Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TOKYO475
2008-02-22 09:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE

Tags:  PREL MARR EAID XA XE CH AS KS KN IN JA 
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 03 TOKYO 000475 

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID XA XE CH AS KS KN IN JA
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE
DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Classified By: Ambassador J.T. Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000475

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID XA XE CH AS KS KN IN JA
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE
DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS

Classified By: Ambassador J.T. Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Japan is very much looking forward to the
Secretary's visit to Asia the week of February 25 and is

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anticipating fruitful discussions on strengthening the
U.S.-Japan alliance, MOFA Director General for North American
Affairs Nishimiya told EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R.
Hill February 21. However, given the recent events in
Okinawa, the Japanese also expect the Secretary to publicly
express regret for the misconduct of American servicemen and
to emphasize our willingness to cooperate in formulating an
effective plan to prevent further occurrences. A/S Hill also
assured Nishimiya of the unchanging primacy of the U.S.-Japan
alliance, underlining that any Northeast Asia peace and
security mechanism stemming from the Six-Party Talks could
not supplant or harm our relations. During the Secretary's
upcoming visit, the Japanese will signal their willingness to
discuss Asian economic architecture, as this was a topic
discussed by the President and Prime Minister Fukuda during
their most recent meeting in Washington. Japan is interested
in the changing dynamics that will follow the inauguration of
a new government in South Korea, and will ease back on
pushing for a quadrilateral dialogue between the U.S., Japan,
Australia, and India. Japan would also like to have
discussions about Africa, given the Secretary's recent visit
there, and would like to explore the possibility of future
cooperation with regard to development assistance, primarily
in Asia, but also in the Middle East and Africa. Nishimiya
assured A/S Hill that Japan will eventually recognize Kosovo,
but it will take time for the government to complete the
steps necessary to make this move official (reported septel).
END SUMMARY.


2. (C) EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill,

accompanied by Ambassador, met February 21 with MOFA Director
General for North American Affairs Shinichi Nishimiya to
discuss the Secretary's upcoming visit to Asia and Japan.

--------------
OKINAWA
--------------


3. (C) Nishimiya said Japan is looking forward very much to
the Secretary's visit and is anxious to have wide-ranging
conversations concerning strengthening the bilateral
relationship and issues of common interest. However, given
the recent incidents involving misconduct by American
servicemen in Okinawa, the Japanese will expect the Secretary
to publicly express regret for what has taken place and a
willingness to work closely with the Japanese to formulate a
plan to prevent future incidents. Nishimiya said the current
atmosphere is not a good one, and that the Japanese hope to
adjust the spin to emphasize cooperation. The Secretary's
visit will present a good opportunity to change the mood and
return to the high ground of preparing for the G-8 Summit and
further strengthening our critical alliance. A/S Hill
assured Nishimiya that the Secretary will address this matter
in a forthright and constructive manner, that we regret what
took place, and that we wish to work together with the
Japanese to do whatever can be done to reduce the likelihood
of further such incidents.

--------------
REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE ISSUES
--------------


4. (C) Nishimiya shared a copy of the proposed agenda for the
Secretary's bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura

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(scanned copy e-mailed to EAP-J). A/S Hill noted the first
item under Asia was "economic architecture" and asked whether
the Japanese had any new thinking on this issue and why they
were planning to discuss this ahead of other issues such as
the Koreas and China. Nishimiya replied the item was placed
at the top because it had been discussed by the President and

TOKYO 00000475 002 OF 003


Prime Minister during their meeting in Washington, and Tokyo
therefore wishes to reaffirm their willingness to engage on
this. Tokyo has no new major proposal to make.


5. (C) Nishimiya then produced an excerpt from the Deputy
Secretary's January 31 speech to the Japan Society which

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discussed the possibility of establishing a "more lasting
multilateral structure for peace and security in Northeast
Asia" from a foundation provided by the Six-Party Talks. He
wondered whether this meant we are considering ultimately
replacing the U.S.-Japan security alliance with a
multilateral security arrangement of some sort. A/S Hill
unequivocally assured Nishimiya of the continued primacy of
the U.S.-Japan alliance, saying there is no way any
arrangement that follows on the Six-Party Talks will replace
or supplant the alliance.


