VZCZCXRO2508
OO RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1447 0760956
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170956Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9921
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3503
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1211
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1577
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 7916
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 9467
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2063
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1939
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6560
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0855
RHAKDOC/18WG CP KADENA AB JA
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2792

UNCLAS TOKYO 001447 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MLS ALEX BARRASSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO EAGR EAID KFLU JA FAO WHO BM
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: JAPAN'S RESPONSE TO THE AI 
OUTBREAK IN BURMA 
 
REF: STATE 43023 
 
¶1. (U) ESToff met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 
Economic Cooperation Bureau Aid Planning Division Deputy 
Director Taro Yamamoto on March 17 and delivered reftel 
demarche.  Yamamoto said that Japan has not yet decided on 
its response to the current outbreak of H5N1 in Burma.  Tokyo 
is, however, very concerned about the weak nature of Burma's 
medical and surveillance systems.  Yamamoto said that it was 
important to have the international community assist Rangoon 
in its fight against highly pathogenic avian influenza. 
 
¶2. (SBU) In response to ESToff's question as to who would 
make the decision and when on possible Japanese aid to Burma, 
Yamamoto said that MOFA's office covering Burmese affairs 
would play a vital role and would have to weigh its 
priorities before disbursing any money or in-kind materiel. 
He explained that Tokyo has not received any requests for 
assistance from Rangoon through formal channels yet, but that 
the Burmese government has informally asked for Tokyo's help. 
 When asked what the Burmese were asking for, Yamamoto 
responded that it was for a combination of PPEs and 
diagnostic kits.  He also mentioned that the informal request 
was somewhat "confusing", because Rangoon was also asking for 
completely unrelated medical equipment.  MOFA will have to 
scrutinize the request fully before making its decision. 
Yamamoto promised to get in touch with Embassy Tokyo as soon 
as he learned of any new details. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In addition, Yamamoto passed ESToff an "internal" 
MOFA-UNICEF document that detailed Japan's projected aid for 
AI related projects in nine Asian and two African countries. 
Tokyo plans to provide Burma USD 1.46 million to fund 
emergency risk communication programs and an additional USD 
650,000 for the provision of emergency supplies and 
equipment.  Funding for the risk communication projects is 
further divided as follows: USD 75,000 for the sensitization 
of the government, health personnel, teachers, poultry 
farmers and other stakeholders to the AI risk and situation; 
USD 200,000 to support UNICEF's CREATE project; USD 175,000 
to develop additional communication materials in local 
languages; USD 950,000 to implement the projects (the buying 
of air time, printing of materials, and supporting 
educational campaigns); and USD 60,000 for evaluation, 
documentation and dissemination.  The USD 650,000 for 
emergency supplies will be earmarked for the procurement and 
distribution of preventative hygiene and sanitation supplies 
for high-risk groups.  He said that the decisions to fund 
these various projects have been "pretty much" made, but that 
Tokyo was still considering some outstanding issues.  He 
expects the funding for the educational projects to begin as 
soon as this April. 
SCHIEFFER