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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 TOKYO 000201 
 
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 02/01/10 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) U.S. Ambassador: Existing plan on Futenma relocation is the best 
option (Nikkei) 
(2) Ambassador Roos: Presence of Okinawa bases becoming "more 
important" (Mainichi) 
(3) Ambassador Roos says current Futenma relocation plan is "best 
option" (Okinawa Times) 
(4) Japan, U.S. to hold talks on deepening bilateral alliance on 
Feb. 2 in Tokyo (Nikkei) 
(5) Foreign Minister Okada in foreign policy speech underscores 
determination to exercise leadership for nuclear disarmament (Asahi) 
 
(6) Expert panel to admit existence of three Japan-U.S. secret pacts 
(Tokyo Shimbun) 
(7) Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Takino to head new Okinawa 
Liaison Office (Jiji Press) 
(8) Okinawa in turmoil for 13 years over Futenma-linked economic 
measures, remains dependent on military bases (Nikkei) 
(9) Editorial: Japan as a sovereign nation must revise SOFA (Ryukyu 
Shimpo) 
(10) Editorial: Obama's State of the Union address -- Credibility of 
statements to be tested (Tokyo Shimbun) 
(11) DPJ Secretary General Ozawa questioned again by prosecutors on 
land deal on January 31 (Mainichi) 
(12) First Ainu policy meeting held on Jan. 29 (Mainichi) 10 
(13) Parents and children after divorce; (Part 2): Husband took son 
away to his home country (Yomiuri) 
(14) Parents and children after divorce, (Part 3): Rumors widespread 
in U.S. and European countries that Japan is a country that does not 
allow the parent living apart from the child to see the child after 
divorce (Yomiuri) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) U.S. Ambassador: Existing plan on Futenma relocation is the best 
option 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
In a speech at Waseda University yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan 
John Roos said in reference to the relocation of the U.S. Marine 
Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa: "The Marine Corps is a rapid 
reaction force that is capable of mobilizing its troops more quickly 
than any other units in times of emergency. If Marines are moved out 
of Japan, the mobility and effectiveness of the U.S. forces will be 
significantly undermined." He said that the current plan to relocate 
the Futenma facility to a coastal area in the Henoko district in 
Nago City is "the result of a discussion that lasted over more than 
ten years and is the best option for enabling the Futenma base to be 
closed in the shortest period of time." 
 
The Ambassador went on to say: "All countries in the region are 
paying close attention to moves by U.S. forces in Japan. Showing 
troops engaged in military exercises in Japan that are close to 
actual battle conditions must act as a deterrent," stressing the 
importance of the presence of U.S. forces in Japan. 
 
With respect to Japan's host nation support (HNS) (the so-called 
omoiyari yosan, or "sympathy budget") for U.S. forces in Japan, the 
Ambassador pointed out: "Frankly speaking, I don't think it is 
 
TOKYO 00000201  002 OF 013 
 
 
appropriate to call host nation support a sympathy budget," adding: 
"HNS is a way for Japan and the U.S. to share the costs of 
maintaining in Japan the world's most expensive military 
capabilities." 
 
(2) Ambassador Roos: Presence of Okinawa bases becoming "more 
important" 
 
MAINICHI (Page 8) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
Delivering a speech in Tokyo yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan 
John Roos reiterated the need for the continued presence of U.S. 
military bases in Okinawa. He said: "Although the Cold War has 
ended, Okinawa is becoming not less but more important in view of 
strategy due to regional security circumstances (such as North 
Korea's nuclear development and China's military modernization)." 
 
He further said: "Okinawa has the potential to become a 'bridge' 
between Japan, Asia and the U.S." and then proposed the concept of 
the Japanese and U.S. governments' establishing a global-level 
science and technology research institute in Okinawa with the aim of 
developing industry through technological development. 
 
The Ambassador, who used to work as a lawyer in Silicon Valley, 
might have in mind some ideas for contributing to the Okinawan 
economy. 
 
The Ambassador said that the existing agreements on the relocation 
of the Futenma airfield and other U.S. force realignment plans were 
reached between Japan and the U.S. "as a result of the efforts to 
achieve a balance between consideration for Okinawan people's 
concerns and its strategic importance." In reference to the presence 
of U.S. Marines in Okinawa, he pointed out: "The Marine Corps has 
the capability to quickly convey its combat and support troops by 
helicopter to any place on the archipelago connecting Northeast Asia 
and Southeast Asia. In cases of strategies that require heavy 
equipment or cover a long period of time, the Marines can be 
redeployed to any location within several days, with support from 
the U.S. Navy base in Sasebo." He pointed out that the Marines were 
mobilized to provide emergency humanitarian aid in response to 12 
disasters over the past five years, including the 2004 Indian Ocean 
earthquake. 
 
