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Viewing cable 08TOKYO1595, DAILY SUMMARY OF JAPANESE PRESS 06/11/08

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08TOKYO1595 2008-06-11 08:10 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO6231
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1595/01 1630810
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110810Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4955
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/USFJ //J5/JO21//
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA
RUAYJAA/CTF 72
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 0669
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 8291
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 1986
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 6563
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 8879
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3838
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 9841
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0263
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 TOKYO 001595 
 
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 06/11/08 
 
 
INDEX: 
 
(1) Foreign investors to be exempt from corporate taxes in Japan by 
fulfilling four conditions; Use of independent domestic asset 
management company required (Nikkei) 
 
(2) New economic growth strategy lacks specific systemic-reform 
measures (Nikkei) 
 
(3) Interview with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on divided 
Diet -- Prime Minister Fukuda must shuffle his cabinet and implement 
policies (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(4) Defense Ministry to retain present setup, reject Ishiba plan 
(Mainichi) 
 
(5) Asia Security Conference (Asahi) 
 
(6) Editorial: Fukuda vision needs to be modified (Tokyo Shimbun) 
 
(7) (Corrected copy) Prime Minister's schedule, June 10 (Nikkei) 
 
ARTICLES: 
 
(1) Foreign investors to be exempt from corporate taxes in Japan by 
fulfilling four conditions; Use of independent domestic asset 
management company required 
 
NIKKEI (Top play) (Full) 
June 11, 2008 
 
The government will revise taxation on overseas investors with the 
aim of promoting investment in Japan by foreign investment funds and 
companies. It will clarify corporate tax exemption rules to be 
applied to overseas investors that use domestic asset management 
firms to handle their portfolios, provided they meet four conditions 
ensuring that their assets are managed at the discretion of the 
domestic asset management companies. Its aim is to lure investment 
funds to Japan for the revitalization of the Tokyo market by making 
the current ill-defined taxation rules easy to understand, 
 
Government to set up new rules 
 
The Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency will work to 
craft new rules to be implemented as early as this month. 
 
There is a major principle concerning taxation for overseas 
investors -- if they have a discretionary investment contract with a 
registered domestic asset management company and if that asset 
management company acts independently, the investor will be exempt 
from taxation in Japan. However, there are currently no rules for 
determining whether foreign investors are independent from domestic 
asset management companies. 
 
The government will clarify four conditions to define cases exempt 
from taxation. If domestic asset management companies used for 
investment meet the following four conditions, foreign clients would 
be exempt from taxation: (1) investment decisions are  made by the 
domestic asset management company without specific directions from 
the overseas investor; (2) more than half the companies' directors 
and employees are not allowed to simultaneously hold positions at 
foreign funds and the like; (3) the management company has an 
 
TOKYO 00001595  002 OF 010 
 
 
agreement for contingency fee payments; and (4) the company does not 
rely on a specific overseas investor for its operations and is able 
to engage in diversified operations. 
 
Overseas investors are generally taxed in their home countries. 
However, if they are taxed in Japan as well, up to 40 PERCENT  of 
investment profits can be taken away by taxes. The risk of this 
double taxation is said to make some foreign investors reluctant to 
invest in Japan. 
 
The government set a policy of exempting from taxation investors 
from countries with which it has yet to sign a tax treaty, such as 
Middle East countries, by revising the Corporate Tax Law enforcement 
order in April. Going a step further this time, the government has 
clarified tax-exemption rules to be applied to all foreign 
investors, regardless of whether their home country has a tax treaty 
with Japan, by regulating specific asset management rules. 
 
The government will help overseas investors understand more detailed 
interpretations of the four conditions. For instance, if an overseas 
investor only gives brief instructions to an asset management 
company, such as to set up an investment fund framework, or tells 
them only in general terms about the level of risk the investor is 
willing to take on, then the domestic asset management company is 
considered independent of its overseas client. However, if the 
overseas client gives detailed instructions, such as which stocks 
should be traded or the timing of stock trades, then it will be 
subject to taxation, as it is deemed to be setting the asset 
management policy. 
 
