Press Conference by the Press Secretary 2 July 1996

Announcements
1. Financial contributions for holding of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to make a few announcements, or rather an announcement and some explanations regarding certain topics. Today, 2 July, the Government of Japan decided to extend financial contributions of US$2 million for the purchase of ballot papers, etc., to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with a view to assisting the holding of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina to be held on 14 September.
2. Japan initiatives at the Lyon Summit
  Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: The next announcement is related to the Lyon Summit, which just finished. When Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto held his press conference, we distributed a paper entitled Japan Initiatives at the Lyon Summit. This includes what Prime Minister Hashimoto proposed at the Lyon Summit, and also contains some related measures from the Government of Japan. Please draw your attention to page three, chapter three, "Initiative of Global Issues", part B, "Counter-terrorism". Japan is happy to participate in the G-8 Meeting on counter-terrorism which will be held soon in Paris. Currently, Japan is also proposing to host an international seminar -- to be attended by industrialized and developing nations -- on the theme of promoting mutual cooperation. This will be held sometime before the 1997 G-7 Summit. At the last Summit in Lyon, the Summiteers talked about the need to strengthen cooperation among the G-8 countries regarding counter-terrorism. But, at the same time, Japan is of the view that terrorism should be tackled not only within the context of G-8, but also outside the G-8 framework. Japan is now proposing a seminar including both developed and developing countries. Also, please draw your attention to the document entitled Measures to Deal with Anti-personnel Landmines. Japan, at this time, has decided to upgrade our policy on this regard. Japan has decided to extend its support for international efforts aiming towards a total worldwide ban on anti-personnel landmines. At the same time, Japan has decided to take unilateral initiatives, even before an agreement is signed, on the use of anti-personnel landmines. At the same time, Japan is also proposing to hold an international conference at the Senior Official level in Tokyo early next year with a view toward reinforcing international support for the work of the United Nations in landmine clearance, development of new technology for landmine detection and removal, and thirdly, international assistance for rehabilitation of landmine dictates.
3. Conference on nuclear safety to be hosted by Japan
  Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: Lastly, I would like to quickly provide an explanation on a topic I talked about in my previous press conference regarding Japan's intention to hold a conference on nuclear safety in Asia. I would like to provide further explanation on this topic. Japan intends to hold this seminar in November of this year. The agenda of the conference needs to be worked out. Roughly, we have the following three points on our minds. One is safety of nuclear power plants. The second is the management of radioactive wastes. And, the third is regional cooperation on damage compensation caused by nuclear power plants. Japan intends to invite representatives of the Asian countries which have already introduced nuclear energy commercially and who are also contemplating ownership of their own nuclear power plants, notably the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Indonesia, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Kingdom of Thailand, etc. At the same time, Japan welcomes the participation of the G-7 countries and the Russian Federation, if these countries wish to participate. Japan also welcomes the European Union as an observer.
  
  Those are the announcements that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.
Proposed funding reduction for Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) by the United States Congress
Q: Yesterday evening, the Korea Central News Agency, North Korea's international voice, threatened to step away from its freeze on the nuclear reactor program in response to United States Congressional pressure to cut the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) budget. What is Japan's stance on this?

A: I am not aware of the news release that was released yesterday evening. I had a chance to talk to the officials of the Northeast Asia Division a couple of hours ago and we did not talk about that.

Q: In this election year in the United States, the Republican Congress has drafted a bill to cut the pledge to KEDO in half, to US$13 million. North Korea responded to this news by stating that if the heavy oil that is part of the KEDO agreement does not come, then they will have to rethink their position on freezing nuclear reactor development. There is a concern not that North Korea means what it says right now, but that the KEDO project has become a hostage.

A: I will check on this, and get back to you immediately. The Government of Japan is concerned about the move by the United States Congress regarding the KEDO budget. We are extremely unhappy that the Congress decided to cut the budget from US$25 million to US$13 million. On the other hand, Prime Minister Hashimoto explained the need to get finances from other sources to his colleagues in Lyon, too. He encouraged, especially the European Union, to provide regular funding to KEDO. We understand that the European Commission has proposed a program of annual funding of ECU 15 million for 5 years. The European Commission has made this proposal to the upper organs of the European Union, but European Union has not yet agreed to this. We are asking the European Union to decide on this. If the European Union cannot decide on this quickly, we encourage the European Union to give us, separately, additional funding for KEDO.
Japanese funding for Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)
Q: This happened once before did it not? Didn't Japan step in to cover the costs at that time also?

A: Yes, at one time several months ago, last March if I remember correctly, the United States Congress did not release the money. Japan was eventually obliged to extend additional funds to KEDO. Unless the Congress extends US$25 million, the question becomes who can bear the cost? I am sure that the Japanese tax payers will not be happy with this. Japan has stated that we are ready to play a substantial role in the financial support of KEDO, while the Republic of Korea plays a central role. Still we do not know actually what amount of money is necessary. Currently, KEDO is investigating this and doing a cost analysis.

Q: It seems the United States has become a bit less reliable in working out this North Korea nuclear energy deal.

A: Prime Minister Hashimoto has asked President William Clinton of the United States to work harder to get the amount of money that was originally agreed to for KEDO. Thank you very much.

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