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British Embassy
No 1 Ichiban-Cho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo
Telex J22755 (A/B PRODROME) Telephone 265-5511
RJT McLaren Esq Political Adviser Hong Kong
Mr. Hoau Mr. Morus
Dew Robin,
58
ov.
ك
Сс
Mr Donald Myelift, HKGD
2) An Thomson
Mr Stark
Arcox
Your reference
123
Remarkable optimism the japanese. I half now.
Whether they are saying what they think we /IFK want to hear.
Our reference
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Data 23 March 1983
M29/
MKKO 40/5
IQND IN $23,5(PY NO. 58
8 APR 1983
DLSK INDEX
TAY
1. In my letter of 25 February about my meeting with Sir Y K Kan, I said that I would write again following the meetings of the CM 214 Japan-Hong Kong Businessmen's Committee on 11 March if anything emerged there in terms of clarifying Japanese business views on the future of Hong Kong.
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2. David Wright attended the Businessmen's Committee, where Len Dunning of the Hong Kong Trade Development Committee took the initiative in asking the Japanese for their views on the future of Hong Kong. This provoked an interesting and positive reaction. The head of the large Tokyu industrial and commercial group Gotoh, said that he did not sense any feeling of pessimism in Japan about the future of Hong Kong. Japanese businessmen did not think that negotiations with the Chinese would have an adverse effect on business: opportunities remained very promising. The Chairman of the Japanese side, Yoshiyama (who is also Chairman of Hitachi), went out of his way to say that any recent decline in trade between Japan and Hong Kong should be seen as attributable to the world recession and not to any doubts about the future of Hong Kong. Hong Kong businessmen should not be worried about their image in Japan. There was every reason to expect trade to develop and in general he thought the outlook promising. These views were echoed by Miyake, Chairman of the Tokai Bank. He said his own bank had increased the size of their office in Hong Kong and in general intended to strengthen their presence there.
They had no worries about the future and believed that the Beijing Government realised the importance of Hong Kong's economic muscle for the future development of China. Beijing needed to find a political settlement: But an essential feature of this would be ensuring the continued prosperity of Hong Kong.
3. I also took the opportunity of Sir Y K Kan's presence in Tokyo to give him a chance to speak to some senior Japanese about the future of Hong Kong. I invited Dr Saburo Okita, the former Foreign Minister and leading Japanese politico/economic commenta- tor, Ambassador Ogawa, former Japanese Ambassador to Peking and also in his time Consul-General in Hong Kong and Mr Shigeo Horie, Adviser to the Bank of Tokyo. We had a long discussion about Hong Kong and the Japanese perception of its future. Although what the
/Japanese
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