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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 000280 
 
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 2/06/09 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
4) Foreign Ministry announces the visit of Secretary of State 
Clinton, who arrives Feb. 16  (Nikkei) 
 
Defense and security affairs: 
5) Japan to participate in regional coordination center to provide 
information to countries involved in anti-piracy operations in 
waters off Somalia  (Mainichi) 
6) EU commander hopes Japan will use P-3C patrol planes to help 
protect ships in waters off Somalia where pirates are rampant 
(Tokyo Shimbun) 
7) Defense Ministry sending fact-finding team to four countries 
adjacent to Gulf of Aden with possible dispatch of patrol planes in 
mind  (Asahi) 
8) Japan, South Korea to send experts for joint 
occupational-training project in Afghanistan  (Nikkei) 
9) Kadena town assembly adopts protest resolution that calls for 
immediate withdrawal of all F-22s  (Akahata) 
10) Peace groups stage demonstration in Nagasaki against port call 
by Blue Ridge  (Akahata) 
 
Political scene: 
11) Yomiuri poll: People now tend to think the Democratic Party of 
Japan is just about as capable of running the country as the Liberal 
Democratic Party  (Yomiuri) 
12) Social Democratic Party not ready for prime time if it is part 
of a post-election ruling coalition, its policy toward SDF 
dispatches, for example, is lacking  (Asahi) 
13) New Komeito denies allegation by popular weekly of improprieties 
in Deputy Chief Representative Toshiko Hamayotsu using home as 
office  (Asahi) 
14) Prime Minister Aso hints at possibly revising the postal 
privatization scheme that created four separate postal services 
(Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Japan Post to drop sale of Kampo no Yado hotels 
 
Mainichi: 
Information centers to tackle piracy to be set up in three countries 
neighboring Somalia 
 
Yomiuri: 
Prime Minister Aso hints at revision of four firms under Japan Post 
 
Nikkei: 
Asahi Breweries looking into taking stake in South Korea's No. 2 
brewery 
 
Sankei: 
Public letter by parents of Sichuan earthquake-stricken elementary 
students unveiled on Internet 
 
 
TOKYO 00000280  002 OF 010 
 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Book prices of Kampo hotels: Rafre Saitama at 1.56 billion yen 
 
Akahata: 
JCP Lower House member Yoshii at Budget Committee calls for support 
for small- and medium-size companies 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Cyber attacks: Irresponsible blogs on Internet dangerous 
(2) Visit to Japan by Thai premier: To overcome slump, Thailand 
urged to regain international confidence 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) L&G fraud case: Investigation must shed light on sweet tricks 
(2) Book report: Gain comprehension and dialogue capability 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) New anti-piracy law: MSDF needs greater authority to use 
weapons 
(2) L&G fraud: Quickly deal with illegal business practice 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Don't allow chain-reaction protectionism started in U.S. 
(2) Ask the people's vote of confidence before reviewing "postal 
privatization" 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Review of reduced-rice-acreage policy: Springboard for 
discussion on agriculture reform 
(2) Osaka Gov. Hashimoto has now served one year in office: Continue 
reforms with drastic methods 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) U.S.' Buy American clause: Don't encourage protectionism 
(2) L&G fraud: Never-ending large-scale fraud cases 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Regional bloc system (doshusei): Unforgivable "ultimate 
structural reform" 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, February 5 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
07:40 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto at the Kantei. 
 
09:01 
Lower House Budget Committee meeting. 
 
12:08 
Arrived at the Kantei. 
 
13:00 
Lower House Budget Committee meeting. 
 
17:12 
 
TOKYO 00000280  003 OF 010 
 
 
Met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura. 
 
17:32 
Met members of the Plum Delegate, including the chief priest 
Nobuyoshi Nishitakatsuji of Dazaifu Tenmangu, at the Kantei. Lower 
House member Yoshiaki Harada was present. Then met with Cabinet 
Intelligence Director Mitani. 
 
