VZCZCXRO4353
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #2516/01 3030617
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300617Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7166
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/USDOJ WASHDC PRIORITY
RULSDMK/USDOT WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J5//
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA//
RHMFIUU/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 9532
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 7176
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0994
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 4421
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 7688
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1643
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8300
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 7809

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 002516 
 
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 10/30/09 
 
INDEX: 
(1) Uru association proposes to defense minister relocating Futenma 
base to Iwo Jima (Ryukyu Shimpo) 
 
(2) Poll of heads of Okinawa municipalities on Futenma Air Station 
relocation: Thirty-four opt for relocation outside prefecture or 
nation (Okinawa Times) 
 
(3) "Ronten" column: Give consideration to U.S. reaction to East 
Asian community concept (Mainichi) 
 
(4) Editorial: Japan's indecisiveness on Afghanistan policy pushing 
its allies into a tighter corner (Sankei) 
 
(5) Prime Minister intends to reexamine Japan-U.S. alliance to build 
an equal alliance (Nikkei) 
 
(6) "Seiron" column: Too big a price to pay for "equal Japan-U.S. 
relationship" (Sankei) 
 
(Corrected copy): Government to lead review of JAL rebuilding plan 
(Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Uru association proposes to defense minister relocating Futenma 
base to Iwo Jima 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Full) 
October 30, 2009 
 
TOKYO - On Oct. 29 the "Uru no Kai (Uru Association)," which is 
formed of seven Upper and Lower House members, elected from Okinawa 
Prefecture, from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Social 
Democratic Party (SDP), and the People's New Party (PNP), and an 
independent, met with Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in the Diet 
building and proposed relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air 
Station in Okinawa to Iwo Jima (Ogasawara Village, Tokyo). The Uru 
Association is chaired by Upper House member Shokichi Kina. After 
the meeting, Kina quoted Kitazawa as saying, "We are looking into 
various options. I regard your proposal as one of them." 
 
All seven association members attended the meeting with Kitazawa. 
With regard to the relocation site for the Futenma base, Foreign 
Minister Katsuya Okada is considering a plan to integrate it with 
Kadena Air Base, while Kitazawa has expressed his intention to 
accept the current plan to transfer it to the Henoko district. 
 
The seven association members have become increasingly alarmed as 
they believe that government officials are mulling relocating the 
base within the prefecture. The Uru Association, therefore, proposed 
the idea of relocating it out of Okinawa. This is the first time the 
association has made to the government a specific proposal citing 
the candidate relocation site by name. However, some association 
members are skeptical of the feasibility of the proposal. 
 
Iwo Jima is an island located 1,380 kilometers east of the mainland 
Okinawa. It has an area of about 22 square kilometers. The island 
has a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) base with a 2,600-meter 
runway and no residents. Carrier-based aircraft from U.S. Naval Air 
Facility Atsugi have temporarily been conducting night-landing 
practice (NLP) on Iwo Jima. 
 
TOKYO 00002516  002 OF 009 
 
 
 
In 2005 Naha Mayor Takeshi Onaga proposed the idea of relocating the 
Futenma base to Iwo Jima. The predominant view is that the U.S. side 
is negative about the idea from the standpoint of living conditions 
on the island. 
 
In January 2006, Onaga met with and proposed the idea to Tokyo Gov. 
Shintaro Ishihara and Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa. 
 
(2) Poll of heads of Okinawa municipalities on Futenma Air Station 
relocation: Thirty-four opt for relocation outside prefecture or 
nation 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 1) (Full) 
October 30, 2009 
 
The Okinawa Times conducted by Oct. 29 a poll of heads of 41 
municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture on a relocation site for the 
U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station prior to the November 8 
Okinawan Residents Rally to Oppose the Construction of a New 
Military Base in Henoko and the Relocation of Base Functions within 
the Prefecture. Of 41 municipal heads, 34 responded "outside the 
prefecture or the nation is desirable." Among those who in the 
previous poll accepted the idea of shifting the relocation site 
offshore by reviewing the present plan (relocation to Henoko, Nago 
City), four gave the answer "outside the prefecture" or "outside the 
nation." Among those who suspended judgment in the previous poll, 
six opted for "outside the prefecture" this time. Municipal heads' 
opinions have changed due to the uncertainty surrounding the 
relocation issue as a result of the change of administration. 
 
