JAPANESE READOUT: DAI BINGGUO UNCOMPROMISING ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 000775

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2025
TAGS: PREL CH JA
SUBJECT: JAPANESE READOUT: DAI BINGGUO UNCOMPROMISING ON
YASUKUNI, SEEKS "POSITIVE" SIGNALS FROM JAPAN


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor W. Michael Meserve. Reason
: 1.4 (b)(d).


1. (C) Summary. Visiting Tokyo, Vice Foreign Minister Dai
Bingguo relayed an uncompromising stand on Yasukuni Shrine
and tried to elicit positive messages from Japanese
interlocutors, according to MOFA sources, who speculated Dai
was attempting to deflect domestic criticism of MFA's
handling of relations with Japan. The two sides agreed to
institute reciprocal "culture years" starting in 2006, to
establish a bilateral historical research project and to
resume Director General-level East China Sea talks before the
end of February. End summary.


2. (C) Chinese Executive Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo is
meeting with a number of politicians in addition to his
counterpart Vice Foreign Minister Yachi during Dai's February
8-14 visit, MOFA China Division Director Hiroyasu Izumi told
us February 13 in a preliminary readout. Meetings with Diet
members primarily in the "pro-China" camp, including Yohei
Kono, Tetsuya Fukuda, METI Minister Nikai, Finance Minister
Tanigaki and Komeito leader Kanzaki, were initiated by the
Chinese. MOFA separately recommended meetings with FM Taro
Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, Izumi noted.


3. (C) In a round of meetings over the February 11-12
weekend, the primary question posed by Dai to both MOFA Vice
Minister Yachi and political leaders was how they see China's
development, Izumi related. Does Japan view the bilateral
Japan-PRC relationship as a strategic rivalry or a
cooperative friendship? Izumi speculated that this approach
-- which will show a large number of Japanese leaders support
cooperative relations -- was likely the result of high-level
discussions on the bilateral relationship held during the
month-long stay in Beijing by China's ambassador to Japan
Wang Yi in December. One additional outcome of those
meetings appears to have been the decision that China would
never compromise on the Yasukuni Shrine issue. Dai conveyed
that message firmly and repeatedly to Vice Minister Yachi,
Izumi related. VM Yachi spent a lot of time explaining why
PM Koizumi visits Yasukuni, stressing that he specifically
excludes homage to the Class A war criminals. Japan also
took pains to refute allegations of revived Japanese
militarism. VFM Dai, however, made it clear that China
cannot accept any explanation of the Yasukuni visits. The
fact alone that the visits take place is enough to "hurt the
feelings of the Chinese people," Dai had stressed. Despite
Japan's efforts, "there is no solution" to the problem, Izumi
lamented.


4. (C) Dai's focus on meeting with relatively "pro-China"
politicians may have been part of an effort to send a
positive message back to Beijing about the relationship,
Izumi suggested. He noted that the National People's
Congress (NPC) will meet in early-March and that high-level
officials will be meeting soon to review domestic and foreign
policies. In this context, he surmised, it was important for
China's MFA to maintain the basic stance that China places
importance on bilateral relations and wants to maintain them.
Positive messages from Japanese politicians more sympathetic
to China and opposed to Yasukuni visits, combined with the
unyielding stance on Yasukuni, should help protect the MFA
from domestic criticism of how it has handled relations with
Japan, Izumi opined.


5. (C) Japanese officials presented Dai with a "good
message" regarding the importance of the bilateral
relationship, Izumi continued. The two sides agreed that
they cannot allow the bilateral situation to continue to
deteriorate and that they must work to improve the
relationship. Toward that end, a tentative agreement was
concluded to strengthen people-to-people ties by designating
2006 as Chinese Culture Year in Japan, and 2007 as Japanese
Culture Year in China. This initiative, however, was not yet
matured to the point that it can be made public, he noted.
Dai and Yachi also agreed to move ahead with a bilateral
historical research project. The project might be expanded
at some point to include researchers from third countries,
Izumi observed. Finally, the two sides agreed to resume
Director General-level talks on the East China Sea resource
dispute before the end of February.
SCHIEFFER