18:09 
Met with Colombian Ambassador to Japan Cardenas. Foreign Ministry 
Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau Director General Sato 
was present. Then met with Comprehensive Maritime Policy 
Headquarters Secretariat chief Oba. 
 
19:09 
Met with Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Uruma. 
 
20:00 
Dined with Special Advisor to LDP Vice President Shimamura at 
Yamazato, a Japanese restaurant at Hotel Okura. 
 
22:00 
Arrived at the official residence. 
 
4) U.S. Secretary of State Clinton to visit Japan starting on the 
16th 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
The Foreign Ministry in the early hours of February 6 announced that 
U.S. Secretary of State Clinton will visit Japan for thee days 
starting on the 16th. She is expected to meet with Prime Minister 
Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone to reaffirm the 
importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance. She will likely exchange 
views on such issues as North Korea's nuclear ambitions during those 
talks. She is scheduled to visit China and South Korea as well. She 
will underscore the Obama administration's stance of attaching 
importance to Asia, by choosing Japan and other Asian countries as 
the destination of her first official overseas trip. 
 
5) Info centers to be set up in neighboring countries against 
Somalia pirates 
 
MAINICHI (Top play) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
A group of countries will set up antipiracy regional coordination 
centers to share information about pirates rampant in waters off the 
eastern African coast of Somalia, sources revealed yesterday. The 
centers will be set up in Yemen, Kenya, and Tanzania. Japan will 
also participate in the initiative. The centers will integrate 
pirate information, which will be provided to ships under way in 
waters off Somalia. In addition, the centers are also expected to 
exchange information with U.S.-led coalition forces and European 
Union forces. 
 
The antipiracy regional coordination centers will be set up in 
conformity with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1851. A 
contact group-which is made of 24 countries, including Japan, the 
United States, Britain, and China, plus five international 
organizations, including the International Maritime Organization 
 
TOKYO 00000280  004 OF 010 
 
 
(IMO)-held a meeting in New York on Jan. 14 and decided to set up 
the centers at an early date within the year. Meanwhile, late last 
month, officials from countries neighboring Somalia held a meeting 
in Djibouti to consult on antipiracy measures and adopted a course 
of action calling on the United Nations to set up the centers. The 
contact group will hold a workshop in London on Feb. 24-27 to detail 
specifics, such as how to share information and how to run the 
centers. 
 
The coordination centers are intended primarily for the contact 
group's member countries to share information about pirate incidents 
without delay. The centers will analyze the trend and backdrop of 
pirate incidents and are also expected provide analytical reports to 
their members. In addition, the centers will also undertake 
coordination for operational cooperation through such measures as 
requesting help for victims and spotting suspects and rounding them 
up. Each country will conclude a regional cooperation agreement to 
participate in the centers. 
 
In November 2006, Japan took the initiative against pirates and 
established an information sharing center in Singapore. This became 
a model for the coordination centers. Japan will take a proactive 
role in the centers' establishment as well. 
 
Japanese commercial ships passing through the waters off Somalia are 
under the protection of EU naval ships and participate in the 
British navy's position reporting system. However, there has been no 
mechanism in place to integrate pirate information for various 
countries to share. As it stands, the centers' establishment has 
been awaited. 
 
On Jan. 28, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force to ready destroyers for an antipiracy mission in 
waters off the coast of Somalia. Hamada is expected to order the 
MSDF in March to send destroyers for the mission by invoking an 
action for maritime security policing activities under the 
Self-Defense Forces Law. In the case of maritime security policing 
activities, the MSDF is not allowed to guard foreign ships. The 
ruling parties' antipiracy project team is now drafting a new law 
for antipiracy measures, and its members will visit Djibouti and 
other countries. 
 
6) EU-led Operation Atalanta commander calls for protection of 
vessels not connected with Japan, as well, on Somalia anti-piracy 
mission; Expresses hopes for dispatch of P-3Cs 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 6) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
Hiroshi Hoshi, London 
 
UK Royal Navy's Rear Admiral Philip Jones, who is the commander of 
the EU-led anti-piracy Operation Atalanta, gave an interview to the 
Tokyo Shimbun on February 4 at the unit's headquarters in Northwood. 
In it, the commander expressed his strong hopes for the dispatch of 
P-3C patrol planes to waters off Somalia, which is being studied by 
Japan's Defense Ministry. 
 
