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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 TOKYO 002740 
 
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 12/01/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Futenma facility relocation: 
4) Foreign Minister to visit Okinawa  (Yomiuri) 
5) Osaka Governor: Examine Kansai International Airport as an 
alternative site for Futenma airfield  (Mainichi) 
6) Okada meets with PACOM Commander Willard  (Asahi) 
7) Prime Minister and Okinawa Governor hold meeting; no resolution 
of Futenma issue; will maintain close contact with each other 
(Yomiuri) 
8) Futenma issue: U.S. wants conclusion within the year; SDP calls 
for relocation outside Okinawa  (Asahi) 
9) SDP leader Fukushima says she would oppose Futenma working 
group's proposing relocation according to existing plan  (Tokyo 
Shimbun) 
 
Defense & security: 
10) U.S. service member suspected of involvement in hit-and-run 
accident refuses to undergo police questioning  (Asahi) 
11) Government/DPJ to postpone submission of cargo-inspection bill 
(Mainichi) 
12) Hirano comments on plan to dispatch SDF personnel to Sudan PKO 
(Sankei) 
 
Politics: 
13) Ninth day of screening of budget requests: MOD items  (Asahi) 
14) Second supplementary budget earmarks outlay of 1 trillion yen 
for small- and medium-sized businesses  (Nikkei) 
15) Fake political contribution scandal:  Prime Minister says he 
will provide explanation after the conclusion of the investigation 
(Nikkei) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) TOP HEADLINES 
 
Asahi & Sankei: 
60,000 violent acts by students at elementary, middle, high schools 
reported in fiscal 2008; 70 PERCENT  increase in three years 
 
Mainichi: 
Government to "constantly" check for wasteful spending 
 
Yomiuri: 
Hatoyama's office asked his mother to provide funds after his third 
election as DPJ head in 2002 
 
Nikkei: 
Government to allocate one trillion yen to assist small businesses 
in second extra budget 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Companies offering jobs to retired bureaucrats earn profits by 
reselling car inspection forms 
 
Akahata: 
Bill providing aid to hepatitis sufferers enacted in Diet 
 
 
TOKYO 00002740  002 OF 009 
 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) Distribution of leaflets: Supreme Court's guilty verdict 
unconvincing 
(2) Environment tax: It's time for prime minister to make decision 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) Extension of Diet session by only four days appalling 
(2) Additional economic measures: National Strategy Minister Kan 
must demonstrate skills 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Take every possible measure to prevent economy from 
deteriorating further 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Current situation in Diet disappointing 
(2) China urged to raise value of yuan 
 
Sankei: 
(1) Come up with consistent policy for dealing with rising yen, 
falling stocks 
(2) Extension of Diet session by four days: Hatoyama's attempt to 
put end to false donation statements regrettable 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) Hatoyama might be aiming to cover up donation scandal through 
modest Diet extension 
(2) Guilty verdict in leaflet-distribution case might lead to 
restricting freedom of expression 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Verdict in leaflet distribution case by "guardian of the 
Constitution" comes under heavy fire 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, November 30 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
07:37 Met Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yorihisa Matsuno at the 
Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
09:16 Meeting with Matsuno, followed by meeting with Okinawa 
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima 
11:03 Met International Prize for Biology awardee Dr. Winslow Briggs 
and wife at the Japan Academy in Ueno Park, with Education Minister 
Tatsuo Kawabata present. Later attended a meeting with the Emperor 
and Empress, followed by an award ceremony for International Prize 
for Biology 
13:03 House of Councillors plenary session, followed by a meeting 
with hepatitis patient group. Health Minister Akira Nagatsuma was 
also present 
14:01 House of Councillors plenary session 
16:23 Met with National Strategy Minister Naoto Kan, Finance 
Minister Hirohisa Fujii, Senior Vice Finance Minister Yoshihiko 
Noda, and others at the Kantei. Later met Foreign Minister Katsuya 
Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa 
17:48 Met Sergey Naryshkin, chief of the Russian presidential 
office 
 
TOKYO 00002740  003 OF 009 
 
 
18:18 Met State Minister for Administrative Reform Yoshito Sengoku 
and Hideki Kato, secretary general of the Government Revitalization 
Unit (GRU). Later attended GRU meeting 
20:36 Met Kan, Fujii, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, 
Sengoku, and others. Kan and Hirano stayed behind 
21:39 Arrived at his official residential quarters 
 
4) Okada to visit Okinawa 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Foreign Minister Okada plans to visit Okinawa Prefecture on a 
two-day schedule from Dec. 4 to exchange views with local residents 
on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air 
Station. Later this week, before his Okinawa visit, Japan and the 
United States will also hold a second meeting of their 
intergovernmental working group involving their foreign and defense 
ministers. 
 
