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Viewing cable 06TOKYO1404, DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 03/16/06

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TOKYO1404 2006-03-16 08:06 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO0503
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1404/01 0750806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160806Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9828
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 7799
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 5167
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 8307
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 5193
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 6350
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1164
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7356
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9333
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 TOKYO 001404 
 
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 03/16/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer visits scene of abduction of 
Megumi Yokota 
 
(2) 2006 LDP presidential election - post-Koizumi candidates: 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 65, looking for opportunity to move 
away from prime minister 
 
(3) Potential Koizumi successor (Part 3) - Finance Minister 
Sadakazu Tanigaki (61): Key lies in how to overcome low name 
recognition 
 
(4) Gov't to make cabinet decision on coastal plan; Nago stiffens 
attitude; "Gov't must not be allowed to do so at its discretion" 
 
(5) Editorial: We condemn those government officials involved in 
bid-rigging for DFAA-sponsored projects 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) US Ambassador to Japan Schieffer visits scene of abduction of 
Megumi Yokota 
 
YOMIURI ONLINE 
March 16, 2006, 11:08 a.m. 
 
US Ambassador Schieffer (Center), 
Mr. and Mrs. Yokota 
 
US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer today arrived at Niigata 
City and visited the city's Yorii Municipal Junior High School. 
From there, Schieffer went to the scene at Yoriihama where Megumi 
Yokota was abducted. 
 
The Ambassador is the first US government official to visit this 
scene. 
 
When the family members of the abductees met with Ambassador 
Schieffer last May, they asked him to inspect the scene, telling 
him: "We'd like you to deepen your understanding about the 
abduction issue." Guided by Shigeru Yokota and his wife, Sakie, 
Schieffer inspected the area where Megumi Yokota was thought to 
be walking before she her abduction. He heard the story of the 
abduction at a spot where Megumi was supposed to have parted from 
her friend and at another where she was thought to have been 
abducted. 
 
The abductees' families are scheduled to travel to the United 
States in late April. They will testify at a US Congressional 
hearing as an effort to seek US support to resolve the issue. 
 
(2) 2006 LDP presidential election - post-Koizumi candidates: 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso, 65, looking for opportunity to move 
away from prime minister 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Almost full) 
March 15, 2006 
 
By Takuji Nakata 
 
Foreign Minister Taro Aso stated before reporters at the Japan 
National Press Club on March 8: "In principle, those who are 
 
TOKYO 00001404  002 OF 006 
 
 
enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine are those who died in wars. But 
people who died for other reasons were enshrined together. This 
is a big problem." Later, his remarks aroused controversy. 
 
Aso advocated separate enshrinement, some media reported, but an 
aide to Aso dismissed that, saying: "It's not that he called for 
separate enshrinement. He just brought up the question of what 
status should be given to those who died amid legal proceedings 
(homushi) (those who were executed or died in prison during the 
Tokyo Trial)." Aso's real intention remains opaque, because he 
has offered no subsequent explanation about his controversial 
remarks. 
 
Aso belongs to the LDP's Kono faction - a small faction led by 
Lower House President Yohei Kono with a membership of 11, 
excluding Kono. A short avenue to power, Aso thought, would have 
been to support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and by doing so 
bring about a "peaceful transfer of power" to himself. But this 
scenario has failed to materialize. While Koizumi's leadership is 
beginning to diminish, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, 
another conservative post-Koizumi candidate, continues to enjoy 
high popularity. Aso could sink into oblivion. An aide to Aso is 
therefore making desperate efforts to reshape his previous 
strategy, saying: "Even a contrarian policy is worth considering. 
We need to demonstrate his identity." On Feb. 19, Aso gave a 
strong hint that he would not visit Yasukuni Shrine if he became 
prime minister, noting: "National interests come before personal 
interests." 
 
A junior female lawmaker from the Kono faction suggested to Aso 
that he should refuse to sign the bill intended to revise the 
Imperial House Law to allow women and their descendants to ascend 
to the Chrysanthemum throne and thereby resign from his post and 
declare his candidacy for the LDP presidential race, a strategy 
dubbed the "March 10 rebellion." But this idea was never 
realized, as the bill to revise that law was not submitted. Aso 
continues to look for an opportunity to move away from Koizumi. 
 
