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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 003018 
 
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 10/29/08 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Poll on Aso cabinet, political parties (Asahi) 
 
(2) Editorial: MSDF must raise its information security awareness 
(Sankei) 
 
(3) Editorial: Court ruling on Aegis info leak: Appropriate approach 
needed in designating and controlling classified information 
(Mainichi) 
 
(4) Prime Minister Aso: Is a cup noodle about 400 yen? (Tokyo 
Shimbun) 
 
(5) Questioning on Cessna crash possible: Maher (Okinawa Times) 
 
(6) No prospects for V-shaped facility's offshore move (Okinawa 
Times) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Poll on Aso cabinet, political parties 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 28, 2008 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in percentage, rounded off. The three figures from 
left to right in each row denote the results of Oct. 4-5, Oct. 
11-12, and Oct. 25-26 surveys.) 
 
Q: Do you support the Aso cabinet? 
 
Yes 41 42 41 
No 42 38 38 
 
Q: Which political party do you support now? 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 32 30 32 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 23 22 19 
New Komeito (NK) 4 4 4 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2 2 2 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1 1 1 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0 0 0 
Reform Club (RC or Kaikaku Kurabu) 0 0 0 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0 0 0 
Other political parties 0 0 0 
None 31 34 35 
No answer (N/A) + don't know (D/K) 7 7 7 
 
Q: To what extent are you interested in the next general election 
for the House of Representatives? (One choice only) 
 
Very interested 35 38 36 
Somewhat interested 44 39 43 
Not very interested 17 16 17 
Not interested at all 3 6 4 
 
Q: If you were to vote now in a general election for the House of 
Representatives, which political party would you like to vote for in 
your proportional representation bloc? 
 
 
TOKYO 00003018  002 OF 007 
 
 
LDP 33 32 33 
DPJ 34 32 30 
NK 4 5 4 
JCP 3 4 2 
SDP 1 1 1 
PNP 0 0 0 
RC 0 0 0 
NPN 0 0 0 
Other political parties 1 0 1 
N/A+D/K 24 26 29 
 
Q: In your single-seat electoral district, which political party's 
candidate would you like to vote for? 
 
LDP 31 30 31 
DPJ 30 29 26 
NK 3 4 2 
JCP 3 3 2 
SDP 1 0 1 
PNP 0 0 0 
RC 0 0 0 
NPN 0 0 0 
Other political parties 0 0 0 
Independent 2 2 2 
N/A+D/K 30 32 36 
 
Q: Would you like the current LDP-led coalition government to 
continue, or would you otherwise like it to be replaced with a 
DPJ-led coalition government? 
 
LDP-led coalition 34 32 33 
DPJ-led coalition 40 38 37 
 
Q: Which one between Prime Minister Aso and DPJ President Ichiro 
Ozawa do you think is more appropriate for prime minister? 
 
Mr. Aso 50 53 52 
Mr. Ozawa 22 20 20 
 
Q: Do you think it would be better for Japan to have the ruling and 
opposition parties change places at times? 
 
Yes 73 70 73 
No 19 20 19 
 
Q: Do you think the House of Representatives should be dissolved as 
early as possible for a general election, or do you otherwise think 
there is no need to hurry? (Figures in parentheses denote the 
results of a survey conducted Sept. 2-3.) 
 
Dissolve as early as possible 33 (56) 
No need to hurry 57 (33) 
 
Q: The global expansion of the financial crisis has caused such 
repercussions as a stock market crash in Japan as well. To what 
extent are you interested in the financial crisis? (One choice 
only) 
 
Very interested 39 
Somewhat interested 44 
Not very interested 14 
Not interested at all 3 
 
TOKYO 00003018  003 OF 007 
 
 
 
Q: Do you have expectations for Prime Minister Aso in dealing with 
the financial crisis? 
 
Yes 52 
No 40 
 
Q: The government and the ruling parties are planning an 
across-the-board income tax reduction in order to boost the nation's 
economy. The tax reduction is estimated at approximately 2 trillion 
yen. Do you appreciate this tax break? 
 
Yes 40 
No 41 
 
Q: In its campaign for a general election, the DPJ will pledge to 
make highways free in stages. Meanwhile, the governing parties are 
planning substantial reductions in local highway tolls. Do you 
consider much about the issue of highway tolls when voting for a 
political party or a candidate in the next general election? 
 
Yes 29 
No 64 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted over the telephone on 
a computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis. Respondents were 
chosen from among the nation's voting population on a three-stage 
random-sampling basis. Valid answers were obtained from 1,036 
persons (57 PERCENT ) for the Oct. 4-5 survey, 1,040 persons (60 
PERCENT ) for the Oct. 11-12 survey, and 1,045 persons (61 PERCENT ) 
for the Oct. 25-26 survey. 
 
(2) Editorial: MSDF must raise its information security awareness 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 29, 2008 
 
In delivering a sentence (on Oct. 28) to a Maritime Self-Defense 
Force (MSDF) officer who had leaked classified information on the 
Aegis naval air defense system, the Yokohama District Court severely 
criticized the MSDF's sloppiness in information control, while 
pointing out its lack of information security awareness regarding 
high-level military secrets. 
 