While in Okinawa Okada will exchange views with the local community 
in the island prefecture's northern coastal city of Nago, where the 
Futenma base is currently planned to be relocated, and also in the 
prefecture's southern city of Itoman. There are no U.S. military 
bases in Itoman, but Okada will visit there since the ruling 
Democratic Party of Japan won a seat there in this summer's general 
election for the House of Representatives. 
 
5) Hashimoto mulls accepting Futenma relocation to Kansai airport 
 
ASAHI (Page 11) (Full) 
Eve., November 30, 2009 
 
On the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma 
Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Osaka Gov. Toru 
Hashimoto has indicated that he would consider Kansai International 
Airport as a candidate site to take over the heliport functions of 
the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station. "If there is a formal 
proposal from the government, then I'd like to consider it basically 
in the direction of accepting (discussions)," Hashimoto told 
reporters this morning. "This is my personal view," he said, adding 
that there has been no formal request from the government yet. 
However, Hashimoto also implied that he would consider the using 
Kansai International Airport for military aircraft and utilizing 
Kobe Airport as well, while giving thought to hosting some of the 
Futenma-based aircraft's training missions as a measure to reduce 
aircraft noise at the Kadena base. 
 
The Futenma problem is now in its final stage, and Hashimoto's offer 
to accept Futenma relocation to Kansai International Airport will 
likely have repercussions. 
 
6) Okada meets U.S. military's top brass, hopes to settle Futenma 
issue within the year 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Foreign Minister Okada met yesterday at the Foreign Ministry with 
U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) Commander Willard. In the meeting, 
Okada, referring to the pending issue of relocating the U.S. Marine 
Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, said he "would 
 
TOKYO 00002740  004 OF 009 
 
 
like to settle the problem before the year is out if possible." 
 
7) Prospects for solution to Futenma relocation issue still 
uncertain after PM Hatoyama's meeting with Okinawa governor 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama held formal talks with Okinawa 
Governor Hirokazu Nakaima on the relocation of the U.S. forces' 
Futenma Air Station in Okinawa on Nov. 30, thus beginning his 
personal involvement in coordinating this issue. However, prospects 
for finding a middle ground between public opinion in Okinawa 
seeking the relocation of the Futenma base out of the prefecture or 
out of Japan and the U.S. side, which is demanding a solution 
according to the existing relocation plan, remain uncertain. 
 
Hatoyama told reporters that he promised the governor that he will 
be consulted again before a final decision is made. He said: "I 
informed (the governor) that I will maintain close contact and make 
a decision that will reduce the burden on the Okinawan people as 
much as possible." 
 
He also told Nakaima that he will wait for the conclusion of the 
Japan-U.S. cabinet level working group consisting of the foreign and 
defense ministers before making his decision. 
 
Ahead of the meeting on Nov. 30, Hatoyama also had an unofficial 
meeting with Nakaima at his official residential quarters on Nov. 
¶27. It is believed that he wanted to get a sense of whether it is 
possible to make a decision based on the current plan to relocate 
Futenma to the coastal area of Camp Schwab (in Nago City) before the 
end of the year. 
 
The U.S. government has consistently asserted that there can be no 
option other than the existing plan agreed upon by the two 
governments in May 2006. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos visited 
Okinawa for the first time after assuming his post on Nov. 30 and 
had a meeting with Nakaima. Roos stressed that the current plan is 
the "best and most viable option." 
 
Meanwhile, Nakaima will find himself in a very difficult position if 
the incumbent mayor of Nago, who has accepted the current relocation 
plan, loses the mayoral election in January. While he merely asked 
Hatoyama for assistance to "remove the danger posed by the Futenma 
base as soon as possible" at his meeting with the Prime Minister, a 
senior Okinawa Prefectural Government official explained that this 
was meant to ask him to "make a decision based on the existing plan 
as soon as possible." 
 