At the same time, Aso's repeated gaffes, such as when he said 
"It would be best for the Emperor to visit Yasukuni Shrine" and 
when he described Taiwan as a "country," have perplexed even his 
supporters in the Kono faction, one of whom remarked: "Because he 
tries to say clever things to impress people, he tends to commit 
gaffes." During the faction's New Year party held at a Japanese 
restaurant in Tokyo late January, Kono advised Aso, "You should 
refrain from needlessly irritating China and South Korea." 
 
In addition to China and South Korea, even the US Department of 
State has concluded that it cannot expect much from Mr. Aso and 
has turned somewhat cool to Japan, according to a senior LDP 
member. 
 
As he has failed to score on diplomacy, Aso is absorbed in 
highlighting his political clout in the ministry. In the reform 
of official development assistance (ODA), Aso succeeded in 
securing his ministry's leadership over ODA, winning support from 
the LDP and countering the Ministry of Finance. In the budget 
compilation at the end of last year, Aso in cabinet-level 
negotiations succeeded in putting an end to reducing the 
ministry's staff and brought about an increase of 19 instead. He 
also prevented a further decline in service allowances for 
ministry officials abroad. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001404  003 OF 006 
 
 
Aso has expressed his desire to run in the LDP presidential race, 
assuming that he is able to secure the endorsement of 20 
lawmakers. He also is considering releasing a set of policy 
measures at the faction's meeting scheduled for June, but the 
question is how many endorsements he will actually receive. There 
is a deep objection (in the Kono faction) to deepening ties with 
the Tsushima faction that relies on General Council Chairman 
Fumio Kyuma. Other faction members are still taking a wait-and- 
see attitude. Worse still, of the 20 endorsements that Aso had in 
the 2001 presidential race, five have already retired from the 
political world or have lost their Diet seats, and three have 
left the LDP. There is little chance Aso will be able to collect 
the required number of endorsements. 
 
On March 4, Aso visited Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and 
encouraged former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's first son, Yuki, 
who is expected to run in a by-election for a prefectural 
assembly seat. Impressed with Aso's efforts, a House of 
Representatives member close to him said: "Aso could take the 
mound as a reliever if the Mori faction were on the verge of 
splitting (between support for Abe or for former CCS Fukuda). He 
is doing well in this sense." 
 
(3) Potential Koizumi successor (Part 3) - Finance Minister 
Sadakazu Tanigaki (61): Key lies in how to overcome low name 
recognition 
 
MAINICHI (Page 3) (Excerpts) 
March 16, 2006 
 
In a speech at a party held by the Liberal Democratic Party 
Tochigi Prefectural Chapter in Utsunomiya City on March 4, 
Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said: 
 
"We have an obligation to show to the people that reform may 
bring them some pain but it is not intended to return to law of 
the jungle rules. The state and the people are bound by rigid 
ties of trust." 
 
There are smoldering concerns even among ruling party members 
about the widening wealth gap in the society caused as a negative 
by-product of the Koizumi reforms. In a speech on financial 
policy before a joint session of both houses on Jan. 20, Tanigaki 
advocated a plan to "create a society in which individuals 
support each other based on ties with their families and local 
communities." Since last month, the Tanigaki faction has 
addressed the task of putting policy recommendations into a 
report, mainly focusing mainly on measures to correct the income 
gap. 
 
The Tanigaki faction has been also stepping up efforts to meld 
together with two other factions that also descended from the 
former Miyazawa faction (Kochikai): the Niwa/Koga and the Kono 
factions. In 1998, House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono 
left the faction as a result of internal strife over the 
selection of a successor chairman. In 2000, former Secretary 
General Koichi Kato seceded from it, and later more members 
followed him. The faction has 15 members now, less than the 20 
that is the minimum number of recommenders needed to enable a 
lawmaker to run in the party presidential race. 
 
Like-minded members from the three factions held a study meeting 
on Asia strategy on March 15. In a speech, Kono stressed the 
 
TOKYO 00001404  004 OF 006 
 
 
traditional significance of the Kochikai. He said: 
 
"Hayato Ikeda, Masayoshi Ohira, Zenko Suzuki, and former Prime 
Minister Kiichi Miyazawa all came from Kochikai. Under Prime 
Minister Miyazawa, I served as chief cabinet secretary, and I was 
greatly affected by him." 
 
