(* This is a provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only. The original text is in Japanese.)

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura

Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Place: Singapore, Singapore

Main topic:

Japan-Myanmar Foreign Ministers' Meeting

1. Japan-Myanmar Foreign Ministers' Meeting

Minister:
During our meeting we talked about the incident involving Mr. Nagai, and the process of democratization and the state of human rights in Myanmar.

Regarding the incident involving Mr. Nagai, I once again called on Foreign Minister U Nyan Win of Myanmar to clarify the facts, and again requested the return of Mr. Nagai's personal belongings, including the video camera. Foreign Minister U Nyan Win stated that he would let the Myanmar police authorities provide a thorough explanation to the Japanese Embassy in Myanmar and that although, given the confusion of the situation, there may be some personal belongings that cannot be found, he himself would strongly tell the police to make every effort to ensure that these belongings would also be found. When I mentioned that the way in which the incident involving Mr. Nagai will be settled might in fact have an influence on Japan's policy vis-à-vis Myanmar, Foreign Minister U Nyan Win responded in this manner.

Regarding the progress on democratization and human rights, I stated that we did not really know how the Myanmar government has evaluated the work of the United Nations Secretary General Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari, but we considered Mr. Gambari to be a friend. I did say that although there might be many points that he speaks about forcefully, he also at the same time urged action from the side of Aung San Suu Kyi, furthermore, Mr. Gambari asked the Government of Japan to provide assistance, if significant change was made in a good direction in Myanmar. I told him that Special Advisor Gambari was a friend, so Foreign Minister U Nyan Win should make his utmost efforts to implement what Special Advisor Gambari had requested. I stated that the Government of Japan fully supported the efforts of Special Advisor Gambari, and that it was natural for us to do so as a member of the United Nations, and that furthermore, we did so because we believe that it was in the interests of the people of Myanmar. In response to that, Foreign Minister U Nyan Win stated that everything that could be implemented from the proposal given by Special Advisor Gambari had been implemented, and that going forward too, efforts would be made to implement it further as much as possible. However, he also stated that it would not be possible to implement everything immediately, and that therefore Foreign Minister U Nyan Win would like to ask for understanding in this regard. I stated that, anyway, I believed that what Special Advisor Gambari said was in fact the best thing for Myanmar.

Foreign Minister U Nyan Win stated that Myanmar was a poor country, and that although progress was being made in advancing democratization, there were limits to what can be done. Therefore, he asked us to help Myanmar become richer. I replied that it might be a case of the chicken and the egg, since after all provision of assistance would be difficult unless the international community can sense a strong commitment on the part of the current administration in Myanmar to advance the process of democratization. I also stated that from that perspective, when we had been able to note a significant change in Myanmar, we would be able to provide appropriate assistance.

We ended our meeting by saying that we both looked forward to seeing each other next year in Japan, at the time of the Japan-Mekong River Foreign Ministers Meeting.

Question:
Regarding the incident involving Mr. Nagai, although I believe that in fact there will be no concrete developments leading to clarification what actually took place, could you please state your frank impressions about this?

Minister:
Leaving aside how we evaluated the actual words that were spoken, an explanation of that would be provided by the police authorities to the Japanese Embassy in Myanmar, although Mr. Nagai did pass away in a chaotic situation. Foreign Minister U Nyan Win did state that, and the Foreign Minister would give clear instructions to the police authorities to search for Mr. Nagai's personal belongings. Although I do not know exactly how those actual words will be realized, I do intend to keep a close eye on the situation with a certain degree of expectation.

Question:
Did Foreign Minister U Nyan Win state exactly when an explanation would be provided from the police authorities to the Japanese embassy?

Minister:
He said that it would take place soon.

Question:
There were reports that Special Advisor Gambari would not participate in the East Asia Summit as calls came from China and several other countries requesting that he refrain from participating. What is the response to that from the Government of Japan, and did you talk about that during the talks with Foreign Minister U Nyan Win this time?

Minister:
We did not talk about that. I have heard that a decision was made along those lines by ASEAN. My personal opinion is that it would be best and in the interests of Myanmar for an explanation to be made at all international fora, but if that has been decided by ASEAN, then that is how it is.

Question:
Regarding the assistance that Japan provides for Myanmar, you explained that you will keep an eye on the actions taken by Myanmar. I understand that several projects have been temporarily halted. In the future, will you take any type of new measures?

Minister:
We provide assistance only for projects which can be clearly identified as those truly in the interests of the people, no matter who analyses the situation. We have put a stop to projects which may be in the interests of the people from a long-term perspective but will in the short term amount to assisting the government. However, to give an example, the Government of Japan takes the position that we should not stop the provision of polio vaccines to the already suffering people of Myanmar.

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