My husband Naoto Kan the PM of Japan: a lightweight with no dress sense

Japan's new prime minister has terrible fashion sense, cannot cook and is an intellectual lightweight; not the verdict of Naoto Kan's political opponents, but the musings of his own wife.

By Anita Singh
Published: 10:33AM BST 22 Jul 2010

Japan's new prime minister has terrible fashion sense, cannot cook and is an intellectual lightweight; not the verdict of Naoto Kan's political opponents, but the musings of his own wife.

Mr Kan was struggling to maintain his credibility yesterday after his wife, Nobuko, took the unusual step of publishing a book that lists her husband's failings. It is a very long list.

If the Japanese public had any doubts about the man who took the top job barely a month ago, the first lady's comments are unlikely to reassure them.

"I wonder, 'Is it OK that this man is prime minister?' – because I know him so well," she muses in the book, titled What on Earth will change in Japan after you become prime minister?

According to Mrs Kan, her husband is not suited to leading the nation. "Many people in the current political world are lightweights. Things may turn out like this if you choose from among them," she laments.

"Kan likes to be in the field … I believe he is best suited to giving directions on the spot in support of somebody else."

He flunked his first speech as PM and his public appearances have been pretty woeful, she adds. "Even as a family member, I could not give him even a passing grade for his delivery of a policy speech, or for the question-and-answer sessions after he became prime minister."

Mr Kan, 63, also leaves a great deal to be desired on the domestic front, his wife says. He has "no interest in fashion at all" and cannot cook the simplest of meals "because of the bad education by me and his mother".

As the book indicates, Mrs Kan is an unconventional political spouse. The 64 year-old refuses to be addressed as the first lady and declared when her husband took office: "I will do what I can as his wife, but I'd also like to keep my own freedom."

Mr Kan – nicknamed "Irritable Kan" on account of his quick temper – refers to his wife as his political "opposition in the home". She once remarked: "When Kan was still in opposition, he would often blast away at ruling party politicians during parliamentary session. Watching those scenes on television, I'd think to myself, 'That's what I do to him at home'."

The couple, who have two children, were married in 1971 but the relationship was tested in 1998 when it emerged that Mr Kan was having an affair. He later told the media: "My wife scolded me: 'You idiot!'"

Okinawa mayor plans lawsuit against Japanese government over airbase

Published: 5:14PM BST 02 Jul 2010

The mayor of Okinawa, which hosts the unpopular US military airbase, plans to file a lawsuit against the Japanese government for failing to address the needs of locals.

The issue of where to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from its current position in a densely populated area in Okinawa strained ties with Washington and helped trigger former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's downfall.

Mr Hatoyama first pledged to move the contentious Futenma airbase off Okinawa, than reneged on the promise following protests from the United States, enraging locals.

His successor Naoto Kan has pledged to follow an accord reached in May under which the base would be relocated within Okinawa – as first agreed in 2006 – to the island's coastal Henoko region.

Okinawans have been the reluctant hosts of Japan's largest concentration of US forces for decades and have long complained about noise pollution and potential safety problems from low-flying US military jets near the airbase.

"We were forced to accept an excess burden of hosting the US base and denied even the basic human rights in our everyday lives. Therefore, I decided to question at court the government's policy in providing the Futenma airbase (to the United States)," Ginowan mayor Yoichi Iha said.

The mayor, who plans to argue the airbase threatens the safety of residents, violating Japan's constitution, plans to file the lawsuit before March 2011, according to reports.

Japanese nationalists 'worshipping' at temple to war criminals

By Julian Ryall in Atami, Japan
Published: 5:00AM BST 01 Apr 2010


A secretive temple where the ashes of seven of Japan’s most notorious war criminals have been quietly buried is becoming a point of convergence for a new generation of Japanese nationalists.

The seven wartime leaders were executed 61 years ago and some of their remains later surreptitiously transferred to the Koa Kannon temple, overlooking the coastal resort of Atami, 90 miles southwest of Tokyo.

The priestess of the temple says it is a place to contemplate peace, but the photo on the altar is of General Hideki Tojo, the wartime prime minister who sanctioned the attack on Pearl Harbor, and a painting in an adjoining building shows Japanese soldiers standing guard over a group of Chinese labourers.

In December 1948, the seven men were cremated in Yokohama before most of their ashes were scattered at sea. The Allied occupation authorities hoped to ensure their burial site could never become a rallying point for the extreme right. That effort failed and more people are beginning to ask questions about Japan’s imperial past.

Photo: Two elderly nuns welcome visitors to the Koa Kannon temple

“This is a symbolic place for us Japanese and it is becoming an important place for thinking people in their 20s, 30s and 40s to visit,” said Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a senior member of the nationalist Issuikai organisation. “All we are taught in school and hear about from the media is that Japan is bad, the Japanese are bad, and more and more people want to know the truth.

“Japan was trying to free other Asian nations and the reasons for the war are misunderstood,” he said. “We are bowing to the Chinese too much now. It’s about time that someone stood up for Japan and told the truth about the past.”

Wilting flowers are in a pot before a 3-metre tall statue of the goddess of mercy, while the stone monument dedicated to the “seven warriors” still bears the marks of left-wing extremists who blew it up in 1971. The five pieces of the original slab have been concreted together again and it is near here that the urn containing the remains of the seven men – including Tojo, prime minister from the outbreak of the war to July 1944, and General Iwane Matsui, who masterminded the 1937 Rape of Nanjing – was buried.

Three days after the men were cremated, the manager of the crematorium and the representative of Kuniaki Koiso, a former prime minister convicted as a war criminal and sentenced to life in prison, secretly collected the remaining ashes and gave them to Ninrei Itami for safekeeping.

A decade later, he buried them at Koa Kannon and erected a stone monument on the spot.

Itami’s daughter, Myojo, is the Buddhist priestess who today oversees the temple and performed a memorial service for the seven war criminals on August 15, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II.

She declined to be interviewed by The Telegraph, but told the Asahi newspaper shortly after the anniversary that, “There are no such words as ’war criminals’ here. There is no right or left. This is a venue for giving prayers to ponder peace.”

