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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4786

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 000948 
 
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 04/23/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) G-7 meeting to be held April 24, with wide gulf remaining among 
Japan, U.S., Europe [Mainichi] 
 
(2) Interview with Shunpei Takemori, professor at Keio University, 
on G-7 meeting: Specific discussion likely to be postponed 
[Mainichi] 
 
(3) Ruling camp trying to shake up opposition with 'Constitution' 
[Mainichi] 
 
(4) View persists in DPJ of SDF nature as fundamentally bad 
[Yomiuri] 
 
(5) Editorial: Early enactment of antipiracy bill requires revisions 
[Nikkei] 
 
(6) Poll on Aso cabinet, political parties [Asahi] 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) G-7 meeting to be held April 24, with wide gulf remaining among 
Japan, U.S., Europe 
 
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
The Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers and central bank 
governors will meet in Washington on April 24, local time. 
Participants will discuss measures to revitalize the global economy, 
as well as to place new restrictions on financial operations, based 
on an agreement reached at the second G-20 financial summit held on 
April 2. Regarding the details, however, there are still wide 
differences among Japan, the U.S., and Europe. Under the current 
situation, it seems difficult to come up with specific measures. 
Kaoru Yosano, economic and fiscal policy minister and finance 
minister and also finance minister, and Bank of Japan Government 
Masaaki Shirakawa will attend the meeting from Japan. They will 
outline the government's additional economic stimulus package worth 
15.4 trillion yen. 
 
Visiting European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trechet 
said on April 18: "It is essential to swiftly implement what we 
agreed on." He emphasized that implementing the measures agreed on 
in the Group of 20 (G-20) financial summit meeting was the current 
top-priority task. 
 
At the G-20 meeting, participants confirmed a policy of disbursing 
funds totaling 5 trillion dollars, or 500 trillion yen, by the end 
of 2010. They also discussed restrictions on hedge funds and ranking 
firms. British Prime Minister Gordon Prime Minister said: "We agreed 
on coordination at an unprecedented scale." Since the G-7 meeting 
will take place only one month after the financial summit, the 
meeting might end up just being "a ceremony," an international 
monetary source said, or a forum where the major countries just 
confirm the need to implement the agreed measures. 
 
The U.S. government also will host a meeting of G-20 finance 
ministers and central bank governors after hosting the G-7 meeting 
on the 24th. It is quite unprecedented for a G-7 meeting and a G-20 
meeting to be held on the same day. Industrialized countries' 
 
TOKYO 00000948  002 OF 008 
 
 
economies have been reeling, while such emerging countries as China 
and India have been increasing their international presence. Critics 
might begin to point out the G-7 framework's limits. In the latest 
financial summit, a decision was made to increase loans to be 
offered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to developing 
countries. In the coming meeting, participants are expected to 
discuss measures to strengthen the IMF's functions. 
 
(2) Interview with Shunpei Takemori, professor at Keio University, 
on G-7 meeting: Specific discussion likely to be postponed 
 
MAINICHI (Page 6) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
-- Only less than one month has passed since the financial summit 
was held. Do you think a new agreement will be reached? 
 
In the financial summit, participants adopted everything that the 
G-20 can agree on at the present, including a measure to strengthen 
the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) functions, with an eye on 
support for emerging economies. The current top priority task is to 
return the global economy to normalcy. Specific discussions on 
financial regulations that could obstruct our effort to that end and 
other matters will have to be postponed. 
 
-- The G-7 is losing its influence, isn't it? 
 
When we encounter a serious crisis, it is important to send a strong 
message to the world. In this sense, a message from the G-20, which 
includes China and Russia, is apparently more effective than one 
from the G-7. Even so, the role played by the G-7 as a practical 
organ is still significant. 
 
-- Despite the measures worked out by countries, prospects for 
economic recovery are still nowhere in sight. 
 
