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RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8262
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7774

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002494 
 
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 10/28/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Futenma Air Station relocation issue further meandering off 
track with the defense minister hinting at readiness to approve 
present plan, the foreign minister proposing integration of Futenma 
functions into Kadena Air Base, and the prime minister intending to 
take time to reach a decision (Nikkei) 
 
(2) Futenma relocation issue: Careless statements by ministers, 
strong pressure from U.S. undermining Japan-U.S. alliance (Yomiuri) 
 
 
(3) Letter to the editor: Listen to Okinawa's voice on Futenma 
relocation (Asahi) 
 
(4) Op-ed column: Concerns about the negative synergism of mutual 
"passing" in Japan and the U.S. (Sankei) 
 
(5) MSDF destroyer, South Korean container ship collide; Hatoyama 
administration's crisis management capability tested for first time 
(Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Futenma Air Station relocation issue further meandering off 
track with the defense minister hinting at readiness to approve 
present plan, the foreign minister proposing integration of Futenma 
functions into Kadena Air Base, and the prime minister intending to 
take time to reach a decision 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
October 28, 2009 
 
With the U.S. President's arrival in Japan on Nov. 12 just ahead, 
the Hatoyama administration is increasingly wavering over security 
policy. Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada referred to a plan to 
integrate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan 
City, Okinawa Prefecture, into Kadena Air Base in Kadena Town, 
Okinawa Prefecture. In the meantime, Defense Minister Toshimi 
Kitazawa said that implementing the present relocation plan will not 
break an election pledge. Prime Minister Hatoyama repeatedly said 
that he wanted to take time (to reach a decision). The U.S.'s 
hard-line stance has thus highlighted differences in the sense of 
crisis felt by cabinet ministers and the absence of anyone to 
coordinate their views. 
 
"I have been calling for moving the Futenma functions out of the 
prefecture or the nation," said the prime minister. "I understand 
how the defense minister feels. However, I don't necessarily agree 
with him." Thus the prime minister brushed aside the defense 
minister's statement on the Futenma base issue. 
 
The present plan agreed to by Japan and the U.S. is to relocate 
Futenma facilities to near the coast of Camp Schwab in Nago City. 
The defense minister takes the position that this plan is not in 
breach of the DPJ's election pledge, because the Japan-U.S. 
agreement also mentions the relocation of part of Futenma functions 
outside the prefecture, including the transfer of 8,000 Marines to 
Guam and the relocation of the carrier-based aircraft unit to 
Iwakuni Air Station. 
 
However, the DPJ's manifesto for the August Lower House election, 
 
TOKYO 00002494  002 OF 007 
 
 
which it won by a landslide, mentions that the party will deal with 
U.S. military bases with the possibility of taking a second look at 
them. Given the fact that the prime minister himself said during the 
election campaign, "at the least relocation outside the prefecture," 
the defense minister's statement clearly contradicts the manifesto. 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano was frantic about hushing up the 
statement, noting, "That is not the government's view." 
 
The government has decided to terminate the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in January next year, 
when the operation is set to end. The defense minister revealed his 
stance of looking into refueling vessels of countries that are 
taking part in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. The prime 
minister denied such an option straight off, saying, "I do not have 
such an idea in my mind." Even a number of ruling party members 
criticized the defense minister's statement with Social Democratic 
Party (SDP) Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno saying, "Why is he so 
eager to do a favor for the United States?" 
 
The foreign minister and the defense minister were about to come to 
a decision on the transfer of the Futenma functions within the 
prefecture. However, the defense minister reportedly did not 
communicate to the foreign minister his decision to make such a 
statement. The defense minister told the press corps, "Logically 
speaking, such an option is a little bit difficult." When the 
foreign minister proposed a plan to integrate Futenma Air Station 
into Kadena Air Base, the defense minister rebutted him, saying, 
"That will not sit well with the government's stance." 
 
The Hatoyama administration is caught on the horns of dilemma 
between consideration to the U.S., which is applying pressure on 
Japan over the Futenma relocation issue, and upholding the manifest. 
Statements made by various cabinet ministers indicate differences in 
their feelings of distance with the U.S. There is also an aspect 
that the prime minister and the Prime Minister's Official Residence 
(Kantei) have a weak sense of the crisis facing the present state of 
Japan-U.S. relations, compared with the foreign ministry and the 
defense ministry, which are engaged in tough diplomatic 
negotiations. 
 
At a press conference on the 27th Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano 
warned, "Statements made by various cabinet ministers are reportedly 
causing concern in the U.S. If that is the case, I would like them 
to refrain from making such statements." 
 
