news/notes2009.04.13a

[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]

[NATIONAL NEWS]
LDP-supported Satake wins Akita gubernatorial election
AKITA (Kyodo) Former Akita City Mayor Norihisa Satake won Sunday's gubernatorial election in Akita Prefecture, beating three other candidates, in another setback for the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.

The 61-year-old Satake was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party's prefectural chapter and the Social Democratic Party, while his main challenger, former Kosaka Town Mayor Hiroshi Kawaguchi, 61, was backed by the DPJ's prefectural chapter and the prefectural branch of the People's New Party.

The election to choose a successor to retiring Gov. Sukeshiro Terata was closely watched as a barometer for voter trends in the House of Representatives election which must be held by the fall, including how a fundraising scandal that has led to the indictment of DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa's secretary will affect voter behavior.

"I will take the responsibility for managing the prefectural administration seriously . . . and work hard," Satake said.

An LDP lawmaker said Satake's victory "shows the voters' evaluation of the (Prime Minister Taro) Aso Cabinet（麻生内閣） and the LDP."

In addition to the SDP, the local branch of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the nation's biggest umbrella organization for labor unions known as Rengo, supported Satake, although it supports the DPJ's prefectural chapter.

The Akita election followed the Chiba gubernatorial election in late March, in which a candidate recommended by the DPJ was defeated by independent Kensaku Morita who was backed by about half of the LDP members in the Chiba prefectural assembly.

The two other candidates in the Akita election were former Ugo Town Mayor Shoichiro Sato, 56, and Kaneji Fujimoto, 62, a prefectural committee member of the Japanese Communist Party.


[NATIONAL NEWS]
72% say Ozawa should resign, Aso Cabinet support rate up: survey
(Kyodo News) About 72 percent of respondents in a phone survey said Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa（小沢一郎） should resign over a political funds scandal that has led to the indictment of his secretary, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said Sunday.

iThe support rate for Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet rose 8 percentage points from the previous survey in March to 24 percent, with Aso surpassing Ozawa as more fit to be prime minister for the first time in six months, the daily reported.

According to the poll, 21 percent of the respondents said Aso was more suitable as prime minister, compared with 12 percent for Ozawa of the main opposition DPJ, although the disapproval rating for the current Cabinet remained high at 56 percent.

Concerning whether Ozawa should step down, 39 percent said he should resign "immediately" and 33 percent said he should do so before the next House of Representatives election that must be held by the fall, while 23 percent said he should go into the general election as DPJ leader.

In the Mainichi's previous survey in which respondents were not asked about the timing of any resignation, 57 percent said Ozawa should step down.

The support rate for the Aso Cabinet, which had been dwindling since its launch last September, rose for the second straight survey following the one in March which was conducted just after Ozawa's secretary Takanori Okubo was arrested for allegedly taking illegal corporate donations from two political organizations related to Nishimatsu Construction Co.

Japan's stance against North Korea's rocket launch may have had an effect on the latest response, as 76 percent said they value Tokyo's call for a new U.N. resolution and additional economic sanctions on Pyongyang following its April 5 launch of what it claims was a satellite but which countries such as Japan suspect was a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test, according to the report.

The Mainichi survey, conducted Friday and Saturday, covered 1,903 households nationwide with 1,150 people responding.


[BUSINESS NEWS]
BOJ considers boosting capital base to combat credit crunch
(Kyodo News) The Bank of Japan is considering boosting its capital base by increasing the amount of its legal reserves as it prepares for losses it may incur from carrying out emergency measures to combat the global financial crisis, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday.

The Japanese central bank will consult with the Finance Ministry to begin its capital replenishment from the just-ended fiscal 2008, when its accounts settle in May, the sources said.

The BOJ aims to reinforce its financial standing and maintain credibility in the Japanese yen, since it risks incurring losses by purchasing risky assets like commercial paper and corporate bonds from financial institutions as part of its efforts to stem the financial turmoil.

As of the end of last September, the BOJ's capital adequacy ratio stood at 7.54 percent, which is below the 8-12 percent level the central bank deems as financially sound. Its capital adequacy ratio is partially measured from the sum of its capital, legal reserves and provisions for possible losses from foreign exchange and securities transactions.

