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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 001599 
 
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 07/14/09 
 
INDEX: 
(1) Aug. 30 mid-summer Lower House election to create long political 
vacuum; Ship inspection bill to be scrapped and budget requests to 
be fettered (Nikkei) 
 
(2) Moves to oust Aso contained; "Anti-Aso forces" taken by 
surprise, no time to elect new president (Asahi) 
 
(3) Aso pressed to make decision, unable to find good opportunity 
for advantageous dissolution (Nikkei) 
 
(4) Forecast of Lower House election (Part 1): Favorable wind blows 
for DPJ; Party may win up to 249 seats (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(5) Amended Organ Transplant Law passed by Diet: Determining brain 
death of children difficult (Mainichi) 
 
(Corrected copy): Competition between Japan and Italy over Nasiriyah 
oil field development right (Mainichi) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Aug. 30 mid-summer Lower House election to create long political 
vacuum; Ship inspection bill to be scrapped and budget requests to 
be fettered 
 
NIKKEI (Page 3) (Abridged) 
July 14, 2009 
 
Now that Prime Minister Taro Aso has decided to dissolve the House 
of Representatives as early as July 21 for an election on Aug. 30, 
the political world is likely to revolve solely around election 
campaigning this summer. The election campaign is expected to leave 
behind such important policy issues as the handling of key bills and 
budget requests for fiscal 2010. 
 
The Prime Minister's intention to dissolve the chamber before the 
current Diet session adjourns on July 28 is expected to seriously 
affect the fate of those bills yet to be discussed in the Diet. It 
is customary for all bills not yet enacted to go be scrapped when 
the Lower House is dissolved. A total of 17 government-sponsored 
bills, including those carried over from the previous Diet session, 
are likely to die. 
 
Included is a bill allowing the inspection of cargo of vessels 
heading to and from North Korea. Although the ruling bloc intends to 
have the bill clear the Lower House today, there are no prospects 
for the opposition-controlled House of Councillors to begin 
discussing the legislation. 
 
At yesterday's government and ruling coalition liaison meeting, 
Prime Minister Aso ordered to make utmost efforts for the enactment 
of the cargo inspection bill. This was followed by a board meeting 
of the Lower House antipiracy committee yesterday during which 
Takashi Fukaya decided to put the bill to a committee vote on July 
14 in his capacity as its chairman. 
 
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) submitted 
yesterday a no-confidence motion against the cabinet to the Lower 
House and a censure motion against Prime Minister Aso to the Upper 
House. The party is not going to respond to calls for deliberations 
on any bills. The cargo inspection legislation is necessary for 
 
TOKYO 00001599  002 OF 012 
 
 
implementing the latest UN Security Council resolution to strengthen 
sanctions on North Korea. There is a view in the government that 
Japan's failure to adopt the legislation will raise questions about 
the stance of Japan, which took the initiative in adopting the UN 
resolution. 
 
There is a good chance that the bills related to reform of the 
national civil service system and a bill amending the law banning 
child prostitution and child pornography that are under revision 
talks between the ruling coalition and the DPJ will not be enacted 
during the current Diet session. 
 
The election planned for Aug. 30 is also likely to affect the 
government agencies' work to come up with their budget requests at 
the end of August. Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano indicated to the 
press corps last evening that he would not change the Aug. 31 
deadline for them. 
 
Ministries and agencies will examine their budget requests in 
earnest in line with the budget guidelines determined by the Finance 
Ministry in early July. Areas that clearly divide the ruling 
coalition and the DPJ are a headache for officials responsible for 
policies. An economic division director said, "Given unclear chances 
for realization, we cannot ask for funding for new policies." In the 
event the DPJ takes the rein of government, policy officers even 
envision a situation in which they will be pressed to make major 
changes to their policies. 
 
If economic downturn risks cannot be wiped away, calls for 
additional economic measures may arise from the United States, for 
example. There is concern that Kasumigaseki bureaucrats may not be 
able to deal with matters flexibly if the bedrock of policies 
remains elusive. 
 