The Ambassador further stated: "Although we should make utmost 
efforts to achieve U.S. President Barack Obama's vision of ridding 
the world of nuclear weapons, for the sake of the U.S., Japan and 
other allies the U.S. remains firmly resolved to maintain its 
deterrence capability until the goal is attained." 
 
The Ambassador cited North Korea as "the biggest cause for concern" 
in the Asia-Pacific region. He emphasized that "there is growing 
concern" over "the possible collapse of the regime led by leader Kim 
Jong Il" in the context of a leadership succession, in addition to 
concern over its nuclear and missile development programs. On China, 
he expressed apprehension about China's military modernization in 
the areas of "cyber warfare and strategic weapons, such as 
anti-satellite-weapons and nuclear-powered submarines." 
 
(3) Ambassador Roos says current Futenma relocation plan is "best 
option" 
 
 
TOKYO 00000201  003 OF 013 
 
 
OKINAWA TIMES (Page 26) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
Tokyo - U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos gave a speech at Waseda 
University on Jan. 29, in which he pointed out that the current plan 
to relocate the U.S. forces' Futenma Air Station to Henoko in Nago 
City is the "best option." Regarding the role of U.S. Forces Japan 
(USFJ), including U.S. forces in Okinawa, Roos emphasized the 
importance of the USFJ's presence, saying: "They not only ensure 
rapid response, but also serve as a visible deterrent." On the 
Japanese government's share in the USFJ's expenditures, he explained 
that "this is an important measure to share the cost of maintaining 
in Japan the U.S.'s most advanced military capability." He argued 
that "it is inappropriate to call this omoiyari yosan (sympathy 
budget)." 
 
The Ambassador said that the significance of the USFJ's continuing 
to conduct exercises in Japan lies "not only in ensuring rapid 
response to any situation but also in serving as a visible 
deterrent." 
 
(4) Japan, U.S. to hold talks on deepening bilateral alliance on 
Feb. 2 in Tokyo 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
January 31, 2010 
 
The governments of Japan and the United States will hold on Feb. 2 
in Tokyo a Security Subcommittee (SSC) meeting of director-general 
level foreign and defense officials, aiming to move talks on 
deepening the bilateral alliance into full gear, coinciding with the 
50th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. The Japanese 
government will propose strengthening cooperation on the expanded 
deterrence policy, including a missile defense system, space 
strategy, and the U.S.'s nuclear umbrella, based on changes in the 
security environment of the Asia-Pacific region. 
 
The SSC analyzes the environment of the Japan-U.S. security 
arrangements, which are gradually changing, with an eye on China's 
rise in the economic and military spheres, as well as North Korea's 
nuclear ambitions. In addition to a missile defense system, the SSC 
will systematically discuss a collaborative framework on cyber 
attacks and relief operations. The Japanese side is expected to 
request that the SSC review the SOFA and Japan's host-nation support 
(the so-called sympathy budget) for the U.S. forces in Japan. 
 
The two governments agreed at a meeting of their foreign ministers 
on Jan. 12 in Hawaii to initiate talks on deepening the bilateral 
alliance even before the Futenma issue is resolved. For the 
Japan-U.S. relationship, which has been strained over the Futenma 
issue, the talks on deepening the alliance will play the ironic role 
of preventing the two countries from moving away from each other. 
 
(5) Foreign Minister Okada in foreign policy speech underscores 
determination to exercise leadership for nuclear disarmament 
 
ASAHI (Page 5) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada delivered a foreign policy speech on 
Jan. 29 at the plenary session of all lawmakers from both chambers 
of the Diet for the first time since the change of government. In 
 
TOKYO 00000201  004 OF 013 
 
 
his policy speech, Okada stressed that he will exercise his 
leadership in dealing with such global issues as nuclear arms 
reduction, saying, "Japan is called upon to act proactively and 
respond to international expectations." In connection with 
Japan-U.S. relations, he expressed his determination to tackle the 
issues of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and 
Japan's contribution to the cost of stationing the U.S. forces in 
Japan. 
 
