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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 000737 
 
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 04/02/09 
 
Index: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Aso diplomacy: 
4) Prime Minister Aso, ROK President Lee agree to let UNSC handle 
the North Korea missile-launch issue  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
5) Text of Aso-Lee meeting at the margins of the G-20  (Sankei) 
6) Meeting between Aso, Russian President Medvedev cancelled  (Tokyo 
Shimbun) 
7) Aso meeting with various heads at the G-20 in order to build 
encirclement net around North Korea  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
8) Most of the G-20, like China and Russia, cautious about dealing 
harshly with North Korea over the missile-launch issue  (Nikkei) 
 
North Korea problem: 
9) Is the North really sending a satellite into orbit as it launches 
its projectile?  (Yomiuri) 
10) MSDF to send high speed ships after the North Korean launch, 
concerned about DPRK activity on the high seas  (Sankei) 
11) Japan planning a one-year time limit on its additional sanctions 
toward North Korea should there be a missile launch  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
 
12) Futenma relocation site assessment report accepted with 
possibility of slight modifications  (Asahi) 
 
13) Afghan pledging conference in the Netherlands: Japan makes 
cooperation with the U.S its highest priority  (Asahi) 
 
14) Considerable amount of pork-barrel spending will be found in the 
new economic-stimulus package  (Asahi) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: Yomiuri: 
Obama, Medvedev issue statements on nuclear disarmament: New nuclear 
disarmament pact to be signed before year's end 
 
Mainichi: 
Chinese government institute sees pesticide injected from outside 
box of dumplings over food poisoning in Japan 
 
Nikkei: 
Development Bank of Japan to boost credit ceiling to 10 trillion yen 
for loans to companies hit by credit crunch 
 
Sankei: 
Bank of Japan Tankan survey sentiment dives to minus 58 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
North Korean missile: Japan, South Korea agree to take issue to UN 
Security Council: Seoul accept missile interception plan 
 
Akahata: 
20 years since adoption of sales tax: Opposition to hike as it 
aggravate poverty, preferentially treats large companies and destroy 
economy 
 
TOKYO 00000737  002 OF 010 
 
 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) G-20: Make a united effort to stand up against the storm 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Bank of Japan March Tankan survey: It's always darkest before 
the dawn 
(2) Israel: Coexistence of Israel and Palestine Authority needed 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Bank of Japan Tankan survey: How can Japan survive the worst 
economic situation in the post-war period? 
(2) North Korean missile: Issue should be taken to UNSC immediately, 
if North Korea launches missile 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Cooling business sentiment: Prop up companies with thoroughgoing 
measures 
(2) U.S. comprehensive strategy to stabilize Afghanistan: Can it 
serve as turning point in stabilizing the nation? 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Assistance to Afghanistan: Self-Defense Force personnel 
dispatched that nation should protect civilians 
(2) Rakuten pulls out: TBS should not neglect self-reform effort 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Worst business sentiment: Worsening crisis 
(2) Israeli administration should make efforts for coexistence with 
Palestine Authority 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Diet responsible for finding truth about political funds 
donations made by Nishimatsu Construction Co. 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, March 31 & April 1 (local time) 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
March 31 
Night 
Arrived at London Gatwick Airport by government plane. Stayed at the 
Intercontinental London Park Lane in London. 
 
April 1 
Morning 
Met South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Landmark Hotel 
London. 
Afternoon 
Met with Indonesian President Yudhoyono at the hotel where he was 
staying. Later, met with Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi at the 
Claridges Hotel. Held a meeting with British Prime Minister Brown at 
his official residence. 
 
