COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY

UNCLAS TOKYO 002714 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OTRA AMGT KNNP PREL MNUC KN CH JA SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY CHRISTOPHER HILL AND DELEGATION REF: STATE 104017 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (U) Embassy welcomes and grants country clearance for the October 4, 2008, visit to Japan by Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, Special Assistant Yuri Kim, Director EAP/K Sung Y. Kim, NSC Director of Chinese Affairs Paul Haenle, and ISN DAS C.S. Eliot Kang. ¶2. (U) Control Officer for the visit will be Political Deputy Marc Knapper. He can be reached at: Office phone: (81-3)3224-5334 Home phone: (81-3)3224-6958 Mobile phone: 81-90-2210-8570 Fax: (81-3)3224-5322 E-mail: KnapperME@state.gov (unclassified) -------------- Visa -------------- ¶3. (U) Holders of U.S. diplomatic or official passports must have a Japanese visa to enter Japan. Travelers on a U.S. tourist (blue cover) passport may enter Japan as a tourist without a Japanese visa for up to 90 days. As of November 20, 2007, all foreign nationals entering Japan, with the exemption of certain categories, are required to provide fingerprints and a facial photograph at the port of entry. This requirement does not replace any existing visa or passport requirements. Official U.S. travelers will have to submit to the photograph and fingerprinting requirement unless they travel with a valid diplomatic or official visa or a Note Verbale. The nature of the passport onto which the visa is pasted is not relevant, i.e. a tourist passport holder with a diplomatic or official visa will not have to submit to the biometrics collection process. SOFA personnel are exempt under SOFA Article 9 (2) from the new biometrics entry requirements. -------------- Threat Assessment -------------- ¶4. (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). SCHIEFFER