Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TOKYO3535
2008-12-30 08:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

JAPAN ANTI-PIRACY UPDATE: LEGAL WRANGLING,

Tags:  EFIS ELTN EWWT JA MOPS PBTS PGOV PHSA PINR 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 003535 

SIPDIS

STATE PM FOR AMBASSADOR MULL
STATE PM/PPA FOR GLANCY, HOPKINS, FOSTER, AND O'KEEFE
STATE PM/ISO FOR FREDERICK
STATE EEB/TRA FOR JOHN BYERLY AND STEPHEN MILLER
STATE FOR OES/OA ELIZABETH PHELPS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018
TAGS: EFIS ELTN EWWT JA MOPS PBTS PGOV PHSA PINR
PREL, PTER, SENV
SUBJECT: JAPAN ANTI-PIRACY UPDATE: LEGAL WRANGLING,
CONSIDERING EARLY DISPATCH

REF: TOKYO 3405

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES a.i. JAMES ZUMWALT, REASONS 1.4(B) and
(D).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 003535

SIPDIS

STATE PM FOR AMBASSADOR MULL
STATE PM/PPA FOR GLANCY, HOPKINS, FOSTER, AND O'KEEFE
STATE PM/ISO FOR FREDERICK
STATE EEB/TRA FOR JOHN BYERLY AND STEPHEN MILLER
STATE FOR OES/OA ELIZABETH PHELPS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2018
TAGS: EFIS ELTN EWWT JA MOPS PBTS PGOV PHSA PINR
PREL, PTER, SENV
SUBJECT: JAPAN ANTI-PIRACY UPDATE: LEGAL WRANGLING,
CONSIDERING EARLY DISPATCH

REF: TOKYO 3405

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES a.i. JAMES ZUMWALT, REASONS 1.4(B) and
(D).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) Piracy issues in the Horn of Africa (HOA) remain a
topic of extensive interest in Japan, both in the media and
among contacts in the Japanese government. Calls from major
publications for Japan to "do something" have grown louder in
recent weeks, driven in part by China's December 26 dispatch
of naval vessels to take part in pirate interdiction in
waters off of Somalia. Japanese government interlocutors say
they are working on a new law to authorize the Japan Maritime
Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) increased operational
flexibility, and add that plans are being evaluated to
dispatch the JMSDF under current, albeit more limiting,
legislation. Consideration is being given to both surface
vessels and patrol aircraft. Legal experts acknowledge the
challenges they are likely to face from opposition voices in
the Diet, particularly with regard to rules of engagement and
use of force, but are pushing ahead with a bill that could
hopefully be enacted by late spring or early summer 2009.
End Summary.

--------------
Two Stage Response?
--------------


2. (C) With multiple daily articles tracking Japanese
government debate, and editorials in conservative
publications encouraging an immediate dispatch of the JMSDF
to protect Japanese assets and citizens, media coverage of

Horn of Africa piracy issues continues to be extensive. As
reported reftel, Japan is working on draft legislation that,
if passed, would enable the JMSDF to dispatch to waters off
Somalia to protect shipping vessels, both Japanese and
foreign, from pirate attacks. This general law is expected
to be submitted to the Diet sometime in early 2009, with
passage potentially in late spring or early summer.


3. (C) In the meantime, however, the Japanese government is
urgently reviewing options for dispatching the JMSDF under
existing legislation. Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces
Law authorizes the Minister of Defense, under direction from
the Prime Minister, to order the JMSDF to "protect lives and
property or maintain order at sea" when there is a
"particular need" to do so. Post contacts emphasize,
however, that this protection authority only applies to

TOKYO 00003535 002 OF 004


Japanese citizens and assets that are under threat.


4. (C) Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MOFA) officials say that the JMSDF is "eager" to
deploy to the region now, despite the limitations that would
be imposed on their actions. MOFA National Security Policy
Division Principal Deputy Director Shingo Miyamoto said the
Japanese government is feeling significant pressure to take
action sooner rather than later, driven in no small part by
the recent dispatch by China of surface vessels to the HOA
region.