With regard to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air 
Station (in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture), Okada said, "The 
government on its part will make a decision by the end of May." He 
also stated that he wishes to deepen public understanding for the 
presence of the U.S. forces in Japan, while deepening the Japan-U.S. 
alliance. On North Korea, he said Japan will seek to normalize 
relations by resolving issues such as the abductions of Japanese 
nationals by North Korea and the nuclear issue, as well as by 
settling the unfortunate past. In connection with Japan-China ties, 
he stated that Japan will enhance and give shape to the strategic 
reciprocal relationship. 
 
Demonstrating the basic perception that the international community 
has embarked on a new era of cooperation, with the inauguration of 
U.S. President Barack Obama as a catalyst, Okada expressed his 
determination to deepen discussions with relevant nations on the 
issues of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. 
 
(6) Expert panel to admit existence of three Japan-U.S. secret 
pacts 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
An expert panel tasked with examining documents related to alleged 
secret accords between Japan and the U.S. has decided to admit the 
existence of three pacts in its final report to be compiled by the 
end of March, according to informed sources. The Foreign Ministry's 
panel, chaired by Tokyo University Professor Shinichi Kitaoka, plans 
to admit the existence of: (1) a pact allowing the U.S. military to 
bring nuclear weapons into Japan in 1960, when the Japan-U.S. 
Security Treaty was revised; (2) a pact on combat action by the U.S. 
military in times of emergency on the Korean Peninsula; and (3) a 
pact allowing the U.S. military to reintroduce nuclear weapons into 
Okinawa in the event of a contingency made at the time of the 
reversion of Okinawa from U.S. control to Japanese sovereignty. 
 
In response to this development, the government will change its 
conventional position of denying the existence of any secret accords 
with the U.S. The government has already prepared to start 
behind-the-scenes coordination with the U.S. to confirm the contents 
of the secret accords. On the secret accord designed to tacitly 
allow U.S. military vessels carrying nuclear weapons to make 
stopovers in Japan or pass through Japanese territory and the accord 
to allow the U.S. to bring nuclear weapons into Okinawa, the focus 
of discussion is on their compatibility with the nation's three 
non-nuclear principles. The U.S. side has expressed concern about 
(Japan's investigation's) possible impact on its nuclear policy. 
There might be some effect on the talks designed to deepen the 
Japan-U.S. alliance, which is being rocked over the issue of 
relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station. 
 
The texts or drafts of the three accords in question have already 
 
TOKYO 00000201  005 OF 013 
 
 
been discovered, according to informed sources. In addition, 
successive senior Foreign Ministry officials have testified on the 
pacts. However, the panel has yet to discover any documents related 
to the remaining accord concerning Japan's payment of fees for 
restoring the land used by the U.S. military to its original state, 
so the investigation on this accord will be continued. 
 
(7) Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Takino to head new Okinawa 
Liaison Office 
 
JIJI.COM (Full) 
12:43, February 1, 2010 
 
At a news conference on the morning of Feb. 1, Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Hirofumi Hirano announced that Deputy Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Kinya Takino has been appointed as the head of the new 
Okinawa Liaison Office created under the Cabinet Secretariat to take 
charge of coordination with Okinawa on base issues and economic 
development measures. The appointment took effect on Jan. 29. 
 
Takino will head a staff of seven in the new office. The liaison 
office will open a branch at the Okinawa General Bureau of the 
Cabinet Office (in Naha). Masaaki Takezawa, head of the Okinawa 
General Bureau, and five other officials have been appointed to 
serve in the branch office. 
 
(8) Okinawa in turmoil for 13 years over Futenma-linked economic 
measures, remains dependent on military bases 
 
NIKKEI (Page 27) (Full) 
February 1, 2010 
 
One week has passed since an opponent to accepting the relocation of 
the U.S. forces' Futenma Air Station won the Nago City mayoral 
election in Okinawa. Over the 13 years since the government sounded 
out the city about Futenma's relocation to Henoko in Nago, Okinawa 
has been at the mercy of Tokyo's policies. Base-related money spent 
on Okinawa and the economic measures have shackled the local 
governments, aggravating their dependence on the bases. Will Okinawa 
be able to break the spell? 
 
Anxiety over subsidies 
 
A brand new building with a red tiled roof stands out when one 
enters the Henoko district on the east coast of Nago City. This is 
the "Henoko communication plaza" built in 2007. Approximately 90 
percent of the 900 million yen used to build this civic hall that 
has an auditorium capable of accommodating several hundred people, a 
fitness center, a computer room, and other facilities was paid out 
of the Ministry of Defense's budget. The building is conspicuously 
plush. A housewife, 54, living nearby says: "I visit the library for 
lectures or go there for a massage at least three times a week." 
 
