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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 000443 
 
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 02/26/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Japan-U.S. summit: High expectations placed on Japan (Part 1) 
(Asahi) 
 
(2) Interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State 
Armitage: Inviting Japanese premier to Washington first reflects 
Obama administration attaching importance to relations with Japan 
(Asahi) 
 
(3) Japan-U.S. summit held under adverse circumstances; Crisis tests 
true worth of alliance (Nikkei) 
 
(4) DPJ President Ozawa stresses need for relationship of equality 
between Japan, U.S., if DPJ gets into power; U.S. 7th Fleet alone 
would be sufficient (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(5) Government to establish expert panel led by Yosano, not by 
bureaucrats, to compile economic stimulus measures in March (Sankei) 
 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Japan-U.S. summit: High expectations placed on Japan (Part 1) 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Full) 
February 26, 2009 
 
In part because of Washington's unprecedentedly prestigious 
invitation to him, Prime Minister Taro Aso, sitting next to U.S. 
President Barack Obama, showed a glimpse of confidence with his face 
beaming with smiles. In the nation, though, Aso has been 
significantly losing political ground. With the welcome "ceremony" 
over, Aso will be tested over issues to be tackled in cooperation 
with the U.S. 
 
Aso in elated mood with prestigious invitation: 
 
"This is a great honor for me as a Japanese person and also as an 
Asian," Aso said to Obama in English, with reporters standing behind 
them. He expressed his gratitude for the president's invitation of 
him to the White House as his first foreign leader guest. He 
appeared to be feeling proud as if he were there representing Asia. 
 
After the 80-minute meeting with Obama, Aso told reporters 
confidently: "President Obama gave me the impression that he is a 
reliable leader with whom I can work hand-in-hand. Our talks were 
rich in content." In the summit meeting, Aso introduced that railway 
services with lower environmental load than other transport means 
have been offered widely in Tokyo. Emphasizing that Japan's 
high-speed rail technology is at a high level, Aso encouraged Obama 
to introduce an (high-speed rail) system more widely in the U.S., 
saying: "The United States' car culture will change." 
 
Prime Minister Aso began to seek an early summit meeting with 
President Obama soon after Obama won the presidential election. In a 
phone conversation on Jan. 29 held just after he assumed office, Aso 
said at the outset: "Let us hold a meeting at an early date." The 
government initially had in mind a summit meeting in late March, but 
it jumped at the proposal (for a meeting on Feb. 24) made by 
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited Japan, despite 
only one week left for preparations and the date being a weekday 
 
TOKYO 00000443  002 OF 006 
 
 
during the Diet session. 
 
He stayed in the U.S. for only 24 hours. The U.S. neither prepared a 
joint document nor hosted lunch or dinner events for Aso. A joint 
press conference was not arranged, either. But Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Kawamura said in a press conference yesterday explained: 
"Tokyo told Washington there was no need to arrange for any events 
aside of the meeting," because the meeting was set for the day of 
the president's first State of the Union address. 
 
It was politically significant for Aso, who has faced low support 
ratings and remains unable to turn the tables, to meet President 
Obama, who is drawing international attention. A senior Foreign 
Ministry official commented: "It is meaningful for the prime 
minister to meet the president at the White House itself. Footage of 
the summit meeting will be broadcast across the world." 
 
A lawmaker in supportive of Aso expressed expectations that a 
relationship of trust will be built between Aso and Obama, such as 
both calling each other Barack and Taro, in the same way as former 
Prime Minister Nakasone and former President Reagan calling each 
other Ron and Yasu. 
 
Obama did not make any tough requests to Aso, based on his style of 
listening to the other side's views when they meet for the first 
time. 
 
On Afghanistan, Japan was not asked to dispatch Self-Defense Force 
troops but instead, Obama expressed hopes for its cooperation in 
Japan's strong area, assistance in improving people's livelihoods. 
Obama did not ask Japan to buy U.S Treasury bonds, either. 
 
Aso and Obama reiterated the need for the two countries to cooperate 
in a wide range of areas, including the global economy, North Korea, 
Afghanistan, and climate change, by further developing their 
bilateral alliance. But specifics will be discussed from now. It is 
to be seen to what extent the Aso administration with weak political 
strength will take action. 
 
Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa commented: "It is 
impossible for a prime minister who has lost public confidence to 
conduct effective negotiations. I do not think the U.S. side 
discussed matters with the prime minister seriously." 
 
(2) Interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State 
Armitage: Inviting Japanese premier to Washington first reflects 
Obama administration attaching importance to relations with Japan 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
February 26, 2009 
 
Washington, Yoichi Kato 
 
Asahi Shimbun in an interview with former U.S. Assistant Secretary 
of State Armitage, who had exchanged views with Prime Minister Aso 
over lunch on February 24, asked his view on the prime minister's 
U.S. visit and the future of the Japan-U.S. alliance. 
 