The EU launched Operation Atalanta last December as its first 
maritime operation. Four naval vessels have been dispatched to 
escort vessels carrying World Food Program (WFP) relief supplies and 
patrol in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia. Expanding the 
 
TOKYO 00000280  005 OF 010 
 
 
information-gathering capability is a pressing challenge. 
 
Commander Jones explained: "Currently, two patrol planes are engaged 
in the operation. Reconnaissance photographs have been used for the 
multinational force's maritime security operations. But they have 
barely been enough." He also indicated that if Japan decides to 
dispatch P-3Cs, he would greatly welcome it. 
 
In the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, naval vessels of such 
countries as China and Russia are also deployed, in addition to 
those of the EU. Sharing information and coordinating areas of 
activities are also vital. The commander indicated that the 
operation has entered a phase that needs progress on diplomatic 
cooperative relations regarding anti-piracy measures, saying: "As 
seen in the establishment of a common operational frequency, there 
exist advanced cooperative relations at sea. We have asked the EU to 
confirm them politically." 
 
Regarding a situation in which a vessel is attacked by pirates, the 
commander said: "The nearest naval vessel is to rush to the scene. I 
believe that is naval vessels' duty under the United Nations 
Convention on the Law of the Sea." Nevertheless, even if the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force is dispatched, they are allowed to 
protect only Japanese-related vessels. The protection of foreign 
vessels with no connection to Japan requires a new law. 
 
Of this point, the commander said: "Some EU members do not have 
anti-piracy legislation, and this creates legal problems in 
prosecuting seized pirates and other vents. It is extremely 
difficult to protect EU-related vessels alone in a convoy of 
commercial vessels, and we don't do such." 
 
He also took this view on long-term anti-piracy measures: "Our 
operation is designed to take stopgap measures. We can intimidate 
pirates (with military action), but we cannot give them a source of 
income in place of piracy. There is no other option but to search 
for a regional solution by getting countries near Somalia 
involved." 
 
7) Dispatch of patrol planes envisaged on anti-piracy mission; 
Defense Ministry to send survey team 
 
ASAHI (Page 34) (Abridged slightly) 
February 6, 2009 
 
Jun Kashimoto, Yasuyuki Sasaki 
 
The Defense Ministry announced yesterday that for the planned 
anti-piracy mission in waters off Somalia, the ministry would send 
its personnel to four countries near the Gulf of Aden, such as 
Djibouti and Bahrain, between February 8 and 20. The focus will be 
on examining airports that would serve as bases for the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's patrol planes. This comes from the thinking 
that in order for MSDF destroyers to find Japanese-related vessels 
in the open seas and avoid colliding with such vessels, the 
operation of patrol planes with a wide range of surveillance is 
indispensable. 
 
What the Defense Ministry and the SDF aims at is surveillance and 
deterrence to keep pirates away from Japanese-related vessels. When 
a suspicious vessel is found, a destroyer-based helicopter will warn 
it via radio not to approach the fleet. If the vessel approaches the 
 
TOKYO 00000280  006 OF 010 
 
 
fleet, helicopters and naval vessels will fire warning shots. But 
the range of surveillance of the radar of a destroyer is a dozen or 
so kilometers. Such is only a tiny spot in the pirate-infested Gulf 
of Aden stretching some 1,000 kilometers, according to a senior MSDF 
officer. 
 
Then surfaced the option of using P-3Cs. The P-3C, which is 
responsible for detecting a submarine and the like, can fly up to 10 
hours. One P-3C is capable of searching an area equivalent to 
Shikoku. The plane can determine if a vessel is suspicious or not at 
an altitude of several hundred meters. It can convey a vessel's 
location and its course to destroyers and naval vessels of other 
countries. 
 
