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Viewing cable 06TOKYO3711, DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 07/03/06

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06TOKYO3711 2006-07-04 22:58 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO8639
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #3711/01 1852258
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 042258Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3941
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 9629
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 7017
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0305
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 6911
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 8173
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3090
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9235
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0984
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 TOKYO 003711 
 
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 07/03/06 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Five years of Koizumi diplomacy (Part 1) -- Cooperation with US: 
Top leaders of two countries enjoy honeymoon-like relations, while a 
gulf exists between working-level officials of the two countries 
 
(2) Editorial: Japanese, US leaders stage-manage best shot 
 
(3) Editorial: Strategic ties also with Canada 
 
(4) GSDF to establish Civil Military Cooperation in Central 
Readiness Command (CRC) for "battlefront" missions 
 
(5) Editorial: US Navy Base at Guantanamo should be closed 
 
(6) Poll on Japan-US war, Japan-China war, Tokyo Trials, Japan's 
postwar economy-oriented stance 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Five years of Koizumi diplomacy (Part 1) -- Cooperation with US: 
Top leaders of two countries enjoy honeymoon-like relations, while a 
gulf exists between working-level officials of the two countries 
 
ASAHI (Page 1) (Full) 
July 1, 2006 
 
At a time when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stated, "The United 
States is not alone in fighting the evil. It's always with its 
allies. Japan stands united with the US," President George W. Bush's 
eyes appeared for a moment to become somewhat misty with tears. 
 
Koizumi said so at an official banquet on the night of June 29. The 
approval ratings for Bush remain low with no exit of the Iraq issue 
yet in sight. Koizumi's words and lengthy applause to them appeared 
to please Bush, who is isolated in the international community. 
 
Also, Koizumi mentioned Elvis Presley this way: "The first English 
song I sang was Elvis' 'I want you, I need you, I love you.'" 
 
The following day, on June 30, Bush and Koizumi flew to Memphis, 
Tennessee, aboard Air Force One, and visited Elvis' home, 
Graceland. 
 
Five years ago, on June 30, Koizumi visited the presidential retreat 
Camp David. After exchanging greetings in his first meeting with 
Bush, Koizumi began emphasizing the importance of the Japan-US 
alliance to Bush. Koizumi said to Bush: "As Elvis said, I want you, 
I need you, and I love you." He also mentioned, "Japan's stance is 
not to blindly follow America's footsteps. Japan will work together 
with the US." 
 
"'He is amazing,' the president remarked,'" a US government official 
said, looking back on those days. Koizumi at the time gave an 
impression to the US that "he is the person who says clearly he can 
do what he thinks he can do and he cannot do what he thinks he 
cannot do," according to a US government official. 
 
In fact, Koizumi decided to dispatch Maritime Self-Defense Force 
vessels to the Indian Ocean and then Ground Self-Defense Force 
troops to Iraq. Owing to these bold decisions on overseas troop 
dispatches, Koizumi is "portrayed as having crossed the Rubicon 
twice for the president," according to a senior official of the 
 
TOKYO 00003711  002 OF 008 
 
 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). These decisions won him the full 
confidence of the president. 
 
Koizumi dislikes his being described as "blindly following the US," 
according to a senior government official. 
 
When Koizumi ran for a Lower House seat for the first time in 1969, 
he stressed the need for self-reliant national defense. He argued at 
the time: "The Japan-US Security Treaty is not something that will 
be definitely unchangeable. Japan should have its own vision of 
national defense." Koizumi had never used the term "Japan-US 
alliance" in the Diet sessions before he took office as prime 
minister. 
 
Koizumi's current pro-US stance apparently consists of not only 
friendship but also political calculations. A senior Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker close to Koizumi explained: "For the 
prime minister, who enjoys high popularity but whose base in the 
party is relatively weak, the Bush administration's support for him 
has been of great significance." 
 
For the president, too, Koizumi has a strong presence. 
 
"My father fought with Japan sixty years ago, and now, I am 
discussing peace with the Japanese prime minister." 
 
