VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKT #1319/01 1450822
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 250822Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1574
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 4389
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 4645
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9749
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 2629
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 4042
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 1689
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 9774
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0905
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1794
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1140
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 001319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INS, EAP 
MANILLA PLEASE PASS TO E SPELTZ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/25/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER EAID ASEC NP JP IN
SUBJECT: JAPANESE AMBASSADOR SUPPORTS ACTING QUICKLY TO 
SHORE UP GOVERNMENT 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty.  Reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
Japan Plans to Increase Assistance to GON 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶1. (C) The Ambassador met with Japanese Ambassador Tsutomu 
Hiraoka on May 24 in order to push the message that Nepal's 
traditional donors should increase assistance as quickly as 
possible to consolidate the democratic transition.  Hiraoka 
replied that he supported increasing assistance to the new 
government to support its legitimacy and strengthen its 
position as it entered into peace negotiations with the 
Maoists.  He stressed that Japan's goal was to refrain from 
giving any legitimacy to the Maoists.  He said that Tokyo was 
worried about the "fluid" situation in Nepal and he felt 
Tokyo would be receptive to his suggestion to act immediately 
to increase assistance to Nepal by 50 million USD.  He noted 
this assistance could be in the form of non-project budgetary 
support or infrastructure projects such as roads. 
 
Nothing to Maoists 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Hiraoka stressed that his government would not fund 
the feeding of Maoist cadre, and would be forced to stop all 
assistance if the Maoists joined the government without 
giving up arms.   Hiraoka stressed that the GOJ viewed 
Maoists as fundamentally opposed to democracy, against 
free-market economies and private enterprise.  The Ambassador 
noted that the U.S. would not fund assistance to the Maoists 
either.  Hiraoka expressed interest in plans for U.S. 
development and military assistance.  The Ambassador 
highlighted the need for small scale, quick impact projects 
to show government progress and pressure the Maoists to 
negotiate.  Hiraoka commented that SCA A/S Boucher and 
Norwegian envoy Erik Solheim would be in Tokyo on May 30 for 
a meeting on Sri Lanka, and Tokyo planned to take the 
opportunity to discuss Nepal with the two. 
 
Role of India 
------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Hiraoka was interested in the Indian view of UN 
involvement in monitoring the cease-fire, acting as a 
witness, and decommissioning.  Noting that the stated U.S. 
goal in Nepal was to restore democracy and prevent a Maoist 
takeover, Hiraoka wondered if a third goal was to build our 
relationship with India.  The Ambassador acknowledged that 
coordinating with India on Nepal issues was beneficial to our 
bilateral relationship, but explained it was a byproduct of, 
and not the driving force behind, pursuing our goals in 
Nepal.  Hiraoka said that a Japanese diplomat recently 
visited New Delhi and talked to his counterpart in the 
Foreign Ministry about the possibility of coordinating policy 
on Nepal.  The Indian diplomat reportedly replied that India 
was already coordinating with the U.S. and European 
countries; however, he allowed that there would be "no harm" 
if Japan were to make some statement on Nepal. 
 
Concerned About Safety of Japanese 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Hiraoka continued to be concerned about the safety of 
Japanese citizens in Nepal, saying that many businessmen had 
expressed concerned to him about growing Maoist extortion. 
He noted that in April he had been close to evacuating staff 
of the Japanese Embassy (17 Japanese nationals) and Japan 
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (12 Japanese 
nationals).  Hiraoka commented that, for the safety of the 
approximately 50 JICA volunteers, he was careful not to 
denounce the Maoists in public.  He said the volunteers had 
had few problems with Maoists to date.  While 
Japanese-affiliated travel and trekking companies were 
 
pressing him to lower the travel advisory, he said he would 
only do so if peace talks progressed well. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5. (C) Japanese budgetary assistance could go a long way in 
helping the government.  It is encouraging to see Japan 
taking the decision to act sooner rather than later to work 
to strengthen the new democratic government. 
MORIARTY