Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Tuesday, August 31 - Kyodo Articles
Opposition lawmakers slam DPJ power struggle
Aug 31 09:36 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday criticized the ruling Democratic Party of Japan following failed attempts to avoid a showdown between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and DPJ heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa in the party's Sept. 14 presidential election. ...
Japan, U.S. to give due consideration to dugongs in base talks+
Aug 31 09:32 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Japan and the United States said Tuesday they will consider the possible impact of the planned construction of a facility to accommodate the heliport functions of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa on the dugong, an endangered marine mammal spotted in the area. ...
LEAD: Nago mayor criticizes Japan-U.S. report on Futenma relocation+
Aug 31 09:29 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: CLARIFYING BACKGROUND INFO ON FLIGHT ROUTES IN LAST 2 GRAF) Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine strongly criticized a report unveiled Tuesday by Japan and the United States on on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Ginowan to Henoko in the city of Nago in Okinawa. ...
3RD LD: Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, continue flight route talks+
Aug 31 09:04 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Aug. 31 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING NAGO MAYOR'S COMMENT IN 9TH-10TH GRAFS, OKADA'S COMMENTS IN PENULTIMATE GRAF) Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday a report on the technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base in Okinawa that presents two options for its design -- either two runways in a V-shaped formation or a single runway. ...
Defense Ministry to seek U.S. bases costs under special framework+
Aug 31 08:02 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ The Defense Ministry said Tuesday it will request 4.71 trillion yen in fiscal 2011 budget appropriations, up 0.6 percent over its fiscal 2010 initial budget, including 185.9...
LEAD: Kan regrets DPJ will hold leadership election+
Aug 31 07:36 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: RECASTING WITH MORE INFO) Prime Minister Naoto Kan expressed regret Tuesday that his Democratic Party of Japan will hold a presidential election, saying he had wanted ...
Nago mayor criticizes Japan-U.S. report on Futenma relocation+
Aug 31 07:13 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine strongly criticized a report unveiled Tuesday by Japan and the United States on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in
30-month prison term finalized for former top defense bureaucrat
August 31 2010 19:55 JST
TOKYO, Aug. 31 KYODO_ A ruling of 30 months in prison has become final for former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya who was convicted on bribery and perjury charges in a lower court, as last Friday he withdrew his appeal to the Supreme Court, court officials said Tuesday. ...
LEAD: Japanese GSDF helicopters begin flood relief work in Pakistan+
1 minute ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: FIXING LOCATION OF PAKISTAN MILITARY DEPOT, 2ND GRAF) The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force kicked off its flood relief work in Pakistan on Tuesday, using two...
3RD LD: Ozawa to challenge Kan in DPJ leadership election+
8 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS, 4TH LEAD TO FOLLOW) Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa said Tuesday he will go ahead with his plan to challenge Prime Minister Naoto Kan...
Okada calls for party unity after DPJ leadership race+
18 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, who backs Prime Minister and President of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan Naoto Kan in the upcoming party leadership election, called...
Gist of Japan-U.S. officials' report on transfer of U.S. Futenma base+
Aug 31 06:10 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ The following is the gist of a report on the technical details of the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture unveiled by Japan ...
URGENT: Kan formally declares candidacy for DPJ presidential election+
49 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election next month. Kan, current DPJ president, said...
2ND LD: Kan-Ozawa set to battle in DPJ leadership election+
1 hour ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING) Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa reiterated Tuesday that he will challenge Prime Minister Naoto Kan by running in the upcoming ruling...
URGENT: Ozawa to run in DPJ's presidential election+
1 hour ago
(Kyodo) _ Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa reiterated Tuesday he will run in the upcoming ruling party's presidential election to challenge Prime Minister Naoto Kan. ...
REFILLING: 2ND LD: Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, keep flight route talks+
Aug 31 04:49 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Aug. 31 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING BYLINE) Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday a report on technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base
2ND LD: Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, keep flight route talks+
Aug 31 04:44 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS) Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday a report on technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base in Okinawa ...
LEAD: Kan, Ozawa hold talks to ease DPJ's internal power struggle+
2 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH START OF KAN-OZAWA TALKS) Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday held talks with ruling party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa in an attempt to avoid a destabilizing...
LEAD: Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, keep flight route talks+
Aug 31 02:15 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFORMATION) Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday a report on technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base
Kan, Ozawa to hold talks to ease DPJ's internal power struggle+
Aug 31 01:10 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Naoto Kan and ruling party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa are scheduled to hold talks later Tuesday aimed at avoiding a destabilizing power struggle in the upcoming party leadership ballot at a time when Japan faces economic uncertainty. ...
Chronology of key events related to U.S. Futenma base in Okinawa+
Aug 31 12:48 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ The following is a chronology of major events related to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture. Sept. 1995 -- 3 U.S....
Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, forgo flight route decision+
Aug 31 12:30 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday an experts' report on technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base in Okinawa that presents two options for its design -- either two runways in a V-shaped formation or a single runway. ...
