Japanese Newspapers :: Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Daily Yomiuri Online  Click

• Nishimatsu eyed over dubious political donations
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2008)
  Nishimatsu Construction Co. donated about 478 million yen to ruling and opposition politicians until 2006 through two shady political organizations headed by former Nishimatsu executives, it was learned Tuesday. continued ...


• New party for New Year?
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2008)
  Osamu Kawakami and Yukiko Ishikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
  Differences simmering within the Liberal Democratic Party are increasingly likely to spur moves for a new round of political realignment shortly after the turn of the year. continued ...


• Editorial: Don't stray from accord on Futenma relocation
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2008)
  The realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa Prefecture is finally about to enter the implementation phase. It is important that an agreement made between Japan and the United States be steadily implemented so that breakthrough measures to reduce burdens borne by local communities hosting U.S. bases can be taken. continued ...

The Asahi Shimbun  Click

• China to start construction of 1st aircraft carriers next year
  (The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: December 31,2008)
  BY KENJI MINEMURA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  BEIJING--China will begin construction of the country's first domestically produced aircraft carriers in Shanghai next year, with an eye to completing two mid-sized carriers by 2015, military and shipbuilding sources said. continued ...


• POINT OF VIEW/ Yasuko Takezawa: Can Obama unite racially divided America?
  (The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: December 31,2008)
  This New Year's Eve, the countdown party in New York City's Times Square will be even more exhilarating than usual, with excited throngs eagerly welcoming in a new year of change and hope. The excitement is about Barack Obama's induction into the White House in less than a month as the United States' "first African-American president." continued ...


• EDITORIAL: National Diet Library
  (The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: December 31,2008)
  2008/12/31
  Sixty years have passed since the founding of the National Diet Library, the only national library in Japan. continued ...

The Japan Times  Click

• China flexes naval muscle
  (The Japan Times) Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
  By MICHAEL RICHARDSON, Special to The Japan Times
  SINGAPORE — Two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship are on their way to join other foreign warships on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia. This is a milestone for a navy that has long focused on coastal defense and lacked the capability to project power overseas. continued ...


• Troops may be called on to aid fight against terrorism and piracy
  (The Japan Times) Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008
  Scandal-plagued SDF faces tests in new year
  By DAISUKE YAMAMOTO
  The close of 2008 finds the Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces bogged down with scandals and misdeeds involving personnel. continued ...

The Mainichi Daily News  Click

• Editorial: Is Japan undergoing a downhill slide like ancient Rome?
  December 31, 2008
  Invisible wild waves appear to be hitting Japan. An economic tsunami emanating from the United States is making the furious inland sea even rougher. As 2008 nears an end, one cannot help but wonder whether Japan can ride out the rough waves that hit the country one after another. continued ...

Tensions run high at South Korea's parliament sit-in

By Channel NewsAsia's Korea Bureau Chief Lim Yun Suk
Posted: 31 December 2008 1954 hrs

SEOUL: South Korea's parliament remained paralysed on Wednesday, with rival parties failing to agree on what to do with several controversial bills.

The opposition has camped in the main parliamentary chamber since last Friday to prevent the ruling party from passing the bills unilaterally. Riot police are presently on standby to force them out.

Among some 80 bills that need to be passed, two are considered especially contentious.

During the last few days, thousands of union workers from South Korea's major television networks have been out in the streets, protesting a media bill which would allow South Korea's newspapers and conglomerates to get into the television business.

Demonstrators said this would curb independence of the media and allow one or two big players to dominate public opinion.

Photo: 1 day ago: Members of the opposition Democratic Party sleep as they set up barricades of furniture in front of the main hall of the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008. The parliament speaker ordered opposition lawmakers camped out inside the National Assembly to end their five-day protest, warning Tuesday he would send in guards to force them out if they refused to leave.

Choi Sang Jae, head, National Union of Media Workers, said: "We're on strike to defend democracy and to expose the dangers of this evil media bill which the ruling Grand National Party wants to pass."

The ruling party said the new media bill is necessary because of changing times and technologies, while the opposition party is on the broadcasters' side.

The ruling Grand National Party holds 172 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, compared with 82 seats for the opposition Democratic Party.

Another controversial bill is the free trade agreement signed between the United States and South Korea.

The ruling party is eager to get it ratified as soon as possible, while the opposition wants to hold off until US president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

Many South Koreans are turned off by the long-running stalemate and said they believe there will be more fights and ugly scenes inside the National Assembly over future bills.

Related Videos
Tensions run high at South Korea's parliament sit-in
World - 31 December 2008

- CNA/so

Opposition warned to end its protest

Source: Agencies | 2008-12-31

SOUTH Korea's parliament speaker has ordered opposition politicians camped inside the National Assembly to end their five-day protest, warning yesterday that he would send in guards to force them out if they refused.

Dozens of lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party have been occupying the main hall of the National Assembly since last Friday to prevent the ruling Grand National Party from forcing through dozens of bills before the end of the year, including a controversial free trade deal with the United States.

The pact would be the largest for the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, and the biggest yet for South Korea.

Photo: Members of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) block the main entrance of the National Assembly's plenary session hall at the National Assembly in Seoul December 30, 2008. A leader of South Korea's ruling party said on Tuesday the group was willing to delay a vote on a sweeping free trade deal with the United States if it would help end an opposition protest that has paralyzed parliament. The banner reads, "Oppose Lee Myung-bak's evil laws desperately".

The ruling party, which has control of parliament with 172 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, has said it will unilaterally vote on some 80 bills today.

After two days of negotiations to find a compromise ended without success last night, National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o invoked his right to order security guards to "keep order," Kim's spokesman Bae June-young said.

The opposition said it cannot accept Kim's decision, raising concerns about another violent scuffle at the National Assembly.

Earlier this month, in a bid to force the introduction of the US free trade agreement and other bills, ruling party members set up barricades of furniture near the committee's doors to prevent Democrats entering the room.

Enraged opposition politicians used sledgehammers and construction tools to break down doors blocked by ruling party legislators. They fought back with fire extinguishers.

South Korea and the US signed the accord calling for slashing tariffs and other barriers to trade in April last year, but the pact must still be ratified by both countries' legislatures.

Opposition politicians say the US$29 billion trade agreement favors major corporations.

Editorial :: Is Japan undergoing a downhill slide like ancient Rome?

December 31, 2008

Invisible wild waves appear to be hitting Japan. An economic tsunami emanating from the United States is making the furious inland sea even rougher. As 2008 nears an end, one cannot help but wonder whether Japan can ride out the rough waves that hit the country one after another.

The financial crisis that started in the United States has struck Japan, and is complicating the already serious economic situation here. Numerous people are obviously feeling uneasy as if they were aboard a ship in rough seas and hear the vessel creaking.

The Nobel prizes awarded to four Japanese researchers was encouraging news, but some people point out that they were awarded for their past research achievements and that it is highly doubtful if more Japanese scientists will win Nobel prizes in the future. The four laureates' feats highlight the dismal situation in Japan's academic circles.

Japan's system as a state is showing signs of cracks. Replacing parts and fresh paint is not enough. We must consider a drastic overhaul of the entire ship and replacing its skipper.