This is the president's pet phrase. When meeting with the criticism 
that the Iraq issue has mired in confusion, Bush almost always cites 
Japan as a successful example of democratization to justify the war 
on terror in Iraq. 
 
Over the handling of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) 
issue, Bush instructed his staff: "You should not act to drive Mr. 
Koizumi into a corner." The president also put a halt to the move by 
the US Department of State to pressure Japan to given up on its plan 
to develop the Azadegan oil field in Iran. 
 
However, there is a limit to the influence of the friendship between 
the leaders on bilateral relations as a whole. 
 
For example, on the realignment of US forces Japan, the 
working-level talks of officials from the two countries went 
nowhere. Former Director of Japan Affairs David Straub began 
criticizing in public the Bush administration's North Korea policy. 
 
The United States is turning its eyes to rising China and India. 
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Kurt Campbell pointed 
out: "In the US government, there are no officials deeply involved 
in Japan-US relations at present." "Prime Minister Koizumi will step 
down shortly, and a new president will come into office in two 
years. Depending on circumstances, Japan and the US may not have any 
close ties not only at the top level but also at the working level 
in the future," he added. 
 
The gaps are widening among working-level officials of the two 
countries. 
 
Prime Minister Koizumi, who has built a honeymoon-like relationship 
with the Bush administration will soon leave the diplomatic stage. 
We will review the five years of Koizumi diplomacy. 
 
(2) Editorial: Japanese, US leaders stage-manage best shot 
 
 
TOKYO 00003711  003 OF 008 
 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 1, 2006 
 
Could anyone expect anything better than this hospitality? That was 
probably not only because Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and 
United States President George W. Bush have good chemistry. During 
the Koizumi-Bush period for over five years, the Japanese government 
have dispatched Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) vessels to the 
Indian Ocean and Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops to Iraq, 
resulting in deepening the Japan-US alliance. The joint statement 
issued after the Koizumi-Bush summit confirmed that the alliance 
would expand the scope of its functions further, noting: "The two 
leaders heralded a new Japan-US alliance of global cooperation for 
the 21st century." 
 
In October 2000, prior to the presidential election, an expert group 
on foreign policy in the US released a comprehensive report on Japan 
policy. The so-called Armitage-Nye Report called on the Japanese 
government to alter its interpretation regarding the right to 
collective self-defense in the Constitution, hoping to develop the 
Japan-US alliance into a mature political alliance, like the one 
between the US and Britain. The Koizumi administration rejected the 
proposed change of the interpretation, but in actuality, it accepted 
Washington's request in general and dispatched fleets and troops to 
the Indian Ocean and Iraq. 
 
Under the leadership of Koizumi and Bush, Japan and the US have 
addressed a host of bilateral issues based on their strengthened 
security relations. Although there are also trade issues, like the 
conflict over the issue of Japan's ban on US beef imports, such 
trade issues are different in nature from those in the 1980s and the 
1990s. Regarding foreign policy, there are also points on which both 
countries cannot agree. For instance, the US has taken a realistic 
stance toward India and a principle-like stance toward Myanmar, but 
Tokyo's stances toward these two countries are totally different 
from Washington's. 
 
Japan and the US, however, share almost the same position on issues 
that will affect their national security, like the North Korean and 
Iranian nuclear development programs. Remembering his meeting with 
Sakie Yokota, the mother of abductee Megumi Yokota, Bush said in a 
press conference his heart was ready to break. It is unprecedented 
for a state leader to make such a remark. If two countries, while 
remaining at odds over certain issues, are in accord on basic issues 
and if such relations are defined as matured, Japan-US relations 
might be approaching a matured one. 
 
Some observers analyze that Japan-US alliance is becoming 
hollowed-out at the working level, focusing on the departure of 
Armitage and other experts on Japanese affairs from the Bush 
administration. The situation, though, is quite different from that 
of a dozen years ago. At that time, the weakness of relations 
between the Japanese and US leaders was cited as a problem. In its 
survey of 14 countries, the Pure Research Center found that Japan is 
the most pro-American country, with 63% of the Japanese surveyed 
replying that they have goodwill toward the US. 
 
