Japanese patrol aircraft on antipiracy mission arrive in Djibouti

May 31 05:52 AM US/Eastern

DJIBOUTI, May 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Two Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C aircraft on an antipiracy mission landed Sunday at an airport in Djibouti, where they will be based during their first overseas mission.

Following some training, the aircraft will start patrolling from mid- June in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia and convey relevant information to the MSDF destroyers that have been patrolling there since March as well as Japanese-related vessels and other navy vessels in the area.

The dispatch of the P-3Cs will complete Japan's antipiracy scheme to patrol from both sea and air, according to the Self-Defense Forces.

The air patrol operations involve about 100 MSDF personnel, including the P-3C's crew and engineers and about 50 Ground Self-Defense Force members who guard the aircraft at the airport.

Japan sent some 40 members as an advance team on May 18 and dispatched the aircraft with 36 members on Thursday. Other members have already arrived at Djibouti on chartered aircraft.

Helicopters from two Japanese destroyers are currently patrolling the gulf, but the MSDF decided to send the P-3Cs, given their greater flying range and longer flight time.

Over 120 pirate incidents have occurred in waters off the coast of Somalia this year, and more than 20 countries have sent their navies to the region to counter the increase.

Hatoyama hints at submitting censure motion against Aso

May 31 05:46 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama indicated Sunday his party may submit a censure motion or nonconfidence motion against Prime Minister Taro Aso, if the premier opts to forgo a general election until August.

"We will discuss (the possibility of a censure motion) with the party leadership when it reaches a critical stage," Hatoyama told reporters in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture.

Within the DPJ, the largest opposition party, lawmakers have floated a strategy of pressing Aso to dissolve the House of Representatives by adopting a censure motion against Aso at the opposition-controlled House of Councillors if he refuses to dissolve the lower house after passing key legislation bills.

Hatoyama also criticized a series of recent remarks by senior lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party backing the idea of holding a general election in August.

"As the extra budget for fiscal 2009 was enacted, the government could do all they wanted to," he said. "There is plenty of time to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a general election. There is no logical reason to postpone it until August."

The lower house election must be held by October, as terms of its members are set to expire Sept. 10.

Japan-U.S. nuke accord kept secret from all but few PMs: ex-Vice FMs

May 31 05:28 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 31 (AP) - (Kyodo) — A secret accord between Japan and the United States regarding the handling of nuclear weapons has been controlled by top Foreign Ministry officials and only a handful of prime ministers and foreign ministers were informed of the fact, four former top ministry officials recently told Kyodo News.

All of the four served as vice foreign minister, the top bureaucratic post at the ministry. A limited number of former premiers who had been told of the secret pact include Ryutaro Hashimoto and Keizo Obuchi, they said.

In revising the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1960, the two allies also exchanged a secret agreement under which Tokyo would give tacit approval on the stopover of U.S. military aircraft or vessels carrying nuclear weapons.

Although the secret deal itself has already become known to the public by declassification of U.S. diplomatic documents in the late 1990s, the Japanese government, which has stuck to three nonnuclear principles, has consistently denied the existence of such a secret deal between the two countries.

It is the first time for the four former top bureaucrats at the Foreign Ministry who were involved in the handling of the secret accord to admit that some prime ministers and foreign ministers knew about it.

The revelation by the four may shatter the government's longstanding position on the matter and require it to be held accountable to the public.

The bilateral security treaty stipulates that the United States needs to hold a prior consultation with Japan to bring nuclear weapons into Japanese territory. When the security pact was revised, Washington construed that such a requirement should only apply to the deployment of nuclear weapons on land and stopovers of aircraft and vessels with such weapons were not bound by prior consultation, the former top ministry officials said.

The administration of then Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, who inked the revised security pact, acquiesced to the U.S. interpretation.

However, the administration of Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda told the Diet that stopovers of U.S. military vessels with nuclear weapons are subject to a prior consultation with the Japanese government.

Fearing that the secret deal on nuclear weapons might be ruined, then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin Reischauer met with then Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira in April 1963 and asked for confirmation of the U.S. interpretation on stopovers.

Although Ohira knew about the secret pact for the first time by the ambassador's request, the foreign minister approved the deal with the U.S. interpretation.

According to the four former top Foreign Ministry officials, these diplomatic exchanges and processes were recorded in Japanese in the ministry's in-house document and have been controlled by the North American Affairs Bureau and then Treaties Bureau -- now the International Legal Affairs Bureau.

One of the four told Kyodo News he saw the documents and handed down the matter to his successor. "It was a great secret," he said.

Another of the four said the Foreign Ministry only informed politicians who the ministry saw as trustworthy, which included Hashimoto and Obuchi.

Another of the four also said that Foreign Ministry officials had decided who among prime ministers and foreign ministers should be told about the secret deal, suggesting bureaucrats had controlled the top- secret matter, not politicians.

In a written comment to Kyodo News, the Foreign Ministry denied such a secret deal on the handling of nuclear weapons between Japan and the United States.

Since the introduction of nuclear weapons to Japanese soil requires a prior bilateral consultation and there has never been such a consultation, the government does not suspect that nuclear weapons have ever been brought into Japan.

Japanese ambassador apologizes to POWs

10:33 PM CDT on Saturday, May 30, 2009

Chris Sadeghi, KENS 5


Reaction to apology mixed among veterans

Japanese ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki appeared at the Omni Hotel on Saturday to issue and apology to 67 American POWs for the treatment they received as prisoners in Japan during World War II. The Bataan Death March Veterans were holding their 64th and final convention.

Reading a prepared statement, Fujisaki said “We extend a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering.” He expressed condolences for those who lost their lives in war and said Japan must learn from the past in developing their new friendship with the United States.

Many of the veterans in attendance sat in the front row for the statement, and the reaction was mixed. Some said they can finally put a piece of their lives behind them, while others did not think the apology was sincere.

Video
May 30th, 2009
Japanese ambassador apologizes to POW's - Veterans had mixed reactions to the ambassador's apology for Japanese wartime atrocities

http://www.kens5.com/video/?nvid=366826

Japan Apologizes for Bataan Death March

By VIJA UDENANS

SAN ANTONIO, May 30, 2009 —

Ambassador Speaks to Last 73 American Survivors of the March

The Japanese ambassador to the United States apologized in person today to the 73 surviving POWs of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines in April 1942 during World War II.

"We extend a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people including prisoners of war, those who have undergone tragic experiences in the Bataan peninsula the Corregidor Island, Philippines and other places," Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki said at the last convention of the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor POWs of the Japanese during World War II.

Sixty-seven years after the Japanese captured and force-marched 12,000 Americans and 68,000 Philippines from the island of Corregidor to northern Luzon, denying them food and water, and killing the stragglers, the country apologized.

The ambassador said he was speaking for the government of Japan as he apologized.

"I would like to express my deepest condolences to those who have lose their lives to the war and after the war and their family members," he said.

It is estimated that the Japanese killed nearly 1,000 Americans and more than 10,000 Philippine soldiers on the march. When news of the march reached the United States, it enflamed the anger against the Japanese, which was already high because of the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the country into the war.

Lester Tenney, 88, former staff sergeant of the Army's 192nd Tank Division survived to write a book about the wartime injustice, called "My Hitch in Hell."

