U.S. defense secretary to visit Japan

Published: Oct. 31, 2007 at 9:45 AM

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is expected to make his first visit to Japan since taking office to discuss defense support issues.

Gates is to travel to Tokyo to discuss Japan’s continued support of its Maritime Self Defense Force’s refueling operations supporting U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in Asia, including Afghanistan, the Kyodo news agency said Wednesday.

The Japanese law detailing MSDF operations in the Indian Ocean expires Thursday, causing U.S. officials to express their frustrations.

The Kyodo News Agency quoted an unnamed Pentagon official saying, “If you take away a refueling ship, then more of the other ships have to spend more time in ports … you have less patrolling out at sea and more times in ports … you have less flexibility in how you use your ships.”

Gates also is expected to discuss a request to Japanese officials to increase payments for utilities and water supplies at U.S. military bases in Japan. The increases are to embolden the U.S. military capacity in Asia amid escalating tensions with North Korea and China.

It is unclear if talks will provide any significant measures before the end of the year.

Okinawa gov. asks Fukuda to heed local views on Futemma [Futenma] move

Oct 31 07:42 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, Oct. 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to heed local opinions in moving forth with plans to realign U.S. forces in Okinawa Prefecture, particularly concerning the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma [Futenma] Air Station.

Nakaima told reporters after their meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo that Fukuda showed such considerable willingness to tackle the resolution of the Futemma [Futenma] relocation issue that he was "very surprised."

The governor said he asked the central government to proceed carefully with the relocation plan in a way that local leaders would be able to accept by listening to their views and seeking a satisfactory resolution.

Fukuda separately said he fully recognizes the magnitude and weight of the burden which Okinawa has experienced in terms of hosting the U.S. military, adding, "We want to consider those things and incorporate the ideas of the people of Okinawa as much as possible...in negotiating steadily (with the local governments)."

Nakaima confirmed to reporters that he intends to attend a consultative meeting between the central and local governments on the Futemma [Futenma] issue being arranged for next week.

The consultative meeting, which has not been held for more than 10 months, is expected to take place next Wednesday at the prime minister's office, according to a central government source. It would be the first such talks since Fukuda took office in late September.

Under an agreement reached with the United States in May 2006, the Japanese government plans to build an airfield with two runways in a V-shaped formation in Nago using the coast of the Marines' Camp Schwab and a new landfill nearby by 2014 as a replacement for Futemma's [Futenma's] airfield functions.

But local governments have proposed that the runways be built further offshore to the southwest to reduce noise affecting nearby residential areas.

Nakaima has also said the central government should bring the Futemma [Futenma] Air Station to a state of virtual closure in three years to eliminate the danger it poses to the densely populated area of Ginowan, where it is currently located.

The central and local governments have been unable to narrow their differences in the past consultative meetings, which took place three times -- in August and December last year and the latest in January this year.

The Futemma [Futenma] relocation is a main pillar of the overall plan for the realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan, which also includes moving 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and dispersing flight drills from congested bases to other facilities across Japan.

Coalition prods Japanese lawmakers on Afghan mission

1 hour, 33 minutes ago

TOKYO (AFP) - Coalition countries battling a deadly insurgency in Afghanistan urged Japanese lawmakers Wednesday to continue a naval support mission that looks almost certain to be halted this week.

The United States led calls for an extension of the controversial refueling mission in the Indian Ocean at a meeting between senior diplomats from coalition nations and Japanese lawmakers.

The briefing gave members of parliament "an opportunity to ask questions and also to get a better idea about what we are doing as a coalition," US ambassador Thomas Schieffer told reporters after the meeting at the Canadian embassy.

"We tried to answer whatever questions we could and provide as much information as we could, to emphasize how important Japan's contribution is to what we are doing in that part of the world," he said.

Photo: Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force's supply vesel Tokiwa (R) refuels a Pakistani destroyer (L) in the Arabian Bay for Tokiwa's last mission to support coalition ships for the anti-terror operation deploying in the Afghanistan, 29 October 2007. Coalition countries battling a deadly insurgency in Afghanistan urged Japanese lawmakers Wednesday to continue a naval support mission that looks almost certain to be halted this week.

High-ranking diplomats from about a dozen countries, including Britain, Pakistan and the United States, attended the briefing, although it was unclear how many lawmakers showed up.

The current Japanese naval mission in Indian Ocean to provide fuel to US-led military operations in Afghanistan is set to end on Thursday, after the main opposition party refused to back an extension.

The opposition won control of the upper house of parliament in July elections, giving it the power to stall key legislation.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda argues that Japan must play a greater role in global security.

His predecessor Shinzo Abe abruptly resigned last month in part due to his failure to extend the mission, which started shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York as part of the so-called US-led "war on terror."

The US Defense Department said Tuesday that the coalition would be able to find alternative sources of fuel if Japan suspends its support.

The Japanese rift comes amid growing opposition to the "war on terror" across countries which are part of the coalition battling an insurgency in Afghanistan waged by remnants of the hardline Taliban regime ousted in 2001.

Koike's turbulent days with Moriya

Former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike is watching intently from the sidelines as the scandal over former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya unfolds. During the summer, Koike and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki were at the center of an intra-government battle to replace Moriya, the top bureaucrat in the ministry. The spat eventually took its toll on Koike, who was replaced after only 55 days in the job, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet.

Moriya, who was once dubbed "an emperor" for his extensive influence on defense policy issues, has denied giving any favors to defense equipment traders over procurement of U.S. engines for the next-generation CX aircraft but admitted to having kept "inappropriately" cozy ties for more than a decade with a businessman linked to the firms.

Koike's decision to retire Moriya set off the intra-government battle. Shukan Post asks Koike about her 55 days at the ministry.

The guy whom you fought is now accused of having improper ties with a defense trading company.

I think I was right to change the personnel system in the Defence Ministry. Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and defense officials recently told me that if Moriya were still in power, the Defense Ministry would have even more trouble. They thanked me for kicking him out, but it was not soon enough, I guess.

Did you kick him out because you knew of his scandals?

I had heard rumors about Moriya's collusion with corporations before. A Shukan Post article about him published on August reminded me of the Okamitsu case (*). However, I didn't have any evidence to accuse him at that time. Now it's all becoming public. Duringmy tenure, I was mainly concerned with plugging leaks of high-level military information from inside the ministry. I thought th ebest way to do that would be to reform the ministerial structure. That's why I moved Moriya out. I think my decision was right.

Moriya originally welcomed you when you became defense minister.

I've heard he called me his "drinking buddy." We did have drinks during briefing sessions several times when I was minister of state for Okinawa and assistant to the prime minister for national security affairs, but not whiel I was defense minister. I nicknamed him "teddy bear" during that time.

However, he lacked manners. He never bowed to me when he left my office, as other defense officials did. He never did so from the beginning. In daily briefings, other officials readily answered m, but not Moriya. He might have thought he could manipulate a new female minister like me.

How did he react when you told him he was out?

At first, he gave me a proposal for reshuffling the ministry but it didn't include his retirement. Some people, who didn't know this, criticized me as if I were firing an official who was going to retire. Even after I told him that he would have to move on, I asked him to remain in the ministry as a special adviser because he had passionately worked on the issue of moving U.S. military bases from Okinawa. But he refused my offer, claiming that he couldn't afford to maintain his standard of living in such a position. I felt sad to hear him talk like that.

You felt sad? Why?

