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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TOKYO 002311 
 
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:  JAPANESE MORNING PRESS HIGHLIGHTS 10/06/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Foreign Relations 
4) Chairman of SDP's policy board visits Afghanistan  (Sankei) 
5) Hatoyama to meet with British vice foreign minister  (Yomiuri) 
6) FM Okada and French special envoy agree to work closely for 
resolution of North Korean nuclear issue  (Yomiuri) 
 
Politics 
7) Kazuo Inamori tapped for Administrative Reform Council  (Asahi) 
8) Ruling parties to hold party secretary general meeting today 
(Nikkei) 
9) Special diet session to be convened on Oct. 26  (Asahi) 
10) LDP serious about pursuing issue of political contributions to 
Hatoyama  (Nikkei) 
11) LDP's Ishiba calls for debate of law authorizing refueling 
mission  (Nikkei) 
 
Opinion 
12) Kyodo poll reveals 57 PERCENT  of DPJ Lower House members 
approve of a consumption tax hike  (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Economy 
13) Japanese Government offers rescue plan for two U.S. firms 
(Mainichi) 
14) Transport minister unveils policy to boost growth in tourism and 
three other areas  (Nikkei) 
15) Gap between DPJ and SDP/PNP on debt-repayment moratorium and 
nuclear energy policy  (Yomiuri) 
 
Defense & Security 
16) Parliamentary Defense Secretary calls for revision of law to 
allow refueling mission to continue  (Sankei) 
17) ASDF to disclose records of air transport activities in Iraq 
(Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi: 
Government to appoint Inamori, Mogi, and Katayama as members of 
Administrative Reform Council 
 
Mainichi: 
Government mulling issuing new government bonds to make up for tax 
revenue shortfall 
 
Yomiuri: 
Arrested trading company president asked to send reagents for 
detecting radiation exposure in 2,500 people to North Korea a month 
before nuclear test 
 
Nikkei: 
Health ministry plans to increase government spending on health 
insurance for smaller firms' employees 
 
Sankei: 
 
TOKYO 00002311  002 OF 011 
 
 
NHK officials visited Taiwan to urge those who filed complaints over 
biased NHK program to withdraw their protests 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Information on Iraq airlift mission disclosed under new 
administration; 67 PERCENT  of transported personnel since July 2006 
were U.S. troops 
 
Akahata: 
Burden for medical insurance system for people 75 and older to 
increase next April if it is not abolished 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Hatoyama donation scandal: Prime Minister must offer thorough 
explanation without waiting for investigation 
(2) New EU treaty brings new trend of stronger Europe 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Legislation of National Strategy Bureau imperative 
(2) Introduction of separate surname system requires thorough 
discussion 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) G-4 concept: Will the new framework function? 
(2) Iran must swiftly implement the agreement to move enriched 
uranium out of country 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Japan must earnestly face EU, which is gaining strength owing to 
new treaty 
(2) New system introduced to increase local fiscal discipline 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Rapprochement between China and North Korea: Japan must adhere 
to pressure policy 
(2) Irrationality in mixed medical treatment must be rectified 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Planned abolition of provisional tax rates: Tax system 
inseparable from environment 
(2) Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics: Take advantage of this new 
breeze 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Akashi pedestrian bridge accident: Bereaved families' feelings 
must be taken seriously 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, October 5 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
09:29 Arrived at the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). 
11:41 Made a condolence call at the private residence of the late 
former finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa. 
12:43 Met Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano at the Kantei. 
14:35 Met Hirano at the Kantei, followed by British minister for 
private firms and deregulation Mandelson. 
 
TOKYO 00002311  003 OF 011 
 
 
16:00 Met State Minister for National Strategy Bureau Kan. 
18;37 Dined with his wife, Miyuki, and professional baseball player 
Lee of the Yomiuri Giants at a Korean restaurant in Daiba. 
21:35 Returned to his private residence. 
 
