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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 001005 
 
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 04/30/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Sankei-FNN poll on Aso cabinet, political parties (Sankei) 
 
(2) Think of statesmen making laws: Seiji Maehara and Guam 
relocation agreement (Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Sankei-FNN poll on Aso cabinet, political parties 
 
SANKEI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
April 28, 2009 
 
Questions & Answers 
 
(Note) Figures shown in percentage. Figures in parentheses denote 
findings from a previous Sankei-FNN survey conducted March 28-29. 
 
Q: Do you support the Aso cabinet? 
 
Yes 28.2 (20.8) 
No 59.2 (66.3) 
Don't know (D/K) 12.6 (12.9) 
 
Q: Which political party do you support? 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 29.2 (27.5) 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 21.5 (22.2) 
New Komeito (NK) 3.0 (4.1) 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2.9 (4.0) 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1.3 (1.3) 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0.5 (0.2) 
Reform Club (RC or Kaikaku Kurabu) 0.1 (0.0) 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0.1 (0.4) 
Other political parties 1.2 (1.3) 
None 39.6 (37.8) 
D/K 0.6 (1.2) 
 
Q: Do you appreciate Prime Minister Aso and his cabinet on the 
following points? 
 
Prime Minister Aso's personal character 
Yes 37.7 (32.4) 
No 55.5 (60.1) 
D/K 6.8 (7.5) 
 
Prime Minister Aso's leadership 
Yes 16.6 (11.8) 
No 78.4 (62.5) 
D/K 5.0 (5.7) 
 
Economic policy 
Yes 27.6 (24.3) 
No 65.8 (66.6) 
D/K 6.6 (9.1) 
 
Foreign policy 
Yes 33.4 (25.8) 
No 52.7 (57.5) 
D/K 13.9 (16.7) 
 
 
TOKYO 00001005  002 OF 006 
 
 
Cash benefit payout 
Yes 39.2 (37.3) 
No 55.7 (58.1) 
D/K 5.1 (4.6) 
 
Expressway toll reduction 
Yes 58.0 (58.9) 
No 37.7 (34.8) 
D/K 4.3 (6.3) 
 
Public relations on North Korea's missile launch 
Yes 33.0 (---) 
No 53.7 (---) 
D/K 13.3 (---) 
 
Sanctions against North Korea, policy toward the United Nations 
after North Korea's missile launch 
Yes 36.5 (---) 
No 49.0 (---) 
D/K 14.5 (---) 
 
Q: What do you want the Aso cabinet to pursue first? 
 
Global warming 3.2 
Social security, including healthcare and pension systems 32.4 
North Korea problem 2.8 
Northern territories 1.0 
Tax reform, including consumption tax 4.7 
Government waste 26.6 
Economic stimulus 22.2 
Political reform 2.0 
D/K 3.4 
 
Q: When comparing Prime Minister Aso and DPJ President Ozawa, who do 
you think is trustworthier? 
 
Prime Minister Aso 47.3 (41.0) 
DPJ President Ozawa 28.1 (28.5) 
D/K 24.6 (30.5) 
 
Q: When comparing Prime Minister Aso and DPJ President Ozawa, who do 
you think is better in terms of policies? 
 
Prime Minister Aso 38.3 (30.5) 
DPJ President Ozawa 37.8 (39.8) 
D/K 23.9 (29.7) 
 
Q: When comparing Prime Minister Aso and DPJ President Ozawa, who do 
you think is more appealing in election campaigning? 
 
Prime Minister Aso 40.7 (35.8) 
DPJ President Ozawa 29.3 (31.6) 
D/K 30.0 (32.6) 
 
Q: When comparing Prime Minister Aso and DPJ President Ozawa, who do 
you think is more appropriate for prime minister? 
 
Prime Minister Aso 39.7 (29.5) 
DPJ President Ozawa 26.2 (30.2) 
D/K 34.1 (40.3) 
 
Q: Do you think it is necessary to carry out the political reforms 
 
TOKYO 00001005  003 OF 006 
 
 
listed below and now being discussed between the ruling and 
opposition parties? 
 