Well, here was a man who had been in charge of national defense as administrative vice minister. Even if he retires, he would be given a huge amount of retirement benefits. Despite that, he said he wouldn't be able to afford his current lifestyle. I thought to myself that he doesn't have the samurai mentality. Our defense personnel on the front lines, helping to support anti-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean, Iraq, Golan Heights and other places, would not understand their boss worrying about his life after retirement, esepcially given that it was built on improper ties with corporations.

Shukan Post pointed out in August that Moriya had resisted being retired because he wanted to conclude the CX deal with Nihon Mirise Corp, whose CEO Motonobu Miyazaki has close ties with him.

The Defense Ministry seemed to be in a hurry to choose a company to procure General Electric engines for the CX aircraft. When I was the minister, I asked some officials in charge of the contract what the rush was. They said it was just a preliminary decision. Yamada Yoko Corp was originally in line for the contract. Miyazaki had been head of Yamada, but he quit and set up Nihon Mirise in September last year. His cozy ties with Moriya remained but officials said it was no big deal and that it was matter between private corporations. I believe I prevented further troubles by freezing this selection process.”

How did Moriya gain such influential power in the first place?

The Defense Ministry had a unique atmosphere within it. Since Moriya's presence is so influential, everybody cares about him. The administrative vice minister usually changes every two years. But he remained in the post for more than four years. In addition, he pays much attention to tiny things and can figure out what people want. In diplomatic and decision-making processes, such an ability is undoubtedly advantageous. He got a lot of supporting comments from LDP politicians when he was retiring.

Do you think former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki should have held a meeting to discuss the personnel reshuffle in order to prevent the dispute between yourself and Moriya?

The decision to retire Moriya was made through the usual process. However, while Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the time agreed with the reshuffle, Shiozaki hesitated to call a meeting. I don’t know why he was against it even now.

If you were still defense minister, how would you deal with the present scandal?

I already did it. When I was defense minister, the ministry conducted an organizational reform in a large scale. On August 1, the ministry launched the Inspector General’s Office to investigate cartels and information leaks. The head of the office is a former superintendent public prosecutor. This is not a halfway internal inspection process but a serious one. The ministry needs to expose wrongdoings as much as possible in order to restore public trust.

If you were to run into Moriya, what would you say to him?

The role of the Defense Ministry is to protect the nation based on public trust. He should have been a role model. I want him to realize that time is being wasted over this scandal when we should be discussing more important issues such as Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law.

* The Okamitsu case concerned a former administrative vice minister of the Health and Welfare Ministry and his wife who were given an apartment and car worth more than 60 million yen by the owner of a home for the elderly. Okamitsu was arrested in 1996 on bribery charges and sentenced to two years in jail in 2003. (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

October 31, 2007

Former contractor spent big to entertain ex-top Defense Agency bureaucrat

A former executive of a major defense contractor spent huge amounts of money -- sometimes over 1 million yen a month -- to entertain a disgraced former top bureaucrat with the Defense Ministry at expensive nightclubs for years, sources close to the firm said.

A 69-year-old former senior managing director at Yamada Corp. wined and dined former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya and his wife as well as another senior officials at the ministry at two neighboring clubs in the Akasaka district of Tokyo.

Public prosecutors suspect that Moriya may have been wined and dined and invited to participate in golf tournaments in return for doing Yamada Corp. favors in granting it contracts, and are considering pressing bribery charges on those involved, sources close to law enforcement authorities said.

Public prosecutors have apparently obtained receipts for the former executive's wining and dining of Moriya from the nightclubs.

Related articles

* Ex-top Defense Ministry bureaucrat admits shady golf outings with contractor
* Ex-defense official denies wrongdoing in gifts-for-favors scandal
* Fukuda calls for discipline among troops, defense officials
* Contractor at center of Defense Ministry pork scandal faces embezzlement charges
* Contractor with powerful friend won 19 billion yen's worth of Defense Ministry pork
* Former top bureaucrat at Defense Ministry in hot water for golfing with contractor

(Mainichi Japan） October 31, 2007

Moriya testimony contradicts exec's

10/31/2007
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya's testimony to the Diet that he never sought financial help for a company executive who had lavishly entertained him for years is sharply at odds with what the official told The Asahi Shimbun earlier.

Moriya, 63, was addressing the special Lower House committee on anti-terrorism measures as a sworn witness on Monday. He said he never asked for financial support for Motonobu Miyazaki, who was struggling to raise funds for Nihon Mirise Corp., a defense contractor he founded in September last year.

"There was never any talk about asking for financial support," Moriya said.

He was responding to a question about whether he had petitioned the chairman of a company affiliated with a major trading house to help Nihon Mirise financially. The conversation allegedly came up during dinner at a Tokyo sushi restaurant in June this year.

Moriya's response contradicted what Miyazaki told The Asahi Shimbun in August. On that occasion, he said Moriya had tried to elicit financial support for him during the meal.

"Moriya told the chairman to help me because 'he had been in the industry for 40 years and knew what it was like to go through difficult times,'" Miyazaki, 69, president of Nihon Mirise, said in the interview.

Miyazaki noted that Moriya had no luck in raising funds.

Further complicating matters is the fact that Miyazaki started denying that Moriya played the role of intermediary between him and the chairman during interviews with other media organizations after The Asahi Shimbun published a story based on the interview with Miyazaki on Oct. 20.

If Miyazaki was stating the truth in the August interview, Moriya, as a sworn Diet witness, could wind up being charged with perjury.

In his testimony, Moriya admitted to attending the dinner in question, but denied making overtures to the chairman to help bail out Miyazaki.

"As far as I can recall, I met (the chairman) in the middle of June after I got a call (from Miyazaki) around 6 p.m. to join them since they were having drinks," Moriya said. "I went to see (the chairman) because I know him well."

Miyazaki, a former senior managing director of defense equipment trading company Yamada Corp., and Moriya went on more than 200 golf outings in the past 12 years in violation of Defense Ministry rules about cozying up to companies with which it does business.

Miyazaki told The Asahi Shimbun that the meal that brought the three men together was set up by the owner of the sushi restaurant.

He said the dinner was intended to "help me out, not entertain (Moriya)."

Miyazaki explained that the "help" meant allowing Nihon Mirise to form an affiliation with the chairman's company.

According to Miyazaki, the chairman dismissed the suggestion on grounds that letting Nihon Mirise join might strain ties with its largest shareholder, a trading house, because it was one of Nihon Mirise's key competitors.(IHT/Asahi: October 31,2007)

EDITORIAL: Moriya scandal

10/31/2007

Appearing on Monday as a sworn witness before the Lower House special committee on anti-terrorism measures, former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya admitted he had been lavishly entertained by a former senior executive of Yamada Corp., a trading house specializing in defense-related products. The extent of wining and dining showered upon Moriya indicates the incredible lengths to which the former Yamada executive went to win Moriya's favors. They included golf outings on more than 200 occasions, all-expenses-paid golfing trips, mah-jongg games played for stakes, gifts of golf clubs and bags, and parties at a South Korean hostess club and other establishments.

We are appalled that the administrative chief of the Defense Ministry maintained such cozy ties with a defense contractor for so many years. We can only wonder how the ministry's 270,000 staff members felt as they listened to the testimony of the very man who used to lecture them on their moral responsibility.

Moriya deserves harsh punishment. He should be required to return his retirement allowance. Former defense ministers should also be held accountable for failing to put an end to Moriya's conduct.