LDP, DPJ rushing to formulate their manifestos 
 
An agreement was reached yesterday between Prime Minister Aso and 
the ruling parties to dissolve the Lower House in the week of July 
21 to hold the election on Aug. 30. This plan will create the 
longest interval between Lower House dissolution and a general 
election under the current Constitution. Dissolution on July 21 will 
leave election campaigning of 40 days, the maximum under Article 54 
of the Constitution. Further, a Lower House election in August will 
be the first in 107 years. 
 
Elections in August are rare due to intense summer heart and the 
O-bon holiday season. The month also has the atomic bomb and 
the-end-of-the-war anniversaries and other commemorative events. 
 
The LDP and DPJ are rushing to draw up their manifestos that are 
likely to gather weight with the approach of the "marathon" election 
campaigning. 
 
The LDP's manifesto team will hold its plenary meeting on July 16 
ahead of intraparty procedures to determine its framework on July 
¶17. Meanwhile, the DPJ generally nailed down its manifesto by the 
end of June and the party has given its confirmation to the 
manifesto in outline. The party plans to announce its manifesto 
featuring support for households immediately after the Lower House 
dissolution. 
 
The period of election campaigning will effectively create a 
 
TOKYO 00001599  003 OF 012 
 
 
political vacuum in which implementing new policies is difficult. 
 
The Lower House election will be followed by a special Diet session 
in which a new prime minister will be elected and a new cabinet will 
be formed. As such, the new administration will probably not able to 
move into full action until mid-September or later. It might take 
two months to establish the new administration after the Lower House 
dissolution in the face of mounting challenges, such employment 
insecurity and the North Korean issue. 
 
(2) Moves to oust Aso contained; "Anti-Aso forces" taken by 
surprise, no time to elect new president 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
July 14, 2009 
 
The announcement of Diet dissolution only one day after the crushing 
defeat in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election took the anti-Aso 
forces in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prospective 
candidates to succeed him by surprise. There is no time to topple 
the prime minister before the Diet is dissolved next week, and there 
is even an air of despair about this "do-or-die dissolution." The 
possibility of desperate Diet members taking reckless measures 
cannot be discounted, and what is going to happen in the run-up to 
the general election remains unpredictable. 
 
Former Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa, who had been urging Aso 
to step down, appeared baffled when he talked to reporters on July 
13: 
 
"To be honest, I am surprised. I thought he would make an honorable 
decision after seeing the results of the Tokyo election yesterday. 
This is very regrettable." 
 
Nakagawa had known that it would not be easy to hold the 
presidential election ahead of schedule, although mid-ranking and 
junior party members had started a signature campaign to demand 
holding the election. On the other hand, with less than two months 
to go in Aso's term, a growing sense of alarm had permeated the 
whole party that they would not be able to win the election under 
the prime minister. Nakagawa had hoped that the mounting pressure to 
"oust Aso" might move former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and the 
other party heavyweights backing the Aso administration to ask him 
to resign voluntarily. 
 
On June 30, Nakagawa called Mori, whom he had parted ways with early 
in 2009, for the first time in a long while to talk about the Aso 
administration. He said: "Unless we replace Aso, we are in trouble." 
He saw a glimpse of hope when Mori asked: "Who else is there (to 
become the LDP president)?" Former Prime Minister Junichiro 
Koizumi's remark that, "Mr. Aso will not be able to dissolve the 
Diet" had also given rise to optimism among the anti-Aso forces that 
he might "resign voluntarily," causing them to slow down their 
campaign. 
 
The announcement of Diet dissolution came as a complete surprise. 
Most anti-Aso forces are at a loss. 
 
Nine groups of mid-ranking and junior members, including former 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, met on the evening of 
July 12. They were planning to distribute a document entitled 
"Request for Assessment of Six Consecutive Defeats in Local 
 
TOKYO 00001599  004 OF 012 
 
 
Elections and the Holding of a General Meeting of Members of Both 
Houses of the Diet" on July 13 and were checking on how things were 
proceeding that evening. 
 
