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RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8461

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 TOKYO 002893 
 
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 12/18/09 
 
INDEX: 
 
1) Top headlines 
2) Editorials 
3) Prime Minister's daily schedule (Nikkei) 
 
Futenma issue: 
4) DCM Zumwalt and DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Yamaoka agree 
to shelve Futenma issue  (Mainichi) 
5) Government decides not to earmark funds for Futenma relocation 
(Nikkei) 
6) Governors rebuff Hashimoto's call for discussion on Futenma 
relocation  (Nikkei) 
7) Hatoyama directs FM and MOD to quickly find alternative to Henoko 
 (Asahi) 
 
Politics: 
8) Hiranuma eager to create new party  (Yomiuri) 
9) Komeito Vice General Director Harada calls for party to return to 
its roots  (Nikkei) 
 
Defense & security: 
10) Former MOFA senior official testifies that secret document 
accord exists  (Yomiuri) 
11) Government moving toward nationwide deployment of PAC3  (Asahi) 
 
 
12) Decision to curb defense expenditures in fiscal 2010 raises 
concerns in MOD about possible decline in Japan's deterrence 
capabilities  (Yomiuri) 
13) Hatoyama administration avoids formulating concrete defense 
policy out of deference to the SDP  (Mainichi) 
 
Economy & trade: 
14) ANA to apply for exclusion of application of anti-monopoly law 
(Nikkei) 
15) Toyota Tsusho secures 15 PERCENT  interest in coalbed methane in 
Queensland  (Nikkei) 
 
Environmental issues: 
16) Hatoyama vows to succeed at COP15  (Mainichi) 
17) Sea Shepherd obstructs research whaling vessel  (Yomiuri) 
 
Articles: 
 
1) Top headlines 
 
Asahi: 
Lower house lawmakers have 103 state-paid secretaries who are 
concurrently holding private-sector jobs despite prohibition in 
principle 
 
Mainichi: 
Hatoyama budget: DPJ Secretary General Ozawa aiming to drive a wedge 
into LDP's stronghold 
 
Yomiuri: 
U.S. presents 9-trillion-yen aid plan at COP15, calling for 
participation by other developed nations 
 
Nikkei: 
Japan makers accelerating manufacturing, sales of products specially 
 
TOKYO 00002893  002 OF 007 
 
 
designed for emerging markets with eye on demand in Asia 
 
Sankei: 
Coordination underway to put income cap at 20 million yen for child 
allowance program; PM not adhering to campaign pledge 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
Supreme Court rejects Shinjuku Ward's appeal, determining that 
Ward's building certification for new condo is illegal 
 
Akahata: 
Welfare ministry decides to provide people under 18 with six-month 
insurance cards to assist uninsured high school students 
 
2) EDITORIALS 
 
Asahi: 
(1) DPJ's budgetary requests: Where does power lie? 
(2) Guilty verdict upheld over investigation record leak: 
Investigative authorities must not be allowed to intervene in 
freedom of reporting and expression 
 
Mainichi: 
(1) DPJ budgetary requests: Party must not make decision to renege 
on its public pledge behind closed doors 
(2) System that can help disabled people become truly independent is 
essential 
 
Yomiuri: 
(1) Fiscal 2010 budget: Correcting pork-barrel public pledge is only 
natural 
(2) Xi's visit exposed difficulty of Japan-China diplomacy 
 
Nikkei: 
(1) Dubai shock a reminder of aftershock of global financial crisis 
(2) Fukawa case retrial shows need for transparency of criminal 
investigation process 
 
Sankei: 
(1) DPJ's budgetary requests reflect decision lacking transparency 
(2) Security without regular stationing of troops: Awareness to 
defend nation called into question 
 
Tokyo Shimbun: 
(1) DPJ's budgetary requests: Party must fulfill its accountability 
(2) Government must do more before using health insurance unions in 
assisting people 75 and older 
 
Akahata: 
(1) Take every possible crisis measure for employment and small 
businesses at year end 
 
3) Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei) 
 
Prime Minister's schedule, December 17 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
08:20 Attended ministerial committee meeting on defense buildup at 
the Prime Minister's Official Residence (Kantei). Attended 
afterwards security council meeting. 
 