As president of the American Defenders of Bataan & Corregidor POWs of the Japanese during World War II, he made it his mission to pursue an apology from the Japanese government for the brutal treatment during that 12-day, 86-mile march in which stragglers were bayoneted and their bodies tossed by the roadside. Last November, while in Washington, D.C., to commemorate Veterans Day, he received a call from the Japanese ambassador, who asked him to visit his residence and relate his request.

Tenney described to him the tortuous experiences that he and his comrades had endured.

The ambassador took Tenney's request to his government and wrote a letter of apology. Upon receipt of the letter, he was invited to deliver it in person to annual gathering.

This will be the last time the POWS will host the gathering, the group has said. Their families, the Descendants Group will take on the memorial mission in the future.

Speaking to reporters after the ambassador's remarks to the POWs, Tenney said he "feels good" about his efforts.

He compared finally receiving the apology to "going 15 rounds in a fight and knocking out your opponent."

Whatever Tenney's feelings about his Japanese captors during the war, today he said he admired the ambassador.

"It takes an great amount of courage to come in the lion's den" and to express the Japanese point of view, Tenney said.

Fujisaki ended his remarks,

"Today Japan and U.S. are the closest friends, best allies. But we should always keep in our minds that this good relations, this status of past experience and efforts," Fujisaki said. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are committed to carry on the torch to our future generations of this excellent and irreplaceable friendship and relations."

Japanese ambassador apologizes to ex-POWs

May 30 10:48 PM US/Eastern

WASHINGTON, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — The Japanese ambassador to the United States directly offered an apology Saturday to a group of World War II veterans who were prisoners of the Imperial Japanese Army in the Philippines.

"We extend a heartfelt apology for our country having caused tremendous damage and suffering to many people," Ambassador Ichiro Fujisaki said before some 400 people attending an annual assembly, held in San Antonio, Texas, of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor.

A representative of the group, consisting of former U.S. servicemen who fought against Japan's now-defunct army on the island of Corregidor and Bataan Peninsula on Luzon island, said he thinks it was "honorable" of the ambassador to attend the assembly and directly offer the Japanese government's official apology to the former prisoners.

He also expressed hope that the Japanese government will facilitate plans for the former prisoners and their relatives to visit Japan.

Japan Times :: Sunday, May 31, 2009

• 4. OPINION - TOM PLATE :: Why isolate a global pariah even further?
  May 31, 2009
  By TOM PLATE
  LOS ANGELES — On the question of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known as (a) North Korea, (b) notorious charter member of former U.S. President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" and (c) pain-in-the-neck threat to world peace and stability, here are a few humble observations in light of the fact that, basically, no one really knows what to do about North Korea, including China: continued ...


• 10. THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK - HIROAKI SATO :: Japan's wartime sentiment toward China
  May 31, 2009
  By HIROAKI SATO
  NEW YORK — What were the Japanese saying when their country plunged into a war in 1937 that would last eight years and end in utter defeat?
  The question came to mind when I stumbled on "Showa 12 Nen no 'Shukan Bunshun' " (Bungei Shunju, 2007), an anthology of excerpts from a popular periodical from that turning point that includes opinions of its readers. There was little surprise in what I found: the Japanese reacted just as Americans did when, say, President George W. Bush took his country to war with Iraq in 2003. continued ...


• 14. NATIONAL NEWS :: Don't push on isles issue: Medvedev
  May 31, 2009
  MOSCOW (Kyodo) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Friday that any attempts by Japan to raise questions about Russia's sovereignty over four disputed islands off Hokkaido would not help the two countries conclude a bilateral peace treaty. continued ...


• 18. NATIONAL NEWS - WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH :: Kin of Aso mine workers demand apology
  May 31, 2009
  Son of ex-POW says Aso should set an example, do the honorable thing for prisoners forced to toil at dad's mine
  By WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH, Kyodo News
  LONDON — Campaigners are calling on Prime Minister Taro Aso to apologize to and compensate the families of British men who were forced to work at a mine owned by Aso's father during World War II.
  They are also urging the prime minister to resign because they feel he failed to acknowledge for several years his family firm's role in the use of slave labor, despite evidence to the contrary in the United States. continued ...


• 20. NATIONAL NEWS :: Japan, U.S. ignore North's nukes, hold trilateral defense talks with Seoul
  May 31, 2009
  SINGAPORE (Kyodo) Japan and the United States do not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power despite its recent nuclear and missile tests, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said after bilateral talks Saturday with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. continued ...


• 34. BOOK REVIEWS - JEFF KINGSTON :: The violence specialists of Japanese politics
  May 31, 2009
  By JEFF KINGSTON
  RUFFIANS, YAKUZA, NATIONALISTS: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860-1960, by Eiko Maruko Siniawer. New York: Cornell University Press, 2008, 269 pp., $39.95 (cloth)
  Japanese voters are frustrated because even if they throw the bums out of office, they know the opposition is much the same. These days money is the root of political scandals and influence buying, but here we examine how violence became institutionalized in Japan's politics from the first parliamentary elections in 1890 with devastating consequences for democracy. continued ...


• 48. EDITORIAL :: Creation of a consumer agency
  May 31, 2009
  By a unanimous vote, the Upper House of the Diet has enacted bills to create a government agency to promote consumers' rights. A consumer agency is likely to be established by this fall at the earliest. The agency should strive to realize the ideal of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who in April 2008 proposed its establishment by calling for a change in the government's stance — from the producer-first principle to the consumer-first principle. continued ...

Aso still cagey on timing of dissolution

Shinichi Murao / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

The ruling coalition's apparent desire to prolong the current Diet session for an extended period reflects a raft of calculations by the ruling parties concerning the most propitious time for dissolving the House of Representatives.

Asked by reporters about a lower house dissolution Friday evening at the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Taro Aso did not hide his irritation.

"You know, I've been telling you the same thing over and over again concerning a [lower house] dissolution--I'll make a decision while taking various factors into consideration," Aso told reporters.

According to sources, Aso's basic strategy is to dissolve the lower house immediately before or after the Group of Eight major nations' summit meeting scheduled for July in Italy, after achieving key political goals such as passing the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget and related bills, the antipiracy bill, and other important bills. He is still sticking to this strategy, the sources say.

Aso had been buoyed by rising Cabinet approval ratings after a state-funded secretary to the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan's then President Ichiro Ozawa was indicted over an illegal political donation scandal involving Nishimatsu Construction Co. in March.

Under Aso's strategy, the most likely scenario is a lower house dissolution between late June and late or mid July, and a general election on Aug. 2 or Aug. 9. Aso's close aides said he had been thinking of ending the current Diet session on July 18, because the only possible Sunday for general election balloting due to the expiration of lower house members' terms in office would be Aug. 16, if the Diet session is ended July 19 or later, as stipulated by the Public Offices Election Law.

"Aso wanted to demonstrate that [only] he has the authority to dissolve the lower house," Aso's close aide said.

However, Aso fell behind DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama in opinion polls on which of the two men is better equipped to serve as prime minister. The polls, conducted immediately after Hatoyama succeeded Ozawa in May, scuppered expectations among the ruling bloc that Hatoyama, whom it perceived as Ozawa's puppet, would be easy to handle.