100 billion yen in 10 years 
 
Since Nago declared its willingness to accept Futenma relocation in 
1999, the government has doled out as much as 100 billion yen in 10 
years for economic development projects in northern Okinawa and 
various other forms of subsidies. Over 60 billion yen has been spent 
on Nago City, which has a population of 60,000. The G-8 
Kyushu-Okinawa Summit was held here in 2000 and a national technical 
college was founded. At its peak, nearly 30 percent of the city's 
 
TOKYO 00000201  006 OF 013 
 
 
revenues were related to the U.S. bases. 
 
A restaurant owner in his 70s laments that, "Still, this is no match 
for the Vietnam War period, when the entertainment district catering 
to the American soldiers thrived." Although the population of Henoko 
has increased from 1,500 10 years ago to 2,000, the economic 
spinoffs have been less than what was expected. Most of the faculty 
members and employees of the technical college and the employees of 
the companies invited to northern Okinawa commute from the urban 
center on the west coast, so there are no economic benefits for 
Henoko. 
 
The Toyohara district next to Henoko was designated as a special 
information technology zone and the only special financial zone in 
the country in 2002. Buildings including a "multimedia hall" were 
built, and 935 people work for 27 companies there. Over 70 percent 
of them were reportedly hired from northern Okinawa. Dealers of a 
branch office of Gaitame.com, a foreign currency margin trading 
company, process buy or sell orders in a glassed-in dealing room. 
Takahiko Yasunaga, 39, deputy chief of the secretariat of the Nago 
Development Authority, reveals that, "Right now, only one company 
has been designated as eligible to receive preferential treatment. 
It will be difficult for us to become self-reliant immediately." He 
is worried that with the election of an opponent to accepting the 
military base as mayor, economic assistance from the national 
government may decrease. 
 
The seven-story Nago business assistance center housing the city's 
business organization and tourism association overlooks the Nago 
intersection at the center of the city, and across the street, 
construction work on the city government's housing project is in 
progress. This makes it look as if the city is full of vitality. 
Yet, there are so many shops that are closed or have "for rent" 
signs posted in the shopping district. Nago citizens all agree that, 
"We don't feel that life has become any better." 
 
As the government proceeds with these economic development projects, 
it is becoming increasingly frustrated with the stalemate in the 
relocation process. It has created a new "U.S. Forces Japan 
realignment subsidy" system, which is a carrot-and-stick scheme 
aimed at pressuring the local communities by paying out subsidies to 
local governments depending on the degree of their cooperation and 
freezing such subsidies for localities opposing relocation plans. 
 
Former Mayor Katsusuke Ihara, 59, of Iwakuni City in Yamaguchi 
Prefecture, who clashed with the government over the stationing of 
aircraft carrier-based planes, points out: "The government's method 
of forcing bases on the local communities with money has reached its 
limits. The citizens of Nago probably feel keenly that military 
bases do not contribute to economic development." 
 
Eighty-three percent of the land area of the town of Kadena is 
occupied by the Kadena Air Base (KAB), the largest U.S. military 
base in the Far East. Last year, the statues of three men were 
erected in the new building built next to the town hall as part of a 
redevelopment project, namely: the late Seiroku Kajiyama (former 
chief cabinet secretary), Yukio Okamoto (former prime minister's 
adviser), and Haruo Shimada (president of Chiba University of 
Commerce). 
 
The trio are regarded as "benefactors" who contributed to the town's 
development through the special projects for the economic 
 
TOKYO 00000201  007 OF 013 
 
 
revitalization of municipalities hosting U.S. military bases in 
Okinawa (commonly referred to as the Shimada Commission projects), 
and the statues were donated by the construction companies in 
Kadena. 
 
Negotiating card necessary 
 
The government spent 83.6 billion yen for the Shimada Commission 
projects from FY97-99, and Kadena received over 20 billion yen. 
Mayor Tokujitsu Miyagi, 73, claims, "While other municipalities were 
stunned by the sudden availability of subsidies, we made calculated 
moves to obtain the budget." He further invited the Okinawa Defense 
Bureau in Naha (with a staff of approximately 440) to a building in 
the town's redevelopment project, thereby earning income from its 
rent and expanding consumption in the town. 
 