However, now that the Diet will be dissolved on July 21, the mood 
has suddenly been dampened. According to party rules, a general 
meeting of Diet members has to be called within seven days when 
there is such a request from at least one-third of LDP Diet members. 
Members of these groups lament that "there is not enough time before 
the dissolution on July 21" and suspect that "the announcement of 
Diet dissolution is probably meant to avoid the Diet members' 
general meeting." The fate of the signature campaign is now in 
limbo. 
 
A heavyweight LDP Diet member thinks that the campaign to oust Aso 
is, in effect, over. He observes that: "There is not enough time to 
oust Aso. Everybody will be going back to their constituencies. Even 
though some people will be discontented and will complain, they will 
not become the mainstream." 
 
Even so, there is more time to oust Aso now compared to the prime 
minister's original scenario to dissolve the Diet right after the 
Tokyo election and hold the election on August 8. The chairman of a 
faction supporting Aso worries that, "There is still one week left 
before July 21. There will be various moves." Junior party members 
who have a weak political base in their constituencies are bound to 
fight an uphill battle. They may become so desperate for survival 
and resort to joining hands with forces outside the party, such as 
Yoshimi Watanabe, former minister for administrative reform, who has 
announced his intention to form a new party. 
 
Former Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe held an urgent meeting with 
Lower House member Yukari Sato and the other "Koizumi children" on 
July 13 to confirm their plan to demand an early presidential 
election. Sato stressed after the meeting that, "If the election is 
taking place on August 30, there is still time to hold the 
presidential election in early August." Another participant in the 
meeting had not lost hope: "The election was originally supposed to 
take place on August 8. At least it has been put off to August 30. 
Mr Aso has decided to dissolve the Diet but has not actually done 
so." One Diet member who is close to Nakagawa called a senior New 
Komeito official on July 13 and told him: "The present leadership 
which lost the Tokyo election has no right to decide on Diet 
dissolution. We will launch our move to oust Aso tomorrow." 
 
Shiozaki and other mid-ranking and junior legislators who supported 
the Koizumi reforms met at a hotel in Tokyo on the evening of July 
¶13. They eventually joined the gathering of former Secretary General 
Koichi Kato and a group of veteran Diet members who are critical of 
the Koizumi reforms, who happened to be meeting in the same hotel, 
because they "share the same thoughts." Cooperation among the 
anti-Aso groups is also evolving. 
 
Contenders to succeed Aso discontented; "Think of Japan's future" 
 
The contenders to take over Aso's position also resent the surprise 
announcement of Diet dissolution. 
 
After the crushing defeat in the Tokyo election became a reality on 
the evening of July 12, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, who was 
elected to the Lower House from the first district of Tokyo, asked 
an aide to the prime minister who called him on the phone not to 
 
TOKYO 00001599  005 OF 012 
 
 
dissolve the Diet at an early date. "Don't do anything rash. We will 
be in big trouble." 
 
Even in Yosano's constituency, the secretary general of the LDP's 
Tokyo chapter lost his seat. The aftermath of the election is very 
serious. If the Diet was dissolved based on Aso's personal wish to 
contain the moves to oust him, the "complete devastation" of the LDP 
in Tokyo might become a reality. 
 
On the morning of July 13, Yosano made a statement before reporters 
that could be taken to be a suggestion for the prime minister to 
resign voluntarily. He said: "Since the party is under this much 
criticism, Mr. Aso should think of Japan's future with a clear 
mind." 
 
One faction leader cites Yosano as a key person who might stand in 
the way of Aso's strategy for Diet dissolution. He said that "Mr. 
Yosano may refuse to sign the documents on dissolution." When 
reporters asked him about the possibility of refusing to provide his 
signature, Yosano would only say: "I think the prime minister will 
reexamine the situation in the party after he gauges public opinion 
in the party from tomorrow." 
 