4) SDP policy chief arrives in Afghanistan 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Kyodo 
 
KABUL-Tomoko Abe, chair of the Social Democratic Party's policy 
board, arrived yesterday in the Afghan capital city of Kabul with 
Ryoichi Hattori, an SDP lawmaker in the House of Representatives, to 
study specific measures for Japan to assist with Afghanistan's 
reconstruction instead of continuing the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean. They are scheduled 
to stay in Afghanistan until Oct. 9. 
 
5) Prime Minister Hatoyama meets with British First Secretary of 
State Mandelson 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday held talks with British 
First Secretary of State Peter Mandelson at the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence (Kantei). In the meeting, Mandelson asked 
Hatoyama to continue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean. Hatoyama responded by saying, "We would 
like to consider the issue from the viewpoint of what sort of 
cooperation would be appreciated by the Afghan people and the 
countries engaged in the war on terror." 
 
6) Foreign Minister Okada, French envoy to North Korea agree to 
closely cooperate in resolving North Korean nuclear issue 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada met yesterday with French special 
envoy to North Korea Jack Lang at the Foreign Ministry. During the 
meeting, they agreed that their countries will closely cooperate to 
resolve the North Korean nuclear and missile issues. In response to 
Okada's request for France's cooperation on the issue of abductions 
of Japanese nationals by North Korea, Lang said, "I understand the 
importance of the issue." 
 
7) Inamori picked as Administrative Reform Council member: Mogi, 
Katayama also to be tapped 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
The lineup of the Administrative Reform Council, which the Hatoyama 
cabinet has established for the purpose of identifying wasteful 
spending of tax revenues, has been decided. State Minister for 
Administrative Reform Council Yoshiro Sengoku on October 5 decided 
to appoint from private companies Kazuo Inamori (77), the honorary 
chairman of Kyocera Corp. and Yuzaburo Mogi (74), representative 
director of Kikkoman Corp., as key council members. From among those 
 
TOKYO 00002311  004 OF 011 
 
 
who have served as head of a local government, Sengoku plans to tap 
Yoshihiro Katayama (58), former Tottori governor. 
 
Eleven persons - six politicians and six private citizens - are 
expected to serve as the key members of the council. Prime Minister 
Yukio Hatoyama will serve as chairman and Sengoku as vice chairman. 
Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for National Strategy 
Bureau Naoto Kan and Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii will join from 
among politicians. 
 
Inamori has a close relationship with Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ) Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. His presence is known as a 
sort of "guardian" of the DPJ. From among private citizens, former 
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) Secretariat chief 
Tadayoshi Kusano (65), who is well-versed in labor issues, has also 
been picked. The appointment of Hideki Kato, representative of Japan 
Initiative, a private-sector think-tank, as the chief of the 
secretariat and a council member, has also been fixed. 
 
The Administrative Reform Council is tasked with securing funding 
resources to finance new policies such as the child care allowance 
to be incorporated in the fiscal 2010 budget. The cabinet intends to 
have Inamori and Mogi use the knowledge in corporate management that 
they have acquired through many years of experience in order to make 
more efficient administration possible. 
 
The Council will also put the desired nature of central and local 
governments, including decentralization, on the agenda. Sengoku 
selected candidates from among persons who have served as heads of 
local governments and decided to appoint Katayama, who has served as 
a prefectural governor. 
 
The Council will hold its first meeting as early as late October and 
proceed with the initial work of identifying wasteful spending of 
tax revenues. 
 
8) Secretaries general of ruling parties to hold meeting today 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
The secretaries general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ) and its coalition partners -- the Social Democratic Party 
(SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP) -- will hold their first 
meeting since the inauguration of the coalition government. They are 
expected to discuss such issues as how to coordinate views among the 
three parties regarding policy-making within the coalition 
administration. 
 