Active maneuvering is also taking place within the government. After 
his meeting with Nakaima, Hatoyama met Foreign Minister Katsuya 
Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa at the Prime Minister's 
Official Residence (Kantei). Okada had told Admiral Robert Willard, 
commander of U.S. Pacific Command, at an earlier meeting at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs that "we will do our best to reach a 
solution before the end of the year." 
 
However, Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Mizuho Fukushima 
stated unequivocally at the Ministerial Committee on Basic Policies 
meeting held at the Kantei in the late afternoon that if a decision 
based on the existing relocation plan is made, she will "oppose this 
 
TOKYO 00002740  005 OF 009 
 
 
firmly." She demanded the creation of a working group on Futenma 
relocation under the Ministerial Committee. People's New Party 
leader Shizuka Kamei supported her. If Hatoyama makes a decision 
based on the current plan before the end of 2009, there is the view, 
according to a top political appointee in a ministry, "that the SDP 
will play the leave-the-coalition card, which might destabilize the 
administration's political base. 
 
8) U.S. to seek settlement of Futenma before year's end; Okinawa, 
SDP call for moving Futenma out of prefecture 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
December 1, 2009 
 
The issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station 
(in Ginowan, Okinawa) will reach a critical stage before the end of 
the year. A Japan-U.S. cabinet-level working group will come to some 
sort of conclusion after winding up its verification work as early 
as mid-December. There is practically no chance of the U.S. side 
accepting Japan's call to fundamentally review the bilateral 
agreement to move the air station to the Henoko district in Nago in 
the prefecture. 
 
What decision will Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama make? There are 
calls for a settlement by mid-December when the U.S. Congress will 
enter the Christmas recess. A delay in a decision is likely to 
adversely affect U.S. congressional deliberations on the budget that 
includes funds related to the realignment of U.S. forces, inevitably 
taking a toll on Japan-U.S. relations. But if the Prime Minister 
accepts the Henoko plan, he will be criticized for breaking his 
promise to move the air station at least out of the prefecture. 
 
Hatoyama met with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima at the Prime 
Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) yesterday. "The people of 
Okinawa have been shouldering a heavy burden," Hatoyama said to 
Nakaima, who has expressed a willingness to accept the Henoko plan 
conditionally. "Since the new administration was launched, the 
sentiments of the people of Okinawa have been shifting to 
(relocating the air station) outside the prefecture." Hatoyama thus 
admitted that the "sentiments of the people of Okinawa" - an element 
he values highly - are now leaning toward moving the Futenma 
functions out of the prefecture. 
 
Contrary to what Hatoyama has been saying, discussion is underway in 
the cabinet premised on the existing Henoko relocation plan. 
 
Yesterday evening, a three-person meeting was held at the Kantei 
among Hatoyama, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, and Defense Minister 
Toshimi Kitazawa. They are believed to have discussed strategies for 
reaching a settlement. Arrangements are being made for senior 
foreign and defense ministry officials to visit the United States 
again this week to finalize new measures to reduce the burden with 
the U.S. side. 
 
If Hatoyama decides to accept the Henoko plan, the Social Democratic 
Party (SDP), which opposes relocating Futenma to a site within 
Okinawa, might opt for leaving the coalition administration. This 
might further complicate the Futenma issue, for which the Japanese 
government, Okinawa, and the U.S. government must be in agreement to 
being with. 
 
9) Fukushima: SDP opposes current Futenma relocation plan 
 
TOKYO 00002740  006 OF 009 
 
 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
December 1, 2009 
 
In a meeting of the Ministerial Committee on Basic Policies 
yesterday, Social Democratic Party (SDP) President Mizuho Fukushima 
voiced her opposition to the current plan to relocate the U.S. 
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City, Okinawa 
Prefecture, to a coastal area of U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago City. 
 
Fukushima said: "After the ministerial-level Japan-U.S. panel 
reaches a conclusion (on the existing plan), even if the conclusion 
is brought to the Ministerial Committee on Basic Policies, we will 
definitely oppose it." She then proposed setting up a working group 
under the ministerial committee, remarking: "Proper discussions have 
not been conducted in the cabinet on such options as relocating the 
Futenma facility outside the prefecture or the nation. Including 
these options, we should discuss various plans in a serious 
manner." 
 
Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan replied: "We will actively take this 
proposal into consideration," but the government is likely to have 
difficulty in coordinating views within the coalition. 
 
