VZCZCXRO3807
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #1613/01 0870756
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280756Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0204
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUESUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0019
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3523
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1359
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0612
RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI 0904
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 4088
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY 0046
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0557
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2066
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 6573
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0372
RUEHVN/AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE 1467
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 5348
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 5359
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 7983
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 8499
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 6532
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 9492

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 001613 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AIAG AMBASSADOR LANGE 
DEPT PASS TO AID/GH/HIDN DENNIS CARROLL 
DEPT FOR OES/IHA SINGER AND FENDRICK 
DEPT FOR EAP/J 
USDA PASS TO APHIS 
HHS PASS TO CDC 
HHS FOR OGHA STEIGER, BHAT AND ELVANDER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO KFLU KSTH ECON PREL SOCI WHO JA
SUBJECT: AVIAN INFLUENZA: DETAILS ON JAPAN'S USD 155 
MILLION + ASSISTANCE PLEDGE 
 
REF: 05 TOKYO 3018 
 
TOKYO 00001613  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1. (U) This cable contains an action request.  Please see 
paragraph 9. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) On March 23, AID Counselor and ESToff met with the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Economic Cooperation 
Bureau Aid Planning Division Deputy Director Taro Yamamoto to 
receive further details on the USD 155 million Japan pledged 
to fight avian influenza (AI) in Asia.  On December 12, Prime 
Minister Koizumi announced at the ASEAN Plus Three Summit 
meeting in Kuala Lumpur that Japan would donate USD 135 
million by the end of March 2006 to help combat avian and 
pandemic influenza in the Asian region.  Japan pledged an 
additional USD 20 million at the Beijing AI donors' 
conference held in January.  (Note: the actual donation will 
total USD 158.7 million.) 
 
¶3. (U) The GOJ has been working on the disbursement details 
for the aid since the two pledges were made.  Because the aid 
was coming from JFY2005 appropriations and the supplemental 
budget, MOFA was under pressure to disburse the monies prior 
to the March 31 end of the fiscal year.  Yamamoto explained 
that all of the funds were now disbursed and that the 
programs would be implemented during the upcoming fiscal 
year. 
 
----------------- 
Funding Breakdown 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The general breakdown for the USD 158.7 million is as 
follows (with further details in paras 5-8): 
 
- USD 46.8 million from MOFA for antivirals, personal 
protective equipment or PPE, and diagnostic kits for ASEAN 
members; 
 
- USD 49.1 million from MOFA for the emergency risk 
communications campaign and supplies to be disbursed through 
UNICEF; 
 
- USD 20 million from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to the 
World Bank for worldwide AI efforts; 
 
- USD 19.3 million from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry 
and Fisheries (MAFF) for animal health measures to be 
disbursed through the OIE and FAO; 
 
- USD 2 million from the Ministry of Health, Labor and 
Welfare (MHLW) to be disbursed through the WHO; 
 
- USD 21.5 million from the Ministry of Education, Culture, 
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to support center of 
 
TOKYO 00001613  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
excellence projects that research emerging and re-emerging 
infectious diseases (including, but not limited to, avian and 
pandemic influenza) in Vietnam, China and Thailand.  (For 
full details on this program, see 05 Tokyo 3018.) 
 
- The GOJ will also provide influenza-related training for a 
minimum of 100 trainees from the region. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
PPEs and Japan's Stockpile of Antivirals 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Japan has set aside USD $46.8 million to fund 
antivirals, personal protective equipment and diagnostic kits 
for use in ASEAN countries.  Yamamoto said that the details 
for the allocation of the 700,000 units of PPE have not yet 
been decided.  Tokyo is currently working with the ASEAN 
Secretariat to determine the most efficient and meaningful 
 
SIPDIS 
distribution of the above materials.  Yamamoto mentioned that 
though the ASEAN Secretariat has "theoretical control" over 
the funds, MOFA will be in close consultation as to how the 
money should be spent. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Yamamoto explained that current thinking in Tokyo on 
the Tamiflu donation was that it should be stockpiled in one 
location, rather than being distributed across the region. 
This would allow for a quick response and would not tie up 
the antiviral medications in any specific country or 
countries.  The Ministry has not yet decided on a location. 
Potential candidate sites include Bangkok, Singapore and a 
location in Japan.  MOFA is weighing the pros and cons of 
each site.  For example, in the case of Singapore, Yamamoto 
said that the pros include the fact that JICA already has an 
emergency relief supplies warehouse there and the airport is 
open 24 hours a day.  However, Singapore does not have direct 
flights to Laos.  Bangkok, on the other hand, has connections 
throughout the region and a regional JICA office. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Emergency Risk Communications, Supplies and Equipment 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶7. (U) Yamamoto explained that Japan's proposed 
communications campaign through UNICEF was originally 
targeted at the five Asian countries that had first reported 
human cases of avian influenza: Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, 
Indonesia and Malaysia.  However, after additional human and 
animal cases were reported throughout the region, MOFA added 
Burma, Bangladesh, Mongolia and China to the list.  In 
February, the Ministry decided to further expand the group of 
targeted countries to include Niger and Nigeria.  The 
emergency risk communications project will: 
 
