Ambassador Takekazu Kawamura tellsEuropolitics about the issues that will top the agenda of the EU-Japan summit, to be held on 23 April in Tokyo. 

What will be the main objective of the summit on climate change?

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has presented the basic position of Japan at the beginning of this year in Davos. There he spoke about the national target through a bottom up approach on a sectoral basis. The EU has its own position. I think the summit will be the first chance for both leaders to explain to each other their positions. This will be politically very important. We have to find out what kind of result we can possibly get by the end of 2009 during the Copenhagen conference. It is a long process. At the G8 summit in Hokkaido, the leaders will discuss it. Whether they will be able to present some kind of agreement, that is another question. There are many issues that need to be solved like long-term goals (by 2050) or mid-term targets. First of all, we should understand more clearly, especially at leaders’ level, what the are positions and in what ways, on the basis of those positions, will we be able to move.

Could Japan match the EU’s targets on emission cuts (20% in 2020 and possibly 30% in case of a global deal)?

For the time being, we are not accepting a 20% cut in emissions. According to Mr Fukuda’s proposal, each country will be setting its own national target based upon the said approach. This is the basic position. So, if this approach was adopted, maybe the figure for the EU would be a different one. This is certainly an issue to be negotiated from now on.

The EU could envisage a carbon tax if there is no agreement. What about Japan?

We do not need to consider a possible failure. We will see after the conference in 2009. Even then, if we have not reached an agreement by the end of 2009, it is not the end of the world. We could carry on the negotiations to get an agreement in 2010 and then work hard to implement it by 2013, but to be well prepared and to be more certain, agreement should be made in 2009 so that the ratification procedure will begin soon.

There are some signs of a possible ministerial meeting to unlock the Doha negotiations. Does Japan support those efforts?

Japan’s position is very clear: we need a successful conclusion as soon as possible. It is unfortunate that things have not been running smoothly in the past two years. We are very strongly hoping that we will be able to have a result before the end of the year. To do so, we need a political agreement as soon as possible. The May meeting will be a very important occasion which should not be missed.

Are you confident?

We should be very careful so that we will be able to get a good result. Whether and when this ministerial meeting can be held is a delicate issue. We need careful preparation so that the ministers, when they meet, will be really able to strike a political agreement.

Some say that the EU and Japan will have to lower their expectations if they want a deal...

At any rate, we would like to have an opening of market access for non-agriculture products, especially in emerging countries. We should try to get a balanced compromise and the maximum market opening in every field.

Does Japan want the EU to strengthen its arms embargo against China?

We have been explaining to our EU friends our concerns about the East Asian security situation. We have been pointing out that China’s defence budget expenditure has been growing with double digit figures for twenty years now. This year, they announced a figure of almost 20% [17.7%]. Unfortunately there is no transparency about those figures. There are maybe other budgets that are defence-related, such as R&D. So the reality is maybe much more than the official figures. Furthermore, we do not know for what purposes the Chinese government has been increasing its expenditure and what the philosophy is behind this rise.

If the EU is a responsible global actor, not only in the field of economy but also in the field of security, we are hopeful that it will have a very responsible reaction to this kind of facts. We hope that the EU will think seriously about this security issue and not only from an economic point of view. The EU has been tending to look at Asia only as an economic market. We know that Europe is very far from Asia. But Asia is not only a market for the EU. We are very much hopeful that it will not lift the embargo.

Do you think there has been a lack of awareness on the security situation in East Asia from the European side?

There has been some progress. For example, through the strategic dialogue that Japan and the EU have set up in 2005, the understanding of the member states and the Commission has certainly been widened and deepened. Whether it would be linked to a political decision is another thing, but there is a better knowledge of what is happening.