The wooden shrine has an offerings box and two rising sun flags flank the entrance. Incense is burning on the altar and traditional offerings of fruit have been placed in front of a picture of General Tojo in uniform. Justice Radhabinod Pal, the Indian judge who protested Japan’s innocence at the Tokyo war crimes trials and is revered by the far right here, is awarded a similar honour.

As well as Tojo and Matsui, the political and military leaders remembered at the temple include General Seishiro Itagaki, who stepped up Japan’s military aggression in China in 1931, General Kenji Doihara, who created the puppet state of Manchukuo in China, and General Heitaro Kimura, who fought the British in Burma.

The remaining two executed for their part in the conflict were Lieutenant General Akira Muto, who argued for escalating the war against China and attacking the United States, and Koki Hirota, the former prime minister who signed the Japan-Germany Anti-Commintern Pact in 1936.

Relatives of all seven of the men who were executed have reportedly paid their respects at the temple, a far more private place than Yasukuni Shrine, in central Tokyo, that is regarded as the last resting place of all the men and women who have died in the service of the emperor.

Japan threatens to kick out US troops

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published: 6:11PM BST 07 Oct 2009

Japan is threatening to ask US troops based on the island of Okinawa to leave the country amid growing resentment over crime.

The new government is reviewing an agreement with Washington on US military facilities following through on a campaign pledge to islanders who have borne the brunt of the American presence for more than 60 years.

Around 50,000 American troops are based in Japan, around two-thirds of the total are in Okinawa. Resentment against their presence has grown in recent years due to a series of crimes committed by service personnel.

Many of the crimes are relatively trivial, but other cases have brought tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets. In February 2008, a case against a marine accused of raping a girl aged 14 was dropped after she withdrew the accusation, apparently to avoid the ordeal of a trial.

The case revived bitter memories of the abduction and rape of a 12-year-old schoolgirl in 1995 by three US servicemen.

Katsuya Okada, the foreign minister, said he wants the American military to remain in Japan but that the concentration on Japan's most southerly islands needed to be reduced.

"The only way this presence can be sustained in the long term is to make sure that the burden on the Okinawans is decreased in some way," he said. "Only by accomplishing these goals will we be able to ensure that the US-Japan alliance will be sustainable."

Another long-standing complaint against the US forces is pollution and the noise their aircraft make during practice flights, particularly at bases that are in the most densely populated parts of the island.

The most seriously affected municipality is Ginowan, which surrounds the Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station.

The previous Japanese government had reached an agreement with Washington to transfer 8,000 Marines and their dependants to the Pacific island of Guam by 2012, close the Futenma facility and transfer its functions to an enlarged US base on the north-east coast of the prefecture.

The plan has been attacked by people living close to Camp Schwab and environmentalists, who claim that the proposal for new runways built on reclaimed land will devastate the local flora and fauna.

The US has stated that it wants to stick with the existing plan. John Roos, the US ambassador to Tokyo, said on Friday that Japan will be given time "to analyse, to review, to ask questions and, hopefully, come to the conclusion that it is in both parties' best interests."

It is not at all certain that Yukio Hatoyama, the prime minister, agrees with that assessment as he has been a vocal critic of U.S. foreign and financial policies, as well as expressing a desire to follow a more independent security line than previous Japanese governments.

Mr Hatoyama himself has indicated that he would support reducing the burden on the people of Okinawa by moving the activities of Futenma out of the prefecture entirely.

Work to review the agreement began in the Japanese cabinet on Friday, with no deadline set for a decision, according to Mr Okada.

The urgency of the situation is underlined by the arrival in Japan in November of President Barack Obama, who will arrive with hopes of settling the contentious issue once and for all.

Julian Ryall (Telegraph) on Japan Election

• Japan votes for a new start as ruling LDP loses power after 50 years

  Japan’s conservative ruling party was crushed by a radical rival on Sunday in a general election that brought an end to one of the democratic world’s longest spells of political dominance.

  By Danielle Demetriou and Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 12:17AM BST 31 Aug 2009



• Landslide election result breaks LDP hold on Japan after five decades

  Japan's Democratic Party has won a resounding general election victory, surpassing the 241 seats required for a majority less than two-and-a-half hours after polling stations closed.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 3:05PM BST 30 Aug 2009



• Japanese opposition sweeps to power

  The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was headed for a landslide victory in the general elecion with exit polls suggesting that the win might be even larger had been projected.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 1:24PM BST 30 Aug 2009



• Japan elections: profile of Taro Aso, prime minister

  The archetypal political blue-blood, the prime minister Taro Aso is deeply unpopular with the electorate going into Japan's general election on Sunday.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 12:44PM BST 28 Aug 2009



• Japan elections: profile of opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama

  Just like his main rival in the Japanese general election, the opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama is the grandson of a former prime minister and son of a former foreign minister.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 1:06PM BST 28 Aug 2009



• Japan elections: voters expected to sweep ruling party out of office

  Voters in the Japan elections on Sunday are expected to sweep Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party out of office for the first time in 55 years.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 1:39PM BST 28 Aug 2009



• Japan election: unemployed turn on the government

  Japan's growing ranks of unemployed are among those who have turned on the government, which is expected to be voted out of office on Sunday.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 12:21PM BST 27 Aug 2009



• Miyuki Hatoyama is a wife to break the mould of Japanese first ladies

  As her husband plots to shake up Japan's political world, Miyuki Hatoyama is expected to do the same to the even more staid role of first lady.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 6:03PM BST 24 Aug 2009



• Japan's political dynasties no longer appeal

  A father or grandfather who had been elected to the Japanese parliament used to be a guarantee of a career in politics.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 6:29PM BST 20 Aug 2009



• Japan's ruling party faces heavy defeat at elections

  Taro Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is heading for a heavy defeat in the August 30 general election, according to the latest opinion polls.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 5:11PM BST 18 Aug 2009



• Barack Obama urged to attend Hiroshima memorial

  Sixty-four years after he survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake has broken his silence on his memories of that day to invite President Barack Obama to attend this year's memorial event.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 9:30PM BST 15 Jul 2009



• British POWs snubbed as Japan apologises to US veterans

  British prisoners of war condemned the Japanese government after it offered US veterans a full apology and invited them to visit the country while ignoring the plight of those from the UK.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 9:26PM BST 14 Aug 2009



• Will Japan's next leader break free of the puppetmasters?

