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Viewing cable 07KOLKATA256, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER VISITS KOLKATA TO BOOST ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TIES

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07KOLKATA256 2007-08-24 10:33 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Kolkata
VZCZCXRO9076
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHCI #0256/01 2361033
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 241033Z AUG 07
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO
VIENNA IAEA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000256 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
3 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL EINV ETRD EIND IN JA
SUBJECT: JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER VISITS KOLKATA TO BOOST ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL TIES 
3 
 
REF: KOLKATA 197, KOLKATA 54 
 
KOLKATA 00000256  001.7 OF 002 
 
 
1.  (U) ON AUGUST 23, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER ABE ARRIVED IN 
KOLKATA ACCOMPANIED BY A MORE THAN 120-MEMBER BUSINESS 
DELEGATION.  JAPAN HAS INVESTED HEAVILY IN THE STATE OF W. 
BENGAL AND PROVIDED MILLION-DOLLAR LOANS FOR PROJECTS IN THE 
CHEMICALS AND ENERGY SECTORS AS WELL AS INFRASTRUCTURE.  ABE WAS ALSO LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR JAPANESE COMPANIES IF A PROPOSED NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN THE STATE IS SET UP IN THE FUTURE. TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HISTORICAL TIES, ABE USED THE VISIT TO 
STRENGTHEN THE GOODWILL BETWEEN JAPAN AND EAST INDIA BY OPENING A NEW FRIENDSHIP CENTER AND VISITING FAMILIES OF IMPORTANT BENGALI HEROES.  ABE IS THE THIRD PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT 
KOLKATA IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS, A SIGN THAT COUNTRIES ARE EAGER 
TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN 
THIS PART OF INDIA, AND OF THE REALIZATION THAT CHIEF MINISTER 
BUDDHADEB BHATTACHARJEE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF INDIA-MARXIST'S (CPM) RELATIONS WITH THE NATIONAL UNITED PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE (UPA) GOVERNMENT.  END SUMMARY. 

2.  (U) ON AUGUST 23, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER ABE ARRIVED IN 
KOLKATA ACCOMPANIED BY A MORE THAN 120-MEMBER BUSINESS 
DELEGATION.  THE DELEGATION INCLUDED COMPANIES REPRESENTING 
JAPAN'S INFRASTRUCTURE, FINANCIAL SERVICES, HEALTH AND ENERGY 
(INCLUDING NUCLEAR ENERGY) SECTORS.  WEST BENGAL IS HOME TO THE 
LARGEST SINGLE JAPANESE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) PROJECT 
IN INDIA -- MITSUBISHI'S USD 380 MILLION CHEMICALS PTA FACILITY 
IN HALDIA.  THE COMPANY IS NOW INVESTING USD 370 MILLION MORE TO 
DOUBLE THE FACILITY'S CAPACITY TO PRODUCE 800,000 TONS (UP FROM 
THE PRESENT 400,000 TON) OF PTA, A PLASTIC INDUSTRY 
INTERMEDIATE. 
 
3.  (U) APART FROM COMMERCIAL FDI, THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT HAS 
INVESTED HEAVILY IN DEVELOPING WEST BENGAL'S INFRASTRUCTURE. 
THIS INCLUDES FOUR FLYOVERS AND ROAD PROJECTS IN AND AROUND 
KOLKATA (USD 15 MILLION) AND THE 900MW PUMP STORAGE ELECTRICITY 
GENERATING UNIT IN PURULIA (USD 650 MILLION).  MOREOVER, JAPAN 
HAS PROVIDED A USD 12 MILLION LOAN TO THE WEST BENGAL STATE 
ELECTRICITY BOARD TO HELP IT REDUCE POWER TRANSMISSION AND LOSS.ALL THESE HAVE BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH SOFT LOANS FROM THE JAPAN BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION (JBIC).  IN ADDITION, 
JBIC IS NOW IN THE ADVANCED STAGES OF NEGOTIATION TO BUILD AN 
EAST-TO-WEST ROUTE FOR KOLKATA'S METRO RAILWAY SYSTEM (USD 600 
MILLION).  ABE REFERRED AS WELL TO PLANS FOR FUNDING A 
HIGH-SPEED FREIGHT RAILWAY LINK BETWEEN KOLKATA, MUMBAI AND NEW 
DELHI.  THE NUMBER AND SCALE OF THESE PROJECTS HAS GENERATED 
SUBSTANTIAL GOODWILL FOR THE JAPANESE IN W. BENGAL. 
 