The economy is unlikely to hit bottom for a while. If the economy 
remains sluggish even after the ongoing financial crisis is 
overcome, each nation's expanded fiscal deficit due to economic 
stimulus measures will unavoidably become a destabilizing factor. 
Japan should explore ways to emerge from the recession on its own by 
promoting trade in the Asian region as a global growth center. 
 
(3) Ruling camp trying to shake up opposition with 'Constitution' 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the LDP's coalition 
partner, New Komeito, are in a hurry to open a session of the House 
of Representatives Commission on the Constitution (kenpo shinsakai), 
which is a prior condition for amending the Constitution. The 
commission has long been moribund. The ruling parties intend to set 
regulations for the panel and pick members for it. The ruling camp, 
however, does not have concrete prospects for constitutional 
amendments, since the House of Councillors is controlled by the 
opposition bloc. The ruling camp's move, therefore, appears to be 
aimed at bringing discord in the opposition over views of the 
Constitution to light, ahead of the upcoming Lower House election. 
 
Following the establishment of the National Referendum Law in May 
2007, a commission was set up in each of the two Diet chambers. Due 
 
TOKYO 00000948  003 OF 008 
 
 
to the forced vote on the referendum law by the ruling camp, 
however, the two commissions have yet to function because 
discussions have not been held on committee rules and regulations 
(shinsakai kitei) that would determine the number of committee 
members, as well as the rules of procedure. Given that, the 
secretaries general and Diet affairs committee chairmen of the LDP 
and New Komeito yesterday confirmed a policy of opening a session of 
the lower chamber's commission during the ongoing Diet session. 
 
The ruling coalition has crafted a set of rules and regulations for 
the Lower House Commission on the Constitution that includes: 1) the 
number of members should be set at 50; 2) the panel should carry out 
activities while the Diet is in session or not; and 3) a vote should 
be passed by a majority of the panel members attending the session. 
LDP Lower House Steering Committee Chairman Kenji Kosaka yesterday 
conveyed to the opposition side his party's intention to explain the 
ruling camp-drafted rules and regulations in a steering committee 
session on April 23 and take a vote in the next session. The main 
opposition Democratic Party (DPJ), however, is showing no signs of 
accepting the ruling coalition's plan. 
 
However, even if the commission holds meetings during the current 
Diet session, it will not be able to examine an amendment bill 
because no bill will be submitted to the Diet until Oct. 5 based on 
the provision that has frozen the National Referendum Law. In 
addition, the opposition-controlled Upper House is reluctant to hold 
a panel session. A constitutional amendment requires more than 
two-thirds approval of both houses of the Diet. Therefore, there 
will be no merit for the ruling coalition to take a forced vote in 
the Lower House. 
 
The aim of the ruling coalition in rushing to open the Lower House 
Commission on the Constitution is to shake up the DPJ, in which 
there are a group calling for constitutional reform and another 
group calling for protecting the Constitution. The ruling camp also 
foresees the situation that the largest opposition party has to give 
consideration to its cooperation with the Japanese Communist Party 
and the Social Democratic Party, which have opposed the opening of a 
commission session. The DPJ's Upper House Steering Committee 
Chairman Takeo Nishioka, who is favor of opening a session, revealed 
his agony to reporters yesterday, saying: "The prevailing view in 
the DPJ is that the public seems uninterested in that 
(constitutional reform)." 
 
(4) View persists in DPJ of SDF nature as fundamentally bad 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Abridged slightly) 
April 22, 2009 
 
"The blueprint of U.S. bases in Okinawa must be completely recreated 
from scratch." 
 
This statement made by Democratic Party of Japan Vice President 
Seiji Maehara, a skillful security-policy controversialist, on the 
Japan-U.S. alliance has created a stir in the United States. 
 