According to the Bank of Japan Act, the central bank is permitted to retain 5 percent of the surplus as legal reserves at the time of its account settlement. If the need arises, it can also increase the reserve amount and thereby reduce the portion of remaining surplus it pays to the national treasury.

While the BOJ will still iron out details with the Finance Ministry on the reserve amount and timing of the replenishment, it would be the first time in four years if the BOJ revises its 5 percent reserve ratio.

news/notes2009.04.13b

[News] from [Los Angeles Times]
U.S. Navy kills pirates to rescue American captain
Capt. Richard Phillips is freed after military snipers see a chance and shoot dead three of the captors. A fourth pirate, negotiating with the Navy aboard the Bainbridge, is taken into custody.

By Josh Meyer and Edmund Sanders
April 13, 2009

Reporting from Washington and Djibouti -- After days of tense negotiations, the U.S. Navy rescued an American sea captain in seconds Sunday, with snipers shooting three Somali pirates who officials feared were about to kill him.

The commanding officer of the U.S. guided missile destroyer Bainbridge had received approval from President Obama to attempt a rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips by force if his life appeared to be in imminent danger after five days of captivity off the coast of Somalia.

With the seas in the Gulf of Aden getting choppier and the increasingly agitated captors pointing an automatic weapon at Phillips, Cmdr. Frank Castellano decided he had no other option, Navy Vice Adm. William Gortney said.

Castellano gave the green light, and sharpshooters on the fantail of the naval warship opened fire on the partially exposed pirates aboard the small enclosed lifeboat.

Phillips, who was bound and standing, was not injured in the rescue, which occurred just after dark at 7:19 p.m., said Gortney, commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. He gave an account of the rescue operation and the events leading up to it in a Pentagon conference call Sunday evening from the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain.


Phillips' three captors, who were armed with AK-47 assault rifles and small-caliber pistols, probably were killed instantaneously by the snipers. "We pay a lot for their training and we earned a good return on their investment tonight," Gortney said.

A fourth pirate, who was aboard the Bainbridge negotiating with the Navy over Phillips' release, was taken into custody by U.S. authorities.

After the rescue, Phillips, 53, was whisked to safety aboard the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship Boxer nearby, given a routine medical evaluation and was "resting comfortably," Gortney said.

Gortney said sailors on the Bainbridge had passed a note to Phillips from his wife, Andrea, that said, "Your family loves you, your family is praying for you, your family is saving a chocolate Easter egg for you unless your son eats it first."

"Well, Mrs. Phillips, keep your son away from those Easter eggs, his dad's headed home," Gortney said.

Phillips was taken hostage Wednesday when the pirates attempted to seize his cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama. On the Boxer, military officials confirmed that the soft-spoken captain had placed himself at risk in an effort to protect his crew, helping fight off the pirates and then offering himself as a hostage.

The pirates kept Phillips aboard the 24-foot lifeboat and repeatedly threatened him. They were seeking millions of dollars in ransom.

"His courage is a model for all Americans," Obama said in a statement released Sunday by the White House.

Asked if he had any message for a public that had been captivated by his ordeal, Phillips was self-effacing.

"The real heroes are the Navy, the Seals, those who have brought me home," he told John Reinhart, president and chief executive of Maersk Line.

Gortney and other military officials said they feared the rescue could provoke retaliation from Somali clans. He said the solution lay in going after the pirates on land in Somalia and other havens where they have flourished amid "lawlessness, lack of government and economic instability."

Local news reports quoted some Somali pirates as saying Sunday that they planned to step up their activities, and that they would kill hostages before they could be killed themselves.

In nearby Mombasa, Kenya, where the Maersk Alabama had arrived Saturday without its captain, the crew erupted in celebration when news of his release came through. Two flares were fired in the air and the ship's horn sounded. Nine crew members, one wrapped in an American flag, came to the stern, pumping their fists.

"He's one of the bravest men I've ever met," one of them shouted to reporters, referring to Phillips. "He's a national hero."

