after having announced his resignation," according to a 
government source. 
 
There have only been two cases of the prime minister being absent 
from the meeting in the last two years, 2001 and 2002, due to 
foreign travel. At the time, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda 
attended as a proxy. But for a substitute speaker not to be sent 
from the Prime Minister's Official Residence is "unheard of," said a 
Defense Ministry senior official. 
 
(2) Three possible scenarios for Lower House dissolution and general 
election 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) 
September 3, 2008 
 
For the Liberal Democratic Partly, the selection of the successor to 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is closely associated with the ability 
to manage Diet affairs and the party's strategy for dissolving the 
Lower House and holding a snap general election. At present, there 
are three main possibilities. One is to dissolve the Lower House at 
the beginning of the next extraordinary Diet session after the new 
prime minister is elected. The other is to do so after the 
supplementary budget clears the Diet in the next session. The 
decision would depend on whether to put high priority on the 
momentum of the LDP presidential race or on the government's 
achievements. The third would be to wait until early next year. 
 
TOKYO 00002415  002 OF 010 
 
 
 
Possibility one -- Lower House dissolution at beginning of 
extraordinary Diet session 
 
The government and ruling coalition have decided to submit to next 
year's ordinary Diet session a bill on a flat-sum tax cut, a matter 
incorporated in the economic stimulus package adopted by them on 
Aug. 29. With Fukuda's resignation announcement, the option of 
dissolving the Lower House by the end of the year has again become a 
real possibility. The lower chamber could be dissolved at the outset 
of the extra Diet session that would be convened later this month. 
 
Under this scenario, the LDP would draw national interest through 
policy debates by several presidential candidates and then dissolve 
the Lower House for a general election while the momentum is high. 
Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reportedly told former LDP 
Vice President Taku Yamasaki on the phone on the night of Sept. 1: 
"The Lower House should be dissolved at the beginning of the extra 
Diet session after the LDP presidential race is over." Secretary 
General Taro Aso has already thrown his hat into the ring. Former 
Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa and others, who are at odds with 
Aso over economic and fiscal policy, are looking for a candidate to 
run against Aso. 
 
If former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike becomes the first female 
candidate, the LDP presidential race would attract much attention. 
 
But no one expects the "boom" of interest in the race to equal that 
of 2001 when Koizumi overwhelmingly defeated then Prime Minister 
Ryutaro Hashimoto, who seemed to be enjoying a comfortable lead. A 
former cabinet minister expressed concern over possible ill effects 
resulting from the two consecutive prime ministers having walked off 
the job, saying, "No matter who becomes the prime minister, support 
ratings for the LDP would drop." Dissolving the Lower House at the 
outset of the next Diet session would also end up leaving in limbo 
the FY2008 supplementary budget and the fixed-rate tax breaks on 
income and resident taxes that are necessary for boosting the 
economy. Deliberations on a bill amending the new Antiterrorism 
Special Measures Law for continuing the refueling mission in the 
Indian Ocean would also be put off. 
 
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaou Yosano in a press 
conference yesterday discouraged the early dissolution theory, 
saying: "In the political world, the plan that seems the most 
convenient always falls through." 
 
Possibility two -- Lower House dissolution after supplementary 
budget clears Diet 
 
Under the second scenario, the prime minister would dissolve the 
lower chamber in November after the FY2008 supplementary budget 
clears the Diet. This would allow the ruling bloc to impress the 
voters and support organizations with the new economic stimulus 
package in the election that would follow. 
 
Finance Minister Bunmei Ibuki and Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura 
indicated in a press conference yesterday that the new 
administration should give priority to the supplementary budget, 
saying: "Under the new prime minister, there will be no change to 
what was decided by the government and ruling coalition." Aso is 
close to the New Komeito, which has been calling for Diet 
dissolution between the end of the year and the beginning of the new 
 
TOKYO 00002415  003 OF 010 
 
 
year. If Aso becomes the prime minister, this scenario might 
unfold. 
 
