VZCZCXRO9371
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHUM #0615/01 2260716
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140716Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0243
INFO RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2396
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5176
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2196
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1564
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0338
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0014
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPODC/USDOC WASHDC 1080
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC 0337
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ULAANBAATAR 000615 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Sensitive 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID ECON MG JA KN
SUBJECT: Koizumi's Visit to Mongolia: A Feel Good Experience 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  According to the Japanese DCM (protect), Prime 
Minister Koizumi's August 10-11 visit to Mongolia was a relaxed 
visit without much new in substance; rather it was a celebration of 
a relationship untroubled by the political problems Japan has 
elsewhere in the region.  No new aid commitments were made, though 
Japan is considering a Mongolian proposal for an $86 million 
concessionary loan to build a new Ulaanbaatar airport.  Japan and 
Mongolian will have periodic bilateral talks on Northeast Asian 
issues, including North Korea and the Shanghai Cooperation 
Organization.  End summary. 
 
Good Vibes, Light Agenda 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On August 14, Japanese DCM (protect) gave a readout on the 
Koizumi visit to DCM and EP chief.  The August 10-11 visit last 26 
hours.  The Japanese DCM commented that, a few weeks before his 
retirement, Koizumi was in a relaxed mood, and that no new 
substantive ground was broken during the visit.  He noted that Prime 
Minister Enkhbold had visited Japan in February, and little had 
changed since then.  He commented that Mongolian arrangements for 
the visit indicated the warmth of ties, including President 
Enkhbayar hosting a lunch for Koizumi in his personal ger set up 
near the site of the ensuing cultural performance.  In addition, PM 
Enkhbold hosted a dinner; the Mongolian Foreign Minister escorted 
Koizumi, but did not have a separate meeting with him.  (Note: 
Koizumi's visit to Mongolia is the third by a Japanese prime 
minister, after visits by Toshiki Kaifu in 1991 and Keizo Obuchi in 
¶1999. ) 
Mongolia Seeks New International 
Airport From Largest Bilateral Donor 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM said that a number of things highlighted 
in the press in conjunction with the visit beyond celebrating 
Mongolia's 800th anniversary were not really new developments, but 
simply highlighting of existing programs.  For instance, a Japanese 
training program for 20 Mongolia officials per year reported in 
conjunction with the visit was an ongoing program.  He said that 
Japan did not make new aid commitments during the visit.  Japan, 
Mongolia's largest bilateral donor, now gives about 3 billion yen 
($26 million) a year in grant assistance.  He said that Japan is 
considering a Mongolian proposal for a concessionary loan to finance 
a new Ulaanbaatar airport.  The total cost might be about 10 billion 
yen, which Japan might make as annual loans of about 3 billion yen 
in each of 3 years.  Japan is now assessing the feasibility of the 
proposal.  (Note:  Press reports claimed Japan's aid to Mongolia 
totaled 188.4 billion yen as of 2005, with 75 billion yen of that in 
grants, 39.2 billion yen in loans and 24.9 billion yen in technology 
assistance.) 
 
Sumo Wrestling - the Sport That Binds 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM stated that the visit was helpful in 
celebrating the good bilateral relationship, which is not troubled 
by the political problems with other Asian neighbors.  For instance, 
he noted, in February, PM Enkhbold had noted that a traditional 
Mongolian folk tale is in Japan's textbooks, and had invited Japan 
to provide Japanese folk tales for Mongolian textbooks.  Koizumi had 
personally selected two.  This was a different sort of textbook 
discussion than with other neighbors, he commented.  He noted that 
Mongolian wrestlers' dominance of sumo wrestling in Japan provides a 
unique cultural link and access for his country here.  He smiled 
that Mongolia's parliament reportedly schedules its sessions to 
avoid conflicting with the bimonthly sumo tournament (which is 
heavily televised here), and the Japanese embassy always gets a good 
turnout of the influential at receptions welcoming back Mongolian 
wrestlers.  He commented that, despite the pre-1990 attacks on Japan 
as an "imperialist" country, there is little or no popular 
anti-Japanese feeling in Mongolia 
 
Future Dialogue on DPRK; Mongolia a Window into SCO 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM said that Mongolia and Japan will begin 
periodic bilateral talks on Northeast Asian security issues.  The 
subjects discussed would include North Korea; Japan saw Mongolia, 
with its traditionally good relations with North Korea, as an 
additional means of reinforcing the international community's 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000615  002 OF 002 
 
 
message.  However, the Japanese DCM said, Mongolian relations with 
North Korea seem to have declined this year, with the North Korean 
ambassador having a prolonged absence in the wake of Mongolia's 
expression of concern about the North Korean missile test, and the 
earlier detention of over $1 million in dollars and 2 million yen in 
a North Korean bank's cash while Mongolia investigated whether it 
was counterfeit.  The Japanese DCM said that his country also sees 
Mongolia as a useful source on the Shanghai Cooperation 
Organization. 
 
 
No Business Contingent in Koizumi's Delegation 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM said that Koizumi's delegation was small, 
and did not include any business people.  He said that there have 
been Japanese business delegations, including one at the end of 
July, but said there is a low level of trade and investment between 
the two countries, and described Japanese businesses' interest in 
Mongolia as low. 
 
War Memorial Visit a Non-Issue 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Asked about Koizumi's visit to a memorial to Japanese 
soldiers, the DCM responded that the memorial marks the presence in 
Mongolia of 20,000 Japanese POWs held in Soviet-controlled camps 
after WW II.  The soldiers had been a key element for major 
buildings in downtown Ulaanbaatar, including Government House and 
the Foreign Ministry.  About 1,600 of the POWs had died because of 
the harsh conditions.  When Koizumi was Social Welfare Minister, he 
had visited in the late 1990s and arranged for the transport back to 
Japan of the remains; the memorial is now a plaque rather than a 
cemetery.  The Japanese DCM said that the visit was not 
controversial in Mongolia.  He added that Mongolia does not weigh in 
on the Japanese visits to the Yasukuni shrine, and sees those visits 
as a Japanese domestic issue. 
 
Real Issues:  Visas, Overstays 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM said that visas were one issue discussed 
during the visit, with Mongolian undertaking to abolish visas for 
Japanese tourists next year.  This likely would increase the flow of 
Japanese tourists, which has been about 10,000 annually, though 
14,000 or more are expected this year.  The Mongolians pressed 
unsuccessfully for more relaxed Japanese visa treatment of their 
citizens.  The Japanese DCM commented that it will be difficult to 
do this in view of the substantial illegal Mongolian population in 
Japan; the illegal population is estimated at 19,000 Mongolians, as 
opposed to 5,000 Mongolians legally present. 
 
Royal, Presidential Visits in 2007 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Japanese DCM noted that the two countries will mark 
the 35th year of diplomatic relations in 2007.  While the Emperor is 
unlikely to come to Mongolia in response to the GOM's invitation, he 
said it is possible that the Crown Prince and his wife will do so. 
President Enkhbayar is scheduled to visit Japan in February 2007. 
He noted the two nations had agreed that 2006 is "Mongolia Year in 
Japan," while 2007 will be "Japan Year in Mongolia." 
 
Slutz