JAPANESE PM FUKUDA HEADING TO BEIJING; TALKS ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 002161 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV ENRG PHUM CH JA SUBJECT: JAPANESE PM FUKUDA HEADING TO BEIJING; TALKS ON CONTENTIOUS ISSUES ON HOLD UNTIL AFTER OLYMPICS Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. Summary: Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda will arrive in Beijing on August 8 to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao and will make a brief appearance at the Olympics Opening Ceremony before departing for Japan that same evening, MOFA told Embassy Tokyo on August 4. Japan and China are shelving talks on difficult bilateral issues including the East China Sea and joint history project until after the Olympics. Japan and China have not started drafting the treaty on joint development in the East China Sea and have not made additional progress following the June 18 announcement that a joint development agreement had been reached. The release date for the report from the joint history project has also been postponed until after the Olympics. Separately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura told the press on August 5 that Japan will lodge a "strong protest" with China after confirming that two Japanese journalists were beaten by police in Xinjiang. This could dampen the atmospherics during Fukuda's meetings with Hu and Wen. End Summary. Fukuda Making Brief Visit to Beijing -------------- ¶2. (C) Prime Minister Fukuda will visit Beijing on August 8 to attend the Olympics Opening Ceremony and to hold meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, MOFA China and Mongolia Division Principal Deputy Director Atsushi Endo told Embassy Tokyo on August 4. Fukuda will arrive in Beijing on a small, executive-size Japan Air Self-Defense aircraft in the morning, attend the official reception at noon, and will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao in the afternoon. He will attend the opening ceremony in the evening and, time permitting, meet with Japanese athletes before returning to Japan. Fukuda will depart Beijing that same night as he needs to be in Nagasaki at 0800 on August 9 to attend a memorial service for atomic bomb victims, Endo stated. No Progress on East China Sea Joint Development Treaty -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Japan and China have not made any additional progress on joint development in the East China Sea following the June 18 announcement that an agreement had been reached, Endo stated. Tokyo and Beijing have not held any official meetings to begin drafting the treaty and little progress is expected until after the Olympics, he continued. (Comment: MOFA told Embassy Tokyo in late June that the Olympics would be a good time to hold "quiet discussions" on the treaty because the Chinese public would be focused on the Olympics. During our August 4 meeting, however, MOFA was less optimistic about concluding the treaty in the near future. End Comment.) Japan-China Joint History Project Final Report Delayed -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) The release date for the joint history report written by Japanese and Chinese scholars has also been postponed until after the Olympics, Endo stated. China is pushing to hold the final joint history project meeting and then release the report at a later date. Japan prefers to release the report at the same time the academics hold their final meeting. A date for the final meeting has not been set. Japan Lodges Protest Following Journalists Beatings in Xinjiang, China Expresses "Regret" -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) An incident in Xinjiang involving two Japanese journalists who were beaten by Chinese police could complicate Fukuda's visit to Beijing. Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura on August 5 told the press Japan will lodge a "strong protest" with China after confirming that two Japanese journalists were beaten by police. Machimura stated "We believe it was a fact. We plan to protest strongly." A photographer from Chunichi Shimbun and a reporter from Nippon Television Network Corporation both suffered light injuries, according to the press. Following the receipt of an official protest from the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, China's MFA spokesperson expressed regret and local authorities in Xinjiang said they were "sorry" for the incident. SCHIEFFER