In September, then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda suddenly stepped down, and the approval rating for his successor, Taro Aso, remains low. The dismissal of administrations by Fukuda and his predecessor Shinzo Abe has heightened the public's distrust in politics, particularly the ruling coalition.

Moreover, Aso, who was expected to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap general election shortly after taking office, has been unable to do so because the ruling coalition remains unpopular. He is barely staying afloat, like a boat without a rudder, hoping to increase his popularity by implementing economic stimulus measures.

What has gone wrong with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)? Novelist Nanami Shiono has pointed out that Japan, in which the LDP picks the nation's prime minister, is similar to ancient Rome, in which its consul was named by the Roman Senate. Such a system in which a small number of people are involved in the leadership functions may work if a country is growing, but if the environment changes, its mechanism of utilizing human resources goes out of order. Shiono's comment in her book, "Roma kara Nihon ga Mieru" ("Japan viewed from Rome") that "even though the leader believes he is doing well, he is only impeding governance" is noteworthy. Is Japan undergoing a downhill slide like ancient Rome?

The scandal-tainted Social Insurance Agency has come under fire for falsifying numerous pension premium payment records as an entity, and the corrosion of Japan's function as a state is unbearable to watch.

The new medical system has also angered people. Senior citizens' protest at the phrase, "late-stage elderly people," is their quiet uprising, so to speak.

A "grass-root uprising" also occurred in the labor field. The number of temporary workers dispatched by employment agencies to various firms hit a record high this year. In the face of the economic downturn, many employers unilaterally terminated their employment contracts with such workers or cancelled their job offers to those who are expected to graduate this coming spring. Strikes staged by temporary workers and others who are trapped in an insecure employment situation are a major expression of resistance in Japan, where labor movements are not generally active.

Problems involving the employment and social security situations have become serious as the social divide into "winners" and "losers" is expanding. This year saw a spate of heinous crimes, such as a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district that left seven people dead and 10 others injured and attacks on the homes of two retired top bureaucrats in the Health and Welfare Ministry.

Japan's national security system also appears to have become fragile. Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami was forced to step down after he released a controversial essay that denied Japan was an aggressor in World War II, raising serious questions about Japan's civilian control on the Self-Defense Forces (SDF). Even if he exercised the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, his freedom of thought and his responsibility relating his official duties are completely different matters, as National Defense Academy President Makoto Iokibe points out. Japan is in a bind as a top-ranking uniformed SDF officer, who is in a position to control SDF personnel and equipment, publicly disagrees with the government's official position.

Japan's actual security situation has also worsened. Even though the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush cannot solve problems involving North Korea's nuclear program, it removed Pyongyang from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Nuclear weapons and missiles that pose a direct threat to Japan remain intact, and there has been no progress on the issue of abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. Many Japanese people do not appear fully aware of the danger.

There have not been in-depth discussions on Japan's role in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Japan has not adopted a specific response to the Palestinian issue, where bloodshed continues. Even though Japan was busy responding to numerous domestic issues, Japan apparently stuck to its inward-looking stance and refused to look at what it didn't want to see.

While China increased its presence by hosting the Beijing Olympics, Japan's global presence is becoming less visible. Japan-U.S. relations continued without any major conspicuous events. Nowadays, phrases like, "Japan nothing" and "Japan missing" are frequently heard in the United States and other countries. Japan seldom mentions the phrase, "the Japan-U.S. alliance in the world," which was frequently heard during the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Japanese officials are apparently preferring to hold dialogue with President-elect Barack Obama rather than unpopular and outgoing President Bush. Arthur Meier Schlesinger Jr., who served as an aide to the late President John F. Kennedy, said the United States has never been more unpopular, distrusted, feared and hated than under the Bush administration.

However, we must bear in mind that Japan is one of the countries that promptly expressed support for the U.S. war against Iraq. If Japan fails to evaluate its relations with the Bush administration, which is now nearing an end, it should be called a moral hazard as a state.

(Mainichi Japan) December 31, 2008

EDITORIAL: National Diet Library

2008/12/31

Sixty years have passed since the founding of the National Diet Library, the only national library in Japan.

"Truth sets us free," says the preamble to the National Diet Library Law, defining the ethos of this important institution. This passage can be found engraved at the counter of the library's main building in Tokyo's Nagatacho district.

The library was established in 1948, just a few years after the end of World War II, as part of efforts to create a democratic society in Japan where people gather, understand and discuss a wide spectrum of information without bias.

The institution was entrusted with the task of collecting and analyzing necessary materials as a basis for this process.

The library builds and preserves a comprehensive collection of books, newspapers, magazines and audio and visual recordings published and created in Japan. It also collects various materials from overseas.

The library's primary task is to support legislative activities through the use of these resources. Another important role of the institution is to preserve these resources as cultural assets and make them available to people to help support their lives and research activities.

The National Diet Library has changed its operations dramatically in recent years. Its electronic functions have been enhanced so that anybody with Internet access can now search the library's vast bibliographic database and read minutes of Diet sessions online.

Users can even read about 150,000 books published in the Meiji and Taisho eras (1868-1926) on their computer screens.

The library also offers a service that allows users to search for materials at the National Archives of Japan and other libraries.

In addition, the National Diet Library publicizes reports on key public policy issues, providing various arguments, historical facts and the situations in other countries related to the issues.

The already-huge amount of materials available at the library is growing rapidly.

Makoto Nagao, a former president of Kyoto University who last year became the first chief librarian without a Diet background, has been actively promoting these programs and projects.

But new challenges for the library have emerged.

The library's work to support legislators has rapidly grown in scale. In fiscal 2007, which ended in March 2008, the library handled about 45,000 requests for materials and analyses made by Diet members, more than double that of fiscal 1995. The rise was due mainly to the sharp increase in legislative initiatives by lawmakers.

But the library's work force has not grown at the same pace, with only about 190 employees dealing with the heavier workload.

The library clearly needs greater manpower to accomplish its vital mission of providing information and advice for lawmakers from a position different from that of bureaucrats.

The library also lacks certain capabilities in gathering materials.

The amount of administrative and academic information published only on the Internet is increasing, and the Web pages of local governments can disappear at any time. But the library must gain permission each time to collect and preserve such data because it has no legal authority to do so freely.

Legal revisions are needed to allow the library to gather and preserve materials published by public organizations without obtaining permission. The range of materials for such operations should also be widened.

Another challenge facing the institution is the preservation of manga comic magazines, which attract the interest of many overseas researchers.

The ink on manga magazines tends to smudge rather quickly, causing the pictures to blur. Under current copyright rules, preserving manga publications in digital form for wide availability requires permission from various parties concerned. It would be a tall order and require tremendous clerical costs.

We hope a system can be created to deal with this problem flexibly while paying due attention to the copyright issue.

The National Diet Library is an intellectual asset of the people. We have a duty to expand and bolster the functions of the institution for future generations.

Necessary measures should be taken as soon as possible.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 30(IHT/Asahi: December 31,2008)

Editorial :: Don't stray from accord on Futenma relocation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa Prefecture is finally about to enter the implementation phase. It is important that an agreement made between Japan and the United States be steadily implemented so that breakthrough measures to reduce burdens borne by local communities hosting U.S. bases can be taken.