10) U.S. serviceman believed to be involved in hit-and-run incident 
refusing to appear for questioning by Okinawa Prefectural Police - 
unexpected situation under SOFA 
 
ASAHI (Page 12) (Abridged slightly) 
Evening, November 30, 2009 
 
Atsushi Matsukawa, Kumiko Yamane 
 
A 27-year-old staff sergeant of the U.S. Army in Okinawa, who is 
believed to be involved in a hit-and-run incident that occurred in 
the village of Yomitan, Okinawa, on Nov. 7, has been refusing to 
appear for questioning by the prefectural police on a voluntary 
basis, an unusual situation. Under the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces 
Agreement (SOFA), Japanese law enforcement authorities are in 
principle not allowed to arrest a U.S. service member in the custody 
of the U.S side on the premise of the U.S. military's full 
cooperation in investigations. If a request is rejected, Japanese 
law enforcement cannot even question a suspect. The case this time 
has exposed an unexpected loophole. 
 
The prefectural police have asked the U.S. military for its 
cooperation regarding the incident. Identifying the staff sergeant 
as a suspect, a U.S. military investigative body has placed him 
under its supervision. 
 
The prefectural police interviewed the staff sergeant as a potential 
suspect for three days from Nov. 11 on a voluntary basis. But the 
staff sergeant has been refusing to appear for questioning on a 
voluntary basis since Nov. 14. Japanese investigative authorities 
planned to send papers on him to the public prosecutors' office 
after conducting questioning and then to have his custody handed 
over to the Japanese side after the prosecutors' office indicted him 
in accordance with the framework of the SOFA. This plan has now 
fallen through. 
 
In the past, one U.S. military serviceman, a potential suspect, 
abruptly returned to the United States while the prefectural 
 
TOKYO 00002740  007 OF 009 
 
 
police's investigation was underway. In recent years, there have 
been no major problems in investigative cooperation with the U.S. 
military. "Investigations have gone well because questioning always 
went smoothly on a voluntary basis," an investigator said. "The 
disruption of the investigation results from a fundamental problem 
with the SOFA." 
 
Representing the staff sergeant, attorney Toshimitsu Takaesu 
explained that the U.S. serviceman has been refusing to appear for 
police questioning because he was labeled as and treated like a 
criminal. 
 
11) Government to postpone cargo inspection bill until next Diet 
session 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Among the government-sponsored bills submitted to the current Diet 
session, the government and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) 
decided yesterday to put on hold a cargo inspection bill and a bill 
to maintain social insurance hospitals and koseinenkin (welfare) 
hospitals across the nation. They intend to enact the bills during 
the next ordinary Diet session. Following a decision made to extend 
the ongoing Diet session, senior members of the DPJ's Diet affairs 
committees in both houses of the Diet decided to postpone the bill 
until the next session, and the government gave its approval. 
 
The cargo inspection bill is aimed at allowing the Japan Coast Guard 
and custom houses to inspect cargo on vessels heading to and from 
North Korea if they suspect the vessels are carrying goods under 
embargo. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has submitted 
a countermeasure to the House of Representatives to enable the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force to be mobilized to handle situations 
that demand capabilities that the coast guard cannot offer. A senior 
DPJ member said: "We will conduct thorough deliberations on the 
matter with the LDP." 
 
12) Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirano admits that government is looking 
into SDF dispatch to UNMIS 
 
SANKEI (Page 5) (Full) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano admitted yesterday that the 
government is looking into the possibility of dispatching a Self 
Defense Forces (SDF) unit with several hundred members to the United 
Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to take part in UN peacekeeping 
operations. He stated at a press conference yesterday: "We are 
discussing measures, including what kind of cooperation Japan can 
extend." 
 
13) Screening of budgetary requests to identify wasteful projects -- 
nine days of a battle of words 
 
ASAHI (Page 15) (Excerpt) 
December 1, 2009 
 
Defense Ministry 
Requests turned down or put on hold 
 
Request for an increase in Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel 7.2 
 
TOKYO 00002740  008 OF 009 
 
 
billion yen Budgetary earmarking put on hold. Whether the demand 
exists or not is unclear. 
International peace cooperation center 2.7 billion yen Training can 
be provided without building new facilities. 
 