Friends and family in Phillips' hometown of Underhill, Vt., were more subdued. Many said their Easter prayers had been answered; his family asked for privacy. Alison McColl, a family friend, read a brief statement to reporters outside the Phillips home, saying the captain and his wife had spoken by phone.

"I think you can all imagine their joy, and what a happy moment that was for them," said McColl, according to the Associated Press.

In Washington, Obama praised the military and other U.S. officials involved in Phillips' rescue. But he too warned that though the first known hostage-taking of an American merchant seaman in more than a century was over, the broader problem of piracy on the high seas was not.

In his statement, Obama vowed to take steps to prevent such occurrences, especially in the waters off the Horn of Africa.

The Maersk Alabama, an American-flagged and Danish-owned vessel, had been carrying humanitarian aid to Africa. Since the attack, Phillips and his captors had been floating in the life raft, out of fuel and shadowed by U.S. warships.

The captain jumped off the lifeboat Friday night and tried to swim for freedom, but the pirates quickly recaptured him.


The Pentagon did not release the identities of the four pirates. Gortney said discussions were underway with the Justice Department on whether the detained pirate could be tried in a U.S. court of law.

The rescue ended an incident considered one of the first tests of how the Obama administration would deal with the growing problem of international piracy.

Pentagon officials confirmed that the president had approved military requests to attempt rescues Friday and again Saturday.

But for much of the last four days, the situation appeared to be in a stalemate. FBI hostage negotiation experts and the military were careful not to portray themselves as being open to paying a ransom, but also hesitant to close off any opportunities to peacefully settle the crisis.

By Saturday, the U.S. negotiators had persuaded the pirates to allow them to send an inflatable boat out to the lifeboat with food, water and even a change of clothes for Phillips, Gortney said. That effort proved invaluable when one of the captors agreed to come aboard the Bainbridge to negotiate, and enough of a rapport was built that the warship was given permission to tow the lifeboat when bad weather caused the seas to get choppy and potentially dangerous.

It was during that tow that the snipers got a clear view of Phillips' captors, Gortney said. "The on-scene commander made the decision that Capt. Phillips' life was in immediate danger" after a de-escalation of the tension earlier Sunday proved short-lived.

The deadly rescue was a blow to Somali pirates who have for years preyed on international shipping and some of whom still hold hostage more than a dozen ships with about 230 civilian sailors from many nations.

Officials in Somalia's transitional government welcomed the end of the hostage crisis, but said it underscored the need for the international community to do more to help the government bolster its security services.

"We are delighted," Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdulahi Omaar said. "This is a capability that we need to be able to undertake ourselves."

He said it was possible that the deaths of the three pirates could spur an anti-U.S. backlash among a small number of extremists, but that most Somalis would support and understand the American operation.

"People are fed up with gun-toting warlords, whether they are onshore or offshore," he said.

Elders and family members of the pirates, who were gathered in the coastal village of Garacad, said they had begun to suspect something was amiss earlier Sunday after they lost contact with the pirates via satellite phone.

According to one elder, before the rescue, the increasingly desperate pirates had dropped their demand for ransom and asked that a hijacked Greek ship be permitted to approach them so they could escape.

Kulmiye Moalim Hassan, interviewed by telephone in the port city of Eyl, a pirate stronghold, said the Americans refused permission, raising the possibility that a rescue operation was underway.

news/notes2009.04.13c

[News] from [The New York Times]
In Rescue of Captain, Navy Kills 3 Pirates

By ROBERT D. McFADDEN and SCOTT SHANE
Published: April 12, 2009

Navy Seal snipers rescued an American cargo ship captain unharmed and killed three Somali pirates in a daring operation in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, ending a five-day standoff between United States naval forces and a small band of brigands in a covered orange lifeboat off the Horn of Africa.

Acting with President Obama’s authorization and in the belief that the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips, was in imminent danger of being killed by captors armed with pistols and AK-47s, snipers on the fantail of the destroyer Bainbridge, which was towing the lifeboat on a 100-foot line, opened fire and picked off the three captors.