A relationship limited solely to capital will not necessarily 
determine whether the asset management company is considered 
independent of the client. For instance, a foreign investor that 
invests in Japan via a wholly owned local asset management unit will 
not be subject to the corporate tax as long as all the conditions 
are met. 
 
Outstanding discretionary investments as of the end of March 2007 
stand at approximately 120 trillion yen, 1.9 times the level three 
years ago. The government has determined that in order to revitalize 
the domestic market by further luring overseas investment, it will 
be necessary to clarify taxation rules that are in compliance with 
international standards. 
 
(2) New economic growth strategy lacks specific systemic-reform 
measures 
 
NIKKEI (Page 3) (Full) 
June 11, 2008 
 
The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy finalized an 
economic growth strategy in its meeting yesterday. The report 
stresses the need to create jobs mainly for young people, promote 
the internationalization of Haneda Airport, and develop advanced 
technologies. It also notes that Japan can achieve an annual 2 
PERCENT  economic growth in real terms over the next decade despite 
its shrinking population. This is the first report on economic 
strategic policies since the Fukuda administration was inaugurated, 
but it is lacking specifics when it comes to systemic reform 
measures. 
 
In drafting the report, the council focused on the following three 
 
TOKYO 00001595  003 OF 010 
 
 
key policy goals: (1) creating a society in which everyone who wants 
to work can reach their full capability; (2) coping with 
globalization; and (3) developing advanced technologies. The report 
presents a new employment strategy to ensure a stable workforce 
despite the decreasing population. Specifically, the report proposes 
creating 2.2 million jobs for youths, women, and elderly people by 
FY2010 by taking such measures as improving the current vocational 
training system and making one million job-hopping part-timers 
regular members of the work force. 
 
A major step will be taken toward aviation liberalization, according 
to the new strategy. A new runway will be completed at Haneda 
Airport in 2010. In conjunction with the completion, Haneda will 
host new regular flights to Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei, and 
Hong Kong. On innovative technologies, the report suggests 
establishing in FY2008 special districts that will receive 
preferential deregulatory treatment in developing such advanced 
medical techniques as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. 
 
The measures proposed in the economic growth strategy will be 
included in the government's 2008 economic and fiscal policy 
guidelines due out in late June. Deeming the strategy as a prelude 
to the compilation of a budget for FY2009, each government agency 
was eager to come up with policy measures. But the report does not 
go deeply into reform measures that need no budgetary allocations. 
 
Take the management of public pension funds, for instance. Panel 
members from the private sector stressed that the government should 
aim to increase profits by investing the reserves totaling about 150 
trillion yen in diversified destinations. In reaction, the Ministry 
of Health, Labor and Welfare demanded the measure be dropped, out of 
fear of criticism about a short-term loss risk. Although Minister in 
Charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy Hiroko Ota insisted that the 
report should at least note that the measure is up for 
consideration, the expression used in the report is that "a 
broadly-based study should be conducted from the people's point of 
view." 
 
In the wake of a foreign hedge fund's bid to increase its stake in 
J-power, attention is being paid to what measures would be taken to 
expand foreign direct investment in Japan. The report says that 
Japan will comprehensively look into restrictions on foreign 
investment in FY2008, but it includes no specific measures. 
Private-sector members called for increasing foreign workers with 
high-level skills to 300,000 by 2015, but the report does not 
mention this numerical target, either. 
 
Key points in the economic growth strategy 
 
Principles = from viewpoint of ordinary citizens, consumers 
Aim at achieving an over 2 PERCENT  economic growth in real terms 
annually over the next decade. 
Set the period of three years starting in FY2008 as the period of 
implementation of priority measures. 
 
Three strategic policies 
 
All citizens' participation in economic activities 
 
New employment strategy = Create 2.2 million jobs among youths, 
women, and the elderly. 
Improve the productivity of the services industry and small to 
 
TOKYO 00001595  004 OF 010 
 
 
midsize companies. 
IT-oriented state = Enable people to get a copy of their 
certificates of residence through terminals at convenience stores. 
 
