Press Conference by the Press Secretary January 23, 1998

Announcements
1. Special Envoy to the Republic of Indonesia
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sadaaki Numata, the new Spokesman, just returned from London. Some of you may choose to take issue with my accent, but it may change over time, after I spend a little bit of time in Tokyo. In fact, I was remembering the last time that I was standing at this podium--physically, it is a new podium, but at least figuratively speaking, at this podium--and that was on the 28th of January 1994, when I gave my last press conference in my capacity as Deputy Spokesman of the Foreign Ministry. I should not fall into the habit of quoting myself, but on that occasion, I thanked the members of the foreign press corps in Tokyo for very graciously allowing me to survive more or less intact the rigors of this profession of a spokesman, which are often described in very graphic terms like sparring, slogging, tap dancing and so forth, and I also said that perhaps someday, sometime, somewhere, we can both look forward to a repeat performance. Perhaps I will live to regret having made that statement. With your indulgence, perhaps I may not have to regret it. That is an indirect way of saying that I do look forward to working closely with you, to developing a sense of rapport with you, some of whom I recognize from earlier times. Now, without further ado, let me go on to make some announcements. Firstly, I believe that my predecessor, Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto, referred to the trip that State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura was to make to the Republic of Indonesia as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister. State Secretary Koumura met President Suharto, Vice President Try Sutrisno and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas in Jakarta on Thursday the 22nd of January. Let me refer to the gist of the meeting that he had with President Suharto. State Secretary Koumura conveyed to President Suharto this letter from Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, in which our Prime Minister expressed his strong support for the president's decision to undergo very rigorous policy changes in agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extricate Indonesia from its present economic difficulties. Prime Minister Hashimoto also expressed the hope that these policy measures contained in these policy changes will be steadily implemented, and the Prime Minister also expressed Japan's intention to continue to support Indonesia's efforts in this regard. Following the delivery of this letter, State Secretary Koumura told President Suharto of Japan's intention to provide some additional yen loans. To be specific, Japan intends to provide as a part of the yen loan package for FY1998 a yen loan for structural adjustment support, otherwise called a sector program loan, as I understand it, amounting to 50 billion yen. This is in addition to the 20 billion yen loan already pledged for the same purpose--that is, for structural adjustment -- as part of the FY1997 package. This means that in total, 70 billion yen worth of quick-disbursing yen loans will be provided for the purposes of helping the socially disadvantaged or the poor in Indonesia and also assisting Indonesia with its human resources development. We do hope that these loans, which will take immediate effect, will help ease the pain of reform which Indonesia will have to be faced with. In response, President Suharto expressed his firm intention to implement the various measures for reforming the economic structure of Indonesia, the sort of measures which have been discussed with the IMF, and President Suharto also expressed his sincere appreciation for prompt, timely and appropriate support from Japan as explained by State Secretary Koumura. We hope that this expression of the firm determination on the part of President Suharto to implement the various sets of reform measures will help restore international confidence in Indonesia, and we view this visit by State Secretary Koumura and the messages that he conveyed to the Indonesian leaders as a timely message from Japan as a friend in need to Indonesia.
2. Japan-Russian Federation peace treaty
  Spokesman Numata: My second announcement concerns the Vice-Ministerial consultations on the negotiations on the peace treaty with the Russian Federation. Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tanba has been in Moscow, and he met his Russian counterpart, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigorii Karashin, in Moscow on the 22nd, and the consultation took place in a constructive and friendly atmosphere. The two sides agreed to start the work for the conclusion of the peace treaty; that is, they reaffirmed the significance of the agreement between the Japanese and Russian leaders in Krasnoyarsk, in which, as you recall, the two leaders agreed to make the utmost efforts for the conclusion of the peace treaty on the basis of the Tokyo Declaration by the year 2000. To start this work, they agreed on several points. One is that the group, which is to be headed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, to discuss this issue of the conclusion of the peace treaty would be named the Japan-Russia Joint Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty. I am translating from the Japanese; I am sure there is a corresponding official translation in Russian as well. Second, that under this joint committee, there would be established a sort of sub-committee at the vice-ministerial level, which may be convened as and when necessary. Thirdly, that the participants of this committee will be decided by each side on the basis of each side's judgement as to who would be the appropriate people to be participating. Fourthly, the task of this committee is to conduct the negotiations with a view to concluding the peace treaty on the basis of the Tokyo Declaration in order to make the Krasnoyarsk agreement a reality. They also agreed that the two co-chairmen of this joint committee--that is, Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and, from the Russian Federation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevgeny Primakov--will have their first meeting when Foreign Minister Obuchi visits Moscow sometime in February. You may remember that at the Krasnoyarsk meeting, there was another important centerpiece, which was the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan for economic activities. The two sides reviewed the progress of the various items under the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan and exchanged views on that. They also discussed what you might call the Framework Arrangement for fishery operations in the waters surrounding the Northern Territories, and they agreed to do their utmost to sign this agreement. For that, domestic procedures are called for, with a view to the start of fisheries operations in February. Another item which was included in the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan was the question of energy. Under the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan there was this agreement, to strengthen the dialogue on energy between Japan and Russia. The first of these consultations, the Japan-Russia energy consultations, is to be held in Moscow on the 28th and 29th of January. On the Japanese side, the delegation will be co-chaired by Mr. Kondo, Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Ota, who is Deputy Director-General of the Resources and Energy Agency of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. On the Russian side, it will be chaired--forgive me for not having checked the spelling of his name in Roman characters; perhaps if we have Russian friends here I might call for help--Mr. Telegina, who is the Chairman of the Committee on External Economic Cooperation in the Gomstat--I think I will ask my colleague to check the spelling and provide it to you by the end of the press conference--in the Fuel and Energy Department. They will be taking up such topics as the potential of the energy supply in Russia, investment in the energy sector and the possibility of energy cooperation between Japan and Russia.
3. Termination of the Japan-Republic of Korea Fishery Agreement
  Spokesman Numata: This morning--I think you may have with you the statement by Foreign Minister Obuchi on the termination of the Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Fishery Agreement. Let me add that this morning, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunji Yanai had a meeting with the ROK Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Kim Tae Ghee, and notified the ambassador of Japan's intention to terminate this existing fishery agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea. In doing so, Vice Minister Yanai stated that the existing agreement will continue to be in force for another year and therefore, this notification of our intention to terminate the fishery agreement itself does not immediately change the framework and substance of the existing agreement. Vice Minister Yanai further stated that Japan, on its part, will continue to grapple seriously with this issue from the basic viewpoint of maintaining and strengthening the friendly relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, and that the decision reached today should not in any way affect the basic rubric of relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Japan-Russian Federation peace treaty
Q: How does the Japanese Foreign Ministry really rate the results of Russian-Japanese consultations on the peace treaty in Moscow?

