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CONFIDENTIAL
154157 MDHIAN 0787
CONFIDENTIAL
FM TOKYO
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1191
OF 290001Z DECEMBER 89
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, HONG KONG, WASHINGTON
JAPAN/CHINA/HONG KONG
SUMMARY
1.
CHINA/HONG KONG WILL BE AN IMPORTANT AGENDA ITEM FOR THE JAPANESE IN KAIFU'S TALKS WITH THE PRIME MINISTER.
HE WILL SEEK UNDERSTANDING, IF NOT ENDORSEMENT, FOR A MORE FORWARD JAPANESE POLICY ON CHINA. HE WILL ALSO BE GENERALLY HELPFUL ON HONG KONG CONFIDENCE (INCLUDING AIR SEPARATION) BUT HAS NO ROOM FOR MANOEUVRE ON PASSPORTS.
DETAIL
2.
I CALLED YESTERDAY ON TANINO, DIRECTOR GENERAL ASIA BUREAU, MFA AT HIS REQUEST FOR A PREVIEW OF THE TALKS BETWEEN THE PRIME MINISTER AND MR KAIFU ON CHINA AND HONG KONG. TANINO THOUGHT THIS AGENDA ITEM WOULD BE SECOND TO EAST EUROPE IN IMPORTANCE. KURIYAMA (PUS EQUIVALENT) WOULD BE BRIEFING KAIFU IN THIS SENSE.
CHINA
3.
TANINO BELIEVED JAPAN SHOULD START CAUTIOUS MOVES TOWARDS RESTORATION OF LINKS WITH CHINA BUT IN CONSULTATION WITH OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES AND ON THE BASIS THAT SOMETHING SHOULD BE FORTHCOMING IN RETURN. CONSULTATION WITH THE US HAD ALREADY STARTED: KAIFU'S VISIT TO EUROPE WOULD BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO EXCHANGE VIEWS WITH EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION TANINO SAID THAT THERE WERE AT PRESENT NO PLANS TO FOREWARN OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES OF THIS INTENT. JAPAN HAD TWO SPECIFIC IDEAS IN MIND:
A) HIGH LEVEL CONTACT. A PRE-TIANANMEN INVITATION TO ZOU JIA HUA (THE THEN MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS, VERY RECENTLY PROMOTED CHAIRMAN OF STATE ECONOMIC PLANNING COUNCIL) WOULD PROBABLY BE TAKEN UP AT THE END OF JANUARY.
B)
THIRD YEN LOAN. JAPANESE AND CHINESE OFFICIALS SHOULD MEET TO DISCUSS, WITHOUT COMMITMENT,
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