TOKYO 00002893  003 OF 007 
 
 
09:06 Attended cabinet meeting. Met Foreign Minister Okada; Land, 
Infrastructure, and Transport Minister Maehara, Defense Minister 
Kitazawa, and Chief Cabinet Minister Hirano. 
10:25 Met Finance Minister Fujii and  Government Revitalization Unit 
chief Sengoku. Met SDP Secretary General Shigeno, PNP Secretary 
General Jimi, State Minister for National Strategy Kan, Fujii, and 
Hirano. Afterward met Kan, Fujii, Sengoku, Senior Vice Minister of 
the Cabinet Office Furukawa, and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary 
Matsui. 
12:54 Departed for Copenhagen to attend the COP15 summit-level 
meeting aboard a government plane from Haneda Airport. 
Afternoon 
(Denmark) Arrived at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen. 
 
4) Agreement reached on shelving Futenma 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission James Zumwalt from the U.S. Embassy in 
Japan yesterday called on Democratic Party of Japan Diet Affairs 
Committee Chair Kenji Yamaoka in the Diet building and held talks 
with him. On the issue of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' 
Futenma Air Station, Zumwalt stressed: "The Futenma issue is not the 
only (issue) that concerns relations between Japan and the United 
States. We would like to build good relations in other areas as 
well." In response, Yamaoka also said: "We should shelve the Futenma 
issue temporarily and consider it in tandem with other matters." 
 
5) Government decides not to include Futenma spending in 2010 
budget 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Excerpt) 
December 18, 2009 
 
The government decided yesterday not to include in the fiscal 2010 
budget bill the cost connected with the relocation of the U.S. 
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. If 
necessary, the reserve fund appropriated for unspecified spending 
will be used. At the same time, the budget will include some 50 
billion yen for improving, among other installations, a U.S. base on 
Guam for the 8,000 Marine Corps to be relocated from Okinawa in 
accordance with a Japan-U.S. agreement. 
 
6) Osaka governor says National Governors' Association should 
discuss Futenma issue 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
The National Governors' Associations held a meeting yesterday in 
Tokyo. Referring in the meeting to the relocation of the U.S. Marine 
Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, Osaka Gov. Toru 
Hashimoto proposed that the association discuss the issue if it 
receives such a request from the central government. Fukuoka Gov. 
Wataru Aso, chairman of the association, replied: "This is basically 
an issue for the central government to deal with. We will continue 
discussions on how the association should deal with it in the 
future." 
 
7) PM orders ministers to find new Futenma relocation site quickly 
 
 
TOKYO 00002893  004 OF 007 
 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Excerpt) 
December 18, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday met with Foreign Minister 
Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, and other relevant 
cabinet ministers to discuss the relocation of the U.S. Marine 
Corps' Futenma Air Station (in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture). 
Hatoyama ordered them to quickly look for a new alternative site 
that can replace Henoko so that Futenma can be relocated there by 
¶2014. 
 
8) Hiranuma eager to form a new party 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
Takeo Hiranuma, an independent House of Representatives member and 
former economy, trade and industry minister, said yesterday on a CS 
broadcasting program: "One of my missions is to form a new political 
party before the next House of Councillors election," expressing his 
eagerness to form a new party. He appears to be calling on lawmakers 
who have bolted the Liberal Democratic Party to join a new party. 
 
9) New Komeito should return to its origin: Soka Gakkai 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
The New Komeito and the religious sect Soka Gakkai, the main support 
body of the New Komeito, held a liaison meeting yesterday at the 
party's headquarters. It was the first meeting to be held since 
Natsuo Yamaguchi became the leader of the New Komeito. Koji Harada, 
a Soga Gakkai deputy director, said, "The New Komeito has lost its 
own political identity because the party placed priority on the 
coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party. I want the party to 
return to its starting line." Yamaguchi then asked for support from 
Soka Gakkai, saying, "Winning the House of Councillors election next 
year is the only way to prove that our party has been rebuilt." 
 
10) DEFENSE & SECURITY 
 
Ex-MOFA official testifies on existence of secret deals 
 
YOMIURI (Page 4) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
An expert panel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has been 
examining "secret agreements" allegedly concluded between Japan and 
the United States. Shinichi Kitaoka, professor of the University of 
Tokyo, heads the panel. It was learned on Dec. 17 that the panel 
questioned a former senior ministry official for the first time 
(about the secret accord issue), and the former official testified 
that there were documents to support an agreement allowing the 
introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan, which is believed to 
have been concluded in 1960 when the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty was 
revised. 
 