 
However, even Kadena, which has handled its dealings with Tokyo 
shrewdly, has become increasingly dependent on the bases, with its 
base-related income surpassing tax revenues. Yet, there is no 
guarantee that this arrangement will continue forever. 
 
The special measures law for Okinawa's development and the Okinawa 
economic development program are due to expire in FY2011. While a 
total of some 9 trillion yen has been spent on Okinawa's development 
since its reversion to Japanese administration in 1972, such 
spending has been declining due to the government's fiscal 
difficulties. Okinawa still has the worst unemployment rate in the 
whole country. Therefore, there is a persistent opinion among 
Okinawans that "the bases are necessary as a negotiating card to 
obtain assistance from the government." 
 
Okinawa has been at the mercy of base-related money for 13 years. 
Will the same turmoil be repeated at the new relocation site to be 
selected by the government in May, at the earliest? 
 
No feasible relocation site; growing local demand for relocation out 
of Okinawa 
 
The Futenma base sits in the center of Ginowan carved out of the 
city like the hole in a doughnut. After the election of an opponent 
to Futenma relocation won the Nago mayoral election, Mayor Yoichi 
Iha, 58, argued, "Relocation within Okinawa or the construction of a 
new military base is no longer possible. It is fully possible to 
relocate (the Futenma base) to Guam." 
 
There had also been no progress at all in the relocation process 
when a U.S. military helicopter crashed into the Okinawa 
International University in 2004. There is now hope that "the 
Hatoyama administration will not negotiate with the U.S. on the 
assumption that a replacement facility will be built." 
 
The three ruling parties inspected Camp Fuji (in Shizuoka 
Prefecture), the Iwakuni base (in Yamaguchi Prefecture), the 
Maritime Self-Defense Force's Omura base, and other locations since 
late 2009, but the local leaders all refused to accept Futenma's 
relocation. Proposals to integrate Futenma with KAB or to relocate 
to the islands of Shimojishima or Iejima have reemerged in Okinawa. 
Kadena Mayor Miyagi told an executive meeting of the national 
association of municipalities on Jan. 28 that, "Okinawa cannot 
accept any more bases. The whole country should be ready to share 
the burden imposed by the bases." 
 
TOKYO 00000201  008 OF 013 
 
 
 
Will the Futenma base remain where it is because a new relocation 
site cannot be found? Repair work on the runway in Futenma began in 
January in anticipation of the continued use of this base. A man 
living just outside the base fence, 75, laments, "I have been 
looking forward to the return of the base for 13 years, but it 
probably won't happen during my lifetime." 
 
Former Governor Keiichi Inamine, 76, who accepted Futenma relocation 
in 1999, says: "The Hatoyama administration has opened Pandora's 
Box. The magma of the Okinawan people's discontent will never stop 
flowing now." 
 
(9) Editorial: Japan as a sovereign nation must revise SOFA 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 2) (Full) 
January 29, 2010. 
 
If a country under the rule of law were to allow criminals to 
escape, it would collapse from the ground up. The barrier of the 
Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA for short, threatens 
the daily lives of people in Okinawa Prefecture to the extent that 
judicial authorities have expressed a sense of crisis. 
 
On Jan. 27, the Naha District Public Prosecutors Office indicted a 
staff sergeant attached to the U.S. Army's Special Forces in Okinawa 
on the additional charge of involvement in a fatal hit-and-run 
incident in the village of Yomitan. 
 
The prosecutors took a long time, about three months after the 
incident occurred, to indict the U.S. serviceman on hit-and-run 
charges. This is ascribable to SOFA provisions that block the 
pre-indictment turnover of suspects. 
 
The victim was killed, and there were no eyewitnesses. The U.S. 
serviceman suspect, the key to grasping the circumstances 
surrounding the incident, has denied the allegations and refused to 
comply with the local police's request for voluntary questioning. 
 
The United States, hiding behind the SOFA, remained negative about 
handing over the suspect to local investigative authorities, only to 
protract local police investigations. 
 
Following the rape of a schoolgirl in 1995, the Japanese and U.S. 
governments announced "improvements in SOFA implementation." The 
U.S. government promised "sympathetic consideration" for Japanese 
police requests for the pre-indictment handover of criminal suspects 
in the case of serious crimes. 
 
In the case of this hit-and-run incident, however, there was no 
sympathetic consideration from the United States. 
 
