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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 000955 
 
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 04/24/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Japan-U.S. leaders confer by phone on restarting the Six-Party 
Talks on North Korea, agree on goal of a nuclear-weapons free world 
[Nikkei] 
 
(2) Rengo to call for SOFA revision in U.S.; Rengo Okinawa president 
and others to hold talks from April 30 with labor union supporting 
President Obama [Ryukyu Shimpo] 
 
(3) F-22 a link for Japan-U.S. alliance [Sankei] 
 
(4) Gaps in views of Ozawa and Okada [Asahi] 
 
(5) Major financial institutions to log combined net loss of 4 
trillion yen in fiscal year 2008 [Nikkei] 
 
(6) Japan posts first trade deficit in 28 years, shaking up status 
as trade-oriented nation [Asahi] 
 
(7) Editorial: China must increase naval transparency [Nikkei] 
 
(8) TOP HEADLINES 
 
(9) EDITORIALS 
 
(10) Prime Minister's schedule, April 23 [Nikkei] 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Japan-U.S. leaders confer by phone on restarting the Six-Party 
Talks on North Korea, agree on goal of a nuclear-weapons free world 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
Eve., April 24, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso this morning held a 15-minute conversation 
by phone with U.S. President Obama. The two leaders agreed to 
continue to closely cooperate to bring about an early resumption of 
Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear program and other 
issues. Prime Minister Aso stated that he "strongly supports" the 
President's nuclear-disarmament stance that aims at having a 
nuclear-weapons free world. The President said, "Japan is a leader 
in this area, and I would like us to tackle this together in the 
future." 
 
The telephone conversation occurred at the request of the American 
side. The President brought up the Pakistan assistance conference 
that Japan hosted, saying: "It was extremely beneficial. I would 
like to thank Japan." The President mentioned the response to the 
launching by North Korea of the Taepodong 2 ballistic missile, which 
the North called a "satellite." He praised it by saying, "The U.S. 
and Japan were able to cooperate closely at the United Nations 
Security Council." The Prime Minister, too, responded by saying, 
"The UNSC reached a swift agreement, and the presidential statement 
had strong content." The two leaders confirmed that they would 
continue to coordinate a visit to Japan by the President in the 
latter half of this year. 
 
(2) Rengo to call for SOFA revision in U.S.; Rengo Okinawa president 
 
TOKYO 00000955  002 OF 012 
 
 
and others to hold talks from April 30 with labor union supporting 
President Obama 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 2) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
Rengo (Japanese Trade Union Confederation) Okinawa President 
Nobumasa Nakamura will visit the United States from April 30 through 
May 3 along with Rengo President Tsuyoshi Takagi and others. During 
their stay in the United States, they will hold talks with America's 
largest labor union, which supports the Obama administration, and 
call for a review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement 
(SOFA) and the closure of Futenma Air Station. It will be the first 
time for a Rengo Okinawa representative to accompany the Rengo 
[president's] trip to the United States. 
 
President Nakamura and others will hold talk for two days from April 
30 with executives of the American Federation of Labor and Congress 
of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) composed of 56 labor unions 
with a membership of 11 million. U.S. Labor Department and Treasury 
Department officials might attend the talks. 
 
President Nakamura said: "The SOFA is an unequal pact, but it has 
never been revised. We want to present Okinawa's frank views to the 
Obama administration through the talks." 
 
President Nakamura will ask that the SOFA should be revised in a way 
to: (1) hand over the custody of an accused U.S. service member [to 
the Japanese side] before indictment, (2) allow municipal officials 
to enter a U.S. base in an emergency situation, (3) require the U.S. 
military to clean up the environment in returning its base, (4) 
apply Japanese laws when conducting military exercises, and (5) 
apply three labor laws to base workers. At the same time, the 
president will seek the realignment and reduction of bases, 
including the closure and return of Futenma Air Station. 
 
President Nakamura expressed his hope, saying: "The American labor 
union has a history of being suppressed by authority. I think 
[AFL-CIO] will sympathize with Okinawa's circumstances." 
 