  World stage: Japan will have a new prime minister by the end of the summer, but some things are harder to change, says Julian Ryall.

  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Published: 5:38PM BST 14 Jul 2009

British POWs snubbed as Japan apologises to US veterans

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published: 9:26PM BST 14 Aug 2009

British prisoners of war condemned the Japanese government after it offered US veterans a full apology and invited them to visit the country while ignoring the plight of those from the UK.

Ichiro Fujisaki, Japan's ambassador to Washington, apologised for the "tragic experiences" of the American survivors of the Bataan Death March, in which 20,000 US servicemen died after Imperial forces overran their defensive positions in the Philippines in April 1942.

Speaking at a gathering of survivors in Texas, he invited them to attend memorial events and stay in the homes of Japanese people during an official visit next year. "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, in Corregidor Island in the Philippines and other places," he said.

But British prisoners of the Japanese described the apology and invitation as an "underhanded and empty gesture".

Arthur Lane, of the Far East Prisoner of War Association, said the offer was "offensive".

"All of the survivors will be in their late 80s by now, which means this is an underhanded and empty gesture because none of us are for this realm for very much longer," he said.

"Something like this should have been done years ago, in the 1970s at the very latest," he said. "They're not doing us or themselves any favours."

Mr Lane, a bugler who was forced to work on Japanese railways in Thailand and sounded the Last Post at the funerals of more than 3,000 of his fellow soldiers, added: "I would never go to Japan for all the money in the world.

"I still detest the Japanese for what they did to me and my mates. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it."

Around 2,000 British former POWs are estimated to survive today, according to Mr Lane, who is also a founder of the National Ex-Services Association. He was forced by the Japanese to wear an armband that identified him as "musician to the dead" and was required to attend three executions for prisoners who had attempted to escape.

At Bataan, the injured Americans were often buried alive, while the captives were forced to march more 70 miles in fierce heat and with little food and water. Those that were too weak to continue were bayoneted by the side of the road.

The ambassador's comments have been seen as a breakthrough in the way that Japan considers its history in the early decades of the last century.

But there remains reluctance in certain circles in Japan to admit the atrocities carried out in the name of the emperor, including forcing POWs to work as slave labour in mines, shipyards and on railways.

The Japanese government's plan has also met a cool reception from hardliners in Japan, with the head of an association for survivors of the atomic bomb attacks of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demanding that the US apologise for those attacks before the Japanese government extend invitations to Allied POWs.

Struggling Japanese PM turns to comedian for help

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published: 6:50AM BST
02 Jul 2009

Taro Aso, the increasingly desperate Japanese prime minister, is appealing to a former stand-up comedian to join his cabinet and save the administration just weeks ahead of the general election.

Hideo Higashikokubaru, recently elected governor of Miyazaki Prefecture, initially rebuffed an indirect approach from Mr Aso by saying he would only accept a portfolio if he was listed as the Liberal Democratic Party’s candidate for prime minister in the election, which has to be held before Sept 10.

Mr Aso laughed that condition off, but still apparently still hopes that some of Mr Higashikokubaru’s popularity might rub off on him. And any rise in his public support rate might also quell the dissent within the LDP and its coalition ally, the New Komeito Party.

“The prime minister is looking exceedingly weak and the LDP is looking exceedingly divided,” said Steven Reed, a professor of Japanese politics at Chuo University. “The LDP wins elections when its leader displays strong leadership; that is patently not happening now.”

Mr Higashikokubara, on the other hand, is good with the media, instills belief in the public that he will carry out beneficial policies and, most importantly, popular.

“By making this approach, Mr Aso is effectively admitting that he knows he is unpopular and does not really care how he holds on to power,” said Professor Reed.

It appears unlikely, however, that Mr Higashikokubara will pin his own political fortunes to those of Mr Aso, who is barely staving off calls within the party for him to step down.

A planned cabinet reshuffle this week was watered down to the addition of two new ministers to ease the burden on colleagues presently juggling more than one portfolio.

Senior members of the party had opposed changes designed merely to prolong Mr Aso’s prime ministership. Many are demanding that he step down as party leader before the election in order to give the LDP a better chance of avoiding a disastrous defeat.

In the most recent public opinion poll, just 19 per cent of the electorate expressed a preference for the LDP, meaning that the opposition Democratic Party of Japan is almost certain to be elected.

In yet another blow to Mr Aso, LDP candidates campaigning for the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election on July 12 are actively distancing themselves from their leader and requesting that he not turn up in their constituencies to meet the voters.

Japan's PM snubs son of British POW

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published:
6:28PM BST 19 Jun 2009

Japan's prime minister, Taro Aso, faced fresh demands that he apologise to former prisoners of war after he cancelled a meeting with the son of a Royal Navy stoker used as a slave labourer in his family's coal mines.

James McAnulty, from Wishaw in Lanarkshire, had been told that he would be able to meet Taro Aso and make his request for an apology and compensation for his father's suffering during the Second World War. But after he travelled to Japan the prime minister's office cancelled the meeting.

"I'm extremely disappointed, although his refusal to meet with us is perhaps not surprising," said McAnulty, whose father, Patrick James McAnulty, never fully recovered from more than three years of captivity in Japan. Several months of that time were spent labouring for the company. He died in 1971.

But Mr McAnulty added: "I'm not going home down-hearted as there have been many positives from the trip, including a meeting with the head of the opposition party and a promise from the prime minister's family company that we can continue our dialogue."

Mr McAnulty was visiting Japan with Joe Coombs, 88, who lives in Sydney and was captured at the fall of Singapore in 1942 and used as a forced labourer. They visited the mine, on the southern island of Kyushu, earlier this week but were not able to meet the company president Yutaka Aso, the prime minister's brother.