The government in its draft budget for fiscal 2009 earmarked 83.9 billion yen for the realignment as part of defense-related spending. This is more than triple the figure from the previous year.

The draft budget set aside 34.6 billion yen for the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps units in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam, including site preparation work for its headquarters and accommodation facilities. The relocation of Futenma Air Station in Ginowan in the prefecture to Camp Schwab in Nago comes with a price tag of 9.4 billion yen.

Tokyo and Washington have agreed that the relocation of Futenma Air Station and the transfer of 8,000 marines to Guam will be completed by the end of 2014 and that the sites of six U.S. military facilities, including Futenma, be returned to Japan.

These plans are well balanced in that the deterrent capability of the U.S. forces will be maintained while the burdens on Okinawa Prefecture will be eased.

===

Negotiations deadlocked

It is important that the plans are carried out in unison. If the planned transfer of Futenma Air Station does not progress, the overall plan will stall. This would spell failure for measures aimed at lessening local burdens.

The Okinawa prefectural government has yet to agree to a plan to construct alternative facilities to Futenma Air Station on a waterfront area of Camp Schwab. The prefectural government has demanded the facilities be built far off the shore from the camp. However, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has refused to accept the offshore plan. The negotiations thus have been deadlocked.

Some Japanese officials had hopes that the administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will accept the prefecture's demand on the relocation site. But the possibility of that happening significantly diminished when Obama decided to retain U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. This could have serious implications.

After all, proceeding with the plans agreed by the two governments offers the shortest path to making the return of Futenma Air Station site a reality. Twelve years have passed since the agreement on the return of the air station was made. Any further delay in the plan could erode the credibility of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

===

Govt must do more

Under the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and some other officials in the Prime Minister's Office were actively involved in the relocation issue. But the Cabinet of Prime Minister Taro Aso has lacked a "control tower" on this matter. The Aso Cabinet needs to give more attention to the relocation and spare no effort in coordination efforts with the Okinawa prefectural government and other concerned local governments.

The defense budget planned for fiscal 2009 totals 4.77 trillion yen, 0.1 percent less than the previous year's initial budget. This will mark a decline in defense spending for seven consecutive years. In fiscal 2010 and beyond, the cost of realigning U.S. forces may increase further, which would squeeze the budget available for other defense projects.

Among neighboring nations, however, not only China and Russia but also South Korea, India, Australia and the United States have sharply increased their defense spending in recent years.

The government must be careful not to give the impression that only Japan is reducing its defense spending and attaches little importance to security issues.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2008)

Report: U.S., Japan to sign Marine relocation accord

By David Allen, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The U.S. and Japan will sign an accord that will spell out exactly how some $6.09 billion Japan has promised to allocate to move Marines from Okinawa to Guam will be spent, according to the national Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

Citing unnamed Japanese government sources, the paper said the accord will "include a clause prohibiting Japan’s financial contribution to the relocation to be used for other purposes."

The cost of moving some 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam is expected to cost a total of $10.3 billion.

The accord is designed to gain public approval and allay growing fears that Japan’s financial contribution could be redirected to other projects on Guam, the paper’s sources said. It will clarify how the money will be used.

It is estimated that the buildup on Guam — which is to include upgrading the island’s major port, building new military housing and making facility improvements to Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam — will eventually boost the number of servicemembers, DOD employees and their families from 14,000 to 40,000. That would increase the island’s total population by 25 percent, severely taxing the island’s existing infrastructure, according to the Joint Guam Program Office.

The island is hoping the U.S. government will include funds for much needed improvements to its roads, utilities, health care and housing in the federal budget, starting in 2010.

In a related move, Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced last week that it is budgeting about $345 million this year for programs related to realigning U.S. troops in Japan, which includes building a new Marine air facility on Okinawa and moving Marine units to Guam.

Top 10 stories on Okinawa 2008

Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, December 31, 2008

1. Liberty restrictions

New liberty restrictions and a curfew are enacted Feb. 20 for Okinawa bases, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Camp Fuji following several alcohol-related incidents involving Americans. All SOFA personnel and their families are restricted to the bases or their off-base homes unless they have letters of exemption from their command.

U.S. Forces Japan commander Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright orders a "Day of Reflection" for all troops in Japan and forms a special Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Task Force. On March 3 the restrictions on Okinawa are eased, but a 10 p.m. -to-5 a.m. curfew remains in effect and off-base consumption of alcohol is banned. On April 4, the alcohol ban is lifted, but Cinderella Liberty lasts until September.

2. Deadly year for Okinawa Marines

Five Marines are killed during deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan: Cpl. Christian S. Cotner, 20, is killed May 29 in Iraq’s Anbar province; Sgt. Michael H. Ferschke, 22, is killed Aug. 10 near Baghdad; Capt. Jesse Melton III, 29, and 1st Lt. Nicholas Madrazo, 25, are killed Sept. 9 in Parwan province, Afghanistan; Capt. Warren A. Frank, 26, is killed Nov. 25 in Iraq’s Ninevah province.

3. Case of Marine convicted of raping 14-year-old Okinawa girl sparks protests on island

Marine Staff Sgt. Tyrone Hadnott, 38, is arrested Feb. 10 by Japanese police on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old Okinawa girl. The case sparks protests by Okinawans. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer, USFJ Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, and Marine Lt. Richard Zilmer, commander of Marine Corps Bases Japan, meet with Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima in Naha to express their concern. All Marines in Japan are ordered to "stand down" for ethics and leadership training. On Feb. 28 Hadnott is released from Japanese custody after the girl drops her criminal complaint. Marines proceed with the investigation and Hadnott is convicted by a court-martial in May and sentenced to 48 months for molesting the teen. He is also dishonorably discharged, ending his 18-year military career.

4. AAFES gas prices

After months of consumer complaints, on Nov. 28 the Army and Air Force Exchange Service finally drops its price for midgrade unleaded gas on bases in Japan and Okinawa for the first time since it hit $4.06 per gallon in July. The price for a gallon of midgrade unleaded plummets to $2.43, a $1.63 decrease. The 40 percent reduction still leaves prices far higher than the $2.03 average cost at the time for midgrade unleaded in the United States.

5. Post-allowance back pay

The Defense Department announces a plan in August to compensate overseas employees who were not paid post allowance, and says they can begin making claims for back pay. The retroactive pay dates to Dec. 1, 2001, because back pay cannot exceed a six-year statute of limitations on claims against the government. Worldwide, roughly 2,850 NAF employees, and an unknown number of former workers, are expected to be eligible for at least some compensation. DOD estimates the back pay could cost employers $68 million.

6. Patriot Express keeps travelers guessing

ATA Airlines shuts down operations and files for bankruptcy on April 3, which leads to a temporary halt of the Patriot Express. The following week, Northwest Airlines steps up as a new carrier with an Airbus 330 to continue the mission linking Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with Yokota and Kadena air bases. The U.S. military’s only chartered commercial air service in the Pacific goes to a biweekly route in July before resuming weekly flights in October.