Maehara delivered a speech in Washington D.C. on April 16 in which 
he posed fundamental questions about the realignment of U.S. forces 
in Japan. In reaction, a member of the audience asked, "Are you 
suggesting a review of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' 
Futenma Air Station?" Maehara replied without presenting any 
concrete plan: "Can things that have not been accomplished over the 
 
TOKYO 00000948  004 OF 008 
 
 
last 13 years be realized now? Once we take the helm of government, 
this will become possible. We will consider ways to return the base 
[to Japan] at the earliest possible date." 
 
Maehara, who has launched a nonpartisan group with former Defense 
Agency Director-General Gen Nakatani of the Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP) and others, is said to be close in thinking to LDP defense 
policy specialists. Hearing Maehara's remarks, an American scholar 
knowledgeable about Japan wondered, "Isn't Maehara supposed to be a 
pragmatic politician?" 
 
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of the LDP also delivered a speech 
in Washington D.C. the following day, on April 17. Afterward, he was 
asked about Japan-U.S. relations in the event that the DPJ took 
power. He cracked up the audience with this comment: "If Mr. Maehara 
becomes the prime minister, his administration would not be much 
different from the LDP's." Abe added: "Mr. Maehara has said that he 
would abandon the plan to move U.S. Marines to Guam. The DPJ's 
foreign policy is impossible to predict." 
 
In many cases, the DPJ, which includes lawmakers ranging from 
conservative to former socialist party members, reaches agreement on 
its security policies by taking positions opposing government 
plans. 
 
The party has been engaged in talks with the ruling coalition on 
revising the government-sponsored antipiracy bill, but there are no 
prospects for reaching an accord. 
 
The House of Representatives Security Committee met on April 9. 
Between deliberations, the LDP's Nakatani asked DPJ Deputy Secretary 
General Akihisa Nagashima about his prospects for the DPJ's revision 
plan. Last November, Nakatani and Nagashima met Prime Minister Aso 
and urged him to speed up the antipiracy measures. Nagashima replied 
to Nakatani [on April 9]: "We will be able to come up with a 
pragmatic plan." 
 
But what was actually produced by the DPJ was a disappointment to 
the ruling coalition. The DPJ's plan would establish an antipiracy 
headquarters under the prime minister and require the government to 
obtain prior Diet approval to send the SDF on overseas missions. 
 
A senior DPJ lawmaker explained: "There is a view in our party that 
regards the nature of the SDF as fundamentally bad, so reaching a 
unified view on the active use of the SDF is difficult." 
 
"Active participation in UN peacekeeping operations" was one of the 
DPJ's pledges in the 2007 Upper House election. But the issue of who 
should play the central role remains unclear. Establishing a special 
standby force distinct from the SDF to take part in UN peacekeeping 
missions is Ozawa's stock argument from the standpoint that the use 
of force is allowed under the UN flag. Ozawa's argument not to 
dispatch the SDF is in line with the opinion of socialist party 
members who are cautious about dispatching the SDF on overseas 
missions. 
 
Ozawa also criticized the Obama administration's plan to send more 
troops to Afghanistan as part of its war on terrorism, aligning 
himself with the former socialist party members. 
 
Nagashima, who is concerned about the party's diplomatic and 
security policies after taking power, noted: "Once we take the reins 
 
TOKYO 00000948  005 OF 008 
 
 
of government, there will be no other option but to opt for 
pragmatic policy. We will have to deal with the United States and 
make use of the SDF. The now-defunct Japan Socialist Party initially 
regarded the SDF as unconstitutional, but the party later declared 
that it was constitutional. That led to the party's decline. The 
fate of our party depends on whether or not our shift can stop at 30 
degrees instead of 180 degrees." 
 