"I believe Mr Aso should apologise to all the POWs, but we were snubbed by the Aso officials and I don't think we'll ever get any compensation," said Mr Coombs.

Mr McAnulty held talks with Yukio Hatoyama on Friday, with the opposition leader indicating that he would be "sympathetic" to demands for recognition and compensation from former prisoners of war if he wins the general election that must be called within the next four months.

Mr McAnulty would also like to see a memorial built on the site of the mine where his father was forced to work, as well as a local education programme.

Patrick McAnulty was a stoker aboard the cruiser HMS Exeter when it was sunk in the Java Sea on March 1, 1942. After being picked up by a Japanese warship, he spent time in a camp on Celebes island before being shipped to Japan. After a spell in a shipyard in Nagasaki, he was transferred to Fukuoka Camp 26 in June 1945 and worked at the Yoshikuma Coal Mine.

Until January of this year, Mr Aso had steadfastly refused to confirm that his company had employed slave labourers during the war. New evidence unearthed by opposition politicians in the archives of the Health and Welfare Ministry proved that 101 British, 197 Australian and two Dutch prisoners were held at the coal mine, along with several thousand Korean forced labourers.

Historians say the mines were notorious for their brutal treatment of prisoners.

A company spokesman, Yasuyuki Moriyama, told the two men that no records exist of POWs being used as forced labourers, a contradiction of the prime minister's statement earlier in the year.

Japan's opposition party gains boost in polls from new leader

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated:
6:38AM BST 20 May 2009

Just days after replacing its scandal-tainted leader, the Democratic Party of Japan is back on course to win a general election that must be held within the next four months.

Taro Aso, the prime minister, had been clawing back points in the opinion polls after Ichiro Ozawa failed to shrug off a scandal involving illegal donations to his office via his private secretary. That recovery has come to a shuddering halt.

Mr Ozawa stepped down on May 12 and was replaced by Yukio Hatoyama in a vote of the party's politicians on Saturday.

Before the weekend was out, a poll in the left-leaning Asahi newspaper indicated that 38 percent of the electorate would vote for the DPJ in an election, up from 32 percent one month ago. The same poll suggested that 25 percent would vote for Mr Aso's LDP, down from 27 per cent.

Similarly, 40 per cent of the voting public wanted Mr Hatoyama to be the next prime minister, as opposed to 29 per cent who want to stick with the present leader.

"The party is clearly over the problem involving Mr Ozawa, the new leader is coming across in public as being a serious challenger and I really think that the LDP is dead in the water at this point," said Steven Reed, a professor of Japanese politics at Chuo University.

Even the charge by the LDP that Mr Ozawa is still pulling the strings behind the scenes at the DPJ is having little influence on the public, he said, as voters are so tired of the present government.

"Since the last election, the LDP has done just horribly as a government and as much as the result of the next election will be down to the opposition making itself appealing, it will also be the government lowering the bar significantly," he said.

Looking to earn the maximum political advantage out of his inevitable "honeymoon" period, Mr Hatoyama has gone on the offensive since his election.

"A feeling of expectation towards the DPJ has returned," he told reporters. "We will fight the next election as a united party and bring in a form of politics that puts people first.

"We will smash the antiquated LDP and the bureaucracy."

Mr Hatoyama's other key policy pledges include eradicating wasteful spending, funding the public pension system through tax revenues, raising disposable household income by 20 per cent, increasing local governments' autonomy and distancing Tokyo diplomatically and militarily from the United States.

Selected Articles :: Monday, May 18, 2009

New Japan opposition head revives election chances
05:07:00 p.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - Mon May 18, 2009 3:07am EDT
Reuters
By Chisa Fujioka
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Democratic Party has revived its chances of ousting Prime Minister Taro Aso's party in a looming election after replacing its scandal-tainted leader, media polls showed on Monday. continued ...


Protests as nuclear fuel ship docks in Japan
3:38:00 p.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - 2 hrs 30 mins ago 6:08 PM
AFP
OMAEZAKI, Japan (AFP) – An armed vessel with a load of recycled nuclear fuel from France arrived amid heavy security Monday at a Japanese port where it was greeted by dozens of protesters. continued ...


Hatoyama vows to bring regime change under new DPJ leadership
02:04:00 p.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 18 12:04 AM US/Eastern
Kyodo
TOKYO, May 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Democratic Party of Japan's new leader Yukio Hatoyama vowed Monday that the main opposition party will realize a regime change under his new leadership which includes Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Ichiro Ozawa as acting president in charge of election strategy. continued ...


Survey finds more support for Hatoyama
12:56:00 p.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - Published: May 17, 2009 at 10:56 PM
UPI
TOKYO, May 17 (UPI) -- More Japanese want opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama to be their next prime minister than incumbent Taro Aso, a Kyodo news agency survey said.
In the nationwide telephone survey, which asked who they preferred as their next prime minister, 43.6 percent of the respondents picked Hatoyama, the newly elected leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, compared to 32 percent who favored Aso, the news agency said. continued ...


Rainy season begins in Okinawa, Amami areas
12:11:00 p.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 17 10:11 PM US/Eastern
Kyodo
TOKYO, May 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The rainy season is believed to have begun in Okinawa Prefecture and on Amami Island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Monday, the first areas of Japan to experience it this year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The rainy season began ten days later than on average in Okinawa and eight days later on Amami Island, while the season began in both areas four days earlier than last year, according to the agency. continued ...


Armed ship with nuclear fuel arrives in Japan: witness
09:03:00 a.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - Sun May 17, 7:03 pm ET
AFP
OMAEZAKI, Japan (AFP) – An armed vessel carrying a massive load of recycled nuclear fuel arrived in Japan on Monday from France, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
The Pacific Heron, a specially adapted ship with a British police team on board to head off possible hijackers, arrived in the central port of Omaezaki more than two months after it left France in March. continued ...


