Sunday, December 9, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's schedule Nov 26-Dec 2


November 26, 2012 (MON)

AM

08:19 JR Tokyo Station
08:33 Leave the station on Hikari Express #550
09:58 Arrive at JR Toyohashi Station, Aichi Prefecture
10:14 Leave the Toyohashi Station on Kodama Express #637
10:29 Arrive at JR Mikawa Anjo Station, Aichi Prefecture
10:45 Street Speech in front of the Ito Yokado Supermarket Anjo Store

PM
12:08 Meitetsu Handa Station, Handa City, Aichi Prefecture; Street Speech
12:40 Lunch in a Japanese restaurant “Hamashio” in Handa City
02:03 Nagoya Metro Tokushige Station, Nagoya City Midori Ward, Aichi Prefecture; Street speech
03:19 Toyoake City, in front of Supermarket “Piago Toyoake”; Street speech
04:29 Okazaki City, Meitetsu Higashi Okazaki Station; Street speech
06:12 JR Nagoya Station
06:31 Leave the station on Nozomi Express #42
08:13JR Tokyo Station
08:31 Residence

November 27, 2012 (TUE)

AM

09:00 Office
09:01 Mr. Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry
09:13 Meeting of the Ministerial Committee on the Global Warming Issue
09:30 Ministerial meeting
09:45 Reconstruction Promotion Council
10:06 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance; Mr. Maehara, Minister of National Policy; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance
11:00 Receives Opinions in Writing from the Chairman of the Councilors' Meeting of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy
11:08 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
11:46 Video message shooting for the symposium hosted by the Brooking Institute and Japan Center for Economic Research
11:57 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary 

PM
12:03 Mr. Jimi, President of People’s New Party
12:06 Mr. JImi leaves
01:20 Jr. Gotanda Station, Tokyo; Street speech
02:16 Taishido, Tokyo, in front of Carrot Tower; Street speech
02:55 Office
04:29 DPJ Headquarters
05:01 DPJ Manifesto Announcement Meeting
05:30 Residence

November 28, 2012 (WED)

AM

07:07 Haneda Airport
07:35 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 451
09:09 Arrive at Saga Airport
09:59 Home Plaza Nafco Minami Saga, Saga City; Street speech
11:04 Another Street speech in Saga city
11:44 Hotel New Ohtani Saga; Lunch in a Chinese Restaurant “Taikanen”

PM
01:29 Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Higashimachi Park; Street speech
02:48 JR Meihama Station, Fukuoka City Nishi Ward; Street Speech
03:40 Tenjin Times, Fukuoka City Chuo Ward; Street speech
04:12 Press interview
04:29 Fukuoka Airport
05:22 Leave the airport on JA Fight 324
06:32 Arrive at Haneda Airport
07:08 Residence

November 29, 2012 (THU)
AM
10:59 Odakyu Isehara Station, Isehara City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Street speech

PM
12:28 JR Fujisawa Station; Street speech
12:54 Lunch at Grand Hotel Shonan, Fujisawa City
02:37 Sagami Tetsudo Futamatagawa Station, Yokohama City Asahi Ward; Street speech
03:49 Metro Center Minami Station, Yokohama City Tsuzuki Ward; Street speech
05:11 JR Kawasaki Station; Street speech
06:33 DPJ Headquarters
07:51 Live House Nicofarre; Participate in the online party presidents debate hosted by Nico Ni
09:45 Residence

November 30, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:30 Office
08:40 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management; and Mr. Shimohira, Chief of Defense Intelligence Headquarters, Ministry of Defense
08:49 Mr. Yonemura and Mr. Shimohira leave
09:00 Mr. Kitamura leaves
09:06 Meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters
09:34 Ministerial meeting
09:59 Ministerial Committee on the Formulation of the Budget
10:12 National Council on Social Security System Reform
10:46 Meets with the Liaison Council of Municipalities in Nemuro Subprefecture for the Development of Regions near the Northern Territories
11:04 Mr. Masato Kidera and Mr. Uichiro Niwa, New and Old Ambassador for China; and Mr. Jiro Kodera, Ambassador for Saudi Arabia
11:26 Parliament
11:39 Signing ceremony for election cooperation with People’s New Party
11:49 Office
11:54 Interview with Bungei Shunju, a Japanese news magazine

PM
12:48 Japan Press Center Building, Tokyo
01:02 Party President Debate hosted by Japan Press Cub
03:41 Offi
04:24 NHK, Shibuya, Tokyo, election broadcast shooting
05:29 Office
06:03 DPJ Headquarters
06:30 Nihon TV news program video shooting
06:54 Residence

December 1, 2012 (SAT)

AM


07:12 Haneda Airport
07:40 Leave the airport on JAL Flight 1161
08:42 Arrive at Hakodate Airport, Hokkaido Prefectur
09:12 Hakodate morning market; Street speech
10:24 In front of Hokuyo Bank Hakodate Goryokaku Branch; Street speech
11:08 Hakodate Airport

PM
12:00 Leave the airport on Hokkaido Air System Fight 244
12:30 Okadama Airport, Sapporo, Hokkaido
12:55 Lunch at Hokkaido Sun Plaza, Sapporo City Kita Ward
01:43 JR Teine Station; Street speech
03:11 In front of Sapporo Chiyoda Building, Sapporo Kita Ward; Street speech
03:43 Tanuki Koji Shopping District; Sapporo City Chuo Ward; Street speech
05:15 Sapporo City Chiroishi Ward, Supermarket “Co-op Sapporo Lucy Store”; Street speech
06:02 JR Shin Sapporo station; Street speech
07:05 Shin Chitose Airport
07:48 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 78
09:04 Arrive at Haneda Airport
09:34 Residence
10:09 Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister
10:18 Mr. Gemba leaves
10:19 Mr. Gemba; Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Yonemura, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management
10:56 Press interview in front of PM residence
11:00 Residence

December 2, 2012 (SUN)

AM

09:27JR Tokyo Station
09:40 Leave the station on Shiosai express train #3
10:08 JR Chiba Station, East Exit; Street speech
11:15 JR Yotsukaido Station, North Exit; Street Speech
11:48 Lunch in a Sushi Restaurant “Mitomo”, Yotsukaido City, Chiba Prefecture

PM
01:58 Kamagaya City, Chiba, Higashi Kamagaya Station; Street Speech
03:09 JR Kashiwa Station; Street speech
04:28 JR Matsudo Station; Street speech
05:53 JR Shinurayasu Station; Street speech
06:59 DPJ Headquarters
07:07 Group interview with Sports Newspapers
08:00 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary Genera
08:08 Mr. Okada joins; He is also DPJ election affairs acting director
08:56 Residence





Monday in Washington

This month cannot get
over soon enough
ASSESSING THE SOUTH KOREAN AND JAPANESE ELECTIONS. 12/10, 2:00-3:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Asian Studies, Heritage. Speakers: Dr. Michael Green, Senior Advisor and Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Dr. Gordon Flake, Executive Director, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation; Bruce Klingner, Senior Research Fellow, Northeast Asia, Heritage Foundation; Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation.

LEADERSHIP IN TRANSITION: CHINA. 12/10, 2:00-3:00pm, Washington, Dc. Sponsor: US-Asia Institute. Speakers: Dr. Jeffrey A. Bader, John C. Whitehead Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Susan Lawrence, Congressional Research Service.

CLIMATE CHANGE: THE ARCTIC AS AN EMERGING MARKET. 12/10, 6:00-8:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Chemical Society and the Georgetown University Program on Science in the Public Interest. Speakers: Jed Hamilton, senior Arctic consultant for Exxon Mobil; Julienne Stroeve, research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, CO; Richard Harris, science correspondent for NPR.

IS AMERICA STILL EXCEPTIONAL? FOREIGN POLICY OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. 12/10, 8:00-9:00pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Elliot School, GWU. Speakers: Henry Nau, professor of political science and international affairs at GWU debates Daniel Deudney, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University; James Goldgeier, dean of the School of International Studies at American University.

