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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 002922 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/J, S/CT RHONDA SHORE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM PREL PGOV JA
SUBJECT: JAPAN: 2009 COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 109980 
 
TOKYO 00002922  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Per reftel, 2009 Country Report on Terrorism for Japan 
provided in paragraph 2.  Embassy point of contact is 
Political Officer Jamie Roane (roanejo@state.gov, 
roanejo@state.sgov.gov). 
 
¶2. (U) Begin report text. 
 
Japan 
 
Japan bolstered border security and enhanced national 
counterterrorism measures in coordination with the United 
States.  Japanese immigration officials strengthened their 
capability to identify suspicious travelers upon entry into 
Narita International Airport through fingerprinting and 
facial recognition technology.  Using the Biometric 
Immigration Control System, officials denied entry to 
travelers during 2009 for offenses such as prior deportation 
and fake passports.  In July, the Foreign Ministry's 
International Counterterrorism Cooperation Division exchanged 
diplomatic notes with U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to extend the Immigration Advisory Program (IAP) at 
Narita International Airport for two additional years and to 
remove "pilot" from the agreement.  Japan's Immigration 
Bureau, National Police Agency (NPA), and the Ministry of 
Land, Infrastructure, Tourism, and Travel coordinated with 
the CBP on preventing terrorists and other high-risk 
travelers from boarding commercial aircraft bound for the 
United States.  Japanese officials see the program as a 
valuable tool to secure travel between Japan and the United 
States and as an effective way to share information and 
prevent suspected terrorists and improperly documented air 
passengers from boarding U.S.-bound flights.  In June, Japan 
and the United States signed a Mutual Recognition Arrangement 
in Brussels, aligning security standards in both countries' 
trade partnership programs. 
 
Japanese authorities collaborated with U.S. officials on 
increasing U.S. access to database records and fingerprints 
of known or suspected terrorists.  As a Visa Waiver Program 
country, Japan held discussions with U.S. counterparts to 
widen database and biometric record exchanges on known and 
suspected terrorists under Homeland Security Presidential 
Directive-6.  The Japanese government also educated travelers 
on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization through 
media spots and briefings to major domestic travel agencies. 
 
Japan took steps to strengthen port and shipping security. 
Under the CBP Container Security Initiative, Japanese 
authorities worked with CBP officers at four Japanese ports 
to review ship manifests and to screen suspicious containers 
bound for the United States.  In March, Japan installed 
necessary equipment, such as radiation portal monitors, and 
began screening containers under the pilot Megaports 
Initiative Program.  Japan also continued collaboration with 
the United States on science and technology for homeland 
security through the U.S.-Japan Framework Initiative for a 
Safe and Secure Society. 
 
The NPA and the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) 
continued to monitor the activities of Aum Shinrikyo, renamed 
Aleph, and splinter group Hikari no Wa, or "Circle of Light." 
 In January, PSIA successfully filed a request to maintain 
surveillance of Aleph and Hikari no Wa for an additional 
three years.  PSIA has monitored Aum since 2000 under the 
Organization Control Law, a measure that allows the Agency to 
conduct on-site facility inspection and to obtain quarterly 
operational reports from the cult.  Both sects continued to 
perpetuate the "dogma" and ideology of Aum founder and 1995 
sarin gas attack mastermind Chizuo Matsumoto, aka Shoko 
Asahara.  PSIA inspections revealed that many original Aum 
members continued to hold leadership position in the groups 
and that facilities maintained portrait photos and video 
 
TOKYO 00002922  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
teachings of Asahara. 
 
Japan reached beyond its borders to fight terrorism as well. 
Japan is the second largest contributor to Iraq 
reconstruction with $1.5 billion in grants, $3.5 billion in 
concessionary loans, and $6.9 billion in debt relief.  Japan 
Air Self Defense Force transport aircraft operated out of 
Kuwait in support of Iraqi Freedom but ended its mission in 
December 2008.  On Afghanistan, Japan remained an active 
partner in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and a key 
international contributor to Afghan stabilization and 
reconstruction.  Japan has pledged more than $2 billion in 
reconstruction aid since 2002 and continued construction on 
the 114 kilometer stretch of the southern ring road between 
Kandahar and Herat.  In November, Japan announced a new 
5-year, $5 billion assistance package that included, among 
other items, continued funding of Afghan National Police 
salaries, job training initiatives, and employment programs 
for former lower-echelon insurgents.  The Japan Maritime Self 
Defense Force continued to conduct refueling operations in 
support of OEF in the Indian Ocean, but the new Japanese 
administration, elected in August, has pledged to end the 
mission when authorization expires in January 2010.  In 
April, Tokyo pledged $1 billion for assistance to Pakistan 
over the next two years. 
 
In December, Japan hosted the fifth annual 
U.S.-Japan-Australia Trilateral Strategic Dialogue (TSD) 
Counterterrorism Consultations, as part of the broader TSD, 
which aimed to coordinate regional activities.  Japanese 
officials chaired a specialist working group on border 
security and counterradicalization and took part in 
discussions on law enforcement capacity building and on ways 
to prevent chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear 
(CBRN) attacks.  The TSD Consultations followed a TSD 
Counterradicalization Workshop Japan hosted in July. 
 