S. Korea, U.S. to start 5 days of naval drills from Sun.+
Aug 30 11:50 PM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ South Korea and the United States will begin five days of naval exercises Sunday off the Korean Peninsula's west coast, aimed at sending a message of deterrence to North Korea, a military source told Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday. ...
Ozawa should not be Japan's prime minister: Financial Times+
56 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ The Financial Times on Monday signified a sense of caution against the challenge by Ichiro Ozawa, a powerful figure in Japan's ruling party, for the leadership of the Democratic
Futenma relocation policy may reflect Okinawa's views+
Aug 30 01:06 PM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ Japan and the United States have agreed to state in a written policy that they will bear in mind the Okinawa people's views on the exact relocation and construction method of a key U.S. base within the prefecture, provided this does not result in a significant delay in building the facility, bilateral diplomatic sources said Monday. ...
US welcomes Futenma report
August 31, 2010
The United States has welcomed the release of the report.
The US government has yet to issue an official statement, but officials say they are relieved that the 2 countries reached an agreement by the August 31st deadline they set in May.
The US is expected to pressure Japan to steadily implement the relocation plan and put the process on track by the time of President Barack Obama's visit to Japan scheduled for November.
2010/08/31 17:27(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
Futenma relocation experts suggest 1 or 2 runways
August 31, 2010
Click for Video
A report by experts on relocating the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa includes 2 options for runway construction off US Camp Schwab on the same island.
On Tuesday, Japanese and US officials disclosed the contents of the report on moving functions of Futenma to the area off Camp Schwab in Nago city.
The report proposes building two runways in a V-shaped formation or a single runway as recently requested by Japan.The report says both ideas meet safety standards, but that building only 1 runway would require aircraft to fly near mountains, possibly interfering with the planes' instruments.
It says 1 runway would require 40 hectares less in reclaimed land and would thus have a smaller effect on marine life.
Construction work for 1 runway would take 6 months less than building twin runways but would require new designs and further environmental assessments, making the single-runway process 9 months longer.
The report did not refer to changes in helicopter flight routes as requested by the US, and the two sides are expected to continue discussions on this issue.
Japan's Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa told reporters that both proposals have pros and cons that he hopes to discuss with local people. Kitazawa said he hopes to consider a new framework between the two countries so that the new facility can be used jointly by the US military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada told reporters that the report is based only on technical aspects, and that the government will officially decide on a proposal after factoring in political judgments.
Okada said what's important is gaining the understanding of the people of Okinawa, and that progress on the issue is impossible if a decision is reached without such understanding.
He added solid efforts and communication with Okinawa are necessary.
2010/08/31 17:02(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
Nago City refuses government briefing
August 31, 2010
Nago has refused to be briefed by the Defense Ministry on the report.
The ministry's Okinawa bureau offered such a briefing to the city by phone on Tuesday, before the Japanese and US governments released the report that day.
But Nago said it won't accept a government briefing premised on relocating the base in the city.
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima told NHK that as the prefecture has not yet started formal negotiations on the matter with the central government, he's not interested in a briefing on a technical report.
Nakaima urged the government to explain to the people in Okinawa its about-face on its policy concerning the relocation, and said that without a convincing explanation, he won't start talks with the government.
2010/08/31 17:02(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
Japan Cites 2 Futenma Replacement Runway Options
August 31, 2010
Tokyo, Aug. 31 (Jiji Press) -- The Japanese government released a report on Tuesday that includes two runway options for a replacement facility for a U.S. Marine airbase in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.
One of the two options calls for building two runways aligned in a V shape in the Henoko coastal area in Nago, also in Okinawa, as agreed by the Japanese and U.S. governments in 2006.
The other option is to construct a single I-shaped runway at the same location in order to reduce the size of the area to be reclaimed.
The report said the I-shaped runway will reduce the reclaimed area by 40 hectares and cut construction costs by 3 pct.
But the Japanese government is finding it difficult to introduce either option because the Okinawan public is increasingly opposed to the transfer of the Futenma base in Ginowan to the Henoko area.
(2010/08/31-16:21)
Japan politics keeps US base dispute in limbo
by Frank Zeller Frank Zeller
–15 mins ago / 4:08 PM Guam / CST
TOKYO (AFP) – A deadline to resolve the fate of a US airbase in Japan came and went Tuesday with scant progress on the toxic dispute, which has already claimed one prime minister and threatens to undermine another.
Washington and Tokyo started arguing over the Marine Corps base on Okinawa island after the centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power a year ago, ending a half-century of nearly unbroken conservative rule.
Tuesday marked the August 31 deadline by which both sides had aimed to come up with a workable plan to relocate the airbase within Okinawa -- but news reports said so far Washington and Tokyo have only agreed to politely disagree.
The base is located in the urban area of Futenma on the southern island of Okinawa, where residents have long complained about aircraft noise and the risk of accidents.
Kyodo News reported that a joint working group had submitted a paper that mentions two options for a new coastal site at Henoko -- with Japan proposing a single offshore runway, and the US favouring a larger, V-shaped runway.
