Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TOKYO599
2009-03-18 08:07:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:  

JAPAN-IRAN: VISIT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL TO TOKYO;

Tags:  PREL PINR CASC AF IR JA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO4921
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKO #0599/01 0770807
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 180807Z MAR 09 ZDK UR SVC 1327
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1575
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000599 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/J, NEA/IR, SCA/A, CA/OCS, AND INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PINR CASC AF IR JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN-IRAN: VISIT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL TO TOKYO;
DEMARCHES ON LEVINSON AND SABERI CASES

REF: A. 07 TOKYO 5568

B. 07 TOKYO 5609

C. NEW YORK 243

TOKYO 00000599 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jim P. Zumwalt for reasons 1.4(b) and
(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000599

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/J, NEA/IR, SCA/A, CA/OCS, AND INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PINR CASC AF IR JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN-IRAN: VISIT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL TO TOKYO;
DEMARCHES ON LEVINSON AND SABERI CASES

REF: A. 07 TOKYO 5568

B. 07 TOKYO 5609

C. NEW YORK 243

TOKYO 00000599 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jim P. Zumwalt for reasons 1.4(b) and
(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director
General for East Asia and Oceania Nematollah Izadi visited
Tokyo March 9-12 for semi-annual Director General-level
meetings. His discussions with counterpart Director General
for Middle Eastern Affairs Toshiro Suzuki and Deputy Minister
for Political Affairs Kenichiro Sasae broke no new ground.
However, Japan is interested in "testing" whether Iran is
serious about wanting to play a more constructive role by
offering to cooperate on several small projects involving
Afghanistan. Separately, MOFA officials March 16 raised with
Iranian officials both in Tokyo and Tehran the cases of
missing Amcits Robert Levinson and Roxana Saberi. In a
subsequent meeting with DG Suzuki on March 17, Iranian
Ambassador Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Saberi is an Iranian
citizen, that her arrest was not related to her status as a
journalist but rather to her illegal possession of alcohol,
and that he expects her to be released on bail "soon." END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) DG Izadi's visit to Tokyo was to participate in the
fourth Directors General Consultations meeting, a series of
exchanges that commenced two years ago, reported MOFA Second
Middle East Division Principal Deputy Director Yukiya
Hamamoto. The meetings are held twice a year and alternate
between Tokyo and Tehran. (NOTE: Iran and Japan have held
annual meetings at the Vice Minister level for the past 18
years. END NOTE.) Izadi arrived on March 9 and that evening
Iranian Ambassador Seyad Abbas Araghchi hosted a dinner in
his honor to which MOFA officials were invited. On March 10
he paid a courtesy call on Deputy Minister for Political
Affairs Sasae, and on March 11 met for half the day and had
lunch with his counterpart, MOFA Director General for Middle
Eastern and African Affairs Suzuki. Hamamoto showed
Political Officer a half-inch sheath of paper which he said

represented the talking points prepared for the visit, and
lamented that both Izadi and Suzuki had basically read
through them word-for-word. "I'm not sure why they couldn't
have just e-mailed these to each other," he confided.

--------------
THE USUAL BILATERAL ISSUES
--------------


3. (C) Discussions held between Izadi and Sasae and Suzuki
conformed to those held fairly routinely between Iran and
Japan, reported Hamamoto. The highlights:

-- IRAN'S RELATIONS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: Sasae
and Suzuki both stressed to Izadi that Iran must act in a
constructive manner with regard to the rest of the
international community, and that Tehran must take the
initiative to improve its relations with others, particularly
the United States. Iran should not pass up the opportunity
to engage with the new U.S. Administration, the Japanese
urged Izadi. He replied that Iran has been listening to the
statements coming from the United States but is waiting for
action, stating: "It is up to the U.S., but frankly we do not
know what to do at this moment." Ambassador Araghchi
appeared to "correct" Izadi's statement, adding that the
reason Tehran has been slow to respond to U.S. overtures is
because Iran has been deceived by the West in the past and
therefore has decided not to act in a premature manner.
Hamamoto said that the different nuances in these two
responses was noted, and that MOFA's take-away was not an
encouraging one. Japan believes Iran remains in a "listening
mode" and that its professional diplomats and bureaucrats are
skeptical about a dialogue with the United States. Sasae
encouraged the Iranians to do something, noting that
expectations are rising and that Iran should respond.

-- URANIUM ENRICHMENT: Sasae told Izadi that Japan is
concerned about the "rumor" that Iran has enriched enough
uranium to construct a weapon, and worries that Iran intends
to follow the path of North Korea. Izadi and Araghchi both
responded that talks should be based on facts, not rumors,
and repeated the often-made Iranian position that their
nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes. Suzuki told
them Iran should comply with the will of the international
community as expressed in the Security Council resolutions
pertaining to this issue.


TOKYO 00000599 002.2 OF 003


-- MIDDLE EAST PEACE: The Japanese stressed to Izadi that
Iran must play a constructive role in bringing peace to the
region, which will be impossible if one side (Hamas) refuses
to recognize the existence of the other. According to
Hamamoto, Izadi "repeated Iranian propaganda" about Israel.
In response to a question from Political Officer, Hamamoto
said there had been no discussion of the recent seizure of an
Iranian ship bound for Syria bearing arms, or of Japan's role
on the Security Council in addressing this issue.