4) Aso, Lee agree on need for response by UNSC to North Korea's 
expected missile launch 
 
 
TOKYO 00000737  003 OF 010 
 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top Play) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
By Takaharu Watanabe in London 
 
The financial summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) major industrialized 
and emerging economies will open in London in the evening of April 
1, local time. In separate summit meetings between Japan and South 
Korea and between the U.S. and Russia held prior to the start of 
summit, the leaders discussed what response the international 
community should make if North Korea launches what it calls a 
satellite but what other counties suspect may be a long-range 
ballistic missile. 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso met with South Korean President Lee 
Myung-bak at a London hotel on the morning of April 1. They shared 
the view that a missile launch by North Korea would constitute a 
violation of a UN Security Council resolution that requires 
Pyongyang to halt its all missile-related activities, and they 
reaffirmed that the matter should be taken up by the UN Security 
Council. They also agreed that Japan, the U.S., and South Korea must 
respond to any missile launch by the North in a coordinated manner. 
 
Lee supported Japan's readiness to intercept the missile or its 
debris with its missile defense (MD) system in the event that the 
launch fails and related objects fall on Japanese territory. He 
said: "If North Korea launches a projectile, it will fly over Japan. 
Given this, the Japanese government should be allowed to take every 
possible step to protect its people. South Korea approves." 
 
Aso expressed his gratitude for the South Korean government's 
arrangement for the meeting to be held between family members of 
Yaeko Taguchi, who was abducted by North Korean agents, and Kim Hyon 
Hui, a former North Korean agent. Lee replied: "The two countries 
naturally should share the pain, and we are willing to render 
cooperation also in the future." 
 
The Japanese and South Korean leaders further agreed on the need for 
the two countries to look into joint cooperation in assisting 
Pakistan, which neighbors Afghanistan. 
 
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry 
Medvedev issued a joint statement following their meeting. 
Expressing concern that North Korea's expected launch of a missile 
will impair the peace and stability of the region, the statement 
urged the North to refrain from carrying out the plan and abide by 
UNSC resolutions. 
 
5) Gist of Japan-South Korea summit meeting 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
(Moriyuki Imahori, London) 
 
(Economic issue) 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso: To deal successfully with the economic 
crisis, increasing government spending is necessary. Japan is 
considering the possibility of coming up with additional economic 
measures. 
 
 
TOKYO 00000737  004 OF 010 
 
 
President Lee Myung-bak: South Korea supports Japan's approach. 
 
(Bilateral relations) 
 
Aso: I hope Japan and South Korea will cooperate in assisting 
Pakistan. 
 
Lee: That is a good idea. 
 
(North Korean missile issue) 
 
Aso: It is necessary for Japan, the U.S., and South Korea to 
collaborate (in addressing a missile launch by the North). A launch 
by North Korea would be a clear violation of UN Security Council 
resolutions. The issue should be taken up in the UNSC. 
 
Lee: I totally agree with you. If North Korea carries out its 
planned missile launch, Japan, the U.S., and South Korea need to 
respond to it in a coordinated fashion at the UN and on other 
occasions. Japan naturally should be allowed to take any possible 
measure to protect its people, and South Korea approves of the need. 
 
 
Two leaders reaffirmed that Japan, the U.S., and South Korea will 
also take joint steps at the six-party talks. 
 
(Abduction issue) 
 
Aso: I am grateful to your consideration (for the meeting between 
Kim Hyon Hui, a former North Korean agent, and family members of a 
Japanese abduction victim). Mr. Iizuka (Shigeo and Koichiro) were 
delighted at the meeting. 
 
Lee: (Both countries) naturally should share the pain and cooperate 
with each other in addressing the issue. We would like to continue 
offering cooperation in a positive manner. I hope that cooperation 
between Japan and South Korea over the abduction issue will continue 
into the future. 
 
6) Japan-Russia summit is off 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura revealed in a press 
conference yesterday that the Japanese and Russian governments had 
given up the planned summit of Prime Minister Taro Aso and President 
Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the second round of the 
international financial summit, citing that holding the summit is 
difficult due to the schedules of the two leaders. 
 
In their summit in February in Sakhalin, Aso and Medvedev agreed to 
accelerate bilateral negotiations on the territorial row and they 
also confirmed that they would arrange another summit on the 
sidelines of the financial summit. 
 