That Moriya accepted such lavish attention is not the only matter of concern. The more important issue is whether he reciprocated by helping Yamada Corp. to win defense contracts. Moriya flatly denied this before the Diet committee. In his words, he had "no recollection" of such events taking place.

But then, what was Yamada's purpose in showering such largess on Moriya? In the five years up to last fiscal year, the company received 17.4 billion yen worth of contracts from the Defense Ministry and its predecessor, the Defense Agency. And more than 90 percent of these contracts were non-competitive, meaning they were not subject to bidding.

Given these figures, we simply cannot accept Moriya's testimony at face value.

Moriya admitted that some of the golf outings and parties hosted by the former Yamada executive were also attended by his ministry subordinates and a Diet member who had previously headed the Defense Agency. It is hard to believe that such occasions, which underscored Moriya's intimacy with Yamada, did not influence the ministry in some way.

Moriya refused to name the Diet member in question. This individual should come forward and explain himself.

Monday's Lower House committee session also focused on the cover-up concerning the misstated volume of fuel provided by the Maritime Self-Defense Force to U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean. On this matter, too, Moriya denied any involvement, insisting that he "could not recall the circumstances at the time."

Why did this cover-up occur, and why did it remain under wraps for four long years? Moriya's testimony did not help in the slightest. Also on Monday, the Defense Ministry disclosed that its investigative report received from the MSDF contained records with the correct amount of fuel volume. If that was the case, why did senior ministry officials, including Moriya who was then the chief of the defense policy bureau, fail to correct the error at the time?

How the ministry dealt with this fuel issue remains unexplained, as does the question of whether Japanese fuel was diverted for use in the Iraq war. Many Japanese are still asking themselves if it is right for this nation to continue the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean.

As for Yamada, the former executive is suspected of having illicitly withdrawn about 100 million yen from the company, and the special investigative section of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is now looking into the matter. We hope the investigators will ascertain whether there was political-bureaucratic collusion. It is also the Diet's responsibility to continue pursuing the matter.

Moriya's testimony on Monday must not bring the curtain down on the series of suspicions that still linger. The Diet must try to get to the bottom of this by calling the former Yamada executive and MSDF officials, who covered up the fuel volume data entry error, to testify under oath.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 30(IHT/Asahi: October 31,2007)

Japan PM bid for deal on naval mission fails

Published: Wednesday, 31 October, 2007, 02:44 AM Doha Time

TOKYO: Japan’s prime minister failed yesterday to win opposition agreement to extend a naval mission backing US-led Afghan operations, meaning it is now certain to be halted for months, if not longer.

Under heavy pressure from the US, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is struggling against a newly confident opposition to enact a bill enabling Japan’s navy to keep providing fuel for US and other ships patrolling the Indian Ocean. Washington says the activities are vital to the fight against global terror.

On Monday a Japanese supply ship carried out its last refuelling operation under the current law, which expires on November 1.

“Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement today,” Fukuda told reporters after meeting opposition Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa, who objects to the mission in part because he says it lacks a formal UN mandate.

The Democrats and their smaller allies control parliament’s upper house and can therefore delay legislation.

“We have to make efforts to find some common point, so we agreed to meet again,” said Fukuda, who had requested the unusual meeting. The two are expected to meet again on Friday.

Fukuda’s predecessor, Shinzo Abe, quit suddenly last month after a year in office plagued by scandals and gaffes involving cabinet ministers, saying he hoped to clear the way for extending the naval mission.

US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer has campaigned publicly for extending the naval mission. Last week he said that a permanent halt would send a “very bad message to the international community and terrorists”.

Some political analysts say the US-Japan alliance is unlikely to be seriously dented by a halt to the mission, but Fukuda is taking pains to show that he is doing all he can.

“America is making a very strong demand to have the mission resumed, so Fukuda is asking Ozawa to somehow agree,” said commentator Minoru Morita.

“But I think compromise is impossible.”

Just under 50% of Japanese voters agree that the mission should be extended, short of the 60% Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba said this month was needed for the ruling parties to use their two-thirds majority to override an upper house rejection of the bill without risking a backlash.

That means that winning the public’s hearts and minds is key, especially since speculation is rife about an early election for the powerful lower house.

“Fukuda’s strategy is to present an image of himself as gentle and polite, in contrast to an image of Ozawa as stubborn and cold,” said independent analyst Hirotaka Futatsuki.

Ozawa denied speculation that he and Fukuda had discussed a “grand alliance” between their parties to break the deadlock of a divided parliament, Kyodo news agency reported.–Reuters

Quote of the Day

If Japan is to really be an ally of the U.S., it should hold its head up high and strive to give proper advice to the U.S.
Opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Ichiro Ozawa, on why he opposes the renewal of a law authorizing Japan to offer refueling support for anti-terrorism activies in Afghanistan. (Christian Science Monitor)

Machimura Warns Japan Minister About Al-Qaeda Remark

By Stuart Biggs and Takashi Hirokawa

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura cautioned Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama over comments he made yesterday suggesting a ``friend of a friend of his" is a member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

"It's very regrettable that he gave an impression Japan's justice minister knows such terrorists," Machimura said at a press conference today. "I think his remarks were careless, so I warned him before the Cabinet meeting."

Hatoyama told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan yesterday "a friend of a friend of his" is an al-Qaeda member involved in bombings on Bali and that he was warned to stay away from the Indonesian island because it was being targeted for attack. Hatoyama did not specify which attack he was referring to. Bali has suffered other attacks since terrorists killed 202 people in a bombing at the beach resort of Kuta in October 2002.

Hatoyama retracted the remarks at a later press conference, saying his friend received the warning about the 2002 bombings, and that he heard about it months after the attack, Kyodo News reported. Hatoyama made the comment in response to a question about the introduction of biometric fingerprinting of foreigners entering Japan from Nov. 20.

Passports, Moustaches

"I have never met this person but up until two or three years ago he seems to have been visiting Japan so often," Hatoyama said through a translator at the Foreign Correspondents' Club yesterday. "Every time this person enters Japan he uses different passports and moustaches and therefore customs officials are unable to recognize him. It is undesirable for security reasons that such people can enter Japan so easily."

Hatoyama said at the later press conference at the Justice Ministry that he heard the anecdotes from his friend, according to the Kyodo report.

When asked by reporters to comment on the remarks yesterday, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called on Hatoyama to "deal firmly with immigration control and other issues as Justice Minister" to prevent suspicious persons entering Japan.

The Indonesian government has blamed Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah for the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians. Hambali, the group's alleged operations chief, denied links to al-Qaeda at a U.S. tribunal in Guantanamo Bay.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net ; Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at thirokawa@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 29, 2007 23:45 EDT

Gov't not to raise public servant bonuses for 1st time in 10 yrs

Oct 29 10:24 PM US/Eastern

TOKYO, Oct. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The government decided Tuesday against raising the bonuses and one of the special allowances of senior national public servants in fiscal 2007.

The decision is the first it has made against the recommendations of the National Personnel Authority since fiscal 1997.

The decision reflects government concern that a wage hike in senior national servant salaries would trigger public anger amid a series of scandals involving high-ranking bureaucrats such as former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya.

Moriya is under fire for his collusion with a defense equipment trading house.

The government also cited slack growth in private-sector salaries and severe fiscal conditions among other reasons for its decision, which was made at the day's Cabinet meeting.

In August, the authority recommended that the government increase the annual salaries, including bonuses, of national civil servants for the first time in nine years.

