UPDATE ON MOFA'S ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC DATA

UNCLAS TOKYO 007143

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

PARIS FOR USOECD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: APEC OECD JA
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON MOFA'S ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC DATA
COLLECTION INITIATIVE

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) Summary: MOFA continues to plug away at its
regional economic data collection and analysis proposal (aka
EiSMAP, the Economic Information Sharing Mechanism of the
Asia-Pacific),having secured a USD six figure budget line
item for the project in the draft GOJ FY-2007 budget. MOFA
hopes to set up a working group to design EiSMAP in the
spring of 2007, drawing from the attendees at its
organizational conference in Kyoto in November 2006. MOFA
will push the concept within APEC beginning at the Senior
Officials Meeting in Canberra in January 2007 and plans to
open a pilot web portal by the end of the year. Kyoto
University professor Takeuchi has become MOFA's point person
for the initiative. End Summary.


2. (SBU) EMIN spoke on December 26, 2006, with Ministry of
Foreign Affairs (MOFA) OECD Division Director Tsusumi
regarding MOFA's efforts to create an "economic information
sharing mechanism of the Asia-Pacific" (EiSMAP). Since the
initial November 2006 organizational meeting in Kyoto hosted
by MOFA and Kyoto University see below),Japan succeeded in
placing a note on EiSMAP in the November 2006 APEC joint
statement ("ministers noted Japan's proposal to promote
information sharing for sustainable growth of the Asia
Pacific economy in a more accurate, speedier, and
user-friendly way"). Tsusumi reported that in the draft GOJ
budget for FY-2007 agreed last week, MOFA secured more than
USD 100,000 to support EiSMAP activities in the coming fiscal
year. Kyoto professor Takeuchi, designated as the GOJ's
point person on EiSMAP, is currently visiting Seoul to drive
up ROK support and interest, and will similarly visit
Malaysia and IMF headquarters in Washington in the near
future.


3. (SBU) For 2007, Tsusumi noted that MOFA hopes to
establish a working group to design the project this spring,
have a pilot web portal open by the second half of the year,
and host a follow-up organizational conference, again in
Kyoto, perhaps in October. In addition, MOFA reps will be
pushing EiSMAP as an APEC undertaking at the APEC Senior
Officials Meeting in Canberra in January 2007. Tsusumi
reported that MOFA is running into opposition to do so from
Australia and New Zealand due to their commitment to
re-orient APEC work towards policy rather than additional
statistical work. Finally, Tsusumi said MOFA will redouble
efforts to engage China in the coming year. Representatives
of China dropped out of the November 2006 Kyoto EiSMAP
conference at the last minute due to Beijing's unhappiness
with Taiwanese participation.


4. (U) As reported earlier via email, MOFA jointly hosted
with Kyoto University on November 5-7, 2006, in Kyoto a
conference on EiSMAP. MOFA Economic Bureau DG Ishikawa and
Kyoto professor Takeuchi chaired the proceedings. Twelve
countries, four IOs and one economy (Taiwan) were
represented. China cancelled at the last minute.
Representatives from the statistical bureaus of the IMF, ADB,
IBRD attended, as did the head of the U.S. East-West Center,
other regional research institutes, and those with long
experience in the region, including Canada's PECC chair and
its senior MFA economic policy official.


5. (U) During the Kyoto meeting, delegates from across the
spectrum expressed skepticism regarding the proposal's
objectives; the ability to gather reliable, meaningful,
accountable data not already collected by other agencies or
services; the ability to present or process the data to add
value; the availability of donors to provide the necessary,
significant resources, including for capacity building; the
ability of Japan or others to sustain the project over the
medium/long term; and noted concern that the project could
harm similar programs or networks already underway. That
said, delegates acknowledged that there are serious
qualitative and quantitative shortcomings in the data
produced in Asia that have the potential to mislead

policymakers and investors, or contribute to nasty spillovers
in the event of an economic or environmental crisis in the
area.


6. (U) As such, with Japan offering to seek to commit
resources to a pilot program (for now, just a web-based
portal) and to manage a task force over the coming year to
further define the project, delegates agreed that (as one put
it) there might be a kernel of an idea that deserved support.
EMIN pushed hard that any undertaking or commitment of
resources be done via APEC.


7. (U) The chair's statement can be found on MOFA's website
at www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/asia/eismap0611 .html.
DONOVAN