VZCZCXRO6865
OO RUEHFK RUEHGH RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #3103/01 3142253
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 092253Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8639
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 6275
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY 0846
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA PRIORITY 8894
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 3207
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY 4631
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 1418
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI PRIORITY 0491
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG PRIORITY 0673
RUEABND/DEA DISTRICT OFFICE HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA FIELD DIVISION ATLANTA GA PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA FIELD DIVISION CHICAGO PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA FIELD DIVISION LOS ANGELES PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA FIELD DIVISION MIAMI PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA FIELD DIVISION NEW YORK PRIORITY
RUNGCAF/DEA GUAM ISLAND GU PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
RUESFG/FBIS BANGKOK TH PRIORITY
RUESDJ/FBIS OKINAWA JA PRIORITY
RUESDP/FBIS SEOUL KOR PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 003103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
JOHN LYLE, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SNAR JP
SUBJECT: INCSR: JAPAN 2008 
 
JAPAN: I. Summary 
 
¶1. (SBU) Japan's efforts to fight drug trafficking comply 
with international standards; Japan is a party to the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention. Japan cooperates with other countries in 
intelligence sharing and law enforcement. Methamphetamine 
abuse remains the biggest challenge to Japanese antinarcotics 
efforts, marijuana use is widespread and MDMA (Ecstasy) 
trafficking continues to increase significantly. Cocaine use 
is much less prevalent but still significant. According to 
Japanese authorities, all illegal drugs consumed in Japan are 
imported from overseas, usually by Japanese or foreign 
organized crime syndicates. In spite of legal and 
bureaucratic obstacles, Japanese law enforcement officials 
try to be  proactive in addressing Japan,s illegal drug 
distribution problem. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
¶2. (SBU) Japan is one of the largest markets for 
methamphetamine in Asia. A significant source of income for 
Japanese organized crime syndicates, over 80 percent of all 
drug arrests in Japan involve methamphetamine. MDMA is also a 
significant problem in Japan and MDMA abuse is increasing. 
Marijuana is the second most commonly used drug in Japan and 
is readily available.  There is little evidence of domestic 
commercial cultivation, though there are some indications of 
small scale production.   Japan is not a significant producer 
of narcotics. According to According to DEA and the National 
Police Agency, there is no conclusive evidence that 
methamphetamine or any other synthetic drug is manufactured 
domestically.  There is however some anecdotal evidence that 
small quantities of MDMA and methamphetamine may be being 
produced in Japan. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2008 
 
Policy Initiatives. 
¶3. (SBU) The Headquarters for the Promotion of Measures to 
Prevent Drug Abuse, which is part of the Prime Minister's 
Office (Kantei), announced the Five-Year Drug Abuse 
Prevention Strategy in July 2003. This strategy includes 
measures to increase cooperation and information sharing 
among Japanese agencies and between Japanese and foreign law 
enforcement officials, promotes greater utilization of 
advanced investigative techniques against organized crime 
syndicates, and mandates programs to raise awareness about 
the dangers of drug abuse.  In practice, information sharing 
with foreign law enforcement officials has been almost 
entirely one way, with much information provided to Japanese 
authorities and little shared in return.  The Ministry of 
Health, Labor and Welfare added 30 more drugs to its list of 
controlled substances in 2006.  In 2008 it added three more 
drugs to its list of narcotic substances. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts. 
¶4. (SBU) Japanese police are effective at gathering 
intelligence.  Investigations however are largely reactive in 
nature, and normally only disrupt drug operations at the 
lowest levels, that of couriers and street dealers. 
Prosecutors do not have the plea-bargaining tools to motivate 
the assistance of co-defendants and co-conspirators in 
furthering investigation. Japan also has laws restricting the 
proactive use of informants, undercover operations, and 
controlled deliveries using a human courier. Proactive 
policing rarely occurs, and only when very strict legal, and 
bureaucratic hurdles can be overcome. Although wiretapping 
remains infrequent, police are increasingly making use of 
legislation that took effect in 2003 authorizing the use of 
telephone intercepts. In addition, officials maintained 
 
TOKYO 00003103  002 OF 003 
 
 
detailed records of Japan-based drug trafficking, organized 
crime, and international drug trafficking organizations. 
Japanese authorities do attempt to engage in international 
drug trafficking investigations. Legal constraints however 
restrict them from passing useful and timely information of 
real assistance in international drug-trafficking 
investigations.  These same legal restrictions make it very 
difficult for police authorities to pro-actively investigate 
members of international drug cartels who operate in Japan. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The reduction in methamphetamine supply that began 
mid-2006 appears to have reversed.  Law enforcement officials 
believe that Chinese traffickers using supplies from China 
and Canada have stepped in to fill the gap presumably created 
by the 2006 closure of several methamphetamine mega-labs in 
Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as well as 
tightened security measures in the Sea of Japan. 
Methamphetamine prices have returned to their May 2006 
levels, indicating a significant rebound in supply.  Arrests 
in 2008 show that Iranians remain active as dealers at the 
street-level out of proportion to their share of the 
non-native population. 
 
