VICE FM ASANO ON KOREAN ABDUCTIONS, U.S.-JAPAN TRADE,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 002072

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2012
TAGS: PREL ETRD EAID OECD JA KN AF
SUBJECT: VICE FM ASANO ON KOREAN ABDUCTIONS, U.S.-JAPAN TRADE,
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE, AND OECD ENLARGEMENT


Classified By: Deputy Secretary John Negroponte, for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Deputy Secretary John Negroponte and
Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy and Business
Affairs Dan Sullivan met on May 15 on the margins of the ECD
Ministerial Council Meeting with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister
Katsuhito Asano. Asano proposed that President Bush and Prime
Minister Abe meet again in July on the margins of the G8 Summit.
In addition, he asked for continued U.S. support on the issue
of North Korean abduction of Japanese citizens, explored U.S.
thinking on a bilateral free trade agreement, noted Japan's
difficulty in providing the human resources to match its
financial contribution to joint development efforts in
Afghanistan, and expressed Japan's support for the OECD
enlargement package that was to be
reported to ministers in the following day's meeting.
Deputy Secretary Negroponte reaffirmed U.S. support on
the abductions issue, noted that an FTA was an interesting idea
but agreed it was not ripe to discuss publicly, and sought
Japanese support for the U.S. proposal to house the Partnership
for Democratic Governance at the OECD. End Summary.

Proposed Follow-up to U.S.-Japan Summit at Heiligendamm
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2. (U) Asano remarked that the recent visit to Washington of
Prime Minister Abe had been a great success, in that it
reaffirmed the U.S.-Japan security alliance and cemented
agreement between the two sides to deal with East Asian issues
on the basis of this alliance. Asano was particularly pleased
that the meeting between leaders lasted six hours, a sign of the
significance of the U.S.-Japan relationship going into the
future. He conveyed a proposal from Tokyo that the two leaders
meet again in July on the margins of the G8 Heiligendamm Summit
to focus on climate change and economic issues.


3. (U) The Deputy Secretary responded that the U.S.-Japan
alliance is indeed the cornerstone of our East Asian policy,
that it has been since he began his Foreign Service career 47
years ago and would certainly remain so 47 years from now. He
agreed to relay to Washington Japan's interest in having a side
meeting of the Japanese and U.S. leaders in Heiligendamm.

North Korean Abduction of Japanese Citizens
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4. (C) Asano asked to clarify the U.S. position regarding North
Korea's history of abduction of Japanese citizens. Tokyo had
understood, he said, that President Bush had expressed support
to Japan in its view that its patience would not be unlimited if
North Korea does not make the right choice in rectifying the
history of abductions. Moreover, at the U.S.-Japan Summit, the
Japanese side had understood that the United States would take
the abduction cases into account in its evaluation of state
sponsors of
terrorism.


5. (C) The Deputy responded that the USG supports Japan's goal
of solving the abduction issue and is committed to doing so
within the framework of the Six Party Talks. We had said on
February 13, when the Six-Party Agreement had been reached, that
we would start the process of removal of North Korea from the
list of state sponsors of terrorism. However, he emphasized, it
was only a commitment to start
the process. North Korea's subsequent actions would
determine our final decisions regarding its listing. We had
made this position clear in our annual report on
counterterrorism. Asano replied that Japan was reassured that
the United States was taking this matter into account along with
the question of nuclear disarmament.

Discussion of an FTA Premature
--------------


6. (C) Asano then asked whether there might soon be a joint
statement regarding a possible U.S.-Japan free trade agreement.
The Deputy Secretary responded that the Vice Minister of METI
had raised a similar question recently as well. While the
Deputy Secretary personally thought a U.S.-Japan FTA could be a
very good idea, he also thought it was something the two sides
should examine very carefully, and that it would be premature to
make any public statements. The USG has not said anything
publicly about planning to negotiate an FTA with Japan, and
would not do so while we are trying to conclude trade agreements
with Colombia, Peru, Panama, and South Korea. A/S Sullivan
added that we should keep our focus on concluding the Doha Round
before raising the possibility of a U.S.-Japan FTA. Sullivan
noted, however, that the U.S. had already discussed bilateral
trade in the context of semiannual subcabinet-level discussions,

with the next round scheduled for November, and there would
likely be further consultations between USTR and Japanese
counterparts in Tokyo or Washington.


7. (C) Asano agreed with the cautious approach, emphasizing that
it would not be productive to discuss the idea of an FTA
publicly. Asano continued that U.S.-Japan trade negotiations
would necessarily entail a wide range of sensitive products,
including wheat, meat, and dairy products. Japan is currently
engaged with Australia on FTA negotiations and is feeling a
great deal of pressure from its domestic agriculture sector on
these products as well as sugar. Before starting any kind of
negotiations with the United States, Japan would have to first
conclude with Australia. Once both Japan and the U.S. were
ready for FTA negotiations, however, Asano believed that there
should be thorough consultations in advance, and that actual
negotiations should then be conducted quickly, avoiding
"negotiation through the press."

Strategic Development Alliance
--------------


8. (SBU) Turning to the U.S.-Japan Strategic Development
Alliance, Asano noted that Japan was considering doubling its
$25 million assistance that focused on Afghanistan. With regard
to development work in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
of Pakistan, he noted that the U.S. and Japan had each agreed to
build 65 new schools. Of these, to date the U.S. had completed
forty while Japan had only been able to complete twelve. The
problem for Japan was lack of capacity in providing qualified
personnel to complete the task, the GOJ therefore hoped that the
U.S. would be able to fill this gap. The Deputy Secretary
recommended that the two governments'
embassies in Islamabad work together to resolve this problem.

OECD Enlargement and the Partnership for Democratic Governance
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9. (U) Briefly covering OECD enlargement and related issues,
Asano said that Tokyo was willing to support Russia with the
understanding that membership in the WTO would be a precondition
to OECD accession. Regarding the candidacies of Chile, Estonia,
Israel, and Slovenia, Japan was willing to join the consensus of
other members, having achieved satisfaction on the issue of
financing, that all had agreed to a system in which all members
would pay an assessment sufficient to cover the cost of their
participation in the organization. The Deputy Secretary
responded that we are on the same wavelength on these issues.
He asked whether Japan would also support the U.S. proposal to
house the Partnership for Democratic Governance in the OECD.
Asano replied that Japan had no difficulty with it.

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