In spite of the SOFA-erected barriers to the investigation, the 
local prosecutors could go ahead with indictment. This is because 
there was physical evidence, such as the vehicle involved in the 
incident and the victim's body, and there was objective evidence for 
determining the vehicle's speed and the circumstances of the 
collision. 
 
In the case of heinous crimes such as murder and rape with little 
physical evidence, police would certainly face hurdles to 
investigation. Investigators could end up in a blind alley, with the 
 
TOKYO 00000201  009 OF 013 
 
 
investigations protracted and evidence destroyed. Judicial 
authorities have also expressed a sense of crisis. 
 
The incident occurred in Japan. Even though the suspect is a U.S. 
serviceman, his crime was committed in Japan, so Japanese law was 
applicable, and the suspect should be tried in Japan and punished. 
This is clearly stipulated in SOFA Article 17. This stipulation, 
however, has, in fact, become a dead letter. 
 
A sovereign nation is synonymous with an independent nation that can 
completely exercise its sovereignty. Dictionaries define a sovereign 
nation as a nation that can exercise its sovereignty and judiciary 
power in cases in which foreign nationals committed crimes within 
its borders. 
 
Even though Japanese nationals fall victim to crimes committed by 
foreign nationals, Japan depends on a foreign nation's sympathetic 
consideration to conduct investigations and arrest criminals. Such a 
country can't be called a sovereign country or an independent 
country. 
 
In the first place, U.S. troops are stationed here for the security 
of the Far East and the defense of Japan. They are not stationed 
here to take the lives of Japanese people. 
 
U.S. soldiers threaten the Japanese people they should protect. The 
Japanese government signed, without revising, the SOFA, under which 
vicious U.S. servicemen can't be tried, endangering the lives of the 
Japanese people. The Japanese public should not forgive such a 
government and its bureaucracy. 
 
(10) Editorial: Obama's State of the Union address -- Credibility of 
statements to be tested 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 5) (Full) 
January 29, 2010 
 
U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a State of the Union address 
for the first time since assuming office. Amid declining public 
support ratings, Obama said, "I will forge ahead even with unpopular 
polices," expressing his sense of historical mission. In his second 
year in office, the credibility of his words will be tested. 
 
Obama delivered his first State of the Union address while facing a 
headwind. 
 
The timing of Obama's State of the Union address was ironic because 
he delivered the speech immediately after the Democratic candidate 
had been defeated in the election to fill the Massachusetts Senate 
seat and because his expectations for boosting his administration's 
popularity through the expected passage of the health care reform 
bill, which is the most pressing domestic issue, have come up 
short. 
 
It is reasonable for Obama to spend time on internal affairs, in 
particular on employment policy. "One year ago, I took office amid 
two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial 
system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt," 
said Obama. 
 
It is normal for a new government that has carried out a change of 
administration to underscore the negative legacy it has inherited 
 
TOKYO 00000201  010 OF 013 
 
 
from the previous government and stress its burgeoning 
accomplishments. Obama sought understanding for his administration's 
achievements in overcoming a financial crisis comparable to the 
Great Depression with aggressive fiscal spending, as well as for 
public assistance for major financial institutions, which is an 
unpopular policy. He said, "Our policy prevented 2 million people 
from losing their jobs. We diverted 30 billion dollars from Wall 
Street to small and medium-sized companies." 
 
Citing data on employment achieved in such industries as 
construction and energy services by economic stimulus measures, 
Obama explained his medium and long-term plans to expand job 
opportunities. Amid a jobless rate of over 10 percent, it will 
probably be a race against time for the economic measures to produce 
positive results for the public, which has grown increasingly angry 
and anxious. 
 
The campaign for the fall mid-term congressional elections has 
already begun. The Republican Party, too, is desperate to draw on 
its victory i. 
Q[L[Qzzation of nuclear weapons, has been set 
for April. The Obama government will withdraw its troops from Iraq 
in August. If Islamic extremists sense a lack of the unity in the 
international community, they will attack immediately. Whether the 
nuclear security summit can produce specific results remains 
unclear. 
 
During his speech that lasted more than one hour, a tense silence 
prevailed in the chamber every now and then. Recalling the hardships 
of history of the foundation of America, the people listened 
intently and respectfully to his words of inspiration. The people 
are desperately hoping for the President to exercise his ability to 
implement them in his second year in office. 
 