GLOBAL TRENDS 2030: US LEADERSHIP IN A POST-WESTERN WORLD. 12/10-11, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Atlantic Council. Speakers: Mathew J. Burrows, Counselor, US National Intelligence Council; James Cartwright, Harold Brown Chair in Defense Policy Studies, CSIS; Jared Cohen, Director, Google Ideas; Mariette diChristina, Editor-in-Chief, Scientific American; Thomas Enders, CEO, EADS NV; Diana Farrell, Director, McKinsey Center for Government, McKinsey & Co.; Stephen J. Hadley, Principal, Rice Hadley Gates LLC; Chuck Hagel, Chairman, Atlantic Council; David Ignatius, Associate Editor, Washington Post; James L. Jones, former National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama; George Lund,Chairman, Torch Hill Investment Group; Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; James Steinberg, Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University; Philip Stephens, Associate Editor, Financial Times.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 19-25

November 19, 2012 (MON)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (Second Day)

AM
Japan-ASEAN Summit in Cambodia Prime Minister’s office, Phnom Penh

PM
ASEAN+3 Summit
ASEAN+3 Summit Luncheon
Conversation with President Lee Myuung-bak of South Korea
Meeting with King Bolkiah of Brunei
Meeting with President Thein Sein of Myanmar
Meeting with Prime Minister Gillard of Australia
Conversation with Japanese media in Hotel Intercontinental Phnom Penh
Dinner Hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Hun Sen at DICE Center
Stay in Hotel Intercontinental Phnom Penh

November 20, 2012 (TUE)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (Third Day)

AM
Japan-ASEAN Global Dialogue at Prime Minister’s Office in Phnom Penh
Meeting with President Obama of the United States
Press Interview
Meeting with Prime Minister Singh of India

PM
East Asia Summit Luncheon
East Asia Summit Plenary Session
Leave Phnom Penh International Airport

November 21, 2012 (WED)

AM
12:00 Arrive at Haneda Airport
12:31 Residence
10:47 Office
10:49 Meeting with supporters from Prime Minister’s precinct in Chiba
11:34 Imperial Palace: Report of return
11:52 NHK Hall

PM
12:01 National Convention of Town and Village Mayors
12:44 Office
12:52 Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:14 DPJ Headquarters
01:15 Meeting with Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, former Prime Minister; Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General, also attends
01:34 Press interview
01:42 Office
02:07 Ceremony to Present the Prime Minister's Commendations for Contributors to Child and Youth Education and Child-rearing Initiatives
02:21 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; and Mr. Hideki Kato, Director General of the Government Revitalization Unit
03:00 Courtesy Call from the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mr. Shuvalov Igor Ivanovich
03:28 DPJ Headquarters
03:29 Meeting with DPJ Operation Executives including Mr. Koshiishi
05:05 Meeting ends
05:28 Tokyo Hall; a party to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Labor and Social Security Attorney Diet members caucus
05:52 Office
06:25 Mr. Toshimi Kitazawa, Former Defense Minister
06:52 Residence

November 22, 2012 (THU)

AM
09:47 Office
10:02 Ministerial meeting
10:15 Receives a Request from the Association for the Promotion of the Expansion and Improvement of Naha Airport
10:30 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister; Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister; and Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:12 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Tax Policy Council Chief

PM
01:03 NHK Hall; The National Convention of the Central Federation of Societies of Commerce and Industry
01:43 DPJ Headquarters
01:55 DPJ Local Secretary Generals National Assembly
02:11 Office
04:46 Issue appointment order for Mr. Umemoto, new Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
05:31 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; and Mr. Shimohira, Chief of Defense Intelligence Headquarters, Ministry of Defense
05:41 Mr. Shimohira leaves
05:56 Mr. Kitamura leaves
06:15 Residence

November 23, 2012 (FRI)

AM
09:46 Kawasaki City; Observe Ohgishima Wind Power Plant
09:58 Observe Ohgishima Solar Power Plant
10:55 Residence

PM
12:29 Shimo Meguro; Image Studio 109, TV and Photo Shooting for the Lower House Election; Mr. Tezuka, DPJ Public Relations Chief, accompanies
04:47 Residence
06:47 Imperial Palace; Ceremony
08:44 Residence

November 24, 2012 (SAT)

AM
09:17 Tama City, Tokyo, Visits the Facilities for Home Medical Care and Dementia Care
10:45 Press interview
10:59 Lunch at Keio Plaza Hotel Tama

PM
Odakyu Tama Center Station
12:35 Street speech
01:17 JR Kunitachi Station
01:28 Street speech
03:12 Odakyu Sagami Ohno Station
03:13 Street speech
04:46 Odakyu Shin Yurigaoka Station
04:52 Street speech
06:23 Residence

November 25, 2012 (SUN)

AM
09:43 TV Asahi, Roppongi, Tokyo
10:00 Appear on a news show
10:47 Residence
11:44 Haneda Airport

PM
12:01 Leave the airport on ANA Flight 23
01:00 Arrive at Itami Airport, Osaka
01:30 hankyu Minami Senri Station, Street speech
01:53 Cristal Hotel Minami Senri; participate in DPJ candidates assembly
02:47 JR Takatsuki Station, Takatsuki city, Osaka, Street speech
04:06 Hankyu Ibaraki Station, Ibaraki City, Osaka, Street speech
05:05 Hankyu Sone Station, Toyonaka City, Osaka, Street speech
06:03 Shin Osaka Station
06:12 Leave the station on Nozomi Bullet train
08:46 JR Tokyo station
09:01 Residence

Torpedoing Pearl Harbor Day

Churchill Mug

This essay by your editor first appeared 12/07/12 in The Hill, a newspaper and website focused on issues affecting Capitol Hill.



Last year, Congress stopped remembering Pearl Harbor. For nearly 50 years, the U.S. Congress had honored the survivors and fallen of Imperial Japan’s deadly attack through a resolution either asking the President to issue a proclamation designating December 7 as Pearl Harbor Day or issuing their own recognition of when the United States was pushed into World War II. This ended in 2011. America’s Greatest Generation was pushed aside to make a petty swipe at the White House about a surplus bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

A House rules change in 2011 did away with commemorative resolutions. As a staffer from the House Speaker John Boehner’s office told me, a Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day resolution would be “frivolous.” The House Republican leadership of the 112th Congress had adopted new rules barring consideration of any measure that “expresses appreciation, commends, congratulates, celebrates, recognizes the accomplishments of, or celebrates the anniversary of, an entity, event, group, individual, institution, team or government program; or acknowledges or recognizes a period of time for such purposes” (Rule #28).



Speaker Boehner did not completely ignore December 1941 last year, however. That month served as the occasion to taunt the White House over a bust of Winston Churchill. He and many Republicans were upset that the President had returned this loaned presentation of Britain’s wartime prime minister to the British Embassy

.

On December 19, 2011, House Speaker Boehner allowed a resolution to pass that recognized the accomplishments of former Prime Minister Churchill. Boehner introduced H.Res. 497 commemorating the 70th anniversary of Churchill’s “The Masters of Our Fate” speech on December 26, 1941 before Congress, in which he urged Americans, barely two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to pursue the war first in Europe and not Asia. The resolution also requested the placement of a statue or bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the United States Capitol. 



No one regrets our efforts in Europe during the war, but Americans then fighting the first battles on the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, and Java may have been somewhat circumspect about Churchill’s successful Europe-first lobbying. After Pearl Harbor, for four months through April 9, 1942, soldiers on Bataan tied up a better trained and equipped Japanese invasion force. On Wake Island, from December 8 to 22, 1941, less than 400 Marines held off a Japanese armada and amphibious assault. The soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in the Pacific were abandoned and never resupplied. They were thus condemned to hopeless battles with obsolete weapons and no provisions ending in death or over three years of unmerciful imprisonment in Japan’s notorious POW camps.



Naturally, any political and military decisions in 1941 would have had good consequences for some Americans and bad results for others. But, 70 years later, a decision to commemorate a speech of a foreign head of state coupled with an explicit decision not to commemorate American veterans in one of the critical chapters of WWII is unfathomable.



Sadly, there is no longer a constituency to hold the House leadership responsible for ignoring WWII veterans or their history. The Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-Ohio), who did not issue a personal Pearl Harbor Day statement in 2011, has the power to make exceptions to "Rule 28," but he has no incentive do so. This year the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded and other Pacific War veterans are considered too elderly to be an active political force.



In fairness, perhaps Speaker Boehner thought that Congress no longer needed to weigh on remembering Pearl Harbor. This was the president’s job. In 1994, Congress made permanent a tradition started in 1966 and passed Public Law 103-308) designating December 7th as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day." It authorized and requested the President to: 1) issue an annual proclamation calling on U.S. citizens to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; and 2) urge all Federal agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff in honor of those who gave their lives as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor. 



