JAPAN "CAREFULLY CONSIDERING" CONTRIBUTION TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001848

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPKO SU JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN "CAREFULLY CONSIDERING" CONTRIBUTION TO
DARFUR

REF: STATE 51778

Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer. Reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) The demarche on support for a UN peacekeeping
operation in Darfur (State 51778) was conveyed to MOFA on
April 3. First Middle East Division's Jun Nanazawa on April
6 responded that, following consultations within the Foreign
Ministry, Japan has decided to wait and consider the
Secretary General's plan for transition, as well as the

SIPDIS
situation on the ground and developments in peace talks,
before making any final decisions on contributions to Darfur.


2. (C) Nanazawa outlined Japan's three-point position.
First, Japan has already been a generous contributor to
Darfur, donating emergency or humanitarian assistance of
around $40 million over the past two years, in addition to
vehicles and other equipment for the African Union Mission in
Sudan (AMIS). Japan is committed to continuing to provide
assistance to Darfur, he stated. Second, Japan plans to
examine the Secretary General's options and plans for a UN
peacekeeping force, due to be presented to the UN Security
Council by April 24, before making any firm commitments. It
will also consider the state of peace talks in Abuja at that
time, as well as the state of discussions on the transition
from AMIS to a UN PKO. Japan will take an especially close
look at the financial aspects/obligations of the SYG's
report, Nanazawa said. Finally, Nanazawa stated that it is
too early to commit to any dispatch of Self-Defense Forces
(SDF) for a UN PKO, adding that Japan will take into account
the situation on the ground, the existence of any agreement
among the parties, and the conditions affecting support
systems the SDF would rely on. He also noted that while in
principle Japan may participate in this UN PKO, it will also
have to consider the role of the mission within the context
of Japanese law.


3. (C) Comment. A contact in MOFA's Security Policy
Division, who is unusually -- in the Japanese context --
frank and straightforward, told Poloff directly that sending
SDF to a UN PKO in Darfur "would be difficult" (i.e., next
to impossible) given the political energy required to
dispatch the SDF overseas. He hinted that the low visibility
of the Darfur issue within the Japanese public makes it hard
to envision how politicians would overcome the numerous
obstacles to an SDF dispatch. Another contact in MOFA's UN
Policy Division essentially agreed, saying Japan, which is
trying to obtain a permanent seat on the Security Council, is
conscious of the need to show it is qualified to be a
permanent UN Security Council member. At the same time,
however, Japan's pacifist constitution "is a huge constraint"
on how the SDF can participate in a UN PKO mission,
particularly in a place where the security situation is as
volatile as Darfur. Post assesses that while a modest
dispatch of SDF troops for humanitarian assistance might not
be out of the question, it is more likely that Japan will
contribute equipment or financial assistance.
SCHIEFFER