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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000475 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018 
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID XA XE CH AS KS KN IN JA
SUBJECT: ASSISTANT SECRETARY HILL'S MEETING WITH JAPANESE 
DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR NORTH AMERICAN AFFAIRS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador J.T. Schieffer for reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Japan is very much looking forward to the 
Secretary's visit to Asia the week of February 25 and is 
 
SIPDIS 
anticipating fruitful discussions on strengthening the 
U.S.-Japan alliance, MOFA Director General for North American 
Affairs Nishimiya told EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. 
Hill February 21.  However, given the recent events in 
Okinawa, the Japanese also expect the Secretary to publicly 
express regret for the misconduct of American servicemen and 
to emphasize our willingness to cooperate in formulating an 
effective plan to prevent further occurrences.  A/S Hill also 
assured Nishimiya of the unchanging primacy of the U.S.-Japan 
alliance, underlining that any Northeast Asia peace and 
security mechanism stemming from the Six-Party Talks could 
not supplant or harm our relations.  During the Secretary's 
upcoming visit, the Japanese will signal their willingness to 
discuss Asian economic architecture, as this was a topic 
discussed by the President and Prime Minister Fukuda during 
their most recent meeting in Washington.  Japan is interested 
in the changing dynamics that will follow the inauguration of 
a new government in South Korea, and will ease back on 
pushing for a quadrilateral dialogue between the U.S., Japan, 
Australia, and India.  Japan would also like to have 
discussions about Africa, given the Secretary's recent visit 
there, and would like to explore the possibility of future 
cooperation with regard to development assistance, primarily 
in Asia, but also in the Middle East and Africa.  Nishimiya 
assured A/S Hill that Japan will eventually recognize Kosovo, 
but it will take time for the government to complete the 
steps necessary to make this move official (reported septel). 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) EAP Assistant Secretary Christopher R. Hill, 
accompanied by Ambassador, met February 21 with MOFA Director 
General for North American Affairs Shinichi Nishimiya to 
discuss the Secretary's upcoming visit to Asia and Japan. 
 
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OKINAWA 
------- 
 
¶3. (C) Nishimiya said Japan is looking forward very much to 
the Secretary's visit and is anxious to have wide-ranging 
conversations concerning strengthening the bilateral 
relationship and issues of common interest.  However, given 
the recent incidents involving misconduct by American 
servicemen in Okinawa, the Japanese will expect the Secretary 
to publicly express regret for what has taken place and a 
willingness to work closely with the Japanese to formulate a 
plan to prevent future incidents.  Nishimiya said the current 
atmosphere is not a good one, and that the Japanese hope to 
adjust the spin to emphasize cooperation.  The Secretary's 
visit will present a good opportunity to change the mood and 
return to the high ground of preparing for the G-8 Summit and 
further strengthening our critical alliance.  A/S Hill 
assured Nishimiya that the Secretary will address this matter 
in a forthright and constructive manner, that we regret what 
took place, and that we wish to work together with the 
Japanese to do whatever can be done to reduce the likelihood 
of further such incidents. 
 
---------------------------- 
REGIONAL ARCHITECTURE ISSUES 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Nishimiya shared a copy of the proposed agenda for the 
Secretary's bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura 
 
SIPDIS 
(scanned copy e-mailed to EAP-J).  A/S Hill noted the first 
item under Asia was "economic architecture" and asked whether 
the Japanese had any new thinking on this issue and why they 
were planning to discuss this ahead of other issues such as 
the Koreas and China.  Nishimiya replied the item was placed 
at the top because it had been discussed by the President and 
 
TOKYO 00000475  002 OF 003 
 
 
Prime Minister during their meeting in Washington, and Tokyo 
therefore wishes to reaffirm their willingness to engage on 
this.  Tokyo has no new major proposal to make. 
 
¶5. (C) Nishimiya then produced an excerpt from the Deputy 
Secretary's January 31 speech to the Japan Society which 
 
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discussed the possibility of establishing a "more lasting 
multilateral structure for peace and security in Northeast 
Asia" from a foundation provided by the Six-Party Talks.  He 
wondered whether this meant we are considering ultimately 
replacing the U.S.-Japan security alliance with a 
multilateral security arrangement of some sort.  A/S Hill 
unequivocally assured Nishimiya of the continued primacy of 
the U.S.-Japan alliance, saying there is no way any 
arrangement that follows on the Six-Party Talks will replace 
or supplant the alliance. 
 
