Press Conference by the Press Secretary 29 November 1996
- Japan-Hong Kong meetings in Tokyo
- Current situation in the Republic of Rwanda
- Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) passports
- Senkaku Islands
- Japan-Hong Kong meetings in Tokyo
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the regular Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference. Before I take your questions, I would like to give you a very brief readout of the meetings that Governor Christopher Patten of Hong Kong had with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda. As you know, Governor Patten is in Tokyo as an official guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He attended, I believe yesterday, a meeting of the Japan-Hong Kong Business Council in his capacity as advisor to the Hong Kong Delegation. Yesterday afternoon, he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hashimoto, which lasted for about a half an hour, and immediately after this meeting, he met with Foreign Minister Ikeda for approximately 50 minutes. Prior to these meetings, in the morning, he met the Finance Minister and the Minister of International Trade and Industry. I will give you, in a nutshell, what was discussed in the meetings with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. In both meetings, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister underscored the importance of Hong Kong. They emphasized the importance, for both Japan and Hong Kong, that the existing systems and institutions in Hong Kong be maintained, and that the prosperity of Hong Kong continue.
- Meeting between Governor Christopher Patten of Hong Kong and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: In the meeting with the Prime Minister, the Governor thanked the Prime Minister for Japan's understanding and support for Hong Kong, and he briefed the Prime Minister on the current economic situation in Hong Kong. He told the Prime Minister that the Hong Kong economy is in good shape. He also underlined the importance of maintaining Hong Kong's autonomy, in the true sense of the word, of maintaining Hong Kong's institutions, and the rule of law which is at the very core of all of this. In response, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the major role that Governor Patten was playing as the last governor of Hong Kong. The Prime Minister expressed his hope that the handover of Hong Kong would be effected smoothly, that the prosperity of Hong Kong be maintained, and that the People's Republic of China pursue policies that would be conducive to the prosperity of Hong Kong. The two also discussed the role of Japanese companies in Hong Kong, but I will not go into detail here. With regard to the issue of special administrative region (SAR) passports that the Hong Kong authorities will be issuing after the handover, the Governor underscored the importance of free travel by the people of Hong Kong after 1997, from the perspective of maintaining Hong Kong's identity as an international trade center. He expressed his hope that Japan would treat the SAR passport as favorably as possible. In response to this, the Prime Minister told the Governor that he fully understands the importance for Hong Kong of free travel from the perspective of economic activities; he also said that free travel was important in the context of Japan-Hong Kong relations. He said that although the Government of Japan was still studying the specifics of how to treat SAR passports, that Japan would like to treat SAR passports as favorably as possible, so that holders of SAR passports would be able to travel to Japan more freely than those with regular Chinese passports.
- Meeting between Governor Christopher Patten of Hong Kong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: In the meeting with the Foreign Minister, basically the two discussed the same things; in this meeting, the Foreign Minister underscored the importance of the prosperity of Hong Kong after 1997, not just for Hong Kong, but for the entire Asia-Pacific region. He said that this was a matter of great interest to Japan, also. He said that it in order for Hong Kong to continue prospering, it was important to maintain Hong Kong's existing systems and institutions, the rule of law, and the free economic system. They also discussed the SAR passport; the discussion was very similar to the one the Prime Minister and Governor Patten had. That is, in a nutshell, what was discussed in the two meetings. That is the announcement that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.
- Meeting between Governor Christopher Patten of Hong Kong and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
- Current situation in the Republic of Rwanda
Q: I have a question about the Rwanda refugees. This morning, there was an article in the newspapers saying that Japan was considering sending medical assistance from NGOs as part of the United Nations' multinational forces. I would like to know how that is being done.
A: The article you are referring to is not the most accurate article in the world. Japan's general policy regarding the current situation in the Republic of Rwanda is to contribute as much as possible in three areas. The first area is support for the multinational force. The second area is support for the repatriation of refugees. And, the third area is support for the stabilization of the region. You may have heard that Japan is sending a survey team to the area. The team, headed by Director of the First Africa Division Ryuichi Shoji of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is leaving for Africa today. The team will be there until 10 December. The purpose of this survey team is to get a good overall grasp of the needs of the region -- to be more specific, to take a first-hand look at what is needed in terms of assistance in the areas of repatriation, resettlement, and reintegration of the refugees. We will be considering and deciding where we go from there, on the basis of the findings of this survey mission. So, presently at this point, we have not reached any decision regarding the dispatch of a medical team to Rwanda. That is where we are right now.
- Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) passports
Q: In the meetings with Governor Patten, was there any discussion during those meetings about visa-free access? Or, were there any promises made about visa-free access, for Hong Kong SAR passport holders, to Japan?
A: As I said in the readout, the Prime Minister told Governor Patten that we would like to treat SAR passports as favorably as possible, in order to facilitate travel for the holders of SAR passports -- that Japan would like to provide treatment which is more favorable than the treatment being accorded to the holders of regular Chinese passports. He did not go into any more specifics than that.
Q: Was there anything specific said about multiple entry visas? Was there any discussion about that possibility?
A: They did not discuss this issue in detail.
- Senkaku Islands
Q: The second question is about the Islands issue. There are actually two parts to this. One is the comment by the American official, saying that the Islands during the treaty negotiations were listed as part of Japan's territory, but the U.S. did not say it was making any specific defense of Japan's position. The second question is whether or not there was any discussion in the meeting about the Islands issue, because Hong Kong has been a center of anti-Japanese protest on that issue?
A: The question of the Senkaku Islands was not discussed, specifically, in either of the meetings. However, in the meeting between the Governor and the Foreign Minister, the Foreign Minister talked about the confidence of businessmen in Hong Kong. In this context, he said that it was important to keep Japanese businessmen confident in Hong Kong, despite recent developments in Hong Kong.
Q: Was there any reaction to the U.S. statement about the Islands?
A: That was not discussed.
Q: In a separate context than --.
A: Are you referring to the Yomiuri Shimbun article?
Q: Yes.
A: Okay. We do not have the exact wording or the transcript of the interview; we do not know what exactly Mr. Campbell told the Yomiuri Shimbun, so I cannot comment directly on what he said. But, in very general terms, with respect to the legal framework or legal structure of the Security Treaty, we believe it clearly applies to areas under the administration of Japan, and that the United States is aware of the Japanese position and understands the Japanese position. Of course, I would like to add that the current situation does not warrant a discussion on the relationship between the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the Senkaku Islands. Thank you very much.
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