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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 005138 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS MARR XB ZK AF CH IR IZ KN
KS, JA 
SUBJECT: A/S HILL'S MEETING WITH MOFA NORTH AMERICA 
DIRECTOR GENERAL KAWAI 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR J. THOMAS SCHIEFFER FOR REASONS 1.4(B),(D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: In a wide-ranging meeting on September 5, 
North American Affairs Bureau Director General Chikao Kawai 
told visiting Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill: 
 
-- the timing of the Japanese Prime Ministerial election 
process makes it impossible to say for certain who will be 
available to represent Japan for meetings on the margins of 
the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA); 
 
-- the United States should not be concerned that recently 
formed Asian groupings make the APEC framework any less 
relevant and that Japan views U.S. participation as vital to 
all international issues in Asia; 
 
-- both Japan and China wish to improve their bilateral 
relationship, that the new Prime Minister and his cabinet 
will be considering how to do so, and that close cooperation 
with Washington will be vital in this process; 
 
-- concerning the process of alliance transformation, Japan 
needs detailed plans from the United States about each of the 
facilities we are seeking for the future, and said that 
national authorities are beginning to discuss the process 
with local officials, particularly in Okinawa; 
 
-- the U.S. and Japan worked well together following the 
North Korean missile launch in July and Japan is pleased with 
the recent deployment of the USS Shiloh and is looking 
forward to the deployment of its own BMD systems; 
 
-- affirmed continued Japanese support for Iraq; 
 
-- asked for additional data on the contributions of the 
Maritime Self Defense Forces ships in support of Operation 
Enduring Freedom; 
 
-- Japan would stand firmly with the international community 
against the development of Iran's nuclear weapons program; 
 
-- briefly mentioned Prime Minister Koizumi's recent trip to 
Central Asia and asked about U.S. plans to transfer opcon of 
South Korean military forces to the government in Seoul.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C)  DG Kawai received A/S Hill at MOFA on September 5. 
Accompanying A/S Hill were Deputy Chief of Mission, Political 
Minister Counselor Meserve, Special Assistant Gibbons, and 
Embassy Tokyo notetaker, control officer, and Public Affairs 
representative. 
 
----------------------------- 
REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE - CHINA 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C)  A/S Hill reviewed for Kawai the meeting he had the 
previous evening with Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau 
Director General Sasae (septel), emphasizing the importance 
of communicating more closely regarding regional 
architecture.  With regard to ASEAN plus Six, he explained 
that many in Washington were taken by surprise by this 
proposal, seeing it as something that potentially competes 
with the APEC framework. Kawai assured him that it is Japan's 
view that the participation of the United States is vital to 
all aspects of international relations in Asia. He said he is 
confident this is a view shared by the three LDP candidates 
vying to become the next Prime Minister. 
 
¶4. (C)  A/S Hill noted that the Secretary is interested in 
holding a "Five plus Five" meeting on September 21 on the 
margins of UNGA.  Kawai said that Japan would be interested 
in participating but that timing conflicts with domestic 
political developments made it difficult to say who would 
 
TOKYO 00005138  002 OF 004 
 
 
represent Japan at such a meeting.  The timing complications 
arise as a result of the LDP's presidential election which is 
scheduled for September 20.  Foreign Minister Aso is a 
candidate, which makes his presence in New York on the 21st 
impossible. Kawai explained it is impossible at the moment to 
say who will take Aso's place, or if he will retain his MOFA 
position in the new government.  This fluid situation makes 
it impossible to speak of scheduling anything after September 
¶20.  As it is, Japan's UNGA presentation is scheduled for 
September 21 and at this point, it looks like Deputy Foreign 
Minister Nishida or Japan's Permanent Representative Oshima 
will deliver it. 
 