¶6. (C) The Ambassador reinforced A/S Hill's assurances, 
noting that he has said the same thing in many speeches. 
What the U.S. would like to see is its bilateral friends in 
Asia talking more to each other about security issues, rather 
than only to the United States.  The current "hub and spoke" 
arrangement needs to be supplemented by multilateral 
communications, but any forum that makes this possible will 
always remain of secondary importance to the U.S.-Japan 
security alliance.  Nishimiya replied he was glad to receive 
such a clear response to his concerns, and said he thought it 
would be helpful if the Secretary could address this in her 
talks. 
 
------------------- 
CHINA, KOREA, INDIA 
------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Continuing on the theme of multilateral relations, 
Nishimiya raised the topic of developing other small 
groupings, particularly given the upcoming change in 
government in Seoul.  A/S Hill replied that the emergence of 
a new government in South Korea will certainly change the 
dynamics of the existing relationships in the region.  The 
Roh government tended to swing toward Beijing and created a 
bit of an imbalance in previously existing relations.  We 
expect things to revert back.  How to manage relations with 
China will continue to be the issue that will dominate this 
region long into the future, and it is important that any 
multilateral arrangements made are managed in such a way to 
assure they do not raise suspicions in China that they are 
aimed at containing or encircling them.  At the same time, a 
U.S.-Japan-China trilateral arrangement would make South 
Korea very nervous. 
 
¶8. (C) With regard to India, A/S Hill pointed out that 
India's reemergence in East Asia is an extremely interesting 
development with wide ranging effects which will require both 
the United States and China to review and further their 
relations with New Delhi.  However, this is an extremely 
complex dynamic, and whatever steps we take to work with 
India on common objectives, we must be mindful of the view 
from Beijing.  Accordingly, we remain hesitant about 
constructing a quadrilateral relationship that includes 
Australia, India, and Japan.  In addition, A/S Hill 
emphasized our desire to see the Trilateral Security Dialogue 
(TSD) with Australia flourish first, and we're concerned that 
if we try to do too much at one time, the TSD relationship 
will suffer from lack of adequate attention.  Nishimiya 
replied that Japan understands our concerns about the quad, 
and while it doesn't necessarily agree with us one hundred 
percent, Tokyo will agree not to press this issue.  Japan is 
sensitive to doing anything that might put stress on our 
alliance, he said. 
 
¶9. (C) Concluding with a remark about China, Nishimiya said 
Japan has a number of ongoing problems with China, including 
territorial disputes and food safety issues, and hopes that 
 
TOKYO 00000475  003 OF 003 
 
 
the Secretary's talks can address ways in which we can 
mutually encourage more transparency from Beijing on issues 
such as military developments, aid to Africa, and other areas 
of concern. 
 
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AFRICA 
------ 
 
¶10. (C) A/S Hill pointed to the President's trip to Africa as 
evidence that the United States is doing just fine there and 
is not threatened by growing Chinese influence on the 
continent.  Nishimiya pointed out Japan will be hosting the 
fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development 
(TICAD IV) in May, and suggested that although the United 
States is not a major partner in this process, the 
Secretary's meeting with Foreign Minister Koumura would serve 
 
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as a good backdrop to discuss Africa, particularly given the 
Secretary's recent visit there.  A/S Hill responded by noting 
 
SIPDIS 
he was glad to see an item on the proposed agenda covering 
U.S.-Japan development cooperation including global health 
and said he views a discussion on Africa as a very timely one 
that will be of great interest to the Secretary.  Nishimiya 
noted that Foreign Minister Koumura hopes to travel to Africa 
in March to chair a preparatory meeting for TICAD IV, but may 
be thwarted by the Diet schedule. 
 
¶11. (C) On the topic of development assistance cooperation 
more generally, Nishimiya said Japan realizes it is 
bureaucratically difficult to coordinate assistance programs, 
but nevertheless believes it is important to discuss together 
what each of us is doing in order to coordinate to the 
greatest extent possible.  He hopes the Secretary will be 
able to address these issues, with a primary focus on 
development in Asia, followed by mention of programs Japan is 
engaging in to support international efforts in Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and in the Middle East Peace Process. 
 
------ 
KOSOVO 
------ 
 
¶12. (C) A/S Hill asked Nishimiya where Japan stands on the 
recognition of Kosovo, which is an issue of great importance 
to the Secretary and the United States.  Nishimiya assured 
him the political will to extend recognition exists, but that 
certain procedures must be followed before Japan can make its 
decision official and public.  The direction is clear, but it 
will just take some time, he said. 
 
¶13. (U) Assistant Secretary Hill has cleared this message. 
SCHIEFFER