President Barak Obama, fulfilled his obligation 2011 by saying: “On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we honor the more than 3,500 Americans killed or wounded during that deadly attack and pay tribute to the heroes whose courage ensured our Nation would recover from this vicious blow. Their tenacity helped define the Greatest Generation and their valor fortified all who served during World War II. As a Nation, we look to December 7, 1941, to draw strength from the example set by these patriots and to honor all who have sacrificed for our freedoms.” He followed his words with a quiet visit on December 29th to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.”



This year Congress is again silent on December 7. It is unfortunate that our veterans were ignored to make an irrelevant point about whether a foreign leader’s bust should on display in the Oval Office. Resolutions honoring WWII veterans transcend politics. They provide these men and women with a national gesture of eternal appreciation for their sacrifices and valor on Pearl Harbor day and the nearly four years thereafter fighting tyranny. They remind us of the greatness of American leadership. Failure to do so sends a troubling message to present and future veterans on how they too will be forgotten.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 12-18

November 12, 2012 (MON)

AM

07:03 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisors for PM
08:01 Mr. Mitani leave
08:25Mr. Saito and Mr. Ogushi leave
08:43 Parliament
08:57 The Lower House Budget Committee

PM
12:00 Office
12:51 Parliament
01:00 The Lower House Budget Committee
05:05 Office
06:00 Courtesy Call from the Executive Director of UN Women, Ms. Michelle Bachelet; Mr. Nakatsuka, Minister of State for Gender Equality, attend
06:17 Meeting ends
07:18 Residence

November 13, 2012 (TUE)

AM

06:47 Mr. Saito, Mr. Mitani, and Mr. Ogushi
08:01 All leave
08:23 Parliament
08:31 Ministerial meeting
08:59 The Lower House Budget Committee

PM 
12:05 Office
12:52 Parliament
12:59 The Lower House Budget Committee
05:04 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
05:25 Office
05:27 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister; and Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister
05:57 Mr. Sugiyama, Director General, Asia-Pacific Affairs Bureau, MoFA
06:17 Mr. Yamai, DPJ Election Affairs Council Chief
07:12 Residence

November 14, 2012 (WED)

AM

09:32 Office
10:00 Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi
10:24 Both leave
11:48 Mr. Jimi, President, People’s New Party

PM
12:02 Mr. Jimi leaves
01:04 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
01:26 Mr. Koshiishi leaves
02:52 Parliament
03:00 Party Leaders’ debate
03:49 Debate ends
04:15 The Lower House Financial and Monetary Affairs Committee
06:26 Office
06:28 DPJ/Government Executives meeting
07:06 Mr. Koshiishi
07:18 Report from the UN Ambassadors meeting participants including Mr. Tsuneo Nishida, UN Ambassador; Mr. Saito and Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries, attend
07:41 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; and Mr. Shimohira, Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center Chief
07:46 Mr. Shimohira leaves
07:56Mr. Kitamura leaves
08:06 Mr. Jimi, President, People’s New Party
08:37 Press interview
08:40 Residence
11:40 Phone Conversation with President Obama of the U.S.
11:50 Phone call ends

November 15, 2012 (THU)

AM

09:32 Office
10:07 Mr. Hosono, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief
10:26 Mr. Maehara, Minister of National Policy
11:09 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Taxi Research Council Chief
11:19 Mr. Hajime Ishii, DPJ Upper House Budget Committee Chair
11:35 Mr. Ichiro Fujisaki, Ambassador for the U.S.
11:42 Mr. Fujisaki leaves

PM
01:17 Mr. Okada
01:28 Mr. Hiroshi Nakai, DPJ Lower House Budget Committee Chair
01:35 Mr. Nakai leaves
02:34 Mr. Jojima, Finance Minister; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Minister of Finance
02:54 Both leave
03:55 Phone conversation with Prime Minister Singh of India
04:07 Parliament; The Lower House Plenary Session
05:47 Office
05:51 The Council on National Strategy and Policy
06:35 Local Sovereignty Strategy Council
06:58 ANA Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo
07:00 Signing ceremony of DPJ-Rengo “2012 Joint Statement・Policy Agreement”
07:27 Residence

November 16, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:07 Office
08:16 Ministerial Meeting
08:47 Ministerial Council on Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
09:12 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
10:10 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
10:48 Central government complex building 4; Observes the "New Review of Government Programs"
11:06 Press interview
11:10 Office
11:22 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Tax Research Council Chief; and Mr. Shinichiro Furumoto, Secretary General
11:47 Mr. Yasuo Ichikawa, DPJ Upper House Secretary General; Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisor for PM, attends
11:54 Parliament

PM
12:07 The Lower House Plenary Session
12:19 Office
02:09 Mr. Saito and Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
02:43 Both leave
03:39 Parliament
03:49 The Lower House Plenary Session
03:50 Lower House is dissolved
03:53 Mr. Yokoji, the Lower House Chair, and Mr. Hirata, the Upper House Chair; Mr. Fujimura accompanies
04:01 Visits ruling party executives
04:20 Ad hoc Ministerial Meeting
04:59 The Lower House Members Office Building
05:04 DPJ General Assembly of both chambers
05:32 Office
06:01 Press conference
06:31 Press conference ends
07:06 Residence

November 17, 2012 (SAT)

AM

09:40 Tokyo Metropolitan Kogei High School in Shinjuku
09:47 Observe classes, metal hammering, and chasing
10:03 Observe students’ handicrafts
10:07 Give speech to students
10:20 Exchange opinions with students and parents
10:49 Press interview
11:05 Residence
11:32 Mr. Saito and Taketoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries; Mr. Saiki, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Sasaki, Deputy Minister for Economy, Trade, and Industry

PM
12:00 All leave

November 18, 2012 (SUN)
* ASEAN-related Summit Meetings and Others (First Day)
AM
09:56 Mr. Sugiyama, Director-General, Asia-Pacific Bureau, MoFA
10:30 Interview with the Financial Times
11:00 Press interview
11:24 Haneda Airport
11:47 Leave for ASEAN summit meetings in Cambodia; Mrs. Noda accompanies

PM
Arrive at Phnom Penh Airport
Offer flowers at the memorial to the late Police Superintendent Haruyuki Takada
Offer flowers at the cenotaph for the late Atsuhito Nakata, a UN volunteer
Pay his respect for King Sihanouk
Observe Preah Kossamak Hospital
Meeting with Japanese nationals living in Cambodia

Territorial disputes complicate U.S. relations with China, Japan

by William L. Brooks. APP Senior Fellow, Adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University
First published in the Asahi Shimbun Asia Japan Watch Online, December 3, 2012

The re-election of Barack Obama signals to Asia that America's "pivot" or "rebalancing" toward that region will move forward in the carefully constructed framework laid out during the president's first term.

But no matter who had won the presidential election, Obama or Mitt Romney, the major geostrategic policy issue in Asia would have been unchanged: how to deal with a rising China. The two candidates spent much time in the campaign accusing each other of being soft on China, portraying that country as an economic "threat" to the United States because it was "stealing jobs" from American workers. Such rhetoric will now fade. In their foreign policies, both Obama and Romney basically approach Asia and the China problem the same way.

A man burns a Japanese national flag during a demonstration in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province on Sept. 18, 2012. Demonstrations were held across China as public anger grew against Tokyo's move to purchase some of the disputed Senkaku Islands in East China Sea from a private landowner. (AP file photo)

From a security perspective, China's formal declaration at the 18th Communist Party Congress of its intention to become a "maritime power," with core interests that intersect the territorial waters of nations in the South and East China seas, may force the United States to accelerate a containment strategy laid out during Obama's first term in office. That strategy involves a reallocation of military resources to the region, such as moving U.S. Marines to Australia, a strengthening of existing alliances in the Asia-Pacific region, and building security ties with nations on China's periphery, such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam. The diplomatic agenda now even includes a recent historical first trip by Obama to Myanmar, once under China's sway. Washington's encirclement strategy of using diplomacy backed up by American military muscle in the region is intended to show China that its hegemonic intentions in the region will not be tolerated.

