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Viewing cable 06TOKYO1268, DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 03/09/06

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TOKYO1268 2006-03-09 08:14 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO3156
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1268/01 0680814
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 090814Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9550
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/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA//J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/COMPATWING ONE KAMI SEYA JA
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 7665
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 5038
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 8155
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 5069
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 6221
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1039
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7227
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9218
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 TOKYO 001268 
 
SIPDIS 
 
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 03/09/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of 
coastal plan for Futenma relocation; 
 
(2) Foreign Minister Aso calls Taiwan a country in Upper House 
Budget Committee session 
 
(3) Japan-China talks on joint gas field development in East 
China: "Curve ball" from China causing stir in Tokyo 
 
(4) LDP presidential race in 2006: Regional areas abandoned? 
Regional communities call on Prime Minister Koizumi to narrow 
income disparity, saying "We are doing best, but   " 
 
(5) SDF-USFJ fusion and its fate-Ahead of final report on USFJ 
realignment (Part 2): Japan, US to step up joint training 
exercises with eye on China, terrorists 
 
(6) Interview with Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, "Tameike Tsushin" 
publisher, on future of Japan-US relations: Koizumi successor 
should present blueprint for US policy 
 
(7) Men hold key to reversing the declining birthrate; Marriage 
rate of permanent employees is three times higher than that of 
part-timers; Married couples with husbands who help with 
housework tend to have second child 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Prime Minister: "Don't compromise!" Rejects revision of 
coastal plan for Futenma relocation; 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Top play) (Excerpt) 
March 9, 2006 
 
(Tokyo)  Taku Yamasaki, chairman of the Liberal Democratic 
Party's Security Research Committee, met last night at a Tokyo 
hotel with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. He reported that 
Nago City had outlined in the city assembly a framework of 
approval of the relocation of Futenma Air Station.  Prime 
Minister Koizumi lauded the city's response, saying, "So it has 
come this far," but he once more reiterated his negative thinking 
about revising the coastal plan at Camp Schwab, saying, "If the 
government compromises on its plan, new problems will arise," and 
"I would like to carry out the government's plan." Moreover, a 
top level official in the Defense Agency indicated that the 
design that Nago City had indicated was "no good," taking a clear 
stance rejecting any revisions in the form desired by the city. 
 
Okinawa prefectural assembly speaker calls for "giant bi-partisan 
rally," asking governor to lead it 
 
RYUKYU SHIMPO (Page 1) (Abridged) 
March 9, 2006 
 
Speaker of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly Seizen Hokama 
yesterday upon hearing that the central government had refused to 
reach an understanding with the local governments on USFJ 
realignment, issued this statement: 
 
"Regardless of whether we approve or disapprove of the Japan-US 
Security Treaty, we must transcend our party affiliation and 
 
TOKYO 00001268  002 OF 012 
 
 
bring together our views so that we can make our appeal to both 
governments. We must do our absolute best to oppose by bipartisan 
action the relocation of Futenma Air Station to the coastal 
portion of Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago City." 
 
He revealed that he will meet with Governor Inamine in the near 
future and urge him to take the lead in sponsoring a giant 
bipartisan rally of prefectural residents from all walks of life 
 
Voices have begun to be heard in the prefectural assembly from 
even ruling camp members, saying, "The central government has 
gone too far in ignoring us, so with things having gone this far, 
the only thing we can do is to hold a mass bipartisan rally." The 
future response of the LDP, the largest party group in the 
assembly, will depend on what happens when senior members of the 
prefectural liaison committee receive word back from their 
requests of Tokyo. 
 
On the other hand, there is a move in the opposition camp, which 
sponsored the rally on March 5, to probe into the possibility of 
a giant bipartisan rally. Feelers have been sent out to the 
ruling camp regarding the timing of such an event. 
 
Regarding the prefectural rally on March 5, Hokama explained the 
reason why the governor and he had not attended: "It would not 
have been appropriate for the governor and the assembly speaker 
to attend a rally sponsored only by a splinter group of the 
reformist parties." On the other hand, he had words of praise for 
the event. 
 