-- ECONOMIC COOPERATION: Both sides expressed a desire for
improved economic cooperation, but the Japanese said this
would not be possible without the "proper environment" both
with regard to Iran's internal and external behavior. The
Japanese complained to Izadi about the fact that the work of
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) personnel on an
environmental project in Iran was being "obstructed" by
Iranian authorities.

-- CULTURAL AND CONSULAR MATTERS: Both sides noted the
upcoming 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between
Japan and Iran, with the Iranians stating they would like to
do something (unspecified) to mark this anniversary in May.
Consular discussions focused on visas and other "technical
matters," according to Hamamoto.

--------------
"TESTING" ON AFGHANISTAN
--------------


4. (C) On Afghanistan, Japan's message to Izadi was that the
unsettled situation in that country is of concern to the
entire international community, not just to the United States
or NATO, and that Iran needs to play a constructive role in
resolving the conflict. Izadi replied that Iran has been
acting in a constructive manner with regard to Afghanistan
and would be willing to do more. No specifics were
discussed, but Hamamoto told Political Officer that Japan
seeks to "test" Iran's expressed willingness to cooperate by
proposing several small-scale joint projects Tokyo and Tehran
can collaborate on. One possibility Japan is considering
would be to jointly train and equip Afghan border police.
Another would be to work with the Iranians to help alleviate
the Afghan refugee situation, which would include offering
vocational training to refugees, assisting in the return to
Afghanistan of qualified refugees, and providing humanitarian
support for Afghan refugees in Iran.


5. (C) According to Hamamoto, this idea was vetted with State
Department officials during a March 9 visit to NEA's Iran
Desk by Second Middle East Division Director Katsuhiko
Takahashi, who came away from the meeting with the impression
that the Department would have no problems with the Japanese
proceeding along these lines. Accordingly, MOFA presented
these ideas to the Iranian embassy in Tokyo on March 16. The
initial reaction was positive, but the embassy cautioned that
it must ask Tehran for guidance. Hamamoto said that if the
Iranians agree to these proposals, MOFA will issue a joint
press statement sometime near the end of March.

--------------
LEVINSON AND SABERI CASES
--------------


6. (C) Hamamoto also advised us that following Takahashi's
meeting with the Iran Desk, Japan has raised with the
Iranians the cases of missing/detained Amcits Levinson and
Saberi. (NOTE: This is at least the second time Japan has
formally demarched Iran on the Levinson case, see Refs A and

B. END NOTE.) MOFA spoke with the Iranian Embassy on March
16 and also instructed its embassy in Tehran to raise it
there. On March 17, DG Suzuki called Ambassador Araghchi to
MOFA to meet and discuss the Saberi case. According to
Hamamoto, Ambassador Araghchi "took note" of DG Suzuki's
demarche, but replied that Saberi is a citizen of Iran, which
does not recognize dual-nationality. Her father is Iranian,
and under Iranian law she is therefore considered to be an
Iranian citizen and a Muslim. Her arrest, he continued, had
nothing to do with her status as a journalist, but rather was
a straightforward case of illegal consumption of alcohol.
Ambassador Araghchi concluded by saying that the Iranian
legal process is ongoing, but that he expects Saberi to be
released on bail "soon."

--------------
BIO INFO
--------------


TOKYO 00000599 003.2 OF 003



7. (C) According to a bio provided to us by MOFA, Izadi was
born August 11, 1957. (NOTE: Hamamoto volunteered that Izadi
looked much older than 51. END NOTE.) He earned a bachelors
degree in Political Science and a masters degree in
International Relations, both from the University of Tehran.
He is married and has one son and one daughter. The only
information about his career path begins in 1989-90, when he
served as Director General for Eastern Europe. From 1990 to
1994 he was Iran's ambassador to the Soviet Union and Russia,
followed by an assignment from 1994 until 1998 as Advisor to
the Foreign Minister. In 1998 he became ambassador to Oman,
where he served until 2002. Between 2002 and 2005 he was
Assistant to the Undersecretary for European and American
Affairs. He assumed his current position as Director General
for East Asia and Oceania in 2005. Izadi has visited Japan
twice before, accompanying Foreign Minister Mottaki in
February 2006 and to attend the second Director Generals
consultation meeting in March 2008. Hamamoto reported that
during his meetings, Izadi read from his talking points
without deviating or adding personal comments. Although the
papers were prepared in Farsi, Izadi made his presentation in
English, which Hamamoto described as passable, but not great.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


8. (C) COMMENT: The Iranians and Japanese broke no new ground
during Izadi's visit, with both sides reportedly repeating
the same talking points that are always used during the
fairly frequent high and medium level exchanges the two
countries engage in. Japan will continue to believe that the
best way to engage Iran is to be non-confrontational, as is
demonstrated by its desire to propose cooperative endeavors
with Iran to address issues pertaining to Afghanistan, and by
its preference to avoid contentious issues, such as Japan's
role in the currently ongoing issue before the U.N. Sanctions
Committee regarding an interdicted Iranian arms shipment
bound for Syria (Ref C). Japan's eagerness to leverage its
"normal" relationship with Iran to act as an intermediary
between Washington and Tehran is demonstrated by its
willingness to engage with the Iranians on issues such as the
Levinson and Saberi cases. MOFA wishes to work closely with
the Department on issues concerning Iran, and Embassy
encourages ongoing exchanges of information with Japanese
officials working the Iran portfolio. END COMMENT.
ZUMWALT