Also, though Aso carefully prepared for the Wednesday debate with Hatoyama, many experts called it as a draw. On Thursday, Aso said he was not sticking to an idea to split and restructure the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry as he had envisioned. Some ruling bloc members feared the remark might prompt the public to remember Aso's past inconsistencies when speaking about flat-sum cash benefits and other issues.

In light of this, an increasing number of ruling bloc members are pessimistic about future approval ratings for Aso's Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party. There are no longer any calls for an early lower house dissolution to allow a general election and the Tokyo metropolitan assembly poll to be held on the same day or dates close to each other. The Tokyo election is scheduled for July 12.

"We can't properly contest the [lower house] election even if the balloting is conducted in early August," a ruling bloc member said.

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an LDP member who had not rejected the idea of holding the general election and the Tokyo ballot on the same day, heard LDP junior lawmakers insist that Aso should not dissolve the lower house at an early stage. Abe apparently accepted the calls, reportedly saying, "There are many difficulties concerning a same-day vote."

New Komeito, which does not want the two elections held close to each other, is calling on Aso to hold the general election in late August or even later.

"The two elections should be a month or more apart," a New Komeito senior member said.

New Komeito apparently thinks it cannot expect good results in the general election at a time when criticism of the prime minister is rising.

Considering such a situation, many lawmakers presume the ruling bloc is trying to use the prolonged extension of the Diet session as an excuse to postpone a lower house dissolution.

"It's shameful to greatly extend a Diet session to delay a dissolution just because it [the ruling bloc] can't find a convenient time and is trying to postpone it a long as possible for the sake of party interests," Hatoyama told reporters in the Diet Building on Friday.

The ruling bloc is determined to recover from setbacks by drawing up policies that will differentiate it from the DPJ, such as on social security and national security issues, in its manifesto for the next general election.

However, it is unclear whether the ruling bloc can come up with something more effective to bolster its election chances than the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, which until now has been its largest bargaining chip. Consequently, some ruling bloc lawmakers already have become quite pessimistic, saying they have no choice but to hope the public sees the supplementary budget as an effective economic recovery mechanism and that the opposition commits another "error," such as a possible misstep by Hatoyama or further damaging results from the Nishimatsu case.

If a dissolution does not take place in early August, it will make little difference in either the case of a general election resulting from a dissolution or one resulting from the natural expiration of the lower house members' term in office. As that term expires Sept. 10, a general election that is not preceded by dissolution would be possible on Aug. 11 or later. It is possible to dissolve the Diet after that date and hold a general election, but it is inevitable that such a scenario would create the impression among the public that Aso was unable to settle on a good time for a dissolution. If Aso wants to avoid the Obon holiday period, voting dates would be limited to Aug. 30 and Sept. 6. If so, the date will be nearer Sept. 30, when Aso's term as LDP president will expire. In light of this, some lawmakers have pointed out that moves within the party to drag Aso down may reignite.

===

Determining election day

If the Diet session is extended till early August or later, there will be only a few voting day options for a lower house election, regardless of whether the poll is a consequence of a lower house dissolution or the expiration of the term of members in the chamber.

Article 31 of the Public Offices Election Law stipulates that a general election should be held within 40 days of a dissolution of the lower house. If the lower house is dissolved at the end of the current Diet session in early August, the election is expected to be held on Aug. 23, Aug. 30, Sept. 6, or Sept. 13. If the lower house is dissolved on Sept. 10, when lower house members' terms expire, the vote will be held by Oct. 18.

If the prime minister decides not to dissolve the lower house, a move that will enable current lower house members to stay in office until Sept. 10, a general election has to be held 30 days before members' terms expire. The law also stipulates that a general election must be held sometime during a weeklong period occurring between 24 days and 30 days after the end of a Diet session, if the period in which the election has to be held coincides with a Diet session or during a 23-day period after the end of the session.

Prime Minister Taro Aso may decide to dissolve the lower house even if the timing means a dissolution is taking place because of the expiry of lawmakers' term of office.

If this occurs, however, the prime minister will be left with only a few polling day options, which will depend on the closing of the Diet session.

(May. 31, 2009)

INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD / Japan needs to define, refine 'national interest'

Shinichi Kitaoka / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun

"National interest" is a term that has been kept at arms' length in Japan since the end of World War II. In 1999, then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi set up the Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century. In one subcommittee, there was an argument over whether or not we should use the words "national interest." For my part, I said we should, but some members opposed the use of the expression. There was hesitance even among international relations specialists to touch on the subject.

Needless to say, such antipathy reflected the lingering strong memory of the prewar oppression of people's interests in the country in the name of national interest. There also was an opinion that national interest would conflict with people's interests. But we need to question, for example, whether the 1941 decision to enter into a war with the United States served the best interests of the nation. Of course, the answer is no. The decision was a catastrophic mistake in terms of both the interests of the state and the people. In contrast, the August 1945 decision to capitulate and end the war was consistent with the interests of both the state and the people. In other words, there is nothing wrong with the concept of national interest. People's interests, in most cases, are compatible with the national interest. What does matter in this context is what the national interest entails.

In this connection, it is important, first of all, to refrain from pursuing the interests of one's own country without consideration for those of other countries. It is true that the international community is a theater where countries compete with one another to realize their respective goals. However, countries are so closely interconnected today that it is important for them to cooperate with one another. This also is true of individuals--those who consider only their own narrow interests eventually lose out because they are not trusted or respected by other people.

The Obuchi-initiated commission used such expressions as "enlightened self-interest" or "open national interest." Indeed, it is essential to deal with international affairs--except for matters of vital interest to one's own country--flexibly on the basis of reciprocity by understanding and respecting each other's national interests.

===

Discern real from false

Next, it also is important to distinguish between real national interests and false national interests. Opinions expressed widely among the public do not necessarily translate into the national interest. An overwhelming majority of Japanese opposed the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth that formally ended the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War. When Yosuke Matsuoka, Japan's chief delegate to the League of Nations, declared the country's withdrawal from the world body in 1933, the Japanese public responded with thunderous applause.

None of those developments served the best interests of either the state or the people. Therefore, we should discern genuine national interests as against superficial or plausible interests. Likewise, it is not reasonable to pursue something with the "cost-to-profit" ratio standing at 100 to 1, for example. With regard to the disputed Takeshima group of islets, I think the Japanese stance is pertinent while the South Korean position is groundless. Nevertheless, I think few people would agree to settle the territorial issue if it meant wrecking the existing bilateral relationship.

It is not an appropriate policy approach if it takes a century to attain a goal. Recently, Shotaro Yachi, former administrative vice foreign minister, came under a barrage of criticism for suggesting the return to Japan of "3-1/2 islands" instead of the four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido. Given his former portfolio at the Foreign Ministry and his current post as a government envoy, he may deserve criticism for making inappropriate and ill-timed remarks, but I do not think we should stick to the idea of realizing the return of all four islands forever.

Generally speaking, Japanese people often tend to applaud those who insist on achieving a perfect result in negotiations even though they come to a self-defeating end. On the other hand, those who compromise and manage to attain about 80 percent of their goals are prone to be blamed at home for their failure to achieve everything they set out to do. In the case of self-defeating negotiation tactics, it is quite usual to fail to realize even 60 percent of a target, a situation that is not in the interests of the state.

