STATUS OF JAPANESE NEGOTIATIONS ON NUCLEAR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000667 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT ISN/NESS FOR RICHARD STRATFORD DOE OFFICE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR ED MCGINNIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2019 TAGS: PARM ENRG TRGY NRR MNUC PUNE RS AE JA SUBJECT: STATUS OF JAPANESE NEGOTIATIONS ON NUCLEAR PEACEFUL USE AGREEMENTS WITH RUSSIA AND THE UAE REF: TOKYO 572 Classified By: CDA James P. Zumwalt for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ACTION REQUEST: This cable contains an action request. Please see paragraph 7. ¶1. (C) Summary: Econoff met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) International Nuclear Energy Cooperation Division Principal Deputy Director Zantaro Naganuma March 23 to discuss Japan's negotiations with Russia and the UAE to sign Peaceful Use Agreements for Nuclear Energy. Naganuma said the relevant GOJ ministries have completed review of the text of the Russia agreement, and MOFA is prepared to send the text to the Cabinet Office. However, the GOJ is waiting for Russia to complete interagency coordination in Moscow. Japan has started informal discussions with the UAE pending the UAE's ratification of its Additional Protocol with the IAEA. Naganuma noted Japan has been in close consultation with Washington regarding both negotiations, and expressed a strong interest in continuing to share information on our respective Peaceful Use Agreement negotiations and deliberations. End Summary. -------------- Japanese negotiations with Russia -------------- ¶2. (C) Naganuma said Japan is coordinating closely with Washington regarding negotiations with Russia. He said little has changed since the February visit to Washington by MOFA Director General Toshio Sano. Japan and Russia agreed on a common text at the delegation level following the eighth round of negotiations at the end of January, with both sides agreeing to take the text back to their respective capitals for coordination among relevant ministries. Japan has completed this coordination without change to the text, and is ready to submit the text to the Cabinet Office's legal department for review. However, the GOR has yet to complete its internal review, according to Naganuma. MOFA plans to hold off submitting the text to the Cabinet Office until it hears from Russia, but might do so anyway if Russia is slow to respond. ¶3. (C) Naganuma explained Japan has emphasized non-proliferation in the draft agreement, including a requirement for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and a clause that, in the event of a violation by Russia or Russian entities, could suspend cooperation or even halt the agreement itself. Since MOFA has received positive feedback from the Russian side to this point, MOFA is optimistic an agreement can be reached that will be good for the nonproliferation regime. -------------- UAE negotiations awaiting Additional Protocol -------------- ¶4. (C) Regarding the UAE, Naganuma noted Japan continues to be skeptical of the UAE's ability to bring online a nuclear power program in the optimistic time frame the UAE has outlined. However, Japan is willing to move forward on negotiating a Peaceful Use Agreement once the UAE ratifies an Additional Protocol (AP) with the IAEA. Naganuma reiterated Japan's policy (described in ref) of only negotiating agreements with those nations that have concluded APs, and noted this is Japan's primary issue with the UAE at present. ¶5. (C) In preparation for formal negotiations, Japan has began unofficial "preparatory consultations" with the UAE following the UAE's February announcement that it would move to ratify an AP. Naganuma described these as "very low profile" because of their unofficial nature and reiterated that Japan's official public position is to not comment on any pending negotiations. ¶6. (C) Naganuma reiterated that ensuring safety, security and safeguards in the UAE is still an important issue for Japan, and suggested that Japan and the United States need to discuss how to best push these issues with the UAE. He also TOKYO 00000667 002 OF 002 commented the UAE still lacks sufficient technically trained personnel and physical infrastructure to successfully implement a nuclear energy program, and said MOFA will have difficulty getting public support and Cabinet approval for an agreement if it cannot show that the UAE has the capability to handle nuclear power. -------------- -------------- MOFA request for continued consultations, cooperation -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Naganuma asked to be informed of any progress regarding the U.S.-Russia or U.S.-UAE agreements. He also requested information on how the U.S. assesses the UAE's readiness for nuclear energy, specifically on issues like equipment safety or export control. This information would help MOFA address their previously mentioned concerns about the readiness of the UAE for nuclear power, he said. ¶8. (C) Naganuma reiterated what he said was a previous offer for Director General Sano to visit Washington in April or May, once a sufficient number of USG senior non-proliferation officials have been appointed and confirmed, and pending sufficient developments to hold additional discussions. ¶9. (C) Finally, Naganuma said he had heard the United States was not particularly happy with the details of its nuclear cooperation with the UAE, but felt compelled to move forward to prevent Russia from taking the lead in working with the UAE. Naganuma noted that if this is the case, the U.S. and Japan should cooperate very closely regarding the UAE, to ensure that safety and security objectives are met. Such cooperation would benefit non-proliferation objectives while still being supportive of respective business efforts. ZUMWALT