Learning lessons from the ruling, the MSDF, which manages all kinds 
of classified military information and data, must carry out thorough 
information control. 
 
The court sentenced Lt. Cmdr. Sumitaka Matsuuchi, a member of the 
service section of the MSDF Yokosuka Base who was charged with 
violating the Law Concerning the Protection of Secrets for the 
Japan-U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement, to two years and six 
months in prison, suspended for four years, generally in line with 
the prosecutors' demand for three years in prison. 
 
The guilty decision was appropriate even though the leaked 
information on the Aegis system, which is reportedly the most 
important military information for the Japan-U.S. alliance, did not 
find its way out of the MSDF. 
 
The most contentious point in the trial was whether the MSDF 
lieutenant commander -- Matsuuchi's acquaintance and a former 
 
TOKYO 00003018  004 OF 007 
 
 
instructor at the MSDF First Service School -- who had received data 
on the capability of the Aegis system classified as a special 
defense secret from Matsuuchi constituted "others" as specified in 
the law prohibiting the act of leaking classified information. 
 
It is the first time that a judicial decision has been made over a 
violation of the defense secret protection law since it came into 
effect in 1954. Attention was focused on what decision the court 
would make. 
 
Under the law, a person handling special secrets who leaked a secret 
that was obtained in the line of duty to others can receive a 
maximum prison sentence of 10 years. 
 
It was natural for the court to clearly define the defendant as an 
"operator (gyomusha)" and the lieutenant commander as constituting 
"others" and to point out that the defendant "lacked security 
awareness as an operator handling defense secrets." 
 
What is also important is that the presiding judge stated: "In the 
event the information fell into the hands of a third country, 
Japan's security could have been harmed. Such a consequence is 
grave." 
 
America's trust in Japan has diminished tremendously by this 
incident in which data on the Aegis system that reportedly 
constitutes the foundation of the Japan-U.S. security system. 
 
It has become clear that the defendant had copied the Aegis data 
onto his personal computer, that he had sent a CD containing the 
data to the former instructor, that the data had spread to other 
members from there, and that a total of 38 persons had been involved 
in the incident. 
 
As was pointed out by the ruling, the defendant alone should not be 
blamed and the MSDF, too, should reflect on its lax awareness of 
classified information that lies beneath the incident. 
 
(3) Editorial: Court ruling on Aegis info leak: Appropriate approach 
needed in designating and controlling classified information 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 29, 2008 
 
The Yokohama District Court found a Maritime Self-Defense Force 
lieutenant commander guilty of leaking within the MSDF information 
on the Aegis naval air defense system, which is a special defense 
secret provided by the U.S., in violation of the Law Concerning the 
Protection of Secrets for the Japan-U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance 
Agreement. 
 
It is only natural for the Ministry of Defense (MOD) to beef up the 
control of secret information related to security. However, we also 
want it not to excessively expand the scope of secret information 
when it designates classified information. 
 
The incident was brought to light in January last year. Following 
the arrest of the Chinese wife of a petty officer second class by 
the Kanagawa Prefectural Police on suspicion of violating the 
Immigrant Control and Refugee Recognition Law, a file containing 
information on the Aegis destroyer was found at the home of the 
petty officer second class. Investigation by the prefectural police 
 
TOKYO 00003018  005 OF 007 
 
 
and the MSDF Criminal Investigation Command found that the 
lieutenant commander leaked the information. He was arrested and 
indicted 11 months later. 
 
Internal investigation by MOD found that 38 MSDF members copied the 
leaked file without permission. Fifty-eight persons, including the 
lieutenant commander were punished in March this year. 
 
Aside from this case, the investigation also revealed that a 
textbook compiled by the MSDF First Technical School in Edajima 
City, Hiroshima Prefecture, carried details of special defense 
secrets. 
 
A report compiled by the government's Council to Reform the Defense 
Ministry pointed out that the leak of such special defense secrets 
is an extraordinary expansion of leakage. The information leak 
countermeasures council set up by MOD clarified the scope of 
responsibility and placed a ban on MSDF members from bringing in PCs 
for personal use to their workplaces. Needless to say, it is 
imperative to eradicate ill-disciplined sloppy control of defense 
secrets and adopt and implement strict rules. 
 
The incident this time has followed an unusual course of 
developments into a diplomatic issue between Japan and the U.S. The 
Japanese side offered an apology for the leak of the information at 
the Japan-U.S. defense summit held in April last year. The 
governments of Japan and the U.S. signed the General Security of 
Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA). The pact is designed to 
cater to increased secret information sharing between the two 
countries, including the missile defense system. The signing of such 
an accord is apparently the reflection of the U.S. having raised 
distrust in Japan's intelligence and security system. 
 
The matter was not leaked to outsiders. Fault was also on MOD, 
because its system of checking information leaks was far from being 
sufficient, as the sentence noted. Nevertheless, the defendant was 
held criminally responsible. Regarding this point, some have pointed 
out that the Japanese side gave consideration to the U.S. The court 
decision may reflect its judgment that it is necessary to indicate a 
tough stance toward matters that could hamper Japan from receiving 
military technology and state-of-the-art weapons from the U.S. 
 
