Cablegate: Tokyo Media Reaction - Palestine and Afghanistan

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P 060228Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
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RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS TOKYO 002558

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 - PALESTINE AND AFGHANISTAN

1. LEAD STORIES: Friday morning's Tokyo Shimbun led with the finding
that senior Japanese Embassy officials in Washington used a MOFA
"slush fund" in January 2000 in order to "entertain" a visiting
delegation headed by the commissioner of the Board of Audit of
Japan.

2. "Abbas Not Likely to Join Race" On the disclosure by a senior PLO
official on Thursday that Palestine President Abbas will not seek
reelection in January, the top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri wrote
from Jerusalem (11/6): "The retirement of Abbas, a proponent of
peace talks with Israel, is bound to deal a heavy blow to Middle
East peace negotiations since there is no apparent successor....
However, there is a possibility that Abbas may be trying to achieve
a breakthrough in the continuing stalemate by announcing his
intention not to run in the next election, and not his immediate
resignation. One view holds that he is making a political gamble to
invoke U.S. cooperation by playing up the sense of crisis over the
prospect of peace talks ahead of the election."

3. "UN Workers to Pull out of Afghanistan" On Thursday's
announcement by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that some
600 UN officials will be temporarily evacuated in response to a
recent fatal terrorist attack on a local UN facility, the
top-circulation, moderate Yomiuri stated (11/6): "The current
situation, in which the safety of UN officials is being threatened,
is likely to have adverse effects on civilian assistance operations
[in Afghanistan] by foreign countries.... There are mounting
concerns that civilian assistance operations by the UN and others
will be stalled due to the deteriorating security situation, setting
off a 'negative chain reaction' causing poverty to spread further
and the security situation to worsen."

ROOS

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