(* 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 MACHIMURA Nobutaka

Date: Monday, September 3, 2007, 1:50 p.m.
Place: Front Entrance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Main topics:

APEC Ministerial Meeting
Resignation of Ministerial-Level Official
North Korean Issues

1. APEC Ministerial Meeting

Minister:
I would like to first of all announce that I will be leaving for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting today. I am departing this evening, and I believe I will be returning on Saturday evening. At the APEC meeting, I intend to discuss ongoing topics such as climate change, the issue of global warming, issues relating the World Trade Organization (WTO), and structural reforms.

The first international conference that I attended when I served as Minister for Foreign Affairs previously was the APEC meeting held in Chile, and I will be going to an APEC meeting again this time. I intend to realize "proactive diplomacy" for Japan. Numerous bilateral talks have been set, and I plan to make thorough efforts.

I have spoken with 13 foreign ministers and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and a large number of countries have expressed expectations for thorough efforts based on the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, and have praised Japan's activities up to now. This topic was recently discussed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, and former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike-who has been replaced-has discussed this matter in India and Pakistan. I thus wanted to report these international expectations and the fact that I have gained a sense in my telephone conferences with many foreign ministers and so forth of the continuing need for activities based on the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law, which has received a high degree of praise internationally. Information materials on whom I have spoken with will be provided to you, and I hope that you will take a look at them.

Question:
You will be speaking with representatives from the United States, the Republic of Korea, China, and so forth. Do you mean to say that the extension of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law will be one of the important agenda items for discussion at these meetings?

Minister:
This matter has been discussed during telephone conferences, so I think that it will of course come up during my meetings in person.

2. Resignation of Ministerial-Level Official

Question:
Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Yukiko Sakamoto has resigned only a short time after her appointment, over a matter of double accounting for a number of receipts. What are your thoughts on this matter?

Minister:
I had high expectations that Ms. Sakamoto would prove to be a very highly capable parliamentary secretary, and this outcome is therefore a regrettable one. However, given the current very stern atmosphere concerning the issue of "politics and money," this was a decision made by Ms. Sakamoto herself. I view the situation as one whereby Ms. Sakamoto made a difficult decision, particularly in view of the fact that the detailed follow-up investigation uncovered a number of other issues. In this context the decision that she made was only understandable.

Question:
At the same time, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has resigned, the third agriculture minister to do so. What are your views on this matter?

Minister:
It is truly regrettable that we have arrived at such an outcome so soon after the inauguration of the Cabinet. At this stage before we enter into policy discussions, the Cabinet as a whole, including the succeeding agricultural minister will have to make every effort to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.

Question:
What do you think the impact on the administration will be?

Minister:
I think the Cabinet will be judged rather on the actions it takes from now.

Question:
There are those who are saying that the responsibility for the resignations of the agriculture minister and the parliamentary secretary lies with Prime Minister Abe. What are your thoughts on this?

Minister:
With the current method for background checks on candidates for ministers and secretaries of the government, I think it would be very difficult to know everything about a particular candidate beforehand. I am no expert, but one example that springs to mind is the vigorous investigations implemented by the CIA and FBI in the case of the United States. With such investigations it is not unusual for the inauguration of a minister to ultimately take around six months. In Japan it is the case that a ministerial appointment must be announced immediately, within one or two days. Given these differences in administrative structure there is naturally a limit to the number of prior checks that can be implemented. However, in this matter the end result has been a ministerial resignation and that is something that the prime minister will take with the utmost seriousness.

3. North Korean Issues

Question:
What is your evaluation of the recent meeting between the United States and North Korea? Also, what are your expectations for the upcoming meeting between Japan and North Korea and the Six-Party Talks overall?

Minister:
It has been reported to me that the meeting between the United States and North Korea seems to have been positive on the whole. The fact that a positive discussion has taken place in the direction of complete nuclear declaration and disablement -- although I am not yet sure to what extent agreements have been reached on the details -- means that there has been positive progress for the Six-Party Talks overall. I have heard that at the US-North Korea meeting, the US side expressed expectations for progress at the Japan-North Korea meeting, so I am hoping that the meeting of the Japan-North Korea Working Group to be held in Mongolia will produce some results. I am, however, not excessively optimistic.

Question:
There are comments that the United States is somewhat hinting that it will remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Minister:
I am not sure of the details of that, but I have been told by the US side that US-North Korea relations will not be advanced at the expense of Japan-US relations.

Back to Index