9) Extra Diet session to convene on Oct. 26 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday decided to convene an 
extraordinary Diet session as early as Oct. 26 immediately after 
Upper House by-elections in Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures. 
Hatoyama prioritizes compiling the budget for fiscal 2010 by the end 
of this year in order to translate his party's manifesto (a set of 
campaign pledges) into action, so he intends to schedule the extra 
session for about a month. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002311  005 OF 011 
 
 
By convening the extra session soon after the Upper House 
by-elections, Hatoyama appears to have decided to prevent debate at 
the session with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on 
the issue of his political fund management organization's false 
reports from having a negative impact on the elections. Moreover, if 
this issue is pursued in the Diet over a long period of time, it 
could be a minus to his administration. He therefore appears to be 
trying to avoid such a situation by setting a short Diet session. He 
intends to narrow down the number of bills to be submitted to the 
Diet. 
 
10) LDP to earnestly pursue Hatoyama donation scandal 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
October 6, 2009 
 
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has launched an 
investigation into political funds reports produced by Prime 
Minister Yukio Hatoyama's political-fund management organization. 
Meanwhile, the major opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) 
intends to grill the Prime Minister over the donation scandal by 
positioning veteran lawmakers at key posts. Whether the LDP can turn 
the tables remains to be seen. 
 
In an interview yesterday with the Nikkei and other media outlets, 
Policy Research Council Chairman Shigeru Ishiba harshly criticized 
the Prime Minister's response, saying, "If he thinks that it is 
acceptable because it was his own money, he is wrong. This is a 
serious violation of the law." Secretary General Tadamori Oshima, 
too, emphatically said to the press corps: "If the Prime Minister 
cannot offer an adequate explanation to the public in a responsible 
manner, we will have to question him in detail at the Diet." 
 
The LDP is making arrangements to appoint former Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Nobutaka Machimura as the principal director of the House 
of Representatives Budget Committee where the donation scandal will 
be pursued. The LDP is also considering allowing a veteran lawmaker 
to concurrently serve as a member of the shadow cabinet (tentative 
name) and as the principal director of a standing Diet committee. 
The LDP's strategy is to pit its seasoned lawmakers against the 
Hatoyama cabinet which is composed mostly of first-time cabinet 
ministers. 
 
11) LDP Policy Research Council chief calls for discussion on 
permanent law for continuation of refueling mission 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Policy Research Council Chairman 
Shigeru Ishiba gave an interview to the Nikkei and other media 
outlets yesterday. Touching on the Maritime Self-Defense Force's 
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, Ishiba said: "Informal 
discussions have been conducted with the Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ). We want to discuss a general law." Ishiba thus revealed the 
view that (the LDP and DPJ) should look into a permanent law 
(allowing the government) to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces 
overseas whenever necessary for the continuation of the operation. 
 
Ishiba also raised questions about providing civilian aid to 
Afghanistan, an option the Hatoyama cabinet is currently 
considering, saying, "Who is going to ensure safety? Will an 
 
TOKYO 00002311  006 OF 011 
 
 
organization which cannot ensure its own safety be able to conduct 
effective activities?" 
 
12) Poll of DPJ Lower House lawmakers: 57 PERCENT  approve of 
consumption tax hike, 62 PERCENT  see need for additional stimulus 
package 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Abridged) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Kyodo News recently conducted a questionnaire survey of 308 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmakers elected in this summer's 
election for the House of Representatives. In the survey, 57.6 
PERCENT  of respondents answered "yes" when asked if the consumption 
tax should be raised in the future for a drastic review of the 
nation's pension system. Prime Minister Hatoyama has decided not to 
raise the consumption tax for the next four years. However, the 
government's spending on social security has been increasing due to 
the nation's aging population with fewer children. Under such 
circumstances, the survey shows that many of the DPJ's lawmakers are 
in favor of raising the consumption tax in the future. 
 
Asked about a possible slowdown of the nation's economy, 62.4 
PERCENT  of respondents answered that the government should take 
additional measures this fall. However, 64.3 PERCENT  said the 
government should not issue any more deficit-covering bonds. The 
figure shows that the majority of the DPJ's lawmakers are trying to 
avoid increasing the government's debt. Meanwhile, 77.1 PERCENT 
said the government, after abolishing gasoline and other 
road-related taxes, should introduce a carbon tax or other similar 
tax in order to address global warming. 
 
Hatoyama has pledged to reduce Japan's greenhouse gas emissions 25 
PERCENT  below 1990 levels by 2020. Asked about this goal, 90.5 
PERCENT  said it was appropriate. 
 