Spokesman Numata: We do feel that it has been a significant consultation in the context of the discussions and the agreement between the two leaders in Krasnoyarsk. To follow up on that agreement, we have launched the work of the negotiations, and for that purpose, with respect to your question about the negotiation of the peace treaty, through this consultation we came to a specific agreement on the composition of and the specific task entrusted to these groups. In that sense, we have been able to establish the structure for the negotiations, and we do feel that this is a significant beginning. At the same time, as I said earlier, another important centerpiece of the Krasnoyarsk meeting was the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan. I said that the two sides in Moscow yesterday reviewed the progress of the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan, and they discussed some specific points. Let me give you some examples. For example, with respect to the question of the negotiation for the investment protection agreement, the two sides agreed to start negotiations in mid-February in either Tokyo or Moscow. You might also recall that another item in the Hashimoto-Yeltsin plan was the integration of Russia into the international economic system, and in that sense, the two sides agreed to hold bilateral Japan-Russia consultations designed to facilitate Russia's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). For that purpose, the officials of the two sides will be meeting in Moscow in early February. With respect to the question of Russia's participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), we will be looking at the possibility of holding our bilateral negotiations for that purpose, perhaps in March. You have no doubt heard about Ms. Hakamada, who has been in Japan. In the course of her visit the Japanese side has presented to the Russian side a plan for supporting small and medium enterprises in Russia. There is another visit, in the sense that from January 26th through the 30th, a Russian delegation will be coming to discuss the question of the restoration of the Siberian railway system. There is also progress with respect to this program, the training program for Russian business managers. We are now discussing the specifics with a view to receiving about 200 of these managers by April this year. These are some specific examples of the progress that is being made, so we do feel there is meaningful follow-up to what was discussed at Krasnoyarsk.

Q: According to Kyodo News, Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi hinted today that Japan may participate in Russian-proposed joint Russian-Japanese economic activities in the Northern Territories. In what way?

Spokesman Numata: Perhaps, I think, the best way to answer your question is to go back to what was discussed in Moscow yesterday on this subject. I understand that there was a certain proposal or proposals from the Russian side on this idea of joint economic activities in the Northern Territories. As you know, the Japanese position on this has been that we will be happy to take a look at it. At the same time, it is necessary that discussion of these proposals will not adversely affect the well-known positions on each side, so this proposal or these proposals were made and our side said that we would take them home and give it some thought. The Russian side also said that on their part, having made that proposal or these proposals, that they also would like to give it some further thought. I think it is a bit premature to go any further than that. The name of the gentleman who will be heading the Russian side on the energy consultation is Mr. Telegina.
Fishing in Australian waters
Q: On the topic of Japanese fishing agreements, I am not sure if you are aware of this, but yesterday Australia's Minister for Resources and Energy Senator Warwick Parer made the announcement that all Japanese fishing boats will be banned from Australia because of the inability to reach an agreement on quotas. I am just wondering what the Japanese Government's reaction to this is.