===

Perfection enemy of the good

By the same token, if one seeks perfection in the field of security, the result will often jeopardize national interests. There is a saying that "perfection is the enemy of the good," and, in this respect, there are more than a few cases in which the government is unable to make a major decision in a timely manner or has to put it on the back burner because it is pursuing perfection.

Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers have finally been dispatched to the sea off Somalia on an antipiracy mission, while the Diet appears likely to pass a government-sponsored antipiracy bill. To reach this stage, Japan has spent a year since the United Nations began discussions on international measures against Somali pirates. The dispatch of MSDF destroyers to escort Japan-related ships, crews and cargo is appreciated by the rest of the world as an action that contributes to the maintenance of international order.

The presence of Japanese destroyers is effective in deterring piracy as few pirates would dare attack large naval vessels. In the event of an attack by pirates, MSDF personnel are permitted to counterattack by exercising their self-defense right. In reality, there have been almost no contentious points in regard to antipiracy activities, but a host of concerns have been raised.

In other security issues, every time the government comes close to going beyond its past policy frameworks, it tends to be warned that our neighbors will harbor fears about Japan's actions or that the government will contravene the Constitution. The issues in question here include the country's right to collective self-defense, its self-imposed strict restrictions on arms exports and the past policy of limiting defense spending within 1 percent of its gross domestic product. In discussing these issues, the type of "fear" and its extent should be specified. I think the way those issues have been dealt with has been more to the detriment of the nation than to its benefit. In other words, Japan has impaired its national interests by imposing restrictions on itself due to fears that in reality are virtually intangible.

===

Form grand coalition

National interest also is a vital notion in the sphere of domestic politics. Because the phrase "national interest" has not been used in postwar Japan, I think "ministerial interest" and "partial interest" have prospered. The agricultural industry is a good example. In Japan, quite a few households classified as farming households actually earn no income from farming and make no contribution as farmers to the nation. Yet they are entitled to take advantage of preferential taxes and other privileges available to farmers. Furthermore, such handsome protectionist measures in favor of farmers are causing Japan to lag behind other countries in implementing free trade agreements.

Similarly, the ongoing review of the way the law school system is configured includes a discussion on the possibility of lawyers losing jobs because of a possible increase in the number of new lawyers. Fostering lawyers of high ability is in the national interest, but there seems to have been little debate from a national interest viewpoint. We also should remember that only 30 percent of applicants taking national bar examinations pass, a system that forces young people with talent and enthusiasm to waste three to four years. Isn't this a serious loss to the country? Common to those discussions is the fact that a review of this system is being debated by people with vested interests. Gains and losses should be considered on the basis of national interest.

As is evident from the aforementioned cases, the role of specialists is important when national interest has to be adequately defined. At the same time, the role of the news media is especially vital as the media connect specialists and ordinary people.

But, in the sense that when a dog bites a man, it is not news, and when a man bites a dog, it is, the news media have a tendency to play up extreme opinions. There are two groups of news media. One lacks the sense to rectify the situation, while the other presents opinions in a balanced manner.

When publications deliberately carry extreme opinions, it is carrying democracy too far. I feel uneasy about the popularity of some weekly and monthly magazines as well as the so-called Net public. People tend to unleash their naked sentiments on the Internet without anticipating the consequences. In China, which does not have a free medium, the Net community serves as an alternative media that goes to extremes. Such a situation is extremely irresponsible and dangerous.

Today, it is important to mobilize middle-of-the-road voices-without going to extremes on the left or the right. However, in Japanese politics at present, the Liberal Democratic Party remains constrained by its ruling coalition partner, New Komeito, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan is similarly affected by the Social Democratic Party. As a result, extreme policies tend to be the norm, while centrist views go in one ear and out the other. This is why debates over the necessity of raising taxes continue to be stalled in spite of the serious fiscal situation and why the government has been unable to implement bold security policies as the security environment surrounding the country worsens.

We are in an emergency. Following the next House of Representatives election, the two largest parties should form a grand coalition or reach an agreement to work together to pursue commonsense policies with strong determination to overcome the emergency.

Kitaoka is a professor of Tokyo University. He served as Japanese ambassador to the United Nations between 2004 and 2006.

(May. 31, 2009)

Daily Yomiuri Online :: Sunday, May 31, 2009

• Aso still cagey on timing of dissolution (May.31) ★
  Shinichi Murao / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
  The ruling coalition's apparent desire to prolong the current Diet session for an extended period reflects a raft of calculations by the ruling parties concerning the most propitious time for dissolving the House of Representatives.
  Asked by reporters about a lower house dissolution Friday evening at the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Taro Aso did not hide his irritation.
  "You know, I've been telling you the same thing over and over again concerning a [lower house] dissolution--I'll make a decision while taking various factors into consideration," Aso told reporters. continued ...


• INSIGHTS INTO THE WORLD / Japan needs to define, refine 'national interest' (May.31) ★
  Shinichi Kitaoka / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun
  "National interest" is a term that has been kept at arms' length in Japan since the end of World War II. In 1999, then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi set up the Commission on Japan's Goals in the 21st Century. In one subcommittee, there was an argument over whether or not we should use the words "national interest." For my part, I said we should, but some members opposed the use of the expression. There was hesitance even among international relations specialists to touch on the subject. continued ...

4 U.S. stealth fighters arrive at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa

May 30 09:01 AM US/Eastern

NAHA, Japan, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Four U.S. F-22A Raptor stealth fighters landed Saturday at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for their deployment of about four months, with eight more scheduled to arrive on Sunday.

The deployment is the third of its kind following the recent assignment between January and April, raising concern among communities hosting the base about possible increase in noise.

The base said the deployment shows the United States' commitment to Japan and its determination to ensure stability and security in the Pacific region.

The 12 stealth fighters, from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, can evade radar detection and cruise at supersonic speeds.

In its past deployments to Kadena, the F-22A fighters engaged in joint exercises with fighter planes of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force.

Gates Outlines Administration’s Asia Security Strategy

By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press Service

SINGAPORE, May 30, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates opened the “Shangri-La Dialogue” Asia security summit here today outlining a broad set of regional security issues and promising continued support from the U.S. administration.

The annual conference gathers defense, senior military and other officials from across the region to discuss mutual security challenges.

“America has paid a significant price in blood and treasure to fight aggression, deter potential adversaries, extend freedom, and maintain peace and prosperity in this part of the world,” Gates said. “Our commitment to the region is just as strong today as it has ever been, if not stronger, since our own prosperity is increasingly linked with yours.”

Photo: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates (L) anwers questions from the floor at the 8th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on May 30, 2009. North Korea's nuclear weapons test could spark an arms race among its Asian neighbours which would have consequences on regional stability, Gates said.

Gates said the challenge now is to fashion defense policies that adapt to the new realities of the region. He cited the long-standing treaties with Japan and South Korea, both formed in the early years of the Cold War “when both nations were impoverished and virtually destroyed.” Now, Gates said, the countries are economic powerhouses with modern, well-trained and well-equipped military forces.

“They are more willing and able to take responsibility for their own defense and assume responsibility for security beyond their shores,” Gates said.

