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Viewing cable 06TOKYO3324, DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 06/16/06

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TOKYO3324 2006-06-16 08:34 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO1160
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #3324/01 1670834
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160834Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3311
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 9380
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 6767
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0012
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 6680
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 7917
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2819
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8990
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0769
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 003324 
 
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 06/16/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Decision to withdraw GSDF from Iraq to come this month, 
conditioned on transfer of public security to Iraqi forces 
 
(2) Koizumi, Mori ostensibly sit on fence regarding Abe, Fukuda 
candidacies; exchange views on LDP presidential race 
 
(3) Interview with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on LDP 
presidential race 
 
(4) Abe supporters (Part 3): Inactive original supporters 
 
(5) Interview with Heizo Takenaka on achievements of Koizumi 
administration over five years (Part 1): Fight with bureaucrats 
was hard, with limited number of able human resources 
 
(6) Editorial: No problem about nuclear flattop's safety? 
 
(7) FTC to review merger screening guidelines, taking US-style 
oligopoly standards into account 
 
(8) "Hissen" column: Memories from days gone by 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Decision to withdraw GSDF from Iraq to come this month, 
conditioned on transfer of public security to Iraqi forces 
 
ASAHI (Top play) (Excerpt) 
Evening, June 16, 2006 
 
The government has firmed up its intention to decide this month 
on the withdrawal of Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops 
stationed in Samawah in the southern part of Iraq. The reason is 
because of the outlook that public security authority for Musanna 
Province that includes Samawah will be returned to Iraq's 
official government possibly next week.  Upon receiving Prime 
Minister Koizumi's final decision, the withdrawal could come out 
prior to the Japan-US summit meeting on June 29. The Prime 
Minister has it firmly in mind to bring about the withdrawal of 
GSDF by the end of September, when his term in office expires. 
The government's plan is to complete the move of the GSDF to 
Kuwait in about one month, so the pullout could be over by mid- 
August. 
 
(2) Koizumi, Mori ostensibly sit on fence regarding Abe, Fukuda 
candidacies; exchange views on LDP presidential race 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 16, 2006 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi held a one-hour meeting last 
nigh at a hotel in Tokyo with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, 
who heads the largest faction of the Liberal Democratic Party 
(LDP). With all eyes now focused on the two prospective post- 
Koizumi contenders, Koizumi and Mori agreed to wait and 
ostensibly see the moves of Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe 
and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda in connection 
with the September LDP presidential election. Mori expressed his 
intention to step down from the faction's chairmanship following 
Koizumi's withdrawal from the LDP presidency. He then asked 
Koizumi to return to the faction, but the prime minister turned 
 
TOKYO 00003324  002 OF 010 
 
 
down the offer. 
 
Mori explained the contents of the meeting to reporters. 
 
Mori told Koizumi, "If you come back to the faction, everything 
will be resolved." Koizumi, however, responded: "I will not 
return. Since I assumed the prime minister's post after quitting 
the faction's membership, it does not make sense for me to rejoin 
the faction." 
 
Against the background of Mori's intention to step down from the 
faction's chairmanship, there is a question of how the faction 
should treat Abe and Fukuda 
 
In a meeting of senior Mori faction members on June 14, it was 
learned that many in the faction favored Abe as a successor to 
Koizumi. Fukuda has yet to clarify his position toward the 
presidential race. If Abe in the end becomes the next prime 
minister, how to treat Fukuda will become even more difficult for 
Mori. 
 
In January, Mori sounded out Fukuda to become the faction's 
acting head, but Fukuda refused. Mori seems to have the notion 
that if Abe becomes prime minister, Fukuda would then head the 
faction. 
 
In the meeting last night, Koizumi referred to moves by other 
factions, saying, "I wonder whether(three factions hailing from 
the former Miyazawa faction) will re-form themselves into the 
Kochikai (name of the defunct faction). Mori then said, "It would 
be extremely difficult for them to bury the hatchet for the 
common good." 
 
