Press Conference by the Press Secretary 6 December 1996

Emergency aid for refugees in the Republic of Zaire
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this Ministry of Foreign Affairs regular press conference. I have one announcement on the decision of the Government of Japan to extend emergency aid for refugees and others related to the situation in the eastern part of the Republic of Zaire. This morning, the Cabinet decided to extend emergency aid totalling US$21,420,000 through international organizations. This amount is the second biggest contribution after that of the United States of America, and may be regarded as a comprehensive package of assistance which will be distributed to each relevant international organization with the specific purpose of funding. We have distributed some fact-finding papers to you, so I hope you will refer to the second page of the distributed papers, as far as the details of our assistance are concerned. I would quickly like to explain to you that Japan is actively studying and implementing the contributions for the emergency situation in central Africa, especially in three sectors. One is refugee assistance, and I have already explained to you the decision of the Government of Japan this morning. Apart from that, I would like to explain that the Government of Japan is studying the possibility of assisting in facilitating the settlement of refugees, which will be studied at the future Assistance Group Meeting for Central Africa. Already, the first meeting took place at the very end of November this year in Geneva, and Japan will be actively participating in this upcoming meeting. Apart from that, the Government of Japan is supporting some NGOs, especially the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), which is headquartered in Japan. And, the Japanese mission which has been sent to the Republic of Rwanda is now studying what the Government of Japan can do further for humanitarian relief. The second area is our possible assistance to a multinational force. Japan will study the possibility of financial contributions, including issues related to fiscal resources for dispatching a multinational force, if African nations concerned contribute troops to a multinational force, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1080; however, we still do not know whether African nations are ready to dispatch troops for a multinational force. Thirdly, some relevant countries are floating the idea of holding an international conference on the Great Lakes region. The purpose of the meeting is -- not only for the direct parties to the conflict, but also for the members of international society, including Japan -- to cooperate with each other to try and achieve long-term safety for the peoples who are suffering from the conflict. Japan wants to actively pursue the possibility of holding such an international conference. That is the announcement that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.
Atomic Bomb Dome World Heritage site
Q: May I have your comments on the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome that was named as a World Heritage Site?

A: In September of last year, the Government of Japan nominated the Hiroshima Peace Memorial for registration as a World Heritage site. This was because we believe that it is a monument to all mankind as a symbol of appeal for perpetual peace. We believe that the decisions of the Committee to inscribe the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage site shows that we were able to gain the understanding of the World Heritage Committee on this Japanese position.

Q: Now the site has been officially named as a World Heritage site.

A: That is right.

Q: May I have your comment on that?

A: While the Committee has decided to inscribe the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage site, it reflects that Japan itself has been able to gain the understanding of the World Heritage Committee on the Japanese positions which I have just explained to you, that the Atomic Bomb Dome is a monument to all mankind as a symbol of appeal for perpetual peace.

Q: As you know, the United States has been opposing the listing of the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage site. What do you think about this?

A: We understand that the Committee has decided to inscribe the Atomic Bomb Dome as a World Heritage site. After the decision, the United States representative orally stated what the United States side thought about this. I would like to say that the atomic bombing had extremely regrettable consequences from a humanitarian viewpoint; a large number of men and women, young and old, were killed or seriously injured. As a matter of national sentiment, we cannot approve of the atomic bomb, for whatever reasons there may have been behind it. The Government of Japan believes that it is important to convey to future generations the tragic consequences of the nuclear bomb, together with a strong message that such tragedies must never be repeated. The Government of Japan has, on past occasions, conveyed to the United States side the Japanese people's strong sentiments regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
Upcoming World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference
Q: The Japanese trade minister is not going to the World Trade Organization meeting in Singapore on Monday -- the only trade minister from 125 countries not attending. Would you explain why you are not going, and secondly, who will be representing you?

A: Minister of International Trade and Industry Shinji Sato is unfortunately unable to attend the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, because of the Session of the National Diet which has just begun. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda is now asking for approval from the National Diet to attend the Conference; however, he has not yet received approval from the National Diet. He is pursuing that possibility. State Secretary Kousuke Hori of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry is going to attend the Conference. Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Seiko Noda is also attending the WTO Ministerial Conference. It is very unfortunate that International Trade and Industry Minister Sato cannot attend the WTO Conference, but it does not lessen the importance that the Government of Japan attaches to the WTO Ministerial Conference. We hope that the Japanese side can contribute to a successful ending of the Singapore Ministerial Conference.
Statement by the Department of Justice of the United States of America
Q: In regards to the watch list announced by the Department of Justice of the United States today, does the Government of Japan have any plans to protest?

A: The question of granting or denying an alien access to our country is basically a matter relating to the sovereign rights of the country. I think this applies to the present case of the United States of America. We are now clarifying with the Administration of President William Clinton of the United States the content of the decision and the nature of the statement by the United States Department of Justice.

Q: So, is there a possibility that the Government would take any actions?

A: Apart from clarifying, we have not taken any action yet.
Use of imported rice for grant aid
Q: Do you have any official response to the American criticism of Japan exporting imported rice? The American Embassy put out a statement saying that they thought that the export of imported rice was against the spirit of the Uruguay Round Agreement.

A: Are you talking about the use of imported rice for our grant aid to third-party countries?

Q: Yes.

A: We know that the American side has reservations on this; however, we have been implementing special types of grant aid using rice and other crops for a long time, and we have no intention of changing the structure of our food-aid program. And, within the existence of our food-aid program, we are going to extend food aid, and we hope that the American side will understand our program.

Q: So, you don't accept their argument that you are basically unfairly targeting imported rice as export rice?

A: The Government of Japan has no intention of targeting any particular country, because when we extend food aid, we take into consideration various factors, one of which is not to disturb existing rice transactions in the world.

Q: I believe the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides a ?G10 billion fund to buy the rice from the Ministry of Agriculture. At what price do you buy it? Do you buy it cheaply?

A: Are you talking about the minimum access rice?

Q: The food aid. You're not giving it away. It is being purchased by the -- I am just wondering.

A: The transaction should be done at the existing international price.

Q: You mean the price outside Japan?

A: The international price. I do not know which particular countries are exporting rice, but because of that, the ordinary international market price is fixed. We abide by the international market price for this.

Q: So, it could well be one fifth of the cost of rice in Japan? I understand that rice in Japan is about five times higher than it costs to buy it elsewhere.

A: If we, for example, extend a certain amount of money for grant aid, and if we buy the rice at the domestic price, the recipient country would receive a very small amount of rice; so, we have no intention to do so. We extend food aid using the established international commercial prices.

Q: So, you are trying to maximize the amount of rice you are giving in food aid.

A: Yes. Thank you very much.

Back to Index