¶6. (SBU) After a year of unremarkable interdiction results in 
2006, increased efforts by customs officials produced 
dramatic results in 2007, and these continued to improve in 
2008, particularly at Narita and Kansai International 
Airports.  However, because of the nature of Japanese laws, 
these seizures result in little more than the arrest of the 
courier, and do nothing but inconvenience the larger 
drug-trafficking organization.  In the January through June 
2008  Police and Customs Officials seized 58,966 MDMA 
tablets, 42.1 kg of methamphetamine, and 94.7 kg of marijuana 
(a 2.5 times increase over the same period of the previous 
year).  There were no major methamphetamine seizures in the 
first quarter of this year, although there was an 8.8 percent 
increase in methamphetamine arrests between January and June 
¶2008.  Cannabis resin seizures for January - June were 8.8 kg 
approximately 20 percent lower than the same period of the 
previous year. During the January through June period a total 
of .9 kg of cocaine, and 6.2 kg of opium were seized.  There 
were no heroin seizures in this period. 
 
Corruption. 
¶7. (SBU) There were no reported cases of Japanese officials 
being involved in drug-related corruption in Japan in 2008. 
The government does not encourage or facilitate the illicit 
production or distribution of narcotics, psychotropic drugs, 
controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from 
illegal drug transactions. 
 
Agreements and Treaties. 
¶8. (SBU) Japan,s parliament failed to agree on an 
anti-conspiracy bill for the fifth consecutive year. As a 
result, Japan still cannot ratify the UN Convention on 
Transnational Organized Crime. Japan is a party to the 1988 
UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic 
Drugs, the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention, and 
the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. An 
extradition treaty is in force between the U.S. and Japan, 
and a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) went into effect 
in August 2006, Japan's first MLAT with any country. The MLAT 
allows Japan's Ministry of Justice to share information and 
cooperate directly with the Department of Justice in 
connection with investigations, prosecutions and other 
proceedings in criminal matters.  The MLAT is being used with 
some regularity between Japanese and U.S. law enforcement. 
Despite verbal commitments, Japan has still not joined the 
International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC). 
 
 
TOKYO 00003103  003 OF 003 
 
 
Cultivation/Production. 
¶9. (SBU) Japan is not a significant cultivator or producer of 
controlled substances. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and 
Welfare's research cultivation program produces a negligible 
amount of narcotic substances purely for research purposes. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit. 
¶10. (SBU) Authorities believe that methamphetamine smuggled 
into Japan primarily originates in the People's Republic of 
China (PRC).  This is substantiated by a five-fold increase 
in methamphetamine prices around the time of the Beijing 
Olympics.  Other nations in Asia certainly contribute to the 
flow of methamphetamine into Japan, and should not be 
discounted.  Most of the precursor chemicals for production 
appear to originate in China, and most transshipment takes 
place through China.  Malaysia, Indonesia, and The 
Philippines have documented production while evidence for 
Taiwan is largely anecdotal.   The case for Burma and the 
DPRK is less clear.  Drugs including methamphetamine often 
come from these same source countries.  Airport customs 
officials occasionally make seizures of cocaine transiting 
from the United States.  Authorities confirm that 
methamphetamine, MDMA, and marijuana are being imported in 
large quantities from Canada. Most of the MDMA in Japan 
originates in either the Europe or Canada. 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. 
¶11. (SBU) Most drug treatment programs are small and are run 
by private organizations, but the government also supports 
the rehabilitation of addicts at prefectural (regional) 
centers. There are a number of government-funded drug 
awareness campaigns designed to inform the public about the 
dangers of stimulant use, especially among junior and senior 
high school students. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and 
Welfare, along with prefectural governments and private 
organizations, continues to administer national publicity 
campaigns and to promote drug education programs at the 
community level. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
Policy Initiatives. 
¶12. (SBU) U.S. goals and objectives include strengthening law 
enforcement cooperation related to controlled deliveries and 
drug-related money-laundering investigations; supporting 
increased use of existing anticrime legislation and advanced 
investigative tools against drug traffickers; and promoting 
substantive involvement from government agencies responsible 
for financial transaction oversight, and control of 
money-laundering operations. 
 
The Road Ahead. 
¶13. (SBU) DEA Tokyo will continue to work closely with its 
Japanese counterparts to offer support in conducting 
investigations on international drug trafficking, 
money-laundering, and other crimes. However, law enforcement 
efforts alone, without political backing to change 
restrictive Japanese laws, will not make Japan an equal 
partner in international counter-narcotics efforts. 
SCHIEFFER