The DPJ's first premier, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged to scrap a 2006 bilateral pact to relocate the base to Henoko and instead promised to move it off the island altogether.
But in the following months Hatoyama flip-flopped on the issue as Washington ramped up pressure for the base to stay on Okinawa.
Hatoyama, his approval ratings slumping, backtracked on his pledge in May and stepped down in June, taking Ichiro Ozawa, the DPJ's scandal-mired secretary general, with him.
Both nations reaffirmed in May they would move the base to Henoko as originally agreed, despite local opposition and concerns the offshore runways would spoil a fragile marine ecosystem.
Under the deal, 8,000 US Marines are set to be moved to the American territory of Guam to ease the burden on Okinawa, which has hosted Japan's largest concentration of US troops since the end of World War II.
Both countries are mindful of the electoral calendar on Okinawa, where a new governor will be chosen in November. An anti-base candidate could block any offshore runway construction.
In recent days another wild-card factor has emerged -- a bid to oust Kan as party leader and premier by Ozawa, the veteran party powerbroker who was widely seen as Hatoyama's puppet master.
The Mainichi Shimbun daily said Sunday that while "Kan is sticking to the Japan-US joint statement, Mr Ozawa is cautious about a relocation to Henoko".
"Futenma is expected to be an issue in the leadership race," it said.
However, Kan and Ozawa were expected to meet later on Tuesday, with speculation swirling about whether they will go head-to-head next month or reach a deal under which Ozawa would withdraw his candidacy.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a politics professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, predicted that, whatever happens within the DPJ, there will be little progress on Futenma until the Okinawa governor's election in November.
"Domestic politics... inevitably plays a role in this issue," he said.
Chronology of key events related to U.S. Futenma base in Okinawa+
Aug 31 12:48 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Aug. 31 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The following is a chronology of major events related to the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.
Sept. 1995 -- 3 U.S. servicemen rape local schoolgirl in Okinawa, fueling anger among local residents.
April 1996 -- Japan, U.S. agree on return of Futenma base within 5 to 7 years.
Dec. 1996 -- Japan, U.S. agree to build heliport off east coast of main Okinawa Island, move Futenma's heliport functions. Sea off Nago's Henoko district near U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab considered as possible relocation site.
Dec. 1997 -- Majority of Nago residents vote against relocation plan in referendum. But then Mayor Tetsuya Higa says city would accept it, offers to resign.
Dec. 1999 -- Japanese government endorses plan to move Futenma to coastal area of Henoko, after Nago announces city would accept military facility on several conditions, such as limiting its use to 15 years.
July 2002 -- Central government agrees with Okinawa prefectural government, local municipalities on basic construction plan to reclaim land off Henoko to build runway.
Aug. 2004 -- Marine helicopter crashes in Okinawa International University in Ginowan.
April 2006 -- Tokyo agrees with Nago to construct 2 runways in V-shape formation on Camp Schwab's shores.
May 2006 -- Japan, U.S. agree on road map for realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, featuring plan to build V-shaped runways in coastal area of Camp Schwab, move Futenma, transfer 8,000 Okinawa-based Marines to Guam, both by 2014.
Dec. 2006 -- Hirokazu Nakaima assumes Okinawa governorship, demands runways be built further offshore than planned.
July 2008 -- Democratic Party of Japan unveils "Okinawa Vision 2008," seeking to move Futenma functions out of Okinawa, eventually outside Japan.
2009
Sept. 16 -- DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama becomes prime minister, launches 3-party coalition government.
Sept. 25 -- Hatoyama shows willingness to move Futenma out of Okinawa.
2010
Jan. 24 -- Susumu Inamine, who opposes Futenma relocation to Nago, wins mayoral election.
April 12 -- Hatoyama meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, promises conclusion of Futenma issue by end of May.
April 25 -- About 90,000 people rally in Okinawa, calling for Futenma to be moved out of Okinawa.
May 23 -- Hatoyama notifies Nakaima of state's plan to move Futenma to area near Henoko district in Nago, offers apology for giving up on earlier vow to move Futenma out of prefecture.
May 28 -- Japan, U.S. reach fresh accord on Futenma relocation, which is effectively on par with existing plan under 2006 Japan-U.S. accord.
June 2 -- Hatoyama offers to resign following departure of Social Democratic Party from ruling coalition in opposing accord with U.S. on Futenma relocation.
June 8 -- The Cabinet of new Prime Minister Naoto Kan is launched.
Aug. 31 -- Japan, U.S. agree on technical details such as location and construction methods for Futenma replacement facility.
Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, forgo flight route decision+
Aug 31 12:30 AM US/Eastern
Aug 31 2:30 PM Guam/CST
TOKYO, Aug. 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan and the United States unveiled Tuesday an experts' report on technical details of the planned replacement facility for a key U.S. Marine base in Okinawa that presents two options for its design -- either two runways in a V-shaped formation or a single runway.