Consolidated or curtailed projects 
 
More efficient budget for SDF personnel's salaries by hiring younger 
people 2.1367 trillion yen To be reviewed, including the possibility 
of a budgetary cut. The matter requires discussion by the 
government 
Requests related to the salary levels of employees of U.S. forces 
stationed in Japan and omoiyari yosan ("sympathy budget" or 
host-nation financial support) for the stationing of U.S. forces in 
Japan. 123.3 billion yen To be reviewed. Give consideration to 
regional balance. 
Costs of rent, development, and repairs of information systems  85.3 
billion yen 20-30 PERCENT  cut. Review the order-placing system. 
Costs of equipment, clothes, firearm, and ammunition. 47.9 billion 
yen To be reviewed, including the possibility of a budgetary cut. 
Reduce costs by employing an improved order-placement system. 
Measures to deal with areas in the vicinity of SDF bases and 
subsidies for the consolidation and adjustments of areas in the 
vicinity of specified defense facilities 28.3 billion yen To be 
reviewed. Consider a method which base-hosting municipalities find 
convenient. 
Public relations and recruitment activities of SDF 3.1 billion yen 
Budgetary cut. Narrow down to more effective projects. 
Hold down costs at the stage of selecting equipment  No mention of 
the amount of request To be reviewed. Cut costs, by using imported 
goods. 
 
Accepted as requested 
 
Procurement of equipment 865.5 billion yen Requires political 
decisions. 
Level of rents for defense facilities  119 billion yen Obtain 
understanding of financial difficulties from landowners. 
Measures for areas in the vicinity of SDF bases and soundproofing of 
residential houses 36.2 billion yen Project with high priority. 
 
14) One trillion yen to be disbursed as financial assistance to 
small- and medium-sized businesses 
 
NIKKEI (Top play) (Excerpts) 
December 1, 2009 
 
The government on Nov. 30 adopted a general framework for additional 
economic pump-priming measures to be included in the fiscal 2009 
second extra budget. It also intends to spend roughly 900 billion 
yen for measures to combat global warming, expanding the budget from 
the originally estimated 2.7 trillion yen. As a measure to assist 
small- and medium-size businesses, it will disburse 1 trillion yen. 
It will also step up credit guarantees by 6 trillion yen and 
emergency loans by 4 trillion yen. It is also expected to come up 
with measures with immediate effects to undergird the economy. As a 
result, the initiative will likely exceed 10 trillion yen. 
 
Outline of additional pump-priming measures 
 
Small-and medium-sized businesses 
 Secure 1 trillion yen for actual fiscal spending (from the general 
 
TOKYO 00002740  009 OF 009 
 
 
account). Credit guarantees are to be stepped up by 6 trillion yen 
to a total of 36 trillion yen. Business areas eligible for a credit 
guarantee are to be expanded to cover nursing-care and other areas. 
The loan framework is to be stepped up by 4 trillion yen. 
Employment Make an all-out effort to maintain and create jobs. Ease 
requirements for receiving employment adjustment subsidies. To 
finance this policy, a total of 500 billion yen to be earmarked in 
the second extra budget and the fiscal 2010 principal budget. 
Strengthen assistance for job seekers' livelihoods and for 
job-seeking activities by students who will graduate next year. 
Environment Secure a total of 900 billion yen as measures to curb 
global warming. Main measures include supporting the dissemination 
of electric cars, creation of a housing-version of an eco-point 
system, and a subsidy for the purchase of an eco-car. 
 
15) Prime Minister Hatoyama on fake donations: I will explain after 
the whole truth is disclosed; no intention to resign 
 
NIKKEI (Page 1) (Excerpts) 
December 1, 2009 
 
During a House of Councillors plenary session yesterday, Prime 
Minister Yukio Hatoyama stated: "I will wait for a judicial 
judgment, and on the basis of the results I want to fulfill my duty 
as prime minister," indicating that he has no intention to step down 
from his post at this point. Hatoyama was replying to a question 
from Tsukasa Akimoto of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) about how 
he will take responsibility for the issue of fake political 
donations. 
 
Hatoyama again expressed an apology for the alleged illegal 
contribution issue, saying: "I apologize from the bottom of my 
heart. I deeply regret my ignorance of the matter." He then said, 
"After the whole truth of the matter is disclosed, I will explain to 
the public based on the result," stressing that he will explain 
about the matter when the investigation concludes. 
 
ROOS