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P 080835Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2161
INFO SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 
CJCS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA PRIORITY
COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA PRIORITY
HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
USDAO TOKYO JA PRIORITY
USFJ  PRIORITY
AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 
AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 
AMCONSUL NAGOYA 
AMCONSUL SAPPORO 
AMEMBASSY BEIJING 
AMEMBASSY SEOUL 
AMEMBASSY CANBERRA

UNCLAS TOKYO 000809 
 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/J, EAP/P, EAP/PD, PA/PRS; 
WHITE HOUSE/NSC; 
PACOM FOR J00/J01/J5; 
DOD FOR OSD/APSA - SEDNEY/HILL/BASALLA; 
USFJ FOR J00/J01/J5 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KPAO JA
 
SUBJECT: Media reaction to DPRK missile launch 
 
¶1. Summary. Starting with the countdown to the April 5 
launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea and 
continuing into the intense negotiations in the United 
Nations Security Council, the Japanese press has 
documented in its news coverage, commentary and 
editorials the close coordination and cooperation of 
the United States and Japan, first militarily and then 
diplomatically, in meeting Pyongyang's challenge. 
Experts appearing on TV talk shows also reinforced the 
strong and clear impression that the latest provocation 
from the North has served to make the military alliance 
stronger than ever and reinforced diplomatic ties that 
seemed to be somewhat adrift following last year's 
stalling of Six-Party talks. End summary. 
 
U.S., Japan military cooperation seamless 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. Press reporting on the North Korean missile launch 
on April 5 revealed the virtually seamless web of 
cooperation between the two governments, in particular 
the defense establishments, to track the launch and 
evaluate the results, transmitting and exchanging data 
immediately. Even the usually alliance-critical Tokyo 
Shimbun in a sidebar on MD had to agree that the 
missile defense system introduced with great doubts in 
Japan was functioning and had now paid off, thanks to 
the joint efforts of the U.S. and Japan over the years. 
 
¶3. Not surprisingly, talk of enhancing Japan's defense 
capabilities erupted after the launch, but always 
within the solid context of the alliance and the shared 
MD system. Some of the experts on the Sunday talk shows 
called for Japan to beef up its missile defense system 
even more, since the threat from the North was not 
likely to go away. The conservative Sankei, in its MD 
critique, came out strongly for an expansion of the 
system, which it saw as a diplomatic tool against the 
North: "The MD system is not just a weapon but a 
diplomatic tool. Therefore, as in the case with the 
cost related to reconnaissance satellites, funds must 
be contributed to the MD system, including an early- 
warning satellite, separate from the framework of 
defense spending. That is the major lesson learned form 
the latest missile satellite." 
 
¶4. The Yomiuri, in a series designed to critique a 
"drifting alliance," failed in the latest April 7 
installment to prove its point when addressing the 
aftermath of the missile launch. The daily could not 
help but praise the joint military effort: "In 2006, 
determining that North Korea would not launch a 
missile, the U.S. military did not order Cobra Balls 
designed to observe ballistic missile flights at long 
range, deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, to take 
off. In that sense, this is the first time for the Self- 
Defense Forces and the U.S. military to have tracked a 
missile in cooperation." The article tries to show with 
a few quotes from officials that a gap still remains 
between the two military sides, but read carefully, the 
narrative in reality shows a smooth division of labor 
in tracking the missile from start to finish. 
 
Asahi sees diplomatic cooperation as key 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Editorials in the national dailies all seemed to be 
singing from the same score in strongly backing U.S.- 
Japanese diplomatic cooperation to deal with the 
North's latest act. In a strongly worded editorial that 
condemned North Korea's missile launch as an 
"unacceptable provocation" and an "outrageous act" 
toward which "we feel great indignation," the liberal 
Asahi urged Japan and the U.S. to form "a united front" 
to respond to the challenge diplomatically. 
 
¶6. Aware of the ongoing cooperative effort by the U.S., 
Japan, and South Korea to bring the issue to the United 
Nations Security Council, the daily urged Tokyo to 
"work with the United States and other allies to step 
up diplomatic efforts to ensure that the international 
community sends an unequivocal message to North Korea." 
The Asahi concluded that only "diplomacy is the 
realistic avenue to stop North Korea from committing 
illegal acts." It urged joint efforts to revive the six- 
party talks with the North and the denuclearization 
process, while making "a renewed drive to promote 
negotiations with the North for normalization of 
diplomatic relations with Japan and the United States." 
 
¶7. The Asahi concluded: "The United States has a vital 
role and a responsibility in such diplomatic efforts;" 
and it urged the setting up of a team to deal with 
North Korea and negotiations as soon as possible. The 
daily applauded Secretary Clinton for "moving in the 
right direction" in terms of dealing with the launch 
separately and seeking to revive the six-party 
agreement on the nuclear front. 
 
¶8. The Sankei in an analytical series, "Shock from the 
North," stressed in the April 7 installment that 
compared to allies' response to the North's missile 
launch in 2006, this time there was strong solidarity 
among the U.S., Japan and South Korea - the weak link 
last time being Tokyo's then cool relations with Seoul. 
This time there was a "cooperative" relationship from 
the start, when it was first suspected that Pyongyang 
was preparing for another missile launch. Those ties 
were firmly cemented at a meeting in Washington of 
delegates of the three countries on March 27, the daily 
judged. 
 
¶9. The moderately conservative Yomiuri, in an editorial 
titled "North Korea puts ball in Obama's court," 
focused both on the President's Prague speech on 
nuclear nonproliferation and the North Korea missile 
launch. Noting that Sunday's launch violated Security 
Council Resolution 1718, the daily, too, put great 
emphasis on a diplomatic solution through the 
cooperative efforts of Japan, the U.S., Britain and 
France to persuade reluctant Security Council members 
China and Russia to agree to a new resolution with 
teeth. None of the dailies, incidentally, thought that 
such would be easy, and some assumed that in the end 
even a strong chairman's statement backed by all would 
be better than a weak, watered-down resolution. Indeed, 
the blow-by-blow description of the tussle in the UNSC, 
as seen in the evening editions of April 7, again 
stressed U.S.-Japan cooperation, in this case to 
convince all 15 members to accept that the missile 
launch was "a violation" of the earlier UNSC 
resolution. 
 
¶10. Failure to do anything in the Council, the Yomiuri 
editorial of April 7 continued, would allow "the 
reclusive DPRK to continue to use its nuclear arms and 
missiles to provoke and threaten others." It expected 
President Obama, in particular, to "exercise strong 
leadership" not only in the immediate UNSC challenge, 
but also in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, 
noting that "if North Korea succeeds in building a 
miniaturized nuclear warhead, Japan will be staring 
down the barrel of a terrifying threat." 
 
¶11. Coming just after North Korea's missile launch, the 
GOJ welcomed President Obama's Prague speech about 
nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Kawamura indicated that the 
President's new initiative would strengthen U.S.-Japan 
cooperation to meet that international goal.  The 
speech also received high praise from the major dailies 
in editorials on April 7, some specifically linking the 
President's ambitious goal to the North Korean problem. 
 
ZUMWALT