KUDOS FOR JAPANESE EMBASSY AND CONSULATE REPORTING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 153704

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2017
TAGS: ECON ETRD EINV MOPS PGOV PREL JA
SUBJECT: KUDOS FOR JAPANESE EMBASSY AND CONSULATE REPORTING

REF: A. TOKYO 3689

B. TOKYO 3765

C. TOKYO 3930

D. NAGOYA 38

E. TOKYO 3871

F. TOKYO 4096

G. TOKYO 4658

H. NAGOYA 49

I. TOKYO 4930

J. TOKYO 4966

K. TOKYO 5059

L. NAHA 134

M. TOKYO 5080

N. TOKYO 5095

Classified By: EAP/J JIM ZUMWALT


1. (U) We in Washington would like to take this opportunity
to thank reporting officers in the Embassy and consulates for
the hard work that you put into keeping us informed of
important developments in Japan. From your daily press
reports to your front channel cables, from periodic e-mails
to Japan Scope publications, your reports are timely, widely
read and respected, and important to the formulation of U.S.
policy.


2. (U) Periodically we like to call attention to reports that
we found exceptionally timely and valuable. A few of these
are highlighted in the space below.

(C) Tokyo 3689 reported on foreign investment in Japan in the
wake of recent increases in defensive measures used by
Japanese companies. That report did an outstanding job of
breaking down the complex situation in Japan owing to changes
in the laws on mergers and acquisitions, and was particularly
useful in preparing Ambassador Haslach for her trip to Japan.

(C) Tokyo 3765 provided a timely report on a matter of
interest to the policy community in Washington, DC, informing
our analysis of the domestic context of PM Abe,s South Asia
trip.

(C) Tokyo 3930 was personally praised by Deputy Assistant
Secretary Arvizu as an informative update on the domestic

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political state of affairs in the week leading up to PM Abe's
cabinet changes.

(U) Nagoya 38 alerted Washington of the progress and
potential impact of a visionary infrastructure project, and
gave us useful background on a technology which official and
private sector Japanese are promoting in the United States.

(C) Tokyo 3871 (PRC Embassy on Japan-China Ties, New Chinese
Ambassador) provided useful insights on how the Chinese
government is managing Japan-China relations, an issue that
attracts high level attention in Washington.

(C) Many thanks for sending us so quickly your insights on PM
Abe's changes to his cabinet on Monday, August 27. We used
your DAR item for our morning report. P/DAS Glyn Davies used
this information in briefing the Secretary at 8:15 AM. She
in turn had more questions, but by then we had your two
cables which we used to draft up a quick information memo
that we sent up by noon. Without your timely reporting we
would not have made our deadlines that day.

(C) Tokyo 4096 provided useful insights to the Washington
policy community on how PM Abe's new cabinet would affect
U.S. interests, a key element that is all-too-easily
overlooked. We were impressed by the hard work and analysis
that went into producing this report.

(C) Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda,s sudden triumph
over Foreign Minister Aso after PM Abe,s resignation caught
many political observers off-guard. A series of cables,
including Tokyo 4321, 4408, and 4327, offered timely
reporting of Fukuda,s rise and what it meant for the United
States and U.S.-Japan relations.

(U) Tokyo 4658, like all of the excellent cables you produced
in the "Going Postal" series, provided an impressively
in-depth, easy-to-understand analysis of the complex issues
surrounding the privatization of Japan Post. The process has
enormous implications for the Japanese economy, the economic
reform agenda, and U.S. business interests, and we appreciate

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the involved, detailed investigations that informed your
analyses.

(U) Nagoya 49, on Iranian involvement in organized crime and
drug dealing, was a well written and fascinanting study that
generated interest both inside and outside the department.
Nagoya's intitiative and hard work in investigating this
issue is commendable.

(C) Tokyo 4930 updated the Washington community on Japanese
efforts to conduct outreach with other countries on export
control issues, a topic about which we had previously known
frustratingly little. After reading the cable, we were able
to request a meeting with a visiting METI export control
official, bringing in officers from a variety of desks and
bureaus in State, to discuss the issues you raised in this
cable. Going forward, thanks in no small part to this
reporting, we will be coordinating more closely with the
Japanese in this area.

(C) We are extremely grateful for Embassy Tokyo,s tireless
efforts keep Washington updated on Japan,s response to the
crackdown in Burma. Many offices in the Department as well
as NSC have been carefully monitoring Japan,s response and
your updates have proven invaluable. In particular, Tokyo
4768 on the internal debate within Japanese academic and Diet
circles and Tokyo 4797 on possible next steps for Japan
contained valuable insights used to brief senior officials
here. Tokyo 4439, 4563, 4800, and 5021 were also impressive
for their comprehensive reporting and keen commentary.

(C) Tokyo 4966 and 5059 provided the Washington community
with more fine products of analysis on political developments
and their effects on U.S. interests -- specifically the
prospects for renewal of Japan's OEF mission.

(SBU) We appreciate the hard work, very much in evidence,
that the Naha consular section put into Naha 134. The
exhaustive investigation and incisive reporting will be of
tremendous assistance to us in Washington as we continue to
engage the Japanese on parental child abductions.

(U) Tokyo 5080 was a fascinating product of insight on trends
in the health care sector and the promise they could hold for
U.S. business interests. Instead of fixating on existing or
past disputes with which everyone is familiar, this cable
broke new ground to consider how developments could have
significance in other, uncharted areas.

(C) Tokyo 5095 took stock of where Japan stands in an area
that is of crucial importance to the U.S. policy community --
the government's commitment to continuing economic reforms.
In the run-up to the Subcabinet dialogue, this cable was
particularly timely, and Ambassador Haslach personally
highlighted it as providing useful ideas for the U.S.
delegation's participation in the Subcabinet. Tokyo 5095
built nicely on the earlier Tokyo 4659, which previewed these
trends in looking at the principal agents of reform.

(C) We also appreciated Tokyo,s recent reporting on the
Fukuda-Ozawa talks, the &grand alliance,8 and subsequent
political turmoil. This was an another instance where speed
was important. Mike Meserve,s initial reporting armed
Acting A/S Davies with information needed to brief the Deputy
Secretary at the Senior Staff meeting that morning, and later

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served as the grist for an information memorandum. The
Embassy,s subsequent reporting (DARs, Tokyo 5114 and 5138)
enabled us to update to our papers for the President and the
Secretary.

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3. (U) Washington agencies thank you for these and other
timely reports and urge you to keep up the good work.


4. (U) Department appreciates Embassy Tokyo's efforts to
ensure that the contents of this cable are shared with staff
from all of the consulates.
RICE