Rengo President Takagi and others will discuss responses to the 
effort for eliminating nuclear weapons and the global financial 
crisis. 
 
Rengo and AFL-CIO hold talks every several years. This time around, 
President Takagi called for President Nakamura's participation in 
discussing the peace issue. 
 
(3) F-22 a link for Japan-U.S. alliance 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
Hiroyuki Noguchi 
 
If the Japan-U.S. alliance should ever rupture, it would probably be 
attributable to Japan's constitutional constraints that do not allow 
Japan to participate in collective self-defense. The fear I had was 
that it would be Japan's own fault. However, President Obama and his 
administration are now about to prove that such is not the case. The 
Obama administration is reluctant to export F-22 fighters to Japan. 
The F-22, which is the U.S. Air Force's fifth-generation fighter 
 
TOKYO 00000955  003 OF 012 
 
 
jet, is the most likely candidate for Japan's follow-on mainstay 
fighter. Facing China's abnormal military expansion, the F-22 should 
be a 'guardian deity' to protect the skies of freedom and democracy 
in East Asia. However, the Obama administration, giving heed to 
China, is hesitant to export the F-22 to Japan. At every turning 
point in history, America has tended to be "love sick" over China, 
and time and again, this infatuation for China has threatened 
Japan's national interests. 
 
The F-22 is also known as the "Raptor." True to the nickname, its 
real power is tremendous. The F-22 Raptor scored "144-0" in a 
simulated dogfight and "241-2" in another. The results astonished 
the top guns of air forces around the world. The dogfights were 
conducted with the participation of such distinguished fighters as 
the F-15, F-16, and F-18, which were developed by the United States 
and are currently deployed in Japan and other U.S. allies. In the 
dogfights, the F-22 Raptor downed a combined total of 385 fighters, 
losing only two. They can be no match for the F-22, which is a 
stealth fighter that is hardly detectable to enemy radar because of 
its configuration and materials. The F-22 outshines other 
state-of-the-art fighters in supersonic flying performance and 
supermobility as well. In a nutshell, the F-22 is a standout. 
 
The U.S. Congress has embargoed exports of the F-22 for security 
reasons. In a way, this ban can be taken for granted. At the 2007 
Japan-U.S. summit, however, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked the 
United States to provide Japan with information as an exception. 
That is because Japan was facing a vital threat from China's rapid 
deployment of advanced fighter attackers and missiles. China also 
deploys the Su-27, a mainstay fighter for the Russian air force in 
the 1990s, and the Su-30, an advanced type of the Su-27. Moreover, 
China has developed the J-10, a new fighter jet, with technical 
know-how introduced from Israel. China is expected to deploy stealth 
aircraft like the F-22 Raptor 10 to 12 years down the road. 
 
East Asia-where such apparent threats as China, North Korea, and 
Russia are rampant-retains the Cold War structure even now. 
Nevertheless, Secretary of Defense Gates announced his decision on 
April 6 to stop producing the F-22, reasoning that it was designed 
with a concept drawn from the Cold War era. The Pentagon chief also 
referred to a substantial review of the plan, with asymmetric wars 
in Afghanistan and terrorism in mind, from the conventional one that 
regards China and Russia as potential threats. The F-22 is no 
exception, in other words. 
 
Even so, what Gates said could be a trial balloon. It cannot be 
taken at face value. In the U.S., many members of 
Congress-particularly from the Republican Party-think the United 
States should sell the F-22 to Japan, with an eye on China. Capitol 
Hill legislators backed by the munitions industry or labor unions 
cannot overlook the U.S. government's provisional course of action, 
either. The reason why President Obama has yet to make his final 
decision is reportedly because he wants to see how Congress in 
particular will respond. 
 
