Press Conference by Press Sec. 27 June 1995

1. Cable from Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama to President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt
2. Possible shipment of rice from Japan to North Korea
3. Attempted assassination of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt
4. Issues related to Taiwanese representative to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Unofficial Economic Leaders' Meeting in Osaka
5. Ongoing trade negotiations between Japan and the United States of America

1. Cable from Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama to President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt

   Foreign Ministry Spokesman Terusuke Terad Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Last night, a cable was sent by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama to President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Let me quote what was stated in this cable. "I was astonished at the news that Your Excellency's motorcade was fired on in Addis Ababa. I am greatly relieved to learn that Your Excellency was safe. I also felt relieved by the news that none of your entourage was hurt. Permit me, Excellency, to take this opportunity to express my ardent wish for your continued leadership for further prosperity of Egypt and for your continued active role for achieving peace in the Middle East. -- Tomiichi Murayama, Prime Minister of Japan."

2. Possible shipment of rice from Japan to North Korea

   Q: Could you give me the latest information about Japan's rice aid to North Korea?

   A: I am afraid to tell you we are still in the process of the negotiations with the North Korean side, which prevents me from disclosing the details. Of course, I am sure that you are very interested in the quantity, modality of payment, timing of delivery -- all these questions -- but I can't give you any information on these matters. But, as soon as we are through with the negotiations, we will be quite happy to let you know.

   Q: I read a Kyodo News Service report saying that Prime Minister Murayama has confirmed that Japan will provide North Korea with 150,000 tons of rice free of charge. Can you confirm this report?

   A: No, I cannot. After all, that is news coming from a news agency. Of course, we are now negotiating. I can tell you that, perhaps, there might be some element of grant, but at this stage, I can't tell you how we are approaching this deal with the North Korean side. Sorry to disappoint you, but please be patient.

   Q: During these negotiations, have the North Koreans also insisted that the bags be unmarked, or free of any place of origin, as in the case of the rice from South Korea?

   A: Sorry, I cannot touch upon the details of the negotiations. As is often the case with this type of negotiations, once results are achieved, we are quite happy to let you know.

   Q: Is there going to be an announcement of the results of the negotiations with North Korea later today?

   A: I can't possibly speculate on that.

3. Attempted assassination of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt

   Q: Regarding the incident involving President Mubarak of Egypt yesterday -- do you think this incident will have an effect on the Middle East peace process and the Egyptian role?

   A: We are certainly hoping that this unpardonable assassination attempt will not prevent the ongoing peace process in the Middle East. We certainly hope that President Mubarak will continue to play his important role in this very difficult peace process in the Middle East.

4. Issues related to Taiwanese representative to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Unofficial Economic Leaders' Meeting in Osaka

   Q: I have this question regarding Taiwan. There have been reports that, for APEC, a special envoy has gone with the Taiwan invitation. I presume this invitation is in Prime Minister Murayama's name, because it is a leaders' meeting. Is that right?

   A: I am not aware of an invitation issued at the present time by the Government of Japan to the member economies of APEC. I think this is certainly a question of time. But if I may be specific on this, perhaps, are you not referring to the recent visit by Ambassador Katsuhisa Uchida to Taiwan? Of course, his main purpose was to talk to his colleagues among the Taiwanese authorities. After all, the Japanese Government is responsible for hosting the APEC Unofficial Economic Leaders' Meeting in November in Osaka, and we have to prepare what we call an Action Program in accordance with last year's Bogor Declaration, so our team, headed by Ambassador Uchida, is touring the APEC region in order to sound out the respective authorities. So, the visit made by Ambassador Uchida should be considered as part of the APEC exercise. It does not carry any political implication whatsoever.

   Q: Did Ambassador Uchida have talks with Taiwanese officials about who will be invited from Taiwan to the APEC Summit Meeting?

   A: That is a quite interesting question, but he was not mandated to do so. In other words, he was simply talking to the authorities in charge of the APEC Action Program.

   Q: There were reports that former Prime Minister Kaifu, in his talk with Prime Minister Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China, had the impression that China would be very dissatisfied if Taiwan's Mr. Hsu, the vice premier, were to attend the APEC Meeting. Was this sort of expression conveyed also to Prime Minister Murayama when he visited China -- regarding the vice premier of Taiwan?

   A: I am aware of the report covering the visit of former Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu to the People's Republic of China. I noted that there was an exchange of views such as you quoted. Coming back to the meeting between the Chinese leader and Prime Minister Murayama -- I cannot tell you exactly what transpired, but let me point out that the position was clearly stated by Prime Minister Murayama to the Chinese leader that we would follow the examples already established in the cases of Seattle and Bogor in hosting the APEC Unofficial Economic Leaders' Meeting. So, it is the policy of the Government of Japan that we follow the precedents already set.

   Q: There has been a change since Bogor, because the vice premier, Mr. Hsu, has been put in charge of economic cooperation. One could visualize a certain amount of conflict on this in the days ahead.

   A: I take good note of your question, which has a certain political implication. But let me assure you that Japan follows the precedents that we had already in Seattle and Bogor.

5. Ongoing trade negotiations between Japan and the United States of America

   Q: Regarding the Geneva talks between the United States and Japan -- they are ending today, and tomorrow, the sanctions against Japan will start. So, what is the Japanese Government position?

   A: Thanks to the time difference, we still have some time. I am really quite sure that there will be eleventh hour efforts by both negotiators, so you are still asking me a hypothetical question which I should not answer at the present time.