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FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9247
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY 9237
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA PRIORITY 8768
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 1721
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY 2668
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 0261
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 007072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO S/CT (RHONDA SHORE AND NCTC) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PTER
SUBJECT: JAPAN: 2006 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 193439 
 
Embassy Point of Contact: 
Mary Wilson 
Phone: 81-3-3224-5342 
Fax: 81-3-3224-5322 
E-mail: WilsonMT@state.gov 
 
 
General Assessment 
------------------ 
 
¶1.  Japanese leaders have publicly declared their firm 
commitment to stand by the United States to combat terrorism 
over the long term.  Japanese support for domestic, regional 
and global counterterrorism efforts remained steady in 2006. 
Japan is party to all counterterrorism-related UN conventions 
and is in full compliance with all UNSCRs on terrorist 
financing.  To help stem the flow of terrorist financing to 
al-Qaida and the Taliban, Japan designated under its 
asset-freezing program all entities and individuals included 
on the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee's consolidated list. 
 
¶2.  Domestically, Japan continues to bolster its defenses 
against terrorism to make it harder for terrorists to 
operate. In March, the Cabinet approved emergency contingency 
plans for 47 prefectures to better protect the public from 
terrorist attacks.  In May, Japan revised the Immigration 
Control and Refugee Recognition Act to enable immigration 
officials to collect and electronically store fingerprint and 
facial imagery from foreigners.  This will be implemented by 
November 2007; diplomats, state guests, and special permanent 
foreign residents will be exempt from the law.  The Ministry 
of Justice Immigration Bureau since Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 has 
been testing a biometric fingerprint and facial recognition 
system at Narita and Kansai airports with the aim of 
identifying people trying to enter Japan on fake passports. 
This data is checked against a database of known and 
suspected terrorists. 
 
¶3.  Japan in June developed a framework for legislation 
designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing 
and plans to submit the bill to the Diet in early 2007.  The 
Ministry of Finance announced in August that Japanese 
financial institutions will be required to confirm the 
identity of customers sending 100,000 yen or more overseas in 
a bid to clamp down on money laundering.  This will be 
effective starting on January 4, 2007.  The Financial 
Services Agency announced a similar change for domestic 
remittances. 
 
¶4.  The Diet on December 1 passed the Infectious Disease Law 
to prohibit possession and production of 12 pathogens, 
including Anthrax and the Ebola Virus to help prevent 
bioterrorism.  The Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) 
in FY 2007 will establish an International Antiterrorism 
Office with the aim of expediting information sharing with 
the Prime Minister's Office.  The National Police Agency 
(NPA) is planning to implement a computerized system, similar 
to the United States Secret Service system, with the goal of 
analyzing data on the locations and routes of world leaders 
attending the 2008 Group of Eight summit in Japan. 
 
¶5.  Japan in January 2005 introduced a voluntary Advance 
Passenger Information System (APIS), to tighten control on 
suspicious travelers to prevent terrorists from entering 
Japan.  It resulted in 17 arrests in 2005.  Japanese 
authorities in early 2005 revised the Law for the Regulation 
of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and 
Reactors and are continuing to enhance the physical 
protection of nuclear materials in Japan. 
 
¶6.  Japan is using ODA grants to expand counterterrorism 
capacity building in Southeast Asia.  The Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs (MOFA) Economic Cooperation Bureau initiated the 
Grant for Cooperation on Counterterrorism and Security 
Enhancement ODA program in FY 2006.  This nearly USD 60.86 
million annual program includes projects aimed at bolstering 
piracy prevention, increasing maritime and port security, and 
preventing weapons proliferation. 
 
¶7.  Japan makes valuable contributions to building 
counterterrorism capacity among Asian countries.  Tokyo in 
January hosted a two-day ministerial conference on 
 
TOKYO 00007072  002 OF 003 
 
 
international transport security to promote cooperation on 
ground transportation security; officials from 14 countries 
attended.  Foreign Minister Aso in June signed a 
counterterrorism capacity building plan with Uzbekistan, 
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan to combat terrorism 
and offered equipment and support for border control.  This 
was the first time Japan signed a cooperative action plan 
with a Central Asian nation.  In June, Japan also hosted the 
ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue. 
 
¶8. Japan in July held a seminar on the prevention and crisis 
management of bioterrorism to strengthen mechanisms to combat 
CBRN terrorism in the Asia Pacific.  Officials from 14 
countries and representatives from the World Health 
Organization, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, and 
the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism 
(SEARCCT) attended.  In 2004 and 2005 Japan co-sponsored the 
same seminar in Malaysia.  Japan is an active partner in the 
Proliferation Security Initiative; Japan participated in 
exercises, attended all intelligence experts and operational 
experts meetings and led outreach efforts to draw in regional 
countries. 
 
¶9. In October, Japan hosted a counterterrorism trilateral 
meeting with the United States and Australia.  It 
participated in trilateral strategic dialogue talks in 
November with the United States and Australia to better 
synchronize regional activities. 
 
¶10.  Japan continues to reach beyond the region in its fight 
against terrorism.  The Abe Cabinet in December approved an 
extension of Japan Air Self-Defense Force airlift operations 
until July 2007, enabling Japan to continue its support for 
coalition forces' counterterrorism efforts in Iraq.  In 
October, the Japanese Diet extended for one year the 
Antiterrorism Special Measures Law that allows for Japan 
Self-Defense Force (JSDF) support of Operation Enduring 
Freedom (OEF).  In 2006 the Maritime Self-Defense Force 
(JMSDF) had provided approximately 12,724,000 gallons of fuel 
to United States and allied naval vessels engaged in OEF. 
 
