S/P KRASNER'S MAY 10 MEETING WITH DFM NISHIDA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002637 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2026 TAGS: PREL ASEAN CH KS JA SUBJECT: S/P KRASNER'S MAY 10 MEETING WITH DFM NISHIDA REF: A. TOKYO 2575 ¶B. TOKYO 2609 ¶C. TOKYO 2610 ¶D. TOKYO 2612 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Joe Donovan. Reason: 1.4 (b)(d) . ¶1. (C) Summary: Deputy Foreign Minister Nishida told visiting S/P Director Stephen D. Krasner on May 10 that he was not hopeful for a short-term breakthrough in Japan's relations with South Korea. He argued that the Roh government's outlook, policies and low poll numbers explained much about the present ROK policy toward Japan. Nishida said Japan wanted to work with the United States on improving APEC, but also wanted to engage in pan-Asian regional organizations. Japan needs to find a way to relate its involvement in pan-Asian regional groupings and it intra-regional relations to its security ties to the United States. He expressed great enthusiasm for the NATO Global Partnership. Separately, Nishida expressed the "profound gratitude" of the Koizumi administration and "all the Japanese people" for the President's recent meeting with abductee-family representative. At the conclusion of the meeting, he asked for a full discussion of the abductions issue at the upcoming G-8 summit and the inclusion of the issue in G-8 summit documents (reported ref a). End Summary. Japan-South Korea Relations -------------- ¶2. (C) During a May 10 meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Tsuneo Nishida said efforts to strengthen U.S.-Japan-ROK SIPDIS relations during this difficult period in Japan-ROK ties were especially welcome. Asked about prospects for improving Japan-South Korea relations, Nishida said he was not optimistic for a short-term breakthrough. ROK President Roh is leveraging Korean nationalism to serve his own political interests, he asserted, not least to compensate for his low poll numbers. Previously, he averred, both Japanese and Korean leaders handled the bilateral relationship with care, recognizing the potential for friction. Roh, however, is symptomatic of a new generation of Korean leaders who are unwilling to take such responsibility. Nonetheless, Nishida opined, the two countries' close economic and cultural ties would eventually prompt an accommodation between Japan and South Korea. ¶3. (C) Several U.S. participants urged Nishida to consider the deeper roots of ROK views of Japan beyond just Roh's government, for example a combination of generational change, Korean national pride and a shifting ROK political spectrum. Krasner asked whether progress in the Six-Party Talks would give South Korea greater confidence in its relations with Japan and others. Nishida stated that Japan and the United States should try to find a way to accommodate the strong desire of the Korean people to decide their own destiny. It was difficult to see how the Six-Party Talks might accomplish that, he observed, but he could offer no alternative. Asian Regional Architecture -------------- ¶4. (C) Turning to Asian regional architecture, Krasner asked for Nishida's views on recent developments, noting that regional organizations had proliferated and that Japan was active in both pan-Asian and trans-Pacific groupings. Nishida observed that no one organization would satisfy the requirements of Asian integration. Japan understands the U.S. wish to assert the primacy of APEC because of U.S. involvement, but APEC has not produced the hoped for results and the impulse to create "Asian" organizations is strong. There are a growing number of organizations, including the East Asia Summit, that are needed to satisfy the increasing desire of Asian nations to work together as a region. Japan wants to discuss frankly with the United States how to improve APEC's performance. At the same time, Japan should strengthen its intra-regional relations, and also seek to bring Australia and India further into this process. In the security field, Japan wants to enhance the U.S.-Japan alliance and seeks ways to cooperate with other U.S. allies, not least Australia, but also the ROK, where feasible. In this vein, Nishida particularly welcomed NATO outreach to those countries, including Japan. Abductions Issue at G-8 Summit TOKYO 00002637 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶5. (C) Raising the issue of North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, Nishida expressed the profound gratitude of the Koizumi administration and "all the Japanese people" for the President's recent meeting with abductee-family representatives. Relating his discussion earlier that day with Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe, Nishida noted Abe's intention to "internationalize" the abduction issue, including by adding it to the G-8 agenda and summit documents. Participants -------------- ¶6. (U) Participants in the meeting included: United States -------------- Stephen D. Krasner, Director, Policy Planning Staff Joe Donovan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy Tokyo Evan Feigenbaum, S/P Member David Wolff, Political Officer, Embassy Tokyo Steve Hill, Political Officer, Embassy Tokyo (notetaker) Japan -------------- Tsuneo Nishida, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political SIPDIS Affairs, MOFA Hiroshi Kawamura, Director, Foreign Policy Bureau Policy Planning Division Mayu Hagiwara. Deputy Director, Foreign Policy Bureau Policy Planning Division ¶7. (U) S/P Director Krasner cleared this message. DONOVAN