Against the recommendations, the government decided to leave bonuses and region-based special allowances for councilors and higher-ranking officials at central government ministries and agencies unchanged.

But it will raise basic salaries for young civil servants and bonuses and the region-based special allowances for section chiefs and those in lower positions as the authority recommended.

Region-based special allowances are given to public servants working in Tokyo and other major urban areas with higher living costs.

The government will promptly compile a bill to amend a related law and submit it during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session. But its passage is unclear as the end of the parliamentary session is approaching and the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which controls the House of Councillors, is seeking the overall wage hike.

Since public servants are unauthorized to engage in collective bargaining or labor disputes, the personnel authority makes recommendations on appropriate wage levels for them to the Cabinet and parliament with the aim of keeping the level the same as those of private-sector employees.

Textbook screening — not always on same page

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007
By AKEMI NAKAMURA
Staff writer

FYI
TEXTBOOK SCREENING

The spotlight has fallen again on textbook screening as people in Okinawa denounce the government's March instruction that publishers delete descriptions about the role the Imperial army played in ordering mass civilian suicides during the Battle of Okinawa.

Following are questions and answers about how the screening procedure works and controversies over the system:

Photo: An Okinawa resident, part of a group of political leaders and activists from the prefecture, reads out a newspaper report at a textbook publisher's office in Tokyo about the Sept. 29 rally in Okinawa protesting the government's March textbook screening order.

When and how did the current textbook screening system begin?

In the early 20th century, when Japan was pursuing colonial possessions, the government compiled elementary school textbooks to unify what people were taught. Junior high textbooks were screened by the government. At the time, only elementary school education was compulsory.

In 1947, during the Allied Occupation, the government enacted the School Education Law, which allows elementary, junior high and high schools to use textbooks compiled by nongovernmental publishers.

However, the law stipulates that all textbooks be authorized by the education ministry to maintain academic standards.

How are textbooks screened?

Publishers first submit draft versions of their textbooks to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry for screening by specialists to ensure the books meet government-set standards, such as the scope and accuracy of the content and fairness in descriptions of political or religious issues.

Then the Textbook Authorization Research Council, comprised of some 120 scholars and schoolteachers, checks the results of the screening. The meetings of the council as well as its minutes are not disclosed to the public.

The council points out what it deems are erroneous, unbalanced or inappropriate descriptions based on the standards. The education ministry uses the council's findings to order publishers to amend texts. While publishers can rebut the council's views, the textbooks will not be authorized unless they receive council approval.

How often are textbooks screened?

All textbooks are screened every four years, or the amount of time it roughly takes from the start of a textbook's compilation to its distribution. The timetable for when to screen textbooks for each level of education — elementary, junior high or high school — has been set by the education ministry.

How do schools choose the textbooks that they use?

Local boards of education select textbooks for municipal elementary, junior high and high schools in the districts they oversee. National and private elementary, junior high and high schools can pick their own texts.

Is the screening system politically neutral?

The final screening by the expert panel is supposed to guarantee neutrality. But some observers say their decisions can be influenced by the government, especially regarding views about modern history.

Kazuo Fujimura, a former senior official at the education ministry who was involved in the screening process, argues that the screening system remains separate from government policy because scholars and schoolteachers check the contents of history textbooks based on generally accepted views on history.

On the other hand, Hisao Ishiyama, a high school history textbook author and former high school teacher, says screening by education ministry officials is inevitably influenced by the sitting government of the time and this affects the council's judgments.

People in Okinawa have been outraged by the screening for high school history textbooks that were authorized by the ministry in March. What happened?

Based on a recommendation from the textbook screening council, the education ministry ordered publishers to remove references to the Imperial Japanese Army's role in forcing civilians to commit mass suicide, and mass murder-suicide, during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

Past textbooks authorized the inclusion of the references. Critics say the request to delete them reflected the nationalistic views of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet.

The education ministry has said history textbooks should avoid a definitive description about the military's role because academic research on the issue has drawn various conclusions, and testimony by those who experienced the battle differs.

Okinawans protested, prompting the ministry to drop the March instruction and allow the deleted references to be reinstated. Tens of thousands of people staged a rally in Okinawa on Sept. 29, and some 160 prefectural assembly members and activists visited Tokyo in mid-October to lobby for keeping the original references intact.

Education minister Kisaburo Tokai, under the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, said the ministry may review the screening to reinstate the deletions if the publishers apply.

What other controversies have occurred?

One famous foe of screening was Saburo Ienaga, a noted historian and a high school history textbook author who passed away in 2002. He filed three lawsuits against the government, in 1965, 1967 and 1984.

Ienaga argued that screening textbooks is unconstitutional because it violates freedom of expression and is the same as censorship. He also said that deleting descriptions of Japan's war crimes is illegal.

The first and the second suits were rejected. But in a 1997 ruling on the third suit, the Supreme Court said it was illegal for the textbook screeners to compel Ienaga to delete a description of the infamous Unit 731, which during World War II waged biological warfare in China and experimented on prisoners.

Another controversy took place in 1982, when screeners watered down descriptions of Japan's wartime aggression, prompting China and South Korea to decry what they called distortions by the government of historical facts.

The ensuing diplomatic uproar prompted the government to add a clause to the education ministry's textbook screening guideline that history books should be edited in a way that "takes into consideration" Japan's relations with its neighbors when describing modern and contemporary historical facts.

A diplomatic hubbub sparked anew in 2001 when a junior high school history textbook compiled by members of the revisionist Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform was authorized by the ministry. The group is widely believed to hold strong nationalistic views on history.

The controversial textbook had a ripple effect on other history texts — some publishers have since diluted their descriptions of the Nanjing Massacre and the wartime military's sex slaves, known as the "comfort women."

Do any other countries have similar screening system?

Germany and Norway screen their elementary and secondary school textbooks.

China and South Korea have government-compiled textbooks in addition to those compiled by private companies and screened by the government.

Australia, Finland and Sweden have no textbook screening system and publishers can compile textbooks freely.

Moriya lists Yamada freebies

By HIROKO NAKATA
Staff writer
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007

Defense big shot denies wrongdoing, mum on names

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya testified in the Diet on Monday that politicians, including an ex-Defense Agency chief, were wined and dined by a former executive of defense equipment trader Yamada Corp.

Moriya also admitted under oath that he had played golf more than 200 times with the executive, Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, over the past 12 years. Miyazaki left Yamada and founded the defense-aerospace contractor Nihon Mirise Corp., reportedly taking sales staff of the trader in tow in a bid to win military procurement contracts.

Photo: Former vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya appears as a sworn witness before a special House of Representatives committee on Monday.

But Moriya, appearing before a special House of Representatives committee on antiterrorism affairs, denied that he performed any favors for Miyazaki because of their cozy ties.

Moriya said the politicians partook in the entertainment outings on more than one occasion in the last year or two.

Moriya refused to name any of the politicians, saying his memories were vague on that point. But he denied that serving defense chiefs had joined such occasions, thus excluding Fumio Kyuma, Fukushiro Nukaga and Yoshinori Ono — all Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers.

Moriya mentioned no details about the purpose of such entertainment but denied committing any wrongdoing.

"It was an inappropriate action that I had played golf with someone who has interests with the ministry," he said.

He golfed more than 200 times with Miyazaki, who footed Moriya's bill and in most cases his wife's golfing fees and their dining expenses as well.

