VZCZCXRO0602
OO RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #6249/01 2991034
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 261034Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7830
INFO RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DISA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/TREASURY DEPT WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 006249 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2016 
TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD EAID JA VN
SUBJECT: VIETNAM'S PM VISITS JAPAN; ISSUES JOINT STATEMENT 
WITH ABE 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR J. THOMAS SCHIEFFER.  REASONS 1.4 (B)(D). 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Vietnam's Prime Minister concluded a positive 
four-day visit to Japan on October 22, drawing favorable 
reviews in the press for the growing relationship between the 
two countries.  DPRK sanctions and UN reform were also on the 
agenda.  Prime Minister Dzung stressed his strong opposition 
to the DPRK nuclear test and agreed to cooperate with Japan 
on implementation of UN sanctions and the abduction issue. 
This first official visit by a foreign leader to Japan during 
the Abe Administration was well-planned and carefully 
scripted; however, it did not draw a great deal of attention 
outside of government and business circles with an interest 
in Vietnam. 
 
¶2.  (U) Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Tan Dzung, visited 
Japan from October 19-22, becoming the first foreign leader 
to visit Japan during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's tenure.  PM 
Dzung's schedule included meetings with Abe, Foreign Minister 
Aso, and parliamentarians, a call on the Emperor and Empress, 
a speech before the Diet, an official dinner, an Embassy 
reception, and a trip to the Kansai region to meet with local 
government and business leaders.  The primary purpose of the 
visit was to strengthen economic ties and cooperation between 
the two countries. 
 
¶3.  (C) In a joint statement issued on October 19, the two 
leaders highlighted continued dialogue, increased economic 
assistance, closer economic relations, S&T cooperation, 
mutual understanding, and international cooperation on 
regional and global issues.  This was the first high-level 
joint statement by the two countries, according to MOFA 
Principal Deputy Director for Southeast Asian Affairs Atsushi 
Kuwabara, and required nearly one month of preparation, 
although there were no specific showstoppers along the way. 
One unusual and slightly problematic request had been 
Vietnam's insistence on the inclusion of specific 
construction projects for Japanese investment, which Kuwabara 
attributed to the fact that these were Prime Minister Dzung's 
own pet projects.  An important area for Japan to include was 
cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, he added. 
 
¶4.  (C) Among several "firsts" that Kuwabara cited in the 
joint statement was Japan's public statement supporting 
Vietnam's accession as a nonpermanent member of the UN 
Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.  Vietnam reconfirmed 
its support for a permanent seat for Japan.  Vietnam voiced 
strong opposition to the recent DPRK nuclear test and 
promised to cooperate with Japan on implementing UN 
sanctions.  Vietnam also declared its support for Japan in 
dealing with the DPRK on humanitarian issues, including 
abductions.  Kuwabara pointed out that it was difficult for 
Vietnam to take such a strong position against long-time ally 
North Korea, especially given Vietnam's own sensitivity to 
human rights concerns. 
 
¶5.  (C) Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Dzung committed 
to conducting an official bilateral meeting at APEC in 
November, obviating the need for a reciprocal visit by Abe to 
Vietnam in the near future.  There was no particular 
significance to the timing of the Dzung visit, according to 
Kuwabara.  Vietnam was obviously an important country for 
Japan, especially in mainland Southeast Asia, where Laos, 
Cambodia, and Burma did not provide Vietnam with a lot of 
competition, but Thailand was still seen as much more of a 
regional hub.  From Vietnam's perspective, he surmised, it 
was important to cultivate relations with a large investor 
and aid donor like Japan, but Vietnam seemed to be walking a 
fine line between Japan and China, sending the Communist 
Party chief to Beijing in late August and the Prime Minister 
to Japan now. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The joint statement announced plans to begin 
negotiations on an "economic partnership agreement" (EPA) in 
January 2007.  Japan's investment in and trade with Vietnam 
have been growing, noted Kuwabara, and the joint statement 
put forward the goal of nearly doubling bilateral trade from 
8.5 billion USD in 2005 to 15 billion USD by the year 2010. 
An investment seminar in Tokyo and meetings with the business 
community in Osaka were expected to contribute to that 
growth.  The two sides also recognized the growing importance 
of intellectual property protection, and called for greater 
cooperation on IPR in order to attract investment and 
 
TOKYO 00006249  002 OF 002 
 
 
stimulate market growth.  Vietnam recognized Japan as 
Vietnam's largest aid donor and Japan reiterated support for 
Vietnam's WTO accession. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Prime Minister Dzung spoke at the Diet on October 
19, an honor accorded to only one or two foreign leaders each 
year, according to Mr. Kuwabara.  The primary movers behind 
the speech were former ruling Liberal Democratic Party 
Secretary General Tsutomu Takebe, who had visited Vietnam 
 
SIPDIS 
earlier this year, and other parliamentarians from the Diet's 
Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association.  The speech focused on 
the growing relationship between Japan and Vietnam, but also 
touched on the DPRK nuclear test and other regional issues. 
 
 
¶8.  (C) Comment.  The optics of Prime Minister Dzung's trip 
to Japan were good, although the visit seems to have drawn a 
yawn even from some Japanese with an interest in the 
relationship.  The Vietnamese Embassy-hosted reception was 
somewhat sparsely attended, and there was a noticeable lack 
of VIPs from the Japanese side, although Chief Cabinet 
Secretary Shiozaki put in a brief appearance.  One Japanese 
 
SIPDIS 
guest told Poloff "this visit was supposed to be a big deal, 
until Secretary Rice decided to come." 
 
¶9.  (C) Comment.  Although most likely regarded by the 
Japanese as a way to improve the investment environment in 
Vietnam for Japanese business, the EPA with Vietnam, if 
successful, would mark Japan's first agreement with a 
transitional economy, thus establishing a conceptual 
framework for possible negotiations with China in the future. 
SCHIEFFER