5. (C) Prime Minister Aso has ordered Defense Minister Hamada
to study specific measures that the JMSDF could undertake
immediately. Several senior Japanese government
interlocutors have suggested the possibility of deploying
P-3Cs and are interested in finding locations in the HOA
region from which they could operate, possibly in Oman or
Djibouti. Officials in both MOFA and MOD tell the Embassy
that a P-3C deployment would be more palatable from a
domestic political perspective as it avoids the potential
rules of engagement and collective security complications of
a surface vessel dispatch. Japanese officials note, however,
that making Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and related
basing arrangements could slow such a dispatch.

--------------
New Legislation - Currently Coordinating
--------------


6. (C) Toshiyuki Iwado, Cabinet Counsellor in the Cabinet
Secretariat's Headquarters for Ocean Policy, told the Embassy
it is essential for Japan to draft a new law that not only
expands the flexibility of the JMSDF, but one that clearly
defines pirate activities. Iwado, whose team is coordinating
the creation of the new legislation, said his goal is to make
sure that what gets sent forward to the Diet will get past
the scrutiny of opposition party members who have expressed
resistance to a dispatch. Japan does not currently have a
domestic law specifically outlawing piracy, but the law which
the Japanese government is drafting will be based on the
rights defined in Article 105 of the UN Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS).


7. (C) Iwado said his team was working toward submitting the
draft legislation for Cabinet approval in January 2009, but
admitted that due to interagency coordination challenges this
might slip to mid-late February. With this time frame for
submission, he speculated the earliest the law could be
enacted would be May or early June 2009. Iwado said there is
a general appreciation within both the Liberal Democratic
Party (LDP) and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) that Japan

TOKYO 00003535 003 OF 004


needs to be involved in countering piracy. He noted,
however, that coming to bipartisan agreement on rules of
engagement and use of force, particularly with regard to
interdicting pirates on behalf of third country-flagged
vessels and nationals, will likely be a significant
challenge. The DPJ in particular, he added, contains many
different points of view on the details.


8. (C) Iwado said he is working to create a law that would
authorize maximum JMSDF action against pirates worldwide, not
only in the HOA region. He stressed, however, that the Diet
will not tolerate a general law that does not also define as
piracy actions by environmentalist groups such as Sea
Shepherd. Iwado anticipated this being a "real headache"
during Diet deliberations. He recognized Japan's handling of
this aspect will be closely watched abroad.

--------------
JCG "Just a Law Enforcement Agency"
--------------


9. (C) As other contacts have indicated (ref),Japan Coast
Guard (JCG) Captain Hide Nanao, Director of the JCG's
International Affairs and Crisis Management Division, told
Embassy Tokyo recently the JCG is ready and willing to
dispatch to the HOA region. Nanao repeated, however, that
the JCG simply does not have the surface ship assets capable
of deploying at such a great distance from Japan nor the
flexibility to deploy significant resources abroad given the
JCG's responsibilities in Japan's territorial waters and EEZ.
(Note: As reported reftel, we suspect the resistance shown
by the JCG may, in part at least, be an attempt to secure
greater resources. End note.)


10. (C) Nanao said, however, that the JCG is studying how it
could potentially contribute. While emphasizing that the JCG
is "just a law enforcement agency," he noted the JCG's
experience in boarding of suspect vessels and in interdicting
the flow of illegal weapons and drugs. Nanao said JCG
officers could potentially deploy with the JMSDF to assist in
the arrest and detention of pirates, but added the JCG and
JMSDF currently do not train together. He asserted that even
beginning training activities would first require the law to
be passed. For this reason, the two forces would need
"several months" of training to prepare, even after passage
of authorizing legislation.

--------------
Comment
--------------


11. (C) Japan is well aware that it is the only member of the

TOKYO 00003535 004 OF 004


G-7 that has yet to take concrete action in addressing HOA
piracy problems. The Japanese government remains engaged in
the discussion over what to do over anti-piracy and we expect
it to be an active participant in the forthcoming contact
group meeting(s). In addition, Japan feels even more
pressure now to "do something" given China's recent dispatch
of its own surface vessels. Although there are indications
of some Japanese government resistance to rapid action by the
JMSDF, even from within MOD, the majority of our
interlocutors want to contribute now.
ZUMWALT