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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 001839 
 
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 08/12/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Disease of politics (Part 1): Political parties being 
manipulated by populism (Sankei) 
(2) Employment measures in manifestos of LDP, DPJ (Part 2): Even if 
workers receive training, finding job is difficult (Yomiuri) 
(3) From the "Kasumigaseki Confidential" column: Key officials to 
the DPJ's strategy on the U.S.(Bungeishunju) 
(4) From the "Kasumigaseki Confidential" column: Battle for 
promotion at the Ministry of Defense (Bungeishunju) 
(6) EDITORIALS 
(7) Prime Minister's schedule, August 11 (Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Disease of politics (Part 1): Political parties being 
manipulated by populism 
 
SANKEI (Page 1) (Slightly abridged) 
August 12, 2009 
 
Minoru Kiuchi, 44, an independent candidate in the Shizuoka No. 7 
Constituency for the upcoming House of Representatives election, 
held a gathering in Hamamatsu City in early August. There, Kiuchi 
apologized when one participant said: "It was meaningless to use an 
election poster featuring a celebrity." 
 
The celebrity - Kaori Manabe - complained on her blog: "My picture 
was used without my permission," kicking up trouble. The trouble was 
caused due to a mistake made by an intermediary agent, so Kiuchi 
decided to remove the posters on July 31. 
 
In the previous Lower House election, Kiuchi was forced to leave the 
Liberal Democratic Party for his opposition to the controversial 
postal privatization bill and was defeated by Satsuki Katayama, an 
"assassin" candidate. In part because he did not go back to the 
party afterward, some persons saw him as a person of conviction. 
Given this, many people were disappointed, feeling that Kiuchi was 
"defeated by populism." 
 
Asked why he used a picture with Manabe, Kiuchi said: 
 
"I intended to bring politics closer to young people. ... I have no 
excuse even if people claim my deed stemmed from populism. ... In 
the election campaign, I set forth the principles of not making 
conflicting remarks, currying favor with the public, and abandoning 
my efforts, I am determined to stick to my beliefs and principles." 
 
The trend of currying favor with the public has dominated the 
campaigning for the upcoming election, as seen from even Kiuchi's 
dependence on a famous person. 
 
A similar strife involving the LDP was also reported recently. The 
party asked Miyazaki Governor Kokubaru Miyazaki to run in the 
election on the party's ticket. The LDP aimed to turn the tables by 
making use of Miyazaki's name recognition. Faced with opposition 
from some party members, however, the party gave up this idea. The 
approach to Higashikokubaru is still being criticized as 
representing the party's moral corruption. 
 
Ichiji Tozuka, 78, former executive secretary of the LDP Gunma 
prefectural chapter who worked for prime ministers Takeo Fukuda, 
 
TOKYO 00001839  002 OF 008 
 
 
Yasuhiro Nakasone and Keizo Obuchi, complained: 
 
"It was inconceivable for the LDP to make such a behavior in the 
past. (Election Strategy Committee Chairman) Makoto Koga probably 
asked the governor to run in the election for the sake of the party, 
but if there were an influential person who can unite the party and 
fight against the opposition camp, such as (former secretary 
general) Hiromu Nonaka, the person must have scolded him, saying, 
'Don't take such an absurd action. ... The party and party members 
have slacked recently. That is why they depend on the power of the 
wind." 
 
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is also dependent on the power 
of "a change of government." A senior party member said: "The 
voters, rather than supporting the DPJ, must be hopeful of seeing a 
change of government once." Based on this view, the main opposition 
party has emphasized the need for regime change. 
 
Under such circumstances, the DPJ has altered the contents of its 
campaign manifesto in response to critical comments. In response to 
a call from Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto, the party added a pledge 
to set up a forum for talks between the central and local 
governments. Faced with criticism of its proposed conclusion of a 
Japan-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), the DPJ rewrote the 
expressions. 
 
In the previous Lower House election, the LDP won a landslide 
victory, with the "Koizumi drama," but was politics carried out as 
the voters anticipated? The upcoming election is gradually becoming 
a theater-type election with the title of "a change of government." 
 
Journalist Yoshiko Sakurai warned: 
 
"In single-seat constituencies, one party tends to win an 
overwhelming victory under the two-party system. This time, with a 
focus on a 'change of government,' the people appear to be just 
interested in bringing about changes, with policies hardly 
discussed. Politicians must speak of their policies, but they are 
eagerly trying to curry favor with the voters. This is indisputably 
populism. I am worried out the future of Japanese politics." 
 
The upcoming Lower House election is likely to be an opportunity for 
the voters to choose which political party is more acceptable, given 
that the voters have rejected LDP-led politics has been rejected, 
rather than supporting the DPJ. 
 