Spokesman Numata: Quite apart from the fact that I was once party to these negotiations when I was Deputy Head of the Mission in Canada--that is irrelevant, of course; I am no longer Deputy Head of the Mission in Canada--as I understand it, the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT) was unable to come to an agreement on the total allowable catch and the national quotas, due to differences in scientific views as to how you assess the present situation of the stock. The Japanese side worked very hard to try to explain its scientific viewpoint to its Australian and New Zealand interlocutors. It is quite regrettable that we could not come to a meeting of minds. In that process, we made this proposal of an experimental fishing program, or what you might call research fishing, that was not accepted by the Australian and New Zealand sides, and that we find regrettable. But it is our intention to continue to work very hard toward the resolution of the problem. With respect to this particular statement by Australian Minister for Resources and Energy Senator Warwick Parer, I think I can at least say that we are not very happy about it because our intention is to try to resolve this issue and to try to work very hard for that purpose, so the press release by the Australian Minister that Australia would not allow the operation of Japanese vessels in Australian waters we do find very regrettable.

Q: So you do not think that this will mean that Japan will walk away from the conservation commission?

Spokesman Numata: No, it will not, because our intention is to continue to work within that framework to try to reach a solution.

Q: And do you think this will have any further diplomatic effects on relations between the two countries?

Spokesman Numata: Having been involved in various aspects of our relations with Australia, I am sure that we both have the resilience to overcome these problems. Of course, there is New Zealand as well.
Visit of Secretary of Defense William Cohen of the United States of America
Q: Secretary of Defense William Cohen has visited Japan and there were a couple of joint statements issued. In one of them, he said the Bilateral Planning Committee composed of military officials to map out specifics of the region--when will this committee be formally organized and when will it start real work?

Spokesman Numata: Looking at this diagram which described the organization of that mechanism under which this work is to be carried out, it has got a number of elements in it, so perhaps I should start with that. There is this mechanism which is called a comprehensive mechanism for bilateral work, and on that, what happened in the course of Secretary Cohen's visit is that the members of the Security Consultative Committee (SCC) endorsed the establishment of the comprehensive mechanism for bilateral planning and the establishment of common standards and procedures. I am talking here about the whole mechanism encompassing not just the Foreign Ministry, but also the Defense Agency on this side, the U.S. Government and the Pentagon on the American side, also including the American military and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the uniformed people. This comprehensive mechanism talks about this broad mechanism embracing all of it. This I think will start--since we are talking about this broad mechanism it is rather difficult to say when it actually starts. In a way, when it is established, it starts.

Q: What I really meant is that maybe the wording was not the Bilateral Planning Committee, but it specifically refers to a committee--

Spokesman Numata: BPC? The Bilateral Planning Committee between the--

Q: The uniformed officers.

Spokesman Numata: Yes, the JSDF on the Japanese side, the Self-Defense Forces, and on the U.S. side, U.S. Forces in Japan and SNPAC.

Q: What I wanted to know is whether it has already been formed, or when it will form?

Spokesman Numata: On that, I think what they agreed on this time was the concept of the structure. As far as the uniformed people from both sides are concerned they will meet in the Bilateral Planning Committee; when and how they will meet-- they will meet as and when necessary.

Q: Does it say as and when necessary?

Spokesman Numata: No, not in the diagram itself, but I am given to understand that they will meet when necessary to conduct work, so I do not think there is anything that is cast in concrete which goes beyond that.
Heliport in Okinawa
Q: I would like to ask a question on the proposal to construct a sea-based facility or heliport. What is the legal status now? Is the Government going to wait for the answer of Okinawa Prefecture or does the law allow the Government to override the sentiments of Okinawa Prefecture?

Spokesman Numata: I do not know whether I should try to answer you from a strictly legal point of view. After all, this is a question which has a number of aspects, legal as well as political and diplomatic. What is happening now is that there are developments in Okinawa taking place around Nago, and we will be monitoring these developments with interest. We will continue to work toward the construction of this alternative heliport and the return of Futenma Airstation as laid out in the Final Report of SACO.

Q: Does that mean there is no question of the Government looking at alternatives at this time?

Spokesman Numata: I think this particular option that we are looking at is an option that has been arrived at through very careful and intense consultations, and I do not think we are involved in the consideration of any sort of alternative plan or proposal.

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