[Japan] Diplomatic Contact with the United Kingdom

[Suvorov]

Official Communique of the State of Japan​

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Communique
EMAIL IS ENCRYPTED AND SECURELY SENT​

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Recipient: Lawrence Adams, Secretary of the State Department (@Jamie)
Cc: Yōhei Kōno, Japanese Ambassador to the UK
Subject: Bilateral Relations
Classification: Secure

Dear Rt. Hon. Lawrence Adams MP

In our age of modern nations, friendship is key to the growth and prosperity of our peoples. We highly value our relationship with the United Kingdom, therefore we are reaching out to your government requesting a formal meeting to establish ties between our new government are that of the United Kingdom. We feel it is to our mutual benefit to strive for international cooperation and success. Among the topics we would like to discuss are:

1. Confirming the status of our diplomatic relationship and committing to peaceful future relations between us.
2. Ramping up economic cooperation between our peoples and opening new trade routes between us.
3. Discussing any additional means by which we may cooperate to advance our nations.

Mr. Kono is present in our London embassy and would be happy to meet with either yourself or one of your representatives as soon as possible.

Yours Sincerely,

池田 行彦

Yukihiko Ikeda
Minister for Foreign Affairs

 

[Suvorov]

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs​

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To:	Yukihiko Ikeda
Cc:
Subject	Re:Bilateral Relations
Security Level:	Private / Encrypted

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Dear Yukihiko Ikeda,

Thank you for contacting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unforutnately Mr Adams is unavailable but I will be able to discuss on behalf of the United Kingdom.

We appreciate you extending your hand and your interest in opening relations between Japan and the United Kingdom. We are currently in multiple diplomatic engagements with other countries in Europe and Asia and would love the opportunity to work with you in trade, and further cooperation from there. Therefore, we would like to extend our invitation out to Mr. Kono to visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet with myself to address the points you had made on your email at his earliest convenience.

Please let me know if you have any problems.

Kind Regards,
DSpencer
Declan Spencer
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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?mofa@gov.co.uk​

☎️03700 00 22 44​

✉️Ministry of Foreign Affairs, King Charles Street, London, SW1​

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@Suvorov

 

[Suvorov]

Yōhei Kōno made his way quickly over to the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This posting was one of the most coveted positions in the Ministry. Tokyo was getting concerned over the Ministry's failure to secure contact with the British so far. Yōhei had been simply living an easy life in London. There was the occasional Japanese citizen in need of assistance but for the most part he was bored. The moment the email came through, he called for the car and left for the Ministry. With him was a briefcase full of dossiers the Ministry had prepared in anticipation of a meeting with the British.

The car stopped on King Charles Street and the driver let the ambassador out of the car. Yōhei approached the Ministry, made his way inside and presented himself to the receptionist as the Japanese ambassador awaiting his meeting with Mr. Spencer or whomever would be handling this meeting.

@Jamie

 

[Suvorov]

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

The receptionist was prompt in alerting Declan Spencer of his appointments arrival. He waited a few minutes to prepare his laptop and some documentation before giving the all-clear for his meeting. Standing up from his office, the Receptionist returned to the front desk before leading the Japanese Guest to meet with the Minister. Declan approached Yōhei Kōno, extending his hand. "Good Morning, thank you for your time to visit." he smiled, proceeding to ask "Could I interest you in a drink?". His left hand indicating to the chair, an invitation for the Ambassador to take a seat. To show their solidarity, a British and Japanese Flag were hoisted at each side of the office desk. The office door was shut and been on a higher floor, the windows posed no grounds for people to overhear. Ensuring their meeting was in private.

@Suvorov

 

[Suvorov]

Yōhei waited patiently to be greeted and smiled once Declan appeared from his office. With a bow and a handshake, Yōhei greeted Declan in the ways customary to both the east and the west. "On behalf of my government and the people of Japan, I thank you for meeting with me," Yōhei said gratefully. Yōhei took the offered seat and after sitting looked back to Declan, "Yes, some tea would be lovely, please." Yōhei reached over to his side and picked up his briefcase, opening it and withdrawing several files containing paperwork on various issues. There were standard issues to get through but the United Kingdom was an important world actor and emphasis had been placed on this meeting. Key to Japan's foreign strategy was securing friendly ties with all, establishing trade networks, and seeking potential military cooperation. Japan hoped to be seen as a resonsible, mature actor on the world's stage.

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"It is my absolute pleasure" responded Declan. "I can't say the current circumstance is good in relation to the possibility of a Tsunami alert, but I'll begin by just saying that the British Government will help you however possible in preparation, and if it gets to the worst case scenario, help in the aftermath". He spoke, before allowing the Japanese Representative to continue. Declan then indicated to his Personal Assistance who gracefully brought in a tea for their guest. Declan taking a seat of his own. "This all sounds very interest, and no doubt something we'd be keen in engaging in. Our governments focus is the establishing of relations, but even more is a continued presence of cooperation. Nonetheless, where would you prefer to start?" smiled the British Delegate. Taking a drink from his own glass of water.