To a question about relocation site, the largest number, 15, opted 
for "outside the prefecture." Nine responded "outside the nation." 
The answer "either outside the prefecture or the nation" was given 
by 10 pollees. Only three supported the option of moving the site 
offshore, as sought by Governor Hirokazu Nakaima, by revising the 
current plan, which Japan and the U.S. agreed to. No pollees called 
for integrating the Futenma functions into existing base facilities 
such as Kadena Air Base in the prefecture. 
 
Nago Mayor Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, who supported an option for 
shifting the relocation site offshore in the previous poll, 
refrained from giving any reply, saying, "I want the government to 
formulate a policy direction so that the plan can be realized at an 
early date." 
 
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has proposed integrating the Futenma 
facilities into Kadena Air Base. Kadena Mayor Tokujitsu Miyagi 
changed his answer from "other option given in the previous poll" to 
"outside the prefecture." For the first time he took the position of 
supporting the idea of relocating the facilities outside the 
prefecture, saying, "Since it is a pledge made by the government, 
from now I will call for relocation outside the prefecture." 
 
As reasons for his shift in stance, he said, "The people of Okinawa 
elected the candidate who called for the relocation of the base 
outside the prefecture. Their selection carries special weight. I 
cannot accept the idea of integrating the functions into Kadena Air 
Base, either." 
 
Many municipal chiefs called for relocating the facilities outside 
the prefecture or the nation. However, only 14 announced their 
 
TOKYO 00002516  003 OF 009 
 
 
intention to attend the rally. 
 
As reasons for not taking part in the rally, many gave the answer 
"due to other official business." Some municipal heads were 
skeptical about the meaning of holding such a rally with Urasoe City 
Mayor Mitsuo Gima, noting, "There is a lack of discussion for 
shaping a consensus among the people," or, as Miyakojima City Mayor 
Toshihiko Shimoji said, "The government should present its view to 
the people of Okinawa first." Itoman City Mayor Hirotsune Uehara 
said, "We cannot oppose relocation within the prefecture when the 
government has yet to come up with its policy." 
 
(3) "Ronten" column: Give consideration to U.S. reaction to East 
Asian community concept 
 
MAINICHI (Page 12) (Full) 
October 30, 2009 
 
Koji Murata, Doshisha University professor specializing in 
international relations 
 
In his recent policy speech to the Diet, Prime Minister Yukio 
Hatoyama termed the four seas surrounding Japan "fruitful seas (of 
friendship and solidarity)" and defined his proposed East Asian 
community concept as a highly transparent community for cooperation 
for an "economy for the people" and in the area of "people's lives 
and culture." 
 
It is easy to imagine that the above will be criticized as honorable 
but abstract. However, the Prime Minister also talked about concrete 
issues, such as disaster prevention and relief and public health. 
These are all important areas. For sure, one may say that 
enumerating these topics and calling them the concept of an East 
Asian Community is an exaggeration. However, exaggerated expressions 
do sometimes influence people's mental images, thus transforming 
them into reality. 
 
Furthermore, those who claim that the East Asian Community will not 
be realized may be looking only at the goal and not paying attention 
to the process of reaching the goal. The process is probably more 
important than the goal in this type of debate. This is because this 
process will serve to enhance a relationship of trust, 
predictability, and transparency. The same is true with the ideal of 
a "world without nuclear weapons" advocated by President Barack 
Obama. 
 