(2) Employment measures in manifestos of LDP, DPJ (Part 2): Even if 
workers receive training, finding job is difficult 
 
YOMIURI (Page 3) (Full) 
August 11, 2009 
 
When a 39-year-old woman dispatched by a temporary staff agency in 
Tokyo informed the agency that the company planned to slash her 
hourly wage by 40%, the person in charge at the agency said, "You've 
worked there more than 10 years. Why not quit?" 
 
The employee continued to work at the company, renewing her contract 
every 6 or 12 months, and has now been there 12 years. She took 
leave last fall to give birth and returned to the company in 
December. But she found her assignments sharply reduced due to the 
economic downturn. Her monthly wage, which sometimes topped 400,000 
 
TOKYO 00001839  003 OF 008 
 
 
yen including overtime, was reduced by half, and in August her 
hourly wage will also be cut. "The worker dispatch system is 
convenient for companies," she complained, "but the companies do not 
protect dispatched workers." 
 
In 1986, the government approved 13 types of work that could be 
performed by temporary workers. After the government deregulated the 
temp agency industry in principle in 1999, the number of people 
registering with temporary staff agencies skyrocketed to 3,812,353 
in fiscal 2007, a 26-fold increase from fiscal 1986. 
 
As measures to improve unstable employment conditions, both the 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ) include in their policy platforms for the upcoming general 
election planks to restrict the short-term employment of non-regular 
workers. But Haken Union Chief secretary Shichiro Sekine asserted 
that "it is imperative to improve working conditions not only for 
dispatched workers but for all fixed-term contract workers by such 
means as placing contract or temporary workers on the regular 
payroll." 
 
Measures for jobless young people are also urgently needed. A 
breakdown of dispatched workers by age bracket discloses that those 
aged 25 to 34 total 500,000, the largest number, according to the 
Labor Force Statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 
Communications (average figure for 2008). This age group also 
contains the highest portion of people who have been unemployed for 
more than one year. If people remain non-regular workers for a long 
period, they will not acquire or enhance skills, and so it will be 
difficult for them to find new jobs if they are laid off. 
 
The LDP's manifesto includes measures to beef up vocational training 
to give young people practical knowledge and measures to place 
part-time workers on regular payrolls. In its manifesto the DPJ 
pledges to raise the minimum hourly wage from the current 703 yen to 
1,000 yen. 
 
But among business groups there has been a backlash to the DPJ 
proposal. They claim that raising the minimum wage could increase 
bankruptcies among small businesses and put more people out of work. 
 
 
NPO-Sodateage Net President Kudo, which provides support for young 
people neither employed nor in training, also harbors doubts about 
the measure," "There are many cases of young people pulling 
themselves up by the bootstraps while starting in simple jobs at low 
wages." 
 
The two parties' manifestos include livelihood-support measures for 
people receiving job training. "Under the current situation, even if 
job-seekers receive training, they will have a hard time finding 
employment with a company," says Open University of Japan Professor 
Michiko Miyamoto, commenting on those measures. "It is also 
necessary to address medium- and long-term tasks, in addition to 
measures to deal with (unemployment) during the ongoing recession -- 
measures including how to make use of female and elderly workers." 
 
(3) From the "Kasumigaseki Confidential" column: Key officials to 
the DPJ's strategy on the U.S. 
 
BUNGEISHUNJU (Page 235) (Full) 
September 2009 
 
TOKYO 00001839  004 OF 008 
 
 
 
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has been shifting conspicuously 
to a more pragmatic line in foreign and security policies as its 
takeover of political power approaches. 
 
It is noteworthy that on the premise that a new Japan-U.S. security 
declaration is expected to be drawn up between the two countries by 
summer 2010 at the latest, the DPJ has: (1) condoned the 
continuation of the refueling mission for ships of the multinational 
forces in the Indian ocean; (2) condoned the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" 
(nuclear deterrence); and (3) toned down its pledge to "embark on a 
revision" of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to 
"suggesting a revision" of this agreement. It is reported that this 
was mainly due to the advice of Jitsuro Terashima, chairman of Japan 
Research Institute, who enjoys the great confidence of President 
Yukio Hatoyama and who is still asked to give long briefings to 
Hatoyama even after he became DPJ president. 
 
Under the circumstances, there is great interest in the foreign 
affairs bureaucracy in the activities of former Ambassador to the 
United Nations (UN) Yukio Sato (currently vice chairman of the Japan 
Institute of International Affairs; class of 1961 in the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MOFA)), who went to Washington in late June 
supposedly to attend a seminar. 
 