Other factions held meetings yesterday. The Tsushima, Ibuki and 
Nikai factions shared the view in a meeting of their secretaries 
general that it would be important to choose a person who could 
become their standard-bearer in next year's House of Councillors 
election as the next LDP president. The Niwa-Koga, Tanigaki, and 
Kono factions, members of which hailed from the former Miyazawa 
faction (Kochikai), agreed to strengthen their cooperative ties, 
letting junior members attend meetings. 
 
A nonpartisan parliamentary group headed by Taku Yamasaki has 
issued a set of proposals calling on the government to erect a 
secular national peace memorial. Fukuda is also a member of the 
group. 
 
The group will make Asia diplomacy into a major campaign issue, 
aiming at a rallying together of forces. They will focus on the 
improvement of relations with China and South Korea, strained due 
to Koizumi's five visits to Yasukuni Shrine,. 
 
About 30 lawmakers, who were elected for the first time to the 
Diet last year, held a meeting yesterday, in which they decided 
to urge the party executive to take leadership in endorsing 
candidates for the next Lower House election. They will try to 
gain political sway. 
 
The current regular session of the Diet is to end today 
essentially. The LDP has already been dominated by the 
presidential race though there are three months to go before the 
election. 
 
 
TOKYO 00003324  003 OF 010 
 
 
(3) Interview with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on LDP 
presidential race 
 
ASAHI (Page 4) (Abridged) 
June 16, 2006 
 
Asahi: In your view, what are the most important qualifications 
required of a person replacing Prime Minister Koizumi, who has 
been in office for five years? 
 
Mori: The person has to have a gentle nature and the capability 
of healing (the country). Japan will crumble unless politics 
constantly gives warm consideration to local areas across Japan. 
If urbanites would go, 'We don't want our tax money to be spent 
on rural areas,' then rural people would say, 'Then who is going 
to take risks associated with nuclear power plants and military 
bases?' I'm afraid the Koizumi reform drive has encouraged such a 
trend to some extent. 
 
Asahi: Are you suggesting that the LDP may not be able to achieve 
a victory in the House of Councillors election next summer by 
just continuing with the Koizumi reform drive? 
 
Mori: The LDP will lose if people think 'nothing has changed.' 
It's important for people to think 'The LDP has been considerate 
toward local communities as well.' We must not show any weakness 
to Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), which has no principles. 
 
Asahi: Mr. Abe has an image of a "direct descendant of Mr. 
Koizumi." 
 
Mori: The prime minister and the chief cabinet secretary are 
inseparable. Prime Minister Koizumi seems to have been telling 
many things to Mr. Abe for his own good. In any case, with his 
tenure as chief cabinet secretary nearing an end, Mr. Abe should 
call a spade a spade in dealing with the prime minister. Speaking 
in one voice with Prime Minister Koizumi has both pluses and 
minuses. 
 
Asahi: Did you talked to Mr. Abe and former Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Yasuo Fukuda to learn of what's in their hearts? 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Mori: There was an opportunity to talk to Mr. Abe, and I think I 
know his feelings pretty well. He said, 'Public opinion has been 
pushing me. If I refuse it, I won't be able to fulfill my 
political mission.' If fulfilling it was his mission, backing 
someone else could be his mission as well. Mr. Fukuda hasn't told 
me anything. He simply said, 'It's too early (to touch on the 
presidential race).' 
 
It's not bad for two persons from the same faction to run in the 
race, but the two persons must talk things out first. They should 
discuss, for instance, what must be done for the country, and if 
their views happened to coincide, they should go deeper from 
there. They no longer need Mr. Koizumi's encouragement or my 
advice. 
 
Asahi: If you don't want to break up the Mori faction, there is 
no other way but to pull the faction together with Mr. Abe, who 
is popular in the faction, is there? 
 
Mori: That could be one approach, there are some people who say, 
'My personal preference is Abe but I will follow the chairman's 
 
TOKYO 00003324  004 OF 010 
 
 
view in the end.' 
 
Asahi: There are vocal calls outside the faction for Mr. Fukuda, 
aren't there? 
 
Mori: There are all sorts of views. For some, rejuvenation is not 
good because it might deprive them of their chances. Some others 
fear that Mr. Abe's overwhelming victory would throw them out of 
the mainstream. 
 