Japan continued to assist counterterrorism capacity building 
in neighboring countries through dialogue, seminars, 
workshops, and training.  In July, Japanese officials took 
part in the third Japan-South Korea Counterterrorism 
Consultations.  Both sides explained their respective efforts 
on capacity building assistance and explored the possibility 
of joint CT cooperation.  In August, Japan co-chaired the 
Fourth Japan-ASEAN Counterterrorism Dialogue in Vietnam.  In 
December, Japanese officials took part in the first 
Japan-Singapore Counterterrorism Dialogue.  The Japanese 
Counterterrorism Ambassador reaffirmed the necessity of 
enhancing capacity building assistance to developing 
countries, strengthening counterradicalization efforts, and 
promoting secure trade in the APEC region.  In March, Japan 
hosted the Seminar on Promotion of Accession to International 
Counterterrorism Conventions and Protocols for the sixth 
consecutive year.  Tokyo promoted information sharing and 
provided implementation guidance to participants including 
Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and several members of the 
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), among others. 
 
 
Japan supported regional projects, such as counterterrorism 
research in Malaysia and terrorist rehabilitation programs in 
Indonesia, through the Japan-ASEAN Integrated Fund.  Over the 
past few years, Japan has invited roughly 60 teachers from 17 
Indonesian provinces and 43 madrassahs for the purpose of 
fostering "cultural understanding" and 
opening inter-faith dialogue.  Japan has expanded the pool of 
visitors to include Yemen and the Philippines and is 
considering Pakistan as well.  Japanese officials also point 
to the Japan Foundation's Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange 
for Students and Youths program, an initiative by which Japan 
invites emerging artists and leaders from the Asia-Pacific 
region to stay in different residency programs and 
institutions across Japan. 
 
 
TOKYO 00002922  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Japan assisted third-country law enforcement personnel by 
dispatching experts and accepting trainees.  The Japanese 
Coast Guard (JCG), for example, provided capacity building 
services and training seminars to authorities from states 
that border the Straits of Malacca, a locale for piracy. 
Since 2002, Japan has provided training to Coast Guard 
counterparts from the Philippines and has offered technical 
assistance to support local police in Indonesia by, in part, 
introducing the Japanese police box, or koban, system. 
Beyond Southeast Asia, JCG members assisted local officials 
in Oman and Yemen in addressing piracy concerns in waters off 
the Horn of Africa. 
 
Japan contributed to counterterrorism capacity building 
through membership in multilateral fora.  In July, Japan 
joined G-8 counterparts in calls to bolster the role of the 
United Nations, improve information sharing, strengthen the 
security of land, sea, and air transportation, and support 
the G-8 Counterterrorism Action Group.  Teaming up with 
international partners, Japan continued efforts to prevent, 
detect, and respond to the threat of nuclear terrorism 
through the U.S. Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear 
Terrorism.  Japan also worked with the United States and 
other partners through the Global Health Security Initiative 
to address CBRN terrorism and other health threats. 
 
Japan undertook measures to combat terrorist financing. 
Japan cooperated on freezing assets of individuals and 
entities listed under UN Security Council resolutions to help 
stem the flow of terrorist financing to Al-Qa'ida and the 
Taliban.  Japan expanded the scope of business practices and 
professions under the Law for Prevention of Transfer of 
Criminal Proceeds, which requires specified business 
operators, including financial institutions, to conduct 
customer identification and submit suspicious transaction 
reports.  Under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, 
Japanese financial institutions must confirm the identity of 
customers sending 100,000 yen or more overseas.  For domestic 
remittances, financial institutions must identify originators 
of wire transfers over 100,000 yen.  Japan's Banking Law also 
levies administrative sanctions on financial institutions 
that fail to comply with anti-money laundering and 
counterterrorism financing measures.  In addition, the 
Financial Services Agency and the NPA's Financial 
Intelligence Unit inspect financial institutions for 
compliance with counterterrorism financing laws and 
regulations. 
 
In June, the Japanese Diet passed the Payment Services Act, 
which addresses October 2008 Financial Action Task Force 
(FATF) Mutual Evaluation recommendations pertaining to 
customer due diligence and money transfer services.  The 
evaluation had noted several deficiencies, including the low 
number of money laundering prosecutions, the absence of an 
established mechanism for freezing terrorist assets that 
covered domestic funds, and the absence of a requirement for 
financial institutions to establish and maintain procedures, 
policies, and internal controls to prevent illicit finance. 
Japan's Financial Services Agency must still adopt 
implementing rules.  The Diet also amended Customs Act 
secondary legislation, which addressed in part the FATF 
recommendation pertaining to cross-border currency 
declaration and disclosure.  In November, the Deputy Prime 
Minister said the government would begin a full-scale study 
of introducing a unified taxpayer identification system, 
which would help clarify the identity of parties to financial 
transactions. 
 
End Report Text 
ROOS