Aso unveiled in a reply at the Diet that during the meeting in 
Sakhalin he asked Medvedev to show Moscow's view on the issue of 
ownership (of the four islands off Hokkaido) until they meet next 
time. 
 
However, the Russian side appears to maintain its previous position 
 
TOKYO 00000737  005 OF 010 
 
 
of aiming at resolving the territorial dispute with the return of 
the only two islands: the Shikotan and Habomai islets. Some in the 
government assume that Medvedev might have avoided his meeting with 
Aso, who has called for concrete progress on the Northern 
Territories issue. 
 
Although the Japanese government has hopes for a visit to Japan by 
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in May, it is likely difficult to fill 
the gap between Tokyo and Moscow, which places priority on bilateral 
economic cooperation. 
 
7) Prime Minister Aso desperately attempting to build international 
net encircling North Korea 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso, now in London to attend an international 
financial summit, is desperately trying to build an international 
net encircling North Korea through summit meetings he is holding 
with the leaders of G-20 countries. Since there are gaps in 
positions of countries concerned, whether Aso's effort will bear 
fruit is uncertain. 
 
Aso met on April 1 with met South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, 
Indonesian President Yudhoyono, Italian Prime Minister Silvio 
Berlusconi, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in succession. 
 
The aim of Aso's successive summit meetings is to again 
international support for the Japanese government position that if 
North Korea launches a missile, the United Nations Security Council 
should adopt a resolution calling for sanctions against the North, 
as well as to urge Pyongyang to refrain from launching a missile. 
 
Aso is also motivated by a desire that discussion on the issue at 
the UNSC would smoothly be carried out discussion on the issue with 
the aim in mind of adopting a sanction resolution if there is 
international support for Japan's position. The summit of the 
leaders of 20 countries and regions is the best opportunity for Aso 
to do the spadework. 
 
Aso told Lee: "We should take up the issue at the UNSC and deal 
squarely with it." Lee responded to Aso's proposal, saying: "I 
completely agree with you." Yudhoyono also accepted Aso's request of 
his support for Japan's position, saying: "If a launch is carried 
out, the issue should be discussed at the UNSC." 
 
Many Japanese government officials have viewed that this time around 
it would be more difficult to obtain approval from China and Russia 
than the previous time, since Pyongyang has insisted that it will 
launch a communications satellite. The joint statement by the U.S. 
and Russian leaders just called for the North's restraint. 
 
The planned Japan-Russia summit was cancelled. Aso will meet today 
with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Aso intends to draw out a positive 
commitment for Japan's position from Hu. 
 
8) Japan, South Korea agree to bring matter to UN Security Council 
if North fires missile; China, Russia remain cautious; Consensus yet 
to be reached among concerned countries 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
 
TOKYO 00000737  006 OF 010 
 
 
April 2, 2009 
 
Makoto Nakayama, London 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is visiting Britain for the G-20 
financial summit, held talks with South Korean President Lee Myung 
Bak in London on the morning of April 1, evening of April 1, Japan 
time. In the meeting, the two leaders agreed that if North Korea 
goes ahead with the missile launch, the UN Security Council would 
take it up. As seen in separate talks with the United States and 
China, summit diplomacy is now in full swing ahead of the planned 
missile launch. Gut given subtle gaps in views among countries 
concerned, whether they can act in concert remains unclear. 
 
In his meeting with President Lee, Prime Minister Aso said: "Japan, 
South Korea and the United States must deal with (the missile issue) 
in close cooperation. A launch by North Korea would be a clear 
violation of a UN Security Council resolution. We will take up the 
issue at the UN Security Council and deal with it squarely." 
President Lee replied: "I completely agree with you. I would like to 
see Japan, South Korea and the United States collaborate in 
addressing the matter, including the option of taking it to the 
Security Council." 
 