11) Japan to go ahead with nationwide deployment of PAC-3 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
December 18, 2009 
 
 
TOKYO 00002893  005 OF 007 
 
 
The Hatoyama cabinet held a meeting of the Security Council of Japan 
(SCJ) yesterday, with Prime Minister Hatoyama presiding. In the 
meeting, the SCJ decided on a basic course of action for compiling 
the next fiscal year's defense budget. The SCJ discussed the 
networking of ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems and decided to 
ensure Japan's readiness, including the Self-Defense Forces' 
capability to counter ballistic missile attacks. Specifically, the 
SDF will upgrade the systems of its existing conventional missiles 
that are not outfitted with the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 
(PAC-3), a ground-to-air guided missile system. With this upgrade, 
the SDF will ready its PAC-3 deployment across the nation. 
 
The Defense Ministry, in its budget request, earmarked 94.3 billion 
yen for deployment of PAC-3 batteries in Hokkaido, Aomori, and 
Okinawa, in addition to those already deployed to SDF bases covering 
the Kanto, Kinki-Tokai, and Kyushu regions. But the Finance Ministry 
insisted on the necessity of strictly restricting the government's 
burden of payments to be made in future fiscal years, since the 
government has decided not to revise its current national defense 
program guidelines and midterm defense buildup plan until next 
fiscal year. 
 
In its basic course of action, the SCJ points to the serious threats 
from North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile development. The 
PAC-3 has yet to cover the three regions, where the SDF will improve 
or upgrade its existing PAC-2 radar and its command and control 
system. According to the Defense Ministry, the PAC-2 can be upgraded 
to the PAC-3 by combining PAC-3 missiles and launchers with the 
PAC-2 system. 
 
The government has so far introduced a double-decker system for BMD. 
Against potential missile attacks, the Standard Missile 3 (SM-3), a 
sea-based missile defense system onboard Aegis-equipped destroyers, 
covers Japan entirely in its missile defense shield. In case the 
SM-3 fails to intercept launched ballistic missiles, the PAC-3, a 
land-based missile defense backup system, will shoot down such 
missiles. The SDF has been deploying PAC-3 batteries to defend 
Japan's "political and economic centers and other areas that are 
highly likely to come under attack," according to Yoshinori Ono, a 
former director general of the Defense Agency, now upgraded to full 
ministry status. The SCJ-adopted course of action means to authorize 
the Defense Ministry to extend the PAC-3 deployment all over the 
country in addition to the Tokyo metropolitan area and other densely 
populated localities. 
 
However, the question is how far to extend the PAC-3 shield. This 
will be left to discussions to be held next year on a new set of 
national defense program guidelines, based on the North Korean 
situation and Japan's fiscal circumstances. 
 
12) Concerns that retrenchment of FY10 defense budget may undermine 
deterrence 
 
YOMIURI (Page 2) (Excerpts) 
December 18, 2009 
 
The government decided on Dec. 17 in its basic policy for the 
formulation of the FY2010 defense budget not to increase 
Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel and to implement only upgrades 
in stages instead of nationwide deployment of the ground-to-air 
Patriot missile 3 (PAC-3) under an overall policy of budget 
retrenchment. While this is due to the government's tight fiscal 
 
TOKYO 00002893  006 OF 007 
 
 
situation, there is discontent in the Ministry of Defense (MOD). 
 
Certain MOD officials are voicing concern, saying, "With North 
Korea's nuclear and missile threat and China's sustained military 
buildup, cutting back the budget under a situation where a debate on 
defense buildup is being deferred may lead to the deterioration of 
deterrence." 
 
13) SDP also given consideration in defense budget policy; 
additional PAC-3 deployment deferred 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Slightly abridged) 
December 18, 2009 
 
Yasushi Sengoku 
 
The government settled on its policy for the formulation of the FY10 
defense budget at a cabinet meeting on Dec. 17. It has decided to 
implement defense buildup based on the current National Defense 
Program Guidelines (NDPG), while deferring the additional deployment 
of land-based interceptor missile (PAC-3) for the missile defense 
systems. However, the government also made an ambiguous decision to 
implement upgrades that effectively amounts to the same thing as 
additional deployment. 
 