The document on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station from a crowded residential area to a less densely populated area in the southern Japanese prefecture also avoids reference to aircraft flight routes to and from the replacement facility.
The Japanese government briefed the Okinawa prefectural government about the report before releasing it. Japan and the United States are expected to continue talks on technical details of the base relocation amid local opposition to moving the Futenma base within Okinawa.
The two countries agreed in May to transfer the base within the prefecture and aim to finalize the relocation plan at the next bilateral meeting of foreign and defense chiefs under the "two-plus- two" framework.
The government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to defer a decision on a specific scheme for the relocation until after the Okinawa gubernatorial election slated for November, judging that reaching a bilateral accord before the election would fuel local opposition further.
Japan and the United States differ on the design of the replacement facility and aircraft flight routes, issues that are linked to the degree of impact on the local marine environment and noise pollution.
Washington maintains a V-shaped formation is "the best" option based on operational and other factors. Tokyo prefers a single runway, saying it is advantageous from the environmental viewpoint.
The length of the runways would be 1,800 meters for both the V-shaped and single-runway proposals. The total area of reclaimed land would be smaller under the single runway plan, posing a smaller risk to the marine environment, according to the report.
As for the flight routes, the United States has proposed a major change during bilateral negotiations, saying that U.S. aircraft will fly closer to onshore areas than Tokyo had earlier expected under visual flight rules using two runways in the V-shaped formation.
Japan is opposed to the U.S.-proposed routes on the grounds that it would worsen noise levels and pose greater risks of accidents to local residents.
Mainichi :: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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- Ozawa reaffirms DPJ leadership candidacy after talks with PM Kan collapse
- Kan abandons anti-Ozawa line to avert party split
- Japan, U.S. eye 2 base shape options, keep flight route talks (Kyodo News)
- Kan, Ozawa to meet Tues. to avoid showdown over DPJ leadership (Kyodo News)
- Futenma relocation policy may reflect Okinawa's views (Kyodo News)
Japan Times :: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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- [NATIONAL NEWS]
DPJ ranks seek to ward off fatal Kan-Ozawa clash
Rivals to meet in hopes of averting party fracture
Kyodo News
Senior lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Japan stepped up efforts Monday to allay the rising tension between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and party bigwig Ichiro Ozawa over their expected showdown in the DPJ's Sept. 14 leadership election.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100831a1.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
GSDF holds live-fire drill at Fuji
Kyodo News
About 2,400 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel took part in an annual live-fire drill Sunday at the foot of Mount Fuji, using around 44 tons of ammunition in front of an estimated 28,000 spectators.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100831b2.html
Asahi :: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
- 100 years on, Koreans rip annexation treaty (08/31) [By Tetsuya Hakoda and Izumi Sakurai The Asahi Shimbun]
- BOJ step may have limited effect (08/31) [By Hiroki Yoshihara The Asahi Shimbun]
- Museum to release list of Korean POWs (08/31) [By Izumi Sakurai The Asahi Shimbun]
- Changing times revive focus on Karl Marx (08/31) [By Kyoko Fujiu The Asahi Shimbun]
- China, N. Korea confirm Kim Jong-il visit to China (08/31) [Reuters]
- S. Korea's Lee seeks ethical government to ensure growth (08/31) [Reuters]
Futenma relocation policy may reflect Okinawa's views+
Aug 30 01:06 PM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Aug. 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan and the United States have agreed to state in a written policy that they will bear in mind the Okinawa people's views on the exact relocation and construction method of a key U.S. base within the prefecture, provided this does not result in a significant delay in building the facility, bilateral diplomatic sources said Monday.
The policy is contained in a report worked out by government officials of the two countries. The Japanese government will explain the report to the Okinawa prefectural government before making it public on Tuesday afternoon, the sources said.
In May, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma airbase within the prefecture, moving it from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko district in Nago.
The sources said the report will mention two options -- building two runways in a V-shaped formation, the plan maintained by the United States, and constructing a single runway as proposed by Japan.
But the United States maintains that a V-shape formation is the better option.
The report will make no mention of Japan's proposal for the joint use of the replacement facility by the U.S. Marines and the Japanese Self- Defense Forces, as the U.S. government balked at its inclusion in light of opposition from local people.
The two governments will set up a working-level team to consider the proposal in order to draw a conclusion before the details of the relocation plan are finally adopted, the sources said.
Earlier this month, the United States proposed a major change in helicopter flight routes to and from the planned relocation site in Okinawa, saying that U.S. aircraft will fly closer to onshore areas than Tokyo had earlier expected under visual flight rules using two runways in the V-shaped formation.
But the report will not refer to it because of Japan's opposition on the grounds that it would worsen noise levels and pose greater risks to local residents, the sources said.
The two sides will also continue holding talks on the issue.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 30 - Kyodo Articles
4TH LD: Kan, Ozawa to meet Tues. to avoid showdown over DPJ leadership+
37 minutes ago
TOKYO, Aug. 30 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS) Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Ichiro Ozawa, one of the most powerful figures in the Democratic Party of Japan, will hold talks Tuesday in
4TH LD: N. Korea's Kim wishes to see early resumption of nuke talks+
51 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: CHANGING DATELINE, UPDATING) North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has told Chinese President Hu Jintao that he wished to see an early resumption of the six-party talks on ...