Nevertheless, the Asia-Pacific region is a vast area characterized 
by diversity. If the concept is not supported by meticulous 
coordination efforts, the East Asian Community may end up as a 
spur-of-the-moment idea or a grand pipe dream. 
 
The membership of this community is also important. Prime Minister 
Hatoyama says that he does not intend to exclude the U.S. For sure, 
the United States has, at times, overreacted to the East Asian 
Community concept. However, it is also undeniable that when regional 
cooperation in Asia was discussed in the past, there had often been 
a latent tendency to eliminate or reduce U.S. influence. Showing a 
certain measure of understanding and consideration for the U.S.'s 
overreaction is in line with and does not contradict the spirit of 
yuai (fraternity) advocated by the Prime Minister. 
 
Certain Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) members are particularly 
 
TOKYO 00002516  004 OF 009 
 
 
keen on demonstrating the party's difference from the Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP) in foreign and security policy. However, if 
they only mean pursuing the strengthening of relations with Asia and 
reinforcing the Japan-U.S. relationship at the same time, the LDP's 
Fukuda cabinet had already championed a synergy of diplomacy with 
Asia and America. In the first place, emphasis on the Japan-U.S. 
relationship, Japan's role in Asia, and a UN-centric diplomacy have 
long been the three basic principles of Japan's foreign policy. 
 
If Hatoyama diplomacy intends to broaden the scope of past diplomacy 
by proposing such slogans as the East Asian Community or a "close 
and equal Japan-U.S. relationship," it should present a 
comprehensive vision. If it is merely enumerating various topics 
under the East Asian Community and is unable to make any alternative 
proposals for the refueling mission of the Maritime Self-Defense 
Force in the Indian Ocean or the plan to relocate the U.S. forces' 
Futenma Air Station, this is far from a comprehensive vision of 
foreign affairs. 
 
If the administration continues to buy time on key issues without 
any underlying strategy, it will not be possible to pursue a "close 
and equal Japan-U.S. relationship." And, if the bilateral 
relationship becomes unstable, Japan's status and presence in Asia 
and the Pacific will be seriously undermined. 
 
(4) Editorial: Japan's indecisiveness on Afghanistan policy pushing 
its allies into a tighter corner 
 
SANKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
October 30, 2009 
 
A terrorist group stormed a guesthouse being used by UN staff in 
Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, killing more than 10 people. In 
the run-up to the presidential runoff election set for Nov. 7, the 
security situation is rapidly deteriorating in Afghanistan. In its 
neighbor, Pakistan, too, terrorist attacks are intensifying 
recently. 
 
The international community can no longer be a passive onlooker. 
Despite such a situation, Japan, an ally of the U.S., remains unable 
to come up with effective countermeasures. 
 
A spokesman for the Taliban, an anti-government Islamic 
fundamentalist group, claimed responsibility for the guesthouse 
attack, calling it "the first attack" to block the runoff election. 
The Afghan military should make utmost efforts to prevent terrorist 
attacks in cooperation with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the 
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). 
 
The election must be carried out without fail so that a new 
government can end the current culture of corruption and have 
legitimacy. To that end, it is important first to restore public 
order in the nation. In the election in August, a total of 300,000 
persons, including U.S. military troops, ISAF members, and Afghan 
national troops, were mobilized to prevent terrorist attacks. 
Despite such efforts, many attacks targeting polling stations took 
place across the nation. The attacks took a heavy toll in lives. 
 
An unprecedentedly large number of troops and citizens have been 
killed in Afghanistan. Under such a situation, the upcoming runoff 
vote will indisputably become a crucial stage in the war on terror. 
U.S. President Barack Obama will soon announce plans to send more 
 
TOKYO 00002516  005 OF 009 
 
 
troops to Afghanistan. We expect the measure will have a deterrent 
effect. 
 