Miyazaki also paid for golf outings in Hokkaido and Kyushu with Moriya and twice gave the former top bureaucrat and his wife golf clubs as gifts.

But Moriya denied he had tried to help Nihon Mirise, the Japan sales agent for General Electric-made engines for the Air Self-Defense Force's next-generation CX transport aircraft, strike a deal with the Defense Ministry.

Moriya, the government's top defense bureaucrat for the last four years, retired at the end of August amid a falling out with then Defense Minister Yuriko Koike. Being lavished with such entertainment from the industry under the jurisdiction of public officers violates conflict of interest regulations.

The committee session lasted more than two hours.

Moriya could be charged with perjury if he is found to have made false statements in the session.

Lawmakers say public reaction to Moriya's response could affect the fate of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's bid to push ahead with a bill to continue the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.

The ruling camp led by Fukuda's LDP has tried to keep the Moriya-related scandals as low-key as possible, passing them off as Moriya's "personal affairs," and wants to resume debate on the bill Tuesday to seek its early enactment. But the opposition camp plans to try to use Moriya's testimony as a tool to rock Fukuda's administration and get to the bottom of other questionable defense deals involving the companies concerned.

Later in the day, Fukuda criticized Moriya's ties with the defense equipment trading house executive as "excessive and lacking in common sense."

"I don't understand why he did such things while knowing" they were in violation of ethical guidelines for public servants, Fukuda told reporters. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura also said he thinks the relationship between Moriya and the former executive was "abnormal."

Information from Kyodo added
The plot thickens

Defense equipment trader Yamada Corp. mentioned involvement by the Maritime Self-Defense Force when explaining the firm's overcharging for radar-jamming devices to former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, sources said.

The explanation was different from what Yamada told a fact-finding team after the 2001 overbilling was revealed, the sources said.

According to the sources, Yamada employees told Moriya, when he headed the Defense Policy Bureau, that the company and senior officers of the MSDF's Maritime Staff Office had "made arrangements in advance" to pad the bill on 24 sets of chaff and flare dispensers by ¥180 million. The contract was worth ¥810 million.

But Yamada told the fact-finding team it was the U.S. maker of the devices that made the Tokyo-based company inflate the bill, the sources said.

In February 2002, Yamada officials met Moriya and gave this explanation even though he was not involved in the fact-finding mission, they said.

Yamada told Moriya that the MSDF obtained funds for the procurement, but the amount included a "technical assistance fee," an item not on an invoice made by the U.S. maker.

The company told Moriya that Yamada and the MSDF then "made arrangements" and added the "fee" to the real price, according to the sources.

Defense Ministry denies refueling coverup was intentional

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007
Kyodo News

The Defense Ministry denied Monday any organized coverup of the way it mishandled information concerning the amount of fuel Japan supplied to a U.S. vessel in the Indian Ocean in 2003.

But the ministry, in an interim fact-finding report on the problem, admitted senior bureaucrats and top Maritime Self-Defense Force brass failed to double-check original documents when preparing statements in 2003 for then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and then Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba.

The ministry submitted the followup report to both ruling and opposition camps Monday.

This report was similar to one the ministry released Oct. 22 admitting the MSDF's statement that 200,000 gallons had been transferred on Feb. 25, 2003, was erroneous. The amount was 800,000 gallons. The error led Cabinet members at the time to make false public statements on the amount.

According to the latest report, the chief of the MSDF Plans and Programs Division failed to inform superiors about the data input error after being notified of it by officers in a separate division.

Suspicions that the MSDF oil was diverted the Iraq war first arose last month when Peace Depot, a Yokohama-based citizens' group, said it obtained copies of internal documents related to the carrier USS Kitty Hawk and the U.S. Navy oiler Pecos, including daily navigation logs.

That March 20, about a month after the refueling, the Kitty Hawk joined the Iraq war.

Moriya also played golf with Fujitsu executive

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007
Kyodo News

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya played golf not only with a former executive of defense equipment trader Yamada Corp. but also with a former executive of Fujitsu Ltd., who likewise covered the costs, Fujitsu officials said Monday.

The official is a 64-year-old man who worked in Fujitsu's defense business department until June 2003 and is now an adviser at wholly owned subsidiary Fujitsu Tokki Systems Ltd., which specializes in logistics engineering in the area of defense.

The firm generates around ¥1 billion a year in business with the Defense Ministry, but the former executive has told Fujitsu he did not ask Moriya to favor the business, they said.

According to Fujitsu, the official became acquainted with Moriya through business and played golf with him from around 1990 at a course in a Tokyo suburb, covering the fees of about ¥25,000 for both of them each time they played.

The two hit the links once or twice a year until November 1999 and about seven times since, Fujitsu said.

The company's investor relations office quoted the former executive as saying he only exchanged views with Moriya on a wide range of defense issues.

During Diet testimony Monday, Moriya described having played golf with the former executive of Yamada more than 200 times over 12 years as "inappropriate" but denied performing any favors for the firm related to procurement or other matters.

Moriya built web of info providers / Former vice defense minister earned nickname 'shadow defense minister'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Defense Ministry's scandal-hit former top bureaucrat Takemasa Moriya ensured ministry officials were dependent on him for information he gathered from his favorite colleagues that he had maneuvered into key ministry posts, informed sources said Monday.

Moriya's ability to control the flow of information at the Defense Ministry resulted in him becoming so influential he was known as the "shadow defense minister" by ministry insiders, the sources said.

Moriya held the post of administrative vice defense minister for more than four years until August this year, an extraordinarily long tenure, since the replacement of the holder of the top post has customarily occurred every two years or so.

Moriya, 63, a graduate of Tohoku University, joined the Defense Agency, the predecessor of the Defense Ministry, in 1971, after passing the highly competitive civil service examination for prospective fast-track bureaucrats.

During his career he held posts at the agency's pivotal bureaus, including personnel and finance.

His personal ties with Motonobu Miyazaki, former managing executive of defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp.--a link focused on during his sworn testimony at a House of Representatives panel Monday--were forged more than 20 years ago. Miyazaki, currently president of Nihon Mirise Corp., a Yamada spin-off firm, has allegedly wined and dined Moriya as well as played golf with him about 100 times over the past five years alone.

After serving as chief of the Aircraft Division and of the Public Information Division, he was appointed in 1994 to the post of head of the Defense Policy Planning Division, the section key to drawing up national security measures.

It was about that time that rumors began to spread in the agency that Moriya was manipulating his subordinates by controlling the flow of information concerning defense affairs, a ranking official of the Defense Ministry said.

The agency was upgraded to a ministry in January this year. A major turning point in Moriya's career came in 1998, when he was serving as chief of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency's Facilities Department, the agency's third-highest post.

The agency at that time had been shaken by embezzlement scandals involving defense equipment procurement contracts, which saw the administrative vice defense minister, the head of the agency chief's secretariat and other senior officials dismissed.

This resulted in Moriya "outdoing more than a dozen rivals" in a bureaucratic race to become the chief of the Defense Agency director general's secretariat, according to the sources.

Moriya was diligent in building up his information-gathering capability, making frequent trips to Self-Defense Forces' bases. He often was cited as saying, "None of the agency's high officials can match me when it comes to inspections of SDF facilities, as my ethos is to give priority to people serving on the front line."

Regarding his unusually long four-year tenure as administrative vice defense minister, the sources said Moriya was adroit enough to exclude his potential successors from influential agency positions.