Japan's increasingly volatile territorial dispute with China complicates the Obama administration's policy intention to use diplomatic means to ultimately steer China away from becoming a potential threat or enemy and instead convince it to become a responsible partner for resolving crucial global issues. While recognizing the competitive aspects in the economic and security areas of the U.S.-China relationship, Washington aims to make sure that collaborative areas are always kept paramount. Under such an accommodation, China would not resort to intimidation or force in resolving its territorial disputes, and would accept the principle of freedom of navigation in regional waters. In broad terms, the United States seeks to ensure that China's rise does not destabilize the Asia-Pacific region, which would be of direct concern to American interests.

Turbulence in 2010, centered first on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea, was an unexpected development. It resulted in Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issuing a strong statement at the July 2010 ASEAN ARF underscoring America's vital interests regarding freedom of navigation and pursuit of water claims without intimidation. Clinton intervened again in September on behalf of Japan when China escalated into a major diplomatic row a fishing boat incident in the East China Sea near the Senkakus, islands claimed by both countries. The secretary of state declared that the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty applies to the islands, which have been under Japan's effective control since the U.S. returned administrative rights over them to Japan in 1972 as part of the Okinawa reversion.

The summer of 2012 saw maritime disputes with China flare up across the South and East China seas. The Senkakus row erupted again in September when Japan's central government purchased three of the isles from their private owner, and even involved extensive riots and destruction of Japanese property in China. Chinese surveillance ships operating near the Senkaku Islands continue to square off against Japanese Coast Guard vessels, keeping tensions high and setting off fears that the standoff could escalate into a more serious conflict.

The incident set off a propaganda war aimed at the international community, with both governments appealing to world opinion regarding the legitimacy of their territorial claim. Beijing also made known its intention to officially revise and extend its continental shelf claim submission in the East China Sea to include the waters around the Senkakus, thus further irritating Tokyo. Although China has recently—and belatedly—tried to play down the island row, serious damage has been done to bilateral relations, taking its toll on tourism, business and other economic activities. Even events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972 were canceled.

Washington has called for cooler heads to prevail, with a State Department spokesman saying that the United States does "not take a position on the sovereignty of the Senkakus" but expects "the two mature countries are fully capable of resolving" their territorial dispute. Washington's worst fear is being drawn into a war between China and Japan over the Senkakus. The U.S. military alliance with Japan is designed to guarantee peace and stability in the region through its deterrence capabilities. It is not intended to act as a lightning rod for conflict.

China's efforts to intimidate Japan by its excessive reaction to the territorial issue in 2010 and the well-orchestrated row in 2012, however, have produced just the opposite effect. Although Japan has remained relatively calm diplomatically, China's actions have riled up the normally complacent public and spurred saber-rattling by politicians on the right. Japan is not backing down.

Ironically, China, instead of driving a wedge between the U.S. and Japan by testing how far the U.S. will go in backing its ally, seems to be serving as a catalyst for reinvigorating the bilateral military relationship. It used to be provocations by North Korea that drove Japan closer to its ally the United States, but now it is China. Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto has asked the United States for talks to revise the current set of defense cooperation guidelines to reflect the current security environment centered on China. The last set, inked in 1997, posited a contingency on the Korean Peninsula.

Japan's heightened concern about China's ascendancy in the region also explains the do-or-die desire of the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to have Japan join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This regional free-trade agreement is seen in Tokyo as a counter lever to China's growing economic influence. Japan, in effect, has bought into the U.S.'s China-encirclement policy.

It is unclear whether China under a new and untested leadership will respond by further raising the ante in this international game of poker, or--aware of the political and economic consequences--seek or accept some kind of accommodation in line with the U.S.'s strategic goals. What is certain, though, is that the Senkakus as a structural issue between Japan and China will not go away. It may be put on the back burner for a while by mutual agreement, as Deng Xiaoping managed to do in the 1970s, but the territorial issue is a card, increasingly risky, that China may be willing again to play in the future.

William L. Brooks, APP Senior Fellow, Adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. He retired from the U.S. State Department in September 2009 after a 35-year career as a diplomat and research analyst.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Nov 5-11

November 5, 2012 (MON)

* Second Day of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9), and Other Activities
AM 

Meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia
Meeting with Prime Minister Tusk of Poland
Meeting with President Van Rompuy of the European Council

PM
National Theater, greeted by President Choummaly of Laos
Summit Photo shooting with
Ceremony to welcome the newly joined members
Meeting with President Aquino of The Philippines
The ASEM First session
Conversation with the press
Dinner party hosted by President Choummaly

November 6, 2012 (TUE)

* Third Day of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9), and Other Activities
AM 

The ASEM Second Session
Meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck of Thailand

PM
The ASEM Third, Forth, and Fifth Sessions
Meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of Vietnam
ASEM Closing Ceremony
Meeting with Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt
Meeting with President Chounmmaly of Laos
Press Interview in Hotel Lao Plaza
Stay at Don Chan Villa

November 7, 2012 (WED)

AM

Leave Wattay Airport

PM

02:17 Arrive at Haneda Airport
02:49 Residence
03:43 Office
03:44 Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction in the Response to the East Japan Earthquake
04:08 Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Ambassador for the U.S.
04:14 Mr. Tarutoko, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Mr. Oshima, Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Mr. Inami, Parliamentary Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications
04:58 Imperial palace, report of return
05:14 Office
05:30 Ceremony to Present the National Honor Award; photo shooting; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Tanaka, Minister of Education, attend
05:41 Conversation with Ms. Yoshida, recipient of the National Honor Award
05:55 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
06:29 Residence
06:30 Dinner with Ms. Mieko Tanaka, Mr. Tsutomu Hashimoto, and other first term DPJ members
08:31 All leave

November 8, 2012 (THU)

AM

08:24 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisors for PM
09:22 All leave
09:26 Office
10:09 Imperial Palace, Autumn Conferment Ceremony
10:54 Office

PM
12:49 Parliament
12:51 Mr. Maehara, Minister for National Policy
01:02 The Lower House Plenary Session
03:43 Office
04:46 Government Revitalization Unit
04:55 Mr. Naoshima, DPJ Vice President; Ms. Renho, National Campaign Committee Chair; Mr. Mabuchi, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief; and Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
04:31 Mr. Naoshima and Mr. Mabuchi leave
04:39 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
06:16 Local Sovereignty Strategy Council
07:09 The Forum for Consultations between the National and Regional Governments
07:31 Residence, dinner with Parliamentary Secretaries of each ministry
09:24 All leave

November 9, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:20 Parliament
08:26 Ministerial Meeting
08:40 Office
11:20 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
11:59 Residence

PM
12:00 Lunch with Mr. Hajime Ishii and other DPJ Upper House Committee Chairs
12:40 Office
02:56 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
03:30 Mr. Ogushi leaves
04:27 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
05:03 Mr. Kawai leaves
05:30 Courtesy Call from the Participants of the "Central Asia plus Japan" Dialogue/the Fourth Foreign Ministers Meeting
06:18 Kyodo Press; Party of the Meeting by Managing Editors of the Member Companies of Kyodo News
06:45 Residence
07:00 Dinner with Senior Vice Ministers
08:52 All leave

November 10, 2012 (SAT)

* Visits Fukuoka Prefecture
AM 

08:02 Haneda Airport
08:28 Leave Haneda Airport on board of JAL Flight #305
09:56 Arrive at Fukuoka Airport
10:33 Observe Kawabata shopping district, Fukuoka city, Hakata Ward; Mr. Suzuki, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Director-General, accompanies
11:05 Conversation with shop owners
11:30 Press interview
11:35 Lunch at a ramen shop “Fuubi”
11:57 Fukuoka Fashion Building

PM
01:06 DPJ Policy Progress Report session meeting
02:56 Meeting ends
03:09 Fukuoka Airport
04:15 Leave the airport on board of JAL Flight #322
05:25 Arrive at Haneda Airport
06:23 Residence

November 11, 2012 (SUN)

AM

09:59 Shinjuku Koko Kara Hiroba
10:16 Reading session for children at Children Center; Mayor Hiroko Nakayama of Shinjuku-ward, accompany
10:27 Conversation with parents
10:55 Observe Koko Kara Festival
11:12 Press interview
11:37 Residence

PM
07:03 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
08:02 Mr. Koshiishi leaves

Japan and China’s 118-Year-Old Cage Fight


Shinzo Abe, Japan's former prime minister, speaks after being elected president
 of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. 
Photograph by Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

By James Gibney
BloombergView, September 27, 2012

The sight of anti-Japanese Chinese protesters carrying placards of Chairman Mao may strike some as historically absurd. After all, the architect of China's Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and numerous other murderous campaigns was responsible for far more Chinese deaths than, say, Hideki Tojo, Japan's wartime leader.

