DCM'S MEETING WITH ACCS YANAGISAWA ON BILATERAL

S E C R E T TOKYO 003346 SIPDIS SIPDIS OSD FOR APSA SHINN/SEDNEY/HILL/BASALLA; COMUSJAPAN FOR J00/J2/J3/J5 E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2017 TAGS: PREL MARR PINR PGOV JA SUBJECT: DCM'S MEETING WITH ACCS YANAGISAWA ON BILATERAL INFORMATION SECURITY TASK FORCE TOR REF: A. JUL 20 HAMM-GREENE EMAIL ¶B. DRAFT BISTF TOR ¶C. POINTS ON DRAFT TOR ¶D. POINTS ON AEGIS SOFTWARE REVIEW ¶E. TOKYO 3222 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Joseph R. Donovan; Reasons: 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Per ref A instructions, on July 20 the DCM delivered the draft Bilateral Information Security Task Force Terms of Reference (BISTF TOR) to Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Yanagisawa and urged the Japanese government to SIPDIS agree to the draft text and be ready to discuss the TOR on the occasion of DASD Sedney's visit to Japan at the end of July. Yanagisawa stressed that the BISTF process should not interfere with ongoing investigations and that specific military secrets should be off the table in any inter-agency setting. Despite uncertainty of the Cabinet Intelligence Research Office participation in a BISTF meeting, the Japanese government would make a good faith effort to respond to the U.S. draft before DASD Sedney's visit. In a pull-aside at the end of the meeting, Yanagisawa responded to ref D points on the U.S. review of AEGIS software transfer, promising his full support. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) On July 20, the DCM met with Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Kyoji Yanagisawa to deliver the draft Bilateral SIPDIS Information Security Task Force Terms of Reference (BISTF TOR) (ref B) and ref C points urging Japan's agreement to the text. Yanagisawa was accompanied by Cabinet Secretariat Counselor for International Security Affiars Kenichi Takahashi. Embassy defense attache and pol/mil officer also attended. -------------- -------------- NO INTERFERENCE W/ INVESTIGATIONS, NO MIL SECRETS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (S) Yanagisawa, noting that the TOR mentioned several more Japanese government agencies than discussed during his earlier meeting on information security with the DCM on July 13 (ref E),but said he was ready to accept the proposed text on two conditions. -- First, the BISTF should not interfere with the investigations on the AEGIS leak by the Kanagawa Prefecture Police. -- Second, information on specific military secrets should not be discussed in an inter-agency forum, as more appropriate channels exist between counterpart agencies from both governments. Yanagisawa also urged the United States to keep the existence of the BISTF secret from the press, per agreement at the May 2007 Security Consultative Committee meeting. ¶4. (S) The DCM reiterated that the BISTF should not hinder ongoing investigations. Although specific military secrets were not appropriate for discussion in a multi-agency setting, a bilateral inter-agency framework that involved all relevant government agencies was critical if both governments sought to fix shortfalls in Japan's information security structures. The objective for both Tokyo and Washington ought to be to develop processes and procedures that could better ensure information security and ultimately raise the level of information sharing between the United States and Japan. ¶5. (S) Yanagisawa regretted that he had initially thought that the issue of information security ought to be handled between the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the U.S. military. He now realized, however, that the AEGIS leak was not an isolated case that could be handled by a single agency, but rather pointed to a bigger, systemic problem in the Japanese government that could affect Japan's procurement of fighter jets and moving BMD cooperation forward. -------------- -------------- GOJ TO TRY TO RESPOND TO TEXT BEFORE DASD'S VISIT -------------- -------------- ¶6. (S) In response to the U.S. desire to hold the first BISTF meeting on the occasion of DASD Sedney's July 28-August 1 visit to Japan, Yanagisawa opined that he did not believe the Cabinet Intelligence Research Office (CIRO) would agree to co-chair the meeting at the Deputy Director General-level. Nevertheless, the Cabinet Secretariat would discuss the TOR draft with other agencies and try to respond to the U.S. Government before DASD Sedney's arrival, Yanagisawa said. (Note: DATT Welch later clarified to Cabinet Secretariat Counselor for National Security Affairs Kenichi Takahashi that, for the purpose of DASD Sedney's meeting, participation by CIRO and other intelligence agencies was more important than level of representation.) -------------- UNCERTAIN AEGIS INVESTIGATION COMPLETION DATE -------------- ¶7. (S) Regarding the AEGIS investigations, Yanagisawa said he was not confident the investigations conducted by Kanagawa Prefecture Police would conclude in August, as rumors circulated that the results would not be ready until late October or November. Nevertheless, the MOD's parallel investigations should be ready at an earlier date and could be fed into bilateral discussions in BISTF meetings. -------------- -------------- NO BRIEF ON AEGIS REVIEW, BUT SUPORTS U.S. POINTS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (S) In a pull-aside following the meeting, the DCM delivered ref D points on the U.S. review of AEGIS software transfer, stressing that: -- the AEGIS compromise might have harmed our capabilities, but the U.S. Government continued to support a robust bilateral BMD program; -- the United States was conducting a review of control procedures prior to the scheduled release of the AEGIS BMD Baseline 3.6 upgrade software in light of the recent compromise; Yanagisawa responded that he did not have any background information on the AEGIS software, but he understood the U.S. points and would pledge his full support. He asserted that both improving the information security structure and explaining to the Diet were necessary steps in resolving the issue. SCHIEFFER