US embassy cable - 05PARIS1588

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001588 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, ETTC, JA, FR, EUN 
SUBJECT: JAPANESE EMBASSY ON CHIRAC VISIT TO JAPAN, EU ARMS 
EMBARGO, AND ITER 
 
REF: A) STATE 39909 B) TOKYO 743 C) WICKMAN/RECINOS 
     3/8 E-MAIL 
 
Classified By: DCM ALEX WOLFF, REASON, 1.4 B AND D 
 
1. (C)  Summary: On March 8, 2005, Japanese DCM confirmed to 
DCM that President Chirac will visit Japan officially March 
26-28.  Chirac, who will be accompanied by a French business 
delegation and Commerce Minister Loos, will attend the 2005 
Aichi Expo and later meet with PM Koizumi and the Emperor in 
Tokyo.  Likely issues on the trip agenda are EU arms embargo 
on China, ITER, UNSC reform and the Middle East.  On the EU 
arms embargo, in response to a Japanese inquiry on whether we 
were still interested in consultations with the EU and Japan, 
we emphasized that there had been no change on U.S. policy 
against the lift; U.S. focus is on conveying our opposition 
to the lift.  The Japanese, on their end, are pushing the 
French hard against lifting the embargo and do not expect 
major action prior to Chirac's March visit.  On ITER, the 
Japanese DCM stated that the "ball is in the EU's court." 
Japan had presented a compromise proposal, but had not had a 
response from the EU.  Separately, Japan is working closely, 
but quietly, with India, Germany and Brazil on UNSC reform. 
End Summary. 
 
President Chirac to Japan 
------------------------- 
 
2. (C) During the course of his conversation with the DCM on 
the EU arms embargo, Japanese DCM Yoichi Otabe confirmed that 
President Chirac will travel to Japan for official meetings 
March 26-28.  Following the official program, he will take 
additional personal time and stay through the end of the 
month.  Among others, Chirac will be accompanied by Mrs. 
Chirac, Commerce Minister Francois Loos, and a delegation of 
French businessmen.  In terms of events, Chirac's first stop 
will be in Osaka for a sumo tournament, followed by a meeting 
with PM Koizumi in Tokyo on Sunday, March 27.  On the 27th, 
the French will attend the Aichi 2005 Expo.  The Emperor will 
host a luncheon on March 28.  Otabe said that, among key 
topics likely to be discussed, were the EU arms embargo, 
ITER, Middle East peace process, and UNSC reform. 
Separately, we have learned that MFA Political Director 
Stanislas de Laboulaye, the new head of the MFA's Policy 
Planning Office Pierre Levy, and DAS-equivalent Director for 
the East Asia Department Marc Abensour will travel to Tokyo 
and Seoul, March 14-18 for consultations. 
 
EU Arms Embargo 
--------------- 
 
3. (C) Otabe noted that NSC and Department officials had 
recently discussed with the Japanese the U.S. position 
against the lifting of the embargo (ref A).  Citing U/S 
Bolton's February 7 meetings with Deputy FonMin Tanaka (ref 
b), Otabe asked whether the U.S. had revised its views and 
dropped the idea of trilateral consultations related to the 
end of the embargo with the EU and Japan.  The DCM explained 
that the U.S. remains firmly opposed to the lifting of the 
embargo and that the focus of our discussions was on making 
sure the Europeans understood our position.  We reassured 
Otabe that strategic discussions among the EU, Japan and the 
U.S. are important and reiterated the latest U.S. policy 
guidance (ref A and C). 
 
4. (C) The DCM and Otabe discussed probable EU planning on a 
date for lifting the embargo.  Otabe said that Japan has been 
lobbying against the lift in EU member states' capitals.  In 
terms of timing, as had been the case during the POTUS visit 
to Brussels, Japan was expecting that the French would not 
push for a lift in advance or around the time of Chirac's 
visit.  DCM urged that Tokyo identify other events that could 
be used to postpone a lift, citing the Japan-EU summit in 
early May.  The DCM encouraged Otabe to continue to push the 
French against a lift during the Japan-EU summit, and, more 
broadly to also focus Japanese lobbying efforts on those EU 
member states opposed to the lift, especially those that 
continue to have human rights concerns -- the basis for the 
imposition of the embargo. 
 
5. (C) Otabe mentioned in passing that the South Koreans are 
now expressing interest in the issue, but did not provide any 
details other than his personal view that the South Koreans 
might not be reliable partners given their relationship with 
China in connection with Seoul's priority focus on North 
Korea. (Note: In a separate discussion with MFA officials, we 
were told that the South Koreans have been strangely quiet on 
the EU arms embargo.  Our MFA colleague also pointed to South 
Korea's ties to China as a reason for the silence.) 
 
Middle East 
----------- 
6. (C) In response to his request, we updated Otabe on U.S. 
positions on Iran-EU3 negotiations, Lebanon/Syria, and the 
Middle East peace process.  Otabe said that while Japan had 
no specific "carrots" to contribute, it remained keenly 
interested in the Iran negotiations. 
 
ITER 
---- 
 
7. (C) We asked Otabe for an update on EU-Japanese 
discussions on ITER.  Otabe immediately replied that there 
had been "no change."  He said the Japanese had presented the 
EU with a compromise proposal, but that they had received no 
answer from the Europeans.  The joint press communique to be 
issued during Chirac's visit will not get into details on 
ITER, other than a reference on the need to stick to the six 
party format.  In response to the DCM's query as to why the 
French seem to believe the South Koreans might be 
reconsidering their support for the Japanese site, Otabe 
ventured that the French may be getting that impression from 
their close contacts with the South Korean Ministry of 
Science.  In fact, he added, the Japanese have spoken to the 
South Korean "Blue House," and it remains firmly with Japan. 
 
UNSC Reform 
----------- 
 
8. (C) Otabe said France has been very supportive of Japanese 
efforts for UNSC reform.  The Japanese are working quietly 
with India, Germany and Brazil.  At this point, they have 
prepared a draft resolution to be presented to the General 
Assembly in June.  He noted that the draft resolution would 
not refer to specific countries as it's designed to maximize 
its chances of obtaining the necessary 2/3 approval.  In 
terms of next steps, Japan and its allies plan to discuss 
specific countries for membership after the summer; followed 
by an effort to amend the UN charter and an eventual 
acceptance by the UNSC. 
 
 
 
 
Leach