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that Britain will send 
500 more troops to Afghanistan on the condition that other NATO 
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members assume a burden 
commensurate with their status. Britain has dispatched 9,000 troops 
- the second largest number after the U.S. - to that nation. The 
prime minister believes that "the stable situation in Afghanistan 
will contribute to ensure the security of Britain." 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also should also be alarmed. In his 
policy speech, he specified three civilian support measures for the 
Afghanistan: agricultural support; vocational training for former 
soldiers; and reinforcement of police functions. In view of the 
security situation in that nation, however, these measures are 
considered unrealistic. 
 
Since the security situation has deteriorated to this extent in 
Afghanistan, if civilians are dispatched, they will always have to 
be guarded by military personnel. The plans involving the dispatch 
of civilians will have to be postponed. 
 
The U.S. and Britain have greatly appreciated Japan's refueling 
mission in the Indian Ocean, but the government has said it would 
not simply extend the mission. This policy stance is still 
incomprehensible to us. 
 
During his recent round of visits to Afghanistan and Pakistan, 
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told his Pakistan counterpart, "Japan 
is considering what approach it should take after the expiration of 
the law (endorsing the refueling mission)." This inarticulate remark 
shows that the government remains unable to devise any appropriate 
measures. Japan's indecisiveness is pushing its allies into a 
tighter corner. 
 
(5) Prime Minister intends to reexamine Japan-U.S. alliance to build 
an equal alliance 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
October 30, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday unveiled a plan to 
comprehensively reexamine the Japan-U.S. alliance, including Japan's 
burden sharing (omoiyari yosan or literally "sympathy budget", i.e., 
host nation support) for U.S. forces stationed in Japan. Hatoyama 
apparently has in mind such issues as the relocation of the U.S. 
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa and revision of the 
Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that have been 
advocated by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). The announcement 
also reflects his firm determination to build an equal Japan-U.S. 
alliance under the new administration. His statement that might end 
up overturning what was agreed upon between the two countries is 
certain to draw a backlash from the United States. His announcement 
has also caused a stir in the Japanese government. 
 
"I want to carry out a comprehensive review of the modalities of the 
Japan-U.S. alliance," Hatoyama said in response to a question during 
a House of Councillors plenary session yesterday. "We were an 
opposition party, so we couldn't have full access to information," 
Hatoyama said later to the press corps at the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence (Kantei). "With the Japan-U.S. alliance as a 
 
TOKYO 00002516  006 OF 009 
 
 
basis, we would like to examine such issues as host nation support, 
SOFA, and Futenma in a comprehensive manner. It takes time to 
examine those issues." 
 
In his Diet reply, Hatoyama also said that the government will 
examine various options for the relocation of Futenma Air Station. 
Although the cabinet is in disarray over the relocation site for 
Futenma, the Prime Minister apparently expressed a plan to examine 
all possibilities based on his and DPJ's calls for moving Futenma 
out of Okinawa or even Japan. 
 
The Japan-U.S. alliance was strengthened under the administrations 
of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). In April 1996, Prime Minister 
Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton issued the Japan-U.S. 
Joint Declaration on Security. Based on this, the governments of 
Japan and the United States established the Special Action Committee 
on Okinawa (SACO) to discuss the realignment/reduction of U.S. bases 
and basically agreed to return Futenma Air Station. The two 
governments subsequently decided to relocate Futenma to the coastal 
area of Camp Schwab. 
 
"We created that situation in a democratic, kind, and transparent 
fashion," Fukushiro Nukaga said at yesterday's meeting of the LDP 
Nukaga faction, highlighting the validity of the existing relocation 
plan. Nukaga was serving as defense chief when the Japan-U.S. 
agreement was reached. 
 
Meanwhile, the DPJ, in its campaign pledge for the 2007 House of 
Councillors election, criticized the existing plan, saying that the 
LDP-New Komeito administration's approach of prioritizing the 
intergovernmental agreement will undermine public trust, the 
foundation of the Japan-U.S. alliance. On Oct. 26 Prime Minister 
Hatoyama delivered a policy speech in which he again underlined his 
intention to build "a close and equal Japan-U.S. alliance." 
 
