Press Conference by the Press Secretary 31 May 1996

Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs John Gosse Downer of Australia
Director of the International Press Division Kazuo Kodama: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Minister for Foreign Affairs John Gosse Downer of Australia will visit Japan from 5-6 June, spending two days in Tokyo. During his stay in Japan, he will meet with Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda, Director-General of the Defense Agency Hideo Usui and other Government leaders to exchange views on bilateral relations, issues of the Asia-Pacific region, and others. This is Mr. Downer's first visit to Japan as Foreign Minister of Australia, since the new Administration in Australia, led by Prime Minister Howard, was inaugurated in March 1996. We very much look forward to this meeting. We know that since the formation of the new Administration in Australia, Foreign Minister Downer chose the Republic of Indonesia as his first destination; he visited Indonesia from 15 to 18 April. He then made his second visit abroad to Singapore from 18 to 20 April, and to the Kingdom of Thailand from 20 to 22 April. Subsequently, he chose Papua New Guinea and New Zealand earlier this month. So, I think the destinations for his visits abroad do reflect the priority attached by the Howard Government, and we again reiterate that we are very much looking forward to this good opportunity to exchange views pertaining not only to bilateral issues between Japan and Australia, but also to issues of the Asia-Pacific region and many other global issues which are of mutual interest. The purpose of his visit, as we see it, is, in a nutshell, to substantiate the Japan-Australia Joint Declaration of Partnership which was agreed between the leaders of the two countries in May 1995 when then-Prime Minister Paul Keating was an official guest of the Government of Japan and met then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama.

Q: Is it true that Deputy Prime Minister Fisher of Australia requested to see Prime Minister Hashimoto, and he was too busy, and that Foreign Minister Downer would have liked to have seen Prime Minister Hashimoto, but he couldn't? Is it true that at the moment, Prime Minister Hashimoto only sees Heads of State from visiting countries?

A: I am not aware of those details. Generally speaking, I don't believe there is any such rule that the Prime Minister will only meet Heads of State or Government while he is in Tokyo. Of course, as you know, the Prime Minister has a very important responsibility to sit in the Diet session, as long as it is in session. It does happen sometimes that there is a clash of his obligation to sit in the Diet to answer the questions of Diet members and the need to receive foreign VIPs.

Q: You said in your introduction that the visit by Foreign Minister Downer to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand before deciding to come to Japan reflected the priorities of the Howard Government. Does the Japanese Government believe that the priorities of the Howard Government differ from those of the Keating Government as regards this region?

A: So far as the importance attached to the Asia-Pacific region, we don't really believe there has been any change at all. That means, the importance they attach to the very good, strong bilateral relationship with Japan remains unchanged.

Q: Do you expect Foreign Minister Downer to discuss the crisis in Burma next week? Has there been any request from Australia to Japan to cut aid to Burma until there is democracy?

A: I don't know what issues exactly will be taken up between Foreign Minister Downer and Foreign Minister Ikeda, but it is quite likely that they will discuss issues of mutual interest in the region, and I am sure the issue of the Union of Myanmar is a concern for all of us. As for the contents, it is not appropriate for me to make any comment.

Q: Has there been any request at all of Japan to suspend aid to Myanmar while the crisis continues there? Have any countries, including Australia, made any requests of Japan that it should suspend its aid to Myanmar while the present crisis concerning Aung San Suu Kyi continues?

A: I don't know whether we have received such a request or not. But, as you know, our evaluation of the current situation in Myanmar is as follows -- the fact that the meeting of the National League for Democracy (NLD) was peacefully conducted from 26 May is at least a step forward in view of the expansion of the freedom of political parties' activities in Myanmar. Of course, we requested the Government of Myanmar that those detained by the authorities should be released immediately, and that the Government of Myanmar should stop making any harassment directed against the NLD; we of course, will continue to watch closely the development of the situation in Myanmar.
Dispatch of a Japan-Pacific Island Countries Dialogue Mission (Ambassador Hasegawa Mission)
Director of the International Press Division Kazuo Kodama: The Foreign Ministry will dispatch a Japan-Pacific Island Countries Dialogue Mission to the Pacific Island countries -- those countries are the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Vanuatu, Western Samoa and the Republic of Fiji -- from 17 to 27 June. Besides Fiji, there are no actual Japanese embassies in the other four countries which I mentioned, and chances to hold dialogue at the ambassadorial level are limited. In such a situation, with the opening of the Pacific Islands Centre to be established in October of this year, the Hasegawa Mission (former Japanese Ambassador Hasegawa heads the Mission) will explain about the Centre in the four countries being visited, pay courtesy calls on their presidents and prime ministers, and have talks with their foreign ministers and other officials. In Fiji, the mission will visit the Secretariat of the South Pacific Forum (SPF) to discuss cooperation in the region. Taking this opportunity, the Hasegawa Mission is expected to discuss with those countries the ways and means of strengthening our bilateral relations on trade, investment and the development of tourism, as well as economic cooperation. Those are the announcements which I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions which you may have.
Situation regarding political-asylum seekers from North Korea
Q: I would like to ask about the North Korean scientist who sought asylum. The articles are contradictory about whether he requested asylum in Japan, about how his request was treated. We understand he has gone to South Korea. But, if he asked for Japan in the first place, why would he have been turned down, considering that he was born in Japan, spoke Japanese, and probably had family and friends here? So, I would like to know about your Government's policy in a case such as this -- a North Korean refugee who is one of those who left Japan in 1960 or 1961 and moved to North Korea, and now wants to come back.