7. Futenma Relocation Project

The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passes a resolution July 18 against the Futenma Relocation Project. It urges the U.S. and Japan to scrap plans for a new air facility on Camp Schwab to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The project is considered key to a 2006 bilateral agreement to realign U.S. troops in Japan, eventually closing several bases on Okinawa and moving some 8,000 Marines and their families to Guam by 2014. In November the assembly speaker says he is hopeful President-elect Barack Obama’s administration will abandon the relocation project.

8. HEART Act

President Bush signs the HEART Act on June 17, fixing a legal snafu that denied the 2008 tax stimulus payments to U.S. servicemembers if any of their family members did not have a taxpayer identification number.

9. Marine Corps debuts new Combat Fitness Test

Marines preview the Corps’ new Combat Fitness Test at a demonstration Sept. 16 on Camp Foster. The test is designed to measure endurance and has tasks similar to those Marines must perform in combat, such as lifting ammunition cans and carrying other Marines through the course. The test is phased in throughout the Marine Corps starting Oct. 1.

10. Kadena F-15s resume flights

Kadena Air Base’s F-15 Eagle combat jets resume flight operations Jan. 13 after being grounded since November following the crash of a Missouri National Guard F-15C. An Air Force fleetwide investigation found that nine F-15s had cracks in their fuselage. Two of them were based at Kadena.

Japanese Newspapers :: Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Daily Yomiuri Online  Click

• LDP's Kato, Yamasaki eye new party
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 30, 2008)
  With an eye to forming a new party ahead of an expected House of Representatives election, former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato, former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki and other members plan to establish a new study group as early as next month, according to sources. continued ...

The Asahi Shimbun  Click

The Japan Times  Click

• Kono prays in Hawaii for war dead
  (The Japan Times) Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008
  HONOLULU (Kyodo) House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono on Sunday laid flowers at a U.S. memorial cemetery in Honolulu where victims of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 are among those commemorated. continued ...


• No sign of a 'peace agreement'
  (The Japan Times) Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008
  By HISAHIKO OKAZAKI
  More than six months have passed since the presidential election in Taiwan. After a hiatus of eight years, the Kuomintang is in power. This actually represents the restoration of the mainland-lineage forces for the first time in 20 years — if you count the Lee Teng-hui era as rule by non-mainland-lineage forces. continued ...

The Mainichi Daily News  Click

Japanese politicians still wary about full Internet use

Dec 29 11:29 PM US/Eastern

TOKYO, Dec. 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — While casting a glance at U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's success in winning support and collecting a large amount of donations online, Japanese legislators are shying away from doing likewise despite the absence of any legal restrictions on fundraising via the Internet.

Most Japanese politicians have already launched their own websites, written blogs and issued e-mail magazines in an attempt to make their policies known to voters.

But they are wary about making fuller use of the Internet, particularly for political debates ahead of the first general election in four years coming up in 2009.

Behind this reluctance to use cyber communication is a reclusive Japanese culture, in which people prefer to keep their political opinions to themselves than speak out on public occasions such as debates, some legislators and experts say.

Toshinao Sasaki, a freelance journalist following information technology matters, is urging people in Japan to launch more sophisticated websites on political issues, challenging the traditional view that what the mass media say should equate to public opinion.

The launching of such advanced debate websites could be led by people in the Internet-related industry instead of those in the traditional news organizations, Sasaki said.

"But the biggest task we could be faced with is how to deal with possible 'disruption' of websites," Sasaki said, referring to the possibility that an operator of such a website could be forced to close it due to a flood of offensive messages.

Sasaki said the Internet culture in Japan has been led by bulletin boards such as "2 channel" where "cynical" messages tend to dominate, and that this has discouraged potential political debaters from expressing themselves in a serious and straightforward manner.

Sasaki also called on lawmakers to learn more about the Internet.

"The number of legislators who check all the messages they receive is very limited. Usually their aides delete messages they think inappropriate in advance. It means most legislators are unaware of the danger of the Internet."

Sasaki pointed out, however, "There is a growing mood toward more active use of the Internet in politics."

Opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa promotes the policies of his Democratic Party of Japan on various Internet programs, expressing his resolve to unseat the beleaguered Prime Minister Taro Aso through a general election to be held in 2009 in a make-or-break battle between the archrivals.

Koichi Kato, a former secretary general of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party, is known as a frontrunner among lawmakers trying to use the Internet for their activities.

In November 2000, he called on people to support him in a failed bid to topple the then unpopular Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori through messages on the Internet.

But Kato, 69, is now one of the veteran politicians who doubt the potential of the Internet as a communication tool in politics.

"Any messages or expression of opinions mean little in politics insofar as they are anonymous," Kato said.

"My website received as many as 100,000 messages per day at that time...I thought I could hear grass-root voices directly from the people by using the Internet," Kato said, referring to his online campaign at the time in an incident dubbed in political circles "the rebellion of Kato."

"But in fact, I remained in the dark about exactly who were supporting me, who they were and where they lived," Kato said.

"Politicians should try harder to understand what their supporters are calling for through face-to-face meetings and rallies," he said.

Sumio Mabuchi, a lawmaker with the opposition DPJ, said it is necessary to have a two-way approach to the Internet.

"Needless to say, the Internet is a helpful tool in communicating with people and dispatching information that could lead the existing mass media," Mabuchi, 48, said.

Mabuchi frequently sends messages to people including his close supporters through e-mail magazines and blogs and has experience of receiving 120,000 messages within several hours when he was accusing the government of lax checks on the safety standards of buildings in 2005.

"But at the same time, I am cautious about fully using the Internet for election campaigning. Having nice websites and blogs costs a lot and competition in the field could threaten the fairness of democracy. I mean that only the rich can win," Mabuchi said.

Mabuchi proposed an election system in which all candidates can compete on an equal footing by taking such legal measures as setting a cap on the capacity of the server of their websites.

In August, a group of nonpartisan lawmakers set up a group to study the feasibility of allowing political donations to be made online, in a bid to encourage more eligible voters, especially Internet-savvy ones among the younger generation, to engage in politics prior to the next House of Representatives election.

The participants in the study panel included heavyweights from both ruling and opposition blocs such as Kato and Naoto Kan, acting president of the opposition DPJ.

But they just agreed to keep studying the matter and the project has yet to develop into a major movement.

Japan May Send Navy Officers to Anti-Piracy Center, Sankei Says

By Sachiko Sakamaki

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan may send navy personnel to join an international taskforce designed to contain pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, the Sankei newspaper reported today without citing where it obtained the information.

The government decided yesterday to send the officers to the U.S.-led “contact group,” which will exchange information and coordinate naval operations involving the U.S., U.K. and other nations, the paper said. Prime Minister Taro Aso will inform Secretary of the State Condoleezza Rice of Japan’s plan, it said. Aso last week ordered the defense ministry to study dispatching Japanese navy ships to the region.