Sato was director general of the North American Affairs Bureau when 
Hatoyama was deputy chief cabinet secretary under the administration 
of Morihiro Hosokawa. Together with Hatoyama, he was a member of the 
party accompanying Hosokawa on his famous trip to the U.S. to "say 
no" in 1994. Sato and Hatoyama have been close friends since then, 
and the truth about Sato's trip to Washington is that he was asked 
by Hatoyama to re-establish contact with his old acquaintances in 
the U.S. Democratic Party. Within the Obama administration, Sato is 
a friend of Richard Holbrooke, special representative for 
Afghanistan and Pakistan who is close to Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton. Holbrooke was national security adviser to the president 
during the Clinton administration. He is also close to Anthony Lake, 
who has served as President Barack Obama's adviser on foreign policy 
since the presidential election campaign. 
 
Sato served as chief of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty Division 
under the North American Affairs Bureau, director general of the 
Intelligence and Analysis Service, and director general of the North 
American Affairs Bureau, but he lost to former Ambassador to the 
U.S. Shunji Yanai, who also joined MOFA in 1961, in the race to 
become vice minister. His last position before retirement was 
ambassador to the UN. However, he has built extensive personal 
connections with the U.S. Democratic Party under the Carter 
administration in the second half of the 1970s. His friendly 
relationship with then House of Representatives member Mel Levine is 
said to be the starting point of his network of personal connections 
in the Democratic Party. His close ties with Holbrooke and Lake were 
built through Levine, who is now a Democratic lobbyist. 
 
The DPJ under Hatoyama is exerting efforts to tap on talented people 
in MOFA (current vice minister is Mitoji Yabunaka, batch of 1969) 
who are not part of the mainstream faction. One of them is former 
deputy vice minister of foreign affairs Hitoshi Tanaka, a 
contemporary of Yabunaka who is rumored to join the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence (Kantei). 
 
(4) From the "Kasumigaseki Confidential" column: Battle for 
 
TOKYO 00001839  005 OF 008 
 
 
promotion at the Ministry of Defense 
 
BUNGEISHUNJU (Pages 234-235) 
September 2009 
 
The Ministry of Defense (MOD) implemented its regular personnel 
placements of senior officials of the internal bureaus on August 1, 
but the retirement of Administrative Vice Minister Kohei Masuda (who 
joined the old Defense Agency in 1975) and his replacement by Kimito 
Nakae (who joined the Ministry of Finance in 1976), director general 
of the Minister's Secretariat, was not included. It is very unusual 
for appointments already reported by the newspapers to be revoked, 
but the background to this is the fierce conflict between Defense 
Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Masuda on personnel issues. 
 
Masuda was promoted as vice minister two years ago as the reluctant 
choice to replace his alleged archenemy, former Vice Minister 
Takemasa Moriya (class of 1971) from his previous job of director 
general of the Bureau of Education and Training. As if negating all 
of the "legacy" from the Moriya era, he has adopted an "exclusively 
defensive" posture, shelving all the important pending issues, 
including U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) realignment and the selection of 
major military hardware, and was even evasive on the question of 
dispatching the Maritime Self-Defense Force to waters off Somalia at 
first. On the other hand, he has been keen on the organizational 
reform of the internal bureaus, such as the abolition of the Bureau 
of Operational Policy, which became the decisive factor in the 
decline of the internal bureaus' influence. As a result, a play-safe 
attitude and an air of lethargy prevail in the ministry. His 
reputation among his subordinates is very negative. 
 
Furthermore, the Self-Defense Forces officers also have a low 
opinion of him for his poor handling of the collision of the Aegis 
ship Atago with a fishing boat, causing confusion both at home and 
abroad. 
 
However, Masuda is also shrewd. It is reported that he intends to 
become the "power behind the throne" in the MOD with remote control 
from the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) by replacing 
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kyoji Yanagisawa (batch of 1970) - 
which is very unusual for a former vice minister. 
 
For this reason, Masuda had wanted to frontload personnel 
appointments to April at first to avoid the new administration's 
interference in appointments to the Kantei after a DPJ 
administration is formed. However, when he realized that this would 
not be possible, he then maneuvered to postpone the regular 
personnel changes, but he was stopped by Minister Hamada. Hamada 
wanted to tap all the able officials in the ministry regardless of 
their relationship with Moriya in order to bring some fresh air into 
the MOD, so he ordered the appointment of Hironori Kanazawa (batch 
of 1977), head of the Equipment Procurement and Construction Office, 
as chief of the Minister's Secretariat. Masuda, who feared the 
decline of his own influence with the comeback of the bold and 
big-hearted Kanagawa to power, countered with the nomination of 
National Defense Academy Vice President Takumi Okazaki (batch of 
1977), who is subservient to him, for the same position. When he 
found out that Hamada was determined to appoint Kanazawa, he 
resorted to an outrageous plan of staying in his job, freezing 
Nakae's promotion as vice minister, and through this, stop Kanazawa 
from becoming chief of the Minister's Secretariat. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001839  006 OF 008 
 
 
While Masuda explains to people around him that, "If we make Nakae 
vice minister now, the poor guy may lose his job under a DPJ 
administration," what is happening is also a result of his own 
calculations. 
 