URGENT: Kan, Hatoyama agree on need to enhance DPJ's unity+
1 hour ago
(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama agreed Monday evening that the Democratic Party of Japan will run the government by maintaining good ties with ruling
2ND LD: China informs foreign diplomats on Kim's visit to China+
3 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING DETAILS) The Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has visited the country and sought economic assistance from China,...
2ND LD: DPJ looking for ways to ease rising tension between Kan, Ozawa camps+
3 hours ago
TOKYO, Aug. 30 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH FRESH REMARKS FROM KAN) Senior lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Japan stepped up efforts Monday to allay further tension between Prime...
LEAD: Chinese media praises relationship with N. Korea+
4 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH MINISTRY BRIEFING OF BEIJING-BASED DIPLOMATS) Chinese state media in reports Monday praised the relationship between North Korea and China, saying stable...
Japan going through hottest August in postwar period+
5 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ This month will likely be the hottest August that Japan has experienced since 1946 when regional temperature data become available after the end of World War II, weather agency...
LEAD: Train carrying N. Korea's Kim traveling toward border+
6 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: CHANGING DATELINE, ADDING INFORMATION) A special train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Il traveled outside Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, Monday
DPJ looking for ways to ease rising tension between Kan, Ozawa camps+
27 minutes ago
(Kyodo) _ Senior lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan stepped up efforts Monday to avoid the rising tension between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and party bigwig Ichiro Ozawa...
Public prefer Kan to Ozawa as premier: polls+
7 hours ago
(Kyodo) _ Opinion polls by three major dailies showed Monday that voters in Japan overwhelmingly prefer Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the nation's leader to Democratic Party of Japan...
3RD LD: Kim may have left Harbin for border area Sun. night to early Mon.+
3 hours ago
HARBIN, China, Aug. 30 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: CHANGING DATELINE, UPDATING) North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may have left Harbin, northeastern China, on his special train sometime between...
5TH LD: Kan, Ozawa may meet Monday night over DPJ presidential election+
5 hours ago
TOKYO, Aug. 30 (Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFO) Prime Minister Naoto Kan and former Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa may meet as early as Monday night...
3RD LD: Kan, Hatoyama meet again to discuss compromise over DPJ vote+
Aug 29 09:45 AM US/Eastern
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO) Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama met Sunday evening in Tokyo to seek a compromise over the Democratic Party of Japan's upcoming leadership election, in which ruling party heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa plans to challenge Kan in a potentially divisive move. ...
Mainichi :: Monday, August 30, 2010
- The Mainichi Daily News
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- 78 percent of public favors Kan as prime minister over DPJ heavyweight Ozawa
- DPJ looking for ways to ease rising tension between Kan, Ozawa camps (Kyodo News)
- Kan, Ozawa may meet Monday night over DPJ presidential election (Kyodo News)
- Public prefer Kan to Ozawa as premier: polls (Kyodo News)
- Perspectives :: Ozawa and Hatoyama's latest shenanigans highlight pathetic state of Japanese politics
Japan Times :: Monday, August 30, 2010
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- [NATIONAL NEWS]
Futenma needs 'green' light
Kyodo News
Japan and the United States iron out their report on replacing Futenma air base in Okinawa Prefecture, but the runway they pick may depend on seaweed and dugongs.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100830a4.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Female execs still scarce after labor law debut
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100830a1.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Sengoku explains alleged funding conflict as fees
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100830a6.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Spy satellite hit by power problem
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100830a8.html - [BUSINESS NEWS]
THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Japan, Germany face less size and clout as anniversary nears
By JOCHEN LEGEWIE
Japan and Germany will celebrate the 150th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2011. The first commemorative events will kick-off this October, with the grande finale planned to take place in October 2011 in Yokohama.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20100830ve.html - [OPINION]
Japan's textual demands vex civilian nuclear deal with India
By HARSH V. PANT, Special to The Japan Times
LONDON — When Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was in Delhi a few days back for the fourth round of strategic dialogue between Japan and India, he made it clear that negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact are going to be rather difficult.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20100830a1.html
EDITORIAL: Defense policy review
2010/08/30
A major policy shift is being contemplated. We cannot help but be concerned.
We are referring to a set of proposals put forth by the prime minister's advisory council on security and defense capabilities, which is made up of private-sector experts.
The aim of the report, submitted to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, is to revise the current National Defense Program Guidelines.
We agree with the report's goal of building "peace-making nation." But we are concerned that the report indicates the need for the "logic of force," in other words, military force should be used to deal with threats.
The report rejects the concept of basic defense capability, which has long supported the principle of an exclusively defensive security stance. The report says the concept is no longer "valid."
The report also calls for review of the constitutional interpretation that bans the use of the right of collective self-defense, and the easing of the nation's three-point ban on weapons exports.
