Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 07TOKYO1714, NAGASAKI MAYOR'S MURDER: SHARP REACTIONS; MEDIA

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #07TOKYO1714.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07TOKYO1714 2007-04-18 08:56 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Tokyo
VZCZCXRO8957
OO RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #1714/01 1080856
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 180856Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2786
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING IMMEDIATE 6655
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 2082
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL IMMEDIATE 2729
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA IMMEDIATE 0749
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA IMMEDIATE 0055
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA IMMEDIATE 3198
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE IMMEDIATE 4283
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO IMMEDIATE 1668
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI IMMEDIATE 6382
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUALSFJ/COMUSJAPAN YOKOTA AB JA IMMEDIATE
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 001714 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV JA
SUBJECT: NAGASAKI MAYOR'S MURDER:  SHARP REACTIONS; MEDIA 
SPECULATES ON POLITICAL MOTIVES 
 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary.  Japan's leaders and media characterized 
the April 17 assassination of three-term Nagasaki Mayor Itcho 
Ito in the midst of his reelection campaign as a threat to 
Japan's political system.  Most reports highlighted PM Abe's 
description of the killing as a "challenge to democracy." 
Several newspapers drew parallels to previous attacks on 
politicians, many involving political motives.  Kyodo News 
Service was careful to point out that the jury is still out 
on the reasons for this particular attack.  The killer, 
Tetsuya Shiroo, is a ranking member of a small criminal gang 
with ties to Japan's largest organized crime syndicate.  He 
is reported to have filed numerous complaints with the city 
after his vehicle was damaged at a municipal construction 
site in 2003.  Press reports also speculate that Shiroo's 
gang may have been involved in trying to gain bids on city 
construction projects.  According to Japan's election laws, 
any potential replacement candidate for Mayor Ito must file 
by 5:00 p.m. on April 19 in order to stand for election on 
April 22.  Otherwise, the mayoral race will become a contest 
between two unknown independents and a former Communist Party 
city assembly member.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) The Japanese media gave wide coverage on April 18 to 
the shooting of Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito a day earlier, 
focusing on the organized crime affiliation of his killer and 
the threat to the Japanese political system that the shooting 
represents.  Mayor Ito, 61, was shot twice in the back at 
close range on the evening of April 17, in what is being 
called an "ambush" shooting at the entrance of his reelection 
campaign office, beside Nagasaki's central train station.  He 
died in the early hours of April 18.  The National Police 
Agency announced shortly thereafter that they would tighten 
security for all candidates in the April 22 unified local 
elections. 
 
3. (SBU) An Asahi report, noting that the killing took place 
less than one week before the April 22 elections, called the 
shooting a "threat to Japanese politics," and compared it to 
the stabbing of Japan Socialist Party Chairman Asanuma in the 
middle of a campaign speech in 1960.  The Yomiuri Shimbun 
compared the shooting to attacks by right-wing extremists on 
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politicians Shin 
Kanemaru and Koichi Kato.  The media are also drawing 
parallels with the 1990 shooting of Nagasaki Mayor Motoshima, 
noting that the attack on Motoshima was clearly the result of 
political motives, namely, as a reaction to Motoshima's 
statements assigning war guilt to Emperor Hirohito. 
 
4. (SBU) The newspapers were full of comments from 
politicians of all political parties decrying the attack as 
an attack on the political system.  Prime Minister Abe called 
the attack a "challenge to democracy."  LDP Secretary General 
Hidenao Nakagawa promised to "resolutely defend freedom of 
political thought."  Former LDP Secretary General Koichi 
Kato, whose home was burned down by a member of a right-wing 
nationalist organization in August 2006, was quoted at length 
in several different newspapers warning against allowing 
these sorts of attacks to keep politicians from voicing their 
opinions.  Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma elevated the rhetoric 
a step further, calling the attack a "terrorist incident." 
Kyuma, who represents Nagasaki in the Lower House, is 
reported to have been close to Mayor Ito. 
 
5. (SBU) Kyodo News Service took a more neutral tone, saying 
it is too early to know whether or not there were political 
motives behind the shooting.  The killer, Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, 
is described as a leading member of the Suishin-kai organized 
crime family, a small group affiliated with Yamaguchi-gumi, 
Japan's largest organized crime syndicate.  In statements to 
the police, Shiroo is said to have confessed to shooting 
Mayor Ito over a dispute with the city concerning bids on 
public works projects.  Kyodo cites statements from 
acquaintances of Shiroo claiming that he had also filed 
complaints with the city in 2003 over damage sustained to his 
vehicle at a municipal construction site.  The Kyodo report 
said Shiroo had visited the city office more than 30 times 
since 2003 demanding compensation. 
 
 
TOKYO 00001714  002 OF 002 
 
 
6. (SBU) There is much speculation in the press on the LDP's 
next steps for the Nagasaki mayoral race on April 22. 
According to Japan's elections law, a candidate who dies 
during the campaign period can be replaced up to three days 
prior to the election, providing there are more than two 
candidates.  In the Nagasaki mayoral race, a Japan Communist 
Party (JCP) candidate and two independents are already 
registered, so any replacement candidate for Ito must file by 
5:00 p.m. on April 19.  Ito, who was known as a strong 
antinuclear advocate and opponent of U.S. Navy ship visits, 
was seeking his fourth term.  He was running without party 
affiliation.  Defense Minister Kyuma, quoted in an Asahi 
article, predicted that the JCP candidate, Seiichi Yamamoto, 
71, a former city assemblyman, is certain to beat the two 
independent candidates, a university lecturer and 
stay-at-home mother. 
 
7.  (SBU)  According to reporting from Consulate Fukuoka, the 
shooting has created political chaos in Nagasaki.  A local 
LDP chapter official told the Consulate that Defense Minister 
Kyuma would travel to Nagasaki on April 18 to meet with 
senior local leaders to discuss possible candidates.  The LDP 
will need to work with the opposition Democratic Party of 
Japan (DPJ) and local labor unions to find a consensus 
candidate, according to the LDP official.  Wire services 
reported late in the day on April 18 that Ito's son-in-law, 
Makoto Yokoo, a reporter for the Nishi Nihon Shimbun, would 
shortly announce his candidacy. 
SCHIEFFER