Press Conference by the Press Secretary 5 April 1996
- Announcements by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi
- Matters of Japanese policy regarding contact with North Korea
- Statements by North Korea on the Armistice Agreement and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
- Matters involving Japanese national, Yoshimi Tanaka, being held in the Kingdom of Thailand on highjacking charges
- Counterfeit United States currency seized in Tokyo
- United Nations Secretariat bureaucracy reform
- Matter of accidental destruction of historic Japanese ruins
- Areas of probable discussion at the upcoming meeting in Tokyo of Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton of the United States of America
- Announcements by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi
- Condolences by Japan on the passing of Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown of the United States of America
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I would like to say a few words about the unfortunate plane accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina yesterday, in which Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown of the United States of America and members of his delegation passed away. We are shocked and saddened by the passing of Commerce Secretary Brown. He was an able and skillful negotiator. But, more than that, he was a trustworthy partner and a great friend of Japan. We were looking forward to having him in Tokyo shortly. He will be sorely missed. We wish to express our deepest condolences to Mrs. Brown and to the bereaved families of the other members of Commerce Secretary Brown's delegation. For your information, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has sent messages of condolence to President William Clinton of the United States of America and to Mrs. Brown. Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda also sent messages to Secretary of State Warren Christopher of the United States of America and to Mrs. Brown. And, top officials of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry have done the same.
- Topics discussed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda and United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is in Tokyo for an Official Visit this week. The meeting lasted for a little over an hour. They discussed a broad range of subjects related to United Nations activities. At the outset of the meeting, the Secretary-General expressed his appreciation for Japan's contributions to the United Nations. He referred to Japan's contributions to United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (PKO). He referred to Japanese contributions in the area of disarmament, and also in the humanitarian area. Foreign Minister Ikeda told the Secretary-General about Japan's priorities in the United Nations. He said that he recognized the importance of areas other than PKO. He said that Japan was supporting United Nations activities in a broad range of areas, including development and environmental protection. With regard to PKO, he referred to Japan's participation in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). He also referred to the recent participation of Japanese electoral observers in the Palestinian elections. He said that in the area of disarmament, he agreed with the views of the Secretary-General about the importance of this area. He emphasized that we need to conclude a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by this fall, and that Japan was making efforts to bring this about. He also mentioned the issue of land mines, and the United Nations arms register, among other things.
With regard to United Nations reform, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that reform in three areas (the restructuring of the United Nations Security Council, financial reform, and reform in economic and social areas) needed to be pursued in a balanced manner. With regard to the new proposal in the Working Group on the Restructuring of the United Nations Security Council, which has been drawing attention -- I am referring to the new idea of adding to the United Nations Security Council Japan and Germany, plus some permanent regional seats to be rotated among members of their respective regions -- Foreign Minister Ikeda said that it was a realistic solution which merited consideration. On this question of United Nations reform, the Secretary- General said he had hoped agreement could be achieved on the substance of reform during the current 50th Anniversary Session of the United Nations; that, unfortunately, this seemed to be difficult. He referred to the financial crisis in the United Nations, and said that this crisis had the effect of delaying discussions on the organizational reform of the United Nations. In response, Foreign Minister Ikeda said he understood why the Secretary-General could not be optimistic about Security Council reform, but he emphasized that if it is difficult, it is all the more important to make efforts, making use of the momentum of the 50th Anniversary Session. With regard to financial reform, he said that we should distinguish between the cash flow problem and the financial review aspect, including the review of the scale of assessments. They also discussed such issues as African development, the former Yugoslavia, and United Nations Security Resolution 986 on the partial lifting of oil export limits on the Republic of Iraq. Those are the announcements that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.
- Condolences by Japan on the passing of Secretary of Commerce Ronald Brown of the United States of America
- Matters of Japanese policy on contact with North Korea
Q: A couple of questions on North Korea. First, can you tell us about the meetings in Beijing? What was the purpose, and where are they expected to lead?
A: It has been the consistent policy of this Government not to comment on the specifics on our contacts with the North Korean side.
Q: That's all? Do you acknowledge that you have had talks with North Korea?
A: I am saying that we cannot comment on the specifics of our contacts with North Korea.
Q: I think another comment that I read, attributed to the Prime Minister, was something about that fact that the time is right to look ahead with North Korea, and perhaps engage in discussions, or consider it. What about that idea? Is it the Japanese Government's view that it is, in fact, a proper time to consider normalization with North Korea?