Reduce Dietmembers 
Yes 85.8 
No 11.0 
D/K 3.2 
 
Set age limit for public office 
Yes 78.5 
No 16.7 
D/K 4.8 
 
Restrict hereditary politics 
Yes 51.9 
No 41.5 
D/K 6.6 
 
Prohibit corporate, organizational donations 
Yes 68.5 
No 25.4 
D/K 6.1 
 
Q: DPJ President Ozawa's secretary has been indicted on the charge 
of violating the Political Funds Control Law. Do you think DPJ 
President Ozawa's account was convincing? 
 
Yes 14.3 (16.8) 
No 80.9 (78.8) 
D/K 4.8 (4.4) 
 
Q: Do you think DPJ President Ozawa should resign as his party's 
head? 
 
Yes 56.6 (62.3) 
No 37.4 (30.8) 
D/K 6.0 (6.9) 
 
Q: Do you think DPJ President Ozawa should fulfill his public 
accountability? 
 
Yes 80.5 (---) 
No 15.6 (---) 
D/K 3.9 (---) 
 
Q: Do you think DPJ President Ozawa should hold a one-on-one debate 
with Prime Minister Aso at an early date? 
 
Yes 84.1 (---) 
No 11.5 (---) 
D/K 4.4 (---) 
 
Q: Do you think the following bills should be passed during the 
current Diet session? 
 
Additional economic stimulus 
Yes 79.9 (---) 
No 12.8 (---) 
D/K 7.3 (---) 
 
Consumer Affairs Agency establishment 
Yes 55.3 (---) 
 
TOKYO 00001005  004 OF 006 
 
 
No 28.2 (---) 
D/K 16.5 (---) 
 
Antipiracy legislation 
Yes 60.6 (---) 
No 29.8 (---) 
D/K 9.6 (---) 
 
Q: Who do you think is most appropriate now for Japan's prime 
minister among the following politicians in the ruling and 
opposition parties? 
 
Taro Aso 8.7 (4.6) 
Shigeru Ishiba 2.9 (3.9) 
Nobuteru Ishihara 5.4 (6.2) 
Yuriko Koike 3.7 (4.0) 
Junichiro Koizumi 11.7 (11.1) 
Yoichi Masuzoe 10.6 (10.4) 
Kaoru Yosano 5.3 (5.7) 
Other ruling party lawmakers 3.5 (2.3) 
Yoshimi Watanabe 4.0 (4.5) 
Ichiro Ozawa 5.2 (5.8) 
Katsuya Okada 5.4 (6.5) 
Naoto Kan 2.8 (4.2) 
Yukio Hatoyama 2.2 (2.5) 
Seiji Maehara 2.3 (---) 
Other opposition party lawmakers 2.9 (3.5) 
None 20.1 (18.1) 
D/K 3.3 (5.1) 
 
Q: What do you think about replacing Prime Minister Aso before the 
next election for the House of Representatives? 
 
Step down, election under the new prime minister 23.5 
Elect the prime minister, according to the election results 72.5 
D/K 4.0 
 
Q: What do you think about replacing DPJ President Ozawa before the 
next election for the House of Representatives? 
 
Step down, election under the new DPJ president 57.3 
Election under DPJ President Ozawa 39.8 
D/K 2.9 
 
Q: Which political party would you like to vote for in the next 
election for the House of Representatives in your proportional 
representation bloc? 
 
LDP 34.6 (34.7) 
DPJ 34.0 (36.0) 
NK 3.9 (5.9) 
JCP 4.5 (4.9) 
SDP 2.0 (2.2) 
PNP 0.6 (0.6) 
RC 0.0 (0.0) 
NPN 0.4 (0.6) 
Other political parties 10.3 (6.0) 
D/K 9.7 (8.7) 
 
Q: What government would you like to see after the next House of 
Representatives election? 
 