Hatoyama's statement (on reviewing the Japan-U.S. alliance) is 
likely to create a sensation at home and abroad. (In 2005), then 
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld managed to adopt the existing 
Futenma relocation plan in defiance of U.S. Forces Japan's 
opposition to moving the air station. "If the agreement is 
overturned, everything will return to square one," according to a 
source with intimate knowledge of Japan-U.S. relations and familiar 
with the bilateral talks that led to the agreement. The source spoke 
with a concerned look. 
 
The Foreign Ministry, which plays a central role in talks with the 
United States, also fears that the Hatoyama statement might alter 
the country's foreign/security policy. "It is difficult to review 
(the Japan-U.S. alliance), including the SOFA, when Tokyo and 
Washington are already at odds over the Futenma relocation," a 
senior ministry official said disapprovingly. 
 
(6) "Seiron" column: Too big a price to pay for "equal Japan-U.S. 
relationship" 
 
SANKEI (Page 7) (Full) 
October 30, 2009 
 
Naoyuki Agawa, professor at Keio University 
 
Japan has spoken up in the past 
 
 
TOKYO 00002516  007 OF 009 
 
 
Forty days have passed since the inauguration of the Hatoyama 
administration. While I pray for the success of this government 
elected by an overwhelming majority of voters, there are many things 
about this administration that I do not understand. The policy of 
"building a close and equal relationship" in the Democratic Party of 
Japan's manifesto is particularly incomprehensible to me. 
 
During his recent visit to the United States, the Prime Minister did 
not discuss an "equal" relationship in his meeting with President 
Barack Obama. The explanation given was that the trip was meant to 
build a relationship of trust and specific issues would not be 
mentioned. 
 
However, the policy of an "equal Japan-U.S. relationship" is not a 
concept that refers to specific issues, but one that governs the 
basic conduct of bilateral relations. In that sense, the substance 
of the domestic pledge made by the DPJ administration has not been 
conveyed to the all-important other party in this relationship. 
Moreover, the Prime Minister stated at a subsequent summit meeting 
with the leaders of China and South Korea that Japan will cease 
being over-dependent on the U.S. and give greater attention to Asia. 
This must leave the U.S. side wondering what is meant by an "equal 
Japan-U.S. relationship." 
 
In the first place, this pledge to "build an equal Japan-U.S. 
relationship" rests on the assumption that heretofore the 
relationship has been unequal. This pledge has been depicted 
ambiguously with expressions such as "we will build a relationship 
under which both sides are able to speak up candidly from now on," 
but as far as I know, recent prime ministers have all spoken up 
"candidly." The more fundamental question is how the Japan-U.S. 
relationship has been "unequal." 
 
The issue is what to do in the future 
 
To begin with, the bilateral relationship is not a relationship of 
countries equal in size or physical resources. The United States has 
a larger territory, bigger population, higher GNP, and most of all, 
overwhelmingly stronger military power. Before World War II, Japan 
tried to match U.S. national power through disarmament negotiations, 
territorial expansion, a military buildup, and pan-Asianism. It 
failed. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama undoubtedly does not have in 
mind a Japan-U.S. relationship of equals in this sense. 
 
Japan lost everything through defeat in the war and was placed under 
U.S. occupation. This was the period when the bilateral relationship 
was most unequal. However, even after the restoration of 
independence, Japan made a conscious choice to be unequal with the 
U.S. in military power, with the result it had a weak national 
defense, so it concluded a security treaty with the U.S. and 
sheltered under America's nuclear umbrella. That is the basic 
structure of the present Japan-U.S. security arrangement. 
 