@Suvorov

 

[Suvorov]

"It is a terrible situation. The waiting is the worst part. I am not sure how best to help my people at the moment. We are very grateful for your government's offer to assist in this time. We are doing the best we can with preparations at this moment, however, we are almost always preparing for these types of events. They are an unfortunate reality of living in the Pacific. We invest heavily and continuously to help defend ourselves from the worst of it all but its always still scary. We may well need help in the aftermath. However, to turn our attention to more regular affairs for the moment..." Yōhei was cut off as the tea arrived. He smiled at the assistant, "Sumimasen, thank you very much." He took a sip, trying to no burn himself but also enjoying the tea. "Excellent tea, thank you" he said, directing the comment to Declan.

"As I have said, one of my government's biggest concerns is to revamp our economy from the troubles of the past few years. We have found success through trade with several partners. Japan is one of the largest trading nations on the planet right now. We have an extensive shipbuilding industry to also encourage greater international trade. This being said, we are interested in importing British goods. We would be willing to import everything the United Kingdom produces in exchange for our goods. English luxury cars and our more affordable models will be helpful for our peoples. However, we typically seek out mutual trade agreements rather than import agreements. We find this more mutually beneficial and easier to administer than import and tariff arrangements.

Second, we wish to establish more friendly and formal relations with the United Kingdom. We hope that trade will be the first step but we are also interested in a Non-Aggression Pact or a simple joint statement of friendship as we build our relationship.

Third, our nation is expanding our naval capabilities. First and foremost, we seek a hospital ship to help in international aid missions. The Argus serves as a fine example and we would hope to acquire one. Additionally, we are looking to add frigates to complement our Navy and the Type 23 has been identified as a potential candidate.

Finally, we seek partners for military cooperation. This could be in the form of drills, red vs. blue training, joint exercises, and even joint military technological development. We would certainly like to engage in exercises with our current, albeit limited fleet. To demonstrate our serious commitment to our friendship and desire for join exercises, we can offer standing resupply privileges to British ships operating in the Pacific.

We will have a research and development facility running soon and would also like partners for the development of future technologies.

Of course, we are happy to hear the United Kingdom's interests and desires and hopefully come to a mutually beneficial arrangement."

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"I can imagine, it must have been a suspense especially when you are unaware of how bad the situation would be until it's too late. All you can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best." he paused, allowing the diversion to take place to discuss more regular events, away from the tragedy that was unfolding as the pair sat there. "I couldn't agree more in regards to trade, international trade seems to have a steady incline at the moment and it remains something that the United Kingdom is dedicated to maximizing trade for all our partners.. and hopefully Japan too going forward. Import agreements is something we've strayed away from and find mutual trade agreements to be more beneficial for both parties, as opposed to financial expenditure for importing. With that in mind, we'd be happy to export cars to yourselves but we are also able to offer Machinery, Precious Metals, Pharmaceuticals and even Organic Chemicals. Just in case any of these are of interest to you? Might I inquire as to what goods you would be offering for the cars? and by extension, any of the other resources if you would be interested in them.

Trade is of course, a good starting point but military cooperation is a big plus. A Non-Aggression pact would be of interest, is there any possibility that you have a draft for this so we can review and suggest amendments? Or is this still something you will need to work on before we can discuss that further? Equally, in light of the developments with military, the UK had recently planned a training exercise with China which unfortunately fell through when the government collapsed. Perhaps we could look, in the coming weeks, to have a joint training exercise as a trial? If we see how that goes, we could even look into having annual training between the UK and Japan and expand from there. This may be a good starting point for further cooperation going forward.

For sales... Argus is something we haven't ever exported given it's currently one of a kind. Nonetheless, I can check with my government as to whether we would be able to build a new one specifically for Japan. Would you be seeking any customization to it, or purely based on the RFA Argus that the Royal Navy utilizes? The Type 23's though, definitely a valuable workhorse. You mention as a potential candidate, might I ask what other frigates you are currently exploring the options for procuring?"

@Suvorov

 

[Suvorov]

"Excellent, I am happy to hear that we are of the same mind on many of these points. To tackle them individually: With regards to trade, Japan would want to import all English consumer goods. In exchange, we offer Japanese made goods: Japanese cars; machinery (including computers); electrical machinery and equipment;optical, technical, medical apparatuses; and iron, steel. While there may seem to be some overlap in the nature of the goods, we believe that British and Japanese made goods different greatly when they are examined in depth and that our markets would benefit from the presence of both types of goods. We can have ships trading with the United Kingdom almost immediately.