The Koizumi-Bush era will end in September. Are Japan-US relations 
at their peak now or still in the process to their peak? 
 
(3) Editorial: Strategic ties also with Canada 
 
NIHON KEIZAI (Page 2) (Full) 
 
TOKYO 00003711  004 OF 008 
 
 
July 2, 2006 
 
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week met with Canadian Prime 
Minister Harper in Ottawa. The two leaders agreed to deepen 
bilateral cooperation in the political and economic fields. The 
Harper administration has come into existence, following the first 
changeover of administration in about 12 years in that country with 
the conservative party beating the liberal party in the general 
election this January. Taking advantage of this first summit, the 
two countries should build a more strategic relationship through 
close dialogues and search for areas where they can cooperate with 
each other. 
 
The prime minister's visit to Canada has a more significant meaning 
than that he stopped over there on his way to the US. Harper is 
determined to have positive involvement in the Asian region, the 
growth center of the global economy. He has shown eagerness to 
strengthen relations with Japan, which have not necessarily been 
close. He categorically showed interest in signing a free trade 
agreement with Japan. This is the expression of his strong 
diplomatic desire. 
 
Canada is becoming even more important as Japan's partner in the 
international community. It is essential for Japan to maintain a 
stable economic relationship with that country as a supplier of 
natural resources, such as energy resources and minerals, based on 
mutual trust. 
 
For instance, it is viewed that Canada has oil sand reserves 
equivalent to oil reserves in Saudi Arabia. Though there are some 
problems to be solved, including a high cost of extracting the 
material, it is drawing attention as a next-generation source of 
energy amid the high crude oil prices. 
 
China is highly interested in that nation's oil sand and is also 
eager to procure uranium from it. China has begun strengthening 
relations with Canada. A Chinese company tried to buy a Canadian 
resources company last year, though the takeover bid failed due to 
commercial reasons. We must not disregard the reality that 
competition, which can be called a battle to obtain natural 
resources, is taking place. 
 
There are many things Japan can learn from Canada. Prime Minister 
Harper has pledged to cut the goods and services tax, which is 
equivalent to Japan's consumption tax. This is a result of Canada 
having achieved fiscal reconstruction through strict spending cuts 
without depending on tax hikes. Japan can learn good lessons from 
it. Canada with multicultural history has rich experience in 
accepting foreign workers and immigrants. Its example will become a 
good guide for Japan, which is suffering from the declining 
birthrate. 
 
During the summit, Canada has pledged assistance to Japan over the 
North Korea issue and cooperation for the stabilization of 
Afghanistan. The post-Koizumi administration should further develop 
bilateral ties with it. 
 
(4) GSDF to establish Civil Military Cooperation in Central 
Readiness Command (CRC) for "battlefront" missions 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 3) (Abridged) 
July 3, 2006 
 
 
TOKYO 00003711  005 OF 008 
 
 
Based on its lessons from the 30 months of mission at the 
"battlefront" in Iraq, the Ground Self-Defense Force has decided to 
establish a military-civilian cooperation unit called the Civil 
Military Cooperation (CIMIC) in its Central Readiness Command to be 
established next March exclusively for overseas missions. The SDF's 
overseas activities will move into full swing under the slogan of 
improving the international security situation, as was shown by the 
realignment of US force realignment. 
 
The GSDF's overseas activities date back to UN peacekeeping 
operations in 1992. In those days, dispatched GSDF troops mostly 
restored roads, bridges, and other facilities. But since the mission 
in East Timor in 2002, the GSDF has also hired locals to create 
jobs, such as operating heavy machinery. 
 
Iraq mission 
 
In Iraq, the GSDF established CIMIC composed of about ten senior 
officials responsible for construction and other work. 
 
CIMIC was tasked with making arrangements with the Muthanna Province 
Reconstruction Committee and ordering the engineering unit to hire 
locals for restoration work. Over 3,000 Iraqi workers were hired 
daily. 
 