Secret defense information includes defense secrets under the SDF 
Law and ministry secrets as well as classified defense secrets. It 
is the defense minister who designates classified information. If 
secret protection policy expands to cover items more than necessary, 
it would lead to excessive secrecy and acceleration of information 
hiding, incurring public distrust in defense and security policy. We 
want MOD to reach a balanced decision between the protection of 
confidential information, whose leak will threaten national 
security, and information disclosure to the public. 
 
(4) Prime Minister Aso: Is a cup noodle about 400 yen? 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
October 29, 2008 
 
When asked about the price of a "cup noodle" (instant noodles) in a 
House of Councillors Foreign and Defense Affairs Committee session 
yesterday, Prime Minister Taro Aso was stuck for an answer, but he 
then said: "I don't know exactly because I haven't bought any cup 
noodles recently. When Nisshin Food first produced them (cup 
 
TOKYO 00003018  006 OF 007 
 
 
noodles), they were cheap. Now, a package is about 400 yen? Isn't 
that high?" Hiroe Makiyama of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) 
made this question in connection with the widening income 
disparities. When Makiyama told him, "They sell for about 170 yen," 
Aso gave a wry smile. 
 
Aso revealed his true colors, even though he has tried to make the 
public think that by his visiting a supermarket in Tokyo and 
delivering an outdoor speech in Akihabara, while going to exclusive 
hotel bars. 
 
(5) Questioning on Cessna crash possible: Maher 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 29) (Full) 
October 29, 2008 
 
In the wake of the recent crash at Nago City's Makiya of a Cessna 
light aircraft belonging to the U.S. military, Kevin Maher, U.S. 
consul general in Okinawa, indicated yesterday that the U.S. 
military would comply with Okinawa prefectural police's request to 
question the crashed aircraft's crew. Meanwhile, Nago Mayor 
Yoshikazu Shimabukuro has made an investigative request. "The U.S. 
Air Force will cooperate with the Okinawa prefectural police's 
investigation," Maher told the Okinawa Times in an interview. "I 
think it's possible (for the local police to question the four U.S. 
military personnel)," he added. The Okinawa Socialist Masses Party 
(OSMP) also made a request yesterday to look into the accident, and 
Maher said he has explained to the party that the U.S. military 
would not refuse the questioning of them. 
 
In addition, Maher also indicated that the aircraft flight this time 
was made off duty, saying: "I have not been told that they were on 
duty. We're not talking about that." He further said the Air Force's 
accident investigation committee would independently investigate the 
accident so there will be no pressure from military headquarters. 
 
(6) No prospects for V-shaped facility's offshore move 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 2) (Full) 
October 29, 2008 
 
It has now been three years since Japan and the United States 
reached an intergovernmental agreement on an interim report 
regarding the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, which was titled 
"U.S.-Japan: Transformation and Realignment for the Future." The 
planned relocation of Futenma airfield to Nago City's Henoko has now 
become a major point at issue as a step to mitigate Okinawa's 
base-hosting burden in the process of realigning the U.S. military 
presence in Japan. Futenma relocation was originally based on a 1996 
agreement of the Japan-U.S. Special Action Committee on Okinawa 
(SACO), and an alternative facility was to be installed in an 
offshore area situated 2.2 kilometers off the coast of Henoko. 
Okinawa Prefecture and Nago City accepted this offshore relocation 
plan. Meanwhile, the original Futenma relocation plan has now 
changed to the current plan to build a V-shaped pair of airstrips 
(in a coastal area of Camp Schwab in Nago). 
 
However, Okinawa Prefecture and Nago City have been claiming that 
they cannot accept the Futenma relocation as long as it is based on 
the current plan. They are holding consultations with the 
government, but the issue cannot be expected to reach a settlement. 
 
 
TOKYO 00003018  007 OF 007 
 
 
Okinawa Prefecture and its base-hosting municipalities called for 
the government to restore the original offshore relocation plan 
before launching an environmental impact assessment for the 
construction of an alternative facility. In August 2007, however, 
the government presented an assessment plan, leaving the local hosts 
behind, and the procedures for an environmental assessment began 
automatically. 
 
The environmental assessment, which was started in March this year, 
is now eight months behind the original schedule. However, the 
government repaired its relations with Okinawa by showing 
consideration for its base-hosting localities with the construction 
site's offshore move in mind. In August, the government launched 
working teams to discuss the construction and environmental 
assessment plans with officials from Okinawa and its 
municipalities. 
 
However, as seen from the recent remarks made by the American 
Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission to Japan Zumwalt, who arrived at 
his Tokyo post in July this year, the U.S. government does not agree 
to move the Futenma replacement facility into the sea even after the 
next administration comes into office. The Japanese government and 
Okinawa Prefecture remain unable to find out a "rational reason" 
that is needed to convince the United States. Meanwhile, the 
domestic political situation is also fluid. As it stands, there is 
still no knowing whether the government will be able to make a final 
political decision. 
 
SCHIEFFER