TNAG-0239-FCO40-275-Entitlement-of-Hong-Kong-to-generalised-tariffs-preferences--1970 — Page 79

CONFIDENTIAL

support comes from the right wing generally, from Kishi, Kaya and especially from Takeo Fukuda (now Minister of

Finance).

4.

In December 1966 he was re-elected President of the

LDP for a further two-year term, which was not marred by

any serious challenges, and during which the LDP succeeded

in staving off the encroachments of the minor opposition

parties in two national elections. Sato's tours to South-

East Asia, including Taiwan and Viet-Nam, and to the US in

the autumn of 1967 were widely seen as showing closer

identification with American policy: but Sato was still

strong enough to win re-election to the Party Presidency

in November 1968.

5. The principal achievements of his term of office so

far have been the normalisation of relations with the

Republic of Korea, an improvement of relations with Russia,

the long-overdue ratification of ILO Convention No. 87, and

above all his success in 1969 in securing American agreement

to the return of Okinawa and the maintenance of the Security

Treaty with the US. His party enhanced its majority in a

general election in December 1969. His re-election on

29 October 1970 as President of the LDF for a further two

years is a foregone conclusion. He has powerful support in

the financial world and is allied by marriage to several

influential families. He lacks the intellectual distinction

of Ikeda and Kishi and is more of an instinctive politician.

His critics describe him as an opportunist.

2

CONFIDENTIAL