(11) DPJ Secretary General Ozawa questioned again by prosecutors on 
land deal on January 31 
 
MAINICHI (Page 1) (Abridged) 
Evening, February 1, 2010 
 
It appears that the Special Investigation Division of the Tokyo 
District Prosecutors Office has questioned Democratic Party of Japan 
(DPJ) Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa again on the land deal 
involving his fund management organization, the Rikuzan-kai, in 
Tokyo on Jan. 31. Ozawa's statements at his regular secretary 
general's news conference on the afternoon of Feb. 1 will be the 
focus of keen interest. 
 
Although the Special Investigation Division questioned Ozawa once on 
Jan. 23 on the facts relating to the land deal, it is believed that 
the prosecutors sought further explanation from Ozawa at a hotel in 
Tokyo on the afternoon of Jan. 31 on the questionable points from 
the first session. The second session was apparently an extension of 
the first one. It appears that Ozawa's testimony was recorded in a 
formal statement. 
 
(12) First Ainu policy meeting held on Jan. 29 
 
 
TOKYO 00000201  011 OF 013 
 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
January 30, 2010 
 
The government Ainu policy promotion panel, headed by Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, held its first meeting on Jan. 29 at the 
Prime Minister's Official Residence. On the basis of a report 
compiled by an expert panel set up in the previous coalition 
government of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, the 
government Ainu policy promotion panel will look into conducting a 
fact-finding survey of the actual conditions of the lives of Ainu 
people living in Hokkaido. (The Ainu are an indigenous ethnic group 
of Japan.) 
 
(13) Parents and children after divorce; (Part 2): Husband took son 
away to his home country 
 
YOMIURI (Page 17) (Full) 
January 27, 2010 
 
Kayoko Yamada, 41, a nurse from Yamagata City, Gifu Prefecture, 
stood last December on a street in Tokyo's Shinjuku district passing 
out flyers reading "My son was suddenly taken away from Japan in 
August 2009" seeking cooperation in her effort to get her son back. 
 
Her Czech husband, who she had been living with in Gifu, has not 
returned to Japan after leaving the country with their son, 5. Her 
husband got into the car with their son on the morning of Aug. 23 to 
"put gasoline in the car." "See you Mom. Dad is going to buy me a 
toy," were the last words her son said to her. 
 
Evening came, but they did not return. Late that night, Yamada 
received an e-mail saying, "We're going on a trip." She hurriedly 
notified the police of the situation late that night and rushed to 
the airport first thing in the morning. She could not find her 
husband and her son there. After returning to the police station to 
file a search request, she received a telephone call from her 
husband. "We are in Frankfurt (in Germany)," her husband said and he 
hung up." Yamada cried out at the police station. 
 
After being told by the police that they were unable to handle 
marriage problems, she sought the cooperation of the Foreign 
Ministry, the Czech embassy in Japan, and the Japanese embassy in 
Prague. But there has been no progress on the matter. 
 
There is a strong possibility that her son is in Prague where her 
husband's parents' home is located, according to Yamada. "I want to 
travel to the Czech Republic right away to take my child back," 
Yamada said. "But I might end up facing charges of abduction as a 
result of trying to bring him back to Japan. If I'm caught, will the 
Japanese government help me?" 
 
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction exists to deal with cross-border child abduction. Japan is 
not a signatory to the convention. "The Czech Republic is a 
signatory to the convention, so if Japan was a signatory, Japan 
might have been able to find some clues to resolving Ms. Yamada's 
case," said a lawyer well-versed in international marriage. 
 
The United States and many European countries are signatories to the 
Hague Convention. If the parent from whom the child was taken files 
a complaint with his or her home government, the government of 
another parent is required under the convention to extend 
 
TOKYO 00000201  012 OF 013 
 
 
cooperation, such as searching for the whereabouts of the child, to 
return the child to his or her habitual country or residence. 
 
There are also cases in which parents living outside Japan cannot 
see their children after they are taken to Japan from the United 
States and other Hague Convention signatory countries in Europe. 
 
Robert Smith, 40, an American company employee, is having a hard 
time finding a way to reclaim his child. His former Japanese wife 
took his son, en elementary school student, to Japan two years ago, 
and they have not come back to the United States since. He received 
e-mails via his ex-wife's lawyer saying, "You cannot see my son," 
and "As the mother of the child, I deserve the custody of our son." 
 
Their divorce was granted in the United States. They reached an 
agreement in which out of two weeks, the son would spend six days 
with his father and eight days with his mother. The son was dividing 
his time between his parents who were living in the same state. "My 
ex-wife said that she was just taking our son to Japan to visit her 
hometown, so I never imagined that they wouldn't come back," Smith 
said, slumping down in disappointment. 
 