Global strategy 
 
Conclude in 2010 economic partnership agreements (EPA) with 
countries with which the annual amount of Japan's trade accounts for 
25 PERCENT  of its total. 
Have Haneda Airport host regular services to Seoul, Shanghai, 
Beijing, Taipei, and Hong Kong. 
Revise in the fall 2008 the program to accelerate foreign direct 
investment. 
Comprehensively study in FY2008 future options for restrictions on 
foreign investment 
Establish a system to accept 300,000 foreign students. 
 
Development of innovative technologies 
 
Establish in FY2008 special districts that will receive bold 
preferential deregulatory treatment in developing advanced medical 
techniques. 
Create in FY2009 a national project emergency budget. 
Study a mechanism to drastically increase the use of natural 
energy. 
 
(3) Interview with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on divided 
Diet -- Prime Minister Fukuda must shuffle his cabinet and implement 
policies 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 2) (Abridged slightly) 
June 11, 2008 
 
-- Former LDP Secretary General Taro Aso is highly popular as a 
possible candidate to replace Prime Minister Fukuda. 
 
"Popular or not, Mr. Aso and Policy Research Council Chairman 
Sadakazu Tanigaki have run for the LDP proficiency in the past, and 
I think that deserves some credit. Anyone is eligible to run for the 
LDP presidency. The question is whether or not one can meet the 
requirement of recommendations from 20 lawmakers." 
 
-- You are serving as the supreme adviser to the Machimura faction, 
which includes former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, another 
possible successor to Fukuda. 
 
"That's what the media says. If the political community comes apart 
and everyone is thrown out into the sea, they would desperately 
reach out for anything to remain above the water. When such a time 
comes, people might turn to Ms. Koike. I'm talking about really 
chaotic times here." 
 
-- In the previous LDP presidential race, some in your faction were 
eager to back Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. Former 
Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa is also energetically taking 
action. 
 
"This is not the time to say such thing because Mr. (Yasuo) Fukuda 
is working very hard." 
 
-- What is your assessment of the two? 
 
 
TOKYO 00001595  005 OF 010 
 
 
"Mr. Machimura must wholeheartedly support Mr. Fukuda as his chief 
cabinet secretary. He should go to any length for Mr. Fukuda." 
 
"Mr. Nakagawa is in a free position. There must be a clear 
distinction between personal opinions and factions' views. This 
group has been well managed under my supervision. Why? The most 
important thing is not to create factions in factions. I have always 
rejected them." 
 
-- A study group has been established centering on Mr. Nakagawa, and 
it has created a stir in the faction. 
 
"If we are to say this or that about Machimura or Nakagawa now, it 
would be better to dissolve (the faction). It is a miracle that our 
faction has produced four prime ministers in a row. We owe much to 
other factions, and we are grateful for their cooperation. We must 
absolutely not produce another LDP president after Mr. Fukuda, 
though that would not occur anytime soon." 
 
-- What is your view of the divided Diet? 
 
"The Diet is still immature. In order to force the prime minister 
into dissolving the Lower House so that they can win the next 
general election, (the Democratic Party of Japan) opposes 
everything. Such is out of line with popular will. The LDP has 
control over the Lower House and the DPJ is the largest party in the 
Upper House. The divided Diet is a god-send for it is a chance to 
build consensus through talks." 
 
-- Is a cabinet shuffle necessary in order for Prime Minister Fukuda 
to generate his policy imprint? 
 
"The present cabinet is still the Abe cabinet. Sooner or later, I 
would like to see Mr. Fukuda establish his own cabinet and implement 
his own policies. He should shuffle his cabinet anytime now when the 
timing is right." 
 
-- What about the timing for the next Lower House election? 
 
"The election should be held at the best time. DPJ President Ichiro 
Ozawa has explicitly said that the election would take place in the 
fall. That is their wishful thinking. There is no need to carry out 
the election at such time." 
 
-- What is your view of the possibility of political realignment? 
 
"It would be quite natural for like-minded people to gather together 
and agree to endeavor to turn their visions into action. There is no 
doubt that the next Lower House election will be a turning point. 
There is a possibility that politics will demonstrate new 
developments depending on how the election turns out." 
 