The idea of unifying the three factions to form a grand Koichikai 
has been floated many times but it fizzled out in the end, mainly 
because there was no organizer. 
 
In the speech in Utsunomiya, Tanigaki also reiterated his 
determination to address the task of reconstructing the Ashikaga 
Bank, which was once placed under state control. He said: " We 
must revitalize the bank and make it a bank that is independent 
and helpful to the residents of the prefecture." Aides to 
Tanigaki had advised him to refer to the issue of Ashikaga bank, 
reflecting strong interest in the issue among local citizens. The 
Ashikaga remark, which Tanigaki made after holding consultation 
with State Minister in charge of Financial Policy Kaoru Yosano, 
got front-page coverage as he had aimed. 
 
The Tanigaki faction is earnestly making a pitch for Tanigaki, 
stemming from a growing sense of alarm toward low support rates 
for him as a successor to Prime Minister Koizumi. In a Mainichi 
Shimbun survey in January, only 2% favored Tanigaki as Koizumi's 
successor. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe was favored by 38% 
, followed by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda with 
10% and Foreign Minister Taro Aso with 3%. An executive member of 
the Tanigaki faction said: "If the support rate remains below 5%, 
it will not be worth even talking about." Observers say that 
although Tanigaki tends to dress conservatively, he has begun to 
be more fashion-conscious, taking advice from his wife and second 
daughter when appearing on TV programs. 
 
With an eye on the House of Councillors election next summer, a 
senior Upper House LDP member coolly said, "Although Mr. Aso and 
Mr. Tanigaki had assumed ministerial posts for many years, their 
support rates stayed at these low levels. Mr. Abe might be better 
than they because he is younger than the rest." The political 
power of Tanigaki as a presidential candidate holds the key to 
the fate of the grand-Kochikai scheme. 
 
(4) Gov't to make cabinet decision on coastal plan; Nago stiffens 
attitude; "Gov't must not be allowed to do so at its discretion" 
 
OKINAWA TIMES 
March 16, 2006 
 
The city of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture has stiffened its attitude 
against the government's change of course to give up on its 1999 
cabinet-adopted initial plan to relocate the US Marine Corps' 
Futenma Air Station to a site in waters off the coast of Henoko 
in the city of Nago. The Japanese government is now poised to 
supersede its previous cabinet decision to replace the current 
Henoko offshore relocation plan with an alternative plan to build 
a new facility in a coastal area of Camp Schwab to take over the 
airfield's heliport functions. "The government must not be 
allowed to do so at its discretion," a Nago official said. The 
Okinawa prefectural government is also upset at the Japanese 
government's unilateral scrapping of the current offshore plan, 
with one of its officials saying such a course of action runs 
counter to the principle of faith and trust. "How will the 
 
TOKYO 00001404  005 OF 006 
 
 
government make it consistent with the past process of working 
together with us?" With this, the prefectural government is 
paying close attention to the cabinet decision's contents. The 
Japanese government is going through procedures to carry out the 
coastal plan without reflecting local views. Its effectiveness, 
however, is becoming even more questionable. 
 
"Is it really acceptable?" An opposition party member raised this 
question in a plenary sitting of Nago City's municipal assembly 
yesterday morning after the Okinawa Times' reporting. Nago Deputy 
Mayor Bunshin Suematsu was at a loss and looked angry when he 
took the floor to answer the question. 
 
"The government threw our long-accumulated efforts into a 
wastebasket," Suematsu stated before the assembly. The deputy 
mayor continued: "The government must not be allowed to do that 
at its discretion. If that's the case, (the relocation issue) is 
not even at zero; it's less than zero." 
 
The Japanese and US governments will shortly work out a final 
report on the realignment of US forces in Japan. Meanwhile, Nago 
officials have told Japanese government officials that the city 
is opposed to the coastal plan. The city's assembly has also sent 
messages to the Japanese government. 
 
