PRO-TAIWAN DIET GROUPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 002376

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL TW JA
SUBJECT: PRO-TAIWAN DIET GROUPS

TOKYO 00002376 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: James P. Zumwalt, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., per 1.4 (b/d)

Summary and Comment
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1. (C) Japan's "unofficial" relationship with Taiwan has
managed to thrive in the three decades since Japan's
normalization with the Mainland thanks in large measure to
frequent and long-standing contact between the Japanese Diet
members and their counterparts in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan.
Five parliamentary groups are active in supporting Taiwan and
boosting the Japan-Taiwan relationship. The oldest among
them is the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) Youth Bureau,
but the most influential is a non-partisan parliamentary
group, the Japan-Republic of China Parliamentary Council
("Nikkakon"). It has played a significant role in managing
Japan-Taiwan relations since Japan's official relationship
with Taiwan ended with the normalization of Japan-China
relations in September 1972. As the situation in and
surrounding Japan and Taiwan has evolved over the years,
three more active parliamentary groups were established.
While the Nikkakon still plays a leading role in managing
Japan-Taiwan relations, other groups provide more diverse
voices regarding Taiwan and the bilateral relationship.
Despite the groups' ideological and other differences, they
share the common goal of "supporting Taiwan."

Nikkakon
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2. (C) The Japan-Republic of China Parliamentary Council
(Nikka Giin Kondankai, or Nikkakon) was established by 27 LDP
pro-Taiwan Diet members in March 1974, less than six months
after the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations.
The founding members included former Education Minister
Hirokichi Nadao (Chairman),famous political fixer and
so-called "don of the House of Councillors." Another
prominent member was then-Diet member (and current Tokyo
governor) Shintaro Ishihara. The founding purpose of the
Nikkakon was to promote diplomatic and political contacts
between Japan and Taiwan, and this group was instrumental in
restoring the Japan-Taiwan air routes in 1975.


3. (C) Nikkakon's current Deputy Secretary General, Yasuhiro
Oe (a former LDP member who recently split from the
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)),told Embassy
Tokyo that "Nikkakon is the only and best window for
political contact between Japan and Taiwan." The group has
about 150 members, including non-active ones, but the
membership has decreased gradually from its heyday of 250
members in early 2000. Six core members, led by Rep. Takeo
Hiranuma, mange the group and run the working-level
consultation group established several years ago to
communicate requests from the Taiwan government via the
Taipei Representative Office in Tokyo to the Japanese
government. The core members other than Hiranuma and Oe are
Nikkakon Secretary General Takao Fujii, Nikkakon General
Secretary Keiji Furuya, LDP Secretary General Taro Aso and
former Defense Minister Tokuichiro Tamazawa.

Other Japan-Taiwan Groups
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4. (C) In addition to the non-partisan Nikkakon, there are
four partisan pro-Taiwan groups. The LDP's groups are the
party's Youth Bureau and the Young Diet Members' Association
to Promote Japan-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Exchanges. The
DPJ also has two groups: the Japan-Taiwan Friendship
Parliamentary Council and the Japan-Taiwan Security and
Economic Study Group.


5. (C) The LDP's Youth Bureau has as its counterpart Taiwan's
ruling party's own youth bureau. Since the main purpose of
the group is to promote exchanges, they have less of a
lobbying role than the Nikkakon. The regular exchanges
between the Youth Bureau and its counterpart in Taiwan began
after the termination if the Japan-Taiwan official
relationship and before the Nikkakon's foundation. According
to Rep. Koichi Hagiuda, Secretary General of the Young Diet
Members' Association to Promote Japan-Taiwan Economic and
Cultural Exchanges, LDP leaders at the time wished to
maintain the two parties' "ties for future generations" and
worked hard to create the exchange program. All current
pro-Taiwan senior LDP members, such as former PM Shinzo Abe,
former Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa and Takeo

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Hiranuma, served as LDP youth division directors. Those who
served in this position subsequently became senior members of
the Nikkakon.


6. (C) Another LDP group, the Young Diet Members' Association
to Promote Japan-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Exchanges, is
led by Councillor Nobuo Kishi, younger brother of former PM
Shinzo Abe. It was established in April 2006 by younger LDP
members, who had also been associated with the LDP's Youth
Bureau. The group works closely with the LDP Youth Bureau in
order to support Taiwan's active participation in the
international community.


7. (C) The DPJ's Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentary
Council is led by Rep. Yoshito Sengoku and was established in
April 2000. According to General Secretary Yukio Edano, the
Council has about 70 members and its ideological base is in
support of Taiwan's human rights and democracy. Sengoku,
formerly a civil rights lawyer, has close personal ties with
Democratic People's Party (DPP) leadership, and this group is
closer to the DPP than the KMT.


8. (C) Another DPJ group, the Japan-Taiwan Security and
Economic Study Group, was founded by 47 young DPJ members in
May 2004 to "support Taiwan's full and long-term
reintegration into the international community and to realize
peace and security in East Asia through Japan-Taiwan
parliamentary exchanges." The group is headed by former DPJ
member Hirosato Nakasugawa. Well-known pro-Taiwan Diet
member Akihisa Nagashima is the group's Secretary General.
The group adopted five resolutions on November 24, 2004: 1)
to respect and support Taiwan's popular will on Taiwan's
Constitution and country name; 2) to support Taiwan's
participation in the WHO; 3) to realize former Taiwan
President Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan; 4) to realize
no-visa entry by Taiwanese tourists into Japan; and 5) to
realize the change of notation of Taiwan nationals in Japan
to "Taiwan."

Differences, but Same Goal
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9. (C) Ideological differences exist among the groups.
Although Nikkakon Deputy Secretary General Oe insists that
the Nikkakon is "neutral," the DPJ's Edano described the
group as "classic anti-communist" and a "mixture of
reactionary right-wingers and Taiwan patronage-driven
members." He further criticized the Nikkakon for its
tendency to "make empty promises," including regarding
Japan's normalization of diplomatic relations with Taiwan,
the conclusion of a security treaty and an the pursuit of a
Free Trade Agreement and joint military exercises. Such an
unrealistic approach, Edano told Embassy Tokyo, might be the
reason behind the Nikkakon's gradual membership decline.


10. (C) Despite the groups' differences, all of our Diet
interlocutors agreed that the parliamentary groups share the
same goal of "supporting Taiwan" in the international
community and have in the past taken steps to promote former
President Lee Teng-hui's visit to Japan and Taiwan's
application for WHO membership.
ZUMWALT