TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - WTO AND CUBA

UNCLAS TOKYO 003472 SIPDIS STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR, EAP/J, EAP/P, PM; USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE; TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI; SECDEF FOR OASD/PA; CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE; PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - WTO AND CUBA ¶1. LEAD STORIES: All Monday morning papers front-paged declassified documents from the MOFA archives, one of which showed that then Prime Minister Sato, when he held talks with then Defense Secretary McNamara in Washington in January 1965, asked that the U.S. use its nuclear weapons to attack China should Japan enter war with China. ¶2. "Rupture of WTO Talks Signals Looming Protectionism" The business-oriented Nikkei editorialized (12/22): "The WTO Doha Round trade liberalization talks have ground to a standstill, as member states gave up on holding a ministerial by year's end. This was the second failure in the Doha talks this year following the rupture of a trade ministerial back in July. The global attempt to liberalize world trade is on the verge of collapse.... Without additional enhancement of the WTO system, a worldwide depression cannot be headed off. Recall that the Great Depression unleashed protectionist sentiment, which in turn led to WWII." ¶2. "Cuba to Shift to Pro-U.S.?" The liberal Tokyo Shimbun wrote from New York (12/21): "The new Cuban leader Raul Castro, while displaying his country's close ties with Russia, appears to be anxious about holding dialogue with U.S. President-elect Obama. As his top policy priority is to reconstruct Cuba's crumbling economy, Raul Castro is apparently keen to improve economic ties with the U.S. One view holds that if Havana, known for having spearheaded an anti-U.S. campaign, reverses its approach toward Washington, the leftist political trend in Latin American would die down gradually." ZUMWALT