As a result, the United States is making adjustments in its policies to maintain a posture that is more like that of a partner, Gates said. South Korea will take the lead role in its own defense in 2012. The U.S. military presence in the Pacific is growing, Gates added, noting increased relationships with India and China.

The secretary said the changes represent a shift in the defense strategy in the region, placing more emphasis on building the capacity of its allies and less on solely conventional military deterrence. The shift will represent a more balanced mix of “soft” and “hard” power, he added, with military, diplomatic, economic and humanitarian elements integrated seamlessly.

“It is an approach intended to further strengthen and deepen security in the Pacific Rim through maintaining our robust military presence, but also through strengthened and deepened partnerships,” Gates said.

The secretary noted the unity in the global responses to the economic crisis, the threat of a pandemic flu and piracy. Despite occasional differences of opinion, he said, nations overall have come together to develop unified responses.

Gates said that stronger relationships among countries in the region are the key to facing security challenges such as piracy, weapons proliferation and terrorism, and that the U.S. administration promises a more collaborative and consultative foreign policy.

“What these challenges all have in common is that they simply cannot be overcome by one, or even two countries, no matter how wealthy and powerful,” Gates said. “While the United States has unparalleled capabilities, we also recognize that the best solutions require multiple nations acting with uncommon unity.”

Biographies:
Robert M. Gates

Related Sites:
Speech Transcript
The Shangri-La Dialogue

Related Articles:
Gates Calls North Korea’s Actions ‘Reckless, Ultimately Self-destructive’
Gates Downplays Rhetoric on North Korea

Senior LDP lawmakers expect general election in August

May 30 08:42 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Senior lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Saturday that they anticipate the next House of Representatives election to take place in August.

LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda told reporters in Toyama, central Japan, that he has the feeling the general election would be held "before or after the bon festival" in mid-August.

Yoshihide Suga, deputy chairman of the LDP's Election Strategy Council, said at a party meeting in Sapporo, "Prime Minister Taro Aso is starting to think a bit toward the direction that 'later is better.'"

Asked by a reporter after the meeting whether the election would be held in August or later, Suga said, "Based on common sense, that would be the case."

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also said separately in a speech in Sapporo that Aso is likely thinking of going to the people after being able to implement fully the government's stimulus measures through the passage of bills related to a fiscal 2009 extra budget, which cleared the Diet on Friday.

Although parliament passed the supplementary budget worth 13.93 trillion yen aimed at boosting the economy, related bills needed to implement the stimulus measures have yet to be approved.

A general election must be held by the fall as the terms of current lower house members expire in September.

S. Korea defense minister nixes military cooperation with Japan

May 30 03:33 AM US/Eastern

SINGAPORE, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — South Korean National Defense Minister Lee Sang Hee said Saturday he does not see Japan and South Korea pursuing close military cooperation in the near term to counter the nuclear threat from North Korea.

Lee, speaking on the second day of a three-day Asian security forum in Singapore, said military cooperation has been hindered in the past by "political and diplomatic factors."

But he said such cooperation would be possible if the two sides could resolve their differences over how to perceive events that transpired in the past involving the Korean and Japanese peoples.

"It is my belief that once we have a change in our historic perspectives we can build trust based on these exchanges, we can further strengthen the military cooperation between our two nations," he said at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"The factors that limit military cooperation between South Korea and Japan more than anything are political and diplomatic factors," he said in response to a question from the floor on whether it would be possible for the two sides to cooperate militarily in the wake of Pyongyang's second nuclear test.

Lee lamented that it has been difficult for the military leadership from the two sides to hold talks because "every time we attempted such discussions, there were some political statements that came out of Japan."

The South Korean government has called on Japan to "wholeheartedly reflect" on its actions in the past, to act on its past apologies made on several occasions, and prove in a clear manner that it has no intention of repeating them.

Successive Japanese administrations have supported a 1995 statement by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama stating Japan inflicted tremendous damage and suffering on Asian and other countries "through its colonial rule and aggression."

But last year, for example, then Japanese Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami was fired for denying in an essay that Japan waged a war of aggression in Asia, which prompted Seoul to accuse him of defending "past wrongdoings" by Japan.

Korea was a colony of Japan between 1910 and 1945.

In his speech earlier in the day, Lee had urged the U.N. Security Council to take "proper measures" against the North to compel it to give up its nuclear development while adding that Seoul would like to defuse the current escalation of tension peacefully.

He said his government "will work to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue peacefully with close consultations with members of the six- party talks (North and South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia) and the international community."

"We ask for your active support at the U.N. Security Council and for the international community to take proper measures against North Korea's wrongdoings, so that it could give up its nuclear developments and return to the 6-party-talks framework as soon as possible."

About 400 delegates, including defense ministers and chiefs, from some 27 nations are attending the forum. They include U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada.

Japan will never attack first, says Defence Minister Hamada

Posted: 30 May 2009 1335 hrs

SINGAPORE: Japan would not initiate any hostilities against North Korea but is ready to defend itself, its defence minister said Saturday amid international tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, speaking at a high-level security forum in Singapore, said Tokyo would be transparent with its military hardware purchases in order to prevent any misunderstanding with neighbours.

"We have mentioned that North Korea is a threat because of what has happened in the past but unless there are other countries moving to us, we will never start an action as such," Hamada told delegates at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue on security.

"In Japan, we have various and numerous constraints and internationally, we have also made clear that we do not use force in order to resolve conflict situations," he said.

He told the forum Tokyo was looking at a range of weapon procurements including the F-22 fifth-generation fighter aircraft but stressed these were "only for the defence of the country as such".

"So we would be making clear our intentions so that there is no room for misunderstanding and we will make sure that we will explain our intentions very clearly to other countries," he added.

Kim Jong-Il's North Korean regime said it staged its second atomic bomb test on Monday and renounced the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.

Pyongyang fired another short-range missile Friday and US satellite photos have revealed vehicle activity at two sites in North Korea, suggesting the regime may be preparing to launch a long-range missile, two US defence officials said on Friday.

Under its US-imposed 1947 pacifist constitution, Japan renounced using or threatening force in international disputes but it nonetheless has one of the world's best-funded militaries, the Self-Defence Forces (SDF).

The country's military has no aircraft carriers, long-range missiles or other weapons that would enable it to strike far beyond its shores.

- AFP/yt

Supplementary budget becomes law

May 30, 2009

A 13.9256 trillion yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2009, which will finance additional economic stimulus measures, has become law.

The opposition-controlled House of Councillors voted down the budget draft at a plenary session on Friday. However, the House of Representatives' earlier approval was recognized as the decision by the Diet under Article 60 of the Constitution.

The focus in the political situation has shifted to when Prime Minister Taro Aso will dissolve the powerful Lower House for a snap general election. "I'll make a final decision on the timing of dissolving the chamber at my own discretion after considering various factors," Aso told reporters.

Photo: Prime Minister Taro Aso, right, Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano, center, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, left, bow after the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget was enacted on Friday.

However, as the approval rating for the Aso Cabinet remains low, ruling coalition politicians have expressed concern that the prime minister will be forced to call a general election as the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) goes on the offensive.