Japan plans to intercept an incoming missile if it falls on Japan's 
soil or waters. President Lee showed his understanding of this 
policy course, saying: "Japan is allowed to take every possible 
means to protect and defend its people, and our country recognizes 
that." But stopping short of referring to Japan's aim of adopting a 
UN Security Council resolution, there was no intensive dialogue. 
 
The government has defined the financial summit on April 2 -- days 
before North Korea is to launch a "satellite" between April 4 and 8 
-- as an important diplomatic venue with an eye on possible steps 
after the launch. In a press conference before his departure for 
London, Prime Minister Aso played his determination to confirm close 
cooperation with other leaders. 
 
But Aso's talks with the U.S. and Russian presidents have been 
shelved. Of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Aso 
would be able to hold talks only with the British prime minister, 
the host of the summit, and the Chinese leader. There are voices 
pointing out limits to Japan's strategy. 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry 
Medvedev on April 1. The meeting was followed by a joint statement 
that said: "We also expressed concern that a North Korean ballistic 
missile launch would be damaging to peace and stability in the 
region and agreed to urge the DPRK to exercise restraint and observe 
relevant UN Security Council resolutions." 
 
President Obama also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Touching 
on nuclear development by North Korea and other countries, the U.S. 
side's statement on the talks said: "The two leaders agreed to work 
for the settlement of disputes that could result in regional 
instability and easing of tensions, as well as to maintain close 
cooperation." But there was no clear message on the Security 
Council's steps after the launch. 
 
While Japan envisages the adoption of a UN sanctions resolution 
against the North, China and Russia, which have veto power, remain 
cautious about such a step. Prime Minister Aso, who played a central 
 
TOKYO 00000737  007 OF 010 
 
 
role as Japan's foreign minister in having the UNSC adopt a 
resolution against the North in 2006, seems eager for another UN 
resolution. But some in the government think the barrier is high 
this time around. In the limited time frame, the extent to which the 
foreign leaders can align with each other is uncertain. 
 
9) N. Korean missile payload possibly simple satellite 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
North Korea is now preparing to launch a ballistic missile that 
Pyongyang claims to be a "satellite." In this regard, some 
government officials presume that the missile is possibly loaded 
with a simple satellite as its payload. 
 
"Iran might have provided North Korea with technical know-how for 
launching satellites," a government official said yesterday. Another 
government official said, "Even North Korea can make a satellite 
that has simple communication functions and go around the earth just 
several times." There is also an official surmising that North Korea 
may load the missile with a simple satellite as a cover for a 
missile test. 
 
The government takes the position that even if North Korea launches 
a satellite, that action, regardless of what type of projectile 
North Korea may launch, is a violation of United Nations Security 
Council resolutions that call on that country to abandon its 
ballistic-missile program, . "Whether it is a satellite or a 
missile, there is basically no change in the government's standpoint 
to regard it as violating the U.N. Security Council resolutions," 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura told a news conference yesterday. 
 
10) MSDF may dispatch speedsters to watch out for N. Korean 
activities at sea 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
The Maritime Self-Defense Force is considering the dispatch of two 
state-of-the-art high-speed missile-equipped patrol gunboats to the 
Sea of Japan, with one of them to patrol waters off Niigata, 
government officials revealed yesterday. The officials explained 
that North Korea might start operations at sea after launching a 
long-range ballistic missile that it calls a "satellite." 
 
One of the two crafts the MSDF is now thinking of sending out is the 
Hayabusa, a guided missile patrol boat assigned to the MSDF's 
Maizuru base. The other is a similar-type one. The two gunboats are 
both 200-ton vessels. 
 
In March 1999, a suspicious boat was spotted off the Noto peninsula. 
At the time, the MSDF and the Japan Coast Guard chased the boat but 
failed to catch it. With this as a lesson, the MSDF developed the 
Hayabusa and other high-speed missile hydrofoil boats. The MSDF 
currently has a total of six high-speed gunboats. 
 