(2) Futenma relocation issue: Careless statements by ministers, 
strong pressure from U.S. undermining Japan-U.S. alliance 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 28, 2009 
 
Discord in the Hatoyama government over the issue of relocating the 
U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture is 
becoming increasingly serious. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and the 
cabinet ministers do not seem to be fully aware of the weight of 
their statements. They are sticking to the Democratic Party of 
Japan's campaign pledge for the latest House of Representatives 
election to review the existing Futenma-relocation plan, but they 
are also being "pressed by the U.S.," as described by a source 
connected to Japan-U.S. relations, to quickly implement the plan to 
relocate the Futenma facility to the coastal area of U.S. Camp 
Schwab. Under such circumstances, Japan-U.S. relations are becoming 
 
TOKYO 00002494  003 OF 007 
 
 
more strained. 
 
"Although cabinet ministers can be easily replaced, it is impossible 
to replace the prime minister. You can leave (the Futenma issue) in 
our hands." Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has been making this 
remark whenever he meets Hatoyama. Okada has said, "Defense Minister 
Toshimi Kitazawa and I will take full responsibility," apparently 
bearing in mind Hatoyama's inconsistent remarks made in the past 
over the deadline for reaching a conclusion on the Futenma issue. On 
Oct. 20, Okada, Kitazawa and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano 
exchanged views on the issue. 
 
However, remarks by Okada and Kitazawa in press conferences 
yesterday exposed that there is a wide gap between their views. 
Kitazawa indicated that he would approve the existing plan, bearing 
in mind U.S. President Barack Obama's planned visit to Japan in 
November, but Okada expressed his eagerness to push ahead with a 
plan to integrate the functions of Futenma with Kadena Air Base. 
 
Some persons connected with the Defense Ministry take this view: 
"The defense minister's remarks might have come out in response to 
advice from an aide to the prime minister." The aide reportedly told 
Kitazawa that the plans to transfer U.S. Marines to Guam and 
refueling aircraft to the Iwakuni Marine Air Station - in the 
Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan - 
are in accordance with the party's campaign pledge to move personnel 
or facilities outside the nation or the prefecture. When U.S. 
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates visited Japan recently, he 
strongly urged Kitazawa to implement the existing plan. Given this, 
it is said that Kitazawa is now eager to bring about a solution to 
the Futenma issue at an early date. 
 
Okada was at a loss for words yesterday when he heard Kitazawa's 
remarks. Meanwhile, aides to the defense minister have expressed 
displeasure at Okada's reference to the Kadena-Futenma integration 
plan, with one official remarking: "I wonder why (Mr. Okada) has 
proposed the plan at his own discretion." 
 
When the DPJ was an opposition party, the party strongly criticized 
inconsistent remarks made by cabinet ministers, pointing out a lack 
of unity in the government led by the Liberal Democratic Party. In 
the upcoming extraordinary Diet session, the DPJ will be inevitably 
grilled over the lack of unity in the party. 
 
LDP Secretary General Oshima told reporters at party headquarters 
yesterday: "Under the pretext of politician-led politics, senior 
government members have asserted themselves. This situation reflects 
that the prime minister has not exerted leadership." 
 
The government's miscalculation of U.S. moves appears to have caused 
the ongoing turmoil. Many government officials had anticipated that 
the U.S. government would show understanding for the new Japanese 
government's policy switch, as shown by Hatoyama's remark to 
reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on Oct. 23: 
"The U.S. has made a major policy change toward Iraq since the new 
government was launched." 
 
The U.S. newspaper Wall Street Journal (online), however, carried an 
article on Oct. 26 noting: "The crack in the Japan-U.S. security 
alliance is widening." Even media outlets have begun to take a tough 
stance (toward Japan). A senior Foreign Ministry official expressed 
concern: "The current Japan-U.S. relationship is in the worst shape 
 
TOKYO 00002494  004 OF 007 
 
 
it has been in for the past several dozen years." 
 
Speaking before reporters yesterday, Okinawa Governor Hirokazu 
Nakaima denounced the Hatoyama administration's wavering responses, 
saying: "The government is trying to resolve the base issue with 
rhetoric, but such an approach is careless." 
 