The extra budget will finance the 15.4 trillion yen in additional measures to save the economy out of the recession. They include assistance to those who are not covered by the employment security insurance program, the so-called "eco-point" system designed to encourage consumers to switch to environment-friendly electrical appliances and expansion of special child-care allowances.

The Diet is deliberating on five of six bills to implement the supplementary budget, including one to revise the Development Bank of Japan Inc. Law.

The ruling coalition has agreed to extend the current Diet session, which is due to end on Wednesday, by more than 60 days to ensure that four of the five bills clear the Diet.

The coalition intends to pass them at a Lower House plenary session by Friday. However, if opposition parties delay deliberations on the bills in the Upper House they control, the bills cannot be passed into law in a second vote by the Lower House by a majority of two-thirds of its member present until after 60 days have passed since the Lower House's initial passage.

Under Article 59 of the Constitution, if the Upper House fails to vote on a bill 60 days after receiving it from the Lower House, it is determined to constitute a rejection of the bill by the Upper House, after which time the Lower House can vote on it a second time.

Prime Minister Aso will make a final decision on the extension of the Diet session after meeting with ruling coalition partner Komeito leader Akihiro Ota on Monday.

(Mainichi Japan) May 30, 2009

Aso's stray comments on splitting up ministry lack consideration

May 30, 2009

Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments on splitting up and reorganizing the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare are surprising. In the face of opposition to a split from his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Cabinet, Aso commented, "I was never particular about it from the outset."

Only recently Aso had given orders to consider splitting the ministry into a social security ministry and a ministry handling affairs relating to people's lives. His proposal came after Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the Yomiuri Shimbun group and editor-in-chief, proposed splitting up the ministry at a meeting of a government panel to realize a safe society, which Aso had organized. But now it seems that the Cabinet ministers concerned who began discussing the split this week have been left high and dry.

It goes without saying that the prime minister's comments carry weight. In order to issue instructions to consider splitting up the ministry, the prime minister must have an ideology relating to the government administration system, and he needs to be particular about it. It is hard to understand how he can say, "I was never particular about it." If he is criticized for lacking awareness as leader of the nation, he probably has no defense. He cannot escape blame for being imprudent.

If Aso is trying to split up and realign the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry -- which has been hit with criticism over lost pension records and its high-cost medical system for the elderly -- in order to set himself up against the opposition Democratic Party of Japan and gain popularity, he is getting his priorities wrong.

Eight years have passed since Japanese government ministries and agencies were reorganized in 2001, and it is apparent that making the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare such a huge organization has had both merits and demerits. But this does not apply to only the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. It is unclear why Aso ordered this ministry to be split up and reorganized. Consideration of further government ministry reorganization must include all ministries with a picture of the whole system; otherwise only confusion will result.

Aso's talk on splitting up the ministry was toned down by strengthened opposition from within the ruling parties. Aso also ordered officials to consider unification of kindergartens, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and nurseries, which are governed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, but opposition and criticism arose from within the LDP on the grounds that supporting groups' interests would become tangled up. Aso worked his own undoing by hastily trying to advance plans ahead of the general election without calculating the support each lawmaker would offer. This has unavoidably undermined Aso's leadership abilities and weakened his cohesive power.

If there are plans to go ahead with realignment of a government ministry, the prime minister must first stand clear as a leader, listen to the voice of the public and create a consensus.

Debate over plans to split up the ministry was seen in the government panel to realize a safe society. The representative of a nationwide group of plaintiffs in a case involving hepatitis infections caused by tainted blood products said, "It's regrettable that a split of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry that one panel member proposed was reported on and speculation spread that it was just a performance ahead of the House of Representatives election." In response, Watanabe said, "It's like I, as the editor-in-chief of a newspaper company, am being accused of taking advantage of party interests and pushing others around. I want the comment retracted."

What is in question is Aso's leadership. The prime minister should reflect on his stray comments, and reinitiate sweeping debate on the issue of reorganization of government ministries to decide on the shape of the nation.

Related articles

• Cabinet ministers at odds over how to split the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry

(Mainichi Japan) May 30, 2009

Mainichi :: Saturday, May 30, 2009

• Pension premium payments likely to sink to record low in fiscal 2008
  The rate of national pension premium payments in fiscal 2008 is likely to sink to a record low, below the current record low of 62.8 percent set in fiscal 2002, it has emerged.
  Figures released by the Social Insurance Agency on Friday showed that the payment rate for the 11 months between April 2008 and February 2009 stood at 61.5 percent.
  Pension payments fell from the latter half of last year due to the effects of the economic downturn, and it would be unlikely for payments to rise more than 1 percentage point over the remaining month. continued ...


• Bills to set up consumer affairs agency passed into law
  Three bills aimed at establishing a consumer affairs agency have been unanimously passed into law.
  The House of Councillors approved the bills at a plenary session on Friday after they were revised through negotiations between ruling and opposition parties. The new agency, which will oversee the entire consumer policy, will be set up in the autumn at the earliest.
  However, numerous issues remain unaddressed as the ruling coalition and opposition parties put priority on reaching a compromise and enacting the legislation at an early date. The chamber approved a 34-point nonbinding resolution urging that these issues be addressed at an early date. continued ...


• Supplementary budget becomes law ★
  A 13.9256 trillion yen supplementary budget for fiscal 2009, which will finance additional economic stimulus measures, has become law.
  The opposition-controlled House of Councillors voted down the budget draft at a plenary session on Friday. However, the House of Representatives' earlier approval was recognized as the decision by the Diet under Article 60 of the Constitution. continued ...


• Aso's stray comments on splitting up ministry lack consideration ★
  Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments on splitting up and reorganizing the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare are surprising. In the face of opposition to a split from his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Cabinet, Aso commented, "I was never particular about it from the outset." continued ...

Roos may have green-tech agenda

Saturday, May 30, 2009
By ERIC JOHNSTON
Staff writer

Despite lack of experience, Obama's pick for U.S. ambassador spun as apt for 'stable' Japan

OSAKA — John Roos, the lawyer President Barack Obama has picked as next U.S. ambassador to Japan, will likely emphasize closer public and private cooperation on developing clean and "green" technologies and take an interest in bilateral health care issues, U.S. sources close to him said Friday.

But while acknowledging the designated ambassador's wishes are likely to take a back seat to defense and regional security issues, especially given North Korea's recent actions, they also dismissed concerns over Roos' lack of Japan expertise.

The sources suggested such criticism was motivated partly by jealousy in certain quarters that Obama is appointing someone unknown rather than an established expert.

Roos, currently chief executive officer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a Silicon Valley law firm, was a surprise choice for ambassador. The Californian has little Japan experience and accepted the position after Harvard professor Joseph Nye, a well-known Asian expert, and several others, including former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, reportedly declined.

"Roos has overseen and managed a global, technology-focused law firm since 2005," the White House said in a press statement announcing Roos had been tapped for the ambassador's post.

"Throughout his tenure, he helped lead the firm during the various waves of innovation in Silicon Valley, from the growth of software and communications to the Internet Age, the emergence of biotechnology, to the present focus on clean technology and renewable energy," the statement read.

"Obama has said he admires Japan's green technologies, especially its auto and consumer electronics industries. Roos' experience and interest in these areas makes him a natural fit to pursue new initiatives with Japan," said a Washington-based U.S. government official with experience in Japan, who spoke anonymously because Roos' appointment hasn't been confirmed by the Senate yet.