 He continued: "In rallies, the governor has been too passive. 
This is the biggest political challenge in our prefecture, and 
this could be the one chance in a thousand. He should show his 
leadership and sponsor a mass rally for the prefectural 
residents, taking the lead, and calling on everyone to join. The 
success of this rally will force the Japanese and US governments 
to move." 
 
(2) Foreign Minister Aso calls Taiwan a country in Upper House 
Budget Committee session 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
Evening, March 9, 2006 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso made the following comment regarding 
Taiwan before the House of Councillors Budget Committee this 
morning: 
 
"Taiwan is a mature democracy and advanced free economy and is a 
law-abiding country. Taiwan is a country that shares the same 
values with Japan in a lot of ways." 
 
The statement is likely to draw a backlash from China. 
 
Additionally, referring to the 1972 Japan-China Joint Declaration 
that recognized China as the only legitimate government, Aso 
said: 
 
"The bilateral relationship (between Japan and Taiwan) must be 
maintained in the purview of the declaration. The word 
'bilateral' may create problems, but the Japan-Taiwan 
relationship deserves appropriate treatment." 
 
 
TOKYO 00001268  003 OF 012 
 
 
Aso was responding to a question by Naoki Okada of the Liberal 
Democratic Party. 
 
(3) Japan-China talks on joint gas field development in East 
China: "Curve ball" from China causing stir in Tokyo 
 
ASAHI (Page 2) (Full) 
March 9, 2006 
 
In Japan-China bureau director-level talks on gas field 
development in the East China Sea on March 7, China presented a 
new proposal calling for joint development of waters off the 
Senkaku Islands. The two countries have been at odds over the 
sovereignty of the isles. At present, relations between Japan and 
China have been strained over Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to 
Yasukuni Shrine, but China has introduced another source of 
trouble. Some observers speculate that China might be aiming to 
buy time in order to promote the ongoing exploration of gas 
fields. The "curve ball" pitched by China has set off a stir in 
the Japanese government. 
 
Japan 
 
A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official spoke 
angrily yesterday: "I cannot understand what motivated China. 
Anything that is likely to cause a territorial dispute is out of 
the question." 
 
In the talks on March 7, China opened a map and pointed to two 
areas as proposed sites for joint development. At that time, it 
was unclear whether the Senkakus were included in the pointed out 
areas. 
 
The MOFA officials who attended the talks were busy analyzing the 
Chinese proposal on the night of March 7. As a result, they found 
that an area near the Senkaku Islands is one of the two proposed 
areas. 
 
Prior to the talks, Japan had though that China might propose 
areas other than the area covering the Chunxiao gas field as 
sites for joint development. According to a senior MOFA official, 
however, Japan had not anticipated that it would come up with 
waters off the Senkakus. 
 
Waters off the Chunxiao gas field are within the exclusive 
economic zone (EEZ) free from any restrictions on both countries' 
economic activities, but the area near the Senkakus is Japan's 
territory. A senior member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and 
Industry (METI) said: "The proposal is tantamount to a suggestion 
of one walking into another person's house with their shoes on." 
 
Since METI Minister Toshihiro Nikai assumed the present post, the 
ministry has played up its stance of attaching importance to 
talks with China while freezing test-drilling procedures. Keeping 
this in mind, an official has indicated the possibility of 
carrying forward the test-drilling procedures if China advances 
the development of the Chunxiao gas field. The official 
complained: "China embarrassed our minister. Depending on China's 
moves, we may start test boring." 
 
Some government officials, though, have calmly responded to the 
Chinese proposal. In the previous talks, Japan proposed a plan to 
jointly develop gas fields near the Chunxiao gas field, and this 
 
TOKYO 00001268  004 OF 012 
 
 
was not an "easy ball," either. Japanese government officials 
concerned also understood why China could not accept Japan's 
plan. China has poured money into the Chunxiao project. The 
officials expect that China may rewrite the proposal submitted at 
the beginning of the talks. 
 