A: As you know -- perhaps this was before you came to Tokyo -- a delegation consisting of members of the ruling party visited North Korea last year. They agreed at the party level that the normalization talks should be resumed. Since then, the Government has been having preliminary contact with the North Korean side, so as to be able to initiate normalization talks. This has been a process that has been going on for a long time. Our position regarding the question of normalization with North Korea is as follows. It is our position to take into account two aspects: One is to normalize the anomalous state of affairs that has existed between Japan and North Korea since the end of the war; and the other aspect is to contribute to the stability of the Korean Peninsula. Another important point is that we will be doing this while maintaining close contact with the Republic of Korea.
- Statements by North Korea regarding the Armistice Agreement and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
Q: After the statement made by the North Korean deputy defense minister on 29 March, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto stated that the North Korean statement seems to be aiming at drawing the United States to the negotiating table on the Peace Treaty. Are there any changes after yesterday's statement issued by Pyongyang -- after looking at the situation on behalf of the Foreign Ministry?
A: Basically, there has been no change in our views. On 29 March, the deputy minister of defense of North Korea announced, among other things, that North Korea's response to the situation would contain measures related to the fact that maintaining the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was no longer possible. We see the announcement made yesterday as a sort of follow-up to the 29 March statement -- a step to dismantle the Armistice Agreement. We consider that the series of measures taken pursuant to the Armistice Agreement are essential to preventing the destabilization of the Korean Peninsula, and hope that these arrangements will continue to be respected.
Q: Could you evaluate the present tension on the Korean Peninsula, and what the Japanese Government is doing about it?
A: Are you referring to the statement by the North Korean vice minister? Do you have that in mind?
Q: Yes, I have that in mind, and also that they have decided to abandon the DMZ.
A: We think that the situation needs to be watched very carefully. It is a well-known fact that North Korea continues to concentrate two-thirds of its land forces in the vicinity of the DMZ, and that they have been trying to maintain a high state of troop readiness. We think we need to watch the situation very carefully, maintaining close contact with our friends. However, we do not see at this moment any out-of-the-ordinary developments on the North Korean side, and I think we should look at the situation calmly.
Q: So, there is no real change in the state of readiness of the Self Defense Forces due to this kind of activity on the Korean Peninsula?
A: No.
Q: We have known that the Foreign Ministry's position on the North Korea-Japan talks on the normalization of the relationship is a no-comment situation, but it was recently reported in Japanese papers that Prime Minister Hashimoto recently mentioned that there was a meeting in Beijing. What is your position on that?
A: I think this is a case of his comments not being reported accurately. Let me explain what he said. He was not referring to any specific contacts between the Japanese Government and the North Korean side. He was talking very generally about the current state of affairs regarding our talks with North Korea. What he said was consistent with what we have been saying all along, which is that we are still in the stage of preliminary contacts with the North Korean side, aimed at the resumption of the normalization talks, and that normalization talks, as such, have not taken place yet.
Q: I just want to double-check two things. First, on the policy of the Government on contact with North Korea, that you acknowledge ongoing preliminary contacts, but there is no comment on any specifics. Secondly, can you characterize the Japanese Government's response to the rhetoric and activities along the DMZ? You did not seem to be overly concerned about it. Is that correct?
A: We believe that we need to watch the situation very closely. We need to examine the motives, the intentions of the North Korean side. We also need to follow the actions that they might take in the future. The widely held view is, in regard to the motives of the announcements on 29 March, that they are trying to put pressure on the United States with regard to the conclusion of an interim agreement. Other people say that the North Korean side may be trying to tighten their grip, in domestic terms. Others say that they might have in mind the upcoming elections in the Republic of Korea. In any case, we believe that we need to watch and follow the situation very closely.
- Matters involving Japanese national, Yoshimi Tanaka, being held in the Kingdom of Thailand on highjacking charges
Q: Could you update us on the status of the suspected former Japanese Red Army person currently being held in Thailand?
A: To my knowledge, consultations with the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand are still continuing -- that no decision has been reached yet. We are seeking his custody.
Q: And, what was Thailand's reaction?
A: We are still discussing this with Thailand.
- Counterfeit United States currency seized in Tokyo
Q: Very sophisticated fake dollars have been found in Tokyo, apparently in regard to transactions with North Korea. What is the Government's reaction to this?
A: That issue falls completely outside the purview of this Ministry. I would appreciate it very much if you would pose that question to the Police Agency.