The DPJ's responses to major security laws and agreements 
 
Representative Year enacted Laws/agreements Response 
Naoto Kan 2003 Three contingency-related laws Supported after 
revision talks with ruling coalition 
  Iraq Special Measures Law Opposed 
  Revised Antiterrorism Special Measures Law Opposed 
Katsuya Okada 2004 Law Banning Specific Ships from Entering Japanese 
Ports Supported after revision talks with ruling coalition 
  Seven contingency-related laws Supported after revision talks with 
ruling coalition 
Seiji Maehara 2005 Revised Antiterrorism Special Measures Law 
Opposed 
Ichiro Ozawa 2006 North Korea Human Rights Law Supported after 
revision talks with ruling coalition 
  Law to Upgrade Defense Agency to Ministry Status Supported 
original plan 
 2007 Law to Facilitate Realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan Opposed 
  Revised Iraq Special Measures Law Opposed 
 2008 Special Agreement on Japan's Host-Nation Support for Costs of 
Stationing U.S. Forces in Japan Opposed 
  New Antiterrorism Special Measures Law, Revised New Antiterrorism 
Special Measures Law Opposed 
 2009 Guam International Agreement Opposed 
  Antipiracy Bill -- 
 
(5) Editorial: Early enactment of antipiracy bill requires 
revisions 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 22, 2009 
 
The government-presented antipiracy bill is designed to give legal 
grounds for the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to join operations to 
protect vessels cruising in waters off Somalia from pirates. If the 
major opposition Democratic Party of Japan sorts out its demands and 
comes down to seeking Diet approval of SDF activities, that would 
naturally determine the response of the ruling bloc, which wants to 
see an early enactment of the legislation. 
 
Many major powers have been engaged in antipiracy activities in 
waters off Somalia as part of international cooperation. But 
primarily, the purpose is to protect the lives and property of the 
people. For this reason, the Japanese government, too, invoked on 
March 13 the maritime policing provision in the SDF Law's Article 82 
and dispatched two [Maritime Self-Defense Force] vessels. 
 
The invocation of the maritime policing provision that is based only 
on emergency situations in areas surrounding Japan was a desperate 
measure. 
 
The government adopted the antipiracy bill at a cabinet meeting on 
the same day and presented it to the Diet. If there were no 
political guarantee for the enactment of the antipiracy legislation, 
 
TOKYO 00000948  006 OF 008 
 
 
the Defense Ministry did not want to dispatch the vessels. 
 
That was because maritime policing activities are under heavy 
restrictions, including strict rules on the use of weapons, and also 
because the ministry judged that the protraction of the mission 
would put a strain on the SDF personnel in waters off Somalia. In 
view of effective activities there and the safety of the SDF 
personnel, an early enactment of the legislation is indispensable. 
 
Depending on how the DPJ reacts, [the ruling camp] may have to use a 
two-third House of Representatives override vote to pass the bill 60 
days after it is sent to the House of Councillors. This process is 
time consuming. Diet approval of SDF activities might become a point 
at issue in talks between the ruling and opposition parties. Defense 
Minister Yasukazu Hamada is already exhibiting a flexible stance 
about that point. If the two camps can reach an agreement on that 
direction, prospects would emerge for an early enactment of the 
legislation. 
 
There are at least two points that must be considered regarding the 
Diet's role in connection with SDF activities. One is requesting the 
flexible operation of the SDF in time of an emergency, and the other 
is the control of military activities by representatives of the 
people. Under existing legislation, [the Diet's role] differs 
depending on the type of activities. 
 
For instance, mobilizing the SDF for maintaining peace and public 
order in Japan takes only ex post facto approval, mobilizing troops 
for defense operations necessitates prior approval, UN peacekeeping 
operations (PKO) requires also prior approval, and activities under 
the Law on Situations in Areas Surrounding Japan simply needs ex 
post facto approval. Prior or ex post facto, Diet approval is 
required in any case. 
 
Of those instances mentioned above, antipiracy activities are close 
to PKO operations. It took the government five months to dispatch 
the SDF since the piracy issue was first discussed at the Diet. But 
envisioning an emergency situation, the ruling and opposition blocs 
must discuss options, including whether or not to accept ex post 
facto approval. 
 