(4) Defense Ministry to retain present setup, reject Ishiba plan 
 
MAINICHI (Page 5) (Full) 
June 11, 2008 
 
A government panel on a reform of the Defense Ministry will work out 
a report this month and is expected to coordinate the ministry's 
organizational reform based on a draft plan to basically retain its 
current organizational setup. Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has 
advocated a drastic overhaul of his ministry. His initiative, 
 
TOKYO 00001595  006 OF 010 
 
 
however, encountered a strong negative reaction from within and 
outside the ministry. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has asked the 
panel to make a soft landing. The panel is therefore trying to iron 
out the differences of opinions among its members, centering on the 
ideas of National Defense Academy President Makoto Iokibe, one of 
the panel's influential members. Ishiba has proposed mixing the 
Defense Ministry's bureaucrats and the Self-Defense Forces' 
uniformed staffs. The panel, out of consideration for Ishiba, is 
expected to incorporate his blueprint partially into its report. 
 
The draft plan was informally presented by Iokibe, who is one of 
Fukuda's confidants, when the panel met on May 21. It describes that 
the Defense Ministry should "basically retain" its current setup of 
internal bureaus and the Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Ground, 
Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces as well as their respective 
staff offices. The Iokibe plan recommends the Defense Ministry to 
combine SDF staff officers into its defense policy bureau and other 
internal bureaus in order to revamp its organizational setup. The 
JSO, currently in charge of operational planning for the three SDF 
services, is recommended to have personnel from internal bureaus for 
posts below its deputy chiefs of staff. 
 
The Ishiba plan presented to the panel features reorganizing and 
combining the Defense Ministry's internal bureaus and the GSDF, 
MSDF, and ASDF staff offices into three functional bodies for 
defense buildup, operational planning, and policy planning and 
public relations. It is aimed at enhancing cooperation between the 
ministry's bureaucracy and the SDF brass. According to the Ishiba 
plan, they are to assist the defense minister, who is a politician 
in the center of civilian control. However, the SDF's uniformed 
staff officers are strongly opposed to this Ishiba initiative. 
Eventually, the Defense Ministry came up with a total of six 
patterns for an image of its organization, failing to work it out. 
 
The Iokibe plan does not go so far as to reorganize the Defense 
Ministry's internal bureaus and the SDF staff offices into three 
bodies. Instead of restructuring the Defense Ministry in such a 
radical way, it incorporates Ishiba's overtures in the form of 
mixing and combining some of the ministry's bureaucrats and the 
SDF's uniformed staff officers. "It imports Mr. Ishiba's idea," a 
high-ranking official of the government says. As well as the Defense 
Ministry's reform plan, Iokibe proposes abolishing the defense 
counselor system, which has now become a dead letter, and 
introducing political appointees as advisors to the defense 
minister. In addition, the Iokibe plan, like the Defense Ministry's 
reform plan, proposes beefing up the Defense Council's functions 
with senior officials from the Defense Ministry. 
 
In April, a subcommittee of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on a 
reform of the Defense Ministry also suggested the need for the prime 
minister's office to strengthen SDF personnel's authority. The panel 
will also consider this suggestion. However, Ishiba remains 
particular about his idea of integrating the Defense Ministry's 
bureaucracy and the SDF's brass due to their bureaucratic 
sectionalism. Ishiba, appearing on a TV program aired on June 5, 
remarked: "A compromise is needed, but there's also some things on 
which we must not compromise." 
 
(5) Asia Security Conference 
 
ASAHI (Page 10) (Abridged) 
June 10, 2008 
 
TOKYO 00001595  007 OF 010 
 
 
 
The Asia Security Conference, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue 
is an annual gathering of defense or security ministers and pundits 
in the Asia-Pacific region. It was held in Singapore from May 30 
through June 1. The seventh meeting had the participation of 
representatives from a total of 28 countries and areas including 
U.S. Defense Secretary Gates and Defense Minister Ishiba. In the 
wake of a recent huge cyclone that hit Myanmar (Burma) and an 
earthquake that devastated China's Sichuan Province, participants 
focused their discussions on international cooperation in disaster 
relief. 
 
Japan's defense policy 
 
In the conference, China voiced its sense of alarm about Japan's 
defense policy, specifying Japan's ongoing deployment of missile 
defense (MD) systems with the United States and Japan's 
strengthening of its alliance with the United States. 
 