This scenario is also bound to affect the study to raise the 
government's contribution to the basic pension scheme to half and to 
free up road-related revenues for general spending starting in 
FY2009, in addition to the bill amending the new antiterrorism law. 
This might be criticized as pork-barrel spending at the cost of 
reform. 
 
Possibility three -- Lower House dissolution in early January or 
later 
 
Chances are slim that the lower chamber will be dissolved in early 
January or in the spring after the FY2009 budget clears the Diet. 
Given the severe economic conditions, there are strong calls for the 
enactment of the budget in FY2008. At the same time, the New Komeito 
is opposed to dissolving the Lower House anytime close to next 
summer's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. 
 
Former LDP Upper House Caucus Chairman Mikio Aoki said to his aide 
yesterday: "There is no longer a chance to enact the budget bill in 
the next regular Diet session after the extraordinary session." 
 
Lower House dissolution might occur in early January or later in the 
event the next administration suffers from low support ratings and 
passes up the opportunity to dissolve the chamber. 
 
DPJ deprived of opportunity to play up its presence 
 
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan was planning to 
intensify its offensive against the LDP-New Komeito administration 
in order to force it into early Lower House dissolution for a snap 
general election. With party president Ichiro Ozawa having 
effectively sealed his third term without a vote and the next 
extraordinary Diet session postponed until after the LDP 
presidential election, the major opposition party will now just have 
to look on the LDP presidential race. With no opportunity in sight 
to make a public appeal, the party will have to busy itself with the 
hunt for its candidates for the next general election. 
 
Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama on a radio program yesterday 
expressed a fear of his party sinking into insignificance, saying, 
"Prime Minister Fukuda announced his resignation to eclipse our 
party." 
 
Hatoyama also urged his party to brace for a possible Lower House 
dissolution in September, while sounding an alarm against the 
establishment of a popular Aso administration that would result in a 
tough Lower House race for the DPJ. 
 
Public Relations Committee Chair Yoshihiko Noda and others have been 
forced to give up their candidacies because of the leadership's 
logic of putting the Lower House election ahead of the DPJ 
presidential race. "We, too, should have decided to hold a 
presidential election," a young DPJ lawmaker lamented. 
 
The party held an executive meeting yesterday in which four possible 
Lower House dissolution dates were presented: (1) at the beginning 
of the extra Diet, (2) after the question-and-answer session, (3) 
after the supplementary budget clears the Diet, and (4) after the 
supplementary budget-related bills are enacted. It was simply 
 
TOKYO 00002415  004 OF 010 
 
 
impossible to predict when the chamber will be dissolved for a 
general election, the matter even the ruling bloc does not know. 
 
(3) Poll on new Fukuda cabinet, political parties 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
September 1, 2008 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in percentage. Parentheses denote findings from the 
last survey conducted in early August.) 
 
Q: Do you support the new Fukuda cabinet? 
 
Yes 29 (38) 
No 63 (49) 
Can't say (C/S) + don't know (D/K) 8 (13) 
 
Q: Which political party do you support or like now? 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 37 (37) 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 30 (33) 
New Komeito (NK) 3 (4) 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 4 (4) 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 2 (2) 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0 (0) 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0 (0) 
Other political parties 1 (1) 
None 16 (15) 
C/S+D/K 6 (5) 
 
(Note) The total percentage does not become 100 PERCENT  in some 
cases due to rounding 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was taken Aug. 29-31 by Nikkei 
Research Inc. by telephone on a random digit dialing (RDD) basis. 
For the survey, samples were chosen from among men and women aged 20 
and over across the nation. A total of 1,549 households with one or 
more eligible voters were sampled, and answers were obtained from 
866 persons (55.9 PERCENT ). 
 
(4) Fiscal discipline on verge of collapse with government inundated 
with requests for pork-barrel spending 
 
ASAHI (Page 6) (Abridged slightly) 
September 3, 2008 
 
The fate of many policy issues has become unclear in the wake of 
Prime Minister Fukuda's abrupt announcement of his intention to step 
down. Economic stimulus measures, reconstruction of the social 
security system and fiscal reconstruction are all supposed to be 
urgent issues under normal circumstances. However, they will likely 
be put on the back burner for a while, leaving it up to the next 
administration, which might take a totally different approach. What 
will become of the national welfare and economy? The Asahi Shimbun 
probes into the real situation those policy issues will face. 
 