What lies behind the call-off of F-22 production is the price. The 
F-22, priced at 19.8 billion yen in FY2001, has been lowered from 
year to year. Even so, its per unit cost is still steep at 14 
billion yen, more than double that of the F-15, which is the F-22's 
predecessor. This is costly spending at a time when there is an 
international economic crisis. The F-22 is so superior that it 
cannot easily be exported to allies. This brought about a vicious 
 
TOKYO 00000955  004 OF 012 
 
 
circle of abstaining from mass-production and boosting the price 
further. The initial plan was to produce a total of 750 F-22s but 
production has now been scaled back to 187. 
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force is also strongly upset, claiming that 
it needs 234 to 381 F-22s before the downscaling of the production 
line. The weapons industry is also insisting on continuing F-22 
production. In 44 states, a total of 25,000 people have jobs related 
to F-22 production. It is certain that the production of F-22s, once 
started for delivery to Japan, will greatly contribute to the U.S. 
economy and its job security. 
 
Japan's F-2 support fighter, currently operational on the front, was 
co-developed with the United States. The F-2's development cost was 
almost on a par with the F-22's. Given its cost efficiency, it was 
not a huge burden on Japan. 
 
The Obama administration is now apparently beginning to give way 
over the North Korean nuclear and missile issues without consulting 
with Japan. Will it be also joining hands with China, which is 
edging toward Japan's territorial waters? If the United States makes 
friends with China while turning a blind eye to China's military 
expansionism and its oppression of speech, people, and religions, 
then the pro-U.S. conservatives at Japan's political and economic 
centers would all alike turn into the mere conservatives. As a 
result, they may come to abhor the United States and turn into 
anti-U.S. conservatives. 
 
Exporting the F-22 to Japan will serve not only to prevent the 
nightmare of Japan and the United States breaking away from each 
other but also create strong links between the two countries. 
 
(4) Gaps in views of Ozawa and Okada 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
April 24, 2009 
 
Noriko Akiyama 
 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Ichiro Ozawa ordered his 
party to look into completely prohibiting corporations and 
organizations from making donations [to individual politicians]. 
Katsuya Okada, a DPJ vice president, who heads the party's Political 
Reform Promotion Headquarters, however, calls for restricting the 
hereditary-seat system of passing down Diet seats to descendents 
[seshusei]. While Ozawa is being pressured to resign, Okada is 
regarded as most likely person to replaced him. The two DPJ leaders, 
who withdrew from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1993, are 
now struggling over "political reform." 
 
In a general meeting yesterday of the political reform task force, 
the idea of restricting the hereditary-seat system was easily 
approved, but banning corporations and organizations from donating 
money to individual politicians did not go smoothly. Twenty-one 
junior lawmakers submitted a written statement calling for an 
immediate ban on donations from corporations and organizations. 
Okada tried to propose implementing the ban five years from now, but 
such Lower House members as Goshi Hosono and Sumio Mabuchi called 
for an immediate ban, saying: "It is meaningless to ban them five 
years in the future;" and, "The DPJ should determine that it will 
change the Japanese political culture." The panel has decided to 
hold a meeting again. 
 
TOKYO 00000955  005 OF 012 
 
 
 
In the wake of the arrest of his state-paid secretary, Ozawa 
proposed on March 17 a total ban on donations from corporations and 
organizations to individual politicians. He then entrusted Okada 
with the issue. Speculation was life that Ozawa made strategic 
arrangements for picking Okada as his successor. But it is hard to 
say that they have got on well with each other. 
 
On April 20 Okada told reporters: "I wonder if the way of thinking 
that corporate donations are bad but individual ones are good is 
acceptable." 
 
Many DPJ members felt strong discomfort on a policy of totally ban 
corporate donations in order to wipe away the image of Ozawa, who 
had continued to receive a huge amount of donations from one 
company. Okada proposed imposing restrictions also on fund-raising 
party tickets, in a bid to close loopholes with a ban on donations 
from companies receiving orders for public works projects. 
 
