Press Conference by the Press Secretary 1 December, 1998

1. Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China
2. Meeting between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil of the Republic of Korea under the Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration
3. Formation of a new Government in the Kingdom of Cambodia and possible meeting of the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Cambodia (ICRC)
4. Fourth meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group in Tokyo from 7 to 8 December in Tokyo
5. Comparison between the Japanese text and Chinese text of the Joint Declaration between Japan and the People's Republic of China
6. Comments by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China at Waseda University
7. Possibility of the establishment by Japan and the Republic of Korea of a free trade zone
8. Topics to be raised at the fourth meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group in Tokyo
9. Response of the Government of Japan to the trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia
10. Possible visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Middle East
11. Quote from Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil of the Republic of Korea about the leadership of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

1. Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. As you know, there has been a flurry of diplomatic activities centering on Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in the months of October and November. The cycle came to an end last weekend with the end of the visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China. There was a bit of a sequel to that in Kagoshima because a group of ministers from both Japan and the Republic of Korea assembled in Kagoshima, not only to appreciate the beauty of some Satsuma porcelain which has its origin as you know in Korea, but also to talk informally and quite freely about a number of matters of shared concern. I will make two brief points at the beginning. Firstly, with respect to President Jiang's visit. President Jiang sent a telegram expressing his appreciation for the welcome extended to him to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan as he left Japan as he departed from Sapporo. We do feel that this has been a significant visit, a very important visit in the sense that there were extensive and candid exchanges of views between President Jiang and Prime Minister Obuchi. The two leaders agreed on this Joint Declaration of which the theme is partnership of friendship and cooperation for peace and development. They also made public a joint press announcement in which they enumerated a number of items for cooperation between our two Governments as we go into the next century. So all in all, the visit has served to build the framework for joint endeavors and joint actions between the two countries in pursuit of shared goals and thus it has succeeded in building the basis for a long and stable relationship between Japan and China. President Jiang himself, has expressed his appreciation of the visit in the sense that there has been this meeting of minds between the two leaders on the building of a partnership between Japan and the People's Republic of China as we go into the 21st century and he characterized the significance of the visit by saying that through this visit the Japan-China relationship has now entered a new phase.

   Related Information (President Jiang Zemin and Mrs. Wang's State Visit to Japan)
   
2. Meeting between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil of the Republic of Korea under the Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: With respect to the Republic of Korea meeting, you may recall that this sort of informal meeting involving cabinet ministers on both sides was proposed in the course of the visit by President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea to Japan in October. I think the fact this meeting has actually taken place less than two months after the establishment of such a forum was announced, is in itself an indication that the Japan-Republic of Korea partnership envisioned in the Joint Declaration between our two leaders is now steadily being implemented. The ministers of the two sides, with the participation of Prime Minister Obuchi from our part and Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil from the Republic of Korea, were able to renew an old friendship in the case of the two Prime Ministers and make new friends or renew friendship also with respect to Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura and his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Hong Soon Young from the Republic of Korea, and as for the other ministers, to make new friends. They managed to have a very relaxed as well as useful exchange of views. So those are my comments on the China and Republic of Korea events.

   Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
   
3. Formation of a new Government in the Kingdom of Cambodia and possible meeting of the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Cambodia (ICRC)

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: My next announcement is with respect to the Kingdom of Cambodia. The new Government in Cambodia came into place yesterday. The parties concerned have agreed on the formation of a new cabinet. We, on the part of the Government of Japan, welcome the establishment of this new Cambodian Government and we would like to extend our congratulations to the Cambodian people for that. We strongly hope that under this new Government, Cambodia will be able to enjoy peace and prosperity. It is Japan's intention to continue to extend our cooperation to that end. As a part of such effort -- we are considering the hosting of what has been known as the International Conference on the Reconstruction of Cambodia (ICRC) and the meeting of donor countries to Cambodia, neck to neck, in Japan, sometime in February. We also are considering inviting the new Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia to Japan on that occasion. With these in mind, we have started talking to the relevant international organizations, for example the World Bank, and other countries concerned. We also feel that as far as the ICRC is concerned, if it meets in February, as we hope will be the case in Japan, that may be the last meeting