Two of the captors had poked their heads out of a rear hatch of the lifeboat, exposing themselves to clear shots, and the third could be seen through a window in the bow, pointing an automatic rifle at the captain, who was tied up inside the 18-foot lifeboat, senior Navy officials said.

It took only three remarkable shots — one each by snipers firing from a distance at dusk, using night-vision scopes, the officials said. Within minutes, rescuers slid down ropes from the Bainbridge, climbed aboard the lifeboat and found the three pirates dead. They then untied Captain Phillips, ending the contretemps at sea that had riveted much of the world’s attention. A fourth pirate had surrendered earlier.

Shortly after his rescue, Captain Phillips was taken aboard the Bainbridge, underwent a medical exam and was found to be in relatively good condition for a 53-year-old seafarer who had been held since Wednesday by pirates who had demanded $2 million for his life. He called home and was flown to the Boxer, an amphibious assault ship also off the Somali coast. Arrangements were being made Sunday night for his return home to Vermont.

“I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “His courage is a model for all Americans.”

Jubilation over the dramatic rescue reached from the White House to Underhill, Vt., Captain Phillips’s hometown, and from personnel aboard the Bainbridge to the cheering, fist-pumping 19-member crew of the captain’s cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, docked in Mombasa, Kenya.

Captain Phillips, who was said to be resting comfortably, spoke to officials of the Maersk Line, who quoted him as saying: “The real heroes are the Navy, the Seals, those who have brought me home.” He also spoke to his wife, Andrea, and two college-aged children in Underhill, where dozens of yellow ribbons fluttered on the white picket fence of his home and two small American flags jutted up from the lawn.

“This is truly a very happy Easter for the Phillips family,” said Alison McColl, a Maersk representative assigned to speak for the family. “They are all just so happy and relieved,” she said. “I think you can all imagine their joy and what a happy moment it was for them.”

On the family’s behalf, Ms. McColl thanked the nation and the people of Vermont for their prayers and support. “Obviously, this has been a long journey for the family,” she said. John Reinhart, president and chief executive of Maersk Line Ltd., praised the Navy and federal officials for their performance. “Everyone’s worked around the clock,” he said. “It’s magnificent to see the outcome.”

While the outcome was a triumph for America, officials in many countries plagued by pirates said it was not likely to discourage them. Pirates are holding a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau.

In Somalia itself, other pirates reacted angrily to the news that Captain Phillips had been rescued, and some said they would avenge the deaths of their colleagues by killing Americans in sea hijackings to come.

“Every country will be treated the way it treats us,” Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the pirate den of Gaan, a central Somali town, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying in a telephone interview. “In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying.”

Aboard the Maersk Alabama, a 17,000-ton cargo ship, Captain Phillips’s crew erupted in cheers, waved American flags and fired off flares. When four pirates attacked the ship on Wednesday, the crew escaped harm after the captain offered himself as a hostage. He told his crewmen to lock themselves in cabins, and allowed himself to be taken at gunpoint into the lifeboat in which the pirates fled.

Over the ensuing days, according to official accounts of the episode, the pirates made repeated threats to kill the captain as their motorized lifeboat moved about 30 miles off the Somali coast. It was closely watched by United States warships and helicopters in an increasingly tense standoff.

Talks to free the captain began Thursday, with the commander of the Bainbridge communicating with the pirates under instructions from F.B.I. hostage negotiators flown to the scene. The pirates threatened to kill Captain Phillips if attacked, and the result was tragicomic: the world’s most powerful navy vs. a lifeboat.

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of the United States naval forces in the region, said in a briefing in Bahrain that despite ransom demands from the pirates the United States had not discussed any ransom and had talked to the pirates only about the release of Captain Phillips and the pirates’ surrender.

The Defense Department twice sought Mr. Obama’s permission to use force to rescue Captain Phillips, most recently on Friday night, senior defense officials said. On Saturday morning, the president agreed, they said, if it appeared that the captain’s life was in imminent danger.