But it is no more bizarre than yesterday's election of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lead Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. Let's review his resume and pedigree, especially from the Chinese perspective.

Just about every description of Abe is prefaced with the word "nationalist." His premiership from 2006 to 2007 was marked by his moves to change Japan's pacifist constitution, his denials that Asian women were institutionally coerced to have sex with Japanese soldiers and his support for efforts to, in general, whitewash horrific episodes in Japan's World War II history such as the Nanjing Massacre. Time has seemingly not mellowed his views: He has suggested that, as prime minister, he would visit Yasukuni shrine, a nationalist theme park for Japan's war dead, and recant some of Japan's apologies for World War II.

Abe is the son of the former LDP stalwart Shintaro Abe, the foreign minister whose own hopes for a premiership were derailed by a campaign finance scandal. More tellingly, he is the grandson of former prime minister and Class A war criminal suspect Nobosuke Kishi, whom the historian John Dower described as "the brilliant and unscrupulous former bureaucrat…who had been the economic czar of the puppet state of Manchukuo and was accused, among other things, of being responsible for the enslavement of untold thousands of Chinese as forced laborers."

Set aside the dynastic insularity of Japanese politics (Kishi, for example, was the older brother of Eisaku Sato, Japan's longest-serving prime minister and a fierce opponent of Communist China). And never mind the intellectual bankruptcy of the LDP, with its circular dinosaur parade.

What's striking is the extent to which Japan and China remain in the grip of historical attitudes, animosities, resentments and rivalries that well predate the Second World War. In fact, they sharpened more than a century ago in the Sino-Japanese war of 1894-95, when Japan crushed China's navy and army and acquired Taiwan and effective control of Korea, as well as ports along the Yangtze and commercial treaty rights. Japan's claim to the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands dates back to that conflict, when Japan "stood up," to borrow Mao's phrase, and joined the ranks of Western imperialist powers.

Now it's payback time. Chinese protesters who attack Japanese factories have their forebears in those who led boycotts of Japanese goods in the 1910s and '20s. And for many Chinese factory workers today, the division of labor is Manchukuo-lite, where they are executing orders -- call it higher value-added -- from their Japanese masters. They don't need much persuading to hit the streets to protest Japan's control of the islands.

Ironically, when Abe became prime minister, one of the first things he did was try to patch up relations with China. It's unlikely he and the LDP will win when Japan holds new elections. But if he does, he may be facing one heck of Nixon-Went-to-China moment.

James Gibney is an APP member and   a member of the Bloomberg View editorial board. Follow him on Twitter.

Friday, November 30, 2012

What’s in a Word?


Maybe everything, according to noted Japan analyst Michael Cucek. He examines the language of the Liberal Democratic Party's electoral Manifesto on the Senkaku (Daiyu Islands) and finds it more strident than it seems. The translation of one word can mean the difference between benign administration and uncompromising defense.

Cucek reviews a much-quoted translation of the relevant passage or “Promise #132” in the Manifesto by Yuka Hayashi and Alexander Martin of the Wall Street Journal on November 21:

We will consider installing a permanent presence of government employees to protect the islands, and implementing improvements and support of the nearby fishery environment," the party said. "We will endeavor to achieve the stable maintenance and management of the islands and the surrounding waters."

[132 尖閣諸島の実効支配強化と安定的な維持管理
わが国の領土でありながら無人島政策を続ける尖閣諸島について政策を見直し、実効支配を強化します。島を守るための公務員の常駐や、周辺漁業環境の整備や支援策を検討し、島及び海域の安定的な維持管理に努めます。]

Cucek’s translation is as follows:

132: In order to strengthen effective control over the Senkaku Islands, and maintain stable management of them .
We will revise the policies regarding the Senkaku Islands, which, while being our national territory, have been subject to a policy of non-habitation. We shall strengthen our effective control. We will study the permanent and uninterrupted presence of civil servants in order to protect the islands -- and upgrades and financial support of the local fisheries environment. We will strive to maintain stable management of the islands and the surrounding waters.
 At first you do not see much difference. However, Cucek chooses the term civil servants rather than the more generic government employees. He selects this translation because the term the LDP Manifesto uses is komuin. Thus, the LDP leaders have noted slyly that Japanese Self Defense Forces may be stationed on the disputed islands. This is because members of the Self Defense Forces are civil servants. They are, in fact, "special employment national civil servants" (tokubetsushoku kokka komuin--Link - J).

Whether this "promise" to station civil servants (komuin) on the islands will be executed when Abe comes to power is another question. The Manifesto merely promises to re-examine the current policy of leaving the islands uninhabited and to study the possibility of permanent occupation. Since the promise is merely to take a look at changes in current policies, not to effect actual change, the LDP and Abe cannot be held accountable for inaction post-election.

It is this sort of Sophism that enrages Japan’s neighbors, confuses voters, and embarrasses its allies. Too clever by half, as they say in English. Which translates as nothing but trouble.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Shintaro Ishihara at the FCCJ

On November 20th , former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and the new president of the reactionary Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party),gave a luncheon speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. Here are his remarks. If you click on the video and go to the original website, you will find the text of the speech in English displayed beside Mr. Ishihara.


 

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Oct 29-Nov 4

October 29, 2012 (MON)

AM

08:53 Office
09:03 Ad-hoc Minsiterial meeting
09:12 Meeting ends
10:39 Mr. Maehara, Minister of State for National Policy
11:15 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:53 Parliament

PM
12:02 Lowe r House Plenary Session
12:12 Office
12:37 Parliament
01:01 Opening ceremony for 181th extraordinary Diet session
01:22 Office
01:49 Parliament
02:02 The Lower House Plenary Session: gives policy speech
02:39Office
03:25 Mr. Jimi, People’s New Party President; and Mr. Jimi, Secretary-General; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary, attends
03:55 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
04:44 Mr. Saito
05:01 Mr. Saito leaves
06:19 Residence
06:30 Dinner with Ms. Maya Yamazaki, Mr. Nobuyuki Fukushima, and Ms. Hiroko Oizumi, DPJ first term Lower House members
08:32 Dinner ends

October 30, 2012 (TUE)

AM

08:51 Office
09:01 Government and Ruling Parties Council on the Formulation of the Budget
09:24 Ministerial Meeting
09:51 Mr. Gemba, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Sugiyama, Director-General, Asia Oceania Affairs Bureau; Ministry of Foreign Affairs
09:59 Mr. Gemba leaves
10:03 Mr. Sugiyama leaves
10:24 Imperial palace; autumn decoration ceremony
11:13 Office
11:21 Mr. Saito
11:40 Mr. Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry; and Mr. Haku, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office

PM
12:01 Both leave
12:59 Parliament
01:00 DPJ Members General Assembly
01:26 Office
01:49 Mr. Haku, Senior Vice Minister, Cabinet Office
02:21 Mr. Suzuki, Director General of Small and Medium Enterprise Agency; and Mr. Hosomizo, Director General, Supervisory Bureau, Financial Service Agency
03:00 Courtesy Call from the President of Ashinaga; Mr. Fujimura attends
03:55 Mr. Azumi, DPJ Deputy Secretary-General; Mr. Hosono, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief; Mr. Mabuchi, Deputy Policy Research Council Chief; and Mr. Hachiro, Election Affairs Council Chief
04:34 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
05:04 Mr. Kawai leaves
05:55 Mr. Taketoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
06:14 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
06:27 Residence

October 31, 2012 (WED)

AM

09:31 Office
09:40 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Mitani, Special Advisor for PM
10:59 Both leave

PM
12:49 Parliament
01:02 Lower House Plenary Session
04:19 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General
04:58 Office
05:21 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
05:32 Mr. Tarutoko, Ministter of Internal Affairs and Communications
06:29 Residence
06:30 Dinner with Mr. Takehiro Sakaguchi, Mr. Kazuya Kondo, and other DPJ first term members
08:25 All leave

November 1, 2012 (THU)

AM

09:12 Office
09:16 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
09:34 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
09:44 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Mitani, Special Advisor for PM, join
10:50 Mr. Saito leaves
10:56 Mr. Mitani and Mr. Ogushi leave

