Press Conference by the Press Secretary 13 December 1996

Commemorative ceremony of the 40th anniversary of Japan's admission to the United Nations
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regular briefing. Before I take your questions, I would like to make one very brief announcement concerning the 40th anniversary of Japan's accession to the United Nations. Japan was admitted to the United Nations on 18 December 1956. A commemorative ceremony of the 40th anniversary of Japan's admission to the United Nations will be held on 18 December in Tokyo at the United Nations University. The ceremony will be co-sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Association of Japan. Their Imperial Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess will honor us with their presence. Since its admission, Japan has actively engaged in international cooperation through the United Nations. The Government of Japan hopes, as a result of the 40th anniversary celebration, the interest of the Japanese people in the United Nations will be further enhanced and that their understanding of the importance of international cooperation through the United Nations will be deepened. That is my announcement, I would be delighted to take any questions that you may have.
Takeshima Island
Q: This is regarding the Takeshima issue. Recently the Prime Minister, appearing before the Diet, in a statement expressed that he would take up this matter in a summit, which will be held in January, and if this has to be talked about, he will talk about it. What is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' stand on this?

A: I do not think Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto was quoted accurately by the press. This is our position regarding Takeshima. As you know, we have been maintaining a consistent position regarding the issue of Takeshima, and we have conveyed to the Government of the Republic of Korea these views on a number of occasions. Regarding the upcoming summit talk in Beppu in January, I am not going to make any predictions about what subjects will be taken up or what exactly will be discussed. Let me just say that, while our position regarding Takeshima is as I have just described to you, we strongly believe that this issue should not be allowed to affect the overall relationship between the two countries. As you know, the two countries share common values, such as democracy and the market economy. We also share security interests. Japan values the friendly and cooperative ties it has with the Republic of Korea and we do not want this issue to affect these very important ties. Regarding Prime Minister Hashimoto's statement at the Diet, although the newspapers failed to mention this, he clearly stated that he was not going into the substance of the upcoming talks in Beppu, he just reiterated Japan's well known position regarding Takeshima.

Q: To follow up, on 25-26 of this month (December), Foreign Minister Ikeda will be visiting Korea. Again, would this matter be coming up then?

A: I am not gong to speculate on what Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda will discuss with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoo Chong Ha of the Republic of Korea. You mentioned specific dates for the visit, but that has not been finalized yet. Yes, we are discussing specific dates with the Korean side and we hope to be able to make an official announcement on the timing of the visit very soon.
Issues regarding a bomb jettisoned off the coast of Okinawa
Q: I would like for you to, if you could, explain the delay in the Government's acknowledgement of the accident with the bomb that was dropped off of Okinawa. Specifically, could you confirm or deny reports that the Foreign Ministry specifically instructed the Maritime Self Defense Force to not explain or report about this accident when it initially happened on 10 December (Tuesday)?

A: Let me tell you what exactly happened. Late in the afternoon of 10 December (Tuesday), we were informed by the American Embassy in Tokyo about this accident. Ever since then, this ministry has been in close touch with other responsible ministries and agencies, while at the same time, trying to obtain the details of exactly what happened. At the first stage on 10 December, many important specifics, such as whether the jettisoned bomb was a loaded bomb or a dummy and the exact spot where the bomb was jettisoned -- such very important specifics -- remained unclear. Such being the case, we informed the Maritime Safety Agency and other responsible agencies of the information we had available to us. As I have said, at that time, we did not know whether this was a live bomb or a dummy and the exact spot where the bomb was jettisoned. So, we conveyed this information to the other agencies as a non-definitive piece of information. That is all.

Q: What about the delay in informing the public? Why wasn't the public aware of this until yesterday?

A: Let me give you the details of what happened. After relaying the initial reports to the other agencies, we kept on making efforts to obtain further details of what happened. Around noon, on 11 December, the day after the initial report, the American Embassy in Tokyo informed us that the bomb was a loaded bomb together with the exact spot where the bomb was jettisoned. Immediately thereafter, we informed the Defense Facilities Management Agency and the Maritime Safety Agency. In the afternoon of 11 December, the Maritime Safety Agency issued an alert to mariners. After that, in response to a request by the U.S. forces in Japan, we declared the zone within a 2 kilometer radius of where the bomb was dropped -- we designated it a danger zone. With regard to Okinawa, the initial report on 10 December was relayed to Okinawa through the Defense Management Agency and after we had the report from the Embassy in Tokyo about the exact location of the bomb, we passed this piece of information on to Okinawa also. That is an account of what happened.

Q: Can you confirm or deny reports that the Foreign Ministry specifically told the Maritime Safety Agency to hold back reporting this to the public, or was there a conscience decision not to release this information?

A: As I have said, on 10 December, in the late afternoon, we did not know whether this was a live bomb or a dummy, and we did not know the exact location of the bomb, so we passed on this information as a piece of non-definitive information.

Q: Was there a fear that if you went public with this, that it would unnecessarily alarm people, or what was the concern when you decided to pass this on as a sort of "non-definitive" piece?

A: At the time, the information we had was non-definitive, so we passed it on to the other agencies as such.

Q: Is there any regret on the part of the Foreign Ministry that this delay has been interpreted possibly in the wrong way because the Okinawans are now protesting this saying they feel slighted by this?

A: Yesterday, 12 December, Director-General of the North American Affairs Bureau Masaki Ortia conveyed the regrets of the Government of Japan regarding this matter to the Minister Counsellor of the American Embassy Mr. Rust Deming here in Tokyo. At that time, he also requested that the United States side investigate the causes of the accident and to take steps to prevent a recurrence of a similar accident in the future. He also asked, at that time, the United States side to make efforts to search for and retrieve the bomb as quickly as possible. That is what the United States forces are doing right now, and we hope that the bomb will be found very quickly.
ODA budget for 1997
Q: Were there any further developments regarding the ODA budget for 1997?

A: The budget process is still continuing. As you know, I think you heard this before, Japan is heavily dependent upon the international community; there is a lot of mutual interdependence. It is vital for Japan to maintain a favorable international environment. Official development assistance (ODA) plays a very important role in helping Japan discharge its responsibilities in the international community. It also contributes a great deal to Japan's own national interests. Although the financial budgetary situation in Japan is very severe at this moment, we believe that we need an ODA budget that will clearly reaffirm Japan's policy to contribute to the world through peaceful means. So, we are making utmost efforts in the days to come to get 100% of what we asked in our initial budget request. Thank you very much.

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