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RECEIVE THE EARLIER 50 MILLION DOLLARS. (MATSUURA SAID THAT HE HAD HAD SOME DIFFICULTY WITH THE US OVER THAT, BUT NOT MUCH). I SUGGESTED THAT THE FAIREST SYSTEM WOULD BE FOR US TO RECEIVE A SHARE CORRESPONDING TO THE RATIO BETWEEN THE UK AND US FORCES, IE 8 PER CENT OF THE US SHARE. MATSUURA SAID THAT HE UNDERSTOOD THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THANKING THE UK FOR ITS CONTRIBUTION BY FURTHER FINANCIAL HELP BUT WOULD NOT BE HAPPY WITH THE PROPORTION I HAD SUGGESTED. AS DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR NORTH AMERICA, HE HAD ALWAYS TO REMEMBER THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE US, AND SPECIFICALLY THE SICURITY RELATIONSHIP UNDER WHICH THE UNITED STATES DEFENDED JAPAN.
5. I SAID THAT WE GAVE THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE POLITICAL SUPPORT TO THE US-JAPAN RELATIONSHIP AND HAD ABSOLUTELY NO DESIRE TO WEAKEN IT. HOWEVER, IN A G7 CONTEXT JAPAN HAD SAID THAT ITS SECURITY WAS INDIVISIBLE FROM THAT OF THE WESTERN WORLD AS A WHOLE. WE, WITH THE AVERICANS, HAD TAKEN THE LEADING ROLE IN HELPING JAPAN TO TAKE ITS PLACE ON THE WORLD STAGE. WE WERE JAPAN'S BEST FRIEND IN EUROPE. AFTER THE AMERICANS, WE WERE MAKING THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE MULTINATIONAL FORCES. WE BELIEVED THAT JAPAN HAD DERIVED CONSIDERABLE BENEFIT FROM THE POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN OUR BILATERAL RELATIONS IN RECENT YEARS. WE WERE NOW UNDER SEVER PRESSURE AND NEEDE JAPAN'S HELP. MATSUURA SAID THAT HE HAD NOT FOR A MOMENT WISHED TO QUESTION ANY OF THIS. THE MFA VERY MUCH APPRECIATED THE UK'S ROLE AS JAPAN'S BEST FRIEND IN EUROPE.
6.
AS WITH OWAD A (MY TUR), I PRESSED FOR JAPANESE HELP TO BE GIVEN WITH THE MINIMUM OF CONDITIONS. MATSUURA SAID THAT IN DISCUSSION WITH THE AMERICANS, THEY WERE PLANNING TO USE THE FURTHER MONEY ON LOGISTICS, NOT ON MILITARY HARDWARE FOR JAPANESE DOMESTIC POLITICAL REASONS. THEY INTENDED TO ENLARGE THE LOGISTIC ITEMS COVERED FROM TRANSPORT TO INCLUDE COMMUNICATIONS MEDICAL CARE, FOOD AND UTILITIES.
7. COMMENT
MATSUURA IS OBLIGED BY HIS POSITION TO ARGUE THE AMERICAN CASE IN THE MFA, BUT HIS REFERENCES TO STRONG AMERICAN PRESSURE LEAD ME TO WONDER WHETHER WE CAN TAKE ACTION IN WASHINGTON TO REINFORCE OUR CLAIM TO A REASONABLE SHARE TO THE 9 BILLION DOLLARS.
8. WE LOOK FORWARD TO RECEIVING THE LIST OF ESTIMATED COSTS AS EARLIER REQESTED. MATSUURA'S COMMENTS LEAD US TO CONCLUDE THAT
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