Moreover, the report questions the ban on the introduction of nuclear weapons into the country--one of the nation's three non-nuclear principles. It says banning the U.S. military from transporting nuclear arms through Japanese territory is "not necessarily wise."
What we cannot overlook most of all is a proposed reversal of the nation's defense capabilities. Ever since the National Defense Program Guidelines were established in 1976, the premise was one of restraint--the nation would "not directly confront a threat, but maintain a bare minimum defense force so that it would not become a destabilizing factor itself."
However, the report, in a drastic policy switch, says Japan should become a country that confronts threats.
What has changed?
The report points to the waning of U.S. military supremacy, the modernization of China's military and North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile development. It is true that the possibility of increasing regional instability must be carefully watched.
However, at the same time, it is a fact that interdependence with the neighboring countries is deepening further and that the Japan-U.S. security alliance has grown stronger. To contend that there are nations ready to attack at any moment is not a well-balanced argument.
A defense buildup that seeks to match threats will lead to an increase in costs, an arms race and regional friction.
It would also deviate from the nation's postwar principle of a defense-only military posture based on the nation's promise that it would never become a threat to other nations.
It is necessary to think how such a shift would be viewed by other Asian countries.
National security issues are not the Democratic Party of Japan's forte. Since its opposition days, the party has failed to address these issues in earnest. This is clear just from looking at the way the DPJ government handled the the Futenma airbase issue in Okinawa Prefecture.
The fact that the DPJ outsourced the defense policy revision, despite its stance that politicians call shots in policymaking, is proof that the DPJ is weak on national security. The council barely made mention of how its members were selected or what their deliberations were like.
The government is to start putting together a basic defense program based on this report. Is it acceptable to barge ahead on such a major policy shift without appropriate oversight by politicians?
The government should re-examine the policy review process from scratch.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 28
Asahi :: Monday, August 30, 2010
- Students in China learn about Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs (08/30) [Wang Feng]
- Kim's visit underlines ties with Beijing (08/30)
- Electrical glitch blinds spy satellite (08/30)
- China announces navy drill ahead of U.S. show of force (08/30) [Reuters]
- South Korea's PM-designate quits under pressure (08/30) [Reuters]
- EDITORIAL: Kan-Ozawa showdown (08/30)
- EDITORIAL: Defense policy review (08/30)
Daily Yomiuri Online :: Monday, August 30, 2010
- Govt FX project at standstill / Nation's air defense at stake in selection of next-generation fighter jet (Aug.30)
- NPO aims to dispatch student teachers / Inspired by U.S. program, founder seeks to reduce income-based gaps in education (Aug.30) [Akihiko Kano]
- Japan-South Korea ties / Baseball mirrors bilateral ties (Aug.30)
- INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD / Hormuz's security vital part of Japan's diplomacy (Aug.30) [Masayuki Yamauchi]
- Editorial :: Japan, ROK must partner, compete for future (Aug.30)
FOCUS: Japanese women stand low on corporate ladder 25 yrs after law change
August 30 2010 07:09
TOKYO, Aug. 30 KYODO
Twenty five years have passed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women was enacted to fight gender inequality at the workplace.
By this time, people might think that a horde of college-educated women are calling the shots as corporate managers. But the latest Kyodo News survey shows that is hardly the case.
Of Japan's 110 major corporations polled, 107 said it is important to use women's talents, but women who are small section heads account for an average of a mere 5.4 percent of the total number of those holding that title.
Of the total number of managers heading larger departments, women made up 2.5 percent. The figure goes down further to 1.7 percent for women corporate executives.
In contrast, around 40 percent of corporate managers are women in other advanced countries, such as the United States and Germany.
The Japanese government has set a goal of boosting the percentage of women in managerial or other leadership positions to 30 percent by 2020, but Japanese companies appear to be less enthusiastic about the idea.
Asked to give the percentages of women they want to see in managerial positions, the corporate respondents said an average of 18.6 percent for section chiefs, 15.4 percent for department heads and 14.4 percent for executives.
Still, out of this year's new hires holding fast-track positions for managerial posts, an average of 27.7 percent were women.
Companies do want to employ more women because they are in desperate need of highly skilled workers because the country's working population is shrinking.
But the poll results suggest that there is still a widespread notion that business management is a man's job. On the other hand, a significant number of firms want female workers to do more to improve the fortunes of employers.
Asked what they want out of female employees, 27 firms said they want women to reform their companies, and 22 said they hope to see female workers make more use of traits unique to women.
Of the companies that find female employees somewhat wanting, 28 said women should acquire a broader perspective, 13 said women should be more flexible and 12 said they do not want them to quit early.
Commenting on the poll results, Professor Takashi Kashima, a gender studies expert at Jissen Women's University, argues that there is a misconception among companies that women do not possess a broad perspective and are less flexible compared with their male colleagues.
''If they really want female workers to engineer reform, corporate managers should do more to give women their say,'' he said.