¶11.  Japan has been an active participant in the G-8 
Bioterrorism Experts Meeting Group.  In 2005 the Japanese 
sent a large delegation to Atlanta for a G-8 sponsored 
workshop on food defense.  In February 2005, Japan presented 
a paper on the "Origins, Sources, Culture and Ideology of 
Terrorism" at the counterterrorism conference in Saudi 
Arabia. 
 
¶12.  Bilaterally, Japan is a responsive partner in the fight 
against terrorism.  The Foreign Ministry in 2005 granted 
long-term diplomatic status to the Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) officers working on the Container Security 
Initiative (CSI) in Japan.  In 2005, the Customs Bureau was 
reorganized to facilitate cooperation between Japanese CSI 
teams and U.S. CBP officers.  Japan formally accepted the 
U.S. Air Marshal program in 2005, and started its own Air 
Marshal program on flights to and from the United States. 
Japanese air marshals trained at the United States Federal 
Air Marshal Training Facility in February 2006.  After 
substantially rewriting its immigration legislation in 2005 
to improve enforcement capabilities, Japan agreed in 
principal in December 2006 to participate in the Immigration 
Advisory Program (IAP).  IAP will be implemented at Narita 
Airport in January 2006. 
 
¶13.  Japan is an advocate and active participant in the 
International Port Security Program (IPSP).  Widely 
considered a leader in the region in maritime security 
collaboration, the Government of Japan hosted a number of 
bilateral and multilateral maritime security events.  In 
2005, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 
Maritime Bureau established the Port State Control Officer 
exchange program with the U.S. Coast Guard to exchange best 
practices in implementing international ship security 
requirements while boarding foreign flag ships in Japan and 
close cooperation continued in 2006.  Participants from 19 
countries discussed measures to tighten nuclear and 
radiological security at the November 2006 IAEA-Government of 
Japan Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asia. 
 
¶14.  The United States did not request terrorism-related 
extradition from Japan in 2006.  We expect Japan to continue 
its cooperative stance, but the need for "dual-criminality" 
 
TOKYO 00007072  003 OF 003 
 
 
(i.e., the act upon which the extradition request is based 
must also be considered a crime in Japan) could delay 
extradition procedures. 
 
Terrorist Sanctuaries 
--------------------- 
 
¶15.  There are no areas in Japan where terrorists are free to 
operate.  Lax enforcement in airport transit lounges, 
however, continues to make Japan vulnerable to document 
switches and transiting criminals.  No Muslim fundamentalists 
have been identified in Japan.  Approximately 90,000 Muslims 
(mainly from Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Iran) reside in 
Japan, concentrated in the Kanto region.  While no concrete 
evidence has been found connecting an individual to al-Qaida, 
law enforcement officials continue to monitor suspicious 
activity. 
 
Information on Terrorist Groups 
------------------------------- 
 
¶16.  There were no incidents of international terrorism in 
Japan during 2006 and terrorist activity remains low.  The 
National Police Agency (NPA) and the Public Security 
Intelligence Agency (PSIA) continue to monitor the activities 
of Aum Shinrikyo, renamed Aleph.  In January, the Public 
Security Examination Commission extended PSIA's legal 
authority to monitor Aleph for an additional three years 
(through January 2009).  According to the PSIA, at the end of 
2005 Aleph had about 650 live-in followers and about 1,000 
other followers with 26 facilities in 17 prefectures.  The 
cult also had about 300 followers in Russia.  PSIA inspected 
at least 29 Aleph facilities in 2005 and at least 25 
facilities in 2006. 
 
¶17.  The Tokyo District Court in August upheld the death 
sentence for Aum Shinrikyo member Masami Tsuchiya who was 
charged with making the sarin nerve gas used in the deadly 
1995 attack on the Tokyo subway system.  In September, the 
Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for Aum Shinrikyo 
founder Chizuo Matsumoto; he is not eligible to file future 
appeals.  In February, the Tokyo High Court upheld the death 
sentence for Tomomitsu Niimi who was convicted in 2002 for 
murdering 26 individuals in seven Aum Shinrikyo related 
cases, including the 1995 sarin attack. 
 
¶18.  The Tokyo District Court sentenced Fusako Shigenobu, a 
former Japanese Red Army (JRA) member, to 20 years in prison 
in February.  Members of the JRA were responsible for seizing 
the French Embassy in The Hague in 1974 and the U.S. Embassy 
in Kuala Lumpur in 1975.   Prosecutors argued for a life 
sentence for Shigenobu, claiming she is the alleged 
mastermind of the "Hague Incident," but the court ruled that 
even though she conspired to take over the French Embassy, 
she was not physically present during the embassy seizure. 
As of mid-December, former JRA member Jun Nishikawa remained 
on trial for his suspected role in a 1977 Japan Airlines 
hijacking.  A verdict is expected on December 26. 
 
Foreign Government Cooperation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶19.  There were no arrests of terrorist suspects in Japan in 
2006, but Japan continues to show a willingness to cooperate 
with the United States on terrorism matters.  Police and 
intelligence authorities remain responsive to 
terrorism-related requests, including conducting 
surveillance, developing sources and providing record checks 
and documentation within the scope authorized by existing 
Japanese laws.  Police and intelligence officials by all 
appearances take terrorism threats seriously and work well 
with U.S. law enforcement officials to bring investigations 
to their proper conclusions. 
 
¶20.  In June 2005, the Diet amended the Japanese immigration 
law to allow the sharing of information with foreign 
immigration officials.  The Immigration Bureau of the 
Ministry of Justice completed the implementing guidelines and 
detailed discussions on the logistics of sharing information 
continue.  Since August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has 
shared lost and stolen passport data on a weekly basis. 
SCHIEFFER