This defense budget policy will take effect for only one year in 
light of the one year delay in revising the NDPG and the Mid-Term 
Defense Buildup Program. With regard to additional PAC-3 deployment, 
the policy merely mentions "improvements necessary for maintaining 
existing functions." However, in reality, improvements will be 
undertaken even in the radars, firing control devices, radio relay 
systems, and other critical components of PAC-2 interceptors, which 
will bring them to PAC-3 level once the launchers are upgraded. A 
senior Ministry of Defense official points out that "this is more 
than 80 percent PAC-3." With this in mind, Defense Minister Toshimi 
Kitazawa told reporters that the question of PAC-3 is "a bit 
tricky." 
 
The background behind this decision is that the policymaking process 
was affected by the demand of Minister for Consumer Affairs and 
Declining Birthrate Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social 
Democratic Party (SDP), which is a member of the coalition, to 
"deliberate in the direction of eliminating wasteful spending." The 
delay in revising the NDPG was also due to the administration's 
failure to decide on a policy out of consideration for the SDP. As a 
result, even policies on critical equipment like PAC-3 have to be 
elusive. 
 
14) ANA, two U.S. partners to apply for antitrust immunity "by 
year's end" 
 
NIKKEI (Page 11) (Excerpt) 
December 18, 2009 
 
All Nippon Airways (ANA) President Shinichiro Ito officially 
announced in a press conference yesterday that ANA and two leading 
U.S. air carriers -- United Airlines and Continental Airlines - will 
start taking necessary procedures to integrate their flight 
operations between the two countries. The remark came after the 
Japanese and U.S. governments agreed to conclude an open skies 
accord to liberalize their aviation markets. Ito said: "If possible, 
the three companies will apply for antitrust immunity (with the U.S. 
 
TOKYO 00002893  007 OF 007 
 
 
Transportation Department and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport 
and Tourism Ministry) by the end of the year." 
 
15) Toyota Tsusho acquires 15 PERCENT  stake in coal-bed methane 
project in Australia, with total investment at 20 billion yen 
 
NIKKEI (Page 11) (Excerpts) 
December 18, 2009 
 
Toyota Tsusho Corp. purchased a stake in a coal-bed methane (CBM) 
project in Australia. The company will participate in the 
development project of the BG Group, a leading British energy 
company, with its total investment at approximately 20 billion yen. 
The group plans to start producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 
CB M in early 2014. Demand for CBM is expected to increase in the 
future. The company will invest in projects to develop CBM and 
expand its resources and energy businesses. 
 
Toyota Tsusho has spent almost 10 billion yen to acquire a 15 
PERCENT  interest in the project in the state of Queensland. The 
project is slated to start in 2010. The company will also share 
expenses for exploitation, as well as for building pipelines and LNG 
production facilities. 
 
16) Hatoyama: "I will make COP15 successful without fail" 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Excerpt) 
December 18, 2009 
 
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama left Haneda Airport by government 
plane yesterday afternoon and arrived at the Kastrup International 
Airport in Denmark on the evening of the same day, local time, to 
attend the summit meeting of the 15th session of the Conference of 
the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) 
in Copenhagen. 
 
Before leaving Japan, Hatoyama told reporters at the Prime 
Minister's Official Residence: "The session will provide a chance 
for Japan to demonstrate strong leadership. I will make it 
successful without fail. We must not allow the U.S. and China to be 
reluctant (to accept am ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas 
emission) while only Japan (is eager)." 
 
17) Fisheries Agency reports Sea Shepherd disrupted operations of 
Japanese research whaling fleet in Southern Ocean 
 
YOMIURI (Page 36) (Full) 
December 18, 2009 
 
The Fisheries Agency reported on Dec. 17 that the anti-whaling group 
Sea Shepherd threw ropes into the sea to entangle screws and engaged 
in other activities to disrupt the operations of the Japanese 
research whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. 
 
The Shonan Maru No. 2, which is in charge of monitoring the Sea 
Shepherd's activities in the whaling fleet, was targeted in the 
disruptive activities. The Sea Shepherd's ship Steve Irwin closed in 
within 200 meters of the Shonan Maru No. 2 on the afternoon of Dec. 
17 (Japan time) and threw ropes into the sea and irradiated it with 
green laser beams. 
 
ROOS