AMBASSADOR SCHIEFFER DISCUSSES YASUKUNI,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 003316

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SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2026
TAGS: PREL PGOV IR KS CH JA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR SCHIEFFER DISCUSSES YASUKUNI,
JAPAN-CHINA RELATIONS WITH CHINA,S AMBASSADOR WANG YI

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


1. (C) Summary. Ambassador Schieffer met with PRC Ambassador
Wang Yi over lunch June 14. Highlights of their lunch
included the following:

-- FM's Aso's statement that "national interests are more
important than personal image" during his meeting with
Chinese FM Li had helped move the bilateral relationship in a
positive direction;

-- China is willing to negotiate a face-saving "soft
landing" with Japan over the Yasukuni issue, an issue Wang
claimed indirectly affects U.S. interests;

-- Wang suggested that prime ministerial candidate Shinzo
Abe's views on history could be problematic for the United
States;

-- Wang urged the Ambassador to use his influence to have
the President raise the Yasukuni matter during the June 29
U.S.-Japan summit;

-- Ambassador Schieffer stressed that China and Japan should
work together to reach a solution to historical issues and
Yasukuni that satisfies both; and

-- the Ambassador urged China to work with the United States
to resolve the Iran nuclear issue. End summary.

Yasukuni Shrine and Japan-China Relations
--------------


2. (C) The meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Taro
Aso and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on May 23 at
Doha went "very well," China's ambassador to Japan Wang Yi
told the Ambassador June 14 over a cordial lunch. Alluding
to the Yasukuni Shrine issue, FM Aso had stated that
"national interests are more important than personal image,"
Wang related. This comment "serves Japan's national
interests" and also helps move the situation in a positive
direction, he said. Some "Japanese friends" have commented
that Chinese pressure on Japan on the Yasukuni issue
constitutes interference in Japan's internal affairs. China
has no such intention, Wang insisted. The Yasukuni issue,
however, is developing beyond a purely bilateral matter
because other countries are also very concerned. According
to opinion polls, the majority of Japanese media, politicians
and common people believe that visits to Yasukuni by Japan's
leaders do not serve Japan's interests and hurt Japan's
image, Amb. Wang asserted. The hardliners, on the other
hand, are emboldened to speak out more forcefully. They are
now asserting that the Far Eastern War Tribunal was unfair,
that there were no "war criminals," and that history should
be rewritten. "If these views are heard overseas, it will
put Japan in an awkward position," Wang averred. The
Philippine ambassador to Japan had told Wang only two weeks
earlier that if PM Koizumi visits Yasukuni on August 15, as
some people are predicting, Southeast Asian countries would
have to speak out publicly in protest for the first time.


3. (C) "Japanese friends," Amb. Wang continued, say it is
difficult for Japan to alter its position regarding Yasukuni
in response to Chinese or South Korean pressure. Such
concerns, however, can be addressed diplomatically. China is
willing to negotiate a "soft landing" for Japan. A "soft
landing," he later clarified, meant one that provided "face"
to Japan.


4. (C) Japan would be undergoing a change of leadership later
in the year, Wang observed. He said he was worried that if
the new prime minister visited Yasukuni as PM Koizumi has
done, it would lead to greater problems with neighboring
countries, including those of Southeast Asia, and further
isolate Japan. This, he said, was not in the interests of
the United States. Japan's deteriorating relations with
China and South Korea would also negatively affect the
Six-Party Talks (6PT).

June 29 Summit an Opportunity to Address Yasukuni
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5. (C) Prime Minister Koizumi would soon be visiting the
United States, Wang Yi noted. The Japanese media would focus
not only on U.S.-Japan relations but also on Japan's

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influence in Asia following the visit and on U.S. attitudes
towards Asia. Regardless of what the United States says, the
media will view these matters, including the Yasukuni Shrine
issue, from its own perspective. Consequently, Amb. Wang
stated, he believes the United States should play an active
role in helping Japan improve its relations with its
neighbors, including China. It is in America's interest for
Japan to improve its relations with its neighbors, he
reiterated. The Ambassador responded that he understood Amb.
Wang's argument, but that the U.S. position is to urge China
and Japan to work together to resolve the issues between them
in a way that satisfies them both. When the United States
gets involved, that U.S. involvement itself often becomes an
issue, he observed. Japan, he noted, is seeking a way to
honor its war dead without embracing the cause for which they
died.