During the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Moriya accompanied Koizumi on his final trip to the United States as prime minister in June 2006, even though it was quite rare for an administrative vice defense minister to do so.

Moriya also sat beside the prime minister's secretary at a party thrown by the U.S. government on Koizumi's trip to Washington.

In his closing days as the top bureaucrat, however, he found himself at odds with the defense minister and other politicians over defense policies.

Differences over the issue of reversion to Japan of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture saw his relations with Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma cool from around spring this year.

Moriya also found himself at loggerheads with Kyuma's successor as defense chief, Yuriko Koike, over the ministry's personnel affairs, leading to his resignation from the ministry.

(Oct. 30, 2007)

Editorial: Moriya case irrelevant to new antiterror bill

The Yomiuri Shimbun

As former Administrative Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya testified as a sworn witness at the House of Representatives' special committee on terrorism affairs, it became clear that his suspected collusive ties with defense trading firm Yamada Corp. has nothing to do with the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean.

It is important to press hard to uncover the truth, but Moriya's case should be regarded as a separate issue from deliberations on a new antiterrorism bill that would enable the MSDF to resume refueling activities.

On the government's underreporting of the amount of fuel supplied by an MSDF vessel to a U.S. vessel in February 2003, which the government later corrected from 750 kiloliters to 3,000 kiloliters, Moriya said during Monday's testimony that he was not aware of the error at the time he was serving as the defense policy bureau chief. The Defense Ministry also has released an interim report denying the underreporting was the result of a systematic effort, saying Moriya had no knowledge of the error.

The Democratic Party of Japan, not convinced by those accounts, is demanding Moriya appear again as a sworn witness. The main opposition party apparently is trying to shake the government and ruling parties by delaying deliberations on the antiterrorism bill. But grilling Moriya over suspicious deals should be done at another Diet panel, and the special committee should focus on deliberating the new bill that is directly linked to Japan's national interests.

===

Ethics code violated

Moriya admitted that he played golf with a former Yamada executive on about 200 occasions over a period of 11 years. Moriya and his wife used fake names when they played golf with the executive, likely because Moriya was aware he was violating the Self-Defense Forces ethics code, which prohibits SDF personnel, including the administrative vice defense minister, from playing golf with or being wined and dined by anyone who has business interests in defense deals.

When the ethics code came into effect in April 2000, Moriya was chief of the Defense Agency's secretariat. For about four years from August 2003, he served as the administrative vice defense minister, overseeing about 260,000 ministry officials and SDF personnel.

Moriya expressed regret, saying that his acts were "extremely inappropriate" and "thoughtless" and that he was "willing to take responsibility for causing the situations that could be considered collusive." Moriya has a responsibility to provide a full account of his relationship with the former executive and other suspected misdeeds.

Moriya revealed during his testimony that several politicians including a former Defense Agency director general were present on several occasions when Moriya and the former company executive dined together. This revelation should also be examined.

===

Ties bought no influence

Moriya, meanwhile, denied that he did any favors for the former company executive in the procurement of defense equipment. On the Defense Ministry's planned procurement of an engine for the next-generation CX transport aircraft, Moriya reportedly made remarks that could be interpreted as urging a discretionary contract be awarded to a company the former Yamada executive set up last year. Moriya testified that he, in the end, agreed to put the contract out to public tender after discussions at the ministry.

The cost of ministry procurement of defense equipment totals about 2 trillion yen annually, with 76 percent of the deals made through contracts awarded at the ministry's discretion. It is said that open bidding is difficult to conduct because only a limited number of companies can produce such equipment. This situation has led ministry officials to have inappropriate relationships with private companies.

The ministry was hit by a breach of trust scandal in 1998 involving a senior official of the central procurement office of the then Defense Agency and the 2006 bid-rigging scandal involving the Defense Facilities Administration Agency. A range of measures, including organizational restructuring, aimed at preventing the recurrence of such scandals were taken following each of those incidents, but the measures have proved ineffective.

To restore public trust, the ministry should fundamentally review its ties with private companies and the way it procures defense equipment.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 30, 2007)

(Oct. 30, 2007)

Fukuda, Ozawa fail to agree on continuing refueling mission

Oct 29 11:48 PM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Oct. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and opposition Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa failed in talks Tuesday morning to break the impasse over a bill for Japan to continue its refueling support for U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.

But the two leaders agreed to hold talks again later this week, while government sources said they have started making arrangements to cancel the first Diet debate between Ozawa and Fukuda scheduled for Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement," Fukuda, who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters after the two leaders met in their capacity as heads of their respective parties.

Fukuda called for Ozawa to cooperate in enacting the bill "for reasons inside and outside the country," but Ozawa insisted that the deployment of Japan's Self-Defense Forces is only allowed "within the framework of U.N. activities."

The meeting ended in about an hour even though it was initially scheduled for two hours.

Fukuda expressed regret over the failure of the talks, but admitted that the issue was "not that easy."

"I think it is important that the two of us talk well," he said.

Before the talks, LDP executives agreed at a meeting to ask Fukuda to deal cautiously with the possibility of Ozawa calling for dissolution of the House of Representatives for a snap election and proposals from some lawmakers for forming an alliance with the DPJ.

Fukuda said that he did not discuss a snap election with Ozawa, but added that he had discussions over the political situation.

Fukuda is struggling to break the political deadlock over the bill to renew authorization for the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, which the DPJ-led opposition parties are resisting.

The current special law permitting the Maritime Self-Defense Force mission is set to expire Thursday, making its suspension almost certain.

The government and the ruling bloc of the LDP and New Komeito party are expected to consider how to handle the bill based on the meeting's outcome. The outcome will also affect their decision on whether to extend the ongoing Diet session, which is scheduled to end Nov. 10.

The two parties' secretaries general and their Diet affairs chiefs were present at the outset of the meeting, but most of the discussions were only between Fukuda and Ozawa.

Fukuda is promoting a dialogue-oriented approach to the opposition parties, which control the House of Councillors, and the meeting with Ozawa was proposed by the premier.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a press conference Tuesday that Fukuda's proposal to hold the talks reflected his "strong sense of crisis as the leader of a country...that not even one law has been passed and that no decision of state has been made" since his Cabinet was launched about a month ago.

Defense Ministry denies organized cover-up on refueling data scandal

Oct 29, 2007

The Defense Ministry denied Monday the existence of an organized coverup of the way it mishandled information concerning the amount of fuel Japan supplied to a U.S. vessel in a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in 2003.

But the ministry, in an interim fact-finding report on the problem, admitted senior bureaucrats and senior Maritime Self-Defense Force officers failed to double check the data referring to the original document when they prepared false statements in 2003 for then chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and then Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba.

The ministry submitted the report to both ruling and opposition camps Monday.

It was a follow-up report to a similar report the ministry released Oct. 22 in connection with the scandal in which the MSDF erroneously reported the amount of oil having been input as 200,000 U.S. gallons although it was in fact 800,000 gallons in a Feb. 25, 2003 mission and that led the then Cabinet members to make false public statements on the amount.

According to the latest report, the chief of the MSDF Plans and Programs Division failed to let his superiors know about the data input error after being notified of it by officers in a separate division.

Ex-Defense Ministry official Moriya denies collusion with contractors

TOKYO, Oct. 29 KYODO

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya (R) testifies before a House of Representatives panel on Oct. 29 on his relations with an ex-senior executive of Yamada Corp., a defense business firm. Moriya admitted playing golf with the former executive ''more than 200 times'' over 12 years.