Deputy Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara, who was forced to resign 
as chairman of LDP Tokyo chapter, is as shocked as Yosano by the 
defeat in the Tokyo election. He stated on a special TV program on 
the election on the evening of July 12 that "the Tokyo Metropolitan 
Assembly was made a target of criticism for issues at the national 
level," criticizing the drifting Aso administration indirectly. 
 
Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Yoichi Masuzoe, who is eyed as 
a possible candidate for prime minister by the anti-Aso forces, has 
given no comment on the dissolution announcement of July 13. He even 
refused to answer reporters' questions on the amended organ 
transplant law, which comes under his jurisdiction, and was in a 
foul mood all day. 
 
When Aso was making statements about the Tokyo election and national 
politics being two separate things, Masuzoe stated unequivocally at 
a news conference that: "It is unthinkable that the Tokyo election 
will have no impact on politics at the national level. A variety of 
things could happen depending on the outcome," pointing out the 
prime minister's responsibility. In his campaign speeches for Tokyo 
candidates, he talked about "changing Japan centering on Yoichi 
Masuzoe," revealing his desire to replace Aso. To reporters' 
question: "Do you intend to fight in the general election under Mr. 
Aso?" he would not give a positive answer and merely said: "This is 
for the party to decide." 
 
Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Kunio 
Hatoyama, who parted ways with Aso over the appointment of Japan 
Post president, reiterated his opposition to Diet dissolution by the 
prime minister on July 13. He said: "If we go into the general 
election with the present cabinet and LDP, it is like committing 
mass suicide." After resigning as internal affairs minister, he had 
denied any plans of leaving the party, thinking Aso could be forced 
into resigning, and had indicated he was working toward frontloading 
the presidential election. The announcement on Diet dissolution came 
as a surprise. He shifted to a new position on July 13. "I am doing 
some mental exercises on the assumption of the worst scenario of 
being unable to remain in the party in the process of pursuing a new 
LDP," hinting at the possibility of forming a new party. That 
 
TOKYO 00001599  006 OF 012 
 
 
evening, he met with five Diet members close to him to discuss a 
response. 
 
For now, a "core" uniting all the anti-Aso forces is absent in the 
LDP. However, if one of the cabinet ministers or candidates to 
succeed Aso in the LDP leadership announces his candidacy openly, it 
is possible that Diet members who feel insecure about going into the 
general election under Aso may be drawn to support him all at once. 
This can be said to be the Achilles heel of the prime minister's 
dissolution strategy. 
 
(3) Aso pressed to make decision, unable to find good opportunity 
for advantageous dissolution 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
July 14, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Taro Aso had continued to explore an appropriate 
timing for the next House of Representatives election over the past 
10 months since he assumed office. As a result of delaying a 
decision, he was finally pressed to decide to set the voting day for 
Aug. 30, just ahead of the expiration of the Lower House members' 
terms of office on Sept. 10. A gloomy atmosphere is now sweeping 
across the ruling camp. 
 
In a liaison meeting of the government and the ruling coalition held 
yesterday midday, Aso said in even tones: "Only 60 days are left 
until the Lower House members' 4-year term of office expires. I 
would like to seek the people's judgment in the week starting on 
July 21." Probably because his careful behind-the-scenes maneuvering 
worked favorably, no objections were raised from among the senior 
party members and cabinet members present there. 
 
"Treasured sword" loses luster 
 
The prime minister's right to dissolve the Lower House, even called 
"a sword treasured in the family," is completely losing luster as 
public support ratings of his cabinet have been on the decline and 
the day of expiration of the Lower House members' terms of office 
has reached the countdown stage. The prime minister had expected to 
demonstrate his leadership in determining the election day, but he 
was actually pressed to make a compromise. 
 
