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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 001272 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL JA KN CH AF IZ MOPPS
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY'S DINNER WITH JAPANESE DIET 
MEMBERS 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Joseph R. Donovan for reason 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1.   (C) SUMMARY: Six Party Talks, the abductees problem, 
China, Afghanistan, and Iraq were the focus of discussions 
over dinner between Deputy Secretary Negroponte and a cross 
section of Japanese Diet members May 9 in Tokyo.  Diet 
members underscored the political importance of addressing 
the abductees problem, which is the overwhelming concern of 
the Japanese public.  On China, the Deputy Secretary stressed 
the need to engage the leadership, particularly given its 
growing economic clout.  On Iraq and Afghanistan, the Diet 
members pointed to the Japanese public's reluctance to 
participate in dangerous war zones, and suggested there was 
little enthusiasm for any active role for Japan at this time. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2.   (C) A cross section of seven Diet members from the 
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Liberal 
Democratic Party (LDP), and the Komeito Party asked the 
Deputy Secretary about U.S. North Korea policy, in particular 
whether there had been a shift toward a tougher line against 
Pyongyang.  DPJ Lower House member Masaharu Nakagawa asked if 
the decision to release information about North Korean 
cooperation in developing a nuclear capability in Syria 
signaled a tilt toward a harder line.  The Deputy Secretary 
said no, the decision had come after a lengthy internal 
debate in the United States.  Ultimately, the sense was that 
the information was going to come out eventually and it made 
no sense to withhold it until later.  The Deputy Secretary 
underscored that the U.S. policy toward North Korea remained 
the same -- to pursue denuclearization. 
 
Japanese Fixated on Abductees 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.   (C) DPJ Lower House member Shinkun Haku said the 
overwhelming focus of the Japanese public was not on the 
nuclear proliferation problem but on the abductees question. 
He estimated that the split was 80 percent - 20 percent with 
the public overwhelmingly concerned about the abductees 
question.  Most of the Diet members who spoke on the issue 
acknowledged that the public was very "domestic" in its 
focus, and this made it difficult for the government not to 
keep the abductee issue at the top of its list of foreign 
policy priorities.  The government faced enormous pressure to 
take a hard line. 
 
¶4.   (C) Nakagawa said the abductee question left the 
Japanese very "frustrated," adding that it was increasingly 
difficult for Japan to keep the problem as a bilateral matter 
with North Korea.  We can't "stand alone," he told the Deputy 
Secretary.  Nakagawa recognized the importance of moving 
ahead with denuclearization through the Six Party process but 
suggested as a matter of reducing the "political trauma" for 
the Japanese government, it would be better if the abductee 
issue were somehow "multilateralized," perhaps in a separate 
track.  That way the government would not be blamed if there 
were a discernible lack of progress.  It is a "very, very 
sensitive issue," Haku said, and it has served to underscore 
the lack of trust the public has for the government. 
 
¶5.   (C) The Deputy Secretary and Charge Donovan reassured 
the Diet members that Japan was not alone in raising the 
abductees question.  The Deputy Secretary noted that 
President Bush had made an effort to meet some of the family 
members of abductees and remained very concerned about the 
issue.  So had Vice President Cheney.  Donovan noted that EAP 
Assistant Secretary Chris Hill raises the matter at every 
opportunity when he meets with the North Koreans.  The United 
States is trying to help raise this issue's profile to find 
resolution, he said.  LDP Lower House member Akiko Yamanaka 
said she appreciated U.S. efforts but added it would be 
"impossible" to find a fuller resolution of the problem -- 
for one thing, "Japan doesn't have all the facts," she 
complained. 
 
TOKYO 00001272  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
China as Emerging Power in Region 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6.   (C) With Chinese President Hu wrapping up a four-day 
visit to Japan, the Diet members asked the Deputy Secretary 
for his thoughts on China.  The Deputy Secretary stressed the 
importance of engagement.  There were problems the United 
States and China had, but the two sides must continue to 
talk.  The Charge said the good news was that the sorts of 
problems the United States encountered with China in recent 
years -- mostly over economic issues -- are of a different 
magnitude compared to the harsh rhetoric coming out of 
Beijing in the 1960s.  In the short run, we will have 
problems with China.  In the long run, there is reason for 
optimism.  To echo the emphasis in China on economic 
development, the Deputy Secretary noted what President Hu had 
told President Bush was his top priority -- creating 25 
million jobs a year. 
 
¶7.   (C) Asked about Tibet, the Deputy Secretary said the 
Chinese and the Tibetans need to have a better dialogue.  The 
situation is very difficult, and the two sides needed to 
agree on a definition of "autonomy."  Komeito Party Lower 
House member Isamu Ueda noted that France had taken a 
surprisingly more hard line position against China.  the 
Deputy Secretary said France's position did not look 
especially well thought out.  He underscored that President 
Bush was resisting pressure to boycott the Olympic opening 
ceremony over the Tibet crisis, although there were 
significant interest groups in the United States which 
favored a shift toward a harder line.  The Deputy Secretary 
added that, given the warm welcome President Hu received in 
Japan, it was clear that Japan must not favor a boycott 
either. 
 
Iraq and Afghanistan 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.   (C) The Deputy Secretary asked the Diet members about 
Japan's attitude toward participating in international forces 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Echoing other Diet members, LDP 
Upper House member Masahisa Sato said the Japanese public was 
generally not supportive of sending self defense force 
personnel to danger zones abroad.  Sato -- who was recruited 
into politics a year ago after a distinguished career in the 
Japanese Self Defense Force that included a stint in Iraq -- 
said that the use of weapons for Japanese forces was "very 
difficult."  Shinkun Haku added that the public simply cannot 
understand why Japan would send troops overseas. 
 
¶9.   (C) Another factor limiting any enthusiasm for sending 
forces abroad, according to Haku, was the lack of information 
the Ministry of Defense made available.  He noted Diet 
members often had to track down information on U.S.-based 
websites.  The broader question of information sharing with 
Japan was a difficult issue for the United States, the Deputy 
Secretary noted.  We have had cases of sharing highly 
sensitive information with Japanese officials only to have it 
leaked to the press within hours.  Yamanaka acknowledged the 
problem, which was in part due to the lack of any means of 
punishing violators.  The Deputy Secretary noted the 
difficulty of punishing politicians who leak information, but 
added that the United States has long encouraged Japan to 
pass an official secrets act. 
 
¶10.  (U) May 9, 2008, 1930-2130 hours, at the Charge 
d'Affaires residence.  The following participants were 
present in the meeting: 
 
U.S. Participants: 
The Deputy Secretary 
Embassy Tokyo Charge d'Affaires Joe Donovan 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney 
Special Assistant Kaye Lee 
 
TOKYO 00001272  003 OF 003 
 
 
Special Assistant Ted Wittenstein 
Nicholas Hill (Notetaker) 
 
Japanese Participants: 
LDP Representative Yasutoshi Nishimura 
LDP Representative Akiko Yamanaka 
LDP Councillor Masahisa Sato 
Komeito Representative Isamu Ueda 
DPJ Representative Masahura Nakagawa 
DPJ Councillor Shinkun Haku 
DPJ Councillor Naoki Kazama 
 
¶11.  (U) The Deputy Secretary has cleared this cable. 
 
DONOVAN