The Foreign Ministry has received 177 cases from the United States, 
Canada, UK, and France in which one parent had taken a child to 
Japan without the consent of the other parent. Last fall, an 
American was arrested on suspicion of abducting a minor as he tried 
to reclaim his son from his former Japanese wife in Japan in an 
effort to take him back to the United States. With the aim of 
avoiding such a situation, signatories to the Hague Convention are 
calling for Japan to accede to the convention. 
 
(14) Parents and children after divorce, (Part 3): Rumors widespread 
in U.S. and European countries that Japan is a country that does not 
allow the parent living apart from the child to see the child after 
divorce 
 
YOMIURI (Page 17) (Full) 
January 28, 2010 
 
Rumors are widespread in the United States and European countries 
that Japan is a country that does now allow the parent who lives 
apart from the child to see the child after divorce. Those rumors 
have given rise to new conflicts regarding parents and children. 
 
The grade-school son of a woman we will call "Ms. U," 46, a company 
employee in the Tokai region, went to see his father in the United 
States a year and a half ago, and he has not returned to Japan 
since. The couple decided to live separately five years ago. They 
jointly raised their son, making him divide his time between Japan 
and the United States in accordance with the letters of consent they 
exchanged. But in the summer of 2008, her son did not come back to 
Japan on the scheduled day, and Ms. U was not able to contact him. 
 
Ms. U then hired a lawyer in the United States and had her lawyer 
press her husband to return her son to Japan. It took a year and a 
half for her husband to accept her request for talks. But in talks, 
her husband fiercely refused to let his son travel to Japan, saying, 
"If I let him go to Japan, which is not a signatory to the Hague 
Convention, he might not come back to the United States." 
 
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child 
Abduction is designed to insure the prompt return of a child who has 
 
TOKYO 00000201  013 OF 013 
 
 
been abducted by one parent without the consent of another parent to 
the child's country of habitual residence. 
 
"I have strictly abided by the visitation agreement, so why has he 
abruptly decided to keep my son from me?" Ms. U said, biting her 
lip. A while later she received from her husband some photographs of 
her son, now grown big. "Is this really my son?" she was surprised. 
"I could really feel that I had not been able to see my son for a 
year and a half." 
 
"The United States and other Hague Convention member countries in 
Europe take a stern view of Japan, which has not joined the 
convention," said Mikiko Otani, a lawyer well-versed in 
international marriage. There are many cases in which the father and 
mother live in different countries, like Ms. U, and one parent 
living outside Japan does not allow the child to travel to the other 
parent's country. 
 
It is also said that there are cases in which a Japanese parent is 
not allowed to sit at the negotiating table with the concerned party 
from a Hague Convention member country. "The reason is that Japan is 
regarded as a country that does not allow the parent living 
separately to see the child and it is as though that there is no 
room for talks," Otani explained. "If this situation persists, 
Japanese spouses might be placed in an extremely disadvantageous 
position." 
 
In fact, a Japanese woman during a divorce trial asked her husband 
to let her and her daughter return to Japan because her father was 
sick. But her husband turned down her request. The trial dragged on, 
and the woman eventually returned to Japan with her daughter without 
obtaining the consent of her husband. "If Japan were a signatory to 
the Hague Convention, my request would have been accepted, and there 
was no need to return to Japan without the consent of my husband," 
the woman said looking back on those days. 
 
Questions have been raised about Japan's non-Hague Convention status 
chiefly by foreign spouses from whom children were taken, saying 
they cannot take their children back to their countries. The United 
States and European countries are urging the Japanese government to 
accede to the convention. It has now become a diplomatic issue. 
 
Japanese spouses are often put at a disadvantage, and there is an 
active movement in Japan calling for Tokyo to sign the convention. 
 
Given the situation, the Foreign Ministry set up late last year an 
office to handle international child custody issues. At the same 
time, a cautious stance still prevails in the government because of 
cases in which Japanese spouses have to bring their children back to 
Japan from abroad due to such circumstances as child abuse. 
 
In 2008, there were about 37,000 international marriages, and some 
19,000 international marriages ended in divorce, almost twice the 
number marked ten years earlier. Caught in different systems and 
values, the parties concerned are continuing exploring ways to build 
family relationships after divorce in an age of 
internationalization. 
 
ROOS