12:49 Parliament
01:01 Lower House Plenary Session
04:03 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary-General
04:20 Office
04:21 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Tax Policy Research Council Chief
05:15 Japan-Norway Summit Meeting and Joint Press Conference with Prime Minister Stoltenberg
06:00 Dinner hosted by Prime Minister Noda
07:08 See off Prime Minister Stoltenberg
07:15 Hotel New Otani, DPJ assembly of local secretary-generals and election affairs chiefs
07:50 Residence

November 2, 2012 (FRI)


AM
07:31 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Mitani and Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisors for PM
08:32 Parliament
08:38 Ministerial Meeting
08:55 Office
09:10 Mr. Shiba
09:13 Mr. Shiba leaves
10:38 Parliament
10:46 Upper House Plenary Session

PM

12:45 Office
01:27 Mr. Otsuji, Upper House Vice Chair
01:50 Mr. Hiroyuki Shigematsu, Auditor General; Receives the FY2011 Audit Report
01:55 Meeting ends
03:00 Press group interview
03:30 Interview ends
04:07 National Governors' Conference
05:21 Council for Science and Technology Policy
06:11 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office; Mr. Kinomura, Director of Defense Intelligence Headquarters; and Mr. Manabe, Deputy Director-General, Defense Policy Bureau, Ministry of Defense
06:24 Mr. Kinomura and Mr. Manabe leaves
06:38 Mr. Kitamura leaves
06:59 Residence
07:00 Dinner with Ministers, Chief and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
08:54 Dinner ends
08:55 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister; and Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
10:16 Mr. Okada and Mr. Fujimura leave

November 3, 2012 (SAT)


AM

10:09 Imperial palace; Order of Culture ceremony
11:13 Residence

PM

01:30 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Saiki, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs; Mr. Sasaki, Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry; Mr. Kozuki, European Affairs Bureau Director-General, MoFA; and Mr. Katakami, Economic Affairs Bureau Director-General, MoFA
02:00 All leave

November 4, 2012 (SUN)


AM

Residence

PM

12:30 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:00 Mr. Saito leaves
01:32 Press interview
01:54 Haneda Airport
02:21 Leave for Laos to attend ASEM (Asia Europe Meeting)

Local Time November 4, 2012

First Day of the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM9), and Other Activities

PM
Arrive at Wattay Airport, Vientiane, Laos
Ceremony to hand the propose for Japan-Laos economy cooperation
Welcome ceremony
Summit Meeting with Laos Prime Minister Tonshin
Stay at Don Chan Villa, a Government Lodging Facility

Friday, November 9, 2012

Remembering Bataan and Corregidor

In late April of this year, five former POWs of Japan who fought on Bataan and Corregidor visited Washington, DC to commemorate these historic battles. The commemoration events for the 70th anniversary of the defense of the Philippines was a project of Asia Policy Point.  

These members of America's greatest generation made a big impression on the people they met at the National Guard Association, the Heritage Foundation, the State Department, and the World War II memorial. As you will see in this video, young people are eager to meet and learn from them.
   

 We have extensive video footage of the visit to Washington former by these former POWs of Japan, which we would like to turn into a a short documentary. Your contributions to help make this happen are much needed.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Oct 22-28

October 22, 2012 (MON)

AM

09:31 Office
10:26 Mr. Matsumoto, Administrative Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; and Mr. Ssakamoto, Chief Cabinet Office Secretary
10:39 Both leave
11:30 Mr. Armitage, former Deputy Secretary of State and others; Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary and Mr. Ihara, MoFA North American Affairs Bureau Director General, attend

PM
12:01 Government/DPJ Executive meeting
12:52 Meeting ends
01:55 Parliament
02:01 Meeting with Mr. Shii, Japan Communist Party President; Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General, and Mr. Ichida, Japan Communist Party Secretary-General, attend
02:20 meeting with Mr. Fukushima, Social Democratic Party President; Mr. Koshiishi and Mr. Hattori, Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Affairs Deputy Chief, attend
02:40 Meeting with Mr. Matsuno, Ishin no Kai (the Japan restoration party) parliamentary representative; Mr. Koshiishi attends
03:14 Meeting with Mr. Tanaka, New Party Nippon President; Mr. Koshiishi attends
03:30 Meeting with Mr. Watanabe, Your Party President; Mr. Koshiishi and Mr. Eda, Your Party Secretary-General, attend
03:53 Office
05:01 Japan-Panama Summit Meeting and Joint Press Conference with President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal; Mr. Shiba and Mr. Kira, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, attend
05:45 Dinner Hosted by Prime Minister Noda
06:46 Dinner ends
06:47 See off President Berrocal
06:50 Residence

September 23, 2012 (TUE)

AM

09:24 Office
10:01 Ministerial meeting
10:18 Mr. Shimoji, People’s New Party Secretary-General
10:36 Mr. Sugiyama, MoFA Asia Pacific Affairs Bureau Director-General
11:30 Courtesy Call from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
11:44 Meeting ends

PM
01:17 Study group meeting for policy speech with Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Saito, Mr. Shiba, and Mr. Taketoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries
02:11 Meeting ends
02:23 Parliament
02:29 Meeting with Mr. Hiranuma, The Sunrise Party of Japan President; Mr. Koshiishi and Mr. Sonoda, The Sunrise Party Secretary-General
02:39 Meeting ends
02:40 Mr. Koshiishi
02:50 Office
03:56 Mr. Nishimura, Senior Vice Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare; and Mr. Kaneko, Administrative Vice Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare
04:14 Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance
04:45 Mr. Kanazawa, Administrative Vice Minister of Defense
05:14 Mr. Kitagami, Special Advisor for PM
05:33 Mr. Kitagami leaves
06:18 Mr. Saito
06:40 Africa Ambassadors Meeting participants
07:01 Residence

October 24, 2012 (WED)

AM

09:31 Office
10:31 Courtesy Call from Representatives of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP)
11:30 Mr. Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia

PM 
12:03 Mr. Fujimura; and Mr. Minoru Taki, DPJ Lower House member
01:30 Parliament
01:33 Meeting with Mr. Suzuki, New Party DAICHI President; Mr. Koshiishi and MR. Matsuki, New Party DAICHI Deputy President
02:02 Office
02:55 Imperial Palace; Recognition ceremony for Mr. Taki, new Justice Minister
03:53 Office
04:00 Mr. Fujimra gives letters of assignments
04:35 Mr. Hiroshi Nakai, Lower House Budget Committee Chair
04:44 Mr. Nakai leaves
05:58 Residence

October 25, 2012 (THU)

AM

08:52 Office
08:58 Mr. Saito and Mr. Kawauchi, Cabinet Affairs Office Director-General
09:25 Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance; and Mr. Maehara, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy
10:01 Ad-hoc ministerial meeting
10:47 Mr. Gemba, Minister of Foreign Affairs
11:08 Mr. Gemba leaves

PM
01:41 Akasaka Imperial Palace Garden; Autumn lawn party; Mrs. Noda attends
03:03 Office
03:56 Mr. Kitagami, Special Advisor for PM
04:25 Mr. Adachi, Administrative Vice Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry; Mr. Ueda, Trade Policy Bureau Director-General
04:57 Both leave
05:28 Mr. Saito and Mr. Kawauchi, Cabinet Affairs Office Director-General
06:02 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
06:58 Residence; Dinner with Mr. Yamai, DPJ Parliamentary Affairs Council Chief; Mr. Terata, Mr. Mitani, and Mr. Ogushi, Special Adivisors, attend
09:11 All leave

October 26, 2012 (FRI)

AM

09:33 Office
09:38 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
10:02 Ministerial meeting
10:21 Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction in the Response to the East Japan Earthquake; and Mr. Suzuki, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Director-General
10:50 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:00 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minsiter
11:42 Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisor for PM

PM
12:00 Mr. Kawakami leaves
02:31 Conversation with chief editors of major newspapers and agencies; Mr. Saito, Mr. Shiba, and Mr. Taketoshi, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries, attend
03:01 Conversation with private TV station’s analysts
03:26 Conversation with directors of media agencies
03:48 Meeting ends
04:30 Mr. Oakda, Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Gemba, Foreign Minister; Mr. Morimoto, Defense Minister, and Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
04:46 All leave
05:30 Courtesy call from Mr. John Hamre, CSIS President; Mr. Okada, Mr. Saito, and Mr. Shiba, attend
06:00 Meeting with the Members of the Association of the Families of Victims Kidnapped by North Korea and Others
06:19 Residence