Q: Are there any plans on behalf of the Government of Japan to ask the Government of North Korea what their involvement has been in this counterfeit incident?
A: I am not aware of any such plans.
- United Nations Secretariat bureaucracy reform
Q: Has there been any reference on the part the Secretary-General or Foreign Minister Ikeda on the necessity of re-engineering the Secretariat bureaucracy?
A: It is not in my readout. I do not believe it was discussed in any detail.
- Matter of accidental destruction of historic Japanese ruins
Q: Could you please comment on the incident reported by the Asahi Shimbun this morning about the United States military construction carried out on historic ruins?
A: I think you are talking about the historic ruins of Heshikiyabaru. We are still seeking factual information on this matter. Judging from the information that we have at hand, there seems to have been an unfortunate mis-communication between the United States forces and the local community. The United States has always shown understanding for the need to protect Japan's cultural heritage. They have shown sensitivity to this, so we hope to cooperate with the United States to avoid a recurrence of a similar situation in the future.
- Areas of probable discussion at the upcoming meeting in Tokyo of Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton of the United States of America
Q: Regarding the upcoming visit by President Clinton to Japan, would you say that the Okinawa base issue is the number-one item on the agenda between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton? And, can we expect any significant progress in that area?
A: The number-one item on the agenda of the talks scheduled at the time of the President's visit to Japan later this month is the reaffirmation of the importance of the bilateral ties between the two countries. The two leaders will be addressing a broad range of issues, such as the security relationship, trade and economic issues, the common agenda, and people-to-people contacts. They will be comparing notes on the international situation, as well. Both sides will be emphasizing the importance of the Japan-United States Security Arrangements in the post-cold war context. We hope to announce a joint document on the security ties during the President's visit. On the specific issue of Okinawa, I think you are aware that both sides are making efforts to address the situation in the Special Action Committee on Facilities and Areas in Okinawa (SACO). Yesterday, a meeting of the SACO took place. In this meeting, the two sides reaffirmed the progress made so far regarding the areas relating to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). To be more specific, they reaffirmed the recent agreement on noise abatement and attaching markings on United States military vehicles when they go outside the bases. They also confirmed that both sides would also be making efforts on other issues in this area which need to be addressed, and to achieve concrete results as soon as possible. On the question of realignment, consolidation, and downsizing of United States bases in Okinawa, the two sides reviewed, in yesterday's meeting, the state of progress made by the working subgroup of the SACO, and provided the subgroup with guidelines for future work. They also agreed that, at the time of the visit to Japan by Secretary of Defense William Perry of the United States of America, which will take place shortly before the President's visit, a meeting of the SACO and the 2+2 Security Consultative Committee will be held. They agreed that in these meetings they would compile an interim report on the SACO's efforts. We will be trying to make as much progress as possible on the these issues by the time of the President comes to Japan.
Q: You said that the 2+2 will be held before President Clinton visits. That means Secretary of State Warren Christopher is visiting Japan simultaneously with Defense Secretary Perry?
A: It seems that Secretary of State Christopher might not be able to make it to the 2+2. In that case, the Department of State of the United States of America will be represented by a high official of that Department.
Q: Then it is not really a 2+2. Maybe a two-plus-one-and-a-half?
A: No, we called it a 2+2.
Q: If you can tell me specifically what kinds of options are going to be discussed by Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton regarding the downsizing of United States forces. What are the two or three top proposals on the table in terms of closing down bases, moving troops to different locations, and so forth.
A: One has to distinguish between the realignment, consolidation and downsizing of bases and troop reductions. We have never asked for troop reductions. The United States has an obligation under the Security Treaty to defend Japan in the case of an armed attack against Japan. So, it is up to the United States to decide what level of troops it needs to comply with this treaty obligation. We understand that the current figure -- 47,000 -- was arrived at after a thorough assessment of the security environment in this part of the world, and it is Japan's policy to respect the considered judgement of the United States on this matter. With regard to the question of the consolidation, realignment and downsizing of bases, this will be a one-year process, a process which started in November of last year. We have been looking at problems relating to each base in Okinawa. In cooperation with the United States, we have been trying to identify and sort-out the problems. We are now starting to look at what options may be available and what we may be able to do. But, this has just started. What I can say now is that we intend to achieve tangible results by November. Since the President's visit this month will be a very important part of this process, we will be trying to make as much progress as possible by then. But, how much progress we will be able to make before the President's visit will depend on what we will be able to achieve between now and then. Thank you very much.
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