JAPANESE EMBASSY ON CHIRAC VISIT TO JAPAN, EU ARMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001588

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2015
TAGS: PREL MARR ETTC JA FR EUN
SUBJECT: JAPANESE EMBASSY ON CHIRAC VISIT TO JAPAN, EU ARMS
EMBARGO, AND ITER

REF: A) STATE 39909 B) TOKYO 743 C) WICKMAN/RECINOS
3/8 E-MAIL

Classified By: DCM ALEX WOLFF, REASON, 1.4 B AND D


1. (C) Summary: On March 8, 2005, Japanese DCM confirmed to
DCM that President Chirac will visit Japan officially March
26-28. Chirac, who will be accompanied by a French business
delegation and Commerce Minister Loos, will attend the 2005
Aichi Expo and later meet with PM Koizumi and the Emperor in
Tokyo. Likely issues on the trip agenda are EU arms embargo
on China, ITER, UNSC reform and the Middle East. On the EU
arms embargo, in response to a Japanese inquiry on whether we
were still interested in consultations with the EU and Japan,
we emphasized that there had been no change on U.S. policy
against the lift; U.S. focus is on conveying our opposition
to the lift. The Japanese, on their end, are pushing the
French hard against lifting the embargo and do not expect
major action prior to Chirac's March visit. On ITER, the
Japanese DCM stated that the "ball is in the EU's court."
Japan had presented a compromise proposal, but had not had a
response from the EU. Separately, Japan is working closely,
but quietly, with India, Germany and Brazil on UNSC reform.
End Summary.

President Chirac to Japan
--------------


2. (C) During the course of his conversation with the DCM on
the EU arms embargo, Japanese DCM Yoichi Otabe confirmed that
President Chirac will travel to Japan for official meetings
March 26-28. Following the official program, he will take
additional personal time and stay through the end of the
month. Among others, Chirac will be accompanied by Mrs.
Chirac, Commerce Minister Francois Loos, and a delegation of
French businessmen. In terms of events, Chirac's first stop
will be in Osaka for a sumo tournament, followed by a meeting
with PM Koizumi in Tokyo on Sunday, March 27. On the 27th,
the French will attend the Aichi 2005 Expo. The Emperor will
host a luncheon on March 28. Otabe said that, among key
topics likely to be discussed, were the EU arms embargo,
ITER, Middle East peace process, and UNSC reform.
Separately, we have learned that MFA Political Director
Stanislas de Laboulaye, the new head of the MFA's Policy
Planning Office Pierre Levy, and DAS-equivalent Director for
the East Asia Department Marc Abensour will travel to Tokyo
and Seoul, March 14-18 for consultations.

EU Arms Embargo
--------------


3. (C) Otabe noted that NSC and Department officials had
recently discussed with the Japanese the U.S. position
against the lifting of the embargo (ref A). Citing U/S
Bolton's February 7 meetings with Deputy FonMin Tanaka (ref
b),Otabe asked whether the U.S. had revised its views and
dropped the idea of trilateral consultations related to the
end of the embargo with the EU and Japan. The DCM explained
that the U.S. remains firmly opposed to the lifting of the
embargo and that the focus of our discussions was on making
sure the Europeans understood our position. We reassured
Otabe that strategic discussions among the EU, Japan and the
U.S. are important and reiterated the latest U.S. policy
guidance (ref A and C).


4. (C) The DCM and Otabe discussed probable EU planning on a
date for lifting the embargo. Otabe said that Japan has been
lobbying against the lift in EU member states' capitals. In
terms of timing, as had been the case during the POTUS visit
to Brussels, Japan was expecting that the French would not
push for a lift in advance or around the time of Chirac's
visit. DCM urged that Tokyo identify other events that could
be used to postpone a lift, citing the Japan-EU summit in
early May. The DCM encouraged Otabe to continue to push the
French against a lift during the Japan-EU summit, and, more
broadly to also focus Japanese lobbying efforts on those EU
member states opposed to the lift, especially those that
continue to have human rights concerns -- the basis for the
imposition of the embargo.


5. (C) Otabe mentioned in passing that the South Koreans are
now expressing interest in the issue, but did not provide any
details other than his personal view that the South Koreans
might not be reliable partners given their relationship with
China in connection with Seoul's priority focus on North
Korea. (Note: In a separate discussion with MFA officials, we
were told that the South Koreans have been strangely quiet on
the EU arms embargo. Our MFA colleague also pointed to South
Korea's ties to China as a reason for the silence.)

Middle East
--------------

6. (C) In response to his request, we updated Otabe on U.S.
positions on Iran-EU3 negotiations, Lebanon/Syria, and the
Middle East peace process. Otabe said that while Japan had
no specific "carrots" to contribute, it remained keenly
interested in the Iran negotiations.

ITER
--------------


7. (C) We asked Otabe for an update on EU-Japanese
discussions on ITER. Otabe immediately replied that there
had been "no change." He said the Japanese had presented the
EU with a compromise proposal, but that they had received no
answer from the Europeans. The joint press communique to be
issued during Chirac's visit will not get into details on
ITER, other than a reference on the need to stick to the six
party format. In response to the DCM's query as to why the
French seem to believe the South Koreans might be
reconsidering their support for the Japanese site, Otabe
ventured that the French may be getting that impression from
their close contacts with the South Korean Ministry of
Science. In fact, he added, the Japanese have spoken to the
South Korean "Blue House," and it remains firmly with Japan.

UNSC Reform
--------------


8. (C) Otabe said France has been very supportive of Japanese
efforts for UNSC reform. The Japanese are working quietly
with India, Germany and Brazil. At this point, they have
prepared a draft resolution to be presented to the General
Assembly in June. He noted that the draft resolution would
not refer to specific countries as it's designed to maximize
its chances of obtaining the necessary 2/3 approval. In
terms of next steps, Japan and its allies plan to discuss
specific countries for membership after the summer; followed
by an effort to amend the UN charter and an eventual
acceptance by the UNSC.




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