CONFIDENTIAL
flexibility was the key to solving the problem. I said we would ask Hong Kong to provide assistance to the mission. Taking up his point that few refugees want to be resettled in Japan I told Seki that most Vietnamese refugees wanted to go to San Francisco and that few wanted to be resettled anywhere else, including the UK (our climate, unemployment and lack of a Vietnamese community told against us). Since the US could not absorb all who want to go there, most Vietnamese re fugees have to accept resettlement somewhere else.
7.
We had an inconclusive exchange about whether Japan was in fact resettling more Vietnamese from Hong Kong than anywhere else except Thailand (Seki gave me a table of abstruse statistics which appear not to support this claim. I gave him a table of UNHCR figures, which support the points I made to him on 8 July). He said that as at 31 May 11,400 Vietnamese refugees had arrived in Japan since 1975; of these 4,600 have been resettled in Japan, and 5,700 in other countries. Japan now had 971 refugees without permanent residence, of which 86 had arrived this year: Japan regarded this as a big problem. He promised to send me a brochure (which I have since received.
a rather unenlightening glossy publication by the "Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the to Asian People") setting out Japan's domestic measures assist refugees resettled there.
Comment
8.
-
The Japanese may have acknowledged implicitly that their attitude to the resettlement of
is refugees unsatisfactory, but it remains to be seen whether this will lead to
significant any
improvement in their the watch closely both
ensure that they are
performance.
preparations
We
shall have for the mission,
to
to
Should the
given no excuse to take only a handful of refugees, and the way that the mission conducts its work. results be anything less than a marked improvement, we
need to
and play Japanese knuckles, and play on conscience, yet again.
may
796.
rap
their
9. Seki's remarks go a little further than the comments Nakahira made to Sir S Giffard reported in your telno
It would be useful if you
could use appropriate opportunities
ask the Japanese about the timing of their proposed mission, so as to underline the importance of refugees
we
to
an
attach to
improvement they resettle from Hong Kong.
in
the number
CANDIDENT TAT
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.