The two MSDF speedsters, including the Hayabusa, are both equipped 
with antiship guided missiles. In addition, these high-speed 
gunboats are also equipped with 76-mm guns and machineguns. They can 
run at over 80 km/h, and they can also watch out at sea with 
extremely high mobility while maintaining satellite-aided data 
 
TOKYO 00000737  008 OF 010 
 
 
communications directly with MSDF bases and U.S. forces, according 
to the officials. 
 
The missile system mounted on the two MSDF gunboats are for antiship 
attacks, and this missile system has no functions to shoot down 
falling objects or missile warheads. However, the Defense Ministry 
will step up warning activities, presuming that North Korea, after 
launching a ballistic missile, could conduct activities in the Sea 
of Japan while violating Japan's territorial waters for such 
purposes as monitoring the missile, recovering fallen objects, and 
gathering data about Japanese, U.S., and South Korean naval ships. 
 
11) Government to extend by one year sanctions if North Korea 
launches a missile 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Full) 
April 2, 2009 
 
The government decided yesterday that if the North launches a 
long-rang ballistic missile under the guise of launching a satellite 
into orbit, it will extend the term of its own economic sanctions on 
the North to one year from the present six months after the ongoing 
sanctions expire on April 13. 
 
The feature of the present sanctions is the ban on port calls by 
North Korean ships, including the freighter Man Gyong Bong, as well 
as on products imports. Japan's independent economic sanctions 
against North Korea have been extended four times every six months 
since they were adopted in a cabinet meeting after the North carried 
out a nuclear test in October 2006. 
 
In reference to a set of additional sanction measures, including a 
complete ban on exports, compiled by the special task force on the 
abduction issue of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the 
government also plans to look into the possibility of imposing other 
sanction measures on the North. 
 
12) Prep report leaves room for revisions to Futenma relocation 
plan 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
April 2, 2009 
 
On the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air 
Station in the Okinawa prefectural city of Ginowan, the Defense 
Ministry yesterday sent in a preliminary report to Okinawa 
Prefecture and also to Nago City and other municipalities on the 
results of an environmental impact assessment conducted in Nago 
City's Henoko area, where the airfield's heliport functions will be 
relocated. The preliminary report says the current Futenma 
relocation plan, on which the Japanese and U.S. governments have 
agreed, is "appropriate." At the same time, the report additionally 
looks into six cases for moving the newly planned airfield's runways 
to areas about 50 to 350 meters from the currently planned 
construction site at the request of Okinawa Prefecture and its 
municipalities. The report does not totally rule out three of the 
six cases, leaving room for revisions to the plan. 
 
Okinawa Prefecture and its base-hosting localities have asked that 
the Futenma relocation site be moved to an offshore area for noise 
reduction and other reasons. The government, in its study of the 
Futenma replacement facility's potential impact on its environs, 
 
TOKYO 00000737  009 OF 010 
 
 
looked also into the possibility of making revisions to the Futenma 
relocation plan for offshore construction. "We can now communicate 
with the government, so it's good," Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima 
told reporters yesterday. 
 
The government, having wrapped up its field survey of the 
construction site and its environs, will resume a consultative 
meeting with Okinawa's prefectural and municipal governments after 
an interval of nine months to discuss the Futenma relocation and 
will ask for cooperation on the intergovernmental agreement between 
Japan and the United States to complete the alternative base in 
¶2014. The government is still taking the position that it cannot 
revise the Futenma relocation plan without rational reasons. It does 
not seem easy to concur on offshore revisions. 
 
13) Support confirmed at international conference; Close cooperation 
with U.S. a priority 
 
ASAHI (Page 8) (Abridged slightly) 
April 2, 2009 
 
Atsuko Niuchi, The Hague 
 
In the donor conference on Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Hirofumi 
Nakasone played up the importance of countries surrounding 
Afghanistan, such as Pakistan, Central Asia, and Iran. He also 
called for "generous support" for an international donor conference 
on Pakistan to be held in Tokyo in April. Making the conference a 
success in collaboration with the U.S. Obama administration, which 
has shifted an emphasis to Pakistan, is Tokyo's priority. 
 
