Cablegate: Anre's Arima Looking for Support for Iea

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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 8217
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UNCLAS TOKYO 005569

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DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO EB/JOHN WECKER.

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ENRG JA
SUBJECT: ANRE'S ARIMA LOOKING FOR SUPPORT FOR IEA
CANDIDATE, BEIJING ENERGY MINISTERIAL

1. (SBU) Summary. On September 13, newly appointed director
of the International Affairs Division at the Agency for
Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) Jun Arima reiterated the
GOJ's request that USG support the appointment of Nobuo
Tanaka as the new head of the International Energy Agency
(IEA) in Paris. Arima was anxious to see the Beijing Energy
Ministerial, scheduled for October, be followed by
substantive working-level meetings. He is also concerned
about Russia's increasing power from energy sales. End
summary.

2. (SBU) On September 13 Econoff paid a courtesy call on
Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) International
Affairs Division Director Jun Arima during which Arima
reiterated the GOJ's request that the USG support Japan's
candidate for head of the IEA, Nobuo Tanaka. Arima noted
that the IEA has been heavily focused on Europe but that the
major consumers - Japan, China, Korea, India - were all in
Asia and he thought that Tanaka would encourage the IEA to
shift its thinking in that direction. Arima argued that
Tanaka's credentials were ideal for the job because he is
action-oriented (i.e. not "think tank"-oriented), understands
technology policy well, and recognizes that nuclear energy
will become an increasingly important part of the energy
equation. The final selection for IEA head will not be made
until March, but there is a governing board meeting in
October which Arima plans to attend. The United Kingdom,
Spain and possibly Italy will also be submitting names of
candidates for consideration.

3. (SBU) Arima highlighted the importance of the October
Beijing Energy Ministerial because it will be the first
gathering of the world's five major energy consumers and this
should send a strong message to the rest of the world. He
emphasized the importance of energy diversification and
efficiency. Arima also regretted that it was as yet unclear
who from Japan would attend the Ministerial because the new
Cabinet will not be selected until September 26. Arima
stressed that the Beijing Energy Ministerial must be followed
by working level meetings as well so that it will not simply
be a political gesture on the part of China but rather an
active step toward getting the five countries to work
together on energy issues. He also said that the US and
Japan should communicate ahead of the meeting so that the two
countries had a unified stance.

4. (SBU) Arima briefly mentioned his concern that Russia was
becoming the new Middle East by controlling the supply of oil
and natural gas. He thought that Russia had gone beyond
confident to become almost arrogant in the wake of the
petro-dollars flooding its economy.

5. (SBU) Comment: Arima has just returned from Paris where
he worked for the OECD and the IEA. He told us he knows
several US officials well from that experience. Arima spoke
fluent English and says he also speaks French. He was
friendly and engaging and appeared eager to continue a good
working relationship with the United States. End comment.
SCHIEFFER

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