The office of the Yosano Team is located on the 5th floor of the 
Cabinet Office in Kakumigaseki, Tokyo, where State Minister for 
Economic and Fiscal Policy Yosano is situated. Ten officials from 
the Cabinet Office, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of 
Economy, Trade and Industry engaged in the compilation of the 
 
TOKYO 00002415  005 OF 010 
 
 
government's economic stimulus package for about a month there. 
 
However, the prime minister announced his decision to quit right 
after the package was compiled in late August. Those officials who 
were involved in the compilation of the package said the future 
course of the package has now been derailed. 
 
Those officials who compiled the economic stimulus package this time 
tried to achieve a good balance under a difficult situation. 
 
Though they decided on a package with 11.7 trillion yen worth of 
projects, only 1.8 trillion yen in fiscal spending will be funded in 
real money from the fiscal 2008 supplementary budget. The government 
constrained expenditures, because it did not want to lower the 
banner of fiscal reconstruction. The prime minister rejected a call 
for issuing additional deficit-covering government bonds in the 
supplementary budget. In the meantime, he decided to implement in 
this fiscal year fixed-rate tax cuts, which the New Komeito had 
demanded, with no particular funding resources behind them. 
 
The prime minister has now abandoned his administration just when it 
had reached a crucial juncture of tilting in the direction of 
abiding by fiscal discipline or of adopting a pork-barrel spending 
policy. 
 
The Koizumi administration, which started the process of structural 
reform, tried to achieve fiscal soundness by advancing spending 
cuts. The Abe and Fukuda administrations have followed through on 
the Koizumi policy line. 
 
However, facing the current economic downturn, LDP Secretary General 
Taro Aso, one of the potential candidates to succeed Fukuda, is 
willing to actively increase public spending. In early August, right 
after assuming his post, he referred to a possible postponement of 
the government goal of moving the primary balance into the black by 
fiscal 2011. 
 
Yosano, who attaches importance to fiscal reconstruction, said, 
"There is no way any sensible LDP official would seek increased 
spending in order to win an election." However, many ruling party 
members are already calling for more public spending. 
 
One senior Finance Ministry official said, "We are now at a crucial 
juncture of whether to keep intact the policy of restoring fiscal 
soundness, which has narrowly survived. If pork-barrel spending 
revives, it would become impossible to spend money for necessary 
policies due to a heavy debt-payment burden. There is even a 
side-effect of a rise in long-term interest rates further worsening 
the economy. 
 
Path for economic growth not in sight 
 
Zenichi Kanda (65), who runs a cardboard processing factory in Ota 
Ward, Tokyo, breathed a sigh, when he was watching TV news reporting 
the prime minister's announcement of his intention to step down. He 
lamented, "Whatever we seek from politics, nothing will change. The 
reality is nothing like politicians think." 
 
The amount of work his factory performed has dropped to one-third of 
the amount 10 years ago, when his business was booming. The cost of 
purchasing raw materials, such as cardboard sheets, has increased 50 
PERCENT  over the past year. There would be a further rise in the 
 
TOKYO 00002415  006 OF 010 
 
 
cost of purchasing raw materials in the fall. There used to be about 
60 companies in the same trade operating in a suburb. However, the 
number has now dropped to 16 to 17. 
 
The package incorporated funds worth 9 trillion yen to help small- 
and medium-size companies that are experiencing funding difficulties 
due to the steep rise in crude oil and raw material prices. Kanda, 
however, said: "If I borrow such money, my debts would simply 
increase. I want the government to tell us how to cope with the 
changing business environment." 
 