British POW's son fights for apology from Japanese PM
08:21:00 a.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - Last Updated: 11:21PM BST 17 May 2009
Telegraph.co.uk
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
The son of a Royal Navy stoker forced to work in a coal mine owned by the family of the Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has begun a one-man campaign to secure an apology and compensation for his father's suffering. continued ...


U.S. asked Japan to suspend Nakasone's visit to Iran
07:19:00 a.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 17 05:19 PM US/Eastern
Kyodo
TOKYO, May 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The U.S. government asked Japan to suspend the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone to Iran due to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks on Israel, informed sources said Sunday.
Despite the request, Nakasone met Ahmadinejad in Tehran on May 2 and called on the Iranian leader to give humanitarian consideration to the case of an American journalist of Japanese descent who was detained in Iran for espionage. continued ...


Full text of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Declaration of Nobel Peace laureates
07:13:00 a.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 17 05:13 PM US/Eastern
Kyodo
HIROSHIMA, May 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The following is the full text of "The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Declaration of Nobel Peace Laureates" published Monday in the Chugoku Shimbun newspaper in Hiroshima. continued ...


17 Nobel Peace laureates jointly call for nuclear-free world
07:07:00 a.m. Monday May 18, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 17 05:07 PM US/Eastern
Kyodo
HIROSHIMA, May 18 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Seventeen Nobel Peace laureates have called for a world free of nuclear weapons, following U.S. President Barack Obama's recent commitment to eliminate nuclear arsenals, according to their joint declaration published Monday in the Chugoku Shimbun newspaper in Hiroshima. continued ...


Okada to become DPJ secretary general
09:05:00 p.m. Sunday May 17, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 17 07:05 AM US/Eastern
Kyodo
TOKYO, May 17 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Yukio Hatoyama, the new president of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters Sunday that he has decided to appoint Vice President Katsuya Okada as secretary general of the party and former leader Ichiro Ozawa as acting president in charge of election strategy. continued ...


Ex-DPJ chief Ozawa may take post in charge of election strategy
01:29:00 p.m. Sunday May 17, 2009 in Pacific/Guam - May 16 11:29 PM US/Eastern
Kyodo
TOKYO, May 17 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Yukio Hatoyama, new chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, indicated Sunday he intends to give his predecessor Ichiro Ozawa a senior party post in charge of election strategy.
"Mr. Ozawa's election tactics have been very successful," Hatoyama told reporters. "We'd like (Mr. Ozawa) to continue to help us." continued ...

Ichiro Ozawa Resigns DPJ Leadership

• Japan's opposition leader quits
  Last Updated: 1:15PM BST 11 May 2009 | 10:15:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
  Japan's opposition leader has announced his resignation two months after his personal secretary was indicted for accepting illegal donations from a construction company. continued ...


• Scandal Forces Japan's Opposition Leader to Quit
  Tokyo Monday, May. 11, 2009 | 10:00:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Time Magazine
  By Coco Masters / Tokyo
  At a Tokyo press conference on May 11, Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Japan's main opposition party, looked refreshed and smiling. Someone in the crowd yelled, "Don't quit!" but everyone gathered at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Japan knew that Ozawa, who has led the DPJ since April 2006, had already made up his mind. After a few moments the 66-year-old party president took the podium to announce that he will step down as early as May 13. "I made up my mind that I'd like to solidify the unity at the DPJ and to strengthen it further by stepping down," said Ozawa. "To win is the reason for my decision." continued ...


• Japan's Opposition Leader To Step Down
  MAY 11, 2009, 7:34 A.M. ET | 09:34:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Wall Street Journal
  By YUKA HAYASHI
  TOKYO -- Japanese opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, facing eroding support among voters, said Monday he would step down as head of the Democratic Party of Japan, a move that could sharply improve the party's chance of winning key national elections later this year and ending the long reign by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. continued ...


• Japan's scandal-hit opposition chief steps down
  Mon May 11, 6:41 am ET | 08:41:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  AFP
  by Shingo Ito Shingo Ito
  TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, under fire over a political donations scandal, stepped down on Monday ahead of polls that conservative Prime Minister Taro Aso must call by September. continued ...


• Gov't hoping Ozawa's resignation not to have impact on extra budget
  May 11 06:27 AM US/Eastern | 08:27:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Kyodo
  TOKYO, May 11 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Vice Finance Minister Kazuyuki Sugimoto expressed hope Monday that the Diet will soon pass a fiscal 2009 extra budget bill, regardless of Ichiro Ozawa's abrupt resignation as head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan. continued ...


• Ozawa Quits as Japan’s Opposition Head Over Scandal (Update2)
  Last Updated: May 11, 2009 06:26 EDT | 08:26:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  (Bloomberg)
  By Toko Sekiguchi and Takashi Hirokawa
  May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Ichiro Ozawa resigned as leader of Japan’s opposition over a campaign-funding scandal, abandoning a two-month fight for survival that jeopardized his party’s prospects for an unprecedented election victory. continued ...


• Japan Opposition Leader Quits Ahead of Election
  Monday, May 11, 2009; 6:14 AM | 08:14:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Washington Post
  By Blaine Harden
  Washington Post Foreign Service
  TOKYO, May 11 -- In this election year in Japan, history-making political change had seemed a sure thing. continued ...


• Japan opposition leader quits ahead of election
  Mon May 11, 6:04 am ET | 08:04:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Reuters
  By Chisa Fujioka Chisa Fujioka
  TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa resigned on Monday in a move that is likely to improve his party's prospects in a looming election, after a fundraising scandal dampened its hopes for victory. continued ...


• Japan's opposition leader to quit
  Page last updated at 08:53 GMT, Monday, 11 May 2009 09:53 UK | 06:53:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  BBC
  Japanese opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa has announced his resignation.
  Mr Ozawa had been under pressure to go after a close aide was charged in a fundraising scandal in March. continued ...


• Japan’s opposition leader to resign
  Published: May 11 2009 09:14 | 06:14:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Financial Times
  By Mure Dickie in Tokyo
  Japanese political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa is to resign as president of the leading opposition Democratic party after failing to quell criticism sparked by the arrest of a top aide in a fundraising scandal. continued ...