The Obama administration chose Japan as the first destination of 
Secretary of State Clinton's overseas visits. It then invited the 
Japanese prime minister to Washington as the first guest to visit 
the White House. This is not just a message to Prime Minister Aso 
 
TOKYO 00000443  003 OF 006 
 
 
but to all Japanese people, as well as to Asian countries and 
Americans, namely, that with Asia rising, relations with Japan are 
most important for the U.S. Prime Minister Brown of Britain will be 
the next guest to the White House. It means (the Obama 
administration attaches importance to) Japan in Asia and Britain in 
Europe. 
 
Prime Minister Aso's U.S. visit was a success. It is probably more 
meaningful for the two leaders just to have held talks rather than 
to focus on the contents of what has been discussed. The two 
countries will not be able to bring about a solid alliance unless a 
healthy financial system and robust state finances are regained. It 
is now widely understood that the environmental and climate-change 
issues have become tantamount to security issues. What direction the 
Chinese military will take in the future will also be a challenge 
for both countries. 
 
The worsening economy will have an impact on the strategic 
environment in the Asia-Pacific region in the form of the rise of 
economic nationalism, that is to say, the rise of protectionism. 
Following economic nationalism, there could emerge a security 
threat, which would be greater than the threat of economic 
nationalism. 
 
Another impact is that leaders of various countries will become 
unable to envision the future over the mid- to long-term. One can 
say that the same holds true to Japan-U.S. relations. 
 
Whether the Asia-Pacific region will become unstable or not or at 
which level the economy will hit bottom will depend on how China 
fares. There is a possibility that if the Chinese economy slows 
down, question would arise about the validity of the communist 
party's rule. 
 
(The Obama administration) wants to launch the work of expanding the 
Japan-U.S. alliance beyond Asia, but it understands that this is a 
time-consuming process. 
 
(3) Japan-U.S. summit held under adverse circumstances; Crisis tests 
true worth of alliance 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) 
February 26, 2009 
 
Hiroshi Maruya, Fumiyoshi Indo, Washington 
 
After the summit (on Feb. 24) between Prime Minister Taro Aso and 
President Barack Obama, the White House issued a press release which 
said: "The two leaders agreed to work closely and urgently, as the 
world's leading economies, to seek concrete results from the April 
London Economic Summit and through the G-8." 
 
The press release concretely noted that the two leaders would work 
closely to stimulate demand at home and abroad, to help other 
countries respond to the global crisis, and to unfreeze credit 
markets. Although the Japanese side did not clearly explained this 
schedule, it told a sense of urgency of the Obama administration 
that is struggling with economic crisis. 
 
The G-8 Summit in July has been set by Aso and Obama as their 
immediate goal. By then, President Obama intends to accelerate 
efforts to resuscitate the economy, stabilize financial markets, and 
 
TOKYO 00000443  004 OF 006 
 
 
rescue the auto industry. President Obama seemed anguished as he 
delivered a speech before a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24 
saying: "There will be no real recovery unless we clean up the 
credit crisis." 
 
To win support of some Republicans, the Obama administration was 
forced to make major compromises in economic stimulus measures. If 
measures are insufficient, markets are certain to apply relentless 
pressure. Receiving Prime Minister Aso at the White House as the 
first foreign leader, Obama brought up Japan as a great partner. 
This showed the realism of the United States, which needs Japan's 
cooperation in order to climb out of the crisis. 
 
Japan is not the only country the United States is looking at. 
Throughout her recent Asian tour that included China, Secretary of 
State Hillary Clinton did not conceal her expectations for countries 
to continue to hold U.S. Treasury bonds. 
 
As if he was aware of America's intent, Aso told reporters after his 
meeting with Obama: "It is important to maintain confidence in the 
dollar as a key currency." Japan is the world's second largest 
economy and China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds. What 
the Obama administration envisages is that Japan and the United 
States would take the lead in engaging China in international 
cooperation. 
 
During the Democratic Clinton administration, Japan experienced 
"Japan passing." With such an experience in mind, a senior 
government official excitedly described the early Aso-Obama meeting 
as "Japan first." 
 
But the Obama administration's "Japan first" stance does not 
necessarily mean putting Prime Minister Aso or the LDP 
administration first. "The President invited the Japanese prime 
minister, not Mr. Aso personally," a senior U.S. government official 
said crisply. 
 
In his meeting with Aso, Obama candidly said to his Japanese 
counterpart: "The United States has been working hard. I would like 
to see every country, especially large economies like Japan and 
China, make efforts to increase (internal) demand." The United 
States, which is struggling to turn around the economy, definitely 
wants to see Japan implement policies speedily as its ally. 
 
The Aso administration is suffering from dwindling support ratings 
and the Ozawa-led Democratic Party of Japan is upholding a 
confrontational stance with an eye on the next Lower House election. 
What kind of answer is Japanese politics going to give? The July G-8 
Summit is only four months away. 
 
(4) DPJ President Ozawa stresses need for relationship of equality 
between Japan, U.S., if DPJ gets into power; U.S. 7th Fleet alone 
would be sufficient 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
February 26, 2009 
 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa yesterday 
criticized the summit between Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. 
President Barack Obama as lacking substance. Ozawa, at the same 
time, emphasized that if the DPJ held the reins of government, it 
would build a relationship of equality between Japan and the United 
 
TOKYO 00000443  005 OF 006 
 
 
States. His comment was aimed to underscore differences between a 
DPJ government and the LDP-led government, which is "blindly 
following" the U.S. policy lead. However, Ozawa's remark will likely 
cause misunderstanding in the U.S. administration. 
 