(3) Letter to the editor: Listen to Okinawa's voice on Futenma 
relocation 
 
ASAHI (Page 18) (Full) 
October 28, 2009 
 
Yasuo Fujikawa, 52, national government employee from Chigasaki 
City, Kanagawa Prefecture 
 
At his meeting with Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Oct. 21, 
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that any plan other than 
relocation to Henoko is unacceptable for Futenma relocation and that 
the plan to relocate Marines to Guam will be scrapped, pressing for 
the implementation of the Japan-U.S. agreement. It is not surprising 
that the U.S. made such a statement. 
 
However, all the Liberal Democratic Party candidates in favor of 
Henoko relocation lost in all four districts of Okinawa in the 
recent House of Representatives election, and candidates opposed to 
Henoko relocation won. The election outcome shows that a majority of 
the people of Okinawa, where 75 percent of U.S. military facilities 
in Japan are concentrated, desire the relocation of the Futenma base 
out of the prefecture. It is very understandable for the Okinawan 
people, who have had to endure U.S. aircraft accidents and incidents 
of assaults by U.S. soldiers for a long time, to demand the 
relocation of this military base with an airfield that is said to be 
the most dangerous in the world. 
 
While it is important to maintain good relations with Japan's ally, 
the United States, is it not more important for Prime Minister Yukio 
Hatoyama to listen to Okinawa's voice as the leader of a sovereign 
country? The Obama administration in the United States has reversed 
many of the policies of the previous administration. Prime Minister 
Hatoyama should take seriously the people's voice as expressed 
through the election results and negotiate with the U.S. 
 
(4) Op-ed column: Concerns about the negative synergism of mutual 
"passing" in Japan and the U.S. 
 
SANKEI (Page 7) (Full) 
October 24, 2009 
 
Akio Takahata, deputy chief commentary writer 
 
I recently heard the expression "Washington passing" at a meeting of 
U.S. scholars of Japan. This was a meeting to discuss the new 
Hatoyama administration's policy toward the United States. 
 
A controversy over "Japan passing" occurred between Japan and the 
U.S. in 1998, or 11 years ago. At that time, U.S. President Bill 
Clinton made a nine-day visit to China to showcase close cooperation 
with Chinese leaders but did not stop in Japan. The Japanese side 
reacted with anger and resentment for his "passing" by Japan, a U.S. 
ally. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002494  005 OF 007 
 
 
Similar to gardening 
 
Perhaps this time the U.S. side is wondering if the Hatoyama 
administration is going to bypass Washington. Former Ambassador to 
the U.S. Ryozo Kato once compared the alliance to a garden in need 
of daily care. If there are widespread concerns in America about 
Japan breaking away from the U.S., the alliance relationship indeed 
needs daily tending. 
 
Mr. Kato pointed out in January 2008 that "compared with other 
gardens, beautiful flowers bloom and the grass is green in the 
garden of the Japan-U.S. relationship. But the garden needs to be 
tended to. We should handle specific issues with great care while 
keeping our focus on the overall picture." Since then a change of 
administration has taken place both in the U.S. and Japan, and the 
environment surrounding the garden has changed drastically. 
 
While Prime Minister Hatoyama and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada 
have paid lip service to "developing the Japan-U.S. relationship 
further to mark the 50th anniversary of the revision of the 
Japan-U.S. security treaty next year," Secretary of Defense Robert 
Gates bluntly stated that "rather than celebrating what the two 
countries have achieved in the past, the more important thing is 
what we will achieve in the future." 
 
It is obvious that what the Secretary meant by "future" is the 
question of the relocation of the U.S. forces' Futenma Air Station 
(in Ginowan City, Okinawa) in particular. The Futenma issue dates 
back many years, to 1996. In the aftermath of the gang rape of a 
schoolgirl by U.S. soldiers in 1995, a solution to the 
over-concentration (75 percent) of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) bases in 
Okinawa became a political issue. Subsequently, the report of the 
bilateral Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) called for the 
complete return of the Futenma base. 
 
But 13 years after the decision the base has yet to be returned. 
During this time the sentiments of the local leaders and the 
Okinawan people fluctuated in complicated ways. The Hatoyama 
administration is deferring a decision for domestic political 
reasons, but the U.S. side, which has experienced a similar change 
of administration, thinks if  America has made a decision, why can't 
Japan? 
 
Delicate dominoes 
 
If the Japanese side is thinking of relocating the Marines to Guam 
and moving Futenma out of Okinawa, it is seriously mistaken. Guam 
relocation and Futenma relocation are dominoes in a delicate 
relationship. They are elements of a closely-linked package 
agreement. If the parts are tampered with willfully, the whole 
package will come under stress and prove undoable. 
 
