Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Wto and Cuba

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UNCLAS TOKYO 003472

SIPDIS

STATE FOR I/RF, PA/PR/FPC/W, IIP/G/EA, EAP/PD, R/MR,
EAP/J, EAP/P, PM;
USTR FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE;
TREASURY FOR OASIA/IMI;
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA;
CP BUTLER OKINAWA FOR AREA FIELD OFFICE;
PACOM HONOLULU FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KMDR KPAO JA
SUBJECT: TOKYO MEDIA REACTION - WTO AND CUBA

1. LEAD STORIES: All Monday morning papers front-paged
declassified documents from the MOFA archives, one of
which showed that then Prime Minister Sato, when he
held talks with then Defense Secretary McNamara in
Washington in January 1965, asked that the U.S. use its
nuclear weapons to attack China should Japan enter war
with China.

2. "Rupture of WTO Talks Signals Looming Protectionism"
The business-oriented Nikkei editorialized (12/22):
"The WTO Doha Round trade liberalization talks have
ground to a standstill, as member states gave up on
holding a ministerial by year's end. This was the
second failure in the Doha talks this year following
the rupture of a trade ministerial back in July. The
global attempt to liberalize world trade is on the
verge of collapse.... Without additional enhancement of
the WTO system, a worldwide depression cannot be headed
off. Recall that the Great Depression unleashed
protectionist sentiment, which in turn led to WWII."

2. "Cuba to Shift to Pro-U.S.?" The liberal Tokyo
Shimbun wrote from New York (12/21): "The new Cuban
leader Raul Castro, while displaying his country's
close ties with Russia, appears to be anxious about
holding dialogue with U.S. President-elect Obama. As
his top policy priority is to reconstruct Cuba's
crumbling economy, Raul Castro is apparently keen to
improve economic ties with the U.S. One view holds that
if Havana, known for having spearheaded an anti-U.S.
campaign, reverses its approach toward Washington, the
leftist political trend in Latin American would die
down gradually."

ZUMWALT

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