4.  (SBU) THE POSSIBILITY OF THE COSTAL TOWN OF HARIPUR BEING 
CHOSEN AS A SITE FOR A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT HAS GENERATED GREAT 
JAPANESE INTEREST IN W. BENGAL.  AS A MEMBER OF THE NUCLEAR 
SUPPLIERS GROUP, JAPAN VIEWS ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE LEFT 
PARTIES - MORE SPECIFICALLY, CHIEF MINISTER BUDDHADEB 
BHATTACHARJEE -- AS A MEANS OF PROMOTING NUCLEAR-RELATED 
BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS WITH JAPANESE COMPANIES IN THE FUTURE. 
ABE'S DELEGATION IN KOLKATA INCLUDED COMPANIES LIKE HITACHI AND 
MITSUI WHO ARE POTENTIAL SUPPLIERS OF TURBINES TO THE HARIPUR 
PROJECT. 
 
5.  (SBU) WHILE ABE SPOKE IN NEW DELHI IN TERMS OF BIG PICTURE 
ISSUES, SUCH AS ASIA'S SHARED SECURITY DOCTRINE AND THE 
POSSIBILITY OF A RUPEE-YEN SWAP (REFTEL), IN KOLKATA HIS FOCUS 
WAS ON REKINDLING CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND SENTIMENTAL TIES. 
KOLKATA IS AN IMPORTANT GATEWAY FOR JAPANESE BUDDHIST TOURISTS 
VISITING WEST BENGAL'S NEIGHBORING STATE OF BIHAR, WHERE 
IMPORTANT BUDDHIST PILGRIMAGE SITES LIKE BODH GAYA, SARNATH AND 
NALANDA ARE LOCATED.  THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE 
CHARITIES HAVE DONATED GENEROUSLY TO PRESERVE BUDDHIST HERITAGE IN BIHAR. 
 
6.  (U) IN KOLKATA, ABE VISITED THE NETAJI RESEARCH BUREAU AND 
PAID HOMAGE TO SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE WHO ALLIED WITH THE JAPANESE AGAINST THE BRITISH DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.  BOSE IS A NATIONAL HERO IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY AND PAYING TRIBUTE TO BOSE SERVED AS A PUBLIC RELATIONS EXERCISE DESIGNED TO 
STRENGTHEN GOODWILL BETWEEN BENGALIS AND JAPAN.  IRONICALLY, 
LOCAL COMMUNISTS WHO EARLIER BRANDED BOSE AS A "RUNNING DOG OF 
TOJO," HAVE ALSO YIELDED TO POPULAR SENTIMENTS AND REHABILITATED 
BOSE'S IMAGE AS A WAR HERO AND PATRIOT.  ABE ALSO WENT TO POET 
LAUREATE RABINDRANATH TAGORE'S HOUSE AND VISITED THE TAGORE 
MUSEUM.  ABE ALSO USED THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPEN THE NEW 
BHARAT-JAPAN CULTURAL CENTRE:  RABINDRA-OKAKURA BHAVAN.  THE 
LARGE FACILITY TOOK THREE YEARS TO CONSTRUCT AND DWARFS OTHER 
SIMILAR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL CENTERS, SUCH AS THE BRITISH 
COUNCIL, GERMANY'S MAX MUELLER BHAAN AND OUR AMERICAN CENTER. 
 
