(S) MOD DEFENSE POLICY BUREAU DG ON POSSIBLE

S E C R E T TOKYO 001623 SIPDIS DOD FOR OSD/APSA/SEDNEY/HILL/BASALLA PACOM FOR J00/J01/J5/POLAD CENTCOM FOR POLAD/J5 JOINT STAFF FOR J5 NSC FOR WILDER/KATZ USFJ FOR J00/J01/J33/J5 E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2033 TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV IZ AFIN JA SUBJECT: (S) MOD DEFENSE POLICY BUREAU DG ON POSSIBLE AFGHAN DEPLOYMENT Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer; Reasons 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (S/NF) DCM spoke with Ministry of Defense (MOD) Defense Policy Bureau Director General Nobushise Takamizawa June 13 to explore what new steps Japan could take in Afghanistan. Takamizawa said that MOD Minister Ishiba had concluded that it would not be possible to dispatch CH-47 helicopters to Afghanistan, despite his comments to Secretary Gates in Singapore. Takamizawa said that when Secretary Gates raised this issue during their Singapore meeting, Ishiba had not referred to his briefing material but instead provided his long-held personal assessment. However, after being briefed on his return to Japan, Ishiba had reluctantly concluded that such a step is not politically feasible. ¶2. (S) Takamizawa said that it might be possible for Japan to conduct C-130 flights in Afghanistan or from a base in a nearby country. Nor did he rule out some form of limited Japanese participation in a PRT, such as civilian doctors or engineers. If Japanese civilians could not participate, Takamizawa thought Self Defense Force (SDF) personnel might be a possibility. ¶3. (S/NF) Takamizawa said that new legislation would be needed for any new contribution to Afghanistan and conceded that this would be very difficult. He said that the role of the junior coalition partner Komeito would be critical. To date, Komeito has not been willing to support new actions in Afghanistan, he explained. However, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Diet member Taku Yamasaki hoped to persuade Komeito not to reject legislation outright and agree to study it instead. With that in hand, Yamasaki believed he could take the legislation to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and ask for their support. Takamizawa acknowledged that this would be a difficult process, if all went well, perhaps the new legislation could be passed by early next year, he speculated. Iraq -------------- ¶4. (S/NF) There was a ninety-nine percent chance that Japan would cease its C-130 support flights into Iraq, Takamizawa said. If the U.S. could negotiate provisions into its new SOFA with Iraq that permitted the operations of other foreign forces, perhaps the C-130 flights could continue past December and until Japan's current legislation expires next July, he said. OEF --- ¶5. (S) On P-3C operations, Takamizawa said this might be possible in support of its refueling operations for OEF, if Japan could not find anything it could do in Afghanistan. However, this would also require new legislation that would likely take until next year to complete. SCHIEFFER