However, Ozawa said: "The public is interested in a complete ban." 
Since Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and other officials have 
called for a total ban, Okada will be forced to accept Ozawa's 
proposal. At a press conference on April 21, Ozawa expressed his 
willingness to continue serving as the DPJ president, saying: 
 
"[Corporate donations to individual politicians] should be totally 
prohibited. I presume that our party will stipulate a total ban as 
its general will in a set of campaign pledges (manifesto) for the 
next House of Representatives election. That is the best way (to 
fulfill my responsibility for explaining the donation scandal)." 
 
Probably having felt the Ozawa would remain in his post by totally 
prohibiting corporate donations, Okawa gave him a warning, saying: 
 
"Under the situation where 60-70% of the public has said that they 
are not satisfied with an explanation (by Ozawa of the arrest of his 
secretary), it is impossible to bring about a change in government. 
I strongly hope for Mr. Ozawa's explanation." 
 
Ozawa and Okada left the LDP in 1993 under the banner of political 
reform. They have a relationship like that of teacher and student. A 
person who knows them at that time said: "Mr. Ozawa favored Okada." 
The two, however, are now waging a psychological war. 
 
The restrictions on the hereditary-seat system the Okada-led 
taskforce compiled yesterday has an aspect that can be taken as 
sarcasm toward Ozawa, who is a typical politician succeeded to the 
Diet seat held by his father. Former DPJ Policy Research Committee 
Chairman Yoshito Sengoku, who has distanced himself from Ozawa, said 
yesterday in a meeting of lawmakers: "Many voters in Japan want to 
move away from politics that is controlled by political nepotism and 
enormous money." 
 
(5) Major financial institutions to log combined net loss of 4 
trillion yen in fiscal year 2008 
 
NIKKEI (Page 3) (Excerpts) 
April 24, 2009 
 
Japan's financial institutions, such as major banks, brokerages and 
insurance companies, are believed to have suffered a combined net 
loss of about 4 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 
 
TOKYO 00000955  006 OF 012 
 
 
underscoring the heavy toll of the global financial crisis on their 
earnings and investments. The red ink is the largest since a roughly 
4.7 trillion yen loss in fiscal 2002, when financial institutions 
grappled with the disposal of nonperforming loans. In addition to 
banks, the global financial market crisis directly hit institutional 
investors such as the Norinchukin Bank. With the latest red ink 
making lenders cautious, looming concerns about a credit crunch are 
casting a dark shadow on the outlook for the domestic economy and 
stocks. 
 
Mizuho Financial Group Inc. said Thursday it now expects to log a 
group net loss of 580 billion yen for fiscal 2008, following in the 
footsteps of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., which has already 
announced a projected net loss of 390 billion yen. Mitsubishi UFJ 
Financial Group Inc. is expected to revise down its projected net 
loss to several hundred-billion yen, and Chuo Mitsui Trust Holdings 
Inc. to 80 billion yen. 
 
The global financial market crisis has also wreaked havoc on the 
portfolios of major institutional investors such as Norinchukin 
Bank, which will book about 600 billion yen in losses for fiscal 
¶2008. 
 
In the insurance industry, a handful of major life insurers, such as 
American International Group Inc.'s Alico Japan, are believed to 
have fallen into the red. If insurers grow cautious and begin 
reining in investment risk, the stock market could feel the burden. 
 
Brokerages are also expected to disclose hefty losses. Nomura 
Holdings Inc. is likely to report a record group net loss of 700 
billion yen for fiscal 2008, while Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and 
Nikko Citigroup Ltd., a unit of Citigroup Inc., are also expected to 
log net losses. 
 
Hefty losses ascribable to three factors -- delay in improvement in 
margin spreads, reliance on stock investments, and lax risk 
management 
 
Yasuo Ota 
 
Japan's major financial institutions are poised to book large net 
losses for the year ended March 31, due largely to their inability 
to learn three bitter lessons from past mistakes and make 
appropriate changes. 
 
Japanese banks have branched out into mutual fund sales and other 
businesses in an effort to generate commission revenues, but their 
core lending operations tend to show weak profitability because of 
lagging improvement in margin spreads. 
 
