Press Conference by the Press Secretary 12 September 1995

Upcoming briefing on the visit by Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama to the Middle East
Acting Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As our spokesman, Mr. Hashimoto, announced to you last Friday, this afternoon we have scheduled a special briefing session on Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's visit to the Middle East, which will be held back-to-back with this regular briefing. As our briefers, we will have two experts from the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau. I would appreciate it very much if you would ask any questions related to the visit or to the Middle East in general in the following session.

Q: What about the Prime Minister's visit to the Middle East?

A: We have scheduled a special briefing session for you on his visit to the Middle East. I think they will be briefing you on the visit.

Q: So you can't give me any information on that?

A: I think it would be better to defer this issue to our experts, because I think they can respond much better than I can to the very difficult questions that I am sure you have.
Response of the Government of Japan to the test of nuclear weapons by the French Republic
A: In last Friday's briefing, there was a question about Japan's plans to send a special envoy to France regarding the nuclear test. Regarding this question, this morning the Japanese Government decided and announced that it would send Ambassador Nobuo Matsunaga, Representative of the Government, to France to convey directly the views of the Japanese Government regarding the resumption of the French test. Ambassador Matsunaga will be having a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs HervÇ de Charette on 13 September. In his meetings in Paris, Ambassador Matsunaga will be reiterating Japan's regret over the French resumption of nuclear testing, and he will also be discussing the ties between Japan and France in general. The Japanese Government is hopeful that in his meetings with French leaders, Ambassador Matsunaga will have constructive talks.

Q: When will he leave? When will Mr. Matsunaga leave?

A: He is in Mexico. He will be arriving in Paris in the late afternoon of 12 September, local time.

Q: What time will he be meeting with the French Foreign Minister, and do you have any details about the meeting?

A: I do not have the specifics on the timing or the venue of the meeting. All I have is the date, 13 September.

Q: Do you have any intentions to send another Special Envoy, or is this the last initial action or reaction in response to the French tests?

A: As I said, Ambassador Matsunaga is going to Paris to convey the views of the Japanese Government on the resumption of the nuclear tests by France. I think the views of the Japanese Government are well known, and he is going for this very special purpose. We do not plan, at this stage at least, any further visits.

Q: Do you think the French Government will stop nuclear testing after they hear your position?

A: We are sending a Special Envoy to France in the hope that the French Government will understand the Japanese position better after the meetings are held.

Q: He will demand that France stop?

A: That is what we have been asking all along; when first the plans to resume testing were first announced, we conveyed to the French side in very strong terms that we hoped they would not go ahead with the testing. We are hopeful that they will not conduct any more tests. That is the position of the Japanese Government.

Q: French President Jacques Chirac said that they were going to conduct further tests.

A: We are well aware of that.

Q: What is the purpose of the visit, then?

A: It is the position of the Government to take every opportunity to convey our views to the French side. When I say, "every opportunity," I mean bilateral channels and also multilateral fora. We are now in the process of preparing a draft resolution to be submitted to the United Nations regarding nuclear tests.

Q: Do you know when the French ambassador will be back in Tokyo?

A: I have no information on that.
Private response by Japanese politicians to the test of nuclear weapons by the French Republic
A: One other point relating to the French nuclear test. As you are aware, the French Government has been critical of the participation by Minister of Finance Masayoshi Takemura in the protest held in Tahiti the other day, as well as some subsequent remarks made by the Finance Minister. The Japanese Government would like to reiterate its position on this. Mr. Takemura's visit was a private visit. His visit to Tahiti was a private visit, and his comments and remarks thereafter were private comments representing the private views of a politician. Therefore his actions and comments do not in any way reflect the position or the views of the Japanese Government.

Q: When Mr. Matsunaga meets with the French Foreign Minister, is he going to explain about the Finance Minister's remarks to the French side?

A: I am not in a position right now to give you the specifics of what exactly Ambassador Matsunaga will be telling the French Government, except to say that we will be reiterating our regret over the resumption of the tests. I am sure he will be going into more detail than that, but that is far as I can go at this stage.
French detainment of two Japanese Diet members
Q: Can you say anything about the detainment of two Diet members recently?

A: What aspect are you interested in? The seizure of the vessel?

Q: I understand that Members of Parliament were arrested.

A: I think one of the two Members is in Japan and one is in New Zealand right now.

Q: How do you see it? Is this important?

A: Are you interested in our views on the legal aspect? As you may be aware, the French Government declared on 29 June, in an order of the High Commissioner, that the 12-mile zone around the Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls would be off- limits. My comments will have to be in very general terms, because we are still checking with the French side with regard to the details of how exactly the seizure of the vessel took place. If indeed there was a violation of the territorial waters of France, and if the seizure of the yacht was effected in response to a violation of the order of the High Commissioner, this would not give rise to any questions under international law. That is to say, the Japanese Government would not be in a position to raise any legal questions with regard to the seizure of the vessel by the French Government. That is the position of the Japanese Government on this matter.
Request from North Korea for emergency humanitarian assistance
Q: I understand the North Korean Government has asked for emergency relief and assistance to help with the floods that have been happening there. I think the Japanese Government's response was that they would have to wait for the United Nations report to come out. I believe that report is expected to be released today. When do you think the Japanese Government will make a decision on whether it will provide some assistance to North Korea?

A: I think you are well aware that the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) will be holding a briefing for member governments, international organizations and non- governmental organizations in Geneva on this matter. We anticipate that they will be briefing us on the results of the survey conducted by the DHA team in North Korea, as well as their assessment of the situation. Our position is that we have to look at this report before we can reach any decision. That is to say, we will be considering our response to this request after looking at the report of the DHA. We do not have any specific time frame in mind in reaching a conclusion. We first have to look at the report.

Q: Given that this is an emergency, one would expect that a response would come fairly quickly, say within this week.

A: I am not going to refer to any specific time frame, but of course we fully understand the nature of the problem, and that will be duly taken into account.

Q: When the announcement is made, do you think that it will be very formal; will it be a statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Koken Nosaka; or will it be someone from within the Ministry?

A: That aspect will have to be considered as a part of our overall consideration regarding this issue.

Back to Index