(* 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 Taro Aso

Date: Friday, June 29, 2007, 9:56 a.m.
Place: Briefing Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Main topics:

Cabinet Meeting
International MANGA Award Recipient
North Korean Issues
Meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Safari

1. Cabinet Meeting

Minister:
First, I will report today's Cabinet meeting. MOFA announced that the Government of Japan has decided to extend emergency grant aid totaling $3.5 million through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the holding of general and provincial elections in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

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2. International MANGA Award Recipient

Minister:
The International MANGA Award recipient to be announced on July 2 has been decided. The grand prize piece, "Sun Zi's Tactics" was by 43-year old Lee Chi Ching of Hong Kong. A Japanese version has already been published. In addition, "1520" by KAI of Hong Kong, "Le Gardenie" of Malaysia, and a piece by Madeleine Rosca of Australia have been awarded. An award ceremony is to be held on July 2 at the Iikura House, and it is scheduled that I will hand the trophies directly to the recipients.

I have done a bit of research for this, and I learned that manga is a unique genre that completely transcends national borders. In France, manga is producing considerable sales, and it is becoming a formidable force in the publishing market. Since three years ago, "manga" is a category in statistics compiled by the French Publishers Association.

These award recipients have been judged as "manga," not "comics." In total, 146 pieces were submitted. I appreciate these numerous and various submissions and also hope that Japan will continue to send messages in many ways through pop culture and that people from abroad can use the medium of manga to get their messages across. I will be very glad if various types of bonds can be formed through manga.

3. North Korean Issues

Question:
Reuters published a press report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered a reexamination of the abduction issue. Has the Japanese government received information that North Korea will be taking a positive stance on this issue?

Minister:
I know that a press report was published. However, on how that will have actual, specific results -- it is frequently the case that their words and actions do not always match up. So we do not feel that hearing about this reexamination translates immediately to the appropriate actions.

Question:
If we could have just your thoughts, if that press report were true and North Korea began reexaminations, or if it announced that it began reexaminations, do you believe that can we see this as progress?

Minister:
Hypothetically speaking, it should be one of progress, but we do not know whether this is really the case. We can declare progress after having done extensive investigations, so we need to be able to understand whether or not reexaminations will really take place. We want to firmly verify whether or not reexaminations have taken place. That is our fundamental stance. It is unconvincing to say, "We've had reexaminations" and just to say, "We didn't find anything." However, even if it is true that North Korea announced reexaminations, it is a different matter altogether if it simply says, as it has in the past, "The abduction problem has already been solved."

Question:
Two days ago, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile, and it was even discovered that short-range ballistic missiles have been launched three times in the past. What is your position on the implications of North Korea continuing this kind of behavior when the six parties' processes are trying to be restarted?

Minister:
If that is the case, it clearly violates the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 which is binding at least. Based on that, I believe that it will also violate the Japan-DPRK Pyongyang Declaration, and essentially, this would be a problem. But diplomacy proceeds on one side and we get a completely different kind of action from the other. What we can is only to speculate whether there is no control over the military, whether the action was intended, or if it was intended, what the intention was.

4. Meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Safari

Question:
I understand that you will be meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Safari. Given that there is alleged evidence that Iran has been communicating missile technologies or nuclear development with North Korea, what do you intend to convey as the Japanese government's position on nuclear development this time?

Minister:
In the past, Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki and Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi came to Japan often, and one was ambassador to Japan, so we had a lot of phone calls and such. But I don't know what it means that another deputy minister, of equal rank to Deputy Foreign Minister Araghchi, coming to Japan. Honestly, at this stage, I don't know whether he has completely different plans in mind. It can only be seen when we meet.

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