The United Nations Security Council decided earlier this month to allow combat in Somalia for one year to contain piracy. China dispatched three warships to the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 26. Pirates have seized at least 40 ships this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 29, 2008 21:28

Japanese Newspapers :: Monday, December 29, 2008

Daily Yomiuri Online  Click

• Govt, U.S. to sign accord on relocation of marines
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 29, 2008)
  The government and the United States will soon sign an accord over the relocation of U.S. marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam that will include a clause prohibiting Japan's financial contribution to the relocation from being used for other purposes, according to government sources. continued ...


• Bureaucrats stiff-arm Aso / Prime minister's attempts to woo officials have little success
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 29, 2008)
  Yutaka Ito and Takeo Azuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
  Bureaucrats have started to keep the administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso at arm's length while making overtures to the largest opposition party in view of a possible change of administration. continued ...

The Asahi Shimbun  Click

• EDITORIAL: Anti-piracy mission
  (The Asahi Shimbun) (IHT/Asahi: December 29, 2008)
  The government is considering whether to deploy Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and other vessels to waters off Somalia in support of international efforts to rein in rampant piracy in the region. In response to a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for international cooperation to tackle the problem, a host of countries, including the United States, parts of Europe, China, Iran and India, have already decided to dispatch warships. continued ...

The Japan Times  Click

• New Afghan strategy will compound U.S. problem
  (The Japan Times) Monday, Dec. 29, 2008
  By BRAHMA CHELLANEY
  Even before U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has been sworn in, the contours of his new strategy on Afghanistan have become known: A "surge" of U.S. forces, not to militarily rout the Taliban but to strike a political deal with the enemy from a position of strength. continued ...

The Mainichi Daily News  Click

• DPJ to forge new links with Obama government as Lower House win looks more likely
  (Mainichi Japan) December 29, 2008
  The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will begin periodic meetings with U.S. officials, party officials announced, with an eye towards building a mutual rapport as the DPJ looks more and more likely to win the next Lower House election. continued ...


• Aso to make first visit to Seoul as PM next month
  (Mainichi Japan) December 29, 2008
  Prime Minister Taro Aso will make a state visit to Seoul for the first time as prime minister in January, Japanese and South Korean government officials said. continued ...

Politics key to prosperity for hard-hit Asian powers

MARCUS GEE

From Monday's Globe and Mail
December 29, 2008 at 8:40 AM EST

In the rise of Asia's big powers, politics have been a side story, all but eclipsed by the drama of the Asian economic ascendance. If China was growing at near double digits, pulling hundreds of millions out of poverty in the game, who cared if it never had free elections? Chinese were freer and more prosperous than they had ever been. As long as India was following China's path to riches, what did it matter if its democratic political system was more and more dysfunctional? Indians were marching forward regardless, making their clownish political class seem almost irrelevant.

And Japan? It has been ruled by the same political party for all but 11 months for five decades. Whatever. It was stable, responsible and, despite some hard times over the last two decades, still prosperous.

But the days when Asian politics didn't seem to matter are coming to an end. All three of Asia's giants are in deep trouble. Japan, with Asia's biggest (and the world's second-biggest) economy, is already in recession as the global economic crisis crushes demand for its cars, cameras and video games. China, the marvel of the developing world, saw its exports actually shrink in November, a startling turnaround for a country that has seen nothing but growth, growth, growth for decades. India, too, is seeing its exuberant progress slow as industrial production shrinks and investors take flight.

In times like this, politics become desperately important. To avoid calamity and recover their momentum, Asia's giants need strong leaders with clear plans. So far, none are in evidence.

Japan is on its third prime minister in two years. Taro Aso was supposed to put some zing back in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after the disappointing governments of Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda. A former businessman and foreign minister, he has an air of vigour and authority that the grey Mr. Fukuda lacked. But he has thrice put off holding an election. Japan, he claims, needs a steady hand on the helm to steer through the economic crisis. His critics counter that, with his popularity falling, he simply wants to avoid a drubbing at the polls.

His plight is a symptom of Japan's political gridlock. The LDP is factionalized and divided, holding on to power only by handing out lavish patronage to blocks of loyal voters. The main alternative, the Democratic Party of Japan, is just as divided. Many Japanese view its leader, Ichiro Ozawa, as an old warhorse with little to offer. Neither party has a coherent ideology. How, then, are they expected to grapple with a worsening recession?

China, of course, has only one party: the Communists. In recent years, that has seemed to be almost an advantage. China's leaders don't have to worry about opponents nipping at their heels. Calmly and without any fuss, they can bring in the sober, sensible policies the country needs to right itself. If only it were so simple. In fact, a country with an unelected, unaccountable leadership finds it much harder to work through problems, come up with solutions and get the public to believe in them. Discontent, bound to mount as hard times bite, shows itself in riots, protests and other forms of social discontent. We have already seen rioting at Chinese factories that have laid off workers. Expect many more as things get worse. Fearing for its survival, the ruling party may balk at making the hard decisions it will need to take to restore the country to economic health.

India has no shortage of dissenting voices. Proud of its status as the world's most populous democracy, it has a raucous political scene with a free press and many competing parties. It is gridlocked all the same. The ruling Indian National Congress, party of Nehru and Gandhi, has seen its traditional dominance fade. It lost power between 1996 and 2004 and has held power since only with the support of several minor parties, many of them leftist in outlook and opposed to any kind of sensible reform. Caste-based parties that cater to the masses of rural voters are on the rise, another blow to reforms that, at least at first, seem to benefit urban Indians most. As a result, the market-oriented reforms that began in 1991, and gave India a spurt of growth of near-Chinese magnitude over the past five years, have ground to a halt.

Each of Asia's giants faces enormous problems. Like the detritus on a beach, they are being exposed by the ebbing tide of economic growth. China still has far too much of its economy in state hands. It has next to no social welfare system.

Much of its rural population is stuck in poverty. India's public services are abysmal. Its roads and ports are a mess. More than 40 per cent of its population of 1.1 billion lives below the poverty line. Japan has an aging population and shrinking work force. Most of its companies are unproductive by Western standards.

To tackle huge problems such as these, Asia's giants need to make hard decisions. For that they need leadership. And for that they need flexible, functioning political systems. Politics is no longer an afterthought when Asia's economic future is concerned. It is the key to a prosperous future.

Lower house speaker Kono prays for Pearl Harbor war dead in Hawaii+

Dec 29 05:32 AM US/Eastern

HONOLULU, Dec. 28 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japan's House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono on Sunday laid flowers at a U.S. memorial cemetery in Honolulu where victims of Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 are among those commemorated.

The first visit by a Japanese lower house speaker to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was realized after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited a monument in Hiroshima dedicated to the victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese city.

Kono also prayed for the nine people who perished in the 2001 sinking of the Japanese high school fishing ship Ehime Maru by a U.S. submarine off the Hawaiian island of Oahu at a monument commemorating the accident.

Photo: Japan's House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono offers a silent prayer in front of a cenotaph in Oahu on Dec. 28 commemorating the nine people who perished in the 2001 sinking by a U.S. submarine of a Japanese high school fishing ship, the Ehime Maru, off the island.

Kono was Japanese foreign minister at that time.

In a statement, Kono said he strongly hopes that the visits by the speakers of the two countries will contribute to "the true development" of Japan-U.S. relations, and that such accidents would not happen again.