Beijing has given up improving relations with Japan before Prime 
Minister Koizumi steps down, cutting off summit and foreign 
ministerial talks with Japan. Under such a situation, there will 
be no other means but for the two sides to hold working-level 
negotiations on pending issues. The Japanese government will 
start preparatory work next week for the next round of talks in 
April. It plans to decline the new Chinese proposal and submit 
its own proposal. 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi used this phrase three times before 
reporters last night: "We will try to resolve the issue through 
talks." 
 
China 
 
A Chinese government spokesman said to an Asahi Shimbun reporter 
on the night of March 7: "Joint development is possible. We will 
not be constrained by the median boundary line (set by Japan). 
The Chunxiao and other gas fields will not be included in our 
joint development plan, and this is our position." 
 
China has pitched a "curve ball" by proposing the joint 
development of an area near the Senkaku Islands, without changing 
its principles. A cunning strategy can be detected behind China's 
proposal. 
 
According to the China-affiliated newspaper Da Gong Bao in Hong 
Kong, the Chinese government has invested about 130 billion yen 
in developing the Chunxiao gas field. It is now ready to start 
production by the end of this month. In addition, China 
reportedly completed later last year the construction of a 
pipeline to transport extracted gas from the Chunxiao gas field 
to Ningpo in Zhejiang Province. 
 
Some observers see China is maneuvering to shake up Japan with 
the Senkaku plan if Japan insists on the joint development of 
Chunxiao. At the same time, China also intends to reject the 
median boundary set by Japan on the premise of the Senkaku 
Islands being its territory, according to informed sources. 
 
The Chinese military with strong power in the nation has been 
involved in conducting marine surveys and securing ocean rights 
and interests. Its National Development Reform Committee is 
responsible for working out energy policy and has also played up 
an uncompromising stance. It might be difficult to change China's 
hard-line stance because of limits to coordination work in the 
nation. 
 
(4) LDP presidential race in 2006: Regional areas abandoned? 
Regional communities call on Prime Minister Koizumi to narrow 
income disparity, saying "We are doing best, but   " 
 
ASAHI (Page 1&4) (Excerpts) 
March 8, 2006 
 
At budget committee sessions of both houses of the Diet, Prime 
Minister Junichiro Koizumi in talking about Japan's economic 
 
TOKYO 00001268  005 OF 012 
 
 
growth has stressed the need for individuals to show their 
"enthusiasm and competition". At a House of Councillors Budget 
Committee session yesterday, the prime minister said: 
 
"Tax cuts and public works projects never produced any effect. 
The Japanese economy now is finally shows signs of picking up 
steam. I hope private companies, local communities and 
individuals will demonstrate their potential and special 
characteristics and act in accordance with their motivations so 
that the Japanese economy will take a turn for the better." 
 
Koizumi believes that since conventional economic measures no 
longer have worked, his government has no choice but to grow the 
economy by taking advantage of the creative spirits and efforts 
of motivated local communities and companies. 
 
As the prime minister expected, the Nikkei Stock Average jumped 
by 40% last year. With the rush to develop the downtown sections 
of Tokyo, various economic indicators have turned upward. The 
government may declare soon that the current deflationary trend 
has ended. 
 
When talking about how to narrow regional economic disparities, 
Koizumi has used the only word "eagerness." In his policy speech 
in January, Koizumi stated: "Japanese agricultural products are 
being marketed overseas for their high-quality. The government 
will carry out an "aggressive agricultural policy" that backs 
mainly highly motivated and competent farm management. 
 
There is a famous mushroom called "Yukinoshita," artificially 
grown in a small village in Akita Prefecture. Yukinoshita is a 
quality product. A 75-year-old farmer, who lives with his 71-year- 
old wife, said, "Since we used to be too busy removing the snow 
from our roof, we could not grow mushrooms in the winter." The 
village has few young farmers. There are two households with 4 
persons in the village. They have no one to ask to remove snow. 
 
