Press Conference by the Press Secretary July 1, 1997

Reversion of Hong Kong to China
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: Good afternoon. At the outset of this press conference, let me repeat once again the statement made by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Yukihiko Ikeda in Hong Kong on the reversion of Hong Kong to China. "I heartily congratulate the United Kingdom and China on today's smooth reversion of Hong Kong to China as it is the realization of a historic project. Hong Kong has played an important role as a trade and financial center of the Asia-Pacific region under a free and open system. The future of Hong Kong is a matter of great concern, not only to the people there but to China and the whole region, including Japan. Japan and Hong Kong in particular have had extremely close ties centering on trade and investment. Many features have made Hong Kong highly suitable for business, such as its low tariffs, free trade, free regulations, thorough observance of the rules of law, efficient infrastructure for transportation, effective administration and excellent human resources. I am sure that Hong Kong will keep playing an important role as Asia's financial, information and traffic center. The Government of Japan considers it vital for Hong Kong's continued prosperity and stability to maintain freedom and openness under "one country, two systems." It heartily wishes that Hong Kong will, after the handover, continue to develop as a center of the Asia-Pacific economy, maintaining the confidence of the international society and in particular, of world economic communities. Japan will extend all possible cooperation to that end." That is the announcement that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.
Japan-Republic of Korea fishing agreement
Q: I have a question about the recent seizure of Korean fishing ships by Japanese authorities. Japanese authorities seized four Korean ships last month, according to the new law that was implemented on 1 January which takes on the straight line rather than the conventional line. The Korean Government has processed it and asked Japan not to impose this law. What is the Government of Japan's response?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: As you correctly cited, we enacted changes in the territorial water law last year and that was implemented as of 1 January this year. We have already notified the governments concerned, including the Republic of Korea, to this effect. We believe that this straight baseline is completely compatible with the Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore, it is our right to draw such a straight line. In fact, within the territorial waters, it is prohibited for foreign vessels to engage in fishing. It is in this sense that within the straight line of territorial water, that foreign vessels are not permitted to engage in fishing. It is regrettable that four vessels of Korean origin engaged in fishing within this territorial water. We arrested the captain for the charges of the infringement concerning foreigners' fishing.

Q: Even though a Japanese law was implemented and the Government of Japan thinks it abides by international rules, the Republic of Korea and Japan have a fishing agreement which is still in effect. When this new fishing agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea was implemented, no such law existed. Do you think this is still fair?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: As a matter of fact, under any circumstance, within territorial waters, foreign vessels are not permitted to engage in fishing, even in the existing fishery agreement with the Republic of Korea or for that matter with respect to any other country. It is in this sense that we have simply carried out a normal surveillance.

Q: Since this law was implemented on 1 January, according to Korean authorities there have been Korean ships which have been fishing inside the straight line and outside the conventional line, and the Government of Japan until recently has not enforced this law. Are there any changes of staff in the Government of Japan to crack down on this all of a sudden and will the Government of Japan continue to enforce this law strictly from now on?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: It is my understanding that as of 1 January this year, when we implemented the new territorial water based on the straight line, I do not recollect any foreign vessels engaged in fishing within the straight-line territorial water and beyond the old conventional territorial water line. These incidents which we recognized in June are the first of their kind this year.

Q: So the Government of Japan will enforce this law strictly from now on?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: Since we are the law-abiding country, there is no reason why we would just overlook illegal fishing.
Shooting of unarmed fishing vessels
Q: Foreign Minister Ikeda demanded from his Russian counterpart to stop shooting Japanese boats. What was the response from the Russian side?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: We have protested through our embassy in Russia to the Government of the Russian Federation that any kind of shooting of unarmed fishery vessels cannot be permitted, all the more so if it takes place in territorial waters around the Northern Territories. We have strongly protested to that effect to the Russian foreign ministry. We are concerned for the safety of Japanese vessels engaged in fishing in those waters. Therefore we very much hope to wrap up the current negotiations with Russia on fishing issues as soon as possible. The Russian side recognized the facts, and in fact the Russian side regretted that these kinds of incidents took place at the time when the bilateral relationship with Japan began to improve, particularly right after the Prime Minister of Japan Ryutaro Hashimoto-President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin talks in Denver.
Northern Territories
Q: Concerning the islands of the Kurile, are there any new developments? Also, are there any developments concerning the Hokkaido Islands?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: We had a very recent meeting between Foreign Minister Ikeda and Foreign Minister Primakov of the Russian Federation in Hong Kong. They reviewed the current bilateral relationship. In a nutshell, we both reaffirmed the Tokyo declaration, we agreed to facilitate negotiation on the fishing issues, we discussed economic activities in the Northern Territories and told them we are willing to listen to whatever proposals the Russian side came up with. Mr. Primakov promised us he was going to give us a new plan. The Russian side also reaffirmed its support for the candidacy of Japan to the permanent Security Council seat.
Meeting of the foreign ministers of Japan and the Republic of Korea
Q: What is the plan for the meeting of the foreign ministers of Japan and the Republic of Korea in Hong Kong? Can you tell me whether the issue of fishery ships was raised?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: I do not have the record right now. If you call me I can fax it to you. Thank you very much.

Back to Index