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.

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Japanese negotiations with Russia
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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.

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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

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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.

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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