October 27, 2012 (SAT) * Visit Iwate Prefecture

AM

06:44 JR Tokyo Station
06:56 Leave Tokyo Station on a bullet train; Mr. Mitani, Special Advisor, attends
09:22 JR Morioka Station; Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction in the Response to the East Japan Earthquake; and Mr. Kikawata, Senior Vice Minister for Reconstruction, attend
09:33 Iwate Prefectural Government Office
09:36 Meeting with Governor Takuya Tasso of Iwate
09:56 Meeting ends

PM
12:04 Lunch with Mayor Masanori Yamamoto of Miyako City, at a local fish restaurant “Uomoto”
12:39 Observe local shopping district
01:20 Taro district in Miyako; Pay a moment of silence
01:59 Fujiwara pier; observe the shredding and sorting facility
02:17 Leave Fujiwara pier
03:01 Nagane Fishery in Yamada Machi, Iwate; Mayor Shinitsu Sato greets
03:23 Visit temporary housing
04:06 Press interview
04:11 Interview ends
06:46 JR Morioka Station
07:04 Leave Morioka Station
09:23 Arrive at Tokyo Station
09:40 Residence

October 28, 2012 (SUN)

AM

Residence

PM
01:31 The Capitol Hotel Tokyu; Haircut at Spa & Barber Carju Rajah Tiado
03:08 Residence

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

South Korea and Kazakhstan Consolidate Bilateral Cooperation

Reprinted from the Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 9 Issue: 177
September 28, 2012 

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visits Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev (Source: Business News Kazakhstan)
On September 13, the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. It was his seventh visit to this Central Asian republic during the last four years. The last time South Korea’s leader met with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev was in August 2011, when the presidents signed 12 intergovernmental agreements covering various spheres of cooperation. South Korea and Kazakhstan established strategic relations back in May 2009, and the volume of Seoul’s direct investment into the Kazakh economy has been increasing ever since.

The bilateral trade turnover exceeded the symbolic level of $1 billion last year, while the first six months of 2012 were marked by almost $600 million worth of commercial deals. At the same time, the Republic of Korea has directly invested over $3 billion into multiple projects on Kazakh territory, and the size of its investment portfolio is expected to grow up to $8 billion with the implementation of more joint projects (Tengrinews, September 13).
One of the key achievements of this year’s bilateral meeting between the two presidents was the official launch of construction works on the site of a future thermal power plant on Lake Balkhash in South-Eastern Kazakhstan. This project is being implemented by Kazakhstan’s state-owned electric power supplier Samruk-Energo (this holding company is currently comprised of 22 independent entities) and a consortium of two South Korean companies, the Korea Electric Power Corporation and the Samsung C&T Corporation. While the total cost of the project is estimated at around $2.3 billion, the first block of the Balkhash thermal power plant will become operational only in December 2017 (Kazinform, September 13). According to President Nazarbayev, the successful completion of this large-scale project will enable Kazakhstan to curb its electric power dependency, which is especially acute during cold winter months. While the construction phase will require the mobilization of 900 workers, the maintenance of the power plant, which is expected to be entirely granted to South Korean partners, will secure permanent jobs to more than 3,500 people (Kazinform, September 13).
Another important breakthrough for Seoul was its agreement with Astana about the official exploration launch date on the Zhambyl oilfield in the northern section of the Caspian Sea. Presently, Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz (KMG) and a group of preselected South Korean energy companies are planning to start exploratory operations next year (Oilcapital.ru, September 13). In September 2004, the first protocol was signed between KazMunaiGaz and its South Korean partners, identifying Zhambyl as a site of potential collaboration. After the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and KMG finalized talks about the scope of projected operations in February 2008, an additional agreement was signed in order to delineate each party’s responsibilities. Moreover, South Korea has vowed to accelerate preparatory works for the launch of the construction of a modern gas and chemical plant in the Atyrau region (Newskaz, September 13). 
Additionally, Nursultan Nazarbayev announced that Seoul would participate in the production of rare-earth elements on Kazakh territory, providing technology transfers in exchange for these precious raw materials. Therefore, South Korea becomes the fifth foreign country, after Japan, Germany, France, and Russia, to receive the official “green light” with regard to this rapidly developing sector of Kazakhstan’s economy (see Eurasia Daily Monitor, September 12). In a recent interview, the Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev specifically stressed the innovative nature of Kazakh-South Korean bilateral cooperation. According to Issekeshev, President Nazarbayev was particularly impressed during his visit to South Korea’s Innopolis Daedeok innovative cluster, which is comprised of five national universities, 30 research centers, 400 privately owned research organizations, and over 1,200 innovative companies (Kazinform, September 16). In the minister’s view, Kazakhstan makes an ideal destination for Seoul’s technological transfers, thanks to its political stability, friendly investment climate, and a favorable geostrategic location in Central Asia. 
Finally, the two countries agreed on South Korea’s active involvement in the development of Kazakhstan’s national system of high-speed trains and subway. President Nazarbayev, who was visiting the People’s Republic of China with a high-level delegation in February 2011, was presented with a model of a high-speed train link between Almaty and Astana designed by Chinese engineers. This ambitious project was expected to reduce travel time between Kazakhstan’s major cities from 13 hours, as this rail connection is currently ensured by Spanish-designed trains, to only four hours (I-News.kz, February 22, 2011). Several months later, a serious traffic accident occurred in one of the Chinese eastern provinces, taking the lives of 39 passengers and wounding 200 others (Rbc.ru, July 28, 2011). This tragic event led to a temporary freeze of contacts between Astana and Beijing on the issue of high-speed train construction. During Lee Myung-bak’s recent visit to Kazakhstan, he was finally permitted to unveil concrete plans for the development of this crucial transport sector in a country ranked ninth in the world in terms of territory. 
Despite its ever-growing contacts with Kazakhstan, South Korea still remains attached to its long-time Central Asian partner, Uzbekistan. The Uzbek leader Islam Karimov visited Seoul upon his colleague’s invitation between September 19–21. The two countries signed $5 billion worth of contracts, of which over $3 billion represent foreign direct investment in Uzbekistan’s economy. Since 1992, South Korea and Uzbekistan have signed more than 230 bilateral agreements. Uzbekistan is presently home to 400 companies with South Korean participation, while 66 of them are fully owned by Seoul-based businesses. Last year, the bilateral trade turnover surpassed $1.6 billion (Fergana News, September 24). Therefore, South Korea’s expanding presence in Central Asia aims at a long-term engagement.

Prime Minister of Japan's Schedule Oct 8-21

October 8, 2012 (MON)

AM

Office

PM
07:54 Phone conversation with Mr. Shinya Yamanaka, Professor of Kyoto University, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
07:55 Conversation ends

October 9, 2012 (TUE)

AM

09:32 Office
09:46 Headquarters for the Promotion of Privatization of the Postal Services
09:58 Ministerial meeting
10:15 Meeting with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima of Okinawa; and Mayor Atsushi Sakima of Ginowan City, Okinawa; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary, attends
10:26 Meeting ends
11:31 Courtesy call from by Mr. Hatta, Minister for Economic Affairs of Indonesia
11:48 Meeting ends

PM
02:51 Mr. Hirohisa Fujii, DPJ Supreme Advisor
03:01 Mr. Fujii leaves
06:27 Residence

October 10, 2012 (WED)
AM 
09:22 Office
09:28 Mr. Azumi, DPJ Acting Secretary General; Mr. Hosono, DPJ Policy Research Council Chief; Mr. Mabuchi, DPJ Policy Research Councel Deputy Chief; and Mr. Hachiro, DPJ Election Affairs Committee Chair
10:27 Mr. Hosono, Mr. Mabuchi, and Mr. Hachiro leave
10:33 Mr. Azumi leaves
10:46 Mr. Hiroshi Okuda, President, Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East
11:10 Mr. Maehara, Minister of State for National Policy

PM
12:02 Lunch with Special Advisors, Mr. Kitakami, Mr. Terada, Mr. Mitani, and Mr. Kawakami, and Mr. Ogushi
12:36 Lunch ends
02:10 Meeting with U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye; U.S. Ambassador Roos and Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, attend
02:37 Meeting ends
04:00 Interview with Bloomberg News
04:27 Interview ends
05:34 Japan-Zambia Summit Meeting with President Michael Sata
06:21 See off President Sata
06:24 Residence

