Office of the Historian

320. Memorandum of Conversation1

Tokyo, February 1, 1977

SUBJECT

  • Vice President Mondale—Prime Minister Fukuda Conversation II

PARTICIPANTS

  • Japan
  • Takeo Fukuda, Prime Minister
  • Iichiro Hatoyama, Foreign Minister
  • Sunao Sunoda, Chief Cabinet Secretary
  • Fumihiko Togo, Japanese Ambassador
  • Bunroku Yoshino, Deputy Vice Minister
  • Toshio Yamazaki, Director General, American Bureau
  • Hisashi Owada, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
  • Ryuchiro Yamazaki, Interpreter
  • United States
  • The Vice President
  • Richard Holbrooke, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
  • C. Fred Bergsten, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
  • Thomas P. Shoesmith, Minister
  • Michael Armacost, NSC Senior Staff
  • William C. Sherman, Director for Japanese Affairs
  • James Wickel, Interpreter

[Omitted here is discussion unrelated to non-proliferation.]

The Vice President said that there were several points he wished to make: First, with respect to nuclear proliferation, he said the US had pressed both Germany and France to exercise great circumspection with respect to their sales of sensitive materials and technologies to such countries as Pakistan and Brazil. Reprocessing facilities which could produce weapons grade material are simply bomb factories. The question is one in which the President has a great personal concern. We understand Japan’s concern for assured supplies of fuel for nuclear power plants. We are also grateful for Japanese ratification of the NPT. The US hopes to continue discussions with the GOJ about the aspects of the problem which may be of concern to Japan. We want to cooperate to keep the problem under control.

The Vice President continued, saying that he understood the GOJ was interested in sending a team to discuss Japanese views with US ex [Page 790] perts in Washington. He said we would be happy to welcome such a visit and to begin talking in a confidential way about this very complex problem.

The Prime Minister said that he hoped the Vice President understood the sensitivity of Japanese feelings about nuclear matters. The Japanese cities had been destroyed by nuclear weapons, and Japan was fully in accord with US concerns over proliferation dangers. The question of peaceful use was quite different. Japan was by tradition and by basic governmental and Diet policy firmly opposed to any military use, production or possession of nuclear weapons. However, its total lack of energy resources made it essential to consider the development of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. He said the Japanese would welcome the opportunity to send a group to discuss the subject in Washington.

The Vice President said that we would be happy to work out arrangements on his return to Washington.

[Omitted here is discussion unrelated to non-proliferation.]

  1. Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Brzezinski Material, VIP Visit File, Box 8, Japan: Prime Minister Fukuda, 3/21–22/77, Briefing Book [II], Folder 6. Secret. Drafted by Sherman. The meeting took place in the Prime Minister’s Office. The memoranda of conversation is scheduled to be printed in full in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, vol. XIV, Korea; Japan.↩