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