The anti-piracy operations being conducted by countries in the 
vicinity of the Gulf of Aden can be grouped into three categories: 
(1) the U.S.-led multinational force, (2) the European Union (EU), 
and (3) independent operations. Only a small number of countries 
have deployed patrol planes. A senior uniformed officer expressed 
his hopes that the deployment of P-3Cs would play the roles of 
surveillance and deference, saying, "Once they become aware of the 
presence of patrol planes, pirate ships would restrain their 
activities." 
 
8) Afghan reconstruction assistance: Japan, South Korea to dispatch 
experts for joint vocational training 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
The governments of Japan and South Korea will jointly provide 
vocational training for Afghans starting this spring at the 
earliest. The plan is part of their assistance for the 
reconstruction of that nation. In extending assistance, both 
countries will dispatch experts to a vocational training center, 
which they have constructed in Afghanistan. They will also set up a 
framework for them to back activities of non-governmental 
organizations (NGO) that are engaging in agricultural activities in 
Afghanistan. 
 
Japan and South Korea will aim at reaching agreement during a 
meeting between Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and South Korean 
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung Hwan on the 11th. The 
two countries had already held a bureau directors-level meeting in 
Seoul late last month to discuss cooperation to Afghanistan. They 
are now moving ahead with the work of boiling down specific projects 
for cooperation. The Japan International Cooperation Agency and the 
Korea International Cooperation Agency will be in charge of 
implementing joint projects. 
 
The international community, starting with the Obama administration, 
attaches the highest importance to Afghanistan in operations to 
eradicate terrorism. Cooperation between Japan and South Korea in 
Afghanistan will likely become one showcase item when they make a 
public appeal on their international contributions. 
 
Talks to sign an agreement on nuclear cooperation and expansion of 
exchanges of college students will also likely be on the agenda of 
the bilateral foreign ministerial meeting. Discussing a plan to set 
up a framework for bilateral dialogue on cultural exchanges has also 
been floated. Regarding the North Korea issue, both ministers will 
confirm cooperation for the realization of nuclear abolition. 
 
TOKYO 00000280  007 OF 010 
 
 
 
9) Okinawa Kadena assembly calls for immediate removal of U.S. F-22 
fighters 
 
AKAHATA (Page 2) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
The U.S. Air Force forcibly deployed 12 F-22A Raptors, a 
top-of-the-line stealth jet fighter, from Langley Air Force Base in 
Virginia to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa during the period of Jan. 
10-25. In reaction to this move, the Kadena town assembly held a 
special meeting yesterday and unanimously approved a resolution and 
a written opinion calling on the U.S. to immediately remove the 
fighters. 
 
This is the second temporary deployment of Raptors since February 
¶2007. The U.S. Air Force plans to deploy the fighters for three 
months until March. Their training at the base has already started, 
inflicting suffering on citizens with the roar of planes. 
 
At Kadena Air Base, 10 F-16 fighters from Eielson Air Force Base in 
Alaska have also joined training with the F-22 fighters starting on 
Jan. 20. The training has caused roars measured at more than 105 
decibels everyday. 
 
The resolution denounces the repeated flights and training of the 
fighters, noting: "The Air Force is strengthening the functions of 
Kadena Air Base, deviating from its pledge in the plan on the 
realignment of U.S. forces in Japan to lighten the burden on the 
people of Okinawa. The U.S. forces are apparently paving the way to 
deploy such fighters on a regular basis." The resolution then 
demands that the U.S. forces promptly stop the joint training and 
remove the fighters from the base. 
 
The resolution also calls for rescinding a provision (a proviso) 
that allows the exceptional application of the agreement reached 
between Japan and the U.S. to ban takeoffs from midnight through 
dawn and to prevent noise. 
 
10) Nagasaki citizens protest against U.S. warship's port call 
 
AKAHATA (Page 3) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
The USS Blue Ridge (displacement: 19,6000 tons, crewmembers: about 
1,100), the flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, arrived at Nagasaki 
port yesterday morning amid opposition from local pacifists and 
other groups shouting: "Blue Ridge, get out!." 
 
The groups then held a protest rally, in which about 140 people 
expressed their anger at the port call. 
 