As of March 7, the nation's heavy snow count had left 143 persons 
dead, and more than 2,000 injured. Most of them were elderly 
people living in depopulated areas. In cities, Akita Prefecture, 
many stores have gone out of business. Akita Chamber of Commerce 
and Industry Vice Chairman Minoru Yonezawa, 67, said: "What Prime 
Minister says is right. Persons who do not exert efforts are bad. 
I think, however, everybody has worked hard." 
 
The five-year period of Koizumi politics has changed Japanese 
society. Disparities have widened among regions and young people. 
All safety nets, including the pension system, are falling apart. 
Turmoil in Japan's Asia diplomacy could affect nationalism in the 
country. 
 
Asahi in this article examines closely issues that are likely to 
be carried over to Prime Minister Koizumi's successor. 
 
2,109 regional communities on verge of crisis 
 
According to the survey conducted in 2000 by the former National 
Land Agency, 2,109 communities across the country were teetering 
on the brink of extinction. 
 
As Koizumi has said, some local communities are vying to become 
"first-rate countryside," but persons engaged in the primary 
industries, including agriculture, accounted for only 5% of the 
 
TOKYO 00001268  006 OF 012 
 
 
working population in 2000, compared to 49% in 1950. 
 
The government has designated villages with aging and shrinking 
population as depopulated areas. It has provided generous support 
to such depopulated regions. The depopulated areas account for 
more than a half of the country. 
 
Tokyo alone is different world 
 
The highest building in Tokyo is being erected in a vacant lot 
where the Defense Agency once stood. In that site, a total of 
five buildings will be completed in the spring of 2007. There 
will be the highly sophisticated offices, a hotel, commercial 
facilities, and rental housing in the five buildings, a cluster 
that is named "Tokyo Midtown." Mitsui Real Estate Development Co. 
acquired the building lot in September 2001 immediately after the 
Koizumi government was inaugurated. The government's deregulatory 
measures cut the time period from the land acquisition to the 
start of the construction. A Mitsui Real State official said, 
"Tokyo needs international competition. We want to create new 
products through competition." 
 
At a meeting last December of the Council on Economic and Fiscal 
Policy, a review of the three laws designed to regulate the 
opening of large-scale retail stores came up for discussion. A 
lawmaker hailing from the private sector said, "The public may 
take the revision of the laws as going against the government's 
reform drive." Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro 
Nikai negatively reacted, saying: "The hollowing out of the 
countryside is hideous. It is a serous political involving 
deregulation and aging. We can't ignore this issue." As a result, 
a set of bills revising the three laws was submitted to the 
current Diet session. 
 
Tetsuo Sasaki, 64, the head of Higashi-Naruse Village, Akita 
Prefecture, said: 
 
"(Former prime ministers) Mr. Zenko Suzuki and Mr. Kakuei Tanaka, 
who came from the snow country, understood us, but Prime Minister 
Koizumi is different from them because he is from Yokosuka City." 
 
He then added: "I thought that balanced development of the nation 
is a principle that we should take. I wonder when such a 
principle disappeared." 
 
Where interregional competition headed? 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi has insisted on the importance of 
interregional competition, but local residents are concerned that 
they may be left behind. The government's "big-boned" reform 
policy guidelines compiled in June 2001 called for a policy shift 
from "balanced development" to "economic revitalization by 
combined wisdom and innovative ideas." Local residents are aware 
that wasting public funds is no longer allowed. But with the 
government's murky policy, they cannot see a bright future for 
their areas. Because of this reason, the Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP) won a landslide victory in urban cities, but the LDP failed 
to gain votes in rural districts. 
 
The four possible candidates for the LDP presidential race, which 
will choose a successor to Koizumi, seem indifferent to the 
actual situation of local communities. A declining population has 
already undermined Japan. 
 