 
KOLKATA 00000256  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
7. (U) MORE CONTROVERSIALLY, ABE REKINDLED ANOTHER KOLKATA-TOKYO 
LINK BY EXPRESSING A DESIRE TO VISIT THE FAMILY OF JUSTICE RADHA 
BINOD PAL. PAL WAS A MEMBER OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY 
TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR EAST THAT TRIED JAPANESE WAR CRIMINALS 
AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR.  JUSTICE PAL IS FAMOUS FOR BEING THE 
SOLE DISSENTER FROM THE TRIBUNAL'S GUILTY VERDICTS, SAYING THE 
JUDGMENTS WERE INVALID AND "VICTORS JUSTICE."  ABES 
GRANDFATHER NOBUSUKE KISHI WAS JAPAN'S INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE 
MINISTER BETWEEN 1941 AND 1945.  KISHI WAS IMPRISONED AS A 
SUSPECTED CLASS A WAR CRIMINAL FOR THREE YEARS, THOUGH UNLIKE 
TOJO AND OTHERS IN THE CABINET, HE WAS NEVER TRIED BY THE 
TRIBUNAL.  KISHI LATER WENT ON TO BECOME JAPAN'S PRIME MINISTER. 
 
8.  (U) ABE'S SIGNALING FOR GREATER COMMERCIAL AND STRATEGIC 
INVOLVEMENT WITH EASTERN INDIA WAS RECIPROCATED BY THE W. BENGAL 
CPM-LED LEFT FRONT GOVERNMENT OF CHIEF MINISTER BUDDHADEB 
BHATTACHARJEE.  BHATTACHERJEE SKIPPED THE ONGOING COMMUNIST 
PARTY OF INDIA-MARXIST (CPM) CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING IN NEW 
DELHI TO RETURN TO KOLKATA TO HOST PRIME MINISTER. (NOTE: THE 
CENTRAL COMMITTEE WAS IN SESSION TO DISCUSS THE CPM POLITBURO'S 
OPPOSITION TO THE U.S.-INDIA 123 AGREEMENT ON CIVIL NUCLEAR 
COOPERATION.  END NOTE.)  BHATTACHARJEE'S PRACTICAL INTEREST IN 
PROMOTING BENGAL-JAPANESE LINKS CLEARLY OVERCAME POSSIBLE 
IDEOLOGICAL CONCERNS ABOUT HOSTING A CONSERVATIVE JAPANESE PM 
WHOSE VISIT HIGHLIGHTED THE BENGALI LINKS TO THE FORMER IMPERIAL 
JAPAN. 
 
9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  ABE'S VISIT TO KOLKATA IS THE THIRD SUCH 
VISIT BY A FOREIGN PRIME MINISTER TO THE CITY IN THE PAST SIX 
MONTHS, FOLLOWING THE VISITS BY ITALIAN PM ROMANO PRODI AND 
VIETNAMESE PM NGUYEN TAN DUNG (REFTELS).  AS WITH PRODI, WHO LED 
A DELEGATION OF OVER 300 BUSINESS PEOPLE, A STRONG FACTOR IN 
ABE'S VISITING WEST BENGAL WAS THE GREAT COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL IN 
THE STATE AND REGION.  JAPAN HAS ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT 
INVESTMENTS WITH THE PRESENCE OF MITSUBISHI AND OTHER COMPANIES 
AND THE GOJ IS SEEKING TO FOSTER AN EVEN GREATER CORPORATE 
PRESENCE.  ANOTHER FACTOR WAS THE REALIZATION BY THE GOJ THAT 
THE CPM HAS A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION 
AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE PRESENT IMPASSE 
OVER THE INDO-U.S. CIVIL NUCLEAR AGREEMENT.  BHATTACHARJEE AND 
THE CPM LEADERS IN WEST BENGAL ARE SEEN TO BE MORE TRACTABLE AND 
USEFUL FOR THE INFLUENCE THAT THEY CAN BRING TO BEAR ON THE CPM 
AT THE CENTER TO POSSIBLY MODERATE COMMUNIST IDEOLOGICAL 
POSITIONS.  GIVEN THE PRESENT POLITICAL DYNAMIC, ABE APPARENTLY 
BELIEVED THAT THE GREATEST POLITICAL BANG FOR THE YEN IS IN WEST 
BENGAL, AND SO KOLKATA WAS HIS ONLY DESTINATION OUTSIDE OF NEW 
DELHI ON HIS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO INDIA. 
JARDINE 
B T 
#0256 
N 
-- END OF ERRORED MESSAGE --