Pelosi visited Hiroshima in September for a meeting of the lower house speakers of the Group of Eight countries to discuss such issues as the role of parliaments in promoting peace and reducing arms around the world.

Kono is known as one of the leading dovish lawmakers within Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party members and has said he will retire from politics when the current term for lower house members ends.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii prompted the United States to formally enter war against Japan in World War II, in which Japan surrendered following the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

DPJ to forge new links with Obama government as Lower House win looks more likely

December 29, 2008

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will begin periodic meetings with U.S. officials, party officials announced, with an eye towards building a mutual rapport as the DPJ looks more and more likely to win the next Lower House election.

U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission James P. Zumwalt and Director of the International Bureau of the DPJ Tetsundo Iwakuni finalized the agreement on Dec. 16 in Tokyo, along with Kuniko Tanioka, deputy director of the International Bureau of the DPJ, and Kenzo Fujisue, shadow vice minister of economy, trade and industry.

During an exchange of opinions on Afghanistan, the U.S. emphasized that they sought not support for the U.S., but a contribution to the international community, urging the DPJ to propose the types of aid they can provide. The DPJ explained the party's proposed plan for the eradication of terrorism, in which the Self-Defense Forces would be dispatched to Afghanistan after the fighting ends, to focus on irrigation and infrastructure support.

While DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa places an emphasis on "the construction of equal and stronger Japan-U.S. relations," and as party policy, supports revisions of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement and the transfer of the Futenma U.S. air base to a location outside Okinawa Prefecture, specific avenues of negotiation on these issues had yet to be established. Tanioka's appointment on Dec. 11 was designed to raise the number of staff working to create a relationship with Barack Obama's new administration.

There has been increasing contact between the DPJ and the U.S. since Obama's election in November. In most instances, the U.S. side made visits to DPJ officials specializing not only in security issues -- which had been common in the past -- but also those with expertise in environmental, agricultural, and economic issues. The DPJ, in turn, explained the party's policies, such as the proposed plan for income compensation for individual farming households.

"The U.S. probably wants to open avenues of negotiation on various topics," said a senior official in the DPJ's International Bureau. "But their main focus appears to be the issue of Afghanistan."

(Mainichi Japan) December 29, 2008

SKorean opposition ordered to end occupation of parliament

Dec 29 02:05 AM US/Eastern

The head of South Korea's parliament ordered opposition legislators Monday to end their sit-in by midnight so major bills can be passed, warning them not to force him to take "extreme measures."

However the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) rejected the demand from Speaker Kim Hyong-O, setting the stage for more battles inside the assembly.

"The year must not pass without settling bills which will relieve the burden on the public," Kim told a press conference, saying a full session would be held on Wednesday to pass the legislation.

Photo: South Korean opposition party member try to enter a parliamentary committee room barricaded by ruling party legislators in Seoul on December 18. The head of South Korea's parliament ordered opposition legislators Monday to end their sit-in by midnight so major bills can be passed, warning them not to force him to take "extreme measures."

"I also ask the opposition party to empty the main chamber by midnight. Do not force me to take extreme measures."

Clashes involving sledgehammers and fire extinguishers broke out on December 18 when the conservative ruling Grand National Party (GNP) began procedures to ratify a free trade agreement with the United States.

Last Friday, opposition lawmakers barricaded themselves inside the main parliamentary chamber to thwart approval of the free trade agreement and other legislation.

"We are deeply ashamed at the Speaker for siding with the government and the ruling party. He has declared war on the opposition," DP spokesman Cho Jeong-Sik said in a statement, refusing to quit the chamber.

Photo: South Korean opposition party members try to enter a parliamentary committee room as ruling party members use a fire extinguisher in Seoul on December 18. The head of South Korea's parliament ordered opposition legislators Monday to end their sit-in by midnight so major bills can be passed, warning them not to force him to take "extreme measures."

The GNP had urged the Speaker to use his authority to set up a final vote. It has 172 seats in the 299-member legislature compared to 83 for the DP.

The ruling party insists that the free trade pact, signed by Seoul and Washington last year but awaiting ratification by both legislatures, should be approved before the end of this year.

It sees the pact as necessary to stimulate the slowing economy and believes that approval by Seoul will encourage the US Congress to move faster.

The opposition says South Korea should not ratify it until the US Congress also moves to do so.

Photo: South Korean opposition party members use a fire hose as they try to enter a parliamentary committee room barricaded by ruling party members in Seoul on December 18. The head of South Korea's parliament ordered opposition legislators Monday to end their sit-in by midnight so major bills can be passed, warning them not to force him to take "extreme measures."

Business groups want early ratification, but Korean farmers are demanding more measures to protect them against cheaper imports.

For the United States, the deal with South Korea would be its biggest since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.

Some estimates say it could boost two-way trade, worth 78.4 billion dollars last year, by up to 20 billion dollars in coming years.

Other controversial bills which the ruling party wants approved this year include a measure to allow large businesses and big newspapers to acquire a stake in local broadcasters.

The rival parties are also wrangling over planned tax cuts and looser regulations on industrial conglomerates' ownership of banks.

The DP also said a bill to increase penalties for libel on the Internet is aimed at gagging web users critical of the conservative government.

Bureaucrats stiff-arm Aso / Prime minister's attempts to woo officials have little success

Yutaka Ito and Takeo Azuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Bureaucrats have started to keep the administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso at arm's length while making overtures to the largest opposition party in view of a possible change of administration.

Though Aso, whose approval ratings have plummeted, is desperately trying to recover his popularity with their backing, bureaucrats do not seem willing to cooperate. This situation shows that the relationship between politicians and bureaucrats is definitely changing.

On Saturday, though it was the first day of his winter vacation, Aso had lunch with Administrative Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka and other senior Foreign Ministry officials, and dinner with Administrative Vice Finance Minister Kazuyuki Sugimoto and his subordinates at Tokyo restaurants.

During lunch, Yabunaka described important issues that Japan must address immediately next year, namely, how to build a positive relationship with the administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who will take office on Jan. 20, and how to respond to the situation in Afghanistan, which has reached a crucial stage.

Aso responded positively to Yabunaka and other officials during the meeting.

A senior Foreign Ministry official described this sort of meeting as "extraordinary." It obviously symbolizes Aso's wish to improve his relationship with bureaucrats.

Aso has long insisted that he intends to fully utilize bureaucrats and try to "coexist" with them.

"Bureaucrats are neither my enemies nor my ministers'," Aso said in a policy speech immediately after his inauguration on Sept. 29. "Those who can't utilize bureaucrats aren't fit for the job of managing the government."

In this speech, he tried to emphasize his ability to take charge of the government by emphasizing how this differentiates him from the Democratic Party of Japan, which has the reputation of seeing bureaucrats as its enemy. He also tried to make clear that he has different views from former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Hidenao Nakagawa and Yoshimi Watanabe, former state minister in charge of administrative reform, who called for drastic administrative reform under the administrations of former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda.

However, contrary to Aso's hopes, the distance between him and bureaucrats seems to be widening. It was Aso himself who triggered this by appointing Masakatsu Okamoto, former chief of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry's general affairs department, as chief clerical secretary to the prime minister rather than choosing a Finance Ministry official, as is conventional.

