Press Conference by the Press Secretary 2 April 1996

Announcements by the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Matters regarding the agenda for the visit to Japan by President William Clinton of the United States of America
Areas of possible Japan-United States discussion on trade and economic matters
The status of Japan-United States trade and economic relations
Areas of possible discussion during United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's trip to Japan
Matters related to the realignment,consolidation, and downsizing of UnitedStates military bases in Japan
Matters relating to Host Nation Support for United States military bases in Japan
Matters relating to the Japan-United States Security Alliance and the People's Republic of China

Announcements by the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1. The resignation of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and the establishment of a caretaker cabinet there
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the resignation of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, and the establishment of a caretaker cabinet in Bangladesh. In 1990, when the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Awami League, and other parties bitterly criticized the long-lasting military regime in Bangladesh, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement and expressed its great interest in the possible development of democratization in Bangladesh. In February 1991, the democratic election took place, and the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) gained the majority and formed the Government. The Japanese Government welcomed that. However, recently, Japan has been concerned about the political situation in Bangladesh, which is becoming increasingly volatile. Therefore, Japan welcomes the move to normalize the situation by holding a general election under a caretaker cabinet, and highly values this move as important progress toward political and economic stability in Bangladesh. The bilateral relationship between Japan and Bangladesh has remained strong, and Bangladesh is Japan's very good friend; therefore, it is a pity to see their democratization efforts fall back. Because of the instability in Bangladesh, although Japan is the top donor for Bangladesh, Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Programs cannot be implemented accordingly, and Japan's direct investments in Bangladesh are not making progress. In this sense, Japan sincerely hopes that the general election under the caretaker cabinet will be conducted freely and fairly, with the participation of all political parties, leading to further progress of the democratization in the country.
2. Meeting in Washington, D.C. of the Follow-up Working Group to the Summit of Peacemakers
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: On 28 March and 29 March of this year, the Follow-up Working Group to the Summit of Peacemakers met in Washington, D.C. I do not think it is necessary to explain to you the nature of the Meeting. I hasten to mention to you that the Ministerial Meeting is expected to be held at a later date, and on 12 April, a meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) regarding assistance for the Palestinians will be held in Brussels. At the Meeting of the Follow-up Working Group, Japan urged both the State of Israel and the Palestinians to make the utmost efforts to prevent the recurrence of terrorism. As it was apparent that there is an important need for the international community to clearly understand, and then provide cooperation and assistance for the requirements of the Palestinian police authorities, Japan announced that it would consider contributing to improving the organizational capacity of the Palestinian police authorities. Further, in order to completely abolish terrorism, Japan announced that it intends to continue to provide assistance to the Palestinians, in order to meet the urgent need to create an environment that will eradicate the poverty and unemployment which creates a breeding ground for terrorism. Therefore, in addition to the US$10 million of emergency assistance which Japan announced at the Summit of Peacemakers, Japan signed measures on 31 March to provide the Palestinian Self Rule Council with assistance worth approximately US$22 million in the form of two projects involving the supply of machinery and materials. Japan took the opportunity to explain that, with these additional forms of assistance, total Japanese contributions to the Palestinians, as of 31 March 1996, amounted to US$184 million. Japan will continue to welcome the Emergency Plan proposed by the United States at this meeting as a way of relaxing the border regulations on the West Bank and Gaza. Japan stated that, although it can understand the concerns of Israel for maintaining security, it also believed that the closing of the border had lasted longer than necessary and was exerting a negative influence on the Palestinian economy, and expressed its hopes that, through dialogue, both parties would come up with any possible means to resolve the situation. Yesterday, the Government of Israel relaxed its border regulations; however, only five percent of the Palestinian workers who used to work in Israel can reenter Israel. This is too small, and is not relaxation in the real sense. Therefore, we consider that further efforts are needed on this matter.
3. Background on the outcome of Japan-People's Republic of China Foreign Ministerial Meetings in Tokyo
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: On 31 March, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda and Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen of the People's Republic of China met in Tokyo. That was the third meeting between the two gentlemen, and the talks lasted for three hours. They talked about not only the bilateral relationship, but also about the international problems that both gentlemen were interested in. It was significant that both foreign ministers deepened their mutual understanding through this dialogue. Both foreign ministers reaffirmed the common understanding that the development of cooperative bilateral relations between the two countries not only contributes to the bilateral relationship, but also to the peace, stability, and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. It is significant that the two gentlemen frankly exchanged their views on many subjects. We sincerely hope that such high level consultations will continue in the future. Those are the announcements that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.
Matters regarding the agenda for the visit to Japan by President William Clinton of the United States of America
Q: Can you tell us anything about the itinerary for the upcoming summit between President Clinton and Prime Minister Hashimoto? How long are they meeting for? Will they eat a meal together?

