THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH CHIEF CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 003594 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR D, AND EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2027 TAGS: PREL JA SUBJECT: THE DEPUTY SECRETARY'S MEETING WITH CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY YASUHISA SHIOZAKI SIPDIS Classified By: Deputy Secretary John Negroponte, for reasons 1.4(b)/(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki assured the Deputy Secretary on August 3 that the LDP's election setback would not affect U.S.-Japan relations, and the two agreed that the U.S.-Japan alliance would continue to form the cornerstone of peace and stability in the region. CCS Shiozaki noted Japanese efforts to strengthen information security, and the Deputy Secretary assured him the U.S. would work cooperatively with the Japanese Government on this important issue. Shiozaki welcomed the restart of the Six-Party Talks, but cautioned we were only in the initial phase and would have to watch NORTH KOREA carefully. He cited the need for NORTH KOREA to address Japan's concerns on the abduction issue and asked the U.S. to take care in addressing the question of whether to remove NORTH KOREA from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. The Deputy Secretary and Shiozaki agreed that denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula remained the most important issue. The Deputy Secretary raised climate change, noting the President had SIPDIS invited the fifteen largest greenhouse gas emitting nations to meet this fall. Shiozaki said PM Abe was determined to tackle the issue and envisioned three principles for a post-Kyoto protocol: including all major greenhouse gas emitting countries; ensuring flexibility; and compatibility between environmental protection and economic development. End Summary. Elections Won't Affect Bilateral Relations -------------- ¶2. (C) Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told the Deputy Secretary in a meeting August 3 that the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) defeat in the Upper House elections would make the fall Diet session "hectic and difficult," but would not affect the U.S.-Japan relationship. Shiozaki said the foundation of bilateral relations would be strengthened through realignment of U.S. forces in Okinawa and ballistic missile defense cooperation. The Deputy Secretary agreed that strong bilateral relations and the U.S.-Japan alliance remain the cornerstone of peace and stability in Northeast Asia, adding it was reassuring to hear that the election results would not alter that view on the part of Japan. Information Security -------------- ¶3. (C) Shiozaki noted the U.S. and Japan had initiated a Bilateral Information Security Task Force (BISTF) in the wake of two unfortunate leaks of sensitive information, including AEGIS data. He said the Government of Japan (GOJ) would strengthen its legal structure, noting the LDP had already begun discussing a strengthened legal framework. Shiozaki said the GOJ would cooperate with the U.S. in the interest of reaching a new stage of cooperation in protecting sensitive information. He said the GOJ understood the matter could not be left to individual ministries, but needed oversight by the Prime Minister's office in order to provide a new "infrastructure" for taking care of sensitive information. ¶4. (C) The Deputy Secretary welcomed GOJ efforts and the Chief Cabinet Secretary's personal involvement in the issue. He noted that interagency participation was very important, citing his experience as DNI. The Deputy Secretary noted that when the U.S. undertook intelligence reform, we concluded that two things were needed: information sharing along with adequate protection; and integration of information, noting that stove-piping did not work. The Deputy Secretary underlined that the U.S. wished to work cooperatively with Japan on information security. He emphasized the importance of information security and was confident progress would pave the way toward greater cooperation and intelligence sharing. Ambassador Schieffer also thanked the Chief Cabinet secretary for his personal involvement and labeled agreement on BISTF a "major breakthrough," adding that he was very optimistic about the prospects for progress on the issue. North KOREA -------------- ¶5. (C) Shiozaki said the GOJ was pleased that Six Party Talks had finally restarted. He cautioned that we were still in the initial phase and that we had to make sure NORTH KOREA was serious and would follow through on the agreements reached to date. The most important issue, he emphasized, was denuclearization of NORTH Korea. Japan was ready to participate, but its concerns about abductees needed to be met before it could contribute economically. Shiozaki said he appreciated the fact that the U.S. had made sure the DPRK-Japan and U.S.-DPRK Working Groups would meet around the same time. Shiozaki asked that the U.S. also pay close attention to the question of removing the DPRK from the State Sponsors of Terrorist list, noting the Japanese public was very sensitive about that issue. ¶6. (C) The Deputy Secretary said the U.S. agrees that the most important aspect of Six Party Talks is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We were "mildly hopeful," he said, that the process could move forward. "We are realists", he added, and not under any illusions about the difficulty of dealing with NORTH Korea. The Deputy Secretary said we would watch for progress in the Working Groups in August and in the next round of Six Party Talks. We would proceed on a step-by-step basis, he said, and continue to support Japanese concerns about abductions. Regarding the State Sponsors of Terrorism designation of NORTH Korea, the Deputy Secretary said we had agreed to begin discussing that issue, but emphasized that Japan could count on us "not to rush." If progress were made on denuclearization, then we could deal with other issues including peace on the Korean Peninsula and normalization. NEAPSM -------------- ¶7. (C) Turning to the Northeast Asia Peace and Security Mechanism (NEAPSM),CCS Shiozaki observed that it was most important that denuclearization remained the first priority. He said the U.S.-Japan alliance was paramount for maintaining peace and security in Northeast Asia, and advised the U.S. not to be "too hasty" about undertaking four-party Korean peace talks, particularly without close coordination with Japan. Climate Change -------------- ¶8. (C) The Deputy Secretary raised climate change, noting the President had invited the fifteen largest greenhouse gas emitting nations to meet this fall. Shiozaki said PM Abe was very determined to tackle the issue. Shiozaki noted the Prime Minister's good talks with the President in April, high-level bilateral talks which had already taken place, and technical talks on energy efficiency. PM Abe, he said, envisioned three principles for a post-Kyoto protocol: including all major greenhouse gas emitting countries; ensuring flexibility related to individual countries' conditions; and a new framework that would be compatible between environmental protection and economic development. Shiozaki noted that PM Abe would visit India and that Japan would seek a mechanism to financially support developing countries as a means of bringing countries like India into the climate change discussion in a positive way. PM Abe's aim, he noted, was to cut emissions in half by the year 2050. The Deputy Secretary said we looked forward to working with Japan on climate change. He pointed out that the U.S. advocated removing duties on clean technologies as an initial step. Economic Policy -------------- ¶9. (C) On the economic side, Shiozaki said there was still little consciousness in Japan about the value of a free trade agreement, but he thought an FTA could be a topic of discussion in the future. The Prime Minister's basic economic policy, he noted, was openness and innovation. ¶10. (U) August 3, 2007; 14:20; Tokyo, Japan. ¶11. (U) Meeting Participants: U.S. Deputy Secretary Negroponte Ambassador Schieffer Deputy Assistant Secretary David Sedney, Dept of Defense James Zumwalt, Director of Japan Affairs, Dept of State Kaye Lee, Special Assistant Ted Wittenstein, Special Assistant James Pierce, A/POLMIN (Notetaker) Japan Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Chief Cabinet Secretary Tadao Ando, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinichi Nishimiya, Director-General, NORTH American Affairs Bureau, MOFA Takeo Mori, Director, First NORTH America Division, MOFA Seiji Suzuki, Assistant to the Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shiozaki, Private Secretary to Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr. Fukushima, First NORTH America Division, MOFA SCHIEFFER