Secretary Gates's statement that "there can be no relocation of the 
Marines to Guam without Futenma relocation, and there will also be 
no returning other bases and facilities" was probably based on his 
knowledge of the extreme complexity of the negotiation process for 
USFJ realignment. If Japanese policy regarding this issue continues 
to drift, Okinawans' long-cherished dream for the return of the 
Futenma base will be delayed and the burden bases impose on local 
communities will not be lightened. 
 
More importantly, USFJ realignment is an indispensable component of 
 
TOKYO 00002494  006 OF 007 
 
 
the ongoing global military realignment by the U.S. to adapt to the 
military and security needs and changes in the 21st Century. 
 
While this is not written into the Japan-U.S. agreement out of 
diplomatic considerations, realignment is also a precaution against 
China's military expansion and the threat of North Korea's nuclear 
arms and missiles. If realignment is delayed, this will not only 
seriously undermine Japan's defense, but also U.S. force deployment 
in Asia and the Pacific, as well as global U.S. strategy. It will 
also seriously undermine the deterrence of the alliance. 
 
Need for good gardeners 
 
Hatoyama's risky diplomacy is not only evident in the Futenma issue. 
There are also numerous contradictions and questionable points in 
his remark that Japan "has been over dependent on the U.S." and in 
the thinking of those regarded as advisers to the administration. 
 
While the administration claims to value the bilateral military 
alliance, the call for a "security treaty without stationing 
troops," first made over 10 years ago, has re-emerged. Although the 
administration says it will not ostracize the U.S., there are 
lingering concerns about the exclusion of the U.S. from the East 
Asian Community. The notions of an "equilateral triangular 
Japan-U.S.-China relationship" or Japan serving as a "bridge for the 
world" are similar to the concept of a "balancer in East Asia" 
advocated by the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration of South Korea 
-- a concept that was somehow unrealistic. 
 
President Barack Obama has decided to shorten his visit to Japan to 
two days and to visit China for four days. This was probably based 
on the judgment that the Japan visit will bear no fruit. 
 
There was a time in the 1990s when Japan and the U.S. failed to give 
the garden adequate attention, resulting in the drifting of the 
alliance. If once again there is the negative synergism of the two 
countries on opposite sides of the Pacific passing each 
there is no guarantee the alliance will not be set adrift a second 
time. The present Hatoyama diplomacy requires not lip service to the 
proposition that the alliance is the linchpin of foreign policy, but 
rather good gardeners capable of making it flourish. 
 
(5) MSDF destroyer, South Korean container ship collide; Hatoyama 
administration's crisis management capability tested for first time 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 28, 2009 
 
A collision between the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer 
Kurama and a civilian container ship was the first incident in which 
the Hatoyama administration was tested its crisis management 
capability. 
 
On the night of Oct. 27, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ordered 
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management Tetsuro Ito to 
quickly gather information and learn what really happened in the 
collision. Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said, "I hope that 
optimum precautions are taken to prevent the spread of fire on the 
ship." 
 
At 8:11 p.m., 15 minutes after the collision, the Cabinet 
Information Aggregation Center at the Prime Minister's Official 
 
TOKYO 00002494  007 OF 007 
 
 
Residence (Kantei) received the first report of the incident. On 
receiving the report, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano 
immediately reported the incident to the Prime Minister. Hatoyama 
was in his office on the fifth floor at the Kantei when the 
collision occurred, but he left at 8:37 p.m. for his private 
residence in Denenchofu, Tokyo. He ordered Ito to thoroughly gather 
information before leaving the Kantei. 
 
According to the Defense Ministry, Kitazawa received the report at 
08:10 p.m. and arrived at the ministry at 08:50 p.m. He sent Senior 
Vice Defense Minister Kazuya Shinba to the site. At the same time, 
he held a press conference at the ministry and apologized, saying, 
"It is extremely regrettable that the incident has caused concern 
and trouble for the public." He also said, "I apologize to the 
public for shutting down the Kanmon Strait." 
 
When the MSDF Aegis ship Atago collided with a fishing boat in 
February 2008 when Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was in office, it 
took 90 minutes before Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba received the 
first report, exposing an inadequate communication network for 
emergencies. In 2001 Ehime Prefecture's long-line tuna fishing 
training ship Ehime Maru sunk after being struck by a U.S. Navy 
nuclear submarine off Hawaii. Then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori came 
under severe criticism for continuing to play golf even after he had 
received a report on the collision. 
 
Kitazawa received the report 14 minutes after the collision. This 
means that the Hatoyama administration applied the lessons learned 
in the Atago incident. The information transmission system has been 
improved. 
 
ROOS