AVM MORIYA BLAMES DEFMIN KYUMA FOR UNDERMINING DPRI IMPLEMENTATION

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001153



SIPDIS



SIPDIS



OSD FOR LAWLESS/SHINN/HILL/BASALLA; COMUSJAPAN FOR J00/

J01,/J4/J5



E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017

TAGS: MARR, PGOV, PREL, JA

SUBJECT: AVM MORIYA BLAMES DEFMIN KYUMA FOR UNDERMINING

DPRI IMPLEMENTATION



REF: NAHA 47



Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer, Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)



1. (S) Summary: Ministry of Defense (MOD) Administrative Vice

Minister Takemasa Moriya accused Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma

of derailing negotiations with the Okinawa Prefectural

Government (OPG) on implementation of the May 1, 2006 Defense

Policy Review Initiative (DPRI) agreement during an informal

March 8 dinner. Moriya accused Kyuma of reaching a secret

deal with Governor Hirokazu Nakaima to adjust the

construction plan for the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF)

agreed upon by the Security Consultative Committee (SCC) last

year. Moriya claimed that Nakaima was motivated only by

business interests and can no longer be trusted as a partner

in the implementation process. He added that MOD is

considering coercive measures that had been contemplated last

year in the case of an opposition victory in the November,

2006 Governor election. End Summary.



2. (S) During a March 8 dinner hosted by Independent Okinawan

Diet Member Mikio Shimoji, MOD AVM Moriya lashed out a

Defense Minister Kyuma for sabotaging implementation of the

FRF portion of the May 1, 2006 Alliance Transformation

Roadmap. Moriya said that it is increasingly clear that

Kyuma had secretly promised Gov. Nakaima that he could

deliver a bilateral agreement to move the FRF's "V-shape"

runway off-shore and is unwilling to back out of this

commitment regardless of pressure from Washington or his own

government.



3. (S) Moriya said he was unsure of why Kyuma got himself

into this fix, but suggested that it may be related to

under-the-table financial dealings with local business

interests. Moriya was less speculative about Nakaima's

motives, asserting that the Governor is beholden only to his

business cronies and unconcerned about the interests of other

local political leaders or the residents of Okinawa. Moriya

said that neither Nakaima nor Vice Governor Nakazato could be

trusted, and characterized Nakaima as "just as bad as (former

Govs.) Inamine or Ota." While characterizing Kyuma as the

main trouble-maker within the central government on the FRF,

Moriya said that Finance Minister Koji Omi, Okinawan Affairs

Minister Sanae Takaichi, and National Security Assistant

Yuriko Koike have also tried to insert themselves in

unhelpful ways for various personal or financial reasons.



4. (S) Moriya asserted that Kyuma has seriously put himself

in a corner over the FRF. Kyuma knows that Prime Minister

Shinzo ABE is furious with his freelancing, but is clearly

even more concerned about the prospect of failing his

partners in Okinawa. Given the circumstances, Moriya claimed

that Kyuma has only two ways out: convince the USG to change

the FRF plan or get himself fired by the Prime Minister.

Moriya suggested that Kyuma could cite expulsion from the

cabinet to explain to his Okinawan associates why he was

unable to deliver his end of the deal on the FRF. Moriya

asserted that Kyuma's decision not to pursue a 2 2 meeting in

March was based on concern that it would reveal that his

effort to change the USG position on the FRF had failed.



5. (S) Moriya singled out Higashi Namakon Corp. CEO Hirotsugu

Nakadomari as the key figure in the initiative to move the

FRF off-shore. According to Moriya, Nakadomari worked for

former Okinawan Gov. Nishime and had planned a political

career of his own. A political scandal severely tarnished

Nakadomari's name, making a run for office impossible.

Instead of seeking election himself, Nakadomari turned to the

construction business and backroom politics. Moriya said

Nakadomari has managed to leverage his money and political

acumen to position himself as the "kingmaker" in northern



TOKYO 00001153 002 OF 002





Okinawa politics.



No More Carrots?

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6. (S) Moriya suggested that recent actions by Kyuma and,

especially, Nakaima have totally ruined prospects for a

cooperative way forward with the OPG on the FRF. Moriya

noted that MOD will require cooperation from the Governor at

five different points in the implementation process, each

offering an opportunity for further protracted haggling.

Rather than pursuing further discussions with the OPG, Moriya

said it was time to prepare for unilateral action.



7. (S) In this context, Moriya touted MOD's environmental

"pre-survey" work that will be conducted on the reef area off

Camp Schwab prior to the formal environmental impact study.

Moriya emphasized the importance of moving ahead on this

before the May coral spawning season so that work on the FRF

project will not slip into next year. Information collected

by MOD could later be inputted into the formal environmental

certification process, he added. While in theory this could

be approved by the OPG, Moriya said that MOD is preparing to

move ahead with Special Measures legislation that would

suspend OPG's authority to issue permits for DPRI-related

survey work. He expressed confidence that the ruling

coalition, and perhaps even the Democratic Party of Japan

(DPJ),would support such legislation as long as it was

introduced after the July 22 Upper House election.



Realignment Legislation on Track

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8. (C) On a more positive note, Moriya offered an upbeat

assessment of prospects for Diet passage of base realignment

legislation, which includes provisions to allow the Japan

Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance DPRI

projects on Guam. Moriya said that the DPJ appears set to

support the bill, but assessed that final Diet action may not

come until late May/early June.



Comment: Bad, but Not Fatal

--------------



9. (S) It is remarkable how freely Moriya shared his contempt

for Kyuma and his role on the FRF with USG interlocutors.

Moriya's casual remark that "Kyuma never tells me anything"

suggests that rumors of a breakdown in communications between

the Defense Minister and his deputy are on the mark.

Unfortunately, there are also indications that Gov. Nakaima

and his top aides have also stopped talking to Moriya and his

MOD team, leaving early agreement on FRF construction in

doubt.



10. (S) Moriya's advocacy of taking a harder line with

Okinawa is consistent with recent comments by working level

MOD officials. It is far from certain, however, that MOD

would receive backing from the Prime Minister's Office or

ruling coalition for using coercive action, especially

Special Measures legislation, against the conservative

Nakaima. If quiet MOD-OPG negotiations do fail, the Liberal

Democratic Party (LDP) and Kantei would likely seek to use

more subtle means, such as withholding payments to

DPRI-affected Okinawan municipalities, to apply pressure on

Nakaima to cooperate.

SCHIEFFER