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Conversation 768-005

TapeTape 768StartMonday, August 14, 1972 at 10:42 AMEndMonday, August 14, 1972 at 11:09 AMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Eberle, William D.;  Flanigan, Peter M.;  Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;  White House photographerRecording deviceOval Office
AudioNARA Description

On August 14, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, William D. Eberle, Peter M. Flanigan, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:42 am to 11:09 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 768-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 768-5

Date: August 14, 1972
Time: 10:42 am - 11:09 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with William D. Eberle, Peter M. Flanigan, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr.;
members of the press and the White House photographer were present at the beginning of the
meeting.

             Greetings

             Photograph

             Eberle’s previous visit to Japan
                 -Kakuei Tanaka’s message for the President

             [Photograph session]

             Eberle’s previous visit to Japan
                 -Golf
                      -Hakone, Japan
                      -Unknown hotel
                      -Negotiating team
                      -Tanaka’s nonparticipation in golf
                          -Tanaka’s other activities

             Tanaka
                 -Youth
                 -Political future

             US-Japan trade relations
                -Trade imbalance

                      (rev. Nov-03)

    -Possible reduction
         -The President’s forthcoming meeting with Tanaka
         -Time frame of Japanese fiscal year
-Possible trade pact
-Japanese distribution system
-Japanese Foreign Office
    -The President’s forthcoming meeting with Tanaka
-Tanaka
    -Political situation
-Agricultural purchases
    -Australia
    -Canada
-Uranium
-Japanese political situation
    -Masayoshi Ohira and Tanaka
    -Forthcoming session of the Japanese Diet
    -Tanaka’s cabinet
    -Yasuhiro Nakasone
    -Unknown representative of Takeo
     Fukuda political faction
         -Minister of Communications
         -Equivalent of Chairman of Council of Economic
          Advisors [CEA]
    -Fukuda
         -Political activity
              -The President’s previous meeting with Fukuda
                   -San Clemente
              -Eisaku Sato
              -Power in Diet
    -Tanaka
    -Nakasone
         -The President’s forthcoming meeting with Tanaka
              -Hawaii
-Trade imbalances
-Short term purchases
-Special purchases
-Japanese proposal
    -Uranium enrichment plant
         -Joint US-Japan ownership
         -Eberle’s view

                                        (rev. Nov-03)

                               -Japanese foreign office
                 -Eberle
                     -The President’s view
                     -Correspondence from Japanese housewives
                          -Agreement with US desire to lower prices in Japan
                     -Eberle’s work with Flanigan and Henry A. Kissinger
                 -Arrival of Japanese uranium team

Haig and Flanigan left at 10:55 am.

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 4m 20s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

*****************************************************************

             Senate
                 -Frank F. Church
                     -Speeches on Latin America
                     -Church amendment
                 -1972 election
                     -Idaho
                 -Church
                     -Prospects in 1974
                     -Opposition to the Administration
                 -Eberle’s possible candidacy
                 -Republicans
                     -Charles H. Percy
                     -Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.
                     -James L. Buckley
                 -Need for moderates
                 -Church

                                       (rev. Nov-03)

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 42s     ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3

*****************************************************************

Eberle left at 11:09 am.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

It's hard to figure out why.
If he was as well about us as he was wanting the money out.
You've got to feel it.
Feel how he's putting it.
That's what it feels like.
Very impressive.
Yes, uh, well, I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know what to do with that.
I'm sorry, but the whole family wanted to see your family.
No, we were able to.
He's our youngest man.
Ha ha!
Ha ha!
What's your opinion as to what's going to happen?
Well, let me cover two things we really want to talk about.
One is the trade-in balance.
We are hopeful that we can get from the Prime Minister to you well ahead of time, but that reduction will be either for the meeting, either for the fiscal year, which ends March 31, 1973,
or for a two-year period.
We'd like to get to two years.
We're still trying to figure out the final numbers and what that's going to be.
This is important because they do not like to implement the program.
We get the personal commitment.
And Naha did give me his personal commitment in spite of the
Second is an overall impact.
This is problematic with what we've kind of done.
We're trying hard, like everything else,
package up that they're going to stop.
The various ministries today are all holding back on it.
Foreign offices say we're trying to put a package together for Hawaii.
I see.
I see.
So that's what we have to do.
We have to keep the pressure on the economy.
Well, I think what they want, of course,
to not do that, but he is not able to do it.
With the exception of the two Makuta men, all the other people in his cabinet aren't characters.
They're all his people.
And he gave the Makuta
I'm also told that Fukuda is no longer the man that you saw at San Fede quiet, preparing to receive power from Sato by osmosis.
He's now in a fighting trend, and he's doing everything possible to disrupt the time.
How about that?
to control the 300 members of the party, and to build a faction at 60.
So it's not that it's not sure if he goes to die, whether he's in control.
And this is also a complicated problem.
This is a political problem we're dealing with as well as any other problem.
But I think it's true about what happened.
Well, I think the clear concern of everybody is not to sell me with any of the positions from the bottom.
That's why I'm worried about
My guess right now is that we must keep the pressure going.
And the minimum is to you on trade-in levels, which I'm sure he's prepared to make.
That I'm sure he's prepared to make.
Short-term purchases and special purchases is still a problem.
We just have to keep working on that.
It's present day one, very fascinating.
proposal that they made the bill, and that is for a uranium enrichment plant to be built here.
This would be the first one in Virginia, and these would be joint owners, $1 billion, and it would put us right smack in control of their long-term uranium development program.
Matt probably won't be ready for your meeting.
The interesting part of that, if that takes a government-to-government and private industry
He could well make that.
You should not count on it.
I would average well less than 50-50, but you never know.
At this point, I can't tell, especially
Oh, tenacious.
That's what you wanted with the Japanese.
Oh, right.
We were very interested just in the side comment.
I totally get it.
It's an inflow of Japanese housewife mail saying how well it was that someone finally stood up for the Japanese consumer.
Our whole pitch to the TV impressed them.
All you did was lower the prices to the Japanese consumer, and they ought to do these things.
Ah, good point.
I think it came out very well, very well.
We're working very closely with Peter and Henry.
We'll just keep going forward between now and the 31st, and hopefully we'll have something that will look good.
There's a question in the office, too close.
Two weeks, two weeks.
And their uranium team doesn't arrive until next month.
They just aren't smart.
They're well-intentioned.
They're just dumb as hell.
I mean, we just haven't got people that are our chief and so forth.
But we have a few that are the ones that have some intelligence.
I mean, let's face it.
Percy's a pretty smart boy.
And maybe sometimes Miles and so forth.
But basically the ones that are
In other words, they are basically, I'm not speaking of having in the Senate
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