A: First of all, let me put the matter straight. That is, there was no request for asylum in Japan made by that North Korean scientist. As regards your second question, I would like to tell you that, generally speaking, the issue of political asylum is dealt with by the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. Essentially, this law is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. When we apply this law, the following are the basic procedures. If any foreigner requests political asylum, the first thing we should do is investigate whether such an application is well substantiated -- especially whether he or she is under threat or risk of political persecution in his or her own country. Secondly, if the application has been substantiated, then, the procedure is such that his or her application will be processed in a manner which takes into account the need to respect his or her human rights and also the national interest of Japan. If the authorities deem that his case is appropriate, then, his entry into Japan will be permitted. If such permission is not given, our policy is such that the deportation of the person in question should not be directed to the country where he is expected to be persecuted. In addition to those procedures, I would also like to tell you that this law is applied to foreigners who are under our jurisdiction -- that means that if the person in question is outside of Japan, that person cannot be dealt with by this law.

Q: So, what do you do in that case? If somebody goes to your embassy and requests asylum in a foreign country, then, what do you do?

A: At this moment, I cannot answer on any such hypothetical basis regarding our position -- what sort of action that we would take.

Q: It is not so hypothetical. It must happen at embassies all over the world.

A: So far as this issue is concerned, as I told you, there was no request for political asylum in Japan.

Q: Did the scientist contact the Japanese Embassy in Beijing? If so, how did he move from there to Seoul? I heard he arrives in Seoul today via Hong Kong. Could you share the details which you have, please?

A: As regards your first question -- how this man contacted the Japanese Embassy in Beijing -- in view of the very delicate nature of this issue, regarding the modality of the contact and his whereabouts in Beijing, we don't want to make any comment. On the other hand, I am very happy to tell you that the Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea announced this morning at 10:00 R.O.K.-time that two North Koreans -- one a scientist and another a broadcast drama writer -- having asked for political asylum in the Republic of Korea, are scheduled to 13:00 today, after departing Hong Kong. The two, after completing their immigration procedures, are expected to conduct a press conference. According to the Reuters news report, they arrived on a scheduled Korean Airlines flight from Hong Kong.

Q: Can I just clarify your previous answer to me? Can you tell me? Is there no procedure whatsoever for the Foreign Ministry in dealing with asylum requests at your Embassies abroad? You have no standard procedure?

A: I think I answered your question -- we deal with the issue of asylum in accordance with the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, and this law applies to foreigners who happen to be within the jurisdiction of Japan.

Q: Could you tell me the reason why yesterday the Japanese Government completely negated the possibility of these two North Korean people coming to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, whereas in the afternoon Foreign Minister Ikeda stated that there was such a case? Could you tell me the reason why there was a change of positions?

A: So far as the Foreign Ministry is concerned, we don't think there is any change of position. Today, there was no such request for political asylum in Japan.

Q: No. No. I am not talking about political asylum in Japan. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that at least one of them contacted the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

A: Not two. There is confusion. We don't know anything about the second person. In Foreign Minister Ikeda's answer to the question at the Diet yesterday, he admitted that there was a contact between the Japanese Embassy and the man in question.

Q: But your Embassy in Beijing said that there was no such contact. So, there was a change of stance within your Ministry before the Foreign Minister admitted to such an incident in Beijing. Before that, in the morning --.

A: I have to really check what the exact comment delivered by our Embassy in Beijing was. I think it should suffice to tell you that, as I told you previously, in view of the very sensitive, delicate nature of the issue itself, maybe their first response was simply that they were not aware of this.