At the same time, the banks' ongoing emphasis on shareholdings has 
put a burden on their earnings. After repaying past infusions of 
public funds, major banks boosted cross-shareholdings. Companies 
with which they enjoyed close ties sought such arrangements, fearing 
hostile takeover attempts from foreign investors. 
 
Based on lessons learned from the burst of Japans' economic bubble, 
the banks should have known the danger of relying too heavily on 
stock investments. Yet with the domestic economy entering a 
long-term expansion, the banks began reviving the cross-shareholding 
practice. 
 
 
TOKYO 00000955  007 OF 012 
 
 
Risk management practices at the banks were never fully implemented, 
leading to painful losses on high-risk instruments snapped up to 
turn a profit. Securitized products with liquidity risks and hedge 
fund investments with scanty disclosure are prime examples of the 
areas that ended up hurting the banks. In some cases, top banks' 
lenders were not thoroughly aware of the risks being taken on their 
watch because of the complex and specialized nature of the 
investments. 
 
The huge public fund infusions of the late 1990s aimed to revive the 
financial system and underpin the economy by helping big banks 
rebuild. But the latest credit crunch suggests that the banks do not 
have a thorough grasp of their social responsibilities. 
 
Some pundits are urging another round of public fund infusions into 
major financial institutions. While such actions may be inevitable 
to avert a crisis, the banks need to implement business reforms that 
underline their self-discipline and willingness to fulfill their 
responsibilities to society. 
 
(6) Japan posts first trade deficit in 28 years, shaking up status 
as trade-oriented nation 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
April 23, 2009 
 
With imports outpacing exports in fiscal 2008, Japan posted its 
first trade deficit of 725.3 billion yen in 28 years since fiscal 
1980, according to a report released by the Finance Ministry on 
April 22. The result came because global trade shrank due to the 
financial crisis. Japan's exports have declined almost 50% on a 
monthly basis since January 2009. Japan, as a trade-oriented nation, 
achieved economic growth in the postwar period. Will its growth 
model no longer hold true? 
 
Limits of growth dependent on U.S. pointed out 
 
Japan recorded a trade deficit of approximately 1.4 trillion yen 28 
years ago, following the second oil crisis. The value of exports 
boosted 22.8% over the previous year, but the value of imports also 
grew 14.0% as prices of crude oil shot up, triggered by the Iran 
Revolution. As a result, Japan posted a trade deficit, and an 
approximately 3.1 trillion yen deficit could not be shaved off in 
fiscal 1979. 
 
The main cause of the annual trade deficit in fiscal 2008 was a 
record 16.4% plunge in exports. Japan's exports to the U.S., the 
country that triggered the financial crisis, began to fall in 
September 2007. Since June 2008, the rate of decrease has been in 
the double-digit range. In October, following the collapse of U.S. 
investment bank Lehman Brothers in September, exports to China also 
began to decrease. 
 
As a result, Japan's overall exports shifted to negative territory 
in October, and exports shrank 26.7% in November, 35% in December, 
and 45.7% this January. 
 
China, which is gradually becoming Japan's largest export market, 
produces toys and furniture with plastic and metal materials 
imported from Japan and sells such assembled products to the U.S. 
and other countries. Slack domestic demand in the U.S. will put a 
damper on China's production activities and will eventually reduce 
 
TOKYO 00000955  008 OF 012 
 
 
Japan's exports to the U.S. and China. 
 
Japan's exports to China have exceeded those to the U.S. on a 
monthly basis since last summer, but the Japanese economy has still 
been affected by U.S. economic conditions. 
 
President Barack Obama has said: "We are beginning to see a ray of 
hope." Other administration officials have also made remarks 
indicating their confidence of the turning around of their economy. 
But the U.S. economy has experienced ups and downs. The situation is 
such that it will be difficult for Japan to rapidly boost its 
exports again. 
 
Japan External Trade Organization's (JETRO) International Economic 
Research Department Head Toshiki Takahashi said: "Japan is a trade- 
and investment-oriented nation, rather than a trade-oriented nation. 
The trade deficit itself is not a serious problem." He keeps in mind 
the fact that the black figure of income, such as dividends and 
interest from abroad though overseas operations, has been larger 
than the trade black figure since fiscal 2005. 
 