• DPJ leader Ozawa says he will resign amid fundraising scandal
  May 11 03:45 AM US/Eastern | 05:45:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Kyodo
  TOKYO, May 11 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Main opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa said Monday he will resign to ensure "party unity" which appears to have been shaken prior to the House of Representatives election following the recent indictment of his close aide in a political funds scandal. continued ...


• DPJ leader Ozawa expresses intent to resign amid fundraising scandal
  May 11 02:46 AM US/Eastern | 04:46:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  Kyodo
  (AP) - TOKYO, May 11 (Kyodo) — Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, expressed his intention Monday to step down following the indictment of his top secretary in a political funds scandal that is threatening the DPJ's prospects of winning the next general election, a party executive said. continued ...


• Japan opposition chief plans to resign: media
  May 11 02:10 AM US/Eastern | 04:10:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  AFP
  Japan's opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, under fire over a political donations scandal, has told officials of his party that he plans to resign, media reports said Monday. continued ...


• Leader of Japan’s Opposition Resigns
  Published: May 11, 2009 | 03:00:00 p.m. Monday May 11, 2009 in Pacific/Guam
  New York Times
  By MARTIN FACKLER
  TOKYO — Ichiro Ozawa, the Japanese opposition leader, announced his resignation on Monday, saying he wanted to prevent a campaign funding scandal involving one of his aides from hurting his party’s chances of unseating the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party. continued ...

Funding scandal threatens to engulf Japan opposition

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated:
5:28AM GMT 04 Mar 2009

Investigators have raided the constituency office of the head of Japan's opposition party in a widening scandal involving illegal political donations.

Earlier in the day, Ichiro Ozawa, head of the Democratic Party of Japan and the firm favourite to replace Prime Minister Taro Aso in elections that have to be held before October, told an emergency meeting of party members that he had no intention of resigning over the matter.

The previous evening, Takanori Okubo, his secretary and head of his funding organisation, was arrested on suspicion of accepting Y21 million (£152,000) in illegal donations over four years from Nishimatsu Construction Co. through a series of front companies.

Reports suggest the donations may stretch back 11 years and total Y180 million (£1.3 million).

"I have nothing to be blamed for and my secretary handled the funds in accordance with the law," a defiant Mr. Ozawa told reporters, adding that the raids being carried out by the special investigative unit of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office are, "an unfair exercise of investigative power, politically and legally."

Analysts here believe he has a point.

"Prosecutors here usually avoid anything that might make them appear to be interfering in politics, but it is clear that this works so much to the advantage of the LDP," said Steven Reed, a professor of politics at Chuo University.

The test of whether the investigation is indeed politically motivated will come if the prosecutors now turn the full force of their attentions to the 16 politicians of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who have also accepted donations from Nishimatsu Construction, he said.

The political future of Mr. Ozawa hinges on whether prosecutors can prove that his aide knew that the donations came from the construction firm instead of the dummy companies, although the fact that the authorities felt justified in executing the searches indicates, "there is more than just smoke, there is fire," Professor Reed said.

Prime Minister Aso's public support rating hovers just above single figures and DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama has said that the investigation is merely a cynical ploy to discredit the opposition as the election nears.

But if prosecutors are able to make a case stick against Mr. Ozawa's secretary, he may have little choice but to step down if he wants to see the party that he has built complete its task of wresting control of the country from the LDP.

Japanese emperor to visit Pearl Harbor for first time since war

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated:
5:08AM GMT 02 Mar 2009

The Japanese emperor is likely to visit Pearl Harbor in July, the first time a member of the imperial family will have visited the site of the surprise attack that brought the United States into the Second World War.

Emperor Akihito will be accompanied by Empress Michiko for the visit, which is designed to promote peace and reconciliation between the former enemies.

The Imperial Household Agency declined to confirm the dates of the visit, which will be the emperor’s first overseas trip since 2007. The emperor has been suffering from ill-health in recent months and was hospitalised late last year for treatment for internal bleeding.

The trip, which is likely to include a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial, is considered highly symbolic. No Japanese political leader has ever visited the site of the December 7, 1941, attack - an event that President Franklin D. Roosevelt described as a “day of infamy.”

Four US Navy battleships were sunk in the ariel attack, four more were damaged, while a number of cruisers, destroyers and minelayers were also sunk. A further 188 aircraft were destroyed and more than 2,400 US military personnel were killed.

The remains of hundreds of sailors remain entombed within the USS Arizona, sunk by a bomb that detonated in one of the ship’s magazines.

The emperor, whose father was on the throne during the conflict, has a track record of visiting places that were the sites of key events during the war, regularly paying his respects at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as on the Pacific island of Saipan in 2005.

The imperial couple reportedly considered a similar visit to Pearl Harbor in 1994, on an official trip to the United States, but concerns were raised at home that it might be considered political exploitation of the emperor.

The Japanese government is presently trying to build on its relationship with Washington, which it fears is keen on closer ties with Beijing. A key element of the bilateral relationship is defence issues.

Hillary Clinton's visit to China sparks alarm in Japan

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published: 5:42AM GMT 20 Feb 2009

Hillary Clinton's visit to Beijing combined with reports that China plans to build two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers has triggered fresh alarm in Tokyo over its neighbour's ambitions in the region.

Japan has already expressed concern at China's rising defence spending and improved military hardware, including two conventional carriers that are due to enter service in 2015.

Analysts now believe the first nuclear aircraft carriers will be operational five years after that.

"Japan is very concerned about the attitude of the United States towards China," said defence analyst Hisao Yuwashima. "It is important that the two countries have a friendly relationship, but a military alliance would be dangerous, I fear, because it is not clear how much control the Chinese government has over its military."

The Japanese government's top Chinese military analyst said the cabinet was "shocked" when he briefed them this week on Beijing's ambitions.

"These vessels will clearly enable the Chinese military to increase their power-projection capabilities much further into the Pacific, and it is significant that they will be launched five years after the conventional carriers," he said. "That five-year period will give the Chinese the time to perfect their aircraft carrier fleet tactics and readiness."