Q: Going back to the North Korean question again -- can we understand that the comment by Foreign Minister Ikeda that the scientist contacted the Embassy in Japan matches the official stance of the Japanese Government.

A: Yes.

Q: If the Embassy is not empowered to grant asylum -- I understand that only the immigration service can do that -- is the Embassy empowered to grant a visitor's visa to a person who comes in seeking asylum, so that that person can then come on to the shores of Japan and apply for asylum? Do you tell them: go away, we don't want anything to do with you because you are not in Japan? One or the other, right?

A: I really don't know. There may be some other way of doing these things. What happened is really that this man was seeking political asylum in the Republic of Korea and not in Japan.

Q: I am talking about the general case, now. I am more interested in the general case than the specific case, obviously for future reference. In the future, there may be tens of thousands of Japanese Koreans who are seeking asylum in Japan. Their families were here; they came from here. In the future, if there is a collapse in North Korea, if there is a war, if there is a revolution, there may be tens of thousands of them. You must have a procedure! How do you handle it? That is the question.

A: On that question, really, I have no comment to make.

Q: Could you give me the Foreign Ministry's view on the current situation in North Korea, regarding these consecutive political asylums. How are you viewing the situation right now?

A: Simply put, we don't believe the recent incident will make it harder for us to improve the relationship between Japan and North Korea. In any case, as we have made clear on various occasions, the Government of Japan intends to deal with the issue of the normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea taking into consideration the following two aspects -- one is to rectify the anomalous relations between Japan and North Korea after World War II, and the other, to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Japan-Russian Federation relations
Q: Regarding the situation in Russia -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin has recently signed a peaceful accord with the Chechen Republic. Can I ask you to comment on this?

A: Our very basic stance on this issue is that this is primarily an issue related to the Russian Federation, a domestic matter, and also, the issue is a pending one, an unsettled one, and we have witnessed various military battles between the two parties; we sincerely hope the issue will soon be settled in a peaceful manner.

Q: Can I ask you again something concerning the Russian-Japanese relations? The Commander in Chief of the Russian troops in the Far Eastern region of Russia has been visiting Japan; he is leaving today to go back to Russia. It was a rather fascinating, rather startling visit. Can you inform us about the contents of the talks which were held by the Commander in Chief with the officials of the Defense Agency of Japan, and who else he may have met?

A: Yes. Mr. Chechevatov, Commander in Chief of the Russian military in the Far Eastern region of the Russian Federation, has been visiting Japan from 27 to 31 May, accepting the invitation extended by a Hokkaido newspaper company, a private institution. The main purpose of his visit to Japan this time was to deliver a speech in Sapporo, which in fact took place on 29 May, to a gathering of business people and various others in Sapporo. We understand, therefore, that his visit to Japan was private; but, having said so, his meetings with various officials of the Government -- his counterparts in the Defense Agency of Japan, or even the Director-General responsible for Russia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- would be very meaningful, especially in the wake of the very historic visit made by Director-General of the Defense Agency (Minister of State) Hideo Usui, which took place in April, to meet his counterpart, Minister of Defense Pavel Grachev of the Russian Federation, to discuss security affairs between Japan and Russia, as well as methods of strengthening exchanges between the two authorities. As for the contents of this meeting, I don't have anything to tell you today, but I will check for you, if you would like to contact us later.

Q: Can we understand that this visit is some sort of moving Japan to more active military cooperation with Russia?

A: It is not appropriate for me to make any personal observations. As I have explained to you, this was a private visit, initiated by a Japanese newspaper company. But, we are very pleased to make use of his visit to further promote dialogue between the two countries.
Situation in North Korea
Q: About North Korea -- there have been a lot of recent developments. The scientist's political asylum in South Korea, and now the World Food Programme (WFP) is worried that the North Korean food supply will last only up until the end of June. Have these latest developments changed the evaluation on the part of the Japanese Government of the difficulties in North Korea?

A: My short answer is -- no. If I may add anything, we are, of course, aware of the briefing given by United States Department of State Spokesman Nicholas Burns, which he delivered last Wednesday, 29 May, in Washington, D.C. He commented as follows on this issue. "The World Food Programme (WFP) team that went to North Korea warns that there is a food crisis, and that there is a very difficult situation for many people in North Korea. We have contributed in the past. We will now await any kind of international appeal made by the UN and the WFP, and we will make our decisions based on that appeal." That is the position of the U.S. Government as of today. In view of the fact that we don't know yet the content of any such appeal by the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA), we would like to withhold any comment on this issue.