By Friday, with several warships within easy reach of the lifeboat, the negotiations had gone nowhere. Captain Phillips jumped into the sea, but was quickly recaptured. On Saturday, the pirates fired several shots at a small boat that had approached from the Bainbridge.

By the weekend, however, the pirates had begun to run out of food, water and fuel. That apparently provided the opening officials were hoping for. In briefings, senior officers who spoke anonymously because they had not been authorized to disclose information said that the pirates agreed to accept food and water. A small craft was used to deliver them and it apparently made several trips between the Bainbridge and the lifeboat.

On one trip, one of the four pirates — whose hand had been gashed during the capture of Captain Phillips — asked for medical treatment and, in effect surrendering, was taken in the small boat to the Bainbridge. Justice Department officials were studying options for his case, including criminal charges in the United States or turning him over to Kenya, where dozens of pirates have faced prosecution. Three pirates were left on board with Captain Phillips.

Meanwhile, members of the Navy Seals were flown in by fixed-wing aircraft. They parachuted into the sea with inflatable boats and were picked up by the Bainbridge. On Sunday, the pirates, their fuel gone, were drifting toward the Somali coast. They agreed to accept a tow from the Bainbridge, the senior officials said. At first, the towline was 200 feet long, but as darkness gathered and seas became rough, the towline was shortened to 100 feet, the officials said. It was unclear if this was done with the pirates’ knowledge.

At dusk, a single tracer bullet was seen fired from the lifeboat. The intent was unclear, but it ratcheted up the tension and Seal snipers at the stern rail of the Bainbridge fixed night-vision scopes to their high-powered rifles, getting ready for action.

What they saw was the head and shoulders of two of the pirates emerging from the rear hatch of the lifeboat. Through the window of the front hatch they saw the third pirate, pointing his AK-47 at the back of Captain Phillips, who was seen to be tied up.

That was it: the provocation that fulfilled the president’s order to act only if the captain’s life was in imminent danger, and the opportunity of having clear shots at each captor. The order was given. Senior defense officials, themselves marveling at the skill of the snipers, said each took a target and fired one shot.

“This was an incredible team effort,” Admiral Gortney said when it was over. “And I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of all the men and women who made this rescue possible.”

news/notes2009.04.13d

[Today's Papers] from [Slate Magazine]
Taking Down the Pirates

By Daniel Politi
Posted Monday, April 13, 2009, at 6:47 AM ET

The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal 's world-wide newsbox lead with the dramatic rescue of the American captain who had been held hostage for five days by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Navy Seal snipers shot and killed three Somali pirates when a commander concluded that Capt. Richard Philips was in imminent danger after one of his captors aimed an AK-47 at his back. Philips, 53, was uninjured and in relatively good health.

The Los Angeles Times off-leads with the rescue operation but leads with a look at how a California program to provide caregivers for the elderly and disabled has become a favorite target for scam artists. The program is supposed to save the state money in nursing-home costs, but there's so little oversight that it's easy for someone to claim to be providing services for someone who isn't even disabled or who may be dead. Critics of the program say union interests are preventing efforts to fight against fraud, since those getting paid by the state have to pay monthly union dues.

The WP reports that "dozens" of Navy Seals had parachuted into the Indian Ocean on Saturday and immediately took up position on the destroyer Bainbridge. President Obama had given standing orders for the Navy to take action if the captain's life was in danger, and as the situation seemed to grow tenser by the minute, Commander Frank Castellano decided he had no choice and gave permission to fire. The NYT notes that two of the pirates suddenly made themselves open to clear shots, while one-third could clearly be seen through the window. Earlier, a fourth pirate with a hand injury had effectively given himself up.

The American service members acted when the pirates appeared to be getting nervous and recognizing they they had no way out. The LAT talks to one elder in the port city of Eyl, a pirate haven, who says the pirates had dropped their demands for a ransom and were only asking for a way to escape.