Prime Minister Taro Aso's domestic political problems took the shine off Mrs Clinton's visit as he struggles to control the plummeting economy and public support ratings. The two-day visit was also overshadowed by the fall-out from the resignation of Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa after a rambling press conference in which he was apparently drunk.

"The visit was politically symbolic, Japan being the first country that Mrs. Clinton visited since becoming secretary of state, but it was clearly a missed opportunity," the analyst said.

Tokyo must now wait to see the agreements that are reached between the country that has guaranteed its security since the end of World War II and its largest regional rival.

Deploying nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will permit Beijing to extend its reach beyond the line linking the Philippines, Taiwan and Okinawa, off southern Japan, which is considered Beijing's first extended defence perimeter, the analyst said.

The new carriers will advance that line to an operational area linking mainland Japan, Guam and Indonesia, waters that until now have been controlled by the US Navy.

The Chinese warships are likely to have a displacement of around 60,000 tons and will be based on Russian designs for the Ulyanovsk class of nuclear-powered carrier, which Moscow has discontinued.

Japanese finance minister resigns but denies he was drunk at G7 conference

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Published:
10:55AM GMT 17 Feb 2009

Three days after slurring his way through a press conference, Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa on Tuesday announced his resignation, while continuing to deny that he was drunk.

Mr Nakagawa said that he had no option but to step down immediately after seeing the anger his behaviour had caused in parliament. His resignation is another blow to the already shaky government of Prime Minister Taro Aso.

Mr Aso said Kaoru Yosano, the economics minister, would succeed Mr Nakagawa, an appointment that would spell little change for policymaking. Mr Yosano, a linchpin of Mr Aso's embattled administration, is a fiscal hawk who has become more flexible about spending as the country's recession has deepened.

The fuss over Mr Nakagawa's behaviour and now his resignation comes as Mr Aso's own public support is crashing.

"I apologise for causing such a fuss," Mr Nakagawa told reporters in Tokyo.

His position became untenable after Japanese television repeatedly showed footage of the minister, red-faced and struggling to keep his eyes open, mumbling throughout a press conference after a G7 meeting in Rome on Saturday.

Mr Nakagawa - who has a reputation as a hard drinker - denied he was drunk and blamed his incoherent performance on a mixture of jet lag, medicine for a cold and "one or two sips" of wine.

Mr Nakagawa had originally intended to stand down in April, after parliament approves a supplementary budget. On Sunday, Mr Aso urged Mr Nakagawa, one of his closest allies, to remain in his post, but the decision by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan to submit a censure motion demanding his resignation forced the minister's hand.

Few others rallied to Mr Nakagawa's side, with Seiko Noda, the consumer affairs minister, telling reporters: "The television footage was shocking. A cabinet minister must be fit and needs self control."

Mr Aso's public support rate has already fallen below 10 per cent and members of the public have been quick to express their sense of embarrassment for the shame that Mr Nakagawa has brought on the country as a whole.

Japanese finance minister blames 'drunken' speech on cold medicine

Last Updated:
10:04AM GMT 16 Feb 2009

The finance minister of Japan, Shoichi Nakagawa, denied claims he had been drunk at a G7 news conference in Rome saying he had taken a large amount of cold medicine.

Shoichi Nakagawa, 55, a close ally of Prime Minister Taro Aso, said he had not drunk more than a sip of alcohol before the news conference that followed a Group of Seven finance leaders meeting in Rome.

But he said he had taken a large amount of cold medicine, which may have affected his performance badly, and that his future was in the hands of Aso.

The fuss over Nakagawa's behaviour at the news conference comes as Aso's public support is plummeting ahead of an election that must be held no later than October and as the economy sinks deeper into recession.

If Nakagawa is fired or forced to quit, analysts said, it would be a heavy blow to Aso, struggling to keep his own grip on power after a series of gaffes and policy flip-flops.

"It is a fact that I didn't conduct myself clearly, and I feel I must put it straight," Nakagawa told reporters in Tokyo about the news conference.

At the news conference with Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa after the G7 meeting, Nakagawa's speech sounded slurred. At one point, Nakagawa, his head down and eyes closed, mistook a question directed at the BOJ governor as one for him.

Nakagawa attributed his behaviour to having taken too much medicine, including cold medicine.

"That is the fact, and I am sorry about it," he said.

The minister said his performance at the G7 had not harmed Japan's standing or its relations with other G7 members, but the main opposition Democratic Party disagreed.

"It's embarrassing. This has sent a message to the whole world," Democratic Party Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama told reporters. "Really I think he should be fired immediately. He's damaged the national interest."

Hatoyama said the Democrats would submit a parliamentary censure motion against the finance minister if he did not lose his job, Jiji news agency reported.

Japan fears losing out to China in relations with US

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated: 8:16PM GMT 15 Feb 2009

Japan's leaders believe that they are becoming increasingly "isolated" from Washington as the United States forges closer ties with China.

A senior adviser to the Tokyo government said that it is concerned that the developing defence relationship between Washington and Beijing means the US is ceding its role of peacekeeper in the Far East to China.

Speaking ahead of the arrival in Japan today (MON) of Hillary Clinton, on her first overseas trip as US secretary of state, a leading defence analyst said that plans to redeploy 8,000 US marines based in Japan have left Tokyo anxious that its old ally is no longer as committed to the region.

"The US is busy elsewhere so they're giving greater leeway and co-operating with China to keep the peace in the Far East," said the analyst, who asked not to be identified.

Chinese and US warships already work in tandem and share intelligence in antipiracy operations off the east coast of Africa.

President Barack Obama has made no secret of his plans to engage with China, and Mrs Clinton is due to meet Chinese leaders during her regional tour.

Tokyo fears a new era of "Japan passing", in which Washington not only sees Beijing as its main economic ally in the region but also its key defence partner.

Japan annually calls on the Chinese government to be transparent in its military spending, which Beijing says rose from $52 billion (£36 billion) in 2007 to $61 billion in 2008. But there are new concerns in Tokyo as China will this year lay down the keels of two aircraft carriers and has secretly constructed an underground base for nuclear submarines on the southern tip of Hainan Island.