In his speech on May 31, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the 
Chinese People's Liberation Army Ma cited an "expanded military 
alliance" as one of the "three threats" in the Asia-Pacific region 
and noted that the deployment of MD systems is "not purely for 
defense." 
 
Tang Jiaxuan, a former member of China's State Council, was in 
charge of foreign affairs as a vice premier-level leader until this 
spring. In those days, Tang expressed his hope for the Japan-U.S. 
alliance to contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific 
region. As seen from his remark, there is a somewhat affirmative 
view of the Japan-U.S. alliance in China, as well. 
 
As is evident from Ma's remark, PLA brass still have negative 
perceptions about Japan. 
 
Another Chinese expert, Zhuang Jianzhong, vice director of the 
Center for National Strategic Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong 
University (SJTU), tuned in to Ma in a session on June 1, asserting 
that a bilateral military alliance is a historical product of the 
Cold War. "We should attach importance to a multilateral alliance," 
he added. Singapore's Defense Minister Teo raised a question about 
this remark. "I wonder if Japan's defense seeking an alliance with 
countries other than the United States is good for stability in 
Northeast Asia," Teo said. He admonished the Chinese participants, 
saying, "If Japan is unstable, that is not good for China." 
 
The conference started on May 30, when Japan announced that it would 
forgo dispatching Self-Defense Forces aircraft on a mission to 
airlift relief supplies for those affected in the Sichuan 
earthquake. Ma revealed that it was based on a decision China made 
in consideration of historical issues lying between Japan and China 
and the Chinese public's sentiment. 
 
In his speech, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee noted: "Japan and 
China are at odds over historical perceptions and other issues. 
However, both countries are trying to build constructive relations. 
This is a sign of stability in East Asia." U.S. Defense Secretary 
Gates also stated that better relations between Japan and China will 
benefit the United States. 
 
Alliance, Asia diplomacy can go together: Defense Minister Ishiba 
 
 
TOKYO 00001595  008 OF 010 
 
 
We always need to verify the balance of power in East Asia. China is 
gaining in importance, and this is a significant change. I don't 
stand for playing up China as a threat. However, I strongly hope 
China will make its military power and intention more transparent. 
 
The bilateral alliance between Japan and the United States is one of 
the strongest alliances in the world. It should be used as a public 
asset for the region. The United States is obligated to defend 
Japan, but Japan is constitutionally not allowed to defend the 
United States. This is an asymmetrical bilateral relationship. Some 
people say Japan should use its right of collective self-defense. 
However, we have no plans for constitutional change or 
reinterpretation. It's possible to beef up the Japan-U.S. alliance's 
credibility, and it is also possible to beef up Japan's Asia policy 
at the same time. Japan is not thinking of going nuclear. 
 
Japan's Self-Defense Forces have been working together with other 
international community members for peace while being proud of Japan 
as a peace nation. The SDF is currently on a refueling mission in 
the Indian Ocean and is also on an airlift mission in Iraq. These 
SDF activities are under time-limited laws (respectively set to run 
out in January and July next year. We should create a general law 
that shows a 'menu' to meet the international community's needs for 
cooperation. 
 
Terrorism, in many cases, is ascribable to a relative poverty, as 
compared with other countries. We need to make steady efforts to 
eliminate it and change the political system. On the other hand, if 
retributive deterrence does not work, then we will have to improve 
the overall capability of rejective deterrence. Our missile defense 
system is also one of them. I think it is about time for Asia with 
its diversity to use its wisdom for living in harmony with nature. 
 
(6) Editorial: Fukuda vision needs to be modified 
 
TOKYO SHIMBUN (Page 5) (Full) 
June 11, 2008 
 
Prime Minister Fukuda unveiled a new initiative called the "Fukuda 
vision," a set of proposals on measures to fight global warming, in 
preparation for the Group of Eight Hokkaido Toyako Summit (G-8 
Summit). The proposals include emissions trading, but forgo setting 
a mid-term emission reduction target. The Fukuda vision is still 
insufficient to make a significant impact on the Japanese public and 
the world audience. 
 