USAT notes that yesterday "marked the first time an American president had acted against maritime marauders since Thomas Jefferson ordered Marines to the shores of Tripoli to fight the Barbary pirates." In a piece inside, the WP points out that the standoff was "one of the earliest tests" for Obama. It was a military operation that paled in comparison with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that didn't make it inconsequential for a president "who had yet to prove himself to this generals or his public." Seemingly aware of the risk, the White House had been busy playing down Obama's role in the operation. That is, until it all went well and administration officials couldn't stop talking about how often the president was briefed on the situation and how he was the one who gave the go-ahead for the rescue operation. Although the WP may have gotten caught up in the exuberance of the moment when it declares that Obama's actions "could help build confidence in his ability to direct military actions abroad," the truth is that it's hard to see how things could have gone better for the young president.

There's now widespread concern that yesterday's rescue operation could make the piracy situation off the coast of Somalia worse. "This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney said. The LAT notes that pirates warned yesterday that they would be increasing their efforts to seize ships and wouldn't hesitate to kill hostages if they ever felt as though their lives were in danger. The NYT points out that at least one Somali pirate has vowed to take revenge on the next American captured at sea. In a separate story inside, the NYT says the events of the past week have reignited discussions over whether the crew of commercial ships should be armed. Many ship owners continue to be reluctant to follow this path, fearing that it would merely make the high seas more dangerous, particularly since pirates "will always be able to buy larger weapons than ship owners in any maritime arms race."

The WSJ fronts a look at how the committee that was appointed by Congress to oversee the bank bailouts is investigating the lending practices of banks that received taxpayer money. Many have complained that some of the biggest recipients of federal money have been keeping themselves busy by raising fees and providing loans that consumer advocates describe as predatory. For example, Bank of America, which has received $45 billion from Uncle Sam, is raising credit-card interest rates and fees. For its part, Citigroup has received $50 billion in taxpayer capital and is now trying to get consumers to take out loans with exorbitant interest rates. "In a sense, we're asking taxpayers to pay twice," the chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel said. Banks say taxpayers should be cheering their efforts to return to profitability as soon as possible.

The NYT reports that Obama's plan to carry out a "sweeping overhaul of financial aid programs" has "ignited one of the most fractious policy fights this year." The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that by getting private banks out of the business of handing out subsidized loans for students, the government could save $94 billion, which Obama has said he wants to use to expand Pell grants. Republicans say that this is another way the government is trying to expand the size of government, and lenders are balking at the thought of losing what has been one of their best ways to collect easy money. (The loans are virtually risk free.) In order to get lawmakers on their side, lenders are emphasizing not only the services they provide but the jobs they create.

The NYT goes inside with a look at how the Treasury Department is pushing General Motors to be ready to file for bankruptcy by June 1. Even as the automaker continues to insist it can reorganize outside court, the government wants GM to be ready to go through what is being described as a quick "surgical" bankruptcy in case it can't get sufficient concessions from bondholders. As has been explained before, one of the options being discussed would be to create a "good" and a "bad" GM, and the government wants the "good GM" to get in and out of bankruptcy in as little as two weeks. As is always the case with this kind of story, it's not entirely clear whether the government isn't just trying to make bondholders believe it is serious about pushing the automaker toward bankruptcy so they drop their reluctance to make concessions. The WSJ notes bondholders aren't likely to take such action sitting down, and they're already preparing legal arguments against the government plans for a quick bankruptcy. It is precisely due to this uncertainty over what can happen in bankruptcy court that GM has been so reluctant to go that route.

Yesterday, the WP gave readers a revealing and, yes, funny, look at the ways of Washington media coverage, revealing that after the Post got mad when it found out that the administration had promised the story about the White House vegetable garden as an exclusive to the NYT, the WP was promised the exclusive on the First Dog. Of course, those plans went out the window when pictures of the dog leaked on the Internet over the weekend. But it seems the Post got at least some of what it was promised and today dedicates a look at the long, winding road that 6-month-old Bo traveled before reaching the White House. In a piece of the tale that seems almost too good to believe, the breeders were fans of Obama and named Bo's litter, which included 10 puppies, the Hope and Change Litter. And to bring everything full circle, it seems the Obamas will have to be particularly vigilant about their vegetable garden because, weirdly enough, it turns out that Portuguese water dogs love tomatoes.