Foreign factors are a main contributor to the current economic 
slowdown as can be seen in the steep rise in resources and food 
prices and slowing exports. Prices are expected to continue to hover 
at a high level. As such, it will become important to change the 
economic structure to such that can endure environmental changes and 
to boost domestic demand. 
 
However, finance assistance for the introduction of energy-saving 
conserving technologies appears to be the only measure in the 
package that could spur structural changes. Only stop-gap pain 
relief measures for sagging industries, such as subsidies to cover 
the increased fuel costs, are visible. 
 
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport once again 
strengthened a rule restricting new entries into the taxi business 
this year for the reason of overheated competition. The economic 
growth strategy, which the government compiled in June, did not 
include such measures as to boost foreign investment in Japan. 
 
The next prime minister will face the test of showing a path for 
economic growth, while containing the strain of the economic 
downturn amid such setbacks as the worldwide economic slowdown and 
rise in prices. 
 
(5) With Fukuda's resignation announcement, uncertainty looming over 
basis for economic growth 
 
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
September 3, 2008 
 
Uncertainty is now looming over the fate of medium to long-term 
economic agenda items due to political turmoil in the aftermath of 
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's abrupt announcement of his intent to 
step down. The global environment issue, on which Fukuda placed 
emphasis, has now lost its control tower, so the issue may begin to 
float away. Trade, agriculture, and social security are important 
policies for Japan to create a foundation for sustainable economic 
growth despite its shrinking and aging population. But debate on 
their drastic reforms may also be left behind. 
 
Environment: Focus on how to lead post-Kyoto negotiations 
 
The issue of global warming is one of a few areas in which Prime 
Minister Fukuda demonstrated leadership. In the World Economic Forum 
Annual Meeting (Davos Conference) in January, Fukuda announced 
Japan's plan to provide developing countries with aid worth 10 
billion dollars. In June, he came up with the "Fukuda Vision," 
Japan's new guideline on countermeasures to climate change. In the 
July Hokkaido Toyako Summit, in which global warming was focused on 
as a major theme, Fukuda took the initiative in discussion. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002415  007 OF 010 
 
 
These measures are included in "the action plan to form a low-carbon 
society" adopted at a cabinet meeting in July, so the dominant view 
is that "the government's policy will remain unchanged, though the 
implementation of the measures may temporarily be delayed," as said 
by a senior official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and 
Industry. 
 
Meanwhile, negotiations will soon start on a full scale to hammer 
out a new international framework following the 2012 expiration of 
the Kyoto Protocol. Fukuda promised to announce midterm emissions 
reduction goals for 2020 or 2030 at a proper time next year. 
 
The deadline for negotiations on a post-Kyoto regime is set at the 
end of next year. After the change of government in the U.S., the 
new administration is expected to be more positive about tackling 
global warming. Accordingly, heated haggling is likely to occur in 
negotiations. A senior Foreign Ministry official said: "The top 
leader's zeal and leadership will be put to the test. 
 
The realization of a low-carbon society will contribute to 
revitalizing the Japanese economy. An emission trading system will 
be introduced on a trial basis in October, but whether Japan should 
introduce the system on a full scale will be left to a political 
judgment by the new prime minister. 
 
Trade: Focus on EPA negotiations 
 
In order to strengthen the Japanese economy's growth potential when 
domestic demand is stagnant due to population decrease, it is 
imperative to draw in overseas demand for goods and services. In the 
trade sector, the focus of attention is on how to make progress in 
negotiations on concluding economic partnership agreements (EPA) 
with countries in East Asia. 
 
EPA negotiations with India and Vietnam have entered their final 
stage. India is aiming to strike a deal by the time when Prime 
Minister Manmohan Singh visits Japan this fall. 
 
Vietnam is also eager to reach an agreement by the end of this year, 
which marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic 
relations between Japan and Vietnam. 
 
Japan held working-level talks with South Korea in June in an effort 
to resume EPA negotiations, but no progress has been made since 
then. Negotiations with Australia have also reached a deadlock over 
how to treat farm products. To move the negotiations forward, many 
are now calling for political leadership. 
 