6. (C) Japan's official statements on its recent history are
clear and China "views the Japanese position positively,"
Wang replied. The real problem now is the political
consequences of Yasukuni visits by Japanese leaders. The
visits encourage rightists who want to rewrite history, he
repeated. While the issue has not yet affected U.S.-Japan
relations, it is already linked to the United States because
it questions the results of World War II. He recognized that
it would be difficult for the United States to comment
publicly on the issue, but suggested that during the upcoming
summit the United States might urge Japan to "pay more
attention" to the matter and "find a good solution." Noting
the close ties between the Ambassador and President Bush,
Amb. Wang said the Ambassador's personal suggestion to the
President would be viewed as very important.


7. (C) Ambassador Schieffer agreed that it was in the
interests of Japan, China and the United States to have good
relations with one another. Better bilateral relations were
better for all. It is ironic, he remarked, that at a time
when the United States probably has the best relations it's
ever had with both China and Japan, China and Japan, on the
other hand, have some the worst relations they've had with
each other (though relations seem to have improved over the
last month). Asked by Wang what he expected of Japan's next
leader's relations with its Asian neighbors, the Ambassador
opined that both China and Japan appear to have painted
themselves into a corner over the Yasukuni issue. Both would
like to extricate themselves but are not sure how. Perhaps
the new Japanese prime minister, whoever he is, will be able
to find a way out.

Succession Politics and Yasukuni
--------------


8. (C) Of the four main candidates for the next prime
minister mentioned by the media, three (FM Taro Aso, Finance
Minister Sadakazu Tanizaki and former-Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yasuo Fukuda) have all stated they would not visit Yasukuni
as prime minister, Wang asserted. Only Chief Cabinet
Secretary Abe has said he is "still considering" the matter.

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Some people say Abe believes Japan's wartime actions were
correct, having been forced into them by the United States.
Asked by the Ambassador if Abe's position on Yasukuni or his
support for the abductee families accounted for his
popularity, Wang remarked that as in other countries, it was
not a politician's policy positions but his personality and
image that boost his popularity. The LDP is also looking
ahead toward the Upper House election in 2007 and needs a
popular leader to help them win that election. Further, more
and more young people are joining the LDP, and younger people
seem to prefer Abe. Wang had heard people say that while it
is important for Japan to have sound relations with the
United States, it is also important for Japan to have sound
relations with its neighbors; otherwise it will become
isolated. PM Koizumi had gotten into the Yasukuni shrine
predicament due to his 2001 campaign pledge, Amb. Wang
stated. Currently, no candidate, including Abe, has made a
similar pledge. Further, Abe's comments on sensitive issues
are more cautious now then two years ago. As Ambassador
Schieffer had stated, Wang said, the next prime minister will
have to address the issue of improving relations with Japan's
neighbors. If Japan is willing, China, too, is willing to
negotiate.


9. (C) It would be difficult for any Japanese politician to
explicitly make an agreement with China that he would not go
to Yasukuni, the Ambassador remarked. On the other hand, "he

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could simply not go." Wang concurred that the Japanese prime
minister could never publicly agree with China or appear to
"cave" to Chinese or South Korean pressure. But, in his
personal view, China must be ready to provide Japan with a
"soft landing" that considers Japan's "face." (Note: When
Wang earlier raised the "soft-landing" or face-saving
solution during the lunch, he had not characterized it as his
personal view.)

U.S.-China Relations; Iran
--------------


10. (C) U.S.-China relations are particularly good following
President Hu Jintao's May visit to the United States,
Ambassador Wang remarked. The visit had enhanced the
personal trust between the two presidents, which is very
important. Relations between countries, like those between
individuals, cannot be sound without trust. President Hu had
told President Bush that China wants not only to be a
stakeholder, but a constructive partner with the United
States, too. Both China and the United States recognize that
they share many common interests and that many areas exist
for constructive cooperation, Wang stated. Ambassador
Schieffer shared that he had met with President Bush shortly
after President Hu's visit and that the President, too,
thought it had been a very positive visit. President Bush
recognizes the importance of the relationship he has built
with President Hu and values it a lot. It is remarkable to
see how the U.S.-China relationship has developed over the
past few years, to see how closely we consult on a wide range
of issues, the Ambassador observed. It is a positive
development for our two countries and for the entire
international community, he said.


11. (C) Wang agreed, saying China was willing to exchange
views and coordinate positions on Asian issues. We should do
so on the Middle East, too, Ambassador Schieffer added. If
China and the United States speak with one voice on the Iran
nuclear issue, for example, it could help defuse the
situation, which would benefit all. He said he hoped Iran
would respond favorably to the latest proposal for resolving
the Iranian nuclear issue. Even if Iran does not completely
accept it, it would mean that more negotiations would be
required, Wang observed. That, at least, would keep the
situation under control so it did not deteriorate further.
Ambassador Schieffer agreed.
SCHIEFFER