"This disgraced the Finance Ministry--the 'ministry of ministries'--and it became the first ministry to move away from the administration," a senior official of a ministry said.

A former cabinet member said that the fiasco over the expected distribution of fixed-amount cash benefits and the abandonment of a plan to raise the tobacco tax were partly caused by the uncooperative attitude of the Finance Ministry.

"The Finance Ministry, which has been drawing up policy plans for the administration of the day, keeps itself at a distance [from the administration]," the former cabinet member said.

The only way for Aso, who is fast losing centripetal force, to reconstruct the administration is to "do more to get his policy measures approved," an aide to the prime minister said.

In this regard, bureaucrats' cooperation is essential.

Aso on Thursday appointed Takaya Imai, former chief of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's general affairs department, as a secretary to the chief cabinet secretary. Imai was a secretary to the prime minister under the Abe administration. It is highly unusual for a former secretary to the prime minister to become a secretary to the chief cabinet secretary.

However, observers say this is also one of the tactics adopted by the Aso administration to compensate for his inability to coordinate opinions between the Prime Minister's Office and government entities.

However, a senior ministry official said, "It's no use presenting new policy ideas," as bureaucrats "see the Prime Minister's Office as being in disorder."

The ruling and opposition parties are expected to lock horns over the fiscal 2008 second supplementary budget and other issues from the beginning of the ordinary Diet session to be convened on Jan. 5.

Ministries and agencies are holding back on presenting new bills to the session.

"They can't repeatedly have bills [passed at the House of Representatives but rejected at the House of Councillors] passed with a second vote at the lower house using the two-thirds majority," an official said.

Taking advantage of the weakness of the Aso administration, which has lost control of ministries and agencies, bureaucrats have started to act for their own entities' interest.

The government's decentralization promotion committee has advised the prime minister that the workforce at the central government's local offices should be reduced by about 35,000, in its proposal on the expected integration and abolition of such entities. But committee members say lawmakers lobbying for related government entities and their bureaucrats are trying to cripple the proposal.

Also, Foreign and Defense Ministry officials are concerned that the situation may affect the nation's diplomacy, defense and other fundamental issues.

"Diplomacy and other fundamental issues won't make headway until after the [next general] election and a new government is in place," a senior government official said. "Also, bureaucrats won't cooperate fully [until then]."

===

DPJ eyes overhaul of bureaucracy

The DPJ would place bureaucratic reform at the top of its list of priorities if it takes over the reins of power.

DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa announced his plans for the reform of officialdom during his unopposed campaign for the main opposition party's leadership election in September.

His plans include the appointment of more than 100 Diet lawmakers in government positions, such as senior vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The party would not follow the LDP's practice of selecting senior vice ministers and other top government officials based on the recommendations of party factions.

"We'll compile an expert team of politicians by entrusting cabinet ministers with the power to appoint officials such as senior vice ministers," a senior official of the party's Policy Research Committee said.

Hard-liners in the party, aiming to "grant politicians control over policy and quell opposition from bureaucrats," say they would not hesitate to swiftly fire bureaucrats that did not toe the line.

The DPJ also plans to put an end to meetings of administrative vice ministers prior to cabinet meetings, in which ministries and agencies iron out differences in opinion over the content of bills.

The party would also abolish the practice of amakudari, in which retired bureaucrats parachute into lucrative positions in industries they previously oversaw.

Central government ministries and agencies are wary of the DPJ's plans.

One senior Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying that it would have been better for the party to keep mum.

With a switch to a DPJ administration in the next lower house poll a distinct possibility, a shift toward treating the DPJ in the same way as a ruling party has begun.

Aso's Cabinet approved the government's draft state budget for fiscal 2009 on Wednesday. The same day, a secretary of a senior DPJ lawmaker received explanatory materials on the budget from a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official who visited one of the Diet members office buildings.

"I had no previous contact with the health ministry," the secretary said, unable to conceal surprise. "It seems as if government offices are also making contingency plans."

More ministries and agencies are sending officials at the level of councillors, rather than those at section chief level, to perform the role of a mouthpiece to DPJ lawmakers.

(Dec. 29, 2008)

Govt, U.S. to sign accord on relocation of marines

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The government and the United States will soon sign an accord over the relocation of U.S. marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam that will include a clause prohibiting Japan's financial contribution to the relocation from being used for other purposes, according to government sources.

The accord aims to gain public approval by clarifying how much money Japan will contribute, and how it will be used. A substantial sum of money is expected to be needed for the relocation.

The two governments plan to sign the accord early next year, the sources said.

After the signing, the government will submit a bill to seek Diet approval of the accord during the next ordinary Diet session.

The draft of the accord stipulates that the Japanese government's direct contribution to the relocation be up to 2.8 billion dollars, in line with a 2006 agreement between the two countries.

The draft obliges the U.S. side not to use Japan's contribution for other purposes, and that it treat equally all concerned entities, including Japanese companies, in tenders and other project procedures.

A plan for the realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan, which the two governments agreed upon in May 2006, aims to move about 8,000 marines and about 9,000 dependents to Guam by 2014.

Japan promised to provide 6.09 billion dollars in financial aid to the relocation, including the 2.8 billion dollars direct contribution, to be used for new facilities and infrastructure in Guam.

(Dec. 29, 2008)

Stop US Low-flight Exercises in Japan

12-28-08, 10:39 am
By Akahata

Sonic booms from low-altitude flight training exercises conducted by US military aircraft are disturbing residents across Japan and causing growing concerns about possible plane crashes.

The number of the low-flight exercises is said to have decreased. However, residents are still complaining in Hokkaido, some prefectures in northeast Japan, Gunma, and Nagano prefectures as well as in mountain areas in the southwestern region that includes Hiroshima Prefecture, plus Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture.

The recent FA-18D Hornet crash that killed residents in the United States added fear among residents in these regions.

If the safety of residents is to be ensured, a halt to low-altitude flight exercises is indispensable. No attempt simply to “minimize adverse impacts” will be effective.

Flying at an altitude below 150 meters

US military aircraft flying at high speeds are buzzing the ground while scattering the area with thunderous noise. Their shock waves actually break the widows of buildings. After appearing suddenly, they leave behind sonic booms that could cause “heart attacks” to residents. How can residents live in peace under such circumstances?

At the House of Councilors meeting on April 18, Japanese Communist Party representative Nihi Sohei demanded that the government take effective measures to stop the US low-flight exercises.

Defense Minister Ishiba Shigeru responded by saying, “After being exposed to the thunderous noise, I myself shared the great fear expressed by local people concerned.” If he really shared the fear, why did he leave the matter unchecked?

Alleging that their lawless flights in Japan are in accordance with domestic laws, the government has made no effort to regulate such flights. Many witnessed US warplanes flying below the altitude of 300 meters over densely populated areas and as low as about 150 meters in other areas, which is in violation of the Aviation Law.

While the Japanese government kept on ignoring the testimonies of witnesses, the US Forces in Japan officially replied to the Tokushima Prefectural Government last August that US aircraft were flying below the 150-meter level over non-densely populated areas.