The Nago municipal government has clarified in the municipal 
assembly's current regular session that the Henoko offshore 
relocation plan and the option of building an offshore facility 
in shallow waters off Henoko (excluding Nagashima and Hirashima 
where local residents visit for recreation) are "within the scope 
of consideration." In addition, the city's municipal government 
took the position that it will uphold former Mayor Tateo 
Kishimoto's proposal of seven preconditions-such as concluding a 
basing agreement with the United States-for his acceptance of the 
Henoko offshore plan. The municipal government also proposed 
building a 1,300-meter tarmac in conformity with the final report 
of the Japan-US Special Action Committee on Okinawa (SACO) in 
case the newly planned alternative facility is not for joint 
military-civilian use but for the US military's use only. 
 
The Japanese government, however, is reportedly determined to 
reach a final settlement with the US government for the coastal 
plan. The city's government therefore stiffened its attitude. 
"There's no change in our opposition to the coastal plan eve if 
it's incorporated in the final report," Nago Mayor Yoshikazu 
Shimabukuro stated before the municipal assembly on March 14. 
 
"I wonder if the cabinet decision is so light that it can be 
changed in defiance of Okinawa," said Morihide Okido, who 
presides over a group of local residents pushing for the Henoko 
offshore relocation plan. Okido added, "Our stance against the 
coastal plan will never change even if the government makes such 
a cabinet decision." 
 
(5) Editorial: We condemn those government officials involved in 
bid-rigging for DFAA-sponsored projects 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
March 15, 2006 
 
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted three 
Defense Facilities Administrative Agency (DFAA) officials for 
colluding on bids for projects sponsored by their agency and 
 
TOKYO 00001404  006 OF 006 
 
 
having decided in advance who would win the bids. Public 
prosecutors summarily indicted nine responsible officials on the 
corporate side. Former DFAA officials are included among the 
nine. 
 
The companies that took part in the rigged-bidding accepted the 
summary indictments. It means that they admitted the charges 
against them. Public prosecutors arrested government officials 
involved in order to take them to court, but they just issued 
summary indictments for the officials responsible in the 
companies involved, mainly because the prosecutors judged that it 
was the government officials who took the initiative in rigging 
bids for DFAA-sponsored projects. The number of DFAA-sponsored 
projects in which tax money was allegedly wasted comes to 11, 
combining earlier cases in which charges have already been 
brought against government officials. 
 
Two senior officials of the former New Tokyo International 
Airport Public Corporation, now Narita International Airport 
Corporation, were indicted over a government office-led bid- 
rigging case similar to that involving the DFAA. The Tokyo 
District Court recently found those two guilty of rigging the 
bids on the public tender. As a reason for the decision, the 
court pointed out that the officials in question leaked cost 
estimates for projects coming up for bidding and then decided 
which bidders would win the project, taking into consideration 
how many retired officials the bidders had accepted. The court 
also acknowledged that the public corporation decided successful 
bidders and leaked cost estimates to them as part of their work 
and this practice had been carried out continuously and 
repeatedly. 
 
It is only natural to assume that the situation was the same in 
the DFAA. If the government agency that wants to secure plum jobs 
for retiring officials and the companies that want to receive as 
many orders as possible at the highest possible contract prices, 
colluded on bids for their mutual benefit, then the bureaucracy 
should be held more accountable for orchestrating the scams. Not 
only did the government officials violate the law but also they 
offered taxpayers' money to the bidders for the benefit of 
themselves. Such cases are even more despicable than bribery. 
 
If the bill amending the Law for the Prevention of Collusive 
Bidding at the Initiative of Government Officials is enacted 
during the current Diet session, government officials convicted 
of leading bid-rigging schemes would receive a prison term up to 
five years, the same punishment imposed in simple bribery cases 
under the Criminal Law. The bid-rigging prevention law does not 
have punitive provisions, but if it is revised, it will have a 
deterrent capability. 
 
That is not enough as a measure to prevent bid rigging by 
government officials. The open public bidding system should be 
applied to public procurements in compliance with provisions 
under the Public Account Law. Guidance designed to promote 
related government officials' awareness of compliance is also 
needed. Both the central and local governments should make sure 
that they take various measures so that a situation that requires 
the imposition of Law for the Prevention of Collusive Bidding at 
the Initiative of Government Officials will not occur. 
 
SCHIEFFER