October 11, 2012 (THU)

AM

09:32 Office
10:22 NHK Hall
10:30 JA National Congress
11:22 Office

PM
12:50 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
01:17 Parliament
01:25 Visit Mr. Abe, LDP President; and Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General; Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General, and Mr. Azumi, Deputy Secretary General, accompany
01:32 Visit Ms. Fukushima, Socialist Party President; and Mataichi, Socialist Party Vice President; Mr. Koshiishi and Mr. Azumi accompany
01:39 Office
02:12 Japan-Luxembourg Summit Meeting
02:45 Japan-Liberia Summit Meeting
03:11 Mr. Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry; and Mr. Takahara, Director-General, Agency for Natural resources and Energy
04:02 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
04:30 Mr. Katagiri, Commissioner-General of National Police Agency
04:50 Mr. Katagiri leaves
05:31 Honors Contributors to the Building of Safe and Reassuring Communities
05:51 Residence

October 12, 2012 (FRI)

AM

09:31 Office
10:02 Ministerial meeting
10:17 Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
10:37 Meeting ends
11:44 Courtesy Call from Professor Shinya Yamanaka, winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary, and Ms. Tanaka, Minister of Education, and Mr. Maehara. Minister of State for Science and Technology attend
11:54 Meeting ends

PM
02:11 Japan-Swiss Summit Meeting with President Widmer-Schlumpf: Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, attends
02:38 Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisor for PM
02:56 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
03:36 Mr. Gemba, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Sugiyama, Director-General of Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
04:06 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
04:30 Mr. Kitamura leaves
06:09 The Imperial Hotel; Welcome Reception for the 2012 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Held by the Prime Minister and Other Activities
06:34 World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim; Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance and Mr. Shiba
06:51 IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde; Mr. Jojima and Mr. Shiba
08:04 U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
08:39 Residence

October 13, 2012 (SAT)

AM

09:59 Ministry of Defense; Memorial Service for Members of the Self-Defense Forces Who Lost Their Lives on Duty
11:02 Residence

PM
03:32 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
04:30 Mr. Saito leaves
04:54 Mr. Koshiishi, DPJ Secretary General
05:32 Mr. Koshiishi leaves

October 14, 2012 (SUN)

AM

10:22 Office
10:26 Leave the office on a MSDF helicopter
11:00 Land on DDH the Kurama; Mr. Morimoto, Minister of Defense greets

PM
12:00 MSDF Fleet Review
01:27 Give words for MSDF members
01:52 Leave the Kurama
02:34 Office
02:39 Residence

October 15, 2012 (MON)

AM

09:32 Office
10:00 Mr. Ikeda, Director, Nuclear Regulation Agency
10:15 Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary; and Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, join
10:40 All leave
11:00 Mr. Yasuaki Nogawa, Ambassador for New Zealand
11:03 Meeting ends

PM
12:23 Hotel Okura, Toranomon, Tokyo
12:24 Mr. Tadakazu Kimura, President, Asahi Shimbun; and Mr. Yoshibumi Wakamiya, Asahi Shimbun Chief Editor
12:37 Asahi World Environmental Forum 2012 Plenary Session
12:57 Office
02:00 Mr. Jojima, Minister of Finance; and Mr. Manago, Administrative Vice Minister of Finance
03:57 Mr. Tatsuo Hirano, Minister for Reconstruction in the Response to the East Japan Earthquake
04:21 Mr. Hirano leaves
05:19 Mr. Tanaka, Minister of State for the Abduction Issue; and Mr. Mitani, Deputy Director, Headquarters for the Abduction Issue
05:42 Both leave
06:19 Residence

October 16, 2012 (TUE)

AM

09:31 Office
10:01 Ministerial Meeting
10:17 Reconstruction Promotion Council
11:11 Mr. Kazuo Inamori, Board Chair Emeritus, Japan Airline (JAL)

PM
02:44 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
02:48 Mr. Okada leaves
03:00 Mr. Okada; Mr. Edano, Minister of Economy; Mr. Maehara, Minister of State for National Policy; and Mr. Fujimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary
03:21 Mr. Okada, Mr. Edano, and Mr. Fujimura leave
03:35 Mr. Maehara leaves
03:43 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
04:03 Mr. Saito leaves
04:46 Council on the Promotion of the "New Public Commons"
05:40 Mr. Kawakami, Special Advisor for PM
06:35 Residence

October 17, 2012 (WED)
AM 
09:39 Cambodian Embassy in Akasaka; Pay his respects for King Sihanouk
09:56 Office
10:56 Mr. Saiki, Deputy Foreign Minister; and Mr. Kozuki, Director-General, European Affairs Bureau, MoFA
11:30 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:40 Mr. Shiba leaves

PM
03:24 Mr. Sugiyama, Director-General, Asia and Oceania Affairs Bureau, MoFA
04:09 Mr. Okada
05:01 Ad-hoc ministerial meeting
05:08 Mr. Maehara, Minister of State for National Policy
05:15 Mr. Maehara leaves
06:30 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
06:56 Residence
07:07 Dinner with Mr. Tarutoko, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications; Mr. Tanaka, Minister of Education; and Mr. Ryu, Senior Vice Minister of Education
10:10 Dinner ends

October 18, 2012 (THU)

AM

09:33 Office
09:57 Mr. Okada; Mr. Fujimoto, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office; Mr. Terada, Special Advisor for PM; and Mr. Shuichi Nakamura, Social Security Reform Department Director, Cabinet Office
10:30 Mr. Minamigawa, Administrative Vice Minister of Environment
10:51 Mr. Minamigawa leaves
11:47 Mr. Shiba, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
11:53 Mr. Shiba leaves

PM
12:51 Hotel Grand Arc Hanzomon; Memorial Service for Police Officers and Contributors Who Lost Their Lives on Duty or in an Attempt to Assist the Police or Save Peoples' Lives
01:40 Office
02:26 Natinal Theater
03:00 Ceremony Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Enforcement of the Conciliation System and the 60th Anniversary of the Japan Federation of Conciliation Associations
03:33 Office
03:57 Parliament
04:02 Meeting with Mr. Jimi, President, People’s New Party; Mr. Koshiishi, Mr. Azumi, and Mr. Shimoji, People’s New party Secretary General, attend
04:13 Meeting ends
04:14 Mr. Koshiishi
04:38 Office
04:43 Mr. Uichiro Niwa, Ambassador for China
05:10 Mr. Ogushi, Special Advisor for PM
05:33 Mr. Okada, Mr. Fujimura, Mr. Saito, Mr. Morimoto, Mr. Kira, Senior Vice Minister, MoFA, and Mr. Ihara, Director General, North American Affairs Bureau, MoFA
06:09 Mr. Okada leaves
06:22 All leave
06:23 Mr. Fujimura, Mr. Saito, Mr. Edano, Mr. Maehara, and Mr. Takahara
06:30 Mr. Edano and Mr. Takahara leaves
06:33 Mr. Fujimura, Mr. Saito, and Mr. Mehara leaves
07:14 Residence

October 19, 2012 (FRI)

AM

08:51 Office
08:55 Mr. Kawai, Administrative Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
09:40 Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Disaster Waste Management
10:01 Ministerial meeting
10:13 Nuclear Emergency Preparedness Council
10:31 Meeting ends
11:32 Mr. Kitamura, Head of Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
11:57 Mr. Kitamura leaves

PM
03:55 Parliament
04:00 Mr. Abe, LDP President; Mr. Yamaguchi, New Komei Party President; Mr. Koshiishi; Mr. Ishiba, LDP Secretary General; and Mr. Inoue, New Komei Party Secretary General
04:40 Meeting ends
04:41 Mr. Koshiishi
04:46 Press interview
04:57 Office
05:14 Government/DPJ Executive meeting
05:52 Mr. Okada, Deputy Prime Minister
06:00 Mr. Saito, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
06:42 ANA Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo; reception of “Forum 21 General Assembly”
07:01 Residence

October 20, 2012 (SAT)

AM

11:21 Imperial palace; Empress’s birth day party; Mrs. Noda accompanies

PM
12:15 Residence

October 21, 2012 (SUN)

AM

10:35 Haneda Airport
11:04 Greet Prince who came back from Luxemburg
11:34 Residence

PM
Residence