6. (C) The Ambassador reinforced A/S Hill's assurances,
noting that he has said the same thing in many speeches.
What the U.S. would like to see is its bilateral friends in
Asia talking more to each other about security issues, rather
than only to the United States. The current "hub and spoke"
arrangement needs to be supplemented by multilateral
communications, but any forum that makes this possible will
always remain of secondary importance to the U.S.-Japan
security alliance. Nishimiya replied he was glad to receive
such a clear response to his concerns, and said he thought it
would be helpful if the Secretary could address this in her
talks.

--------------
CHINA, KOREA, INDIA
--------------


7. (C) Continuing on the theme of multilateral relations,
Nishimiya raised the topic of developing other small
groupings, particularly given the upcoming change in
government in Seoul. A/S Hill replied that the emergence of
a new government in South Korea will certainly change the
dynamics of the existing relationships in the region. The
Roh government tended to swing toward Beijing and created a
bit of an imbalance in previously existing relations. We
expect things to revert back. How to manage relations with
China will continue to be the issue that will dominate this
region long into the future, and it is important that any
multilateral arrangements made are managed in such a way to
assure they do not raise suspicions in China that they are
aimed at containing or encircling them. At the same time, a
U.S.-Japan-China trilateral arrangement would make South
Korea very nervous.


8. (C) With regard to India, A/S Hill pointed out that
India's reemergence in East Asia is an extremely interesting
development with wide ranging effects which will require both
the United States and China to review and further their
relations with New Delhi. However, this is an extremely
complex dynamic, and whatever steps we take to work with
India on common objectives, we must be mindful of the view
from Beijing. Accordingly, we remain hesitant about
constructing a quadrilateral relationship that includes
Australia, India, and Japan. In addition, A/S Hill
emphasized our desire to see the Trilateral Security Dialogue
(TSD) with Australia flourish first, and we're concerned that
if we try to do too much at one time, the TSD relationship
will suffer from lack of adequate attention. Nishimiya
replied that Japan understands our concerns about the quad,
and while it doesn't necessarily agree with us one hundred
percent, Tokyo will agree not to press this issue. Japan is
sensitive to doing anything that might put stress on our
alliance, he said.


9. (C) Concluding with a remark about China, Nishimiya said
Japan has a number of ongoing problems with China, including
territorial disputes and food safety issues, and hopes that

TOKYO 00000475 003 OF 003


the Secretary's talks can address ways in which we can
mutually encourage more transparency from Beijing on issues
such as military developments, aid to Africa, and other areas
of concern.

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AFRICA
--------------


10. (C) A/S Hill pointed to the President's trip to Africa as
evidence that the United States is doing just fine there and
is not threatened by growing Chinese influence on the
continent. Nishimiya pointed out Japan will be hosting the
fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development
(TICAD IV) in May, and suggested that although the United
States is not a major partner in this process, the
Secretary's meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura would serve

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as a good backdrop to discuss Africa, particularly given the
Secretary's recent visit there. A/S Hill responded by noting

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he was glad to see an item on the proposed agenda covering
U.S.-Japan development cooperation including global health
and said he views a discussion on Africa as a very timely one
that will be of great interest to the Secretary. Nishimiya
noted that Foreign Minister Koumura hopes to travel to Africa
in March to chair a preparatory meeting for TICAD IV, but may
be thwarted by the Diet schedule.


11. (C) On the topic of development assistance cooperation
more generally, Nishimiya said Japan realizes it is
bureaucratically difficult to coordinate assistance programs,
but nevertheless believes it is important to discuss together
what each of us is doing in order to coordinate to the
greatest extent possible. He hopes the Secretary will be
able to address these issues, with a primary focus on
development in Asia, followed by mention of programs Japan is
engaging in to support international efforts in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.

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KOSOVO
--------------


12. (C) A/S Hill asked Nishimiya where Japan stands on the
recognition of Kosovo, which is an issue of great importance
to the Secretary and the United States. Nishimiya assured
him the political will to extend recognition exists, but that
certain procedures must be followed before Japan can make its
decision official and public. The direction is clear, but it
will just take some time, he said.


13. (U) Assistant Secretary Hill has cleared this message.
SCHIEFFER