Q: NHK reported yesterday morning that North Korean television starting to broadcast small programs telling people how to distinguish edible grasses and roots, and so on. Do you have any knowledge of such programs? Have you got any new information on the shortage of food in North Korea?

A: First of all, I am not aware of that program. I didn't watch that program, and I don't know the contents at all. So far as the North Korean food situation is concerned, at this moment, our view on this situation remains unchanged.
Upcoming decision by the Executive Council of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) regarding the hosting of the 2002 World Cup
Q: The decision about the 2002 World Cup is coming up, potentially over the next day or two. Are there any concerns about potential damage to Japan-South Korea relations -- trade tension for example?

A: First of all, of course, we hope this issue will not impair the bilateral relationship between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Now, we all know that, today from 09:00 Swiss time or 16:00 Japan time, the Executive Council of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will be convened, where we of course we anticipate President of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Lennart Johansson and some other members of the FIFA Executive Council will raise the issue related to the co-hosting of the 2002 World Cup. We don't know what the outcome of this discussion will be. So, we will simply wait to see what decisions will come out of the Executive Council today. In any case, as Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hiroshi Hashimoto mentioned earlier this week, the Football Association of Japan should make a decision, and the Government of Japan will respect the decision made by the Association.

Q: Has this issue been brought up at all between the Governments of Japan and the Republic of Korea -- potentially discussion of how to co-host?

A: No, I don't think so.

Q: This morning, right after the Cabinet Meeting, Minister of Education Okuda stated that Japan will have to go along with FIFA's decision, if FIFA decides to go for the co-hosting. Can I take this as the view of the Government of Japan as a whole?

A: Minister of Education Mikio Okuda is the minister responsible for the 2002 World Cup so far as the Government is concerned, so we take his announcement as it stands.

Q: I just want to clarify -- does the Government have any official position regarding whether co-hosting the World Cup is acceptable or not?

A: As I think Press Secretary Hashimoto in his previous briefings made clear to all of you, the decision in any case should be made by the Football Association of Japan, and then, the Japanese Government will certainly respect their decision. We will fully respect this decision and we will continue to support the Association's ideas.

Q: I just want to clarify a point of history regarding the World Cup. I have read reports that the previous Japanese Government did propose to South Korea the idea of co-hosting the Cup, although that position has since changed. Is that the case?

A: I am sorry, I don't know the history, myself. If you are interested, I can check. If you contact us later, we will give you the answer.
Holding of a Foreign Ministry press conference following the announcement on the 2002 World Cup by the FIFA Executive Council
Q: I want to make an administrative announcement regarding the World Cup issue. I think we distributed to your office a special notice telling you that either Press Secretary Hashimoto or myself will give a special press conference tonight at midnight. If you are interested in the position of the Government of Japan after knowing the results of the meeting of the FIFA Executive Council, you are most welcome. In any case, FIFA will give a press conference at 23:00 Japan time, in Switzerland. Right after FIFA's announcement at the press conference, we will hold our own press conference here in Tokyo.

Q: It seems a little bit unusual for you to hold a news conference at midnight on these issues. Is there any particular reason why, instead of the following morning?

A: No, I thought that would simply satisfy your needs. That's all. If you don't want to -- nothing else, really. We just want to facilitate your coverage.

Q: We appreciate that.

Q: That will be here?

A: Yes. Here at midnight. Please give us a call, because prior to our conference, a separate conference to the Kasumi Club will be held in the same place. Right after that conference is finished, we will start the press conference for foreign journalists.
Japan's position vis-à-vis Hong Kong in 1997
Q: Apparently, an article appeared in the Hong Kong Standard today, an interview with Foreign Minister Ikeda, in which he said that he would continue to support human rights in Hong Kong even after the Chinese takeover in 1997. I was wondering if you knew specifically what types of human rights abuses he was fearing the Chinese might inflict on the people in Hong Kong after 1997 --.

A: I don't think he made any specific reference to the details of any potential human rights abuse. What he emphasized in that interview, so far as I know, was that human rights is a universal value to be respected by us all, and we support the smooth transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China to take place 1 July 1997. At the same time, we sincerely hope that the Chinese Government together with the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, will honor their commitments stipulated in the Joint Declaration which was concluded between the United Kingdom and China in 1984, and also the Basic Law related to Hong Kong which was enacted in China.

Q: If the Chinese start locking up people who, for example, express dissenting opinions, would you consider suspending loans to China?

A: I don't think it is appropriate for us to make any sort of predictions about any hypothetical situations. Thank you very much.

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