A: President William Clinton of the United States of America is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on 16 April. On 17 April, there will be a meeting between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Clinton.

Q: Where will that take place?

A: It will be held at the Akasaka Palace. But, a detailed program will be announced later.

Q: How much later?

A: The two governments will basically agree as to when we will announce details of the program. In any case, there will be a meeting between the two leaders. President Clinton and Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton will make a State Call on Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan. And, Prime Minister Hashimoto and Mrs. Kumiko Hashimoto will hold an official luncheon for them.

Q: Is that in Japanese or Western style?

A: I do not have such details. At least they will have several meals here in Tokyo, so I hope that President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton will enjoy a wonderful Japanese meal, and other cuisine as well.
Areas of possible Japan-United States discussion on trade and economic matters
Q: On a more serious note, the relationship between the two countries now seems to be strongly focused on the security aspect of the relationship. Do you expect any new progress on the trade issue, or will that be down-played at the Summit?

A: The Japanese Government, and the Clinton Administration as well, share the common view that the two countries should expand the bilateral relationship in a more balanced way. In the past, both countries had to spend a long time on the trade and economic issue. Thanks to the Agreement on Automobiles and Auto Parts last June, trade and economic issues became less visible than other areas, but this does not necessarily mean that trade and economic issues have lost their importance. In the meantime, while we had difficult trade and economic issues to discuss, both sides had already begun to emphasize the other important pillar of the bilateral relationship -- that is the political and security issue. They began to understand the need to make the general public understand the importance of the Alliance in the post-cold war era. While the two governments were working on this issue, unfortunately, the Okinawa rape incident took place. After that, the bases issue in Okinawa became a big issue between the two countries. Now, the two countries have been preparing for President Clinton's visit. As I said at the outset, we would like to focus on the issues, such as the security issue, the trade and economic issues, and other important issues, such as cooperation on the common global agenda. At the same time, we would like to focus further on development of an exchange of people between the two countries. As far as the security and political issues are concerned, both sides already know that this is very important. At the same time, the Clinton Administration wants to see the economic and trade issues solved as much as possible. Basically, we understand their principle desire on this. We do not intend to diminish the importance of the trade issue. There are several sectoral issues. We have to deal with these issues separately, sector-by-sector. There are sectors in which progress has already been made. There are sectors in which progress is expected. But, at the same time, there are very difficult sectors. Probably, it is not possible for the two governments to solve all these standing issues before President Clinton's visit to Japan. However, I am sure that the two governments will continue to make the utmost effort to find mutually acceptable solutions to those pending issues.

Q: You said that some issues are seeing progress already -- that air cargo would be one example -- some we can expect progress in, and some are more difficult. In terms of where you might expect progress, could you divide them into the easier and the harder?

A: As you rightly mentioned, the aviation talks have just ended, but these talks are related only to air cargo service. We have to tackle passenger service. We do not know when the next negotiations will be held. We hope that we can hold the talks in the very near future. Regarding the insurance talks, they are basically handled by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Ministry of Finance. But, we hope that before President Clinton's visit, the two parties will meet and find a mutually acceptable solution. As for the Semiconductor Agreement, it is a very difficult issue, because we believe that without the Agreement, cooperation between American and Japanese industry has been making great progress. We are sure that without the Agreement, this business cooperation will continue. So, we do not know why the United States Government wants to continue this agreement. We have to talk about this, but basically, we think that when the Agreement expires in July, it will not be necessary for us to renew it. But, I am sure that if the USTR or the United States wants to exchange views with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) on this subject, then I think the MITI doors are always open to them. As far as Kodak's case is concerned, this is also a difficult issue. In principle, we hope that the United States will file a case with the Japan Fair Trade Commission, which can handle this matter properly. If the United States decides to sanction Japan on this issue, we will have to say this is not a good idea. We do not want to negotiate under the threat of sanctions. On the other hand, just an hypothetical situation -- if the USTR decides to file a case with the World Trade Organization (WTO), I think Japan will respond according to the established WTO rules. That is basically what I can say.
The status of Japan-United States trade and economic relations
Q: As you just mentioned, while the talks are going on between Japan and the United States, the United States just recently -- I mean yesterday -- released a trade report in which they named Japan as one of the countries with trade barriers. Do you think there is a difference in terms of the perception between the United States and Japan regarding the progress of trade talks? Apparently, that should tell you the United States is not happy with Japan in certain areas. How would you respond to that?

