FIRST MOFA OFFICIAL DEPARTS FOR CHAGHCHARAN, THREE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 001104 SIPDIS OSD/APSA FOR BASALLA/HAMM USFJ FOR J00/J01/J3/J5 E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019 TAGS: PREL AID PGOV PINR PREL AF JA SUBJECT: FIRST MOFA OFFICIAL DEPARTS FOR CHAGHCHARAN, THREE MORE TO FOLLOW IN COMING WEEKS REF: TOKYO 0916 Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs W. Michael Mese rve, reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) The first MOFA official to be seconded to the Lithuanian PRT in Chaghcharan departed Japan for Afghanistan 14 May, according to MOFA National Security Division Deputy Director Takatoshi Mori. Jiro Kanzawa, who until recently was assigned to the Foreign Minister's Secretariat, is an Arabic speaker and is the first of four officials (reftel) slated to join the PRT between now and late June on what are expected to be two-year assignments. Their work cycles will be structured such that each official spends approximately eight weeks in Afghanistan followed by three weeks in Tokyo. ¶2. (C) The members of the Japanese team that will serve in Chaghcharan have extensive development, regional, linguistic, and cultural experience. The team will serve in a development advisory role and will initially focus on educational development through support of school construction and improvement of medical care in the region. During a recent preparation trip to Chaghcharan (reftel), several of the team members who will be assigned to the PRT met with Lithuanian, State Department, USAID, and local and national Afghanistan government represenatives to begin coordination of development priorities. The Japanese officials are scheduled for staggered arrivals between now and late June, ensuring that there will always be at least two officials at the PRT. ¶3. (C) In addition to Kanzawa, the other three Japanese officials are: - Hisako Ishizaki, female, a Farsi, Dari, and Tajik speaker. Ishizaki has worked in Tehran and also at the Iranian Embassy in Tokyo for six years. She also worked at the Japanese Embassy in Kabul from 2005-2006. She is scheduled to depart Japan for Chaghcharan on 25 May. - Hiroyuki Orikasa, male, currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Japanese Embassy in Fiji. Orikasa will be the senior Japanese represenative at the Chaghcharan PRT. Orikasa is an Arabic speaker and previously deployed with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces in Samawa, Iraq. He also has extensive background in grant aid and economic cooperation. Orikasa will arrive in Chaghcharan in mid-June. - Chihiro Imai, female, a development and PRT expert who, while working for the Japanese Cabinet, performed a comprehensive review of Afghan PRTs. A program management and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) specialist, she is scheduled to arrive in Chaghcharan in late June. ZUMWALT