At the rally, protesters criticized the entry of a warship capable 
of carrying nuclear weapons into a port of the city that had been 
atomic bombed by the United States. One participant argued: "The 
Blue Ridge is a ship that can command war operations. Its visit must 
be for military purposes. It must not be allowed." Another shouted: 
"Port calls open the way to war." 
 
U.S. warships have visited Nagasaki port for four consecutive years 
since 2006, with the Blue Ridge's visit marking its 17th. The U.S. 
Forces Japan spokesperson explains that the port call is designed to 
 
TOKYO 00000280  008 OF 010 
 
 
promote mutual friendship between Japan and the U.S. Local 
municipalities have demanded of the U.S. Consulate, the Foreign 
Ministry and other organizations that the visit be halted, taking 
into consideration the sentiments of local people. 
 
The warship is scheduled to leave port on the morning of the 9th. 
 
Shigemitsu Tanaka, a 68-year-old radiation victim, commented: "The 
governor, who has jurisdiction over the port, is authorized to 
reject the visit. Adopting the method taken by Kobe City, the 
governor should show his resolve not to allow a nuclear-carrying 
warship to enter the port." 
 
Representatives from the Japanese Communist Party Southern District 
Committee in Nagasaki and the Nagasaki municipal assembly had asked 
the mayor to withdraw the port-call plan three days before the 
vessel arrived at the port. 
 
11) Yomiuri-Waseda poll: LDP down to 54 PERCENT , DPJ up to 51 
PERCENT  over governing competence 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
February 6, 2009 
 
In the run-up to the next election for the House of Representatives, 
the Yomiuri Shimbun conducted a face-to-face joint public opinion 
survey with Waseda University to probe changes in the public's 
attitude toward the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the leading 
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (Minshuto) about their 
competence to run the government. In the survey, it became clear 
that public evaluation of the LDP has sharply declined. The survey 
was conducted from Jan. 31 through Feb. 1. In the survey, 
respondents were asked if they thought the LDP was competent to run 
the government. In response to this question, 54 PERCENT  answered 
"yes." The figure has fallen from a 67 PERCENT  rating for October 
last year and then dropped further to 61 PERCENT  for December last 
year. In the case of the DPJ, the figure has been on the rise from 
46 PERCENT  to 50 PERCENT  and 51 PERCENT . The figures show that 
the two major parties are now on par in their rivalry to run the 
government. 
 
In the meantime, respondents were also asked if they thought the DPJ 
could be entrusted with the reins of government. To this question, 
the proportion of affirmative answers rose from 58 PERCENT  for 
October last year to 65 PERCENT  for December last year. In the 
latest survey as well, the DPJ marked 64 PERCENT . The figure shows 
that about two thirds of the public are in favor of a change of 
government. However, there was no increase in the proportion of 
affirmative answers for the DPJ, although there was an increase in 
the proportion of those skeptical of the LDP's governing competence. 
This is presumably because there was no increase in the proportion 
of those regarding the DPJ as competent to run the government. 
 
The survey this time was conducted of 3,000 persons chosen from 
among the nation's voting population. Answers were obtained from 
1,782 persons (59.4 PERCENT ). 
 
12) Preparations for a DPJ-SDP alliance not yet moving forward 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) 
February 6, 2009 
 
 
TOKYO 00000280  009 OF 010 
 
 
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the largest opposition force, 
considers the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as its coalition partner 
after a change in government. The SDP is, however, is wavering over 
whether it should join a DPJ-led government. Although SDP 
Chairperson Mizuho Fukushima has asserted that her party's top 
priority is to win the general election for the House of 
Representatives, some party members have called for early 
preparations for a change in government, concerned about the 
recurrence of a 'nightmare' in 1994, when the party was forced to 
change its policy under the coalition government of Prime Minister 
Tomiichi Murayama. 
 
"As there was a question whether the party would (join a 
government), we decided that discussion should be started by the 
three executive members," SDP Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno 
said yesterday at a press conference after the executive meeting. 
 