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, in sworn testimony in parliament on Monday, denied giving any favors to defense equipment traders over procurement of U.S. engines for the next-generation CX aircraft but admitted to having kept ''inappropriately'' cozy ties for more than a decade with a businessman linked to the firms.

Photo: Moriya testifies at Diet over ties with ex-defense firm exec

Moriya, 63, appearing at a House of Representatives panel, said politicians, including a former chief of the Defense Agency, were present on occasions when he was wined and dined by former Yamada Corp. executive, Motonobu Miyazaki, 69. Moriya declined to name any of the politicians.

Moriya also apologized for violating the internal code of ethical conduct by playing golf with Miyazaki, who worked for a potential defense contractor, ''more than 200 times'' in 12 years while being wined and dined by him.

The nationally televised 150-minute session was held as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's administration is trying to push ahead with a bill in parliament to continue the controversial refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean for U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan.

Fukuda told reporters Moriya's behavior ''lacked common sense.'' The premier also voiced concern about the effect that adverse fallout from the testimony would have on the fate of the bill, saying, ''It's not a good story.'' Passing the bill is the first major parliamentary challenge for Fukuda since taking office in September.

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba also branded the cozy ties between Moriya and Miyazaki as ''unforgivable.''

''It was an inappropriate act, lacking in prudence,'' Moriya told the lower house's committee on antiterrorism and Iraq reconstruction affairs, in admitting the frequency with which he had played golf, accompanied by his wife, with Miyazaki and even used false names.

Miyazaki, currently president of trading house, Nihon Mirise Corp., also gave the Moriyas four golf sets as gifts, while the Moriyas paid only 10,000 yen in green fees each time they played golf, even though they were aware the amount was much lower than prevailing rates, Moriya said.

But Moriya, who was once dubbed ''an emperor'' for his extensive influence on defense policy issues, denied that cozy ties with the businessman affected the performance of his duties, including procurement of General Electric Co. engines for the Air Self-Defense Force's planned transport aircraft codenamed CX.

Yamada was the only sales agent in Japan for the GE engines. Miyazaki's Nihon Mirise took over the agent role in July this year after Miyazaki left Yamada and set up the new company in September last year.

Asked by committee chairman Takashi Fukaya from Fukuda's governing Liberal Democratic Party if he made remarks that helped Nihon Mirise to secure a deal in the procurement of a GE engine for the CX airplane when he served as vice defense minister, Moriya said, ''I had never said any such thing.''

Moriya said he did not even know that Yamada was the sales agent for the GE engines. But he said, ''I am sorry that I have caused a situation that is regarded as collusion.''

Moriya also said it was ''last year or two years ago'' that lawmakers joined the occasions when Miyazaki wined and dined Moriya. ''But I refrain from stating the politicians' names as my memories are not clear on when they occurred,'' Moriya said.

In connection with the scandal, key Cabinet members are urging Moriya to voluntarily return his retirement allowance as there is no rule to punish a bureaucrat who has already resigned.

''I'll ponder the matter and make a decision on how to deal with the call,'' Moriya said.

Moriya took the post of top bureaucrat in the then Defense Agency in August 2003 and left the Defense Ministry in August this year after remaining in the post for an unusually long period of around four years. The agency was upgraded to a ministry in January.

Moriya also denied involvement in the Defense Ministry's mishandling of information in which the amount of fuel provided by a Japanese vessel to U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan was underreported.

Moriya is a graduate of Tohoku University and joined the Defense Agency in 1971 as a career-track bureaucrat. He has held key posts such as chief of the Defense Policy Bureau.

==Kyodo

Moriya denies CX-linked collusion, admits politicians in parties

Oct 29 04:39 AM US/Eastern

(AP) - TOKYO, Oct. 29 (Kyodo) — Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya on Monday denied doing any favors for defense equipment traders over procurement of U.S. engines for the next-generation CX aircraft despite admitting to having kept "inappropriately" cozy ties with a businessman linked to the firms more than a decade.

Moriya, 63, giving sworn testimony at a House of Representatives panel, said politicians, including a former chief of the Defense Agency -- a Cabinet post -- were present on occasions when he was wined and dined by the former Yamada Corp. executive, Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, but he declined to name any of the politicians.

Moriya also apologized for violating ethical rules of conduct by playing golf with Miyazaki, who had a vested interest in the defense administration, "more than 200 times" in 12 years while being wined and dined by him.

"It was an inappropriate act, lacking in prudence," Moriya told the lower house's committee on antiterrorism and the Iraq reconstruction affairs, admitting to having played golf that frequently with his wife even using false names.

Miyazaki, currently president of a similar trading house, Nihon Mirise Corp., also presented the Moriyas with four golf sets, and Moriya only paid 10,000 yen as a golfing fee each time knowing that amount was much lower than the real cost, Moriya said.

But Moriya denied the close ties with the businessman affected his performance of his duties, including procurement of General Electric Co. engines for the Air Self-Defense Force's planned CX transport aircraft.

Yamada was the only sales agent in Japan for the GE engines. But the agency was changed to Nihon Mirise in July this year, a company which the former Yamada executive launched in September last year after leaving Yamada.

Asked by committee chairman Takashi Fukaya from the governing Liberal Democratic Party if he made remarks that helped Nihon Mirise to conclude a deal in the procurement of a GE engine for the CX airplane when he served as vice defense minister, Moriya said, "I had never said any such thing."

Moriya said he did not even know that Yamada was the sales agent for the GE engines.

"I am sorry that I have caused a situation that is regarded as collusion...But I didn't recognize" that the special treatment by the businessman was a veiled request for favors, Moriya said.

Moriya took the post of top bureaucrat in the then Defense Agency in August 2003 and left the Defense Ministry in August this year. The agency was upgraded to a ministry in January.

Moriya denied involvement in the information mishandling by the Defense Ministry in which the amount of fuel provided by a Japanese vessel to U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan was underreported.

Prior to the session, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said he expects Moriya to "fulfill his responsibility" so that the scandals involving allegations against him will not hinder the government's plan to realize the passage of a bill to allow Japan to continue its refueling activities in support of the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations.

Moriya, dubbed "an emperor" for his big influence in defense affairs, is a graduate of Tohoku University and joined the Defense Agency in 1971 as a career-track bureaucrat. He has held key posts such as chief of the Defense Policy Bureau.

Lawmakers say public reactions to Moriya's response could affect the fate of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's project to push ahead with a bill to continue the refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean.

The ruling camp led by Fukuda's LDP has tried to keep the Moriya- related scandals as low-key as possible and wants to resume parliamentary debate on the bill on Tuesday to seek its early enactment, regarding the scandals as Moriya's "personal affairs."

But the opposition camp plans to try to use Moriya's testimony as a tool to rock Fukuda's administration and get to the bottom of other questionable trades of defense equipment involving the ministry and companies concerned.

Fukuda raps Moriya's actions as lacking in common sense

TOKYO, Oct. 29 KYODO

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday criticized scandal-tainted former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya's cozy ties with a former executive of a defense equipment trading house as being excessive and lacking in common sense.

''I don't understand why he did such things while knowing'' they were in violation of ethical guidelines for public servants, Fukuda told reporters at his office, referring to Moriya's testimony at a Diet session earlier Monday concerning his ties with the former executive.

Fukuda made the comments after Moriya gave sworn testimony at a House of Representatives committee session in connection with a series of allegations, including collusion with the 69-year-old former executive of defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp.

