AMBASSADOR, NEW DEFMIN DISCUSS DPRI, OEF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002226 SIPDIS DOD FOR OSD/APSA/SHINN/SEDNEY/HILL/BASALLA; PACOM FOR J00/J01/J5; USFJ FOR J00/J01/J02/J4/J5; NSC FOR WILDER/KATZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: PREL MARR PGOV JA SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR, NEW DEFMIN DISCUSS DPRI, OEF Classified By: Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer; Reasons: 1.4 (b/d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Newly appointed Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told the Ambassador on August 12 that he will focus on winning local support for realignment and raising public awareness on the need for Japan's participation in the War on Terror. Hayashi said that during his August 19-20 visit to Okinawa, he would reinforce with local leaders the need to implement the May 1, 2006 Roadmap package. Hayashi said he is already starting to take the case for extending Japan's contributions to OEF to the public, highlighting that it is a broad coalition effort and reinforcing the fact that Japanese were also victims on September 11. The Ambassador welcomed Hayashi's commitment to reinvigorating the realignment process and updated him on U.S. NORTH KOREA policy. End Summary. Realignment -------------- ¶2. (C) The Ambassador and USFJ Commander Lt. Gen. Rice paid a cordial August 12 courtesy call on newly appointed Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. The Ambassador welcomed Hayashi's appointment, and said he looked forward to regaining momentum in the implementation of the Defense Policy Review Initiative (DPRI) agreement. Hayashi, speaking in English, noted that he has been a longtime supporter of the Alliance, and had personally worked to promote the relocation of the USN Carrier Air Wing from Atsugi Naval Air Station to Iwakuni MCAS, which is located in Hayashi's home district. ¶3. (C) Hayashi said that it is important for Japanese leaders to explain to local communities, including on Okinawa, the strategic importance of U.S. bases to the security of Japan and the region. Hayashi said that he would be traveling to Okinawa on August 19-20 to see first hand the progress on constructing the Futenma Replacement Facility (FRF) and to press local leaders on the importance of completing the task as quickly as possible. "I will tell them that we have been talking about making these changes for decades, and now that we have a roadmap to actually do it we need to move forward," he continued. ¶4. (C) The Ambassador noted that it is also critical to remind people that the realignment plan for Okinawa is a package that can not be broken into pieces. Hayashi said he would convey this point as well. "Children all learn the grammatical pattern 'doing this will depend on doing that,'" he added, "they (Okinawan leaders) need to understand the necessity of implementing all parts of the package." OEF --- ¶5. (C) Turning to Afghanistan, the Ambassador expressed appreciation for the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) refueling operation in the Indian Ocean. Noting that Japan is still reviewing a set of new "substantial" TOKYO 00002226 002 OF 002 contributions to assist Afghanistan, the Ambassador underscored the importance of preparing the SDF to conduct future operations on the ground. Hayashi said that on a weekend news program, he displayed a map of Afghanistan showing the deployments of the 40 coalition members with forces in-country. Coalition members are not only helping the Afghan people, he added, but sacrificing the lives of their soldiers for the greater good. Hayashi said that the point he emphasized on the televised program was that Afghanistan is not a U.S.-Japan Alliance issue but an integral part of the international community's struggle against terrorism. ¶6. (C) Hayashi noted that the key to securing support for an extension of the MSDF refueling mission and other contributions to Afghanistan will be to build a bipartisan consensus for action. This, he continued, can only be done by convincing the Japanese people about why it is in Japan's national interest to do so. Hayashi said he would use the anniversary of 9/11 to remind the Japanese public that nearly two dozen Japanese, including one of his own constituents, lost their lives in the World Trade Center. Terrorists indiscriminately target civilians of all nations, and for that reason, Hayashi continued, the Japanese people should view terrorism in the same light as abductions by NORTH Korea. DPRK -------------- ¶7. (C) Turning to NORTH Korea, the Ambassador noted that the United States has postponed removing NORTH KOREA from the list of terrorist-supporting states due to the lack of progress in establishing a credible verification regime. This underscores that the United States will not allow NORTH Korea to possess nuclear weapons. The Ambassador conveyed that the President also assured Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on July 6 that the United States will never forget the plight of Japanese abductees. Hayashi expressed appreciation for recent diplomatic efforts towards NORTH Korea. He commented that the Six-Party Framework should be maintained even after resolution of NORTH Korea's nuclear weapons issue as a forum to address other security challenges in the region. SCHIEFFER