Press Conference by the Press Secretary 16 July 1996

1. Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda to the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Singapore and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
2. Possible discussion of the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security at the ARF Meeting in Jakarta
3. Possible discussion at the ARF Meeting in Jakarta of the situation on the Korean Peninsula

1. Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda to the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Singapore and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

   Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Before I take your questions, I have a brief announcement regarding the visit to Southeast Asia by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda next week. Foreign Minister Ikeda will be visiting three countries from 21-29 July. He will first go to Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia, where he will attend the third ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference With Dialogue Partners (PMC). After that, he will be visiting the Republic of Singapore and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The ARF Meeting scheduled for 23 July will be attended by representatives of 20 countries and the European Union. The Republic of India and the Union of Myanmar will be participating for the first time in the ARF. In the PMC scheduled for 24-25 July, 16 countries and the European Union will be attending. India, the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation will be participating in this conference for the very first time. In the ARF, ministers will be exchanging views on regional security issues, and will be discussing concrete confidence-building measures to be promoted in the ARF process. In the PMC, wide ranging views will be exchanged on political, security and economic issues, and on the cooperative relations between Japan and ASEAN. During his stay in Indonesia, Foreign Minister Ikeda will be paying a courtesy call on President Soeharto of the Republic of Indonesia. Foreign Minister Ikeda will also take advantage of this opportunity to hold talks with his counterparts attending the meetings in Jakarta. After Jakarta, he will be moving on to Singapore. He will visit Singapore on 25-26 July. He will have a meeting with his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shanmugam Jayakumar of the Republic of Singapore. He will be exchanging views on bilateral relations and other matters of common interest with Foreign Minister Jayakumar. He will also be paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew of the Republic of Singapore. On the last leg of his trip, he will be visiting Hanoi. This will be on 27-28 July. In Hanoi, he will be paying a courtesy call on General Secretary of the Communist Party Do Muoi of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and will also be holding talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cam of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on bilateral relations, among other things.

   That is the announcement that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.

2. Possible discussion of the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security at the ARF Meeting in Jakarta

   Q: Does the Government of Japan expect the recent Joint Security Declaration by Japan and the United States to be a major point of discussion during the ARF Meeting?

   A: During the ARF, one of the things that we will be discussing is the regional security environment. In this context, we intend to make a brief explanation of the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security.

3. Possible discussion at the ARF Meeting in Jakarta of the situation on the Korean Peninsula

   Q: On the North Korea situation, could you fill us in on how that will figure in the ARF?

   A: In the ARF Meeting, we will be discussing two things: we will be exchanging views on the regional security environment, and we will also be discussing specific ARF activities, such as confidence-building measures. Under the first agenda item, we will be discussing a number of security issues, but there is no fixed agenda. But, we do anticipate that the situation on the Korean Peninsula will be discussed. It has been discussed in the past, and we believe that it will be discussed this time. We also expect the situation in the South China Sea, the Spratlys, might be discussed, among other things. Thank you very much.