At the committee session, Moriya, 63, denied doing any favors over procurement or other matters for Yamada but admitted to having played golf with the former executive of the firm ''more than 200 times'' over 12 years.

The former top defense bureaucrat admitted to having been wined and dined by the former executive and being given four golf sets by him, and said he now considers it ''inappropriate'' that he played golf with a person with interests in the area of his official duties.

While Fukuda said he barely saw the lower house committee session due to his busy schedule, he described the actions Moriya admitted to having committed as ''a bit excessive.''

''Looking at it objectively...it amounts to lacking common sense. I think he has done things that he should not have done,'' the Japanese leader said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said he thinks the relationship between Moriya and the former executive was ''abnormal.''

''I think it is clear by anyone's standards that being wined and dined or playing golf more than 100 times is a truly abnormal number of occasions,'' Machimura told a press conference.

''He admitted himself that he violated the ethical guidelines for public servants, so I think he principally should think thoroughly about how to discipline himself and respond to the situation,'' Machimura said of Moriya.

''But at the same time, the Defense Ministry must think about how to deal with this problem,'' the top government spokesman said, adding he hopes no other Japanese public servant would become involved in improper relationships with outside parties.

Machimura reiterated his view that the ministry-related scandals that have recently come to light should not be intermingled with a government-proposed bill aimed at continuing Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan.

He also said the government still intends to have the proposed legislation passed during the ongoing extraordinary Diet session currently scheduled to run through Nov. 10, expressing hope that parliament will be able to focus on deliberating the bill now that its questioning of Moriya is done.

''The golfing and what not are an abnormal situation, but this and the bill are things of completely different dimensions, and I hope everyone in the public will also understand this,'' Machimura said.

==Kyodo

Moriya denies doing favors for defense firm despite golfing

October 29, 2007

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya on Monday denied doing any favors over procurement or other matters for a defense equipment trading house despite admitting to having golfed with a former executive of the firm ''more than 200 times'' in 12 years.

Moriya, 63, giving sworn testimony at a House of Representatives panel, said he now considers it ''inappropriate'' that he played golf with a person with interests in the area of his official duties.

Moriya, admitting to having been wined and dined by the former executive and being given four golf sets by him, also said politicians, including a former Defense Agency chief -- a Cabinet minister -- were present on occasions when he was wined and dined by the former executive, but he declined to name any of the politicians.

The former top defense bureaucrat denied involvement in the information mishandling by the Defense Ministry in which the amount of fuel provided by a Japanese vessel to U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan was underreported.

Moriya gave sworn testimony on a series of allegations including collusion with the 69-year-old former executive of defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp.

The focus of the testimony was on how Moriya was wined and dined by the former executive, whether their cozy ties affected Moriya's performance of his duties, and whether he was involved in the procurement of U.S. engines for the next-generation CX transport aircraft and in a data error over Japan's refueling mission for the antiterrorism operations in 2003.

The testimony session was held for more than two hours from 1 p.m. at the lower house committee on antiterrorism affairs.

Moriya could be charged with perjury if he is found to have made false statements in the session.

Prior to the session, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said he expects Moriya to ''fulfill his responsibility'' so that the scandals involving the allegations against him will not hinder the government's plan to realize the passage of a bill to allow Japan to continue its refueling activities in support of the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations.

Moriya, dubbed ''an emperor'' for his big influence on defense affairs, has admitted to having violated in-house rules of conduct by playing golf and mahjong with the former Yamada executive, currently president of a Yamada spinoff firm, Nihon Mirise Corp., as well as being wined and dined by him.

But Moriya has denied having done special favors for Yamada or Nihon Mirise.

He took the post of the top bureaucrat in the then Defense Agency in August 2003 and left the Defense Ministry in August this year. The agency was upgraded to a ministry in January.

Moriya has denied an allegation that he tried earlier this year to help Nihon Mirise conclude a contract with the ministry over the procurement of General Electric Co. engines for the CX aircraft.

Lawmakers say Moriya's testimony and public reactions to it could affect the fate of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's project to push ahead with the bill to continue the refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean.

The ruling camp led by Fukuda's Liberal Democratic Party has tried to keep the Moriya-related scandals as low-key as possible and resume parliamentary debate on the bill on Tuesday to seek its early enactment, regarding the scandals as Moriya's ''personal affairs.''

But the opposition camp plans to try to use Moriya's testimony as a tool to rock Fukuda's administration and get to the bottom of other questionable trades of defense equipment involving the ministry and companies concerned.

Moriya, a graduate of Tohoku University, joined the Defense Agency in 1971 as a career-track bureaucrat and took key posts such as chief of the Defense Policy Bureau.

Union workers reject government pay cut plan

Date Posted: 2007-10-29

Japanese working on American military bases have warned government officials they’ll go on strike for the first time in 16 years if a plan to cut their pay is implemented.

All 100% of the Workers Union members agreed Saturday to walk off the job if the Ministry of Defense presses forward with a proposal to slash their pay and bonuses by ¥10 billion. The ministry announced last week it would reduce its payroll and funds used to finance American military support, local nationals’ salaries by up to 10%.
The Union members met at Chatan Town Sunset Mihama, where they agreed to tell the government to leave things alone, and not make any cuts. Kazuo Yamakawa, who had met earlier with the Defense Ministry to tell them “we can’t listen to your opinion right now”, says another meeting is set for Friday. Yamakawa, the workers union chairman, says the workers have until November 20th to agree to the union demands, or face a strike.

Yamakawa says the Union would stage limited strikes, perhaps a half-day at a time. A union director asked “What does the Self Defense Ministry think about our life? Cutting salaries means we destroy our life.” He said that’s what the ministry wants, and added “No, we will never accept a cut in salary.”

The US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be briefed on the proposal next month when he visits Japan to meet with Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s Minister of Self Defense. This year’s budget of ¥217.3 billion, says Okinawa Prefecture, is largely strapped with heavy labor costs.

The Zenchuro, the workers union, says it will poll members between November 8th ~ 14th to hear their opinions, then publish the results on November 19th. If more than half are in favor of a strike, the union says it will go ahead. It noted, though, that senior workers will be consulted for advice, since it’s been so long since any strikes.

Textbook author says he’s ready to request revisions

Date Posted: 2007-10-29

A month after Okinawans staged a massive rally demanding school textbook references to the Battle of Okinawa be changed back to where they were before government intervention, one author says he will advise the education ministry of his plan to do so.

Noburu Sakamoto this weekend told reporters he will reinstate the references to Japan’s military ordering Okinawan civilians to commit suicide rather than surrender to American forces in his textbook, and says he’ll go even farther. Sakamoto, a high school teacher himself, says he’ll include references to the September 29th rally in Ginowan, describing the angry reactions Okinawans felt toward the government for directing textbooks delete the explanations of Japanese Imperial Army involvement.

The 51-year-old author, who followed directives last Spring to make changes, says he’ll submit his modification to the education ministry, and that he’ll quit if the government or his publisher balk at the changes. “As a textbook author, I regret what I did to the people in Okinawa,” he said, “and I’d like to take responsibility.” Tokyo officials expressed surprise at Sakamoto’s conversation with the media, noting authors do not normally discuss their writings before being approved by the education ministry.

Education Minister Kisaburo Toki last month announced publishers could request revisions returning texts to the original state, but suggested those changes would have to undergo a further review by the Textbook Authorization Council.