While the end goal of the Fukuda vision is clear, the immediate goal 
is blurry. As a long-term reduction goal, Fukuda proposed to attain 
a 60-80 PERCENT  domestic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target 
by 2050 from current levels, following the target announced by the 
European Union (EU) and indicating a specific target. 
 
But when it came to setting a medium-term reduction target by 2020, 
an essential part of the vision, the Prime Minister deferred setting 
such it. The vision only indicated the possibility that greenhouse 
gas emissions would be reduced 14 PERCENT  from the 2005 level. 
 
This figure stems from a sector-by-sector approach proposed by Japan 
to set each country's target by adding up possible amounts of 
industry-by-industry emission reductions. However, the problem is 
that even if forest absorption of carbon dioxide is approved as is, 
the reduction amount will be merely 8 PERCENT  from the 1990 levels, 
 
TOKYO 00001595  009 OF 010 
 
 
far from the 25-40 PERCENT  called for by the Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Other countries of the world will 
not be able to accept Japan's "trickery" of shifting the base year 
in its favor. 
 
The Fukuda vision states that the impact of global warming has 
already become obvious. Given this, we think it is urgently 
necessary to reconsider a medium-term reduction target. 
 
Fukuda also vowed to introduce domestic emissions trading. This is 
clearly progress. The emissions trading system within the EU has led 
to a six-trillion-yen market. Emissions trading have become 
indispensable to international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions. 
 
However, even though a domestic integrated market will be 
established, if new caps are not placed on participating companies, 
the emissions market will not function appropriately. If an 80 
PERCENT  emissions reduction were possible by voluntary efforts, the 
Kyoto Protocol would be unnecessary from the beginning. Placing caps 
on emissions inspire each country to move to reduce their greenhouse 
gas emissions and to develop innovative technologies, which could 
lead to business opportunities. 
 
The Fukuda vision concludes by saying that the leading player in 
bringing about a low-carbon society is the public. If so, political 
will and mechanisms to show clear targets and urge the public to 
car-share and make efforts to save electricity are more important 
than simply paying attention to international bargaining and giving 
consideration to industries. 
 
We hope to see the Fukuda vision modified in a way to make the 
public, as a leading player, aware of the seriousness of the 
situation and playing a role. If the prime minister demonstrates his 
leadership at home, he then can make an impact on the international 
community, as well. 
 
(7) (Corrected copy) Prime Minister's schedule, June 10 
 
NIKKEI (Page 2) (Full) 
June 11, 2008 
 
08:52 
Attended a cabinet meeting. 
 
09:19 
Met MAFF Minister Wakabayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura, 
followed by Justice Minister Hatoyama, MHLW Minister Masuzoe, and 
Machimura. Masuzoe and Machimura stayed on. Afterward met National 
Public Safety Commission Chairman Izumi. 
 
09:51 
Met Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Baker and his wife at the 
Kantei. 
 
11:00 
Met Science Council of Japan Chairman Kanazawa and Vice Chairman Doi 
in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Kishida, Cabinet 
special adviser Kurokawa, and others. Afterward met Economic and 
Fiscal Policy Minister Ota in the presence of Assistant Chief 
Cabinet Secretary Saka. Ota stayed on. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001595  010 OF 010 
 
 
12:18 
Had lunch with LDP third-term members in the presence of Deputy 
Chief Cabinet Secretary Ono, joined by Machimura. 
 
14:10 
Met Cabinet Intelligence Director General Mitani, followed by Lower 
House National Basic Policy Committee Chairman Eto and principal 
director Hagiyama, followed by Vice Foreign Minister Yabunaka Asian 
and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director General Saiki. Yabunaka stayed 
on. 
 
15:30 
Met New Komeito head Ota, LDP Secretary General Ibuki, New Komeito 
Secretary General Kitagawa in the presence of Machimura. 
 
16:05 
Met assistant Ito. Later attended a CEFP meeting. 
 
18:13 
Met Prime Minister Vanhanen of Finland, followed by a joint press 
conference. 
 
19:03 
Hosted a dinner party. 
 
20:24 
Returned to his official residence. 
 
SCHIEFFER