Aso initially intended to dissolve the Lower House in the week 
starting on June 13 and hold an election on Aug. 8 or 9. But the 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) experienced a defeat in the Shizuoka 
gubernatorial election on July 5 and then suffered a far more 
devastating defeat than expected in the Tokyo Assembly election on 
July 12. These poor election results narrowed down his options. 
 
Aso was saying: "I am determined to dissolve the Diet on my own 
discretion," but a number of senior LDP members dissuaded him from 
carrying out an early election, as one member said: "Why do you want 
to hold the election in a rush? If you decide to do so, the party 
might break up." There are various unstable factors, such as a 
feeling of war-weariness prevailing in the ruling parties, moves to 
oust Aso, and a no-confidence motion submitted by the opposition 
camp against the Aso cabinet. Bearing such factors in mind, Aso came 
up with an unprecedented timetable for officially announcing the 
election to come one month after the Lower House is dissolved. 
 
The Constitution stipulates that an election should be held within 
 
TOKYO 00001599  007 OF 012 
 
 
40 days after Diet dissolution. To avoid a political vacuum, 
however, the period between Diet dissolution and an election is 
usually less than one month. In accordance with a plan agreed on 
between Aso and the ruling parties, if the election is officially 
announced on Aug. 18 and takes place Aug. 30 after the Diet is 
dissolved on July 21, this will mark the longest record in terms of 
the period under the current Constituency. 
 
A cabinet member explained why Aso is eager to dissolve the Diet 
based on his own judgment: "He is taking great pride in having made 
utmost efforts to cope with the global economic crisis." 
 
The ruling coalition had decided to dissolve the Lower House by the 
end of last year. Many party members are still critical of the prime 
minister's decision to delay the dissolution. Even so, it is true 
that the government was able to implement more than 30 trillion yen 
worth of emergency economic stimulus measures because the ruling 
coalition was keeping its two-thirds majority in the Lower House. 
 
Signs of intraparty conflict 
 
Why was Aso pushed to this perilous position? That is because he was 
unable to demonstrate his leadership in dealing with other matters 
than the immediate economic crisis. The focus of attention was 
focused mainly on his confusion in managing his government. 
 
For the next general election, Aso was groping for an appropriate 
timing when he can be sure of his party's victory. Meanwhile, some 
LDP members, seeing public support ratings of the Aso cabinet 
sharply declining, began to call for Aso to step down. As signs of 
intraparty conflict began to appear, the Aso administration was 
gradually driven into a corner. 
 
The LDP is expected to have an uphill battle in the Lower House 
election. Asked by reporters about his strategy toward the election 
last night, Aso replied: "It is very vital for us to consider which 
points we should reflect on, make corrections, and then revamp our 
election strategy, based on the outcomes of the local elections." 
 
In the final phase of formulating the party's policy manifesto for 
the Lower House election, however, it is said that Aso gave no more 
clear-cut messages than this instruction: "Remove my photo from the 
cover of the pamphlet." Under such circumstances, he is apparently 
unable to demonstrate his presence. 
 
Aso has decided to put off the Lower House election until late 
August. How the remaining time will be used will affect the fate of 
not only the Aso administration but also the LDP. 
 
(4) Forecast of Lower House election (Part 1): Favorable wind blows 
for DPJ; Party may win up to 249 seats 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 28) (Abridged slightly) 
July 14, 2009 
 
Senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) probably 
no longer are sleeping well. A strong tail wind blew for the 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the July 12 Tokyo Metropolitan 
Assembly election, proving that the LDP has lost its stronghold and 
record of achievements. Will the public's smoldering discontent with 
the Aso administration put an end to the LDP? 
 
 
TOKYO 00001599  008 OF 012 
 
 
LDP, New Komeito lose majority in Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly 
 
"The result of the Tokyo election is the opposite of the whirlwind 
produced by then Prime Minister Koizumi, isn't it? The public has 
been fed up with the LDP due to such issues as pensions." Hiroshi 
Miura, an election planner, made this statement, citing the Lower 
House race in September 2005. 
 