Following the enforcement of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law in April 1986, further legislative reform and in-house changes at companies have done a lot to put men and women on a more equal footing. Still, women remain quite disadvantaged when it comes to obtaining secure employment.
Nonregular workers, who enjoy little job security, have become a serious social issue and male temps sacked by manufacturers have drawn much public attention over the past several years.
Government statistics show, however, that some 70 percent of nonregular workers are women and the percentage has remained more or less the same for more than 20 years.
Asked why many of their female employees are nonregular workers, 72 firms said women have difficulty holding down jobs as regular staff for a long period of time because they need to raise children.
A total of 59 said the odds are against women seeking regular employment if they have quit their jobs in the past.
Many corporate respondents also said it is quite rare for temporary workers, who work as office clerks, an occupation usually associated with women, to become regular employees.
Those who have gained regular work status tend to be workers who possess specialized skills and have worked full time at given companies for several years.
The situation for working women appears to be improving as public concern has grown recently about the need to help women keep their jobs while starting a family. Against this backdrop, 75 percent of the corporate respondents said they are implementing some measures to help regular female workers with children.
Also, 65 percent have instituted a system that grants nonregular female staff regular employee status.
The poll results amply demonstrate that corporate managers are aware that they are no longer in a position to rely solely on male employees, says Jissen Women's University's Kashima.
''The survey shows that a large proportion of companies deem it important to utilize the talents of women on the grounds of gender equality, and that says much about the growth over the past quarter of a century of public understanding about the ideals upheld by the Equal Employment Opportunity Law,'' he said.
Still, much has to be done to promote the career advancement of women and make it easier for them to stay in the workforce to utilize their potential, Kashima added.
The Kyodo poll was conducted on top managers or executives in charge of employment matters at 110 companies between late July and early August.
==Kyodo
Ozawa's challenge remains unchanged
August 30, 2010
Click for Video
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has accepted his predecessor Yukio Hatoyama's recommendation that he hold talks with former Democratic Party secretary general Ichiro Ozawa over the upcoming party leadership election.
Ahead of the September 1st official announcement of the Democratic Party presidential race, Kan and Ozawa are making moves to win the support of floating party members. Kan aims to be re-elected party president, but Ozawa has announced his intention to challenge him.
On Sunday night, Kan met with Hatoyama for about 40 minutes at the prime minister's official residence.At the meeting, Hatoyama explained why he decided to support Ozawa.
Then Hatoyama recommended that Kan hold talks with Ozawa before the party presidential election is officially announced. He suggested that it might do Kan good to ask for Ozawa's cooperation. Kan replied that he would be grateful if Hatoyama would arrange such a meeting with Ozawa.
Kan and Hatoyama apparently did not discuss concrete ideas on personnel affairs, such as giving Ozawa a post to ensure party unity.
After the Kan-Hatoyama meeting, Democratic Party lawmakers supporting Ozawa held a meeting. Ozawa sent a message to them, saying he won't back off from the upcoming leadership race.
One of the participants said they discussed Ozawa's policies and how to prepare for the party leadership election.
2010/08/30 05:33(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Mainichi :: Sunday, August 29, 2010
- The Mainichi Daily News
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- One of Japan's 4 spy satellites hits snag (Kyodo News)
- Kan, Hatoyama likely to meet again to discuss compromise over DPJ vote (Kyodo News)
- Japan, U.S. work out report on how to build base relocation facility kkk (Kyodo News)
Japan Times :: Sunday, August 29, 2010
- Japan Times - National News and Business
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- [NATIONAL NEWS]
69% in poll back Kan as DPJ chief
Kyodo News
A majority of people polled want Prime Minister Naoto Kan to stay on as leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, far surpassing those who support party kingpin Ichiro Ozawa, a survey shows.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100829a1.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Actions needed to repent for colonial rule: S. Korea
By CHO KYUNG WOOK, Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100829a2.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Pro-Pyongyang schools may get tuition waiver
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100829a3.html - [NATIONAL NEWS]
Beijing's plan for early North nuke talks rebuffed by Tokyo
Kyodo News
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100829a6.html - [JT EDITORIAL]
The annexation of Korea
On Aug. 29, 100 years ago, the treaty annexing Korea to Japan was promulgated, a week after its signing. It was not a treaty between equal partners. The 1905 Korea-Japan Convention had already made Korea a protectorate of Japan. Under the annexation treaty, the Korean emperor handed sovereign power over his country to the Japanese emperor "completely and forever." Thus Korea became a colony of Japan.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20100829a1.html
Japan-South Korea ties / South Korea aiming high / Seeks to be world leader as economic strength increases
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Today, Aug. 29, marks the centennial of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1910. This is the first installment of a series on the current state of the two countries' bilateral relationship, which has been evolving rapidly.
Many South Koreans have hated and envied Japan since this country annexed the Korean Peninsula 100 years ago, while many in Japan have looked down on Koreans, but with the recent rise of the South Korean economy, Japan can no longer afford such arrogance.