Actually, Nakae, who hails from the MOF, is close to DPJ supreme 
adviser Hirohisa Fujii, who is also a former MOF official, so there 
is practically no objection in the DPJ to his becoming the vice 
defense minister. What Masuda is saying is unconvincing. 
Furthermore, at about the same time, unconfirmed rumors of Nakae 
being involved with a scandal had been circulating in the 
government, causing a delay in his background check. As a result, 
the appointment of Nakae as vice minister and Kanazawa as chief of 
the Minister's Secretariat was not included in the appointments 
dated August 1. 
 
Although Hamada has attempted to fight back to realize his plan to 
appoint Nakae and Kanazawa, Masuda is defiant, since he no longer 
fears a Liberal Democratic Party minister. He has absolutely no 
intention to give up his job as vice minister under Hamada. For this 
reason, ministry officials criticize him behind his back for "giving 
top priority to his own interest; he is even worse than Moriya." 
 
(5) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Shizuoka earthquake: Collapsed portion of Tomei Expressway to be 
restored Thursday; 110 injured, 3,340 houses damaged 
 
Mainichi: 
 
DPJ announces revisions to five planks in manifesto, including FTA 
with U.S. 
 
Yomiuri: 
110 injured in quake in Shizuoka registering intensity of lower 6 
(on Japanese seismic scale of 7) 
 
Nikkei: 
Sapporo Breweries to buy 20% of Pokka in three-way tie-up with 
Meiji 
 
Sankei: 
DPJ makes revisions and additions to manifesto, including FTA with 
U.S.; announces final version in an unusual move to appease backlash 
from different groups 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Shizuoka earthquake: 112 injured in three prefectures and Tokyo 
 
Akahata: 
Open the way to the future by growing the party that has advanced 
history 
 
(6) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Shizuoka quake with intensity of lower 6 (on Japanese seismic 
scale of 7): Are we prepared for impending Tokai quake? 
(2) Burma: Military junta threatening Asia 
 
Mainichi: 
 
TOKYO 00001839  007 OF 008 
 
 
(1) Torrential rains hit western Japan: Thoroughly investigate 
problems exacerbating the damage 
(2) Shizuoka quake: Fear nature and prepare for the worst 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Disaster archipelago: Secure reliable evacuation and relief 
system 
(2) Aung San Suu Kyi: Guilty sentence runs counter to 
democratization 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Shock of Shizuoka quake evoked Tokai quake, which could occur in 
near future 
(2) Unreasonable court decision against Aung San Suu Kyi 
unforgivable 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Yasukuni Shrine visit: What has become of the Prime Minister's 
duty as a leader? 
(2) Earthquake and typhoon: Prepare for multiple natural disasters 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Quake and typhoon: What will we do if they both hit at the same 
time? 
(2) Recommendations by National Personnel Authority: Substantive 
reform under next administration urged 
 
Akahata: 
(1) General election and young people: Make choices that will 
realize young people's wishes 
 
(7) Prime Minister's schedule, August 11 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
August 12, 2009 
 
08:53 
Met Tetsuro Ito, the Cabinet's crisis management officer, at the 
Kantei. 
 
09:20 
Met National Personnel Authority President Tani at the Kantei, with 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura and Internal Affairs Minister Sato 
present. Met with Kawamura, followed by meetings with Deputy Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Matsumoto and Disaster Prevention Minister 
Hayashi. 
 
10:02 
Attended a cabinet meeting. Later attended a meeting of cabinet 
ministers involved in drawing up monthly economic reports. 
 
11:15 
Handed a letter of appointment for the post of assistant deputy 
chief cabinet secretary to the former Defense Ministry's chief 
secretary Nishikawa. Later, met former Lower House member Akira 
Shichijo, Tokushima Prefectural Chapter Secretary General Takeuchi 
and others. Next met Ambassador to Hungary Ito, Ambassador to Libya 
Nishigahiro, and others. 
 
12:48 
Recorded a video message for the international student exchange 
program "Japan Tent." 
 
TOKYO 00001839  008 OF 008 
 
 
 
13:02 
Met former prime minister Mori, followed by Cabinet Intelligence 
Director Mitani. 
 
15:28 
Visited the Suzuki Kantaro Memorial Hall in Noda City, Chiba 
Prefecture. Delivered a stump speech in its parking lot. 
 
17:34 
Delivered a stump speech in front of JR Matsudo Station. 
 
18:28 
Delivered a stump speech in front of JR Ichikawa Station. 
 
19:47 
Arrived at the Kantei. 
 
20:45 
Recorded a news program at Nippon Television Network Co. in 
Higashi-Shimbashi. 
 
22:01 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
ZUMWALT