Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO5138
2006-09-08 05:27:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

A/S HILL'S MEETING WITH MOFA NORTH AMERICA

Tags:  PREL PGOV MOPS MARR XB ZK AF CH IR IZ KN 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 005138 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS MARR XB ZK AF CH IR IZ KN
KS, JA
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S MEETING WITH MOFA NORTH AMERICA
DIRECTOR GENERAL KAWAI

Classified By: AMBASSADOR J. THOMAS SCHIEFFER FOR REASONS 1.4(B),(D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 005138

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS MARR XB ZK AF CH IR IZ KN
KS, JA
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S MEETING WITH MOFA NORTH AMERICA
DIRECTOR GENERAL KAWAI

Classified By: AMBASSADOR J. THOMAS SCHIEFFER FOR REASONS 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In a wide-ranging meeting on September 5,
North American Affairs Bureau Director General Chikao Kawai
told visiting Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill:

-- the timing of the Japanese Prime Ministerial election
process makes it impossible to say for certain who will be
available to represent Japan for meetings on the margins of
the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA);

-- the United States should not be concerned that recently
formed Asian groupings make the APEC framework any less
relevant and that Japan views U.S. participation as vital to
all international issues in Asia;

-- both Japan and China wish to improve their bilateral
relationship, that the new Prime Minister and his cabinet
will be considering how to do so, and that close cooperation
with Washington will be vital in this process;

-- concerning the process of alliance transformation, Japan
needs detailed plans from the United States about each of the
facilities we are seeking for the future, and said that
national authorities are beginning to discuss the process
with local officials, particularly in Okinawa;

-- the U.S. and Japan worked well together following the
North Korean missile launch in July and Japan is pleased with
the recent deployment of the USS Shiloh and is looking
forward to the deployment of its own BMD systems;

-- affirmed continued Japanese support for Iraq;

-- asked for additional data on the contributions of the
Maritime Self Defense Forces ships in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom;

-- Japan would stand firmly with the international community
against the development of Iran's nuclear weapons program;


-- briefly mentioned Prime Minister Koizumi's recent trip to
Central Asia and asked about U.S. plans to transfer opcon of
South Korean military forces to the government in Seoul. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) DG Kawai received A/S Hill at MOFA on September 5.
Accompanying A/S Hill were Deputy Chief of Mission, Political
Minister Counselor Meserve, Special Assistant Gibbons, and
Embassy Tokyo notetaker, control officer, and Public Affairs
representative.

--------------
REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE - CHINA
--------------


3. (C) A/S Hill reviewed for Kawai the meeting he had the
previous evening with Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau
Director General Sasae (septel),emphasizing the importance
of communicating more closely regarding regional
architecture. With regard to ASEAN plus Six, he explained
that many in Washington were taken by surprise by this
proposal, seeing it as something that potentially competes
with the APEC framework. Kawai assured him that it is Japan's
view that the participation of the United States is vital to
all aspects of international relations in Asia. He said he is
confident this is a view shared by the three LDP candidates
vying to become the next Prime Minister.


4. (C) A/S Hill noted that the Secretary is interested in
holding a "Five plus Five" meeting on September 21 on the
margins of UNGA. Kawai said that Japan would be interested
in participating but that timing conflicts with domestic
political developments made it difficult to say who would

TOKYO 00005138 002 OF 004


represent Japan at such a meeting. The timing complications
arise as a result of the LDP's presidential election which is
scheduled for September 20. Foreign Minister Aso is a
candidate, which makes his presence in New York on the 21st
impossible. Kawai explained it is impossible at the moment to
say who will take Aso's place, or if he will retain his MOFA
position in the new government. This fluid situation makes
it impossible to speak of scheduling anything after September

20. As it is, Japan's UNGA presentation is scheduled for
September 21 and at this point, it looks like Deputy Foreign
Minister Nishida or Japan's Permanent Representative Oshima
will deliver it.