Asahi: Prime Minister Koizumi clearly indicated that he would 
eventually back someone -- designation of his successor, so to 
speak. 
 
Mori: Everyone has been working hard for Mr. Koizumi. People are 
quick to mention only Fukuda and Abe. But we shouldn't forget 
Foreign Minister Aso and Finance Minister Tanigaki in the Koizumi 
cabinet. They have all assisted Mr. Koizumi. Both Abe and Fukuda 
are like sons of our family (Mori faction), and we shouldn't 
discuss who should go first. 
 
(4) Abe supporters (Part 3): Inactive original supporters 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged) 
June 15, 2006 
 
The Parliamentary League to Support a Second Chance held its 
inaugural meeting at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters on 
June 2. The league is a de facto support group for Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Shinzo Abe, 51, for the upcoming LDP presidential 
 
SIPDIS 
election. About 20 minutes into the session, House of Councillors 
member Ichita Yamamoto, 48, had to leave the hall to attend 
funeral services. Yamamoto regretted having to leave the session 
so early, but he was happy at the same time. "Good. The first 
stage in the strategy for the LDP presidential race has now been 
completed," Yamamoto said to himself. 
 
Yamamoto feared that calls for keeping Abe in reserve and out of 
the race would grow louder in order to maintain factional 
balance. The attendance of nearly 100 lawmakers at the league's 
inaugural meeting indicated that such calls would now subside, 
and Yamamoto felt relieved. 
 
But Yamamoto's early departure from the meeting made another 
participant speculate that he was being left out of the loop. 
 
In fact, Yamamoto is not an organizer of the league. He was only 
recruited by Isshu Sugawara, 44, in late May. 
 
No traditional "Abe loyalist," including Yamamoto, played major 
roles in launching the league. 
 
Such dyed-in-the-wool Abe supporters as Yasuhisa Shiozaki, 55, 
and Hiroshige Seko, 43, are rank-and-file league members, as is 
Yamamoto. Nobuteru Ishihara, 49, and others did not show up at 
the inaugural meeting. 
 
Shiozaki and others were once dubbed a "new policy breed," but 
today they are like "big brothers" to the junior members, along 
with Abe. 
 
They are supposed to be serving as engines to propel Abe to the 
LDP presidency, but they have been inactive. 
 
TOKYO 00003324  005 OF 010 
 
 
 
The reason is simple. Being extremely close to Abe, they cannot 
dash ahead toward the presidential goal while Abe is still 
committed to his cabinet duties. 
 
Shiozaki and others are expected to play central roles in 
producing Abe's manifesto, once he officially announces his 
candidacy. 
 
But rumor has it that the establishment of the league by Yuji 
Yamamoto, 54, and other junior members has left an unpleasant 
aftertaste for Shiozaki and other "big brothers." 
 
In late May, a league organizer asked an original Abe loyalist to 
join the group. The loyalist in response said quietly: "The plan 
will fail. Don't bring shame on yourself." The organizer 
immediately sensed the loyalist's ill feelings toward the league. 
 
Abe supporters are tasked now with eliminating the subtle discord 
that exists between the original supporters and league 
executives. 
 
(5) Interview with Heizo Takenaka on achievements of Koizumi 
administration over five years (Part 1): Fight with bureaucrats 
was hard, with limited number of able human resources 
 
ASAHI (Page 15) (Full) 
June 16, 2006 
 
The last Diet session for the Koizumi administration ends today. 
Various evaluations have been made about the Prime Minister's 
reform initiative. The Asahi Shimbun interviewed Minister of 
International Affairs and Communications Heizo Takenaka, who took 
the lead in promoting the reform drive, about how he evaluates 
the administration's achievements over the past five years. 
 
(Interviewed by editorial board members Atsushi Yamada, Hiroshi 
Hoshi) 
 
Hoshi: You are the only one who has held a cabinet post over the 
entire five years since the launching of the Koizumi 
administration. How do you evaluate that period? 
 