Even so, the scale of income surplus has also contracted on a 
monthly basis since October 2008, when the financial crisis became 
serious. Some observers take the view that economic growth dependent 
on the U.S. has already reached its limits. This view is gaining 
influence. 
 
Emerging countries hold key to recovery 
 
In reference to Japan's trade deficit recorded for the first time in 
28 years, Finance Minister Yosano stressed the need to expand 
domestic demand, saying: "It is necessary for the decreased external 
demand to be covered with the effect of our economic stimulus 
measures." 
 
Whenever the economy tumbles, the government advocates the need for 
expanded domestic demand in order to bring about an autonomous 
recovery." Such a slogan always starts with a roar and end with a 
whimper, as Japanese society has faced a declining population. 
 
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. President Masami Iijima called on the government 
to take measures to stimulate developing countries' domestic demand 
to Japan through its official development assistance (ODA) program. 
As seen from the fact that the Group of 20 (G-20), composed of such 
emerging countries China, India and Russia, in addition to Japan, 
the U.S., and European countries, have played the leading role in 
mapping out measures to cope with the financial crisis, emerging 
countries are enhancing their international presence. Various 
countries have hammered out measures to boost domestic demand, but 
the dominant view in the Japanese business world is that such 
measures will produce results first in emerging countries." 
 
The question is how the government and the private sector will cope 
with the replacement of major players. 
 
According to JETRO, merger and acquisition (M&A) by Japanese firms 
overseas between October and December in 2008 increased triple in 
value terms over the same period a year ago. Food manufacturers and 
retailers are said to be linked to domestic demand, but a number of 
companies in these areas have begun operations overseas. 
 
For instance, Suntory Ltd. bought up a leading beverage company of 
 
TOKYO 00000955  009 OF 012 
 
 
New Zealand in Oct. 2008, and Asahi Breweries, Ltd., acquired an 
Australian beverage department of a leading British food company in 
December of the same year. 
 
In the manufacturing industry, Toyota Motor Corp. Nissan Motor Co. 
have cut production costs and have accelerated the development of 
low-price vehicles which people in emerging countries can afford to 
buy. Japanese firms are trying to find potential markets and to 
explore new demand in an effort to recover their business 
performance. 
 
The government also needs to come up with new ideas beyond the 
framework of conventional economic stimulus measures designed to 
temporarily boost domestic demand. 
 
(7) Editorial: China must increase naval transparency 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 24, 2009 
 
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, on the occasion of 
marking its 60th anniversary, held its first international fleet 
review yesterday at Qingdao, Shandong. The Chinese navy invited 
representatives from 29 countries, including Japan's Maritime 
Self-Defense Force and the naval forces of the United States and 
Russia, to show a stance of deepening exchanges with its foreign 
counterparts. However, we are concerned about China's nontransparent 
naval expansion. 
 
Chinese President Hu Jintao, concurrently presiding over the Central 
Military Commission as the Chinese military's top brass man, 
reviewed the fleet. The fleet review was on an unprecedented scale, 
as seen from the Chinese media's repeated saturation coverage. 
 
In recent years, China has hurried to build up its naval forces. The 
fleet review displayed China's naval preparedness, and the event was 
apparently aimed to heighten the communist government's centripetal 
force. This is the first time that China has invited foreign naval 
representatives to its naval review. This was probably intended to 
dodge the 'China-is-a-threat' argument. 
 
Naval vessels from 14 countries-including the United States, Russia, 
and South Korea-were also there at Qingdao. However, no MSDF vessels 
were invited to the event. A Chinese daily noted: "Not a few Chinese 
people will recall their unpleasant memories as they see a naval 
vessel flying a Japanese flag." This is another example that shows 
how difficult it is to carry out defense exchanges between Japan and 
China. As it stands, the two countries will need to continue their 
tenacious confidence-building efforts. 
 