A: We read the report which you mentioned. We understand that the report touched on the recent increase of American exports to Japan. The report also touched on the fact that the United States' deficits with Japan have been decreasing. The report explains that, in general, Japan-United States trade relations are moving in the right direction. At the same time, they pointed to issues between the two countries. But, I do not think we will lend any specific sentiment to this report. We will thoroughly study the report, and if it is necessary, as it has been in the past, for us to respond to their claims, we will do so. In any case, Japan intends to fulfil the agreement which has been made between the two countries. At the same time, we would like to solve the trade and economic issues, in accordance with the appropriate fora between the two countries, or within the WTO. This is our basic attitude toward this.
Areas of possible discussion during United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's trip to Japan
Q: I understand that the United Nations Secretary-General will arrive in Tokyo today for a visit to Japan. I would like to know if it is an official visit, and what kind of topics and issues he will discuss.

A: We already announced United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's itinerary for his trip to Japan. He will arrive on 2 April in Tokyo, and leave Tokyo on 6 April. During his stay in Japan, he will meet various people, including the top leaders of the Japanese Government. He will meet Prime Minister Hashimoto tomorrow afternoon. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali will have talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda. And, he will meet several of the former prime ministers, and the dignitaries of political parties. He will visit various sectors of Japan, including meetings with students, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGO), and the news media. And, he will attend a press conference, etc.

Q: What issues, what topics will he discuss?

A: Basically, Japan would like to talk with him on the most important issue facing the United Nations, which is how to promote the reform of the United Nations, especially regarding Security Council reform, social and economic sector reform, institutional reform, and financial reform issues. Those issues will be raised at the talks.

Q: Is it possible to know how many countries support Japan's bid to be a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and how many countries express caution regarding Japan's bid?

A: I am not sure whether Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali personally knows how many countries support this and how many countries do not support it. We are right in the midst of talks, and the Japanese Government, in the meantime, sincerely hopes that all the members of the United Nations can wind up the issues of reform in due course. Even if Japan is not in a position to tell you how many countries are supporting this and how many countries are against it, in any case, we understand that the situation is not very simple, and we have to double our efforts to let our case be known to and supported by as many of the members of the United Nations as possible.
Matters related to the realignment, consolidation, and downsizing of United States military bases in Japan
Q: Has the Japanese Government officially requested any reduction in the number of troops?

A: No. I do not think so. When the East Asian Strategy Report was published by the Department of Defense of the United States of America, the Department said that approximately 100,000 troops should be maintained in this region. We highly respect what they tell us, and we support this. Of course, the figure itself can change in accordance with the situations in the region, but what we have been talking about with the Clinton Administration is that while we should maintain the purpose or the goal of the Japan- United States Security Treaty, we should do our best to realign, consolidate, and downsize the United States bases in Okinawa.

Q: By possibly moving them somewhere else?

A: Or while maintaining the same number of troops on a smaller base.
Matters relating to Host Nation Support for United States military bases in Japan
Q: Has Japan requested, in any way, a reduction of its bill for the security services -- for the amount that Japan covers?

A: Are you talking about the Host Nation Support Program?

Q: Yes.

A: We have been increasing our Host Nation Support. Last year, the new agreement on Host Nation Support was reached. It was increased a little bit from the past agreement. So, in accordance with this agreement, we ask the Diet to annually approve the necessary allocations in the budget for this.

Q: Is there any political pressure as a result of Okinawa to change that?

A: As far as Host Nation Support is concerned, we have not encountered difficulties. However, when we discuss such matters, the bases issue is taken up by politicians. But, it does not necessarily mean that they are against the Host Nation Support Program. Several parties -- notably, the Japan Communist Party -- are against the expenditures. The other parties, including the coalition parties and the Shinshinto, are not against the Host Nation Support Program.
Matters relating to the Japan-United States Security Alliance and the People's Republic of China
Q: Regarding the Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to Japan, did he express any concern or worry regarding Japan-United States security relations?

A: This time, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen used a specific expression. In the past, the Chinese leaders used to use, more or less, the same phraseology that China is of the view that all countries should not deploy their armies abroad -- at the same time knowing the historical background of United States military presence in this area. This is more or less how they have been talking for the past several years. But, this time, he said that the Japan-United States Alliance should not jeopardize the friendly relations between China and Japan. This time, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen specifically touched on the subject in relation to the Taiwan issue. From there it is our inference, as he made no admission. Nevertheless, on this issue, Japan would like to say to our Chinese friends that the Japan-United States Alliance, the Security Treaty, is not specifically aimed at any particular country, and that China is not targeted by the Alliance. We believe that the Japan-United States Alliance is a stabilizing factor, not only for Japan and the United States, but also for the peace and security and prosperity of the entire Asia-Pacific region. Therefore, China should not be mislead by the document which Japan and the United States will issue during President Clinton's visit to Japan. Thank you very much.

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