US embassy cable - 05WELLINGTON271

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000271 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/ANP AND EAP/J 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2015 
TAGS: PREL, JA, NZ, PMIL 
SUBJECT: HIGHLIGHTING JAPAN-U.S. ALLIANCE, JAPANESE SCHOLAR 
IMPLIES CONTRAST WITH NZ-U.S.-RELATIONSHIP 
 
 
Classified by: Charge d'affaires, a.i., David R. Burnett. 
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) At a seminar in Wellington, a respected Japanese 
scholar extolled the strength and benefits of the 
Japanese-U.S. alliance -- a strength that exists despite 
Japan's steadfast anti-nuclear and anti-war policies. 
Implicit in her speech was a contrast with New Zealand, whose 
vociferously stated anti-nuclear policy has constrained its 
relationship with the United States for nearly two decades. 
The Japanese Embassy sponsored the seminar at post's 
suggestion.  It is an example of the indirect means the U.S. 
mission in New Zealand has had to employ to get our message 
across here. 
 
2. (U) The scholar spent much of her speech at the seminar 
March 22 describing the Japanese-U.S. alliance, although the 
seminar was billed as covering Japanese-New Zealand 
relations.  The scholar -- Akiko Fukushima, director of 
policy studies at the National Institute for Research 
Advancement in Tokyo -- said the alliance was based not just 
on the two countries' defense needs, but also on "common 
good."  She cited as an example the joint statement released 
February 19 after the "two-plus-two" Japan-U.S. talks in 
Washington, which called for the peaceful resolution of 
issues concerning the Taiwan Straits. 
 
3. (C) Hidehiko Hamada, the Japanese Embassy's DCM, told 
post's DCM that he had counseled Fukushima on how she should 
describe the Japanese-U.S. relationship for a New Zealand 
audience.  About 60 people attended the seminar. 
 
4. (U) Fukushima told the audience that she first visited New 
Zealand in 1997 to study its anti-nuclear policy.  She 
concluded that, because of Japan's different security 
environment, it could not emulate New Zealand.  However, she 
said, Japan could not become a nuclear power because it would 
spark an arms race in the region and be strongly opposed by 
the Japanese public, which harbors lasting memories of the 
World War II bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Fukushima 
noted the strong links between Japan and the United States, 
especially their shared concern about China.  Except for a 
disagreement over Japan's restrictions on U.S. beef because 
of BSE, she said the alliance was in the "best shape" it has 
been in years.  At the same time, she said, Japan needed to 
formulate its own vision for the alliance's future. 
 
5. (U) Fukushima said the move to revise the Japanese 
Constitution's Article 9 -- the so-called no-war clause -- 
should not be seen as imposed from outside but as a shift 
from passive pacifism to proactive pacifism, or "keeping 
peace by doing something."  Fukushima's institute is an 
independent think tank funded by both the public and private 
sectors. 
 
6. (C) Comment: We have encouraged Japanese DCM Hamada to 
sponsor this type of program as a way to highlight to New 
Zealanders the fact that Japan recognizes the benefits of the 
U.S. military and non-military roles in the Pacific and has 
worked to facilitate our presence by making Japan's defense 
policies more flexible.  Post hopes that such communications 
by our allies will remind the New Zealand government and 
public that their country's anti-nuclear policy negatively 
affects U.S. interests in Asia and is detrimental to the New 
Zealand-U.S. relationship. 
Burnett