WHO'S WHO IN JAPAN'S CLIMATE TEAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000604 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR S/SECC, IO, EEB, EAP/J STATE ALSO FOR OES/EGC - TTALLEY, NBARTH, CSIERAWSKI DEPT PASS CEQ NSC FOR CCONNORS, JLOI USDOC FOR NOAA CLIMATE CHANGE OFFICE - STHURSTON DOT FOR LLAWSON, CMITTELHOLTZ EPA FOR SFULTON USDOE FOR S-3, RMARLAY, SRUEN FAA FOR CBURLESON PASS TO USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV KGHG ENRG PREL ECON JA SUBJECT: WHO'S WHO IN JAPAN'S CLIMATE TEAM REF: TOKYO 423 TOKYO 00000604 001.2 OF 002 Sensitive But Unclassified. Please Protect Accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Japanese Prime Minister is advised by the Council on Global Warming and by an interagency group that includes the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, of Economics, Trade and Industry, and of Environment. The Council on Global Warming is chaired by former Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda -- who is also a vice president of Keidanren, Japan's leading business association -- and 13 members from industry, academia, and local government. A group of five senior bureaucrats, two from the Cabinet Office, and one each from the METI and the foreign and environmental ministries, play a central role in shaping policies for final, political-level approval. Foreign Ministry DG for Global Issues, Shinsuke Sugiyama, is the only one of these to meet regularly with foreign officials and he had been named the PM's and Foreign Minister's representative for preparing for his engagement in multilateral bodies' meetings on climate change. This role also positions him to play a prominent role in Japan's engagement in the UNFCCC process. End Summary. -------------- PM's Council and Advisors -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Prime Minister receives advice on climate issues from the Council on Global Warming, which is chaired by former Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda and consists of 13 members from industry, academia, and local government. The Council makes recommendations to the PM on climate change policy, but it is not a decision-making body per se. The ministers from MOE, METI and MOFA, and the Chief Cabinet Secretary also attend Council meetings. In addition to the Council, there are two Special Advisors for Climate Change within the Cabinet Secretariat: former Ambassador for Global Environmental Affairs Mutsuyoshi Nishimura advises the PM on international climate policy, while former METI Vice Minister Kasumasa Kusaka advises the PM on domestic climate policy. However, by his own admission, Nishimura, who was appointed to the position by Prime Minister Fukuda, to date has not met with PM Aso to discuss climate change. ¶3. (SBU) Under the Council are three subcommittees: -- Policy Measures (such as emissions trading),chaired by Akio Morishima, Special Research Advisor to the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES); -- Creating Eco-Model Cities and a Low-Carbon Society, chaired by Shuzo Murakami, professor of engineering at Keio University, and; -- Mid-Term Targets, chaired by Toshihiko Fukui, former Governor of the Bank of Japan. The Mid-Term Target subcommittee recently issued six recommendations for Japan's mid-term emissions targets. (Details of the proposals are available on the Japan Economic Scope at www.intelink.gov/communities/state/jes.) Officials continue to report the PM is expected to announce Japan's targets by June. -------------- Climate Policy-Making -------------- TOKYO 00000604 002.2 OF 002 ¶4. (SBU) The core of Japan's climate policy is developed by five senior officials. Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary (ACCS) Susumu Fukuda advises the PM on domestic climate policy and ACCS Keiichi Hayashi advises the PM on international climate policy. These cabinet office officials meet monthly with senior officials from three ministries: MOFA Director General for Global Issues Shinsuke Sugiyama, MOE Director General for Global Environment Tatsushi Terada, and METI Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Director General Masanori Suzuki. In addition to his role in policy formulation, MOFA's Sugiyama is in charge of Japan's bilateral climate change relations and is the only one of the five who regularly meets with foreign climate officials. Sugiyama has been named the PM's and Foreign Minister's representative regarding preparations for multinational bodies' discussions on climate change and energy. ¶5. (SBU) The ministers of these agencies -- Hirofumi Nakasone (MOFA),Toshihiro Nikai (METI),Testuro Saito (MOE), plus Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura -- meet less frequently than the ACCS-DG group. They convene before a major decision or international meeting, or to smooth inter-agency differences on climate policy. Given his strong interest in climate change issues, Environment Minister Saito has a leading role in the ministers' meeting. In general, the policy debate within the GOJ sees METI championing the concerns of Japanese industry, particularly the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren),while MOE often represents the viewpoint of academics, environmentalists and non-government organizations (NGOs). The Foreign Ministry, as lead agency in Japan's international climate negotiations, brings a sense of where negotiations stand and what may be achievable. -------------- Climate Negotiating Team -------------- ¶6. (U) Environment Minister Saito heads Japan's United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP/MOP delegation. MOFA Ambassador for Global Environmental Issues Akihiko Furuya, while not in the policy-making line described above, advises Saito at the COP/MOP and heads Japan's delegation to the Ad Hoc Working Group (AWG). METI is represented at the AWG Kyoto Protocol meetings by Deputy Director General for Global Environmental Affairs Jun Arima. Deputy Director General Kazuhiko Hombu of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy is the head METI negotiator at the AWG Long-term Cooperative Action meetings. Counselor for Global Environment Masaru Moriya represents MOE in the AWG. ZUMWALT