Press Conference by the Press Secretary September 26, 1997

1. Review of the Japan-U.S. Guidelines for Defense Cooperation
2. Japan-U.S. aviation talks
3. Forest fires in the Republic of Indonesia affecting Southeast Asia

1. Review of the Japan-U.S. Guidelines for Defense Cooperation

   Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: Good afternoon, I do not have any announcements so I will now be delighted to respond to any questions that you might have.

   Q: Concerning what is happening in New York, I understand China is still worried about the new Guidelines on Defense. What I am interested to know is how Japan reacted concerning remarks over the People's Republic of China.

   Spokesman Tanaka: I think the question that you are asking is on the Guidelines and particularly on the surrounding area situation. We only hope that the People's Republic of China will understand our position and we continue to talk to China on this issue. The process is transparent and we are going to send somebody to China as soon as possible, immediately following the Japanese Foreign Minister's return to Japan. Whenever the opportunity arises we continue to talk to China about the nature of this exercise and try to explain our basic posture, which is peaceful. The Guidelines clearly stipulate the limits beyond which Japan would not venture. We said that this exercise was within the Japan-U.S. security alliance, the Japan-U.S. Joint Declaration on Security, constitutional amendments, international laws, including the Charter of the United Nations.

   Q: What is the Japanese Government going to do to implement the Guidelines, because some aspects need to be changed within the laws of Japan, so what is the Government going to do?

   Spokesman Tanaka: First and foremost, we would like to follow up on these Guidelines through various mechanisms. There will be comprehensive mechanisms that we are creating in order to coordinate with the United States of America and also within the agencies in Japan. These would be supervised by the SDC and SCC. At the same time, we certainly anticipate that there will eventually be certain legislative efforts in the future, but we have not yet decided exactly how to proceed on these aspects, but they will be handled through these consultation mechanisms.

   Q: You said that you are sending somebody to China? Is anybody going to the Republic of Korea also?

   Spokesman Tanaka: Yes, we are going to send someone. We intend to send officials to the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

   Q: Did you say as soon as possible?

   Spokesman Tanaka: Yes, at the earliest opportunity.

2. Japan-U.S. aviation talks

   Q: Could we please discuss the Japan-U.S. aviation series of talks. What is your assessment?

   Spokesman Tanaka: The aviation talks ended today. There has been some substantial progress, but still a considerable gap remains between Japan and the U.S. A final round of negotiations will take place in the week of 20 October. We hope that both sides will demonstrate flexibility in order to strike a deal. There has been certain progress in the area of increased opportunities for non-incumbent carriers. There has been certain progress regarding the nature of the agreement and how to deal with the "open sky" issue, but there still remain considerable differences on beyond issues which we hope we can solve in the final round of talks.

3. Forest fires in the Republic of Indonesia affecting Southeast Asia

   Q: As you know there is a problem in some Southeast Asian countries now because of the fires in the Republic of Indonesia. Is Japan intending to help these countries to solve these problems?

   Spokesman Tanaka: Unfortunately I do not have a briefing paper on this issue. However, we certainly believe this to be a serious issue that must be tackled by the many countries concerned as well as being an across-the-board issue of environmental hazard. We would like to provide as much assistance as possible. I am aware of the reports that we are going to send emergency teams to give assistance to the rescuers and the people trying to extinguish the fires in the Republic of Indonesia, but I do not have an exact briefing on this. I will provide you with further information through the International Press Division.

   Q: But do you think such a disaster needs measures between the countries to form a disaster plan in the future, as this is affecting a lot of countries in the region? Would Japan support such an idea?

   Spokesman Tanaka: In fact, I think there are many international schemes existing to deal with these current situations but they may not work effectively. When this incident is resolved we have to think about some improvements to the current plans in place, but right now we need to focus on extinguishing the fires and dealing with the ramifications of the smog in other countries.