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PP RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #0279/01 0360853
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 050853Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0597
INFO RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION PRIORITY
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY 2295
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA PRIORITY 0152
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 4641
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY 6082
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 2852
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/TREASURY DEPT WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000279 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP AMBASSADOR HASLACH 
DEPT ALSO FOR EAP/EP AND EAP/J 
PASS USTR FOR CUTLER, AUGEROT AND MEYERS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD PREL SENV ENRG APECO JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN THINKING AHEAD TO APEC 2010 
 
REF: A. 08 TOKYO 1708 
     ¶B. 08 TOKYO 1724 
 
TOKYO 00000279  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - Not for Internet distribution 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Japanese officials responsible for APEC 
affairs have begun internal discussions of  GOJ priorities 
for Japan's 2010 APEC chairmanship focusing on a "New APEC 
Vision" that provides strategic direction for the 
organization to 2020 and beyond.  The GOJ is considering a 
"Green APEC" concept that would link sustainable development, 
climate change, and alternative energy, as well as continuing 
APEC work on structural reform and regional integration. 
Japanese officials seek close and sustained coordination with 
U.S. counterparts in the lead up to 2010 and continuing 
through 2011.  A Japanese academic who has worked on APEC 
issues since the early 1990's tells Embassy the level of 
cooperation between METI and MOFA on APEC issues is the best 
he has seen in a decade.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Interagency consultations on likely priorities for 
Japan's 2010 APEC chairmanship have begun and Japan's 
co-Senior Officials plan to brief their USG counterparts on 
the status of these discussions when they meet in Singapore 
for the Feb 15-16 SOM I. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Leading Japan's proposed 2010 agenda is formal 
recognition of the achievement of the 1994 Bogor Goal of 
"free and open trade and investment between APEC developed 
economies by 2010."  As to how exactly to express this 
achievement, Japan is comfortable with the consensus emerging 
from informal discussion among relevant economies in recent 
months, according to METI APEC Director Tetsuro Fukunaga. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Meanwhile, the GOJ is beginning to focus on the 
components of a longer-term vision to guide APEC activities 
up to 2020 and beyond.  Although still sketchy, GOJ thinking 
is coalescing around four policy pillars: 1) Continued work 
toward regional economic integration; 2) Promoting a "Green 
APEC" that demonstrates the compatibility of protecting the 
environment and promoting economic growth; 3) Building a 
Caring Society, building on and expanding APEC's current 
structural reform agenda; and 4) Enhancing Human Security and 
Building a Secure APEC. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) METI's Fukunaga and his MOFA counterpart, Tetsuya 
Sasayama, both stress any new APEC vision must be attractive 
to a broad cross section of APEC citizens and political 
leaders, not just the bureaucrats already involved in APEC 
activities.  Japan's APEC officials want to work closely with 
USG counterparts throughout 2009 to flesh out these ideas 
before announcing them publicly at the November Leaders 
meeting in Singapore. 
 
Regional Economic Integration 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Japanese officials stress APEC needs to have a 
clear agreed vision for the direction of regional integration 
by the end of 2009.  A pathfinder approach such as the 
Transpacific Partnership (TPP) may be one option -- even if 
Japan is unable, for domestic reasons, to join at the moment. 
 Sasayama warned, however, that it is still an open question 
whether the TPP is capable of becoming a building block in 
the larger vision of regional integration.  It might be 
worthwhile to consider a new style of pathfinder which 
focuses not on which countries join, but on which sectors to 
include.  Acknowledging the direction of APEC integration 
efforts depend, in part, on progress in the Doha Development 
Agenda, Sasayama said APEC nevertheless can continue with a 
practical integration agenda that includes work on such 
issues as harmonization of rules of origin or the patent 
roadmap. 
 
Green APEC 
---------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Japan also wants to use its chairmanship to expand 
APEC work on environmental and related global issues in a 
regional context.  Dubbed "Green APEC", the idea is to 
 
TOKYO 00000279  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
promote ideas such as liberalization of trade in 
environmental goods and services, adoption of higher domestic 
environmental standards and greater use of alternative 
energies.  Japanese officials believe Japan is particularly 
well placed to lead such an effort because it is a leader in 
development of green technologies.  While discussions on 
binding carbon emissions targets would remain in the UNFCCC, 
Sasayama said, APEC can expand its traditional trade and 
investment agenda by adding a "green tint."  Such steps could 
include a broad array of projects include technology 
transfer, promotion of sustainable trade, and encouragement 
of economies to adopt individual voluntary emission reduction 
goals.  A Green APEC vision requires close involvement of 
business to ensure it incorporates realistic economic 
incentives, Sasayama noted.  Programs that focus only on 
governmental subsidies or other types of non-market support 
will not work, he added. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Sasayama also notes a "Green APEC" agenda could 
stimulate APEC members to think about a post-2010 framework 
for tracking and enforcing voluntary commitments since a 
number of economies will no longer have Individual Action 
Plans once they complete their Bogor goals. 
 
Building a Caring Society 
------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In addition, Japan wants to build and expand on 
APEC's current structural reform agenda and respond to an 
observed shift in members' attention from micro- to 
macroeconomic concerns.  "Behind the border" issues such as 
investment, services, competition and trade facilitation, 
remain important, but Japanese officials sense growing 
interest in addressing the problems of global financial 
imbalances, trade finance, and how to stimulate domestic 
consumption and investment to reduce dependence on exports. 
The GOJ also sees a need for projects that promote fair and 
balanced economic growth and address the demographic 
challenges facing an increasing number of APEC economies such 
as aging populations and weakening social safety nets. 
 
Human Security 
-------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Preliminary discussions are leading Japan to 
propose to continue existing work on transnational security 
issues such cooperation in handling possible global pandemics 
and strengthening domestic disaster responses while assuring 
that members support these activities with appropriate 
capacity building programs. 
 
Improved Interagency Coordination 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Separately, Waseda University professor and Senior 
MOFA Advisor Shujiro Urata told Econoff he supports GOJ 
efforts to give environmental and global issues a higher 
priority in APEC.  He worries, however, that Japan's 
leadership in this area might be weakened by domestic 
business opposition to carbon emissions trading schemes. 
Nonetheless, he insists, "Japan has a good story to tell on 
environmental issues and has demonstrated that long-term 
environmental improvement is consistent with economic 
growth."  Urata commended the excellent working relationship 
between the often competitive MOFA and METI bureaucracies, at 
least on APEC issues.  Coordination between the two senior 
officials and their staffs, he said, is the best he has seen 
in more than ten years. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The GOJ has begun the process of choosing a venue 
for the 2010 Leaders meeting.  Officials will visit the four 
candidate cities -- Kyoto, Sapporo, Yokohama, and Hiroshima 
-- in mid-February.  Kyoto appears to have a slight edge, 
according to METI officials, due to a greater availability of 
hotel rooms and conference facilities.  However, Kyoto 
officials would prefer a late-October summit (which could 
conflict with the Shanghai World Fair) to avoid disrupting 
the city's peak tourist season in mid to late November.  A 
final recommendation on a host city is due in the Prime 
Minister's office by March 31. 
 
TOKYO 00000279  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
ZUMWALT