VZCZCXRO9251
RR RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #2493/01 2540811
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 100811Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7147
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 9792
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 7909
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 2155
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 3534
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 0370

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002493 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/J 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EFIN EAGR PREL JA
SUBJECT: Japan Economic Scope for September 8, 2008 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (U) This cable contains the Japan Economic Scope from 
August 25, 2008 
 
Food and Agriculture 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) FM Koumura Pledges Continued Support For Afghanistan, after 
Death of Non-Governmental Organization Aid worker. 
 
Foreign Minister Koumura pledged Japan's continued efforts for 
Afghanistan's reconstruction despite the recent murder of a Japanese 
aid worker in the country.  Koumura made the pledge in a telephone 
conversation with Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta 
August 28. 
 
Terrorists kidnapped and murdered NGO worker Kazuya Ito in eastern 
Afghanistan August 26.  FM Koumura said the government of Japan 
condemns heinous crimes such as abduction, murder and terrorist 
acts, but reiterated Japan needs to continue its effort to help 
Afghanistan achieve peace and rebuild itself. 
 
Eight Japanese NGOs are working in Afghanistan, which includes 20 to 
30 Japanese citizens who go in and out of Afghanistan regularly. 
According to MOFA, thirty-nine officials from the Japan 
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also provide agricultural 
education and other forms of educational aid in Afghanistan. 
 
¶3. (U) Japan Contemplates Russian G-8 Agriculture Ministerial 
Proposal 
 
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) Seiichi Ota 
met with Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexei Gordeyev in Tokyo 
August 19.  They discussed Russian grain sales to Japan and 
Gordeyev's proposal made during the July Toyako G-8 Summit to hold 
an agricultural ministerial meeting in Japan later this year. The 
ministerial would focus on food prices and food security.  MAFF Vice 
Minister Shirasu's August 28 press statement indicates Japan is 
willing to host the summit in Japan later this year. 
 
¶4. (U) MAFF Develops New Support Programs For Rice Producers 
 
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party wants the Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to include additional 
support for rice farmers in its JFY09 budget request.  MAFF 
reportedly is planning to set aside about 300 billion yen ($2.8 
billion) for these measures under the auspices of programs to raise 
food self-sufficiency.  MAFF will likely include some incentive and 
subsidy measures to promote production and consumption of non-table 
rice. MAFF is also formulating a tax cut package for consideration 
by the Ministry of Finance (MOF)in response to a Prime Minister's 
directive to all ministries.  Ministries must submit their by the 
end of September. 
 
Japan's Foreign Relations 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Overall And ODA Budget 
Requests For FY2009 
 
MOFA at the end of August submitted its budget request of 747.1 
billion yen for FY2009 (April 2009-March 2010) to the Ministry of 
Finance, a ten percent increase from FY2008.  The ministry is 
seeking funds to set up seven new embassies (Samoa, Palau, Barbados, 
Estonia, Kyrgyzstan, Benin, and Rwanda), to implement policy pledges 
at this year's summit and TICAD IV, and to raise the number of 
Foreign Ministry personnel by more than 200 and local embassy staff 
by 174.  MOFA is also requesting a 13.6 percent increase in its 
overseas development assistance (ODA) budget to 500.62 billion yen. 
One senior MOFA International Cooperation Bureau official said MOFA 
is hoping to salvage Japan's falling diplomatic presence as a top 
donor.  The ODA budget request includes a 10.1 percent increase to 
174.8 billion yen (approximately 1.748 billion US dollar) of grant 
aid for food assistance, the Cool Earth Partnership mechanism, and 
projects to achieve the 2015 millennium development goals related to 
poverty elimination, health, education, and gender issues. 
 
Politics and Reform 
------------------- 
 
¶7. (U)Space Policy Bureau Open For Business 
 
The Government of Japan officially established a Space Policy 
 
TOKYO 00002493  002 OF 002 
 
 
Headquarters within the Prime Minister's Secretariat August 27, 
pursuant to the Fundamental Space Law 2008.  The new organization 
will be chaired by the Prime Minister and report to Minister of 
State for Science and Technology Policy and Food Safety, Consumer 
Affairs, and Space Policy.  Pursuant to the new law, the 
headquarters is charged with formulating during the next year a 
national space strategy that for the first time takes into account 
industrial and national security interests, in addition to the 
current GOJ space focus on research and development through MEXT. 
 
One of the first issues on the Headquarters' agenda will be whether 
to develop a new mid-size launch vehicle, the GX-rocket. 
Development of the rocket has been hindered by a lack of 
Ministry-level funding and difficulty in creating a planned 
public-private partnership. 
 
Transportation 
-------------- 
 
8.(U)MLIT Begins Review of Antitrust Immunity for International Air 
Transport Fares 
 
Japan Civil Aviation Bureau's (JCAB) has started a private study 
group to review current Anti-trust Immunity (ATI) for international 
air transport fares, according to the ministry's web site.  This 
step comes in response to a December 2007 request made by the Japan 
Fair Trade Commission (JFTC).  The study group will focus on two 
issues: 
 
The effect of various tariff agreements(i.e. IATA Tariff Agreement, 
Carrier Tariff Agreement, Code Share Agreement, Pool Agreement, 
Agreement related to Multilateral Interline Traffic, Agency 
Agreement, Service Agreement, FFP Agreement) on user convenience and 
the international air transport market; and how ATI policy should be 
applied in the future, taking into consideration recent moves by 
Europe and Australia to abolish the antitrust immunity, the current 
international air transport market in Asia, and the aim of advancing 
aviation liberalization in the international air transport sector. 
 
The study group will hold a total of six meetings and will publish 
its findings by the end of JFY 2008 (March 2009). 
 
¶9. (SBU) Nagoya Officials Express Concern over United Airline's 
Discontinued San Francisco Flights 
 
Aichi Governor Kanda, Nagoya Mayor Matsubara and Chubu Economic 
Federation Chairman Kawakuchi told Consulate Nagoya Principal 
Officer they have "serious concerns" about United Airlines' (UA) 
recent decision to discontinue direct flights between Nagoya and San 
Francisco beginning this fall due to rising fuel costs and a lack of 
business class passengers. 
 
With the projected termination of the Nagoya-San Francisco flight, 
the only remaining direct flight between Nagoya and a U.S. 
destination will be Northwest Airline's Nagoya-Detroit service. 
Nagoyans have expressed strong interest in securing a direct flight 
between Nagoya and a U.S. West Coast city, particularly Los Angeles. 
 
 
ZUMWALT