¶5. (C)  A/S Hill asked for Kawai's thoughts on adding India 
to the United States/Japan/Australian trilateral process. 
Kawai replied that Japan would be interested in doing so and 
that he believes Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe, who will likely 
be the next prime minister, supports this idea.  However, as 
the trilateral process has only recently been initiated, it 
might be advisable to allow it to solidify before bringing in 
another party.  A/S Hill suggested that if India enters the 
APEC process in November, then maybe it would be possible to 
have a quartet meeting on the margins of the 2007 Sydney APEC 
meeting.  This might be preferable to meeting in Washington 
or Tokyo later this month, as those venues might give rise to 
suspicions in Beijing that the group has an anti-China 
agenda.  That said, he agreed the first priority must be to 
get the new trilateral process up and running. 
 
¶6. (C)  Regarding the competition between ASEAN plus Three 
and ASEAN plus Six, Kawai said he believes it is better to 
add Australia, New Zealand, and India.  On the subject of 
whether to move forward with an ASEAN plus Six Free Trade 
Agreement, Kawai said there is no consensus in the Japanese 
government.  He said the Minister of Economy, Trade, and 
Industry had raised this idea but that MOFA does not 
necessarily agree, not being convinced that a Free Trade 
Agreement is needed in Southeast Asia, and concerned that 
China's market is completely different from the others in the 
region. 
 
¶7. (C)  On Japan's bilateral relations with China, Kawai 
advised that the new Prime Minister and his cabinet will be 
discussing how to proceed, and that close cooperation with 
the United States will be crucial.  Kawai emphasized that 
Japan believes it important that we not be seen as ganging up 
on China.  Kawai believes that Abe, the most likely new PM, 
would like to improve Japan's relations with China and that 
Beijing, too, is anxious for improved relations.  He admitted 
the Yasukuni Shrine issue is a difficult issue for both 
countries.  He said that Koizumi has no plans to meet 
individually with any Chinese or ROK leaders during next 
week's Asia-Europe summit meeting in Finland. 
 
----------------------- 
ALLIANCE TRANSFORMATION 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (C)  With regard to U.S./Japanese bilateral relations, 
Kawai and A/S Hill concurred that the first meeting between 
President Bush and the new Prime Minister would probably take 
place at the APEC meeting in Hanoi in November.  Kawai 
indicated that Japan would welcome a visit to Tokyo by 
President Bush enroute to the summit.   Kawai said that at 
present the most sensitive aspect of U.S./Japan bilateral 
relations is the realignment of United States bases in Japan, 
particularly as this concerns Okinawa.  He pointed out that a 
new Governor of Okinawa will be elected soon and that 
national officials have begun to meet with local officials to 
plan the way ahead.  As this process has only recently begun, 
there are as of yet no significant developments to report. 
In addition, working level contacts between elements of the 
U.S. side and the national government have begun to address 
putting together a master plan, although he prefers that this 
 
TOKYO 00005138  003 OF 004 
 
 
be kept quiet for the moment as it is likely the Okinawa 
government would react negatively if these contacts came to 
light.  What Tokyo needs from the U.S. side are detailed 
masterplans for each of the facilities affected by the base 
realignment plan.  He praised the Embassy and USFJ for the 
good level of communications with MOFA on this issue. 
 
----------- 
NORTH KOREA 
----------- 
 
¶9. (C)  Kawai observed that close United States/Japan 
relations are vital to the security of the region, 
particularly with regard to North Korea.  He said that Japan 
was extremely satisfied with the manner in which our two 
governments had interacted, both diplomatically and 
operationally, with regard to the July 5 North Korean missile 
launches.  A/S Hill agreed, and said that a key element now 
will be to see if a China/North Korea split develops.  He 
informed Kawai that on his visit to China later in this trip 
that he will have meetings with Cui Tiankai, Wu Dawei, and He 
Yafei who are all reasonable, good interlocutors, to discuss 
this topic.  He will advise them that the United States is 
planning on moving forward with financial measures against 
North Korea pursuant to the terms of UNSCR 1695.  He 
predicted the Chinese will view this as an unhelpful 
development, but his goal is to convince them that 1695 must 
be more than symbolic and needs to actually mean something. 
At the same time, he will reassure them that the United 
States remains committed to the negotiation track as well. 
 