5. (C) A/S Hill asked for Kawai's thoughts on adding India
to the United States/Japan/Australian trilateral process.
Kawai replied that Japan would be interested in doing so and
that he believes Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe, who will likely
be the next prime minister, supports this idea. However, as
the trilateral process has only recently been initiated, it
might be advisable to allow it to solidify before bringing in
another party. A/S Hill suggested that if India enters the
APEC process in November, then maybe it would be possible to
have a quartet meeting on the margins of the 2007 Sydney APEC
meeting. This might be preferable to meeting in Washington
or Tokyo later this month, as those venues might give rise to
suspicions in Beijing that the group has an anti-China
agenda. That said, he agreed the first priority must be to
get the new trilateral process up and running.


6. (C) Regarding the competition between ASEAN plus Three
and ASEAN plus Six, Kawai said he believes it is better to
add Australia, New Zealand, and India. On the subject of
whether to move forward with an ASEAN plus Six Free Trade
Agreement, Kawai said there is no consensus in the Japanese
government. He said the Minister of Economy, Trade, and
Industry had raised this idea but that MOFA does not
necessarily agree, not being convinced that a Free Trade
Agreement is needed in Southeast Asia, and concerned that
China's market is completely different from the others in the
region.


7. (C) On Japan's bilateral relations with China, Kawai
advised that the new Prime Minister and his cabinet will be
discussing how to proceed, and that close cooperation with
the United States will be crucial. Kawai emphasized that
Japan believes it important that we not be seen as ganging up
on China. Kawai believes that Abe, the most likely new PM,
would like to improve Japan's relations with China and that
Beijing, too, is anxious for improved relations. He admitted
the Yasukuni Shrine issue is a difficult issue for both
countries. He said that Koizumi has no plans to meet
individually with any Chinese or ROK leaders during next
week's Asia-Europe summit meeting in Finland.

--------------
ALLIANCE TRANSFORMATION
--------------


8. (C) With regard to U.S./Japanese bilateral relations,
Kawai and A/S Hill concurred that the first meeting between
President Bush and the new Prime Minister would probably take
place at the APEC meeting in Hanoi in November. Kawai
indicated that Japan would welcome a visit to Tokyo by
President Bush enroute to the summit. Kawai said that at
present the most sensitive aspect of U.S./Japan bilateral
relations is the realignment of United States bases in Japan,
particularly as this concerns Okinawa. He pointed out that a
new Governor of Okinawa will be elected soon and that
national officials have begun to meet with local officials to
plan the way ahead. As this process has only recently begun,
there are as of yet no significant developments to report.
In addition, working level contacts between elements of the
U.S. side and the national government have begun to address
putting together a master plan, although he prefers that this

TOKYO 00005138 003 OF 004


be kept quiet for the moment as it is likely the Okinawa
government would react negatively if these contacts came to
light. What Tokyo needs from the U.S. side are detailed
masterplans for each of the facilities affected by the base
realignment plan. He praised the Embassy and USFJ for the
good level of communications with MOFA on this issue.

--------------
NORTH KOREA
--------------


9. (C) Kawai observed that close United States/Japan
relations are vital to the security of the region,
particularly with regard to North Korea. He said that Japan
was extremely satisfied with the manner in which our two
governments had interacted, both diplomatically and
operationally, with regard to the July 5 North Korean missile
launches. A/S Hill agreed, and said that a key element now
will be to see if a China/North Korea split develops. He
informed Kawai that on his visit to China later in this trip
that he will have meetings with Cui Tiankai, Wu Dawei, and He
Yafei who are all reasonable, good interlocutors, to discuss
this topic. He will advise them that the United States is
planning on moving forward with financial measures against
North Korea pursuant to the terms of UNSCR 1695. He
predicted the Chinese will view this as an unhelpful
development, but his goal is to convince them that 1695 must
be more than symbolic and needs to actually mean something.
At the same time, he will reassure them that the United
States remains committed to the negotiation track as well.