TOKYO 00001268  007 OF 012 
 
 
 
(5) SDF-USFJ fusion and its fate-Ahead of final report on USFJ 
realignment (Part 2): Japan, US to step up joint training 
exercises with eye on China, terrorists 
 
ASAHI (Page 37) (Full) 
February 26, 2006 
 
A rubber dinghy sped up as it neared the coastline. The boat 
pulled up short as a US Marine on the bows shouted. In the rear 
were Japanese troops on board from the Ground Self-Defense Force. 
They jumped into the sea and pushed the boat to the beach. 
 
In mid-January, the GSDF and the US Marine Corps conducted joint 
training exercises for about three weeks at the US Navy's 
Coronado base in California. A remote island of Japan is on the 
verge of a foreign incursion. Japanese and US troops land on the 
island. Such a situation was anticipated in their training for 
the first time. 
 
The GSDF sent about 130 rangers there from a Western Army 
infantry regiment garrisoned in the city of Sasebo, Nagasaki 
Prefecture. The regiment is a special force established in 2002 
for the defense of Japan's outlying islands. The GSDF, according 
to its account, did not have any specific country in mind for the 
training. However, China was on its mind. 
 
On Feb. 7, the Air Self-Defense Force and the US Air Force began 
joint training exercises over an area south of Okinawa's main 
island, with four F-4 fighters participating from the ASDF and 
another four F-15 fighters from the USAF. The F-4s and F-15s 
simulated dogfights in the skies. In Okinawa, the ASDF and the 
USAF have conducted 33 joint training exercises over the past 27 
years. In the current fiscal year (April 2005 through March 
2006), however, they have already trained four times. They used 
to be on training missions in Japan's northernmost island of 
Hokkaido and its northeastern mainland area of Honshu. In the 
current fiscal year, however, Okinawa has become the main theater 
for joint training. 
 
"That's for the purpose of improving their capabilities against 
the Su-27, Su-30, and other state-of-the-art fighters," says a 
senior official of the Defense Agency. China has been reinforcing 
its air force with these fighter jets at a high pitch and 
currently deploys more than 200 fighters. 
 
The joint training is also about to change in substance. In the 
past, ASDF and USAF fighters used to be in friend and enemy teams 
to fight. Nowadays, they train in mixed teams. The ASDF is 
sometimes tasked with the role of attacking ground enemies. 
 
The Defense Agency plays down the risk of a Chinese military 
incursion. The agency's defense buildup plan also says so. In the 
current fiscal year, however, ASDF radar has picked up an 
increasing number of planes-which were believed to be Chinese 
warplanes-over the high seas near Okinawa. The ASDF scrambled 
Naha-based interceptors to deal with airspace violations nearly 
four times as often as last fiscal year. In 2004, a Chinese 
submarine intruded into Japan's territorial waters off the island 
of Ishigakijima in Okinawa. 
 
"The United States is concerned about China and terrorism," a 
senior official of the Defense Agency says. The official added, 
 
TOKYO 00001268  008 OF 012 
 
 
"They want Japan to take part in deterrence." 
 
Japan and the United States have been expanding the scope of 
their bilateral cooperation overseas for the war on terror and 
for other purposes. Japan has dispatched GSDF troops to Iraq, and 
some of them were trained by the US Marine Corps before their 
deployment. In July 2004, for example, such training was 
conducted for GSDF personnel at the GSDF's Higashifuji range in 
Shizuoka Prefecture. US Marines there demonstrated how to protect 
a convoy of vehicles on the move and how to move into a building 
against potential guerrilla commandos. 
 
"In urban areas, we don't know where terrorists are hiding," one 
of those GSDF members sent to Iraq says. He recalled, "We've 
never experienced activities in such an environment, so their 
training was a rare opportunity for us." 
 
Ever more often, more closely, and more like actual warfare, 
their joint training is changing further. 
 
The Japanese and US governments have released an interim report 
on the realignment of US forces in Japan. In that report, the two 
governments confirmed that Japan and the United States would 
expand the scope of their joint training exercises. In addition, 
the two governments have also agreed to arrange more training 
exercises for the Self-Defense Forces at US military facilities 
in Guam or elsewhere. The US military has also agreed to disperse 
its flight training missions to SDF bases. This is also for the 
purpose of carrying out various forms of training with the ASDF. 
Japan and the United States are also going to meld their forces. 
 