Ozawa severely criticized the Japan-U.S. summit, saying: 
 
"It is impossible for the prime minister, who has lost the 70 to 80 
percent of public trust, to promote effective diplomatic 
negotiations. I don't think there were concrete achievements." 
 
Ozawa also stated on how the presence of the U.S. forces in Japan 
should be in the future: 
 
"Once Japan determines to do on its own as much as possible what it 
should be doing, it will become unnecessary for U.S. forces to be 
stationed in Japan. I think the presence of U.S. Navy 7th Fleet 
would be enough." 
 
Ozawa indicted in his remark as if to say that the presence of U.S. 
Army, Air Force and Marines would be unnecessary. 
 
During his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well, 
Ozawa stressed: "The Japan-U.S. alliance relationship should not be 
a dependent relationship." Ozawa's position is that Japan should 
play more of a military role in East Asia than now. He meant that 
the Japan-U.S. alliance should be an equal partnership. Ozawa also 
underscored: "Japan has to fulfill its responsibility more than 
ever." 
 
However, the United States may take Ozawa's remark to mean that he 
aims to build up Japan as an independent defense power, emerging 
from U.S. influence. 
 
At a press conference yesterday, U.S. Consul General Kevin Maher 
immediately criticized Ozawa's 7th Fleet comment. He stated: "The 
security environment of Far East cannot be taken that lightly. 
(Ozawa) does not understand the indispensability of the Air Force 
and Marines." 
 
The relationship between Ozawa and the United States formerly was 
not bad including when he was serving as secretary general of the 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Ozawa, however, strongly opposed the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. 
Moreover, his recent remarks could raise eyebrows of the U.S. that 
once a DPJ government comes into office, the relationship between 
Japan and the United States would change. 
 
One DPJ member said: "I don't understand the aim of his comment. 
There is no need for him to make remarks that would tie our hands 
after the party assumes the reins of power. 
 
Some in the DPJ view that making clear differences between the LDP 
administration and a DPJ government is good in campaigning for the 
next general election. However, there is a strong mood of alarm in 
the DPJ that this time he has gone too far. 
 
(5) Government to establish expert panel led by Yosano, not by 
bureaucrats, to compile economic stimulus measures in March 
 
SANKEI (Top Play) (Full) 
February 25, 2009 
 
TOKYO 00000443  006 OF 006 
 
 
 
The government on February 24 decided to set up an expert panel 
tasked with looking into effective economic stimulus measures. The 
aim is to tide over the crisis with flexible measures worked out by 
business leaders, academics and opinion leaders, the judgment being 
that there is a limit to what a conventional economic package worked 
out at the initiative of bureaucrats can do. Minister of Finance, 
State Minister for Financial Services and State Minister for 
Economic and Fiscal Policy Kaoru Yosano has been serving as a 
coordinator of the establishment of the envisioned panel. As such, 
he will likely further increase his influence on the Aso cabinet. 
 
Panel members will be picked before the end of the month, based on 
the National Council on Social Security, launched during the Fukuda 
cabinet. The first meeting will take place in early March at the 
Kantei. 
 
Following a preliminary figure for the gross domestic product (GDP) 
for the October-December term of 2008 falling by an annualized 12.7 
PERCENT , the government and the ruling parties have started looking 
into yet another economic stimulus package in the run-up to the 
compilation of the first supplementary budget for fiscal 2009. 
 
With public support ratings for the Aso cabinet falling to the lower 
10 PERCENT  level in various polls, moves to oust him have emerged 
in the Liberal Democratic Party. The opposition camp is strongly 
calling for dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election after 
passage of the fiscal 2009 budget. 
 
Yosano during a TV Asahi talk show on the 22nd said: "Given the 
figure of minus 12.7 PERCENT  growth, I would like people to put on 
their thinking caps. It is not until people from various fields, 
such as business circles, the press and academia, agree to 
collaborate can an effective economic stimulus package be worked 
out. 
 
Behind the launching of such an expert panel is the perception that 
there is a limit these days as to what an economic stimulus package 
centered on public works worked out by bureaucrats at Kasumigaseki 
(Japan's bureaucratic center) can do. They are aware of the harmful 
effect of bureaucratic sectionalism and administrative constraints. 
 
Concerning economic stimulus measures, Yosano at a meeting of the 
Lower House Budget Committee on the 23rd said, "Whoever becomes 
responsible for drafting economic stimulus measures, it is important 
for all of us to consider what should be done." This statement can 
be taken to indicate a possibility that the Aso cabinet cannot 
implement a fresh set of stimulus measures. Some, therefore, take 
the view that the expert panel, which has been prepared at the 
initiative of Yosano, would be Yosano's study group, one that would 
be eyeing a post-Aso political situation. 
 
ZUMWALT