US tries to reassure Japan after documents reveal spying

[webfact]

US tries to reassure Japan after documents reveal spying
JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working to prevent tension with a treaty ally, Vice President Joe Biden reassured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday that the U.S. limits its surveillance of friendly nations, after leaked documents showed U.S. spying on Japanese officials and companies.

Abe had expressed deep concern about the documents WikiLeaks published last week, and vowed to bring up the issue with the U.S. The response appeared to come in the phone call with Biden, who has an established relationship with Abe after years of in-person diplomacy.

"The vice president reaffirmed the United States' commitment made by President Obama in a 2014 presidential directive to focus our intelligence collection on national security interests," the White House said in a brief statement describing the call.

The Japanese prime minister's office said Wednesday that Biden also apologized for causing trouble in Japan, without mentioning a specific incident. It added that Abe told Biden that if the allegations are true, it would threaten the trust between the two countries, so he expects the U.S. to investigate the reports and respond appropriately.

In his 2014 directive and an accompanying speech, Obama promised the U.S. would no longer monitor leaders of "friends and allies" without a compelling reason, following devastating leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that caused diplomatic rifts with Germany and Brazil. The White House has also said the U.S. doesn't conduct spying to gain an economic edge.

The White House offered few details about the call, but said Biden had "underscored our strong commitment to the U.S.-Japan alliance" and thanked Abe for partnering with the U.S.

The effort to mollify Japan comes as the U.S. struggles to finalize a major trade deal that forms the economic centerpiece of Obama's effort to increase U.S. influence in Asia. In Hawaii last week, negotiators from a dozen Pacific Rim countries failed to reach a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is held up in part over disagreements about access to Japan's auto markets.

The leaked documents include what appear to be five U.S. National Security Agency reports, four of which are marked top-secret, that provide intelligence on Japanese positions on international trade and climate change. They date from 2007 to 2009.

WikiLeaks also posted what it says is an NSA list of 35 Japanese targets for telephone intercepts, including the Japanese Cabinet office, Bank of Japan officials, Finance and Trade Ministry offices, the natural gas division at Mitsubishi and the petroleum division at Mitsui.
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Associated Press writer Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-05

[anon467367354]

I'm sure that's going to be real assuring. We're the US, we alway tell the truth, the beacon of freedom and democracy

and government takeovers.

[user82374298374]

There are very few people I admire, but Edward Snowden is one of them. Along with Wang Weilin ('Tank Man' from the Tianenmen Square protests in 1989), he's one of the bravest people I've ever seen.

Edited August 5, 2015 by disambiguated

[Basil B]

"The vice president reaffirmed the United States' commitment made by President Obama in a 2014 presidential directive to focus our intelligence collection on national security interests," the White House said in a brief statement describing the call.

I am sorry to say but I believe the the American spying went further than "National Security Interests", lot of Americas big businesses will have benefited.

[soalbundy]

We were only practicing, sorry about that.

[Steely Dan]

It appears these days that the U.S is far more adept at spying on its supposed allies than it is it's enemies. Is this the famed 'total reset' approach to foreign

Policy?

[Jonmarleesco]

'... Joe Biden reassured Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday that the U.S. limits its surveillance of friendly nations ...' Really? That's reassuring, I'm sure. Plausible deniability is becoming less plausible, ally by ally. ​

[rijb]

There are very few people I admire, but Edward Snowden is one of them. Along with Wang Weilin ('Tank Man' from the Tianenmen Square protests in 1989), he's one of the bravest people I've ever seen.

Benedict Arnold must really make you go weak at the knees.

[spidermike007]

It appears these days that the U.S is far more adept at spying on its supposed allies than it is it's enemies. Is this the famed 'total reset' approach to foreign

Policy?

Words my boy, just words. What reset? National security has increased substantially under this guy. Everyone is being spied on by the US. Japan is no exception. They have to justify a million security employees and the billions being spent. My guess is, more money is being spent spying on innocent citizens and grandmothers, than on IS and Queda.

[fish fingers]

There are very few people I admire, but Edward Snowden is one of them. Along with Wang Weilin ('Tank Man' from the Tianenmen Square protests in 1989), he's one of the bravest people I've ever seen.

I'd add Ai Wei Wei to that list, as well as that Clare Rewcastle Brown who has been campaigning against the corrupt Malay prime minister - he's taken out an arrest warrant on her and trying to add her to interpol most wanted..

[NeilSA1]

forked tongues

[lap82]

The American eyes and ears are everywhere.

[rijb]

There are lots of eyes and ears out there, according to the following list of intelligence agencies. Yes, even Thailand can see and hear you...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intelligence_agencies

[Linky]

Spying against unfriendly nations I understand.

Spying against friendly nations is wrong.

Spying against friendly nations companies to gain advantage is North Koreanesque,.

Sorry if I invented at new word there but I find spying on friendly nations companies not only to be illegal but total moral depravity and reprehensible.

And the US has the gaul to complain about China ?

[EnglishJohn]

All this fake shock and horror whenever spying is uncovered is pure hypocrisy.

Every government does it on any other government they can. Diplomats never tell the whole truth and it's the only way to know what they might do in the future.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is just naïve. The world is not this 'let's all be friends' place some people seem to think it is.

Would this have made the headline if someone else was spying on the USA ?. Definitely not.

Edited August 6, 2015 by EnglishJohn

[spidermike007]

The Washington Post reported in 2010 that there were 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies in 10,000 locations in the United States that are working on counterterrorism, homeland security, and intelligence, and that the intelligence community as a whole includes 854,000 people holding top-secret positions.

And that was 5 years ago!

Edited August 6, 2015 by spidermike007