"A so-called guerrilla unit - composed of five to 10 members - 
proposed privatizing postal services. The Council on Economic and 
Fiscal Policy worked out its basic policy, and the post of 
minister for postal privatization was set up in the Cabinet 
Secretariat. Because the new post was placed under the prime 
 
SIPDIS 
minister, the postal privatization task was successfully carried 
through. If the task had been left in the hands of officials of 
the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, postal 
services would never have been privatized, although there are 
some areas in which bureaucrats are taking charge of reform." 
 
Hoshi: You have fought with bureaucrats over the last five years. 
Listening to recent Diet questions to you, I feel that 
bureaucrats might have drafted some of the questions from both 
the ruling and opposition camps. 
 
"I also have the impression that government officials have 
exerted influence widely over the ruling and opposition blocs. It 
is true that since carrying out politics and policymaking are a 
high-level knowledge-intensive industry, it is also necessary to 
 
TOKYO 00003324  006 OF 010 
 
 
benefit from the bureaucrats' accumulated knowledge. Only a 
limited number of persons can see through their plots and come up 
with clever ideas equivalent to theirs. Under such a 
circumstance, it is very difficult to make and implement reform 
plans over negative reactions from bureaucrats." 
 
Yamada: Recently, the Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition 
camp have turned out lawmakers equipped with skills in 
policymaking. 
 
"There are now many junior members who hailed from other circles 
than the bureaucracy. While many of them are good at 
policymaking, they also have ties to special interest groups." 
 
Yamada: Don't you feel that there is a limit to reforms carried 
out under the LDP administration? I cannot understand why you 
joined the LDP. 
 
"I was satisfied with being an academic. I had never thought that 
I would become a politician. But I decided to help Mr. Koizumi in 
response to his request, because I though it was a miracle that a 
person like Mr. Koizumi became LDP president and prime minister. 
This miracle will end this September. I am very pessimistic about 
post-Koizumi politics in Japan." 
 
Hoshi: Academics make judgments based on whether policies are 
proper or not. Now that you joined the political world, a quest 
for winning, for forming an administration or overthrowing this 
or that person, has also become your task, hasn't it? 
 
"I think it is also a kind of victory to use our ingenuity and 
bring about a success." 
 
Yamada: What are tasks left unfinished and what was most 
disappointing to you? 
 
"The goals I aimed for have all been implemented, including the 
disposal of nonperforming loans and the privatization of postal 
services. It is somewhat regrettable, though, to see the plan of 
advancing economic and fiscal policies in an integrated manner 
has returned to a clean state. For the ongoing reform of 
telecommunications and broadcasting, I would like to pave the way 
based on an agreement between the government and the ruling camp. 
 
The fourth round of Takenaka bashing is now going on. The first 
bashing occurred when the first Basic Policies for Economic and 
Fiscal Management was drawn up. The second one came in reaction 
to the reform of the financial system, and this was most 
intensified. The third one came against postal reform. In these 
three rounds of bashing, criticism came from politicians, and 
they tried to sack me, so I was scared. This time, though, 
bureaucrats have reacted negatively, so I have no keen sense of 
tension, though the feeling is unpleasant." 
(To be continued) 
 
(6) Editorial: No problem about nuclear flattop's safety? 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 5) (Full) 
June 16, 2006 
 
The US Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture will be the 
first in Japan to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The 
naval base is located near densely populated areas. In the event 
 
TOKYO 00003324  007 OF 010 
 
 
of an accident, the nuclear flattop would bring about a serious 
disaster. We wonder if there is no problem about its safety. The 
government should do all it can to dissolve the anxieties of base- 
hosting local communities. 
 
Yokosuka City's Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya has now accepted the US 
Navy's planned deployment of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier 
to his city. In response, the Japanese and US governments decided 
yesterday to dredge the seafloor near a berth at the base to 
homeport the nuclear flattop in 2008. They are apparently going 
great guns to the point of excess. 
 
The USS Kitty Hawk, a conventional aircraft carrier currently 
homeported at Yokosuka, will be mothballed in 2008. Kanagawa 
Prefecture and Yokosuka City have asked the US Navy to replace 
the Kitty Hawk with another conventional flattop. 
 
