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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 TOKYO 002163 
 
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 09/16/09 
 
INDEX: 
(1) U.S. Ambassador visits Yokosuka mayor: "You can call me 
directly" (Asahi) 
 
(2) Campbell to arrive in Japan tomorrow (Okinawa Times) 
 
(3) Profiles of two of DPJ's three top officials (Asahi) 
 
(4) Hatoyama decides to appoint Kamei as financial and postal 
services minister rather than as defense minister out of concern for 
friction with United States (Asahi) 
 
(5) "Defense minister Kamei" ends an illusion; Priority given to 
relations with U.S.? (Mainichi) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) U.S. Ambassador visits Yokosuka mayor: "You can call me 
directly" 
 
ASAHI (Page 32) (Full) 
September 15, 2009 
 
U.S. Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos paid a call on Yokosuka Mayor 
Yuto Yoshida yesterday. In response to Yoshida's remark, "We would 
like to develop our relationship with the U.S. Embassy," the 
Ambassador said, "Please let me know if there is anything I can do. 
You can call me directly." 
 
At the outset of the meeting, the Ambassador said, "Congratulations 
on your victory in the election. I was also involved in election 
campaigning (on the side of Barack Obama) calling for 'change'." 
Yoshida introduced himself by saying, "I am Yoshida. I used the word 
'change' in my election campaign and won." His words softened the 
tense atmosphere. 
 
The mayor stated: "I expect the U.S. government also to take 
measures to ensure safety, disclose information, and bring about 
economic benefits from the base. I ask the U.S. to continue and 
increase such efforts." The Ambassador replied: "I am fully aware of 
the situation in Yokosuka." Reportedly, the Ambassador also gladly 
consented to Yoshida's proposed visit to the U.S. Embassy. 
 
(2) Campbell to arrive in Japan tomorrow 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 3) (Full) 
September 16, 2009 
 
The Foreign Ministry announced yesterday that U.S. Assistant 
Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (for East Asian and Pacific 
affairs) will visit Japan Sept. 17-19. He is scheduled to meet 
Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka, Deputy Foreign 
Minister Kenichiro Sasae, and other Japanese officials to exchange 
views on Japan-U.S. relations under the incoming administration of 
Yukio Hatoyama, who will be voted in as prime minister today. 
Coordination is also underway for Campbell to meet with Katsuya 
Okada, who has been tapped as foreign minister. 
 
(3) Profiles of two of DPJ's three top officials 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
September 16, 2009 
 
TOKYO 00002163  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa 
 
Ichiro Ozawa, the greatest election strategist in the political 
arena, who also served as secretary general of the Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP), has now taken command of the Democratic 
Party of Japan (DPJ) after ousting the LDP from the ruling camp. He 
will be in charge of next year's House of Councillors election. 
 
After leaving the LDP in 1993, Ozawa formed the Renewal Party, the 
New Frontier Party, and the Liberal Party. He finally joined the 
DPJ. When he served as DPJ president, Ozawa tried to find ways to 
form a grand coalition with the LDP. He has personal ties with many 
politicians, including lawmakers from the People's New Party (PNP) 
and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). There is concern in the DPJ 
that Ozawa will gain more influence as the number of people in his 
group has increased. The illegal donation scandal involving 
Nishimatsu Construction Co. is a cause for concern for Ozawa. 
 
Ozawa set out to become a politician because he greatly admired the 
last samurais in the last days of the Shogunate. He plays the game 
of go two to three times a month at a go salon. He also enjoys 
fishing and takes a walk every day for his health. He represents the 
Lower House No. 4 district in Iwate Prefecture. 
 
Deputy President Azuma Koshiishi, former elementary school teacher, 
leads the DPJ caucus in the Upper House 
 
Azuma Koshiishi's motto is "In order to build a country, fostering 
human resources is vital." After teaching at elementary schools, he 
served as chairman of Yamanashi Prefecture's Teachers Union. He was 
elected for the first time to the House of Representatives Lower 
House in 1990, where he served for two terms (until 1996) until he 
lost reelection. He was elected for the first time to the House of 
Councillors in 1998. 
 
Koshiishi assumed the post of chairman of the DPJ caucus in the 
Upper House in 2006. He led the opposition camp in the twisted 
parliament (the two houses of the Diet being controlled by different 
parties) situation. He is the leader of the DPJ group affiliated 
with the former Japan Socialist Party. He is trusted by Secretary 
General Ichiro Ozawa and has maintained close relations with the 
Liberal Democratic Party. The Yamanashi Prefectural Board of 
Education suspended some Yamanashi Prefecture Teachers Union members 
from work as a punitive measure because they supported his 
fund-raising campaign for the 2004 Upper House election. Since the 
LDP has intensified its criticism of the Japan Teachers Union, there 
is a possibility of an attack being launched on Koshiishi. He was 
elected in the Upper House Yamanashi constituency. 
 
(4) Hatoyama decides to appoint Kamei as financial and postal 
services minister rather than as defense minister out of concern for 
friction with United States 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Abridged) 
September 16, 2009 
 
It had initially been expected that People's New Party leader 
Shizuka Kamei would be appointed as defense minister, but he has 
been informally named state minister for postal and financial 
services instead. As soon as he learned of his post, Kamei announced 
that he will launch a review of the postal privatization program, a 
 
TOKYO 00002163  003 OF 005 
 
 
symbol of the Koizumi reform drive. Armed with the power to oversee 
the postal financial business, including Japan Post Bank Co., and 
the mail delivery business, Kamei is likely to undertake a radical 
reexamination of the program. 
 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President Yukio Hatoyama secretly 
mulled over who should join his cabinet. 
 
Reporter: Did you meet anyone? 
 