US forces are providing their know-how to their Japanese 
counterparts, because they want the Self-Defense Forces to act in 
concert with them. 
 
The SDF is subject to constitutional constraints in their 
operations. Even if the United States comes under attack, Japan 
cannot exercise the right of collective self-defense and fight 
together. Japan also cannot offer logistical support that could 
be regarded as part of the US military's use of force. In Iraq, 
the GSDF is allowed to act in noncombat areas only. 
 
In addition to constitutional issues, there are more issues to 
clear. If someone the United States is fighting regards the SDF 
as a part of US forces, SDF personnel may be increasingly exposed 
to danger. 
 
Even so, the United States wants Japan to extend still greater 
cooperation, including participation in collective defense. 
 
"The question is how far we can get along with US forces," an SDF 
staff officer said. This uniformed officer went on: "Without a 
common understanding between Japan and the United States, we 
won't be able to say no when the time comes." 
 
(6) Interview with Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, "Tameike Tsushin" 
publisher, on future of Japan-US relations: Koizumi successor 
should present blueprint for US policy 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 4) (Slightly abridged) 
March 7, 2006 
 
Although the budget bill for fiscal 2006 passed the House of 
 
TOKYO 00001268  009 OF 012 
 
 
Representatives, the Koizumi administration has been dogged by 
strains in relations with some Asian countries. In addition, 
signs of strains have begun to appear even in relations with the 
US, though Japan has long enjoyed good bilateral ties. Yutaka 
Tabata, a reporter of the Tokyo Shimbun, interviewed Sojitz 
Research Institute Vice President Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, a watcher 
of Japan-US relations and the organizer of the newsletter 
"Tameike Tsushin", on the future of Japan-US relations. 
 
Tabata: In Koizumi diplomacy, it is apparent that the US comes 
first and the US comes second. Thanks to this approach, Japan and 
the US have been in good shape. Some say the current bilateral 
relations are the best ever. However, strains apparently are 
appearing in even that rock-solid relationship over the issues of 
US beef and US forces realignment. Particularly on the beef 
issue, since a difference in the eating habits of the two 
countries lies behind it, it seems difficult for both sides to 
find common ground. 
 
Yoshizaki: The first point we should take note of is the 
existence of perception gaps between Japan and the US. To take 
the case of Vice President Cheney's accidental shooting incident. 
Most people in Japan tend to keenly react to such a case, 
focusing on the accidental infliction of injury. But many 
Americans take the view that "there is no fault involved because 
he did not intend to do so." In order for Japan and the US to go 
along well with each other, they need to bridge the perception 
gaps existing on various issues, including shotguns and BSE. 
 
Over the past decade, no major trade problem cropped up between 
Japan and the US. The last major dispute was over automobiles in 
1995, and our memory of previous disputes has already faded away. 
But nobody knows when another clash might occur, because off year 
elections in the US take place this year. Moves by the US 
Congress are unpredictable. 
 
Tabata: You mean that the gaps will be further underscored this 
year? 
 
Yoshizaki: The US and Britain have a free access to the other 
side's cultures. But it is hard for Japan and the US to 
understand each other's culture unless they abandon their 
respective conventional wisdom and adjust their common 
perceptions. Since there were no thorny problems between them 
recently, Japan and the US have lowered their guards to each 
other. Such a state is dangerous. 
 
Of course, there are cultures whose nationality is identified. 
Some aspects of American culture has been altered into a Japanese 
type. For example, the debut and play of baseball player Ichiro 
in the US major leagues surprised American baseball fans. Japan- 
made B5-size laptop computers also came as a refreshing surprise 
to Americans. 
 
Tabata: Does you mean that relations between Japan and the US 
seem distant but are close and seem close but are distant? 
 