The DPJ, which advocates the need for forming a coalition government 
of opposition parties, has often sent out "love calls" to the SDP. 
This is because the SDP's cooperation is indispensable to the DPJ, 
since it does not hold a majority of the House of Councillors seats, 
even if it can gain a sole majority of the Lower House in the next 
snap election. DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa attended for the first 
time a party hosted Fukushima on Feb. 4 in Tokyo. In his speech in 
the party, Ozawa stressed: "In order to replace the malfunctioning 
government, we must seriously cooperate with each other." 
 
The SDP has, however, yet to make a formal decision on the matter. 
The fact that the party was forced to change its security policy, 
including acceptance of the constitutionality of the Self-Defense 
Forces, when the Murayama coalition government was formed, is still 
fresh in many SDP lawmakers' memories. Therefore, some SDP members 
are concerned that if the party participates in a government without 
making adequate preparations, it will be in a quandary when dealing 
with such issues as SDF overseas dispatch. 
 
Fukushima stated: "The political situation will change after the 
election. We will then make a decision after going through 
discussions." A senior party member, however, said: 
 
"As we have cooperated with the DPJ in elections, our party has in 
effect formed an alliance with the DPJ. If our party goes into the 
election without debate and not making its positions clear, the 
party will collapse." 
 
13) New Komeito executive denies impropriety of Hamayotsu using home 
as office 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
A weekly magazine reported that a political group linked to New 
Komeito Acting President Toshiko Hamayotsu had registered her 
private residence as her main office and had logged approximately 14 
million yen as expenses operating the office during three years from 
2005 through 2007. Responding to this allegation, Secretary General 
Kazuo Kitagawa said in a executive meeting yesterday: "There is no 
problem at all." 
 
According the party information unit, Hamayotsu registered her 
private residence in Tokyo as her main office when she ran for the 
House of Councillors election in 1992, but she has used the Diet 
 
TOKYO 00000280  010 OF 010 
 
 
members' office building as her private office after elected. A unit 
member said that the office expenses included transportation, 
communication and printing expenses used in the Diet members' 
building and there was no impropriety. 
 
14) Premier calls for reviewing division of Japan Post into four 
companies, saying, "I have been against postal privatization since 
the Koizumi Cabinet" 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
February 6, 2009 
 
As a result of the privatization of postal services in 2007, four 
spin-off companies were established under Japan Post Holdings. 
Referring to this management system, Prime Minister Taro Aso during 
a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee held on the afternoon 
of February 5 indicated his view that he felt it necessary to review 
this system. He said, "It is time to review whether the present 
four-company system is efficient or not." 
 
Postal services were split into Japan Post Service Co., Japan Post 
Network Co., Japan Post Bank, and Japan Post Insurance Co. A point 
has been made that services have been declined due to a lack of 
cooperation among the four companies. 
 
The prime minister last November revealed his intention to take a 
second look at the postal privatization, including the freeze on the 
sale of stocks of those companies. Following this, a project team 
was set up in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). However, looking 
into items up for revision that require amendments to the related 
law, such as a review of the four-company system, had been put on 
hold with consideration given to LDP members opposing revisions. The 
prime minister's remark this time could revitalize discussion to 
take a second look at the postal privatization. 
 
Aso served as internal affairs minister during the 3rd Koizumi 
Cabinet, which enacted the postal privatization. Regarding this, he 
said: "I in the end agreed on the privatization as a cabinet member. 
However, I was against postal privatization. I was removed from the 
post (in the cabinet reshuffle carried out after that), because it 
was known that I was against the privatization." 
 
The prime minister later told reporters: "The government's postal 
privatization committee is in charge of the work of taking a second 
look at the privatized postal services. My position is to receive 
the panel's decision. I am not in a position of saying 'do that' or 
'do this' to the panel concerning the specifics of the decision it 
reached." He thus indicated a stance of closely watching discussions 
by the panel. 
 
The Lower House Budget Committee on the 5th basically ended the 
three-day interpellations on the fiscal 2009 budget bill. 
 
ZUMWALT