Hatoyama: I can't recall. 
 
The exchange took place on Sept. 13. Earlier, Hatoyama had stayed at 
two Tokyo hotels for over two hours. He did not reveal (to the 
press) who had visited him in his hotel rooms. 
 
The switch in Kamei's post occurred under such circumstances. 
 
Security policy is the Achilles' heel of the DPJ, which has internal 
conflicts. What's more, there is a yawning gap between the DPJ and 
the Social Democratic Party (SDP), with which the DPJ will form a 
coalition. Hatoyama secretly planned to appoint Kamei as defense 
minister in hope of leaving such a sticky matter (the gap with the 
SDP) for the politically savvy Kamei to deal with. 
 
The course of events changed on Sept. 14. On that day Hatoyama held 
with Deputy President Ichiro Ozawa talks in which Hatoyama presented 
the idea of naming Kamei as defense minister. But a decision was not 
made out of concern in the party that Kamei's appointment might 
irritate the U.S. government. Hatoyama was scheduled to dine with 
U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos that night. 
 
In the July issue of the monthly magazine Gekkan Nippon Kamei is 
reported as saying (to political analyst Keiichiro Nakamura): 
"During my last trip to the United States (in May), I told the U.S. 
side that the new administration (to be launched after a change of 
government) will seek a fresh bilateral relationship. Unless you 
assassinate Shizuka Kamei, the United States will not be able to 
have things its way." 
 
A report on Sept. 14 on "Defense Minister Kamei" prompted a former 
U.S. government source to express concern that Kamei's appointment 
will strain Japan's ties with the Obama administration. "I have to 
go back and start all over again tomorrow," Hatoyama told his aides 
on the night of Sept. 14 so as not to stumble in the relationship 
with the United States -- a relationship regarded as the DPJ's 
weakness. 
 
Hatoyama ultimately decided to name Kamei minister in charge of 
reexamining the postal privatization program, the PNP's starting 
point. Obtaining a working majority in the House of Councillors 
election next summer is the number one priority for the DPJ. 
 
To do so, the DPJ needed a mechanism to secure the postal votes held 
by the PNP. That plan coincided with Ozawa's wishes. 
 
The aborted plan for defense minister has affected other candidates 
for the new cabinet. 
 
Hirohisa Fujii, who is likely to be named finance minister, was 
initially eager to become the chief of the national strategy bureau, 
who could serve as the chief strategist in compiling the state 
 
TOKYO 00002163  004 OF 005 
 
 
budget. Hatoyama apparently wants Fujii to serve as cabinet 
watchdog. 
 
In exchange for accepting the finance portfolio, Fujii asked that it 
be separated from state minister for financial services, a post 
concurrently held by Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano. Keeping fiscal 
and monetary policymaking separate is the DPJ's policy. In line with 
that policy, Hatoyama at one point considered the option of 
appointing a private citizen as financial services minister, but in 
the end gave the post to Kamei. 
 
Last night Hatoyama called those who are going to join his cabinet. 
"It is not true that I have decided to name (Kamei) defense 
minister," Hatoyama later told the press corps. 
 
(5) "Defense minister Kamei" ends an illusion; Priority given to 
relations with U.S.? 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
September 16, 2009 
 
A plan to appoint People's New Party President Shizuka Kamei to the 
post of defense minister was floated on Sept. 14. However, the 
proposal disappeared over night. It is believed that DPJ President 
Hatoyama informally offered the post. However, Kamei on the 15th 
denied that he received such an offer. From the beginning the PNP 
has been seeking a post that enables it to be involved in reviewing 
the ongoing postal services privatization process. The proposal to 
pick Kamei as defense minister became the talk of Nagata-cho, 
stirring surprise and concern. Kamei at a press conference held at 
the party headquarters on the evening of the 15th left reporters 
bewildered, saying, "I have not talked with Mr. Hatoyama, since I 
told him, 'Please do as you wish. I will leave the matter to you to 
work out.' I do not know what happened. I wonder if the U.S. was 
frightened by the idea of my becoming defense minister." 
 
Hatoyama's side was making arrangements for the possible appointment 
of Kamei as defense minister as of the 14th. A person close to 
Hatoyama averred, "The PNP will accept the offer, because unlike the 
Social Democratic Party, it is a conservative party." The DPJ 
presumably expected Kamei to play in the ruling coalition the role 
of coordinator for diplomatic and security policies. In those areas 
there is a wide gap between the DPJ and the SDP. 
 
However, the defense minister is a key post responsible for pending 
issues concerning the Japan-U.S. alliance, including the U.S. Forces 
Japan realignment and the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling 
operation in the Indian Ocean. Chairman Mikio Shimoji of the PNP 
policy board is strongly calling for a revision of the plan to 
relocate the US Marine Corp's Futenma Air Station from Ginowan City, 
Okinawa Prefecture. Kamei himself is viewed as cautious about the 
overseas dispatch of Self-Defense Forces personnel abroad. Voices of 
concern that Japan-U.S. relations might worsen if Kamei took office 
as defense minister perhaps grew louder in the DPJ, the Foreign 
Ministry, and the Defense Ministry. 
 
For that reason, according to a Hatoyama aide, impetus for Kamei's 
appointment as defense minister suddenly lost steam. "The U.S. might 
have reacted negatively," a party source conjectured. 
 
A senior Defense Ministry official said with a relieved look: "The 
Defense Ministry is the DPJ's Achilles' heel, because it is saddled 
 
TOKYO 00002163  005 OF 005 
 
 
with such issues as the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and 
the realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan. I thought it would be 
difficult (for the new administration) to deal with those issues, 
even if it entrusts the task to Mr. Kamei." 
 
ROOS