The ministerial meeting in July of the new round of World Trade 
Organization (WTO) global trade talks (Doha Round) ended in rupture. 
WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and others are stepping up efforts 
to resume high working-level negotiations, but if the political 
confusion in Japan is prolonged, Japan might not be able to speedily 
take response measures. 
 
Agriculture: Uncertainty over farmland reform 
 
In the agriculture area, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and 
Fisheries (MAFF) has decided to compile a package of measures on 
farmland reform. But the fate of farmland reform is now uncertain. 
 
The ministry has studied the possibility of carrying out drastic 
 
TOKYO 00002415  008 OF 010 
 
 
reform, specifically working out measures to enhance productivity by 
consolidating small patches of paddy fields and farming land into 
larger units and to expand agricultural businesses by utilizing idle 
farmland. Depending on the political situation, however, it might 
become difficult for the government to submit and enact related 
bills in the regular Diet session next year as scheduled. Given the 
rising age of the rural population and difficulty in finding 
successors, a senior MAFF official said: "If reform is delayed, 
matters related to land rights may become more complicated and 
consolidating land may become more difficult." As part of efforts to 
increase the nation's self-sufficiency rate, the ministry has also 
come up with measures to effectively use paddy fields, but whether 
Japan can make the agricultural sector stronger from the medium- to 
long-term perspective is likely to hinge on the outcome of farmland 
reform. 
 
Social security: Nursing care insurance measures may be delayed 
 
On health, labor and welfare administration, there is a crowded 
agenda. Prime Minister Fukuda presented the Five-Point Reassurance 
Plan in the social security area in July, including emergency 
measures to cope with the lack of doctors. 
 
But the order of policy priority might change under a new prime 
minister and a new health, labor and welfare minister. A senior 
ministry official grumbled: "I am concerned that the ministry may 
not be able to secure enough budget allocations." 
 
Next fiscal year, the government is scheduled to revise the 
nursing-care-reward system. Minister Yoichi Masuzoe is looking into 
the possibility of boosting nursing-care benefits to be paid to care 
insurance businesses. He planned to compile a package of proposals 
later this year on reviewing the nursing-care insurance system at an 
expert panel. The effort to that end will inevitably slow down. 
 
Dark clouds are also hanging over the reform of the ministry itself, 
in which the public have a sense of mistrust. 
 
The government's council on future options for health, labor and 
welfare administration, chaired by Toyota Motor Corp Advisor Hiroshi 
Okuda, has decided to come up with a policy direction later this 
year, but no decision has been made on when it will meet next. 
 
(6) (Corrected copy) Essay by Asahi columnist Yoshibumi Wakamiya on 
the Hiroshima Summit: Next time the U.S. President should come 
 
ASAHI (Page 11) (Slightly abridged) 
September 1, 2008 
 
On that fateful morning, then Illinois assembly member Barack Obama 
was driving his car in downtown Chicago when he heard on the radio 
about the first airplane crashing (into the World Trade Center). By 
the time he reached his meeting, two more planes had crashed into 
buildings. He immediately got out of the car, looked to the heavens, 
and thinking about his country and family, was overcome by grief for 
the victims. 
 
It will soon be seven years since the tragedy of 9/11, when 
terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "With 
those incidents, everything changed," Obama later said. Three years 
later, he became a U.S. senator, and now, he himself has completely 
changed, having become a presidential candidate. 
 
TOKYO 00002415  009 OF 010 
 
 
 
That Barack Obama, recalling the fear that 9/11 generated, came out 
with a statement of his thinking this July 16 that went: "I will 
place at the center of nuclear policy the goal of complete abolition 
of nuclear weapons." In a campaign speech in Indiana, he heatedly 
stated, "It is time for America to send a clear message that we will 
aim for a world where there are no nuclear weapons." 
 
His statement could only come from a sense of alarm about how 
fearful it would be if terrorist groups got their hands on nuclear 
weapons. The Democratic Party that nominated him at its convention 
at the end of last month included that in its election promises. 
 