"The problem for many bureaucrats, politicians and mainstream media in Washington and Tokyo is that green technology and health care are areas they have little or no expertise in. They can talk all day about defense cooperation, finance and trade issues involving autos and agriculture, but not on green technology investments or health care initiatives," the official said.

"And they're afraid they'll be out of the loop."

Tobias Harris, who runs Observing Japan, a blog on Japanese politics, says the selection of someone who is not a prominent Washington insider is a sign the Obama administration sees Japan as a normal nation, free of the kind of problems that plague relations with countries like China.

"Roos' appointment should not be treated as Japan's being downgraded, but as Japan's not being a problem for Washington," he said.

"Japan, not being the source of major problems for the U.S., does not require a high-profile troubleshooter as ambassador," Harris said.

Still, with North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches, Roos is likely to find that traditional geopolitical concerns will be at the top of the agenda, although he may wish to speak to Japan at length on things like new hydrogen batteries.

"(Green technology and health care) will not replace bread and butter issues. Roos' number one task is reassuring Japan's elites that the U.S. will meet its obligations to come to Japan's defense," Harris said.

"That message ultimately has less to do with the messenger (the ambassador) than the messenger's persistence, and the extent to which the messenger has the backing of the administration," he said.

In preparation for his new post, Roos has been consulting academic experts at Stanford University's Asia Pacific Research Center, one of the United States's top centers for research on Japan and East Asia, but far away from more traditional think tanks and academic experts in Washington and New York.

While Roos personally has little Japan experience, the law firm he heads, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, has done business with several Japanese companies over the years, drawing up agreements involving Toshiba Corp., Sanyo Electric Co. and Japan Tobacco Inc.

Obama's selection of Roos could also turn out to be a wise political choice in a few months, after Japan holds its Lower House election. Roos is a graduate of Stanford University, where he also got his law degree and remains active as an adviser.

An election victory by the opposition's Democratic Party of Japan, currently predicted by many pundits, means Roos will likely deal with new prime minister and fellow Stanford alumnus Yukio Hatoyama, who received a doctoral degree in engineering from the university.

Some Japanese media originally reported that Nye, the clear preference of many Japanese officials, had accepted the offer of the ambassador's post.

EDITORIAL :: End of 'hereditary lawmakers'?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Those who "inherit" campaign machines, political funds and electoral districts from a close relative are dubbed "hereditary lawmakers." While the practice has been going on for years, it now has become a red-hot issue.

The Democratic Party of Japan has decided to adopt a party rule that will prohibit new candidates from running in future elections if they fit the definition of a hereditary politician. By adopting this rule, the party apparently wants to deflect criticism of the party and former party leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa following the arrest of his chief aide in connection with alleged political donation irregularities.

The DPJ's move may have a positive effect on Japanese politics in the long run. According to Kyodo News, about 130 people who plan to run in the 300 single-seat constituencies in the coming Lower House election have parents or grandparents who were Diet members. About 110 of them have been elected from the same constituencies as their parents or grandparents — about 90 of them belong to the Liberal Democratic Party and about 20 are with the DPJ. Among them are Mr. Ozawa and former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda.

Politicians who "inherit" constituents, political machines and funds have a strong advantage in elections. But often they fail to develop tenacity and perseverance — an essential quality for politicians — because they didn't have to fight hard to get elected. And because they have lived privileged lives, they sometimes have difficulty understanding ordinary citizens' sentiments.

Now that the DPJ has adopted the new party rule, the LDP appears inclined to follow suit. If it does so before the coming Lower House election, the LDP would have to keep the second son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the eldest son of former Justice Minister Hideo Usui off the party ticket.

While it would be unconstitutional to make such a rule a law, internal efforts by parties to do so will help bring new blood into Japanese politics.

Japan Times :: Saturday, May 30, 2009

• 9. NATIONAL NEWS :: Consumer agency law is enacted
  May 30, 2009
  Kyodo News
  A law to form a new government agency to take charge of consumer affairs was enacted Friday with unanimous backing from the House of Councilors, paving the way for the body to be established as early as this fall.
  By setting up the agency, the government aims to improve the quality of its administrative functions, which are often vertically divided among several entities, and finally shift its emphasis on consumer affairs to the needs of consumers, rather than manufacturers.
  Japan is "particularly lagging behind in the area of consumer education," said Seiko Noda, state minister in charge of consumer affairs. "The real challenge comes later, and we need to catch up with other countries." continued ...


• 10. NATIONAL NEWS :: Lawmakers OK own 20% bonus cut
  May 30, 2009
  Kyodo News
  The Diet approved a 20 percent cut in legislators' summer bonuses Friday after the House of Councilors unanimously voted for a bill to amend a law regulating Diet members' expenses and allowances.
  Lawmakers, except the top and deputy posts in the two Diet chambers, will receive about ¥2.4 million this summer, down from approximately ¥3 million last year. continued ...


• 13. NATIONAL NEWS - MASAMI ITO and ALEX MARTIN :: Ruling coalition rams through record ¥14 trillion extra budget
  May 30, 2009
  
  By MASAMI ITO and ALEX MARTIN, Staff writers
  A record ¥14 trillion extra budget for fiscal 2009 was enacted by the Diet on Friday as the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc used its right to override the opposition again and force the legislation through.
  The opposition-controlled Upper House had rejected the extra budget earlier Friday, but Article 60 of the Constitution gives the Lower House the power to override the upper chamber to pass budgets, treaties and appointments of prime ministers. continued ...


• 15. NATIONAL NEWS - ERIC JOHNSTON :: Roos may have green-tech agenda ★
  May 30, 2009
  Despite lack of experience, Obama's pick for U.S. ambassador spun as apt for 'stable' Japan
  By ERIC JOHNSTON, Staff writer
  OSAKA — John Roos, the lawyer President Barack Obama has picked as next U.S. ambassador to Japan, will likely emphasize closer public and private cooperation on developing clean and "green" technologies and take an interest in bilateral health care issues, U.S. sources close to him said Friday.
  But while acknowledging the designated ambassador's wishes are likely to take a back seat to defense and regional security issues, especially given North Korea's recent actions, they also dismissed concerns over Roos' lack of Japan expertise. continued ...


• 17. NATIONAL NEWS - MASAMI ITO :: Aso's plan to split health ministry in trouble
  May 30, 2009
  By MASAMI ITO, Staff writer
  Prime Minister Taro Aso's plan to split the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in two has apparently failed amid protests from members of his Liberal Democratic Party, drawing his leadership ability into question once again.
  In mid-May, Aso proposed splitting the ministry so that one half could deal with social security issues, such as pensions, medical treatment and nursing care for the elderly, and the other could tackle issues like employment and the declining birth rate. continued ...


• 28. EDITORIAL :: End of 'hereditary lawmakers'? ★
  May 30, 2009
  Those who "inherit" campaign machines, political funds and electoral districts from a close relative are dubbed "hereditary lawmakers." While the practice has been going on for years, it now has become a red-hot issue.
  The Democratic Party of Japan has decided to adopt a party rule that will prohibit new candidates from running in future elections if they fit the definition of a hereditary politician. By adopting this rule, the party apparently wants to deflect criticism of the party and former party leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa following the arrest of his chief aide in connection with alleged political donation irregularities. continued ...


