CORRECTED COPY: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR TRILATERAL

UNCLAS TOKYO 000210 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS OSD FOR GSA/CN, CP >/TNT MS. ELIZABETH PHU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KNNP JA KNNP PARM PREL SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR TRILATERAL 1718 WG AND ASTOP DELEGATION REF: TOKYO 184 CORRECTED COPY -- PLS. SEE PARA 2 AND 3 FOR CHANGES. ¶1. (U) Embassy welcomes and grants country clearance for the January 21-27, 2007 visit to Japan by the U.S. Delegation to the Trilateral 1718 Working Group and ASTOP. Notional schedules for each event will follow separately. ¶2. (U) Control Officer for the delegation to the January 24 Trilateral 1718 Working Group will be Brett Blackshaw, Deputy, Political-Military Unit. He can be reached at: Office phone: (81-3)3224-5337 Home phone: (81-3)3224-6811 Cellphone: 81-90-4837-5822 Fax: (81-3)3224-5322 E-mail: blackshawb@state.gov SIPRnet: blackshawbx@state.sgov.gov Control Officer for the January 25-26 Asian Senior-level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP) delegation will be Ayanna Hobbs, Science & Technology officer. She can be reached at: Office phone: (81-3)3224-5499 Home phone: (81-3)3224-6874 Cellphone: 81-90-9340-2232 Fax: (81-3)3224- E-mail: hobbsa@state.gov SIPRnet: hobbsab@state.sgov.gov -------------- Hotel Reservations -------------- ¶3. (U) Tokyo hotel reservations have been made at: Hotel Okura 2-10-4 Toranomon Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8416 Tel: 81 (0)3 3582-0111 Fax: 81 (0)3 3582-3707 Email: www.okura.com NAME CHECK-IN CHECK-OUT CONF. NO. 1718 WG and ASTOP attendees: Eric Desautels 22Jan07 26Jan07 832805 Philip A. Foley 23Jan07 26Jan07 832819 Elizabeth Phu 22Jan07 27Jan07 832816 Steven Schleien 22Jan07 27Jan07 832809 1718 WG only attendees: Randall T. Beisecker 23Jan07 26Jan07 832818 Howard Belote 22Jan07 25Jan07 832788 Wesley Bringham 22Jan07 26Jan07 832802 Alexandra Chandler 22Jan07 26Jan07 832800 Michael T. Fink 22Jan07 25Jan07 832790 Stephen G. Heil 23Jan07 25Jan07 832820 David Huizenga 22Jan07 25Jan07 832791 Steve Merrill 22Jan07 26Jan07 832807 Bruce Pentola 22Jan07 25Jan07 832794 Drew Walsh 21Jan07 25Jan07 832787 Rodger Welch 22Jan07 25Jan07 832797 Payment should be made directly with the hotel upon check-out. Rate is 19,500 Japanese yen/night (or USD $161.65, at January 17 rate of 120.63 yen/dollar). -------------- Airport to Hotel Transportation -------------- ¶4. (U) Visitors should take the airport "limousine" bus directly to the hotel or the Narita Express (NEX) train to Tokyo Station and then a taxi to the hotel. The limousine bus counter is located in the Tokyo Narita Airport Arrival lobby. Look for the orange signs as you walk through the doors from the customs area to the main lobby. The bus fare is 3,000 Yen. The NEX train is located in the basement of the airport terminal. The train fare is 2,900 Yen. Twenty-four hour currency exchange facilities are available in the customs area and the arrival lobby of the airport. Travel time from Tokyo Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo is 90-120 minutes, depending on traffic. -------------- Visa -------------- ¶5. (U) Holders of U.S. diplomatic or official passports must have a Japanese visa to enter Japan. Travelers on a U.S. tourist (blue cover) passport may enter Japan as a tourist without a Japanese visa for up to 90 days. -------------- Embassy Laptop Policy -------------- ¶6. (U) The Embassy's laptop policy is as follows: Absolutely no personal, non-government owned laptop computers may enter the Embassy. Absolutely no laptop, even government owned, may be connected to the Embassy network in any way. TDY employees are reminded that no government owned laptops may enter the Embassy without prior RSO approval. Absolutely no laptop, even government owned, inside CAA areas unless special pre-approval, based on business need, has been given. If you would like to bring a US government owned and provided laptop computer into the Embassy, please contact the RSO's office prior to your visit for the briefing and approval. -------------- Threat Assessment -------------- ¶7. (U) U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. As the U.S. Government has reported in public announcements over the last several months, U.S. citizens and interests abroad may be at increased risk of terrorist actions from extremist groups, which may target civilians and include suicide operations. Most recently, we advised that we had unconfirmed information that terrorist actions may be taken against U.S. Military facilities and/or establishments frequented by U.S. military personnel in Korea and Japan. Americans should increase their security awareness and avoid locations where Americans are generally known to congregate. The Department will continue to develop information about potential threats to Americans overseas and to share credible threat information through its consular information program documents available on the internet at the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page: http://www.travel.state.gov. ¶8. (U) In addition, we continue to be concerned about information we received in May 2001 that American citizens may be the target of a terrorist threat from extremist groups with links to Usama Bin Laden's Al-Qaida organization. In the past, such individuals have not distinguished between official and civilian targets. The Embassy takes all threats seriously. The U.S. Embassy Tokyo can be contacted 24 hours a day at 03-3224-5000 (locally) or 81-3-3224-5000 (internationally). ¶9. (SBU) The general threat from crime in Tokyo and throughout Japan is low. Crime is at levels well below the U.S. national average. Violent crime is rare, but does exist. The Japanese National Police report continued problems with pick-pocketing of foreigners in crowded shopping areas of Tokyo. Although street crime is low, common sense security measures are advised for all American citizens traveling in Japan. ¶10. (SBU) Visitors are urged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to increase their security awareness. Americans should maintain a low profile, vary routes and times for all required travel, and treat mail and packages from unfamiliar sources with suspicion. Visitors are also urged to avoid contact with any suspicious, unfamiliar objects, and to report the presence of such objects to local authorities. Vehicles should not be left unattended and should be kept locked at all times. SCHIEFFER