CIMIC met twice a week to play a central role in the GSDF's support 
activities in Iraq. 
 
In early days of the Iraq mission, the GSDF did not know the concept 
of CIMIC. 
 
Back then, Dutch forces, which were responsible for the security of 
Muthanna Province, were pushing ahead with reconstruction projects 
with locals, who were hired through CIMIC. The GSDF modeled after 
it, thinking that the employment of locals would lead to improved 
security. 
 
A senior GSDF official explained the advantages of CIMIC this way: 
"Creating jobs, it helped improve the security situation in 
Muthanna. It also reduced dangerous off-camp activities for GSDF 
troops." 
 
There seems to be every reason for the GSDF to establish CIMIC at 
its Central Readiness Command based on its lessons learned in Iraq. 
 
A unique military 
 
CIMIC is a desperate measure allowing the SDF to engage in 
activities in dangerous zones. Such a system may end up lowering the 
hurdle for the SDF's overseas missions. Troops from 27 countries 
have been conducting security duties in Iraq. Only Japan sent its 
troops there for reconstruction assistance. 
 
Given heavy constitutional restrictions, the SDF is not allowed to 
conduct security duties involving the use of force. If Japan's 
overseas missions continued to center on restoration operations, the 
SDF would be regarded as a "unique" national military." 
 
Fierce competition with activities by the Japan International 
Cooperation Agency (JICA), the office responsible for grant aid in 
the Foreign Ministry's official development assistance, may push the 
SDF toward more dangerous zones. 
 
 
TOKYO 00003711  006 OF 008 
 
 
SDF troops in Kuwait and Iraq conducted live-fire drills worth years 
of training at home. Anticipating attacks, they also repeatedly 
conducted drills based on secret guidelines on the use of weapons. 
But a GSDF member took this view: "Drills are drills to the last. We 
cannot learn real lessons until we encounter a dangerous scene." 
 
It has been 14 years since the SDF began overseas activities. The 
GSDF, which has miraculously not lost even a single life in Iraq, is 
now set to increase the difficulty of its overseas activities. 
 
(5) Editorial: US Navy Base at Guantanamo should be closed 
 
ASAHI (Page 3) (Full) 
July 2, 2006 
 
US President Bush said, "The biggest mistake we made in Iraq was Abu 
Ghraib (abuse at that prison)." He must add the mistake at 
Guantanamo. 
 
During the Afghan war in 2001, the US captured hundreds of Afghans 
on suspicion of having taken part in terrorist activities and 
transferred them to the US Navy at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. 
 
The US Federal Supreme Court has handed down a heavy judgment 
regarding the Guantanamo case. An inmate who was sent to a special 
tribunal brought the case to the court. In the trial, the court 
ruled that the tribunal itself is illegal. 
 
The court characterized those held at Guantanamo as neither captives 
nor criminals but hostile combatants. The US did not apply the 
Geneva Convention or prosecute prisoners as criminals. It has 
continued to detain them in such an abnormal way. 
 
The US treatment of Afghan prisoners is under fire from the 
international community, following the revelation of torture on 
inmates at Guantanamo. Under such circumstances, the US at last 
established a tribunal and prosecuted some inmates. One of the 
defendants then filed a lawsuit. 
 
The Federal Supreme Court has judged that under that tribunal, the 
rights of the defendants have not been fully guaranteed, and, 
therefore, it is illegal in light of the US domestic law on the 
ordinary military court. It has also judged that it is against the 
Geneva Convention as well. 
 
The judgment was handed down on one defendant, but it can be said 
that the existence of the prison, where even basic human rights are 
not observed, has been condemned. 
 
Those who are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities 
should be relegated to the court system. Otherwise, they should be 
treated as prisoners. In principle, these people should be detained 
at appropriate facilities according to their legal status. 
 
However, fights against terrorist groups, which have cross-border 
international networks and repeat indiscriminate terrorist attacks, 
have different aspects from conventional war. It is true that it is 
difficult to identify whether they should be categorized as 
prisoners or criminals. 
 