• 39. NATIONAL NEWS :: Japan, U.S. aim for tough U.N. response
  May 30, 2009
  'Use of force' clause cited in draft measure against North
  NEW YORK, (Kyodo) Japan and the United States are referencing a section of the U.N. Charter that sets out the Security Council's powers — including use of force — in a resolution being drafted to respond to North Korea's nuclear test earlier in the week.
  The UNSC is "acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations," according to the draft obtained by Kyodo News. continued ...


• 40. EDITORIAL :: Pyongyang strutting
  May 30, 2009
  The provocations and rhetoric from North Korea are escalating. On Monday, the same day it carried out its second nuclear test, it fired two short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. The next day it launched three more short-range missiles. There is a report that it has restarted reprocessing nuclear fuel at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. continued ...

Parties to extend Diet session to August

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

2009/5/30

Ruling coalition executives agreed Friday to extend the current Diet session for at least 60 days, which would ensure passage of important bills and likely delay the next Lower House election until August or September.

Prime Minister Taro Aso of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Akihiro Ota, leader of junior ruling coalition partner New Komeito, will make a formal decision Monday, two days before the scheduled end of the ordinary Diet session.

While the prime minister has the power to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election at any time, the coalition parties want to pass a number of bills in the Diet before an election is called.

The Lower House, where the ruling parties have a solid majority, has already passed or will soon pass legislation related to the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, including the tax system revision bill and the bill to revise the law on privatizing the Development Bank of Japan.

Other important bills, including one on anti-piracy measures, are certain to pass the Diet by late June.

The lengthy extension of the Diet session is intended to negate any delay tactics from the opposition-controlled Upper House.

If the opposition parties vote against bills that have already cleared the Lower House, the lower chamber of the Diet can hold a second vote on the bills and pass them into law with a two-thirds majority.

If the Upper House refuses to vote on a bill within 60 days after receiving it from the Lower House, the bill will be viewed as rejected, and the Lower House can pass it in a second vote.

Since an ordinary Diet session can be extended only once, the ruling coalition and government have decided to give the current session a long extension until early August to ensure passage of the legislation.

However, views are strong within the ruling parties that Aso should dissolve the Lower House for a snap election if a favorable situation presents itself.

Because of this, ruling coalition members feel that the Lower House election will come in August after the July 12 Tokyo metropolitan assembly election.

To leave open the option of further delaying the next Lower House election, the idea of extending the Diet session even beyond early August has been floated within the coalition parties.(IHT/Asahi: May 30,2009)

Asahi :: Saturday, May 30, 2009

• Aso backtracks on division of ministry (5/30)
  Prime Minister Taro Aso has apparently backtracked from a plan to split up the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, renewing concerns within the ruling coalition that he has a tendency to waver on important policy matters. continued ...


• Diet passes extra budget (5/30)
  A supplementary budget for fiscal 2009, which will fund the government's economic stimulus package, passed the Diet on Friday after being defeated in the opposition-controlled Upper House.
  The bill was first passed by the Lower House on May 13. Under Article 60 of the Constitution, a Lower House vote takes precedence when the two chambers are in disagreement over a budget proposal.
  The Upper House also unanimously approved and passed three bills to create a new consumer affairs agency, to be set up as early as this fall.(IHT/Asahi: May 30,2009


• Parties to extend Diet session to August (5/30) ★
  Ruling coalition executives agreed Friday to extend the current Diet session for at least 60 days, which would ensure passage of important bills and likely delay the next Lower House election until August or September. continued ...


• EDITORIAL: Welfare ministry split (5/30)
  A proposal by the Aso administration to divide and reorganize the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has taken a dark turn. The idea, first raised by Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, was intended to be a draw card for the next Lower House election, which must be called by September.
  Watanabe made the proposal at a meeting of Anshin Shakai Jitsugen Kaigi, a government panel set up by the prime minister to carve out a vision for creating a society which can assure people's livelihood.
  In response, last week, the prime minister instructed the government to study the idea. He even went so far as to present his own thoughts on the matter, suggesting that the ministry be split into two entities. One would be a social security ministry to deal with pensions, medicine and nursing and the other would be a national life ministry that handles employment affairs and measures to fight the declining birthrate. continued ...

Editorial :: Compromise required to overcome crisis

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Swiftly implementing stimulus measures is the key to getting the country out of its worst economic crisis in the postwar era. The government should place top priority on bringing forward the enforcement of the supplementary budget, which is linked to the initial budget for the current fiscal year.

The fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, which is worth the largest-ever amount of 13.93 trillion yen, cleared the Diet on Friday. Together with the initial budget, the total budget topped 100 trillion yen for the first time.

The country's gross domestic product plunged an annualized 15.2 percent in the January-March period, marking a record contraction for two consecutive quarters. Although some economic indicators appear to be bottoming out, it is still too early to be optimistic.

What is important now is to implement policies incorporated in the extra budget, including those concerning finance, employment, public works projects, agriculture and child-support programs, as quickly as possible to ensure seamless economic management.

===

DPJ's flexible stance laudable

The extra budget was submitted to the Diet on April 27 and passed the House of Representatives on May 13. A focus of attention was how the Democratic Party of Japan, led by Yukio Hatoyama, which says it will uphold former President Ichiro Ozawa's policy line, would deal with it during deliberations in the opposition-controlled House of Councillors.

The main opposition party criticized the contents of the extra budget as pork-barrel spending, but did not resort to using tactics to unnecessarily prolong deliberations on it. Amid the global recession, the DPJ apparently judged that delaying the implementation of the economic stimulus package would not gain public understanding. This was encouraging.

The ruling parties and the DPJ largely agreed on four bills related to the extra budget after discussing revisions to them. The DPJ deserves praise for its constructive response.

The four bills likely will be supported by the DPJ and are expected to pass the lower house next week.

The Liberal Democratic Party and the DPJ also agreed Wednesday to include an additional clause in a bill to revise the Development Bank of Japan law that would delay a planned full privatization of the state-backed bank by 3-1/2 years as part of measures to facilitate corporate fund-raising. The additional clause was inserted in consideration of the DPJ, which opposes the DBJ's full privatization.

Bills to create a consumer affairs agency, which were revised jointly by the ruling and opposition parties, became law Friday with a unanimous vote at a plenary session of the upper house.

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Divided Diet paralyzes politics

Under the "divided Diet" that emerged after the 2007 upper house election, with the opposition parties enjoying a majority in the upper house, the ruling and opposition parties have often engaged in fruitless confrontation, thus wasting time. Malfunctioning politics damages the interests of people of this country.

To respond effectively to the crisis, the ruling and opposition parties need to adopt a flexible approach in Diet affairs in which they coordinate their policies when necessary to actively seek points of compromise.

In the current Diet session, important bills, including an antipiracy bill and a bill to revise the National Pension Law, will be deliberated at the upper house.

The government and ruling parties plan to extend the session for a long period to ensure the passage of those bills. Even if it intends to oppose the bills, the DPJ should maintain its stance of accepting Diet voting after deliberations have been held for a certain period.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 30, 2009)
(May. 30, 2009)