One recent example took place in Cambodia, a country Japan has thoroughly supported since the end of its civil war in the 1990s. In Sihanoukville, Cambodia's only full-fledged port city, a special economic zone is being developed using part of 20 billion yen in yen loans extended by Japan.
Covering about 70 hectares, the equivalent of 70 baseball fields, the zone is expected to have a profound effect on Cambodia's development.
A senior official at a Cambodian public corporation involved in the development was shocked when an official of Samsung Group, South Korea's largest chaebol, announced that the group wanted to lease all the land in the zone. The special economic zone is scheduled to be completed in autumn next year; not even the rents have been decided yet.
"This can't be. Japan was the country that provided assistance [for the zone]," the official thought. He declined politely but was unable to hide his surprise at Samsung's offer to in effect buy the zone, to take on Cambodia's entire future.
"I think [Samsung] planned to construct factories for TVs and air conditioners, to establish a major base aimed at the global market," he said.
Dalian--in China's Liaoning Province--has been considered a stronghold of Japanese companies. However, Changxing Island, off the coast of Wafangdian in Dalian, looks like a South Korean island.
South Korea's STX Corp., the world's fourth-largest shipbuilding company, invested 3 billion dollars (about 255 billion yen) to build factories there that employ more than 10,000 people. The number is to be increased by another 10,000 within a few years, sources said.
Japanese companies are losing ground to South Korean firms in many places around the world.
In home electrical appliances--an industry Japan has dominated--Samsung Electronics Co. made about 10.93 trillion won (about 780 billion yen) in operating profits in 2009, more than Japan's nine major electric companies combined.
In the same year, South Korea's trade surplus topped Japan's for the first time. The country's living standards are rapidly approaching those of Japan, and confidence is growing.
An increasing number of South Korean intellectuals now say the country's modern history began in the colonial period. It was breaking a taboo to accept this new idea and calmly link South Korea's current situation as an economically strong nation with what it learned from Japan in the past.
"Remarkably, the unilateral condemnation of Japan has faded. This is a great change that I couldn't have imagined," said Prof. Lee Yong Hoon of Seoul University, who advocated this theory in a 2006 book.
The Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Property, an organization directly under the South Korean president, ended its activities in July. The commission was set up in 2006 to seize property and other assets from the descendants of people identified as Japanese collaborators.
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said the country will become a leading advanced nation.
"We aim to become the world's best in business and sports, and have the No. 1 pop star," a person knowledgeable about the South Korean economy said.
The longstanding historical constrictions on Japan and South Korea seem to be easing.
(Aug. 29, 2010)
Japan, U.S. work out report on how to build base relocation facility+
Aug 28 11:05 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Aug. 28 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The Japanese and U.S. governments worked out on Saturday a report on the construction method for a replacement facility for a key U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture, sources familiar with the matter said.
While the report mentions two options -- building two runways in a V- shaped formation, the plan maintained by the United States, and constructing a single runway proposed by Japan -- it adds data showing the single runway plan has an advantage from the environmental viewpoint, the sources said.
The report on the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station states that building a single runway would lead to the loss of 67 hectares of seaweed beds, which are needed for the dugong, an endangered marine mammal, to survive, while the construction of V- shaped runways would ruin 78.1 hectares of seaweed beds.
Despite the data, Washington maintains that a V-shape formation is "the best," based on operational and other factors, the sources said.
The Japanese government will provide an explanation on the report to the Okinawa prefectural government Monday before publicizing it on Tuesday, they said.
Earlier this month, the United States proposed a major change in aircraft flight routes to and from the planned relocation site in Okinawa, saying U.S. aircraft will fly closer to onshore areas than Tokyo had earlier expected under visual flight rules using two runways in the V-shaped formation.
But the two governments decided not to specify the proposal in the report as the Japanese side opposed it on the grounds it could worsen noise levels and pose greater risks to local residents, prompting the two sides to continue holding discussions on the issue.
In May, Tokyo and Washington agreed to relocate the Futenma base within the prefecture, moving it from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko district in Nago.
As working-level talks have ended with the compilation of the report, the two countries will try to narrow down the relocation proposals in upcoming talks to be held in September and later by the vice ministers of their foreign and defense ministries.
The two governments aim to reach agreement at the next bilateral security meeting, dubbed the "two-plus-two" meeting of the foreign and defense chiefs.
But the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to defer a decision on a specific scheme for the relocation until after the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November, judging that reaching a bilateral accord before the election would increase local opposition.
Prospects for the relocation negotiations also remain uncertain before the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's leadership election on Sept. 14, in which Kan and former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa have expressed their intention to run.
According to the report, the total area to be occupied in the V-shaped runways would be 205 hectares, with 160 hectares to be reclaimed. Under the single-runway plan, a total of 150 hectares would be occupied, while the reclaimed area would be 120 hectares, the sources said.
The length of the runways would be 1,800 meters for both V-shaped and single-runway proposals, the sources said.
The report states the advantages and disadvantages of the two choices from five aspects -- safety, operational needs, noise, environment and repercussions for the local community, the sources said.
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