COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR OSD/APSA PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 002032 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OTRA PREL JA SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR OSD/APSA PRINCIPAL DIRECTOR JOHN D HILL AND PARTY REF: SECDEF 222115Z JUL 08 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (U) Embassy welcomes and grants country clearance for the July 29-31, 2008 visit to Japan by OSD/APSA Principal Director for East Asia John Hill, OSD/APSA Country Director for Japan John Geis, and Joint Staff/J5 LtCol Leonard Kosinski. ¶2. (U) Control Officer for the Okinawa portion of the visit will be Political Officer Claire Kaneshiro. She can be reached at: Office phone: (81-098)976-6628 Home phone: (81-098)933-0469 Mobile phone: (81-90)9787-0103 Fax: (81-098)874-0980 E-mail: KaneshiroCK@state.gov (unclassified) Control Officer for the visit will be Political Officer Dan Cintron. He can be reached at: Office phone: (81-3)3224-5558 Home phone: (81-3)3224-6972 Mobile phone: (81-90)7907-9591 Fax: (81-3)3224-5322 E-mail: CintronD@state.gov (unclassified) -------------- Hotel Reservations -------------- ¶3. (U) Okinawa hotel reservations have been made at the ANA Laguna Garden Hotel, 14-1-1 Mashiki, Ginowan, Okinawa 901-2224. Tel: (81-098) 897-2121, Fax: (81-098) 897-7711. Details as follows: John Hill Arrive: 07/27 Depart: 07/29 Conf. No.: 1309196 Tokyo hotel reservations have been made at the Hotel Okura 2-10-4 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8416, Tel: (81-3) 3582-0111 Fax: (81-3) 3582-3707. Details as follows: John Hill Arrive: 07/29 Depart: 07/31 Conf. No.: K00144257 John Geis Arrive: 07/28 Depart: 07/31 Conf. No.: K00144258 Lt Col Leonard Kosinski Arrive: 07/28 Depart: 07/31 Conf. No.: K00144260 -------------- Airport to Hotel Transportation -------------- ¶4. (U) Unless visitors have been notified of other arrangements, 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. -------------- TOKYO 00002032 002 OF 003 Visa -------------- ¶5. (U) U.S. citizens entering or transiting Japan on official business must obtain a diplomatic or official visa for that purpose. U.S. citizens traveling with a valid U.S. passport can enter Japan for business or pleasure for up to 90 days without a visa. All foreign nationals entering Japan, with the exemption of certain categories, are required to have their fingerprints scanned and a facial photograph taken at the port of entry. This requirement does not replace any existing visa or passport requirements. U.S. travelers on official business must have a diplomatic or official visa specifying the nature of travel as "AS DIPLOMAT," "AS OFFICIAL," or "IN TRANSIT" to be exempt from biometric collection. All other visa holders, including those with diplomatic and official visas stating "AS TEMPORARY VISITOR," are subject to this requirement. Passport type is also irrelevant. In rare instances, official travelers who bring a Note Verbale specifying they are entering Japan in an official capacity may be exempted from the biometric collection requirement, if otherwise required. SOFA personnel are exempt under SOFA Article 9 (2) from the new biometrics entry requirements. -------------- Embassy Laptop Policy -------------- ¶6. (U) The Embassy's electronic device (i.e. laptop, removable storage, video equipment, test equipment, etc.) policy states that absolutely no personal, non-government owned electronic devices may enter the Embassy. Absolutely no equipment, even government-owned, may be connected to the Embassy network in any way without prior approval. TDY employees are reminded that even government-owned equipment may not enter the Embassy without prior RSO approval. Absolutely no electronic device, even government-owned, may enter the CAA unless special pre-approval is given by the RSO, based on a compelling business need. Please be advised that if the traveler does not have one of the following BlackBerry models and a service contract with one of the telecommunications companies (listing follows),then his/her BlackBerry will not work in Japan. Japan has the most advanced cellular industry in the world and BlackBerry protocols are not as advanced as what are being used in Japan today. (BlackBerry models: 8707G, H, V or U.S. Telecommunications Companies with a NTT/DoCoMo roaming agreement: Sprint/Nextel, ATT/Cingular, and T-Mobile)If you would like to bring a U.S. government-owned electronic device into the Embassy, please contact the RSO office (provide make, model, serial number, and purpose) prior to your visit for a 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. The Department maintains information about potential threats to Americans overseas which is available to travelers on the internet at the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page: http://www.travel.state.gov. The Embassy takes all threats seriously. U.S. Embassy Tokyo can be contacted 24 hours a day at 03-3224-5000 (locally) or 81-3-3224-5000 (internationally). ¶8. (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. TOKYO 00002032 003 OF 003 ¶9. (U) Also be advised that under no circumstances may weapons be brought into Japan. Carrying a pocketknife (including Swiss Army-style knife, craft or hunting knife, box cutter, etc.) in public is forbidden. Under Japanese law, carrying any such item in public, with a size exceeding 8 cm in length, 1.5 cm in width or 2 mm in thickness, can subject the person to arrest or detention. ZUMWALT