 
TOKYO 00001005  005 OF 006 
 
 
LDP-led government 21.0 
DPJ-led government 30.1 
LDP-DPJ grand coalition 42.6 
D/K 6.3 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted April 25-26 by the 
Sankei Shimbun and Fuji News Network (FNN) over the telephone on a 
computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis. For the survey, a 
total of 1,000 persons were sampled from among men and women, aged 
20 and over, across the nation. 
 
(2) Think of statesmen making laws: Seiji Maehara and Guam 
relocation agreement 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 28, 2009 
 
Seiji Maehara, a vice president of the Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ), 46, had lunch with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense 
Mitchell (Shivers) on April 16 at a Spanish restaurant near the 
Department of Defense in Washington. Mitchell then asked Maehara 
about his party's policy toward the U.S. The DPJ had opposed the 
agreement on the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam. 
Maehara said: 
 
"We will cooperate on the U.S. force realignment in Japan, but our 
party will discuss individual issues while maintaining the 
relationship of trust." 
 
Maehara told Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and other 
U.S. officials: "Japan-U.S. relations are the linchpin of Japanese 
diplomacy." Maehara, who is regarded as a right-wing politician of 
the party, was quick to oppose the Guam relocation agreement, which 
stipulates Japan's share of up to 2.8 billion dollars. 
 
Maehara happened to find the book titled International Politics 
written by then Kyoto University Prof. Masataka Kosaka, while he was 
preparing for an entrance examination, after having failed in an 
exam the previous year. The book paved the way for him to foreign 
and security affairs. He entered Kyoto University without 
hesitation. He studied under Prof. Kosaka, a conservative opinion 
leader, who made the basis for the reevaluation of former Prime 
Minister Shigeru Yoshida. He once thought of becoming a scholar. 
However, he was told by Kosaka that he was not smart enough to 
become a scholar. He, therefore, joined the Matsushita Institute of 
Government and Management. 
 
He was first elected to the Diet in 1993 as a member of the Japan 
New Party. In opposition to the political move involving the JNP, 
which was led by then Japan Renewal Party head Ichiro Ozawa, he 
moved to the New Party Sakigake. 
 
At that time, Hiroyuki Sonoda, 67, extended a helping hand to 
Maehara. For Maehara, Sonoda is still the most reliable person among 
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party members. They sometimes come 
across at their favorite restaurant in the Ginza district. Sonoda 
said: "I want to work with you again." Maehara responded with a 
smile: "I would like to do so." 
 
Maehara won the 2005 DPJ presidential election. Before that, through 
Kazuo Inamori, honorary chairman of KYOCERA Co., Ozawa had offered 
to support Maehara in the race if Maehara would give Ozawa the post 
 
TOKYO 00001005  006 OF 006 
 
 
of secretary general. But Maehara flatly turned down Ozawa's offer. 
Since then, it is said that there has been a wide gulf between the 
two. 
 
Ozawa, Maehara's successor, took a stance against the government and 
ruling camp and his stance had a negative impact on the Maritime 
Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and other 
issues. In the DPJ, there are moves to resolve issues by "opposing 
the principle," in order to avoid the confrontation between the 
right and left wings. However, the party will face issues it has put 
off if it takes the reins of government. 
 
Political realignment advocates in the LDP, which has become 
perplexed at the politically divided Diet situation, name Maehara 
with whom they want to form a new party. Some DPJ members say 
Maehara can read neither the political situation nor a mood in the 
party. 
 
Maehara has recently reiterated the need for "a change in 
government," refraining from making remarks on Ozawa's course of 
action (over his secretary's violation of the Political Funds 
Control Law). He did not give his word to former Prime Minister 
Shinzo Abe and other politicians, with whom he visited the United 
States. 
 
He says: "A change of government is just a means. We will have to 
find out what the purpose is." If he joins the ruling camp, he may 
have to prepare a different answer. 
 
ZUMWALT