Of the 58 candidates on the LDP ticket, 54 were elected, while only 
four were defeated. The DPJ became the largest party in the Tokyo 
assembly for the first time in the history of the city's 
administration. Meanwhile, the LDP suffered a severe setback, the 
number of seats won cut from 48 to 38. 
 
Akita International University Prof. Rei Shiratori (political 
science) pointed out: 
 
"With the resignation of Ichiro Ozawa as president of the DPJ, the 
old image of the DPJ has disappeared. If it comes to the crunch, 
Katsuya Okada will be able to stand in for Yukio Hatoyama as 
president of the DPJ. Naoto Kan is in charge of policy matters. The 
DPJ has clearly defined the role-sharing system for its executives. 
Therefore, Yukio Hatoyama, a consensus-oriented politician, can 
serve as president. That is the difference between the DPJ and the 
LDP." 
 
Will a favorable wind blow for the DPJ again in the next Lower House 
election? 
 
Both Miura and Shiratori predict that a change in government will be 
realized propelled by the result of the Tokyo election. 
 
The full number of the Lower House seats is 480, made up of 304 LDP 
members, 113 DPJ members, 31 New Komeito members, 9 Japanese 
Communist Party (JCP) members, 7 Social Democratic Party (SDP) 
members, five People's New Party (PNP) members, and one New Party 
Daichi member. The DPJ intends to narrow down the number of 
single-seat constituencies it will field candidates in the general 
election, not filing its candidates in all the electoral districts 
as usual. 
On the assumption that more than 80 percent of the votes cast for 
the JCP will go to the DPJ in the districts in which the JCP will 
not file its candidates, Shiratori predicts that the DPJ will win 
232 to 245 seats, while the LDP and New Komeito will jointly secure 
207 to 222 seat. 
 
Meantime, Miura analyzes that the LDP-New Komeito coalition will 
secure 217 seats, while the DPJ will gain 229. 
 
If the LDP-New Komeito camp loses more than 100 seats, the coalition 
will lose a majority (241 seats) in the Lower House, following the 
loss in the Tokyo assembly. 
 
Shiratori calls the LDP an arbitrary, inconsistent and irresponsible 
party. He predicts that since the LDP holds power, it is able to 
bring politicians together. If the party loses that power, they will 
break apart because there will be no need for them to remain there. 
It is conceivable that the LDP, which has existed since 1955, might 
disappear. 
 
The DPJ has gained consecutive victories in recent elections to 
decide the heads of local governments. In the mayoral election of 
 
TOKYO 00001599  009 OF 012 
 
 
Nara City on July 12, a young man in his 30's was elected as new 
Nara mayor. Many those who are in their 30's were elected in the 
Tokyo assembly race. 
 
Miura threw a wet blanket, saying: "I approve the assembly being 
rejuvenated. But they should not be satisfied with just being 
elected." 
 
(5) Amended Organ Transplant Law passed by Diet: Determining brain 
death of children difficult 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
July 14, 2009 
 
An amended Organ Transplant Law designed to enable children under 15 
to be organ donors was enacted on July 13. Patients and family 
members who have been calling for increasing opportunities for organ 
transplants in Japan have been looking forward to the enactment of 
the amended law. Meanwhile, pediatric doctors involved in organ 
donations have pointed out the difficulty of determining the brain 
death of children. There are also many challenges to tackle, 
including emergency medical services and the consolidation of a 
system of supporting organ donors and their families. 
 
Recognizing child abuse cases also important 
 
Shizuoka Children's Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) 
Director Ikuya Ueda, who has the experience of taking part in the 
determination of brain death cases in the U.S., where there are more 
than 8,000 organ donations by brain-dead persons, said, "Since 
smaller children tend to have stronger brain recuperative power, it 
is difficult to determine the brain death of children." 
 