The government-presented bill requires only "reports" to the Diet 
instead of approval by the Diet. This can be interpreted as a margin 
that factors in some revisions. We would like to see concrete 
preparations for comprehensive legislation, instead of a 
time-limited law, on the SDF's international cooperation activities 
based on discussions on the antipiracy bill. 
 
 
(6) Poll on Aso cabinet, political parties 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
April 21, 2009 
 
Questions & Answers 
(Figures shown in percentage, rounded off. Bracketed figures denote 
proportions to all respondents. Figures in parentheses denote the 
results of the last survey conducted March 28-29.) 
 
Q: Do you support the Aso cabinet? 
 
Yes 26 (22) 
 
TOKYO 00000948  007 OF 008 
 
 
No 57 (64) 
 
Q: Why? (One reason only. Left column for those marking "yes" on 
previous question, and right for those marking "no.") 
 
The prime minister is Mr. Aso 19[5] 9[5] 
It's an LDP-led cabinet 36[9] 29[16] 
Political aspects 25[6] 49[28] 
Cabinet lineup 9[2] 9[5] 
 
Q: Which political party do you support now? 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 25 (27) 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ or Minshuto) 21 (20) 
New Komeito (NK) 4 (2) 
Japanese Communist Party (JCP) 2 (3) 
Social Democratic Party (SDP or Shaminto) 1 (1) 
People's New Party (PNP or Kokumin Shinto) 0 (0) 
Reform Club (RC or Kaikaku Kurabu) 0 (0) 
New Party Nippon (NPN or Shinto Nippon) 0 (0) 
Other political parties 0 (0) 
None 40 (41) 
No answer (N/A) + don't know (D/K) 7 (6) 
 
Q: If you were to vote now in a general election for the House of 
Representatives, which political party would you vote for in your 
proportional representation bloc? 
 
LDP 27 (27) 
DPJ 32 (31) 
NK 4 (3) 
JCP 3 (5) 
SDP 2 (2) 
PNP 0 (0) 
RC 0 (0) 
NPN 0 (0) 
Other political parties 1 (1) 
N/A+D/K 31 (31) 
 
Q: Would you like the current LDP-led coalition government to 
continue, or would you otherwise like it to be replaced with a 
DPJ-led coalition government? 
 
LDP-led coalition 29 (29) 
DPJ-led coalition 41 (42) 
 
Q: Which one do you think is more appropriate for prime minister: 
Prime Minister Aso or DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa? 
 
Mr. Aso 37 (30) 
Mr. Ozawa 23 (26) 
 
Q: DPJ President Ozawa, after his secretary was indicted over 
illicit political donations, clarified that he would stay on to head 
his party for the time being. Do you think he should stay on, or do 
you think he should resign? 
 
Stay on 28 
Resign 61 
 
Q: Prime Minister Aso will present the Diet with a supplementary 
budget of the largest scale ever to the extent of 15 trillion yen as 
 
TOKYO 00000948  008 OF 008 
 
 
an additional economic stimulus package. As ways and means for this, 
the government will issue bonds to borrow 10 trillion yen. Do you 
approve of this economic package? 
 
Yes 25 
No 60 
 
Q: The Maritime Self-Defense Force is now on an antipiracy mission 
in waters off the eastern African coast of Somalia to escort cargo 
and other ships. Do you support the MSDF deployment there for an 
antipiracy mission? 
 
Yes 61 
No 26 
 
Q: The MSDF is currently not allowed to fire on pirate ships before 
they fire. The Diet is therefore deliberating on a bill that will 
allow the MSDF to fire on pirate ships if they refuse orders to 
stop. Do you support the idea of expanding the scope of weapon use 
against pirates in this way? 
 
Yes 50 
No 36 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted April 18-19 over the 
telephone on a computer-aided random digit dialing (RDD) basis. 
Respondents were chosen from among the nation's voting population on 
a three-stage random-sampling basis. Valid answers were obtained 
from 2,094 persons (55%). 
 
ZUMWALT