It may be necessary to establish a new legal framework. In that 
case, there should be an international arrangement for creating such 
a framework, instead of each country establishing such at its own 
 
TOKYO 00003711  007 OF 008 
 
 
discretion. Until such a framework is created, the scope allowed 
under international law should be applied. 
 
Guantanamo is not the only problematical case. The Central 
Intelligence Agency (CIA) has established secret prisons in Eastern 
European countries and detained suspected terrorists there. 
 
Human rights protection organizations in Europe have revealed that 
seven countries, including Britain and Sweden, detained suspects 
without taking appropriate procedures and handed them over to the 
US. 
 
The spread of deviation from the rule of law will mar international 
cooperation in fights against terrorism, making it even more 
difficult for various countries to keep solidarity. In order to 
prevent such a situation from occurring, too, the US should close 
Guantanamo, which can be said to be a symbol of the deviation. 
 
After that is done, the US should reunify solidarity with 
conscientious people who are fighting terrorism in various Islamic 
nations. 
 
(6) Poll on Japan-US war, Japan-China war, Tokyo Trials, Japan's 
postwar economy-oriented stance 
 
MAINICHI (Page 2) (Full) 
July 3, 2006 
 
Questions & Answers 
(T = total; M = male; F = female; D = Dietmembers) 
 
Q: What do you think about the opening of war with the US in 1941? 
 
                   T        M        F        D 
Unavoidable       33       36       31       18 
Reckless          59       61       58       57 
 
Q: There's an opinion saying Japan's war with China after the 
Manchurian Incident was a war of aggression. What do you think about 
this opinion? 
 
               T        M        F        D 
Agree         40       53       31       68 
Disagree       8       12        6        3 
 
Q: Do you think the Japanese government has apologized and 
self-reflected enough over World War II? 
 
                                      T       M        F       D 
Yes                                  36      42       32      51 
No                                   42      39       44      33 
No need to apology or self-reflect   11      14        9       2 
 
Q: Japan accepted the International Military Tribunal for the Far 
East or the so-called Tokyo Trials and restored its independence in 
ΒΆ1951. What do you think about the trials? 
 
T       M       F       D 
Unreasonable because the winners unilaterally tried the losers 
 
10       13       8       8 
Unreasonable but unavoidable because Japan was defeated in the war 
 
 
TOKYO 00003711  008 OF 008 
 
 
59       65       54       61 
Justifiable because those to blame for the war were tried 
17       16       18       13 
 
Q: Do you appreciate Japan's postwar stance of arming itself lightly 
and setting store on its economic growth? 
 
           T        M        F        D 
Yes       66       75       59       83 
No        24       21       27        2 
 
Q: What do you think Japan has lost in the postwar days? 
 
                                    T        M        F        D 
Social ideals                       4        5        3       23 
Equal society                       5        6        5        5 
Safe society                       11       10       12       16 
Local community ties               10       12        8       44 
Family ties                         8        8        9       36 
Heart to make much of things       14       12       15       27 
Feeling for others                 21       25       17       44 
Natural affluence                  10        9       11       22 
Traditional culture                 5        5        5       19 
Not on the list                     6        6        6       13 
 
Q: What do you think Japan should be most proud of in the postwar 
days? 
 
                                  T       M        F        D 
Economic prosperity               9      11        7       45 
Technology                       30      33       29       49 
Peaceful nation                  22      25       19       59 
Free society                      8       7        9       21 
Health, longevity                 4       3        4       38 
High education level              4       4        4       20 
Women's social status             8       4       11        5 
International contributions       2       2        2       10 
Traditional culture               2       3        1        7 
Not on the list                   5       5        4        5 
 
(Note) Figures shown in percentage, rounded off. "No answer" 
omitted. Dietmembers were asked to pick up to three to the question 
about what Japan should be proud of. 
 
Polling methodology: The survey was conducted June 17-18 over the 
telephone with the aim of calling a total of 1,000 voters across the 
nation on a computer-aided random digit sampling (RDS) basis. 
Answers were obtained from 1,026 persons. 
 
SCHIEFFER