- include programs to sensitize governments, health 
personnel, poultry farmers, and other stakeholders to the AI 
situation 
- provide funding for the co-production of CREATE 
- develop additional communications materials such as TV and 
 
TOKYO 00001613  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
radio messages in local languages 
- fund the implementation of the various projects, and 
- provide for post-campaign evaluation, documentation and 
dissemination 
 
¶8. (U) Though not completely finalized and still somewhat 
fluid, Yamamoto said the GOJ was planning to allocate the USD 
49.1 million to UNICEF in the following manner: 
 
EMERGENCY RISK COMMUNICATIONS 
 
-Bangladesh  USD 1.25 million 
-Burma  USD 1.46 million 
-Cambodia  USD 1.30 million 
-China  USD 1.25 million 
-Indonesia  USD 2.60 million 
-Laos  USD 1.15 million 
-Mongolia  USD 890 thousand 
-Thailand  USD 1.66 million 
-Vietnam  USD 1.96 million 
-Niger and Nigeria  USD 2.53 million 
 
PROVISION OF EMERGENCY SUPPLIES 
 
(Procurement and distribution of preventative hygiene and 
sanitation supplies for high-risk groups) 
 
-Bangladesh  USD 550 thousand 
-Burma  USD 650 thousand 
-Cambodia  USD 500 thousand 
-China  (none) 
-Indonesia  USD 900 thousand 
-Laos  USD 450 thousand 
-Mongolia  USD 350 thousand 
-Thailand  USD 500 thousand 
-Vietnam  USD 600 thousand 
-Niger and Nigeria  USD 400 thousand 
 
(Procurement and distribution of effective vaccines for 
high-risk groups) 
 
- The GOJ will provide USD 20 million total for the entire 
group of countries.  An additional USD 600 thousand will be 
used for inter-regional coordination.  Yamamoto pointed out 
to AID Counselor that the details for the vaccine program 
remain to be decided, because a new vaccine is currently 
under development and the GOJ has not yet determined which 
version will be most effective.  MOFA plans to further 
discuss this with UNICEF in June or July to make an informed 
decision as to which vaccine it will purchase and how the 
vaccines would later be distributed.  Yamamoto said that the 
vaccine funds were specifically earmarked, so they would not 
be redirected for use in other efforts. 
 
- Tokyo will also provide USD 1 million to EAPRO-Bangkok, USD 
750 thousand to ROSA-Kathmandu, USD 750 thousand to 
WCARO-Dakar and USD 500 thousand to ESARO-Nairobi.  These 
funds are to provide technical assistance to country offices 
 
TOKYO 00001613  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
and national governments in communication strategies and 
material development, documentation and tool sharing. 
Finally, USD 1.36 million will be spent on inter-regional 
coordination efforts to provide policy support, interagency 
coordination on communication, development of global risk 
information management strategies, and technical consultation 
on vaccines with WHO-Geneva and WPRO. 
 
-------------- 
Action Request 
-------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Yamamoto said that he has heard the United States is 
planning to purchase PPEs and stockpile them in Bangkok.  He 
would like to know what the status and timetable are to make 
that equipment available.  Yamamoto also asked how the PPEs 
will be distributed -- if they would be stockpiled in one 
location for deployment as part of an early response or 
divided and delivered to multiple countries.  He also 
understood that PPE kits could be tailored for different end 
users such as chicken cullers and poultry workers and medical 
officials.  MOFA is currently focusing on working out the 
details for its stockpile of antivirals, but because the 
Ministry will also need to soon consider what to do with the 
700 thousand PPEs it has agreed to purchase and stockpile, 
Yamamoto asked for further details on U.S. plans that may 
help with its own process. 
 
¶10. Post requests further details on the U.S. plans for PPEs 
that can be passed on to MOFA.  Yamamoto's request provides a 
good opportunity to coordinate our joint efforts in the 
region. 
 
SCHIEFFER