Beijing has also recently deployed DF31 intercontinental ballistic missiles, a solid-fuel, nuclear-capable weapon that replaces the ageing liquid-fuelled variants and provides a powerful second-strike capability.

There was a close sense of trust between the former Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, and the administration of President George W. Bush, the analyst said, but those links no longer exist. "Japan's strategic and defence officials feel very isolated," he said.

Japan and China recently sent warships to each other's shores on goodwill visits, yet Japan remains reluctant to push the pace of a relationship that has been even in the recent past very troubled.

The two countries are embroiled in territorial disputes over islands in the East China Sea and a row about natural resources beneath the seabed, while Beijing frequently refers to Japan's brutal occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.

An American official in Tokyo said that "the US is looking at members of the international community to play appropriate roles in issues that affect all members of that community".

Japanese school textbooks accused of rewriting wartime history

By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo
Published: 4:12AM GMT 09 Jan 2009

A row over Japan's apparent attempts to rewrite its wartime past has been reignited amid reports that new school textbooks will not state that the military forced civilians to kill themselves at the end of the Second World War.

The ongoing debate over Japan's version of historical events in its school textbooks focuses on the 1945 Battle of Okinawa in which the military were believed to have coerced civilians into mass suicides faced with certain defeat.

The government controversially decided two years ago to delete or rewrite references to the mass suicides in its national curriculum history textbooks resulting in a string of protests across Japan.

However, although education officials agreed to reinstate the passages, the new textbooks will not contain the requested word "forced" in the context of the Imperial Army's role in the suicides, according to new reports.

Instead, the wording has been delicately rephrased to state less directly that people were "driven to suicides amid the Japanese military's involvement".

Defending the decision, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, told one newspaper: "It must be proved that descriptions in textbooks impose troubles to study when we approve revisions. There is no problem in the description that the military was involved." However, the wording is unlikely to satisfy civilian campaigners and historians who have long urged the government to accurately depict the version of events widely accepted according to historical research.

Accusations of rewriting its wartime past have become an increasingly sensitive issue in Japan, where tensions with neighbours such as China and South Korea have regularly flared up amid claims it is whitewashing its militaristic past.

It was during the final months of the Second World War that more than 200,000 lives were lost during the Battle of Okinawa, marking the only occasion of ground fighting in Japan on the remote southern islands.

According to eyewitness accounts and historical research, Japanese troops handed out grenades to residents and ordered them to kill themselves rather than surrender to the US.

Unanimously criticising the government's initial decision in 2007 to remove the references to this fact in school textbooks, Okinawa's local assembly said: "It is an undeniable fact that mass suicides could not have occurred without the involvement of the Japanese military," the assembly said.

Japanese PM Taro Aso rules out snap election

Last Updated:
5:58AM GMT 24 Dec 2008

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso has said he would not call a snap election despite opposition demands, saying he needs to focus on the country's faltering economy.

Mr Aso, who took office in September, has seen his popularity plummet in recent months and the opposition has called for him to prove he has a public mandate by going to the polls.

Mr Aso can dissolve parliament and call elections at any time, but he doesn't have to hold an election until September.

He has said it is not the right time to call elections because he needs to monitor the economy to make sure it does not weaken further.

"We are not in a situation in which we can discuss such things," he said.

The world's second-largest economy fell into a recession in the third quarter, and signs since then point toward more misery ahead. The latest outlook by the Cabinet Office projects Japan's economy to shrink this fiscal year and manage only flat growth the following year.

Public support for Japan's government has plummeted amid disappointment over the new prime minister's economic efforts. Surveys earlier this month by three major newspapers — the Yomiuri, Mainichi and Asahi — showed backing for opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa had risen above Mr Aso for the first time.

The surveys, which show Mr Aso's approval rating hovering near 20 percent, signal serious trouble for the prime minister. He took the helm of Japan's unpopular ruling party with a promise to revive public support and high expectations that he would call elections soon.

Earlier in the day, Mr Aso's Cabinet approved a record-high budget proposal to battle the recession. Mr Aso described the spending plan as a "bold budget to protect people's lives."

"I think the public understands the importance of implementing our plans," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/3932497/Japanese-PM-Taro-Aso-rules-out-snap-election.html

Japan concerned over US relations with China

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated:
4:02AM GMT 23 Dec 2008

Cooperation between the military forces of the United States and China in sweeps against pirates off Somalia is causing alarm and frustration in Tokyo.

Japan has enjoyed a close defence relationship with the administration of President George W. Bush, but even before his successor takes his seat in the White House there is concern that Beijing has already usurped the "special relationship" across the Pacific.

"The government, diplomats and the policy makers in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are very afraid," said Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of international relations at Waseda University.

"Before, China did not feel able to cooperate in global military operations with the US or other nations, but that has clearly changed and I forsee Beijing increasingly projecting its power overseas in the future," he said.

Washington may have tried to reassure the Japanese government that the bilateral relationship remains intact, but those in power have bitter memories of the administration of President Bill Clinton, when the emphasis was on promoting ties with China at the expense of Japan.

By appointing Hilary Clinton as his secretary of state, Tokyo fears that President-elect Barack Obama will be going down the same road.

"Japan should be taking a role in the effort to deal with the pirates as well," said Yoichi Shimada, a professor at Fukui Prefectural University.

"I believe that a Japanese maritime force should be sent to the region, but this government is a coalition and the minority partner, New Komeito, is strongly opposed to the use of military power," he said.

The other factor hampering the use of the Japanese military is the constitution, which limits very specifically the actions the military may take. Special laws had to be drawn up to enable Japanese forces to assist in the conflict in Iraq and even then their roles were strictly defensive and for reconstruction work. Passing similar laws for naval operations off Somalia would take several months to be approved.

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution last week approving operations against pirates in the western Indian Ocean, with Britain, the US and France amongst the nations to have already committed forces.

They will reportedly be joined by two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship, which will cooperate with other nations' forces and share intelligence.