China forwent its rumored announcement of a plan to build its first 
aircraft carrier. However, Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, 
who met with Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in March, and some 
other top brass officers have declared their desire to build 
flattops. 
 
It is hard to understand that the Chinese military's high-ranking 
officers have not clarified the strategic aim of building aircraft 
carriers while explaining that the reason why China is going to 
build aircraft carriers is "because China is a big power." In the 
meantime, the Chinese government has not unveiled its budgetary 
measures in such areas as research and development. 
 
TOKYO 00000955  010 OF 012 
 
 
 
China needs to secure sealanes for its globalized economic 
activities. In addition, China's financial power is growing. Given 
such factors, China is highly likely to continue its military 
buildup. In Asia, China is already spending the largest amount of 
money on its national defense. China's failure to fulfill its 
accountability will cause its neighbors to become even more 
concerned. The communist government itself should hurry to increase 
military transparency. 
 
China has been increasing its fleet activities in waters around 
Japan. A high-ranking naval officer of China reportedly talked about 
his idea of dividing the Pacific Ocean into eastern and western 
halves with Hawaii in between when that Chinese naval officer met 
with the U.S. Pacific Command chief the year before last. The 
Japanese government and the Self-Defense Forces must be on the alert 
for China's military buildup. 
 
(8) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Survey: 30% of public hospitals eye cutting number of beds due to 
shortage of doctors and declining income 
 
Mainichi: 
No. 7 reactor at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant set to 
resume operations in May after "Golden Week" holidays 
 
Yomiuri: 
China informs Japan and U.S. of its decision to launch system next 
month forcing foreign manufacturers to reveal source codes of their 
digital home appliances and other high-tech products 
 
Nikkei: 
Government eyes easing conditions for tax cut in research and 
development 
 
Sankei: 
Prime minister to earnestly consider changing government's 
interpretation of right to collective self-defense 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
14,000 elderly on welfare live unregistered care homes 
 
Akahata: 
LDP, New Komeito ram antipiracy bill through Lower House 
 
(9) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Japan urged to play active role in effort to realize 
nuclear-free world 
(2) Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation must make fresh start 
 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Antipiracy legislation: Ruling coalition must compromise on Diet 
approval 
(2) Chiba mayor arrested over bribery 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Speedy antipiracy debate needed in Upper House 
 
TOKYO 00000955  011 OF 012 
 
 
(2) Chinese Navy greets 60th anniversary: Military buildup 
demonstrated in first naval parade 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Critical phase not over for Japanese, U.S. financial institutes 
(2) Chinese Navy needs more transparency 
 
Sankei: 
(1) DPJ must respond to call for early enactment of antipiracy 
legislation 
(2) Industrial revitalization amendment must be emergency step 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Continued antipiracy revision talks urged 
(2) SMAP vocalist Kusanagi arrested for public indecency 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Revitalization of small businesses need solid measures 
 
(10) Prime Minister's schedule, April 23 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
April 24, 2009 
 
07:10 
Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto at the Kantei. Joined 
by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura. 
 
09:00 
Attended a meeting of the Lower House Antipiracy Special Committee. 
 
12:04 
Arrives at the Kantei. 
 
12:57 
Attended a meeting of lawmakers in the Diet Building. 
 
13:02 
Attended a Lower House plenary session. 
 
14:50 
Met at the Kantei with Palau President Toribiong. 
 
15:39 
Met Cabinet Office Vice Minister Yamamoto. Followed by Vice Foreign 
Minister Yabunaka. 
 
16:38 
Met Akita Governor Satake, with Election Strategy Council Vice 
Chairman Suga and Lower House member Koji Futada present. 
 
17:17 
Met Cabinet Intelligence Director Mitani. Followed by former 
Ambassador to the U.S. Yanai and Assistant Deputy Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Yanagisawa. 
 
19:08 
Dined with Administrative Reform Minister Amari at a Japanese 
restaurant in the ANA Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo. 
 
21:09 
Met Amari at his official residence. 
 
TOKYO 00000955  012 OF 012 
 
 
 
ZUMWALT