Tomoaki Kato, head of the Columbia University Department of Surgery 
and an expert on transplant surgery, pointed out, "In order to 
obtain an agreement from the family of a brain-dead patient, it is 
important for them to be able to realize that brain death is the 
death of humans." His proposal for the more definite determination 
of the brain death of children is that an examination to check that 
there are no flows of blood in the body of a brain-dead child brain 
must be conducted, although this is not included in the list of 
items indispensable for the determination of brain death. 
 
Another challenge is how to determine child abuse cases. PICU 
Director Ueda said: "There are cases in which doctors who are 
inexperienced in emergency pediatric medical treatment could miss 
some cases of child abuse. It is important to increase doctors who 
can identify discrepancies between diagnoses and explanations 
provided families." 
 
Dr. Kato pointed out, "In the U.S., an ethics committee of each 
hospital strictly screens organ donors in order to prevent child 
abuse cases from mixing in. This system is producing results." 
 
 
Holes in emergency medical services system: Strengthening donor 
assistance urgent 
 
The amended law does not include donors' consent as a condition for 
organ donations by brain-dead persons. Instead, donors' families 
decide whether to donate organs of their brain-dead relatives. In 
order for bereaved families to accept requests for organ donations, 
 
TOKYO 00001599  010 OF 012 
 
 
they need to know that sufficient medical treatment was provided to 
the patients. However, it has been noted that Japan's emergency 
pediatric healthcare system is faulty. 
 
According to a report compiled in March this year by a research team 
of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, about 70 percent of 
children aged between 1 and 4 who died in traffic accidents or in 
fall accidents were carried to small medical institutions that had 
no sophisticated high-degree medical treatment facilities, such as 
an intensive care unit. It is believed that this is due to shortages 
of doctors and medical facilities that can provide emergency 
pediatric healthcare. A survey carried out by the Japanese Society 
of Intensive Care Medicine in 2005 found that there were only 97 
beds at the PICUs throughout the nation. 
 
Promoting an assistance system for organ donors and their families 
is also a challenge. In many cases, donors' families, who are 
pressed to make a decision whether to donate organs of their 
brain-dead relatives, continue to distress themselves even after the 
donations. 
 
The eldest daughter of Chairman Yoichi Mazawa, chairman of the Japan 
Donors' Family Club," consisting of bereaved families that have the 
experience of organ transplants by their family members, died in the 
U.S. at the age of 24 and donated her organs. He said, "I am 
perplexed by such words as 'the right to receive an organ 
transplant' or 'there are few organ transplants.' I believe it is 
impossible to expect an increase in donors without fundamental 
understanding that it is not until an organ donor appears that an 
organ transplant can be carried out, and a system of supporting the 
families of donors." 
 
The World Health Organization (WHO) plans to revise guidelines for 
organ transplants. The revised guidelines will likely call on member 
nations to consolidate regulations on  live organ transplants, such 
as kidney transplants, and tissue transplants, such as skin 
transplants. The law amended in Japan this time did not include such 
transplants. Immediate measures on such transplants are sought, as 
such transplants could trigger organ trade. 
 
(Corrected copy): Competition between Japan and Italy over Nasiriyah 
oil field development right 
 
MAINICHI (Page 4) (Full) 
July 12, 2009 
 
Cooperation between government and private sector 
 
A Japanese consortium involving Nippon Oil Corporation (ENEOS) and 
an Italian firm are competing to secure the right to develop the 
Nasiriyah oil field in southern Iraq. Japan is aiming to secure the 
right in a joint effort between the government and the private 
sector, based on the bitter experience of losing the concession 
rights for the Khafji oil field in Saudi Arabia, the first oil field 
developed by a Japanese company. The Iraqi government will designate 
a contractor shortly. Since the Italian company is pulling out all 
the stops, the situation is still touch and go. 
 
Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Minister Toshihiro Nikai at a 
meeting with visiting Iraqi Oil Minister Husayn al-Shahristani on 
July 9 made a remark backing Japanese companies' efforts to secure 
the Nasiriyah oil field development right. He indicated the 
 
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government stance of assisting with construction of infrastructure 
in Iran, such as the building of railroads: "I would like you to 
confer on the matter with related companies. The Japanese government 
will provide full assistance." 
 