With military cooperation: a non-aggression pact is a great starting point. We have a draft we would want to consider." Yōhei stopped and withdrew a draft agreement from his briefcase.

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NON-AGGRESSION PACT​

This is a mutual declaration of friendship and peace between the UNITED KINGDOM and the STATE OF JAPAN. Each signatory to this pact hereby declares that any and all hostilities against the others are strictly forbidden. This is document is a sign of trust, cooperation, and harmony.

Article I - The Parties

1. Each party to this agreement hereby binds themselves to the terms of this document.
2. The terms of this document represent the entire agreement between the parties.
3. Each party asserts that this document complies with the laws of their nation and that this document will be binding on all subsequent governments.
4. Each party asserts that they have the authority under the laws of their nation to sign this document and to enforce it.

Article II - Military Aggression

1. Each party to this agreement swear to undertake no aggressive military actions against the other.
2. Aggressive military actions are defined as actions which threaten the national security, safety of citizens, or integrity of assets of the other party through use of military arms.
3. Each party will respect the territorial sovereignty of other other and not move military assets into the other party's territorial claims without consent. This is inclusive of military bases and enclaves located outside the primary territory of each party.
4. Territorial sovereignty includes claimed ground, air, space, and maritime territories.
5. Neither party will use military assets to harass, harm, or otherwise interfere with the affairs of the other party.

Article III - Secret Aggression

1. Neither party shall undertake espionage or other clandestine actions against the other.
2. Nor shall either party utilize espionage or other clandestine actions where the target is or includes the other party.
3. If either either seeks to undertake espionage or other clandestine activities in the territorial claims of the other party or an action that would impact the other, permission is first required from the other party.

Article IV - Corporate & Trade Aggression

1. Each party shall respect the claimed intellectual property of companies headquartered and registered under the other party's laws.
2. Each party shall enforce lawful intellectual property claims of companies from the other party.
3. Neither party shall attempt to reverse engineer or otherwise copy technology belonging to citizens or corporations of the other.
4. Neither party will harass or impede commercial vessels flying the flag of a signatory party.
5. Commercial vessels flying the flag of a signatory party shall be allowed to dock and refuel at the ports of any signatory party.

Article V - Duration

1. This document shall be in force for five (5) years after its signing and renewable annually thereafter.

Article VI - Enforcement

1. The parties agree to convene and discuss any perceived violations of this document with each other as the first step for enforcement.
2. The parties agree that this document will be enforceable with the International Court of Justice.
3. The parties agree that violations of this document found by the International Court of Justice will result in a $5,000,000,000 fine penalty to the other party

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"We believe this document covers the bases of a Non-Aggression Pact but we are happy to hear suggested modifications.

A joint training exercise would be perfect. I have been told to suggest a Naval exercise would be appropriate as a first step, but to say that we are also planning exercises to secure coastlines for landings.

The Argus as it is currently configured would likely be the simplest option. We understand the Argus to be armed, which isn't our immediate desire from a hospital ship for use in international humanitarian missions, but we will purchase it as configured and remove armaments if needed. The armaments would allow the ship to operate in wartime I suppose as well.

I am happy to hear your thoughts on the Type 23's. The Type 23's are our primary candidate, but the Oliver Hazard Perry was considered, alongside the Belgian Weilengen-Class. The Americans have not responded to our purchase inquiries and the Weilengen might not perform to the same standards as the Type 23's due to different operating principles. The Type 23's are part of the United Kingdom's missions across the world. Ours is not such an ambitious mission but we need ships capable of performing in the vast expanse of the Pacific.

As an aside, Japan is ready to assist UK territories affected by the Tsunami. We are potentially in the best position to assist out of any other nations in the Pacific."

@Jamie

 

[Suvorov]

@Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"That sounds like a viable trade proposal, to summarize: Britain will receive Medical Apparatuses, and Steel, which is what we'd be interested in. In return, import Machinery, Cars, Precious Metals, Pharmaceuticals and Organic Chemicals into Japan. Supposedly on a month basis due to geographical location. We too have vessels available from our merchant navy, so if you are happy with the above, we will submit our share onto the International Trade Organisation.

After some deliberation over the agreement, the British Delegate responded. "We are in full agreement with the Mutual Defence pact, there is one thing I'd suggest and that is to amend the duration. Perhaps at two year intervals? Of course, I don't foresee any reason we wouldn't comply and vice versa, but reassessing every 2 years would also give us further cause to work closer together and cooperate in that aspect. Naturally, aside from that, we're happy to sign today if that works for you?

Whilst our task force is currently aiding in the aftermath of the Tsunami, in regards to a joint training exercise, perhaps after the operation has finished in the Pacific, we could arrange a naval exercise to take place at that point? It would allow us to use the ships already in proximity without having to send additional vessels, especially given the climate with Iraq. For defence sales, the UK Government have authorised the Type 23 Frigate to be sold via Nexus Defence, an independent but reputable company that works closely with the UK. I'd recommend setting an account up with them for the Type 23 Frigates, you'll also receive a discount in light of that.