--------------
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
--------------


10. (C) On the subject of BMD, Kawai said it is important
that both contingency and operational planning be undertaken.
Japan welcomes the deployment of the USS Shiloh and the
deployment of the PAC-3 system in Okinawa, which did not
engender as much opposition as expected. Due to recent North
Korean activities, the Japanese people by and large
understand the need for such systems. Japan is anxious to
deploy its own system and wants to expedite this process, if
possible.

--------------
SOUTH KOREA
--------------


11. (C) Kawai asked about the status of plans to transfer
opcon in South Korea, opining that such a move will have a
significant impact on regional security. A/S Hill replied
that to a certain extent this has become a domestic political
issue in South Korea, with some conservatives questioning
whether the ROK is ready for such a transfer on the timeline
that has been proposed, and others playing up nationalism and
sovereignty issues for political gain. He explained that we
have no desire to see the presence of American forces in
Korea become a domestic political issue, and at this point it
is best to remain cautious about speculating when such a
transfer will take place. When asked, Kawai said that Prime
Minister Koizumi is not planning to meet bilaterally with
President Roh on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Europe
summit meeting in Helsinki.

--------------
IRAQ
--------------


12. (C) Kawai thanked A/S Hill for cooperation afforded by
the American Embassies in Tokyo and Baghdad during Foreign
Minister Aso's recent trip to Iraq. Japan considered the
trip a success and said its purpose was to underline Japan's
continued commitment to support Iraq's reconstruction

TOKYO 00005138 004 OF 004


efforts, even following the withdrawal of the Ground Self
Defense Forces from Samawa. This continued commitment is
exhibited by the expansion of the Air Self Defense Forces
mission as well as continued Official Developmental
Assistance program funding.

--------------
AFGHANISTAN
--------------


13. (C) With regard to Japan's participation in Operation
Enduring Freedom, Kawai pointed out that the law authorizing
the presence of Maritime Self Defense Force ships in the
Indian Ocean as members of the Coalition will expire in
November and must be voted upon in the Diet if it is to be
reauthorized. Despite early criticisms that the Japanese
involvement was merely the equivalent of providing free,
floating gas stations, the importance of Japan's
participation is now more widely understood and appreciated.
Nevertheless, it would be useful to have data pointing to
tangible accomplishments. He asked whether it would be
possible for the Department and DOD to provide examples of
how Japan's presence has directly aided in the war on terror.
A/S Hill agreed that such information would be useful.


14. (C) Kawai raised the subject of Japan's completion of
its segment of the Ring Road project, noting that the
security situation had led to difficulties and delays, but
that ODA authorities were subcontracting the job to an Indian
company with a good track record in the region. The DCM
underlined how important it is for Japan to fulfill its
obligations to get their segment of the road completed as
soon as possible.

--------------
IRAN
--------------


15. (C) On Iran, Kawai informed A/S Hill that both the Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister have made it clear several
times that Japan will emphasize the importance of addressing
the nuclear issue, despite potential harm to Tokyo's economic
interests. This is a firm commitment. However, if sanctions
are necessary, it is Japan's hope that an impact on world
energy markets can be avoided. He reported on the visit to
Tokyo last week of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi, noting that in meetings with both the Foreign
Minister and with the Prime Minister's office, the message
had been clearly delivered that it is in Iran's best
interests for Tehran to respect the will of the international
community and successfully negotiate an end to this
disagreement.

--------------
CENTRAL ASIA
--------------


16. (C) Kawai noted that Prime Minister Koizumi has raised
the issue of human rights and the pace of democratization
with the President of Uzbekistan during his recent visit to
that country and Kazakhstan. He said that both China and
Russia are attempting to increase their influence in Central
Asia and it is important that Japan maintain positive
relations with all the countries in that region.


17. (U) This cable was cleared by A/S Hill.
SCHIEFFER