Iraq, which is suffering from the aftereffects of the Iraq War, 
approved foreign companies' entry into the development of domestic 
oil and gas field so as to secure funds to finance the 
reconstruction of the nation. It carried out bidding for eight oil 
and gas fields in late June. Of those projects, a consortium formed 
by BP, the largest oil company in Britain, and China National 
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) was awarded the contract to develop the 
Rumaila oil field, one of the largest oil fields in Iraq. 
 
Bidding for the Nasiriyah oil field falls under a separate framework 
from bidding for those eight oil and gas fields. Consortiums of 
Japan, Italy, and Spain are negotiating with Iraq on the oil field's 
development. Iraq has narrowed down the bidders to a consortium of 
Japanese companies' formed by ENEOS (the largest domestic primary 
oil distributor), Inpex Corporation, and JGC Corporation (a major 
plant engineering firm); and Italy's Ente Nazionare Idrocarburi. Oil 
Minister al-Shahristani on the 10th told reporters that he will 
reach a decision shortly, saying, "We have completed technical 
screenings. All we have to do now is financial adjustments." 
 
Security of esources 
 
Securing the Nasiriyah oil development right is of vital 
significance to Japan. Japan purchases almost all the crude oil it 
consumes on the oil market. Crude oil prices skyrocketed last year 
due to emerging countries' economic development and the influx of 
speculative money into the oil market, dealing a blow to the 
Japanese economy. It has now become difficult to secure stable 
supplies of crude oil due to mounting resources nationalism. 
 
However, if Japanese companies secure rights to develop oil fields 
abroad, it will be possible for the nation to procure crude oil on a 
stable basis even in the event of an emergency. Oil fields, in which 
Japan has a large ratio of interest, are called "Japanese-flag oil 
fields." Arabian Oil's Khafji oil field is one of those oil fields. 
 
However, Japan's interest in the Khafji oil field expired in 2000, 
when the Japanese side showed reluctance to accept a condition the 
Saudi Arabia set in renewing Japan's concession rights - building 
mining railways. Japan also transferred most of its interest in the 
Azadegan oil fields in Iran due to pressure from the U.S. to suspend 
the development of the oil field, making an issue with the nation's 
nuclear development. 
 
The government has set a goal to raise the ratio of oil produced 
from Japan-developed oil fields to imported crude oil to 40 PERCENT 
by 2030. According to METI, the ratio as of the end of 2007 stood at 
about 19 PERCENT . For this reason, securing the Nasiriyah oil field 
development right is an important issue in terms of energy security 
as well, according to ENEOS executive. It is also Japan's long-held 
ambition. 
 
Fifty-fifty chance 
 
In a bid to secure the Nasiriyah oil field development right, 
Japan's consortium has proposed that it help Iraq to build 
infrastructure, such as oil refineries and power plants, and provide 
 
TOKYO 00001599  012 OF 012 
 
 
financial assistance through the Japan Bank for International 
Cooperation (JBIC). ENEOS Chairman Fumiaki Watari said in 
confidence, "I have some leads." 
 
ENEOS has independently developed oils fields in the North Sea and 
in the Gulf of Mexico. Daily outputs from those oil fields total 
130,000 barrels. Daily production of 600,000 barrels is expected 
from the Nasiriyah oil field. An ENEOS executive expressed his 
hopes, saying: "There will be no other opportunity for Japan to 
become involved in the development of an oil field on this scale." 
Domestic demand for oil is bound to drop. However, the company wants 
to lead this opportunity to a pillar of earnings, since overseas 
demand, mainly in emerging countries, is solid. 
 
According to a related source, Japan was ahead of Italy as of May. 
However, Italy reportedly made additional proposals regarding 
conditions. The chances of the Japanese consortium to win the 
development right are said to be about fifty-fifty. 
 
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