Answers were obtained from 210 persons or 68.2 PERCENT  of the DPJ's 
lawmakers elected in the House of Representatives election. 
 
13) Japanese government found to have drafted plan to bail out two 
U.S. companies 
 
MAINICHI (Page 1) (Abridged slightly) 
October 6, 2009 
 
The Mainichi Shimbun has learned through interviews with 
knowledgeable sources that the Japanese government had considered 
providing assistance from foreign currency reserves to two U.S. 
government-affiliated housing loan corporations in late August 2008, 
when they were facing a management crisis. Its plan was to purchase 
the two companies' corporate bonds worth several trillion yen, 
because there was concern that no one would bid on the open tenders 
for their corporate bonds. The world was on the brink of plunging 
into a financial crisis at the time. Even so, it is very unusual for 
any government to use public money to bail out foreign financial 
institutions. The case would seem to reveal the unique nature of 
Japan-U.S. relations. 
 
The two financial institutions in question are Freddie Mac and 
Fannie Mae, both of which had been securitizing funds procured from 
the issue of corporate bonds and selling the securities to 
investors. The total amount of outstanding residential 
 
TOKYO 00002311  007 OF 011 
 
 
mortgage-backed securities issued by the two companies stood at 
roughly 6 trillion dollars, or approximately 540 trillion yen, 
accounting for 50 percent of the total amount of outstanding housing 
loans in the U.S. Many financial institutions in the world owned 
those securities. The failure of the two companies would certainly 
have had a serious impact on the global financial system. 
 
The management crisis at both companies surfaced in July 2008. The 
U.S. government announced setting up an investment framework of up 
to 400 billion dollars, or 36 trillion yen, in mid-July. However, 
the market did not calm. 
 
A small number of senior Finance Ministry officials, in close 
cooperation with the U.S. Treasury Department, mapped out a plan 
named " Operation Rescue," under which Japan was to purchase both 
companies' corporate bonds, releasing several trillion yen from the 
government's foreign currency reserves. 
 
However, then Finance Minister Ibuki remained cautious about the 
plan. In addition, the government became dysfunctional as Prime 
Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced his resignation. As a result, the 
plan was not realized. The U.S. government bailed out the two 
companies, by nationalizing them with an injection of public funds 
on Sept. 7. Lehman Brothers imploded on Sept. 15. 
 
Former finance minister Ibuki told a Mainichi Shimbun reporter: "The 
plan never advanced to the stage requiring clearance from the 
finance minister. However, my decision that the government should 
not purchase assets that could lead to losses in foreign currency 
reserves in the face of the impending U.S.-induced economic crisis 
was only natural." 
 
14) Transport minister eyes growth strategies for four areas, 
including tourism 
 
NIKKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
In a speech in Tokyo yesterday, Land, Infrastructure, Transport and 
Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara said the ministry will draw up 
strategies for growth in four areas, including tourism. 
Specifically, he cited the need to (1) increase the number of 
foreign tourists; (2) revitalize the aviation industry by 
liberalizing aviation services; (3) raise the competitiveness of 
ports to the level of Singapore and Pusan; and (4) internationalize 
the transport and construction industries by exporting Shinkansen 
bullet trains and helping general contractors expand overseas. 
 
15) DPJ fed up with demands by SDP, PNP deviating from pragmatic 
line over debt moratorium, nuclear-power generation policy 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Various policy discrepancies are coming into the open in the 
coalition camp. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is increasingly 
irritated at its two ruling partners, the Social Democratic Party 
(SDP) and the People's New Party (PNP), which are trying to 
demonstrate their own policy imprint. 
 
In a speech in Tokyo yesterday, PNP President Shizuka Kamei, state 
minister for financial affairs and postal reform, emphasized the 
 
TOKYO 00002311  008 OF 011 
 
 
need to prepare a legal framework in the upcoming extraordinary Diet 
session for implementing a moratorium on loan repayments for small 
companies. He said: "I am determined to eagerly push ahead with this 
plan. Even if financial institutions become financially strapped, we 
should help them with the infusion of taxpayers' money. There are 
cases in which they (small firms) find it difficult to repay loans 
during the term of redemption. Small firms are in a very difficult 
situation." 
 