In the closing days of the Bush administration, the government had a 
difficult time over how to respond to Washington's call for further 
contributions to Afghanistan. The trend has drastically shifted with 
the advent of President Barack Obama, who thinks the Afghan issue 
cannot be resolved by military means alone, as well as by the 
ongoing financial crisis. One Japanese policy maker now feels that 
Japan's past contributions worth 1.78 billion dollars in nonmilitary 
fields, such as in agriculture and infrastructure, have now been 
positive reevaluated. 
 
President Obama has unveiled a plan to provide 1.5 billion dollars 
in aid to Pakistan annually. A source connected to Japan-U.S. 
relations said: "There are more similarities than expected between 
Japan's Afghan policy and the U.S.' Afghan policy." Nevertheless, 
aid required for the stability of Pakistan is expected to swell 
higher than projected. Given Japan's declining official development 
assistance (ODA) budget, the extent to which Tokyo can meet demands 
remains unclear. 
 
With NATO balking at a U.S. request for additional troops, there is 
a possibility that Washington might even ask Tokyo to send the 
Self-Defense Forces. A senior Foreign Ministry official thinks such 
is a real possibility. 
 
14) Extra budget to be over 10 trillion yen: Signs of pork-barrel 
spending visible 
 
ASAHI (Page 7) (Excerpts) 
April 2, 2009 
 
The work to compile a new economic stimulus package and a fiscal 
 
TOKYO 00000737  010 OF 010 
 
 
2009 supplemental budget has moved into full swing at the order of 
Prime Minister Aso. In response to mounting pressure for increased 
public spending from the ruling parties, coordination will focus on 
putting together the largest-ever such budget of over 10 trillion 
yen. Given the measures already being proposed, there are clear 
signs that the envisaged budget will be filled with pork-barrel 
spending, as can be seen in plans for large-scale public works. Such 
proposals undoubtedly are linked to the general election that is 
expected to occur anytime soon, with the foregone conclusion being 
that the budget must be large. 
 
The new economic stimulus package would be implemented over the next 
three years. Measures to be incorporated in the fiscal 2009 extra 
budget would be chosen from the package. The government and the 
ruling parties will press ahead with those works concurrently and 
finalize them in the middle of this month. 
 
The basis for the work is a set of measures drafted on March 30 by 
the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Strategic Council for 
Revitalization of the Japanese Economy. The prevailing view is that 
the size of the planned extra budget should be largest-ever. The 
size will likely way exceed the 7.6 trillion yen stimulus package 
that the Obuchi cabinet included in the fiscal 1998 budget. 
 
The extra budget is aimed at strengthening economic growth potential 
over the mid-term as well as to boost employment measures and move 
up the timetable for the implementation of planned projects. 
However, many ideas invited from the subcommittee of the LDP Policy 
Research Council and various government agencies are 
indistinguishable from conventional projects. Their effects are also 
unclear. 
 
Proposals for public projects are a symbolic of that problem. Public 
works have been avoided for the past several years, as their 
economic effects do not last long and tend to waste the taxpayers' 
money. However, the LDP's plan includes the construction of 
highways, large-scale ports and harbors, as well as new Shinkansen 
bullet-train projects. 
 
Public works proposed under the slogan of connecting the missing 
links of the national land have been in fact low-priority projects. 
Some officials in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport 
and Tourism reportedly see the stimulus package as a golden 
opportunity. 
 
It is easier to win the support of the public for projects in the 
environmental area. Unprecedentedly bold proposals have been made 
for this area, including increasing the number of public facilities 
and schools equipped with a solar energy generation system ten times 
over three years, and providing subsidies worth several hundred 
thousand yen to individuals. Financial assistance for replacing 
one's auto with an eco-friendly vehicle, such as hybrid cars, has 
also been included. 
 
ZUMWALT