Yoshizaki: Such relations have been superbly controlled under the 
unique ties between (US President) Bush and (Prime Minister 
Junichiro) Koizumi. There has never been another prime minister 
but Koizumi who has been liked by a US president this much. 
 
President Bush said in a speech intended to the American people: 
 
TOKYO 00001268  010 OF 012 
 
 
"My father fought in the War of the Pacific. Our parents fought 
each other, but I am enjoying a conversation with Mr. Koizumi 
while eating beef." Mr. Koizumi is the first Japanese prime 
minister whose name was mentioned in a presidential speech. 
 
Tabata: Prime Minister Koizumi is dubbed as "a political 
maverick" or "eccentric" in the nation but is popular among 
foreign countries' leaders. This is one of the Seven Wonders of 
the World. Such a unique character is unusual among the 
successive prime ministers, and his character might appear to be 
fresh in the eyes of the foreign leaders. 
 
Yoshizaki: According to our staff member who once worked in the 
White House, the Bush government is a sports-minded type one. It 
has imposed strict rules even on neckties, shoestrings, and 
dresses. If a cell-phone rings during a conference, the 
atmosphere will freeze immediately. Argumentative persons are 
disliked. The logic that employees should work for their bosses 
dominates the administration. This is a similar culture to 
Japan's. 
 
Such a personal relationship (between Bush and Koizumi) is an 
invisible valuable asset for Japan, but it would be difficult for 
the next prime minister, no matter who assumes the post, to 
establish a honeymoon-like relationship with President Bush. That 
point should be taken into account. 
 
Tabata: Does it mean that a decisive turning point will come? 
 
Yoshizaki: I think the next prime minister should be able to 
establish an adequate relationship of trust with President Bush, 
no matter who takes the post, for instance, (Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Shinzo) Abe or (former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo) 
 
SIPDIS 
Fukuda. 
 
Mr. Bush himself has been losing popularity, and Japan has begun 
to catch the blow-back. At such a delicate time, what blueprint 
the new prime minister will draw up is a very important theme. 
 
Tabata: In the upcoming Liberal Democratic Party presidential 
election campaigning, Will the main contentious issue be Asia 
diplomacy? 
 
Yoshizaki: I think priority will be given to Japan-US ties over 
relations with China. Extremely speaking, Japan-China relations 
could not become even worse than the current state. If Japan 
accepts everything offered by China, the strains will be 
dissolved. But Japan cannot do that. In order to set the 
concessionary line, Japan must first consider what to do with 
Japan-US relations. China is watching developments in Japan-US 
relations. 
 
Tabata: What blueprint do you think should be prepared for 
Japan's US policy? 
 
Yoshizaki: For national security, this year is significant. It 
marks the 10th anniversary of the redefinition of the Japan-US 
Security Treaty in 1996. The new notion of "Asia-Pacific region" 
was set forth in the redefinition, enabling the Self-Defense 
Forces to go anywhere in the world. The government continued the 
work to define difficult words, but it has yet to discuss how to 
persuade the people to accept plans that would raise the degree 
of freedom of the Japan-US alliance and would also increase the 
 
TOKYO 00001268  011 OF 012 
 
 
risk of Japan being involved in US strategy. The government must 
address this task first. 
 
Tabata: You suggest that Japan should stop its brain-dead 
diplomatic approach stemming from the stance of blindly following 
the US, don't you? 
 
Yoshizaki: Japan has worked out a diplomatic strategy, based on 
the desire that other countries will see Japan as a good nation. 
Although all Americans share the significance of spreading 
democracy across the nation, Japan has reached no basic consensus 
on universal values. 
 
That is why Japan needs to scan through everything when it 
collects information. A definite goal is necessary for Japan's 
diplomacy. 
 