However, relying on another country for defense is incompatible with 
an equal relationship between independent countries. Therefore, 
Japan has striven to improve its own defense capability, contribute 
to world security, and provide bases in Okinawa (of great 
geopolitical value to the U.S. global strategy), to ensure 
reciprocity without taking up mutual defense obligations, and to 
maintain the security alliance. Despite various constitutional, 
legal, and political constraints, Japan has striven to realize an 
equal bilateral relationship in real terms. I believe that as a 
 
TOKYO 00002516  008 OF 009 
 
 
result, the present Japan-U.S. relationship is equal. 
 
If Prime Minister Hatoyama and the new administration still think 
that the current Japan-U.S. relationship is unequal and needs to be 
rectified, the question is what they are going to do about it. 
 
The manifesto states on the one hand that Japan will "share roles 
with the U.S." and "positively fulfill" its responsibility, but 
suggests the revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement 
(SOFA) and a "review" of the USFJ realignment plans and U.S. 
military bases in Japan. The latter specifically refers to the 
relocation of the Futenma Air Station out of Okinawa and the 
discontinuation of the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, while 
the former is limited only to abstract expressions. Pursuing only 
the latter under the present circumstances may even incur the risk 
of destabilizing the Japan-U.S. relationship. 
 
Indifference to the other party's position is unacceptable 
 
The other party certainly deserves to be heard on whether the 
Japan-U.S. relationship is equal or not. Some U.S. observers contend 
that Japan and the U.S. are unequal in their shares of the cost of 
the security arrangement -- a contention of which the Japanese are 
not fully aware. If discussions about ending the refueling mission 
and relocating the Futenma base out of Okinawa continue, it would 
not be surprising if Japan were asked to play a bigger role and 
assume greater responsibility in security. 
 
If Japan agrees to this, it may have to bear a heavier burden than 
at present. On the other hand, if it objects or resists, Japan will 
be widely perceived as a country that is shifting its focus from the 
Japan-U.S. alliance to Asia, abhors U.S. military bases and hopes to 
step out from under nuclear umbrella, and advocates banning the 
first use of nuclear weapons, but is reluctant to do its share for 
the maintenance of world security. Like in Japan, public opinion is 
also influential in America. Congress may well demand a drastic cut 
in the United States' commitment to the defense of a country that 
refuses to shoulder its share of the responsibility. In that case a 
Japan-U.S. relationship that has been close and practically equal 
might cease to be either. 
 
The relocation of the Futenma base out of Okinawa and the 
discontinuation of the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean should 
not be Japan's foreign policy goals. Rather, their effectiveness as 
means to achieve Japan's security and prosperity should be reviewed. 
Likewise, the building of an equal bilateral relationship per se 
should not be a goal. Rather the purpose of striving for equality 
and Japan's concrete goals should be clarified. The administration 
will not be able to convince the people if it is only driven by the 
emotional impulse for independence since the twilight of the 
Tokugawa Shogunate and the dawn of the Meiji government. 
 
Certain officials in the administration already know this well. But 
there are those who don't. So that the Japan-U.S. relationship isn't 
set adrift, I hope discussions of these issues will be a little 
closer to a conclusion before President Obama visits Japan. 
 
(Corrected copy): Government to lead review of JAL rebuilding plan 
 
NIKKEI (Top play) (Lead para.) 
October 30, 2009 
 
 
TOKYO 00002516  009 OF 009 
 
 
Transport Minister Seiji Maehara on Oct. 29 formally announced a 
policy of using the Enterprise Turn around Initiative Corporation 
(ETIC) a public organization, for the corporate rehabilitation of 
Japan Airlines (JAL). JAL will formulate a rebuilding plan under the 
ETIC. Support measures will possibly be set in January next year. 
The ETIC will look into reinforcing the company's capital base using 
public money and substantively cutting the corporate pension. A task 
force under the transport ministry has been leading the work of 
turning around JAL. However, from now on, the JAL rehabilitation 
plan will be reviewed with the government proactively involved in 
the process. 
 
ROOS