VZCZCXRO6132
PP RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #0958/01 0540843
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230843Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8980
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 4789
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 4844
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 7429
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7881
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 5983
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 8190
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000958 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR OES/IHA POWELL, SINGER AND FENDRICK 
DEPT FOR EAP/J 
USDA PASS TO APHIS 
HHS PASS TO CDC 
HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN WEEKLY REPORT FEBRUARY 23 
 
REF: A. 05 STATE 153802 
¶B. TOKYO 850 AND PREVIOUS 
 
TOKYO 00000958  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) No human or animal outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza 
(AI) were reported in Japan during the past week. 
 
-- Dead Bird Calls, Tabletops and More Money: Local 
Preparations Continue Throughout Japan -- 
 
¶2. (U) On February 15, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government 
(TMG) established a call-in desk to gather information on 
the deaths of wild birds from citizens.  Tokyo's 
Environment Bureau said information collection efforts 
would particularly focus on cases where there are multiple 
deaths or repeated bird deaths in one area.  After 
receiving a call from a citizen, the government plans to 
conduct tests on any suspicious cases to identify the cause 
of death or infection.  This is a preventative measure the 
TMG is taking as part of its overall preparedness planning, 
as no outbreak of avian influenza has been confirmed in the 
metropolitan area to date.  The desk will be open from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through mid April, which is the season 
when migratory birds fly back to Siberia. 
 
¶3. (U) On February 17, Nagasaki Prefecture authorities 
conducted a tabletop exercise to review the steps they 
would take using their preparedness plan from the moment an 
avian influenza infection was confirmed through the end of 
the outbreak.  Around 200 officials from local governments, 
the Nagasaki Veterinary Medical Association and the 
Nagasaki Livestock Industry Association participated.  The 
exercise assumed that avian influenza infection was 
confirmed at a poultry farm that had 16,800 chickens.  The 
participants confirmed their respective roles in the 
overall response, including in the areas of establishing a 
task force, testing for viruses, placing restrictions on 
the transfer of eggs, sterilizing infected poultry houses, 
and culling the infected chickens. 
 
¶4. (U) Yamanashi Prefecture released its draft JFY2005 
supplementary budget request that includes Yen 2.8 million 
(USD 24,348) for measures to prevent avian flu from 
spreading.  The request will be submitted to the 
prefectural assembly for approval shortly. 
 
-- The Hatchet to Fall on Unlucky Ibaraki Birds: Tokyo 
Encouraging Reporting by Sharing Costs of Culling -- 
 
¶5. (U) The Ibaraki Prefectural Government began culling an 
additional 2.5 million chickens at eight farms in the 
prefecture on February 20.  The chickens had been under 
government surveillance because antibodies showing past 
infection with the avian influenza virus were detected 
earlier in birds living at the farms.  The government had 
lifted restrictions on the farms because tests for the H5 
virus in the indicator birds ultimately came back negative, 
but because the chickens became unsellable due to consumer 
fears, the government will share the costs for culling the 
birds with the central government.  Ibaraki plans to finish 
culling the chickens by mid April. 
 
-- More on Tokyo "AI Network" -- 
 
¶6. (U) On February 16, ESToff and EST FSN met with Kazuhiro 
Takahashi of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's  (TMG) 
Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health to learn more 
about Tokyo's "AI network" that was first reported in Tokyo 
¶729.  The TMG established an Infectious Diseases 
Information Network with its "Asian Network of Major Cities 
21" (ANMC21) city partners.  ANMC 21 was formed in 2000 to 
share information and expand cooperation between the ten 
cities on a variety of social issues, public health being 
one of them.  The TMG is currently acting as the 
secretariat for the Network. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶7. (U) Takahashi explained that the "AI network" is in fact 
one part of the overall Infectious Diseases Information 
 
TOKYO 00000958  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Network that will cover a full range of emerging and 
reemerging infectious diseases such as SARS and HPAI.  It 
is a work in progress and will eventually become a vehicle 
for exchanging information on AI outbreaks between the ten 
cities.  The Network will employ an Internet discussion 
board to facilitate information exchange between the 
various city governments.  Participants plan to upload 
their action plans, and in emergency situations, 
information will be distributed to the members by e-mail. 
 
¶8. (U) The Network's website further describes its mission: 
"The Infectious Diseases Information Network System will 
directly link government agencies, research and medical 
institutions located in each member city of the ANMC 21 
with each other via a specific Web site on the Internet. 
Information about infectious diseases including specific 
cases, infection routes and medical treatments will be 
shared.  At present, information concerning any foreign 
outbreak of an emerging infectious disease, such as SARS, 
is conveyed via national governments or the World Health 
Organization (WHO).  However, several problems are 
associated with obtaining information via this method. 
Delays in the transmission of information, the one-way flow 
of information and the non-uniformity of such information 
are issues of concern." 
 
¶9. (U) Takahashi explained that the Network will allow 
local officials to freely exchange information without the 
"interruption" of national governments.  In Tokyo, 
officials from public health facilities, research 
institutes and medical institutions will be able to access 
the network, but central government authorities such as are 
the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor (MHLW) and 
National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) will most 
likely not be invited to participate.  Takahashi also said 
that only organizations and groups within the Tokyo 
Metropolitan area would be allowed to participate. 
 
¶10. (U) In addition to Tokyo, the other members of the 
Network include: Bangkok, Delhi, Hanoi, Taipei, Jakarta, 
Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore and Rangoon.  Beijing was 
originally a member of the Network, but had withdrawn from 
it completely in late August 2005, the day before a meeting 
was held to establish the project.  Tokyo does not have any 
plans to expand the member cities involved in the Network 
at this time, but Takahashi admitted that the TMG would 
consider any requests for participation from others if 
approached. 
 
¶11. (U) When asked if the Network would cooperate with 
other existing mechanisms or networks on infectious 
diseases in the future, Takahashi said the group was not 
considering doing so at this time, because such a project 
would be more suited to the national government rather than 
municipalities. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  Assuming that the Network takes off and 
grows into what the participants hope it will become, it 
may become a useful source of preliminary information on 
avian influenza outbreaks and local government efforts in 
the ten member cities.  Based on the conversation with 
Takahashi, it is clear that at this point in time, the 
Network is still in its infancy, and only time will tell if 
officials in the member cities will use it to its fullest 
potential.  The possibility for synergies with current USG 
efforts in the region may be somewhat limited at this 
stage, but depending on the level of participation from the 
various cities such as Rangoon, the Network may offer 
potential insights into the AI situation in Burma and other 
places that may not be reported otherwise.  End comment. 
 
¶13. (U) Further details on ANMC21 can be found by clicking 
on the link below. 
 
http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/asianet/in dexe.htm 
 
SCHIEFFER