(7) Men hold key to reversing the declining birthrate; Marriage 
rate of permanent employees is three times higher than that of 
part-timers; Married couples with husbands who help with 
housework tend to have second child 
 
SANKEI (Page 1) (Full) 
March 9, 2006 
 
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) yesterday 
released the results of the Cross Sectional Survey of Youths in 
the 21st Century. The survey found that the marriage rate of men 
who are regularly employed was more than three times higher than 
that of men who are not. The survey also found that whether 
married couples have a second child or not has much to do with 
the time husbands spare on housework and child rearing. With the 
birthrate declining due to the tendency of young people marrying 
at a later stage in life or not marrying at all, the government 
has come up with two measures to counter the declining birthrate: 
stable employment for men and securing time for them to spend 
with their families. 
 
In order to obtain basic data for mapping out countermeasures on 
the declining birthrate, the MHLS conducted a survey targeting 
men and women aged between 20 and 34 in late October in 2002, and 
follow-up surveys on the same respondents in 2003 and 2004. 
Approximately 20,000 people responded to the survey carried out 
in Nov. 2004. 
 
The survey asked the same respondents, who were unmarried at the 
time when the first survey was conducted in 2002 but married 
after that, and found that 10.5% of men who were regularly 
employed had married within two years since the 2002 survey. The 
rate of marriage of those who were part-timers stood at 3.35%, 
followed by jobless people with 2.8%. It turned out that the 
marriage rate of those with permanent jobs was more than three 
times higher. 
 
In terms of weekly work hours, the marriage rate of men working 
more than 40 hours a week stood around 10%, compared with about 
5% in the case of men who work less than 40 hours a week. 
 
In contrast, around 11% of the surveyed women were married, 
whether they were under regular employment or not. The survey 
also found that the rate of jobless women who married reached 
7.7%. Though there wars a gap of 13.6% to 13.8% in their working 
hours, there was not much difference in their marriage rates, 
 
TOKYO 00001268  012 OF 012 
 
 
according to differences in the length of working hours. 
 
In the case of married couples who were already married at the 
time of the first survey and who replied that they wanted a 
second child, whether they had a second child at the time of the 
survey in 2004 depended on the length of time husbands spent on 
housework and child rearing. 
 
The surveyors analyzed the replies sent by married couples who 
had a first child at the time of the first survey in 2002 and had 
not had a second one more than a year after that. According to 
the analysis, among couples who replied that the time husbands 
spent on housework and child raising had increased, 22.0% had had 
a second child, and 12.4% of couples who replied that husbands 
spent less time on housework and child raising had had a second 
child. The survey thus found that the percentage of couples with 
a second child was higher among couples with a husband who spent 
more time helping his wife bring up their first child. 
 
MHLW judged that it appears that women tend to choose hard- 
working men with stable work and steady income and want to have a 
second child only if their husbands helped them with housework 
and child rearing. It is, therefore, necessary to secure stable 
work for men and make sure they have time to spend on housework 
and child raising as a countermeasure against the declining 
birthrate, according the Social Statistic Division Longitudinal 
Research Office. 
 
Katsuyoshi Iwabuchi, professor at Kawasaki University of Medical 
Care Graduate School: Job security is needed for young people 
 
The top cause of the declining birthrate is the tendency of young 
people marrying later or not marrying at all. Nara Prefecture and 
Fukuoka Prefecture have started creating opportunities for young 
men and women to meet. The problem is young men's employment 
situation is insecure. The jobless rate is now high, and there 
are lots of so-called freeters (job-hopping part-time workers). 
They find it difficult to save money for marriage. Since men have 
a strong role-sharing awareness that husbands have to be a 
breadwinner, young men find it difficult to decide to marry 
unless they are under regular employment or their partners become 
pregnant. The job situation has improved, but whether the job 
market for young people is stable or not will hold the key. Among 
industrialized countries, Japanese husbands spend hardly any time 
on housework and child raising. They may say that they are making 
efforts in their work, but women also work outside nowadays. 
Burden sharing by husbands is the second key to settling the 
declining birthrate issue. The enactment of the Next-Generation 
Nurturing Assistance Law has led to an increase in the number of 
companies that support workers balancing work and family. As a 
result, husbands now find more time to spend on housework and 
child rearing. The birthrate will presumably pick up in 5-10 
years' time. 
 
SCHIEFFER