TNAG-2016-FCO40-2871-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Japan-1990 — Page 225

CONFIDENTIAL

HX / Jagan five

Paul

2/6

Mr Stone

HKB

02012

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

R7721/2

DESK

INDEX

09 APR 1990

Miss Marsden

HKD

From:

R JT McLaren

Date:

CER

REGIS

RA

Action

Cc:

20 February 1990

Mr Warren, FED

-

HONG KONG : JAPANESE INTEREST

1.

There is one point that arose at a lunch with Mr Satoh (new Director General of the Information Analysis, Research and Planning Bureau in the Japanese Foreign Ministry) some ten days ago which I should have reported earlier.

Mr Satoh

was Consul General in Hong Kong before taking up his present post and we spent some-time discussing developments there and what Japan could do to help. Mr Satoh said that on his recommendation the Japanese Government had been:

2.

encouraging Japanese businessmen to continue to invest in Hong Kong and, where appropriate, to establish regional headquarters there; and

taking suitable opportunities to explain to the Chinese the importance of Japan's economic stake in Hong Kong and the consequent Japanese interest in the territory's continued stability and prosperity.

Mr Satoh said that since returning to Tokyo he had thought of another way in which the Japanese might help. This was by persuading Japanese companies to support major infrastructure projects in the regions of South China adjacent to Hong Kong. Such projects, particularly in the field of communications (roads, bridges, etc), could make Hong Kong even more important to the economy of South China I said that I could as a whole than it had already become. certainly see no objection to this; it could be quite useful.

3. Less positively, Mr Satoh said that it was no use our pressing the Japanese to give passports to Hong Kong people

This was not an area where to supplement what we were doing.

I said that we the Japanese Government had any flexibility. realised that it would be very difficult for the Japanese to help over right of abode, but we could hardly have avoided putting the question given the extent of Japanese interests in Hong Kong and the number of Hong Kong people who were employed by Japanese firms.

MC9AAP

CONFIDENTIAL

R J T McLaren

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