Ignoring local requests, the government has made no inquiry into these illegal flights.

The government must stop accepting the low-flight exercises by foreign troops and take urgent steps to address residents’ concerns.

The government gives priority to low-flight exercises over the safety of residents because it has determined that nothing is more important than the Japan-US Security Treaty.

The government went so far as to say that maintaining and improving US air force pilots’ maneuverability skills through low-flight exercises is “essential for maintaining US forces’ operational capabilities in a state of readiness.

Low-flight exercises are not meant to ensure Japan’s safety. They are designed to meet the US strategy of launching preemptive strikes as part of the US military intervention policy anywhere in the world.

The low-flight exercises are intended to help pilots to increase their skill to access to enemy targets and strike them while avoiding radar detection in enemy areas.

How can Japan allow the US to continue such low-flight exercises to enhance their capabilities in lawless wars?

Negotiation with US is necessary to stop low-flight exercises

In the light of the Constitution safeguarding the right of the people to live in peace, how can it be allowed to expose residents to the possible danger of crashes of U.S. aircraft and rob them of their right to live in peace?

It is very arrogant for Nishimiya Shin’ichi, the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s North American Bureau director, to state at the House of Representatives committee on National Land and Transportation on December 14 that “Japan should be careful in requesting the US to suspend their low-flight exercises in Japan.”

It is high-time for the Japanese government to reconsider its subservience to the United States, and carry out negotiations with the US so that their low-flight exercises be discontinued.

Japanese Newspapers :: Sunday, December 28, 2008

Daily Yomiuri Online  Click

• Govt likely to drop plan to procure F-22 planes
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 28, 2008)
  The government likely will drop its plan to introduce the U.S.-made F-22 Raptor stealth fighter to replace its aging F-15 fleet, and will instead concentrate on three other potential candidates, government sources said Saturday. continued ...


• Govt releases Takeshima book in 7 new languages
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 28, 2008)
  The Foreign Ministry has published a booklet on Japan's territorial claim over the disputed Takeshima group of islets in seven more languages to raise international awareness of Japan's stance on the issue. continued ...


• Japan lagging in international piracy fight
  (Daily Yomiuri Online) (Dec. 28, 2008)
  Shozo Nakayama Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
  Prime Minister Taro Aso's order to Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday to thrash out details of a possible deployment of Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to pirate-infested waters off Somalia has brought such a mission a step closer. continued ...

The Asahi Shimbun  Click

The Japan Times  Click

• Japan sent uranium to U.S. in secret
  (The Japan Times) Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008
  Enough highly enriched U.S. uranium to make about 20 nuclear weapons was sneaked back to the United States from Japan over a 12-year period until last summer in a secret operation aimed at keeping it out of terrorists' hands, a senior U.S. official and Japanese specialists recently revealed. continued ...

The Mainichi Daily News  Click

FOCUS: Japanese defense issues, mired in scandal, face tests as Obama enters

Dec 27 08:40 PM US/Eastern

(AP) - TOKYO, Dec. 28 (Kyodo) — Another year has gone in which the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces have been dragging their feet amid a series of scandals and misdeeds involving their personnel.

But as they enter 2009 -- and the new U.S. administration led by Barack Obama enters the scene -- they face uncertainties over how the new U.S. leader will approach Japan-U.S. security relations.

Among the challenges they may face is a possible ground mission in Afghanistan, which Obama, the incoming commander in chief of U.S. forces, says he will focus on in the "war on terror."

A U.S. ally, Japan has forces committed only to a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean as part of the antiterrorism campaign, now that it has ended its Iraq mission involving air and ground defense forces.

The possible Afghan deployment presents Tokyo with a dilemma given the need to ensure the safety of SDF personnel and unresolved questions over the legality of SDF involvement in the antiterrorism campaign under the war-renouncing Constitution, especially if it may entail combat.

"I can't deny the possibility of (the SDF) getting involved in combat activities (in Afghanistan). That is problematic under the Constitution," Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a Diet session in October.

The Constitution also places legal restrictions on SDF activities, such as limits on the use of weapons overseas.

Defense officials say Afghanistan is far more dangerous than Iraq, where Japanese ground and air troops were deployed for nearly five years without a single loss of life, and fear that potential casualties would shake both SDF personnel and the Japanese people.

Still, "We cannot remain idle for so long without playing any new role," while Washington keeps the pressure on Tokyo to do more, a senior ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

As piracy activities intensified in waters off Somalia, concerns grew over the safe passage of commercial ships in the region, where several vessels related to Japan have fallen victim to pirates this year.

Japan soon began considering the utilization of SDF ships or patrol aircraft to join warships from other countries, including those from the United States and several countries from the European Union, to protect ships from bandits in the waters.

There has been a temporary lull in the move, however, after government officials and lawmakers began favoring the passage of a general law to enable such an overseas dispatch.

The enactment of such a law remains uncertain given the logjam in the opposition-controlled House of Councillors, whereas a special law that would limit the area of operations might be enacted more easily.

China's recent dispatch of warships to the region to combat pirates in concert with other countries added to concerns among defense officials and politicians that Japan may be left outside the circle.

"Now is the time to send the SDF. If we fail to do so by the end of January, the momentum will be lost," said the same senior official, who favors a special law for the mission.

In the past week or so, government officials and lawmakers have begun warming to the idea of applying existing maritime policing rules under the SDF law to the mission, if only on the grounds that it would be quicker to dispatch the forces.

A top defense official notes, however, that problems abound with such a solution.

"All the SDF can do (under the rules) is to protect Japanese ships. There are also limits on the use of weapons, but will that be all right? We have no choice but to be negative" about a dispatch under the rules, he said on condition of anonymity.

Maritime policing, which was first applied in 1999 against North Korean spy ships in Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan, also assumes operations in waters around Japan, not waters thousands of miles away.

A relative lack of interest in the piracy issue among the Japanese people does not seem to have helped the drive at a time when economic issues remain the topic of the day.

Meanwhile, the ministry and the SDF were put on the defensive over the robustness of civilian control of the forces due to a controversy involving former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami.

In an essay, the outspoken Tamogami argued that Japan was a benevolent colonial ruler and not an aggressor in other Asian countries, sparking an instant uproar that cost him the job of top ASDF officer.

As head of an academy for ranking officers, Tamogami had also started a course on "views on history and the nation" in 2003 and invited some lecturers who serve as executives of a group that edited a history textbook whitewashing Japan's militaristic past.

The scandal came at a sensitive moment for the ministry as it eyes strengthening the authority of ranking officers over SDF operations and weakening that of civilian bureaucrats in ministry reforms.

Critics fear that the Tamogami case has cast a cloud over the assumption of a government panel report on which the reform plans were based. The report, issued in July, claims that "civilian control has been nearly internalized by the SDF."

"If authority over SDF operations is transferred from the suit-clad group to the uniform-wearing group, there will be no more civilian control," opposition Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima recently told reporters, referring to bureaucrats and officers.

On Dec. 23, the Defense Ministry unveiled its basic policy on the ministry reform but ended up toeing the line recommended by the panel report, which was issued before the Tamogami case surfaced.