(* This is a provisional translation by a translation service company for reference purpose only. The original text is in Japanese.)
Press Conference held by Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (Doorstepping)
Date: Friday, August 26, 2005, 10:24 a.m.
Place: Entrance Hall, Prime Minister's Official Residence
Main topics:
1. Cabinet Meeting/Informal Cabinet Meeting
Minister:
We had a brief discussion of personnel matters during today's Cabinet Meeting, but there were no particular Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues touched upon.
Mr. YUSUKE KUDO, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been selected to join the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and will be dispatched in September. Up until this point, Japan has provided in-kind contribution for UNMIS, but we understand that personnel contribution is also required, and so Mr. Kudo will be our first staff member sent. Mr. Kudo is an expert in Arabic and has worked in the Sudan before. He will be assigned to the Unified Mission Analysis Center (UMAC) in the UNMIS headquarters, where he will analyze information that is collected by UNMIS. His mission will be a part of headquarters' function.
2. Dispatch of Civilian to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Question:
What kind of message is the government of Japan sending by dispatching personnel to the UNMIS?
Minister:
Initially, there was a wide variety of opinions on the issue, with some arguing that we should send a large contingent from the Self-Defense Forces, others that we should send a smaller contingent, and still others that we should send no one at all. It is always the case in projects such as this that while financial and in-kind contribution is important, personnel contribution is also important for there. I think it is very significant, therefore, that Mr. Kudo has been assigned to this mission, and I hope that it will be understood as an expression that the Government of Japan's is committed to the issues on Sudan.
Question:
Is there anything to report from the Informal Cabinet Meeting?
Minister:
Nothing in particular
Related Information (Press Release)
3. Six-Party Talks on North Korean Issues
Question:
We have heard that arrangements are being made for the Six-Party Talks to start on September 2nd.
Minister:
My understanding is that that has not been substantiated.
Question:
Will it be later?
Minister:
I am informed that arrangements are being made for the talks to start sometime next week.
Question:
So nothing has been decided as yet?
Minister:
That is correct.
Question:
We are drawing very close to that time. What do you think, Minister, about the progress of the arrangements?
Minister:
The question of peaceful use is difficult, and at the current point in time we have not seen any substantial breakthroughs, so this is still a difficult issue. In other words, until we can, at least to a certain extent, see our way clear on this issue, it becomes very difficult to schedule a resumption of the talks, and that is what I think is working in the background.
Question:
It looks as though the Six-Party Talks will overlap the election campaign. What do you think about the impact that the Six-Party Talks and Japan-North Korea negotiations will have on the elections?
Minister:
I don't think they will have any direct effect.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
4. Lower House Elections
Question:
Yesterday on a television program, former Prime Minister Mori said something to the effect that Prime Minister Koizumi's term might be extended if the LDP wins a landslide victory. What do you think about that?
Minister:
I do not know what Mr. Mori intended when he said that.
Question:
What do you think about extending the Prime Minister's term?
Minister:
I have no comment.
5. Japan-Korea Relations
Question:
R.O.K. is going to disclose government documents on the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea today. Would you care to comment on it?
Minister:
As was the case last time, this is basically up to the judgment of the Government of the R.O.K. itself and I do not think there is any particular need for the Government of Japan to comment.
Question:
Japan follows the "30-year rule" in disclosing government documents. Do you have any intention of reconsidering this and reviewing document disclosures?
Minister:
This sort of decision made by the R.O.K. does not make it incumbent upon Japan to change its practices.
Related Information (Japan-ROK Relations)
Back to Index
