FROM PRIVATE SECRETARY
PS/NO 10
CONFIDENTIAL
BILATERAL WITH PRIME MINISTER KAIFU AT HOUSTON
The Prime Minister will be holding a bilateral
meeting with Mr Kaifu at Houston on 8 or 9 July. This
will be their third meeting since the Prime Minister's
visit to Japan in September 1989: their last meeting, on
12 January, during Mr Kaifu's tour of Europe, was very
successful. Despite widespread speculation that
Mr Kaifu's political base is insufficient to guarantee
him a long tenure of office, his standing in the opinion
polls remains high. None of his rivals dare mount a
challenge at present: the continued period of
uninterrupted economic growth (43 months, the second
longest since the war), 5% GNP growth in 1989/90, and the
successful conclusion of the Structural Impediments
Initiative (SII) talks with the US are all likely to
enhance his popularity further.
The Japanese have asked to exchange views on
on two of
their major concerns at the Summit, aid to the Soviet
Union and China. It is also an opportunity to reinforce
our concerns with them on the Uruguay Round and South Africa. Mr Kaifu is also likely to enquire about EC
Our main objectives are to:-
integration.
TYQABS
CONFIDENTIAL