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Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Wto and Cuba

VZCZCXRO1869
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #3472 3570138
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 220138Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9638
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUYNAAC/COMNAVFORJAPAN YOKOSUKA JA PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHHMHBA/COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI//N541// PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ PACAF HICKAM AFB HI//CC/PA// PRIORITY
RUHBANB/OKINAWA FLD OFC US FORCES JAPAN CP BUTLER JA PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/USFJ PRIORITY
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 1572
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 3929
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 9514
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 2138
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 5363
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6941
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2660
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2960
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3032
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

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.

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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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