------------------------- 
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C)  On the subject of BMD, Kawai said it is important 
that both contingency and operational planning be undertaken. 
 Japan welcomes the deployment of the USS Shiloh and the 
deployment of the PAC-3 system in Okinawa, which did not 
engender as much opposition as expected.  Due to recent North 
Korean activities, the Japanese people by and large 
understand the need for such systems.  Japan is anxious to 
deploy its own system and wants to expedite this process, if 
possible. 
 
----------- 
SOUTH KOREA 
----------- 
 
¶11. (C)  Kawai asked about the status of plans to transfer 
opcon in South Korea, opining that such a move will have a 
significant impact on regional security.  A/S Hill replied 
that to a certain extent this has become a domestic political 
issue in South Korea, with some conservatives questioning 
whether the ROK is ready for such a transfer on the timeline 
that has been proposed, and others playing up nationalism and 
sovereignty issues for political gain.  He explained that we 
have no desire to see the presence of American forces in 
Korea become a domestic political issue, and at this point it 
is best to remain cautious about speculating when such a 
transfer will take place.  When asked, Kawai said that Prime 
Minister Koizumi is not planning to meet bilaterally with 
President Roh on the sidelines of next week's Asia-Europe 
summit meeting in Helsinki. 
 
---- 
IRAQ 
---- 
 
¶12. (C) Kawai thanked A/S Hill for cooperation afforded by 
the American Embassies in Tokyo and Baghdad during Foreign 
Minister Aso's recent trip to Iraq.  Japan considered the 
trip a success and said its purpose was to underline Japan's 
continued commitment to support Iraq's reconstruction 
 
TOKYO 00005138  004 OF 004 
 
 
efforts, even following the withdrawal of the Ground Self 
Defense Forces from Samawa.  This continued commitment is 
exhibited by the expansion of the Air Self Defense Forces 
mission as well as continued Official Developmental 
Assistance program funding. 
 
----------- 
AFGHANISTAN 
----------- 
 
¶13. (C) With regard to Japan's participation in Operation 
Enduring Freedom, Kawai pointed out that the law authorizing 
the presence of Maritime Self Defense Force ships in the 
Indian Ocean as members of the Coalition will expire in 
November and must be voted upon in the Diet if it is to be 
reauthorized.  Despite early criticisms that the Japanese 
involvement was merely the equivalent of providing free, 
floating gas stations, the importance of Japan's 
participation is now more widely understood and appreciated. 
Nevertheless, it would be useful to have data pointing to 
tangible accomplishments.  He asked whether it would be 
possible for the Department and DOD to provide examples of 
how Japan's presence has directly aided in the war on terror. 
 A/S Hill agreed that such information would be useful. 
 
¶14. (C)  Kawai raised the subject of Japan's completion of 
its segment of the Ring Road project, noting that the 
security situation had led to difficulties and delays, but 
that ODA authorities were subcontracting the job to an Indian 
company with a good track record in the region.  The DCM 
underlined how important it is for Japan to fulfill its 
obligations to get their segment of the road completed as 
soon as possible. 
 
---- 
IRAN 
---- 
 
¶15. (C)  On Iran, Kawai informed A/S Hill that both the Prime 
Minister and Foreign Minister have made it clear several 
times that Japan will emphasize the importance of addressing 
the nuclear issue, despite potential harm to Tokyo's economic 
interests.  This is a firm commitment.  However, if sanctions 
are necessary, it is Japan's hope that an impact on world 
energy markets can be avoided.  He reported on the visit to 
Tokyo last week of Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas 
Araghchi, noting that in meetings with both the Foreign 
Minister and with the Prime Minister's office, the message 
had been clearly delivered that it is in Iran's best 
interests for Tehran to respect the will of the international 
community and successfully negotiate an end to this 
disagreement. 
 
------------ 
CENTRAL ASIA 
------------ 
 
¶16. (C) Kawai noted that Prime Minister Koizumi has raised 
the issue of human rights and the pace of democratization 
with the President of Uzbekistan during his recent visit to 
that country and Kazakhstan.  He said that both China and 
Russia are attempting to increase their influence in Central 
Asia and it is important that Japan maintain positive 
relations with all the countries in that region. 
 
¶17. (U) This cable was cleared by A/S Hill. 
SCHIEFFER