However, the United States no longer builds any conventional 
aircraft carriers. The US government once considered the idea of 
renovating the USS John F. Kennedy, a superannuated conventional 
carrier, to extend its life and replace the Kitty Hawk. In the 
end, however, the US government decided to deploy the USS George 
Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The United States 
considered its military judgment first and ignored the wishes of 
Yokosuka citizens. 
 
Of course, Yokosuka's local communities opposed the nuclear 
carrier deployment. They have not changed their minds to favor 
it. The mayor stated that he would accept the planned deployment 
of a nuclear carrier to Yokosuka. It was a tough choice for he 
was sure that the government would not think twice about his 
opposition. If that is the case, the mayor wants the government 
to listen to local requests for safeguards. We want the Japanese 
government to realize that point. 
 
One of our primary concerns is safety. The US government has 
underscored that nuclear-powered US warships have made over 1,200 
visits to Japan since 1964 but there has never been a single 
incident of damage to human health or the environment. However, 
the US government has not unveiled technical data about nuclear 
reactors. It is an obvious fact that Yokosuka will shoulder 
unpredictable danger. 
 
The US government has told the Japanese government that the 
George Washington will stop its nuclear reactors in port and will 
not repair its nuclear reactors nor will replace its nuclear rods 
in Japan. However, Japan has no ways to verify that. This cannot 
wipe out local anxieties. 
 
In the case of nuclear power plants, radioactive leakage and 
other accidents are to be reported to the government and 
municipalities. However, what about US warships? Their accidents, 
if not reported at once, could bring about serious disasters. 
 
The mayor has requested the government to work on the US Navy to 
enter into a mutual assistance agreement in preparation for 
nuclear disasters and other eventualities and to participate in 
local disaster drills. In addition, the mayor has also asked the 
government to reinforce its radiological detection setup at the 
base and in its environs. The mayor may well ask the government 
to do so. 
 
Japan, an atomic-bombed nation, has a strong sense of resistance 
 
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to the use of nuclear energy for military purposes. Even so, the 
US Navy will deploy a nuclear carrier to Yokosuka. We want the 
Japanese and US governments to do whatever it can for the safety 
of local residents. 
 
(7) FTC to review merger screening guidelines, taking US-style 
oligopoly standards into account 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 5) (Full) 
June 16, 2006 
 
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to revise its merger 
screening guidelines. It will undertake the work with focus on 
efforts to scrap the current share-cap system, which virtually 
authorizes mergers if the domestic share of a merged company is 
below 35%, and adopt a system similar to that of the US to be 
used when judging whether applied mergers should be authorized or 
not, based on the degree of the oligopoly of the market in 
question. However, in many cases, it is unclear whether these 
revisions will lead to deregulation as sought by industrial 
circles and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). 
 
The move for the revision is in response to a call from 
industrial circles. According to the results of screenings 
carried out from fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2004, more than 80% 
of applied mergers with their after-merger market share between 
35% and 50% were judged as having no problems and deemed in 
compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Law. In response to a rise in 
calls for changing the merger guidelines so that companies find 
it easier to decide to reorganize themselves, if there are no 
problems even if their after-merger market share tops 35%, METI 
has come up with a plan to ease the share-cap rule to below 50%. 
 
Following this, FTC Secretary General Akinori Uesugi during a 
press conference on June 14 noted: "If there is misunderstanding 
that it is not possible for companies to merge, if their after- 
merger market share tops 35%, it is necessary to change the 
guidelines." However, the FTC is opposing the METI proposal, 
noting, "In view of consistency with international guidelines, it 
is not possible to simplistically raise the share-cap." Instead, 
the FTC is eyeing the US guidelines. 
 