Kamei has long proposed introducing a debt-moratorium system. He is 
steadily paving the way for introducing the system, as seen from the 
fact that he met Regional Banks Association of Japan Chairman 
Tadashi Ogawa ahead of the speech yesterday and asked him to 
understand the need to introduce the moratorium system. 
 
The SDP is also in high spirits. SDP President Mizuho Fukushima, 
state minister for consumer affairs, food safety, declining 
birthrate and gender equality, barked on Oct. 3 at Environment 
Minister Sakihito Ozawa of the DPJ for his remark indicating a 
willingness to make use of atomic power generation to reduce Japan's 
greenhouse gas emissions. Fukushima assailed: "His argument is 
apparently wrong. We must prevent a discussion on the idea of using 
nuclear power generation to reduce CO2." 
 
The SDP and the PNP have also made demands on the government's 
policymaking framework. The government has now set up two 
policymaking panels - the ministerial council on basic policies at 
the party-head level set up by the three ruling parties with the 
DPJ's concession, and the council on government agencies' policies 
held by senior vice ministers to listen to views of ruling party 
lawmakers. But the two parties have insisted that only two panels 
are insufficient. In the first meeting of the three ruling parties' 
secretaries general and Diet affairs committee chairmen today, the 
two parties intend to urge DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to 
establish more forums for talks. 
 
The DPJ is somewhat fed up with the two ruling partners' demanding 
posture. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama takes a cautious view about 
the loan moratorium system, saying: "We have not agreed to the 
moratorium proposed." One DPJ member claimed: "Since we are no 
longer opposition parties, we cannot take a policy contradictory to 
the common knowledge among the people that 'you must return anything 
you borrowed.'" Another member said: "We will make an enemy of the 
banking world." Also on the SDP's reaction to the atomic energy 
policy, a senior DPJ member grumbled: "Actually, it is impossible 
for the ruling party to oppose the use of atomic power generation." 
 
The DPJ is aiming to establish a system under which only the 
government has authority to determine policies. Many party members 
also have strongly reacted to the demand by the SDP and the PNP over 
the policymaking framework. A DPJ member grumbled: "It might be 
necessary to secure a majority in the Upper House, but I wonder how 
long we are going to get along with the minority political parties. 
 
16) Parliamentary defense secretary suggests continuation of 
refueling mission by amending law 
 
SANKEI (Page 3) (Abridged slightly) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Parliamentary Defense Secretary Akihisa Nagashima of the Democratic 
Party of Japan (DPJ) delivered a speech in Tokyo's Tachikawa City 
 
TOKYO 00002311  009 OF 011 
 
 
last night. Referring to the fact that Foreign Minister Katsuya 
Okada and others have indicated that (the DPJ administration) will 
not "simply extend" the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean, which is to expire next January, 
Nagashima said: "We want to (consider) options not tantamount to a 
simple extension, such as requiring Diet approval. If the country is 
allowed to continue the refueling mission by altering the framework 
of the law, the mission should be continued." 
 
Nagashima thus presented the view that (the government) should 
decide in the extraordinary Diet session in the fall to continue the 
refueling mission by adding prior Diet approval for (SDF) dispatch 
to the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law. Nagashima also stressed 
that Japan hopes to play an active role in providing civilian aid to 
Afghanistan. 
 
17-1) Defense Ministry discloses information on ASDF airlift 
activities in Iraq 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Top play) (Abridged) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Based on the Information Disclosure Law, the Ministry of Defense 
provided information on the weekly airlift activities of the Air 
Self-Defense Force (ASDF) in Iraq to the requesters of this 
information. This airlift mission, which started in July 2006 after 
the Ground Self-Defense Force withdrew from Iraq, coincided with the 
period U.S. soldiers were transported to Baghdad, an activity the 
Nagoya High Court ruled to be unconstitutional last year. Under the 
previous administration, entries during this period were blacked out 
in the documents made public, but this time, all the information was 
disclosed. The requesters viewed this as an "effect of the change in 
administration." 
 