Having just played a role in that party convention, U.S. House of 
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has come to Japan, and is now 
in Hiroshima. She is attending the G-8 Summit of Lower House 
Speakers that convenes on Sept. 2. This year, the seventh such 
event, is being hosted by Lower House Speaker Yohei Kono. 
 
At the Toyako Summit of world leaders that was held in July, the 
main theme was global warming. If that is the case, I would like to 
bring up here another global crisis. The proposal came from Mr. Kono 
to choose Hiroshima as the sight to discuss "peace and disarmament." 
In the past, the eight countries represented here divided themselves 
into "Axis" countries of Germany, Japan, and Italy and "Allied" 
countries centered on the U.S. and Britain and fought a war. Now, 
their parliamentary speakers have assembled to lay wreathes at the 
monument in Hiroshima dedicated to atomic bomb victims, and tour the 
Peace Memorial Museum, where the bombings are vividly portrayed. The 
most noteworthy participant is no doubt Speaker Pelosi, who has come 
from the country that dropped the bombs. 
 
Sixty three years ago, the feeling in Hiroshima, which had made the 
atomic bombings its hell, was that the United States could not be 
forgiven and the tragedy could not be wiped away. However, the 
United States' thinking was that without using the bombs, Japan 
could not have been subjugated, the expectation being that in ending 
the war, there would be tragic resistance. There was also a feeling 
of resistance from Japan, which stressed the catastrophe of the 
bombings, tending to forget that it had been the aggressor in the 
war. Even in 1996, when the Atomic Bomb Dome (Peace Memorial) was 
recognized as a World Heritage, the U.S. was against the move. 
 
Mr. Kono, who fully realizes the existence of such a situation, last 
year broached the idea to Speaker Pelosi first of all with the 
words, "If you were to come, it would be to Hiroshima." She replied 
that it would be a "good idea." Perhaps the Speaker's decisiveness 
was because she is a liberal, but Speaker Pelosi is the highest 
level U.S. politician to visit Hiroshima in the 63 postwar years. 
 
Even John McCain, the Republican Party candidate for president, in 
May made a similar statement. He introduced former President 
Reagan's words, "Our dream is a day when there will be no nuclear 
weapons on this earth," and then stated, "This is my dream, too." 
 
If such is the case, I would like to see the next president, whether 
it is Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain, make a visit to Hiroshima. In the 
message of aiming for a nuclear-weapon free world, there is no doubt 
such a spirit. 
 
In fact, this July 2, President Bush, then on the way to the Toyako 
Summit, had this exchange with reporters: When asked, "There has 
 
TOKYO 00002415  010 OF 010 
 
 
been a proposal for the prime minister of Japan to visit Pearl 
Harbor in Hawaii, and for the U.S. president to visit Hiroshima," he 
answered, "I haven't given it any thought, but it is an interesting 
idea." 
 
It is difficult for him to make the trip, given his remaining short 
stay in office, but Mr. Bush did make this significant remark: "Wipe 
the slate of the past clean, and turn to look to the future." This 
may have been lip-service, but if his friend (Koizumi) and he as a 
combination had continued, would it have been out of the question? 
 
That reminds me, there has never been a prime minister who has 
visited Pearl Harbor. There seems to be a strong resistance to do so 
within the Japanese government. In 1994, such a visit was considered 
when the Emperor visited the United States, but it never came 
about. 
 
If the prime minister visits Pearl Harbor, the U.S. president, too, 
would find it easier to pay visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If 
both leaders bowed their heads in reflection and then laid down 
memorial wreathes, it would take the form of a real reconciliation 
and friendship. The atomic bomb victims, too, would perhaps be 
somewhat buoyed up by the gesture. 
 
What words would be used at Hiroshima by Mr. Obama, who captured 
peoples' hearts with his speeches that called for change and unity? 
What kind of emotions would be evoked by Mr. McCain, who suffered as 
a prisoner of war? 
 
It may be said to be premature, but my interest in this has 
continued to climb. 
 
ZUMWALT