I should have an update for you in regards to Argus shortly ((pending price request)). If you'd be happy to hold on for now and I'll keep you informed."

@Suvorov

 

[Suvorov]

Yōhei edited the draft and initialed the change. “Two years is totally acceptable to us. We would also like to note for clarity that this is a Non-Aggression Pact between our states. We would be happy to discuss a mutual defense agreement as well, however.

As far as the trade agreement, we are in 100% agreement.

Your proposal for the timing of the exercise is perfect. Right now, as your government likely knows, a sizable portion of Japan’s fleet is deployed for the ongoing crisis in Iraq. We do have additional ships at home that could partake in any exercise. Of course, British ships are free to dock in our harbors.

My government has submitted the necessary paperwork and orders with Nexus defense already, awaiting approval and the start of the ship building.

We look forward to hearing any updates on the Argus as well. We have already ordered one Mercy-Class from the Americans to serve as our international aid ship. The weapons on the Argus allow us to use that ship in a more direct military role.”

@Jamie

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NON-AGGRESSION PACT​

This is a mutual declaration of friendship and peace between the UNITED KINGDOM and the STATE OF JAPAN. Each signatory to this pact hereby declares that any and all hostilities against the others are strictly forbidden. This is document is a sign of trust, cooperation, and harmony.

Article I - The Parties

1. Each party to this agreement hereby binds themselves to the terms of this document.
2. The terms of this document represent the entire agreement between the parties.
3. Each party asserts that this document complies with the laws of their nation and that this document will be binding on all subsequent governments.
4. Each party asserts that they have the authority under the laws of their nation to sign this document and to enforce it.

Article II - Military Aggression

1. Each party to this agreement swears to undertake no aggressive military actions against the other.
2. Aggressive military actions are defined as actions which threaten the national security, safety of citizens, or integrity of assets of the other party through use of military arms.
3. Each party will respect the territorial sovereignty of other other and not move military assets into the other party's territorial claims without consent. This is inclusive of military bases and enclaves located outside the primary territory of each party.
4. Territorial sovereignty includes claimed ground, air, space, and maritime territories.
5. Neither party will use military assets to harass, harm, or otherwise interfere with the affairs of the other party.

Article III - Secret Aggression

1. Neither party shall undertake espionage or other clandestine actions against the other.
2. Nor shall either party utilize espionage or other clandestine actions where the target is or includes the other party.
3. If either either seeks to undertake espionage or other clandestine activities in the territorial claims of the other party or an action that would impact the other, permission is first required from the other party.

Article IV - Corporate & Trade Aggression

1. Each party shall respect the claimed intellectual property of companies headquartered and registered under the other party's laws.
2. Each party shall enforce lawful intellectual property claims of companies from the other party.
3. Neither party shall attempt to reverse engineer or otherwise copy technology belonging to citizens or corporations of the other.
4. Neither party will harass or impede commercial vessels flying the flag of a signatory party.
5. Commercial vessels flying the flag of a signatory party shall be allowed to dock and refuel at the ports of any signatory party.

Article V - Duration

1. This document shall be in force for two (2) years after its signing and renewable annually thereafter.

Article VI - Enforcement

1. The parties agree to convene and discuss any perceived violations of this document with each other as the first step for enforcement.
2. The parties agree that this document will be enforceable with the International Court of Justice.
3. The parties agree that violations of this document found by the International Court of Justice will result in a $5,000,000,000 fine penalty to the other party

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[Jamie]

"Great, thank you, we just felt 2 years seemed a bit more flexible to allow us to discuss further or review any points, it withdraws the need to wait much longer between communications surrounding the treaty too. Other than that, we are in full agreement." with that said, the Non-Aggression Pact would be signed on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, marking a symbolic moment for the governments of the United Kingdom and Japan, marking a future of defence and cooperation. Upon the signing, it permitted the pair to engage in a press shoot whilst signing. Not long after, the focus turned onto trade. "I will arrange for trading routes to be submitted to the trade organisation in that case, if you are happy to send in your registrations. As for the Argus Class Casualty Ship, I have confirmation that it's something we would be able to produce and sell to yourselves for $294,840,000.00. If this is something you'd like to go ahead with, we would just need to receive the funds to begin construction. I presume for a quantity of 1, if you were to go ahead with it.

Our Fleet is currently planning it's departure from the Tsuanmi Crisis zone, they will be returning to Diego Garcia pending tasking unless you are in a suitable position for us to engage on that joint training? Or do you feel it be fitter to do post Iraq?"

@Suvorov

 

[Jamie]

@Suvorov