In the US, the propriety of mergers is judged, based on the 
degree of the oligopoly of higher-ranked companies in the market 
as a whole to which they belong -- the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index 
(HHI) worked out, by separately squaring the share of each 
company to be merged and adding their figures. An after-merger 
market share cannot provide direct information for making a 
decision. For instance, if the HHI of the overall industry 
increases by more than 100 to over 1,800 as a result of a merger, 
the applied merger will have to undergo a strict screening, as it 
is regarded as posing many problems. The FTC said, "The HII 
indicates a more accurate competitive situation of the market, 
such as price compelling power. Japan's present guidelines also 
include such conditions as "below HHI 1,800." Chances are that if 
Japan shifts its guidelines to the US-type, discarding the share 
standard, the freedom of reorganization will increase in less 
oligopolistic industries. 
 
However, even in the US, a large industrial organization that 
brings about a company with a market share of 50%, infringes on 
the guidelines. In industries that are already oligopolistic, 
guidelines will become stricter. For instance, Nippon Steel Corp. 
 
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with a crude steel share of approximately 30% and Kobe Steel with 
such a share of about 7%, can merge under the present guidelines, 
but under the US method, their merger will be judged as 
problematical, because the HHI of leading companies in the steel 
industry is already over 1,800, and the HHI will increase by 400 
if the two companies merge. 
 
However, regarding the HHI, there is a view that it is not easy 
to calculate shares of all companies. For this reason, the FTC 
will plan to include a regulation in the guidelines: "Mergers 
that bring about a market share of 35% are possible, if they do 
not lead to restrictions on competition." In any case, there is a 
strong possibility that revisions will not meet METI's desire to 
accelerate Japanese companies' reorganization, thereby enhancing 
their international competitiveness. The FTC's study started next 
spring will likely encounter complications. 
 
(8) "Hissen" column: Memories from days gone by 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 1) (Full) 
June 16, 2006 
 
After the end of World War II, June 15 was long remembered as the 
day Japan and the United States entered into their bilateral 
security treaty. In those days, demonstrators crying out against 
the security pact besieged the Diet. This now appears to have 
finally gone out of people's memories. 
 
Yesterday, 46 years later, we reported the Yokosuka mayor's 
clarification of his intention before his city's municipal 
assembly to accept the US Navy's planned deployment of the USS 
George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to its 
Yokosuka base. That is because the government assured the safety 
of the aircraft carrier's nuclear reactors, the mayor was quoted 
as saying. It's strange enough to argue about the safety of 
weapons that are used to kill people. For now, let us set aside 
such a curious argument. 
 
Security arrangements between Japan and the United States have 
now turned out to be a bilateral alliance in the US military's 
global transformation. Japan is now playing a part in the United 
States' global strategy. Last year, Japan's defense spending 
totaled 5.1864 trillion yen, or 45.3 billion dollars in US 
currency. This was the fourth largest amount of defense spending 
in the world-and one billion dollars more than China's. 
 
In the years ahead, Japan is expected to pay 3 trillion yen, 
apart from its defense budget slot, to share the cost of 
realigning US military bases in Japan. The government made a 
cabinet decision on June 9 to upgrade the Defense Agency to the 
status of a ministry and has introduced a package of relevant 
legislative measures to the Diet. The landscape of Japan has thus 
changed over its national security. 
 
Tokyo Gov. Ishihara recently wrote for a monthly magazine that 
featured a battle of words over patriotism. In his essay, 
Ishihara was fed up with young people who have never known Japan 
and the United States were once enemies at war. Ishihara insisted 
on the necessity of teaching young people the modern and 
contemporary histories of Japan. Ishihara writes that he was once 
asked by a US lawmaker about what lies at the bottom of his 
mindset toward the United States. Ishihara says he told the US 
lawmaker that it's based on the hostility he had felt when he was 
 
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strafed by a US carrier-borne fighter plane. 
 
We must also teach the history of Japan that restarted as a 
pacifist nation after the end of WWII. In December 1967, the Sato 
cabinet set forth the so-called three nonnuclear principles of 
not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons into the 
country. This triple nonnuclear doctrine remains Japan's national 
policy even now. We must also teach this fact. In January 1968, 
Sasebo citizens stood in the way of the USS Enterprise, a nuclear- 
powered US aircraft carrier, against its port entry. We must 
teach this fact, too. Bygone days must not fade out of our 
memories. 
 
SCHIEFFER