The disclosed information on weekly airlift activities is for a 
period of 124 weeks from July 2006 to December 2008, when the 
airlift mission ended. Activities were recorded on 467 days, of 
which 218 days or 47 percent were devoted to air transport to 
Baghdad. 
 
A total of 26,384 persons were transported, of which 17,650 or 67 
percent were U.S. soldiers. Adding to this the soldiers of other 
countries, the proportion of military personnel transported came to 
71 percent. On the other hand, only 2,564 UN officials were 
transported, which made up only 10 percent. 
 
The previous administration had explained that the ASDF was on a 
humanitarian and reconstruction aid mission. However, it has been 
confirmed that the number of soldiers, who were responsible for the 
maintenance of security requiring the use of force, was 
overwhelmingly larger than the number of UN officials in charge of 
reconstruction aid. This constitutes logistical support for the U.S. 
forces. 
 
17-2) Defense Minister Kitazawa comments on disclosure of data on 
ASDF airlift mission in Iraq 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa's comments: It is inappropriate 
for the political authorities to impede the people's right to 
 
TOKYO 00002311  010 OF 011 
 
 
information. We are aware that this information contains certain 
military secrets, but if the political authorities order the 
bureaucrats to provide information to the people without fail, this 
can be done. Concealment of information is not in the interest of 
Japan or the ministries. Revealing the truth to the people is much 
more beneficial for Japan's politics. 
 
17-3) New administration's reassessment of ASDF airlift mission in 
Iraq becomes essential after information disclosure 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
October 6, 2009 
 
Shigeru Handa, editorial staff member 
 
With the change of government to an administration led by the 
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), information on the weekly airlift 
activities of the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) in Iraq has been 
disclosed. The next challenge will be to reassess the deployment of 
the SDF to Iraq, which the DPJ had opposed as an opposition party. 
It will be interesting to see if the DPJ is able to demonstrate its 
clear difference from the previous administration's "subservience to 
the U.S." 
 
In March 2003, then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was quick to 
announce his support for the war in Iraq led by the U.S. and the UK. 
The U.S. then demanded "boots on the ground (the deployment of the 
Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF))," so the Japanese government 
decided to send SDF troops. 
 
After the withdrawal of the GSDF in July 2006, the ASDF expanded its 
airlift operations to Baghdad and other areas, and there were 
suspicions that these operations were serving the U.S. forces. 
 
The DPJ's Kazuhiro Haraguchi (current minister of internal affairs 
and communications) once questioned the government at the House of 
Representatives special committee on Iraq in May 2007: "(This 
document) is all blacked out. Will civilian control be possible with 
this?" 
 
The Social Democratic Party's Kiyomi Tsujimoto (current senior vice 
minister of land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism) also 
voiced her displeasure with the government's concealment of 
information at the Lower House Security Committee in November 2006: 
"If you are saying this is a humanitarian and reconstruction aid 
mission, show us a document that is not blacked out." 
 
With the above politicians now in power, data on the airlift mission 
has been disclosed. On the other hand, the new administration has 
not clarified its position on the justification for the Iraq war, 
about which even the U.S. and the UK are now in doubt, and on the 
merit of the SDF deployment. 
 
When the Nagoya High Court ruled in April 2008 that the airlift 
mission in Iraq was unconstitutional, the top SDF officer in charge 
of the mission argued that, "This is an outrageous verdict. There 
are also non-combat zones in Baghdad, and not all U.S. soldiers who 
alighted from our planes went straight to combat duties." 
 
The disclosed weekly information on airlift activities alone will 
not be sufficient to judge if this argument was valid or not. 
Fortunately, SDF documents that can be used for the assessment are 
 
TOKYO 00002311  011 OF 011 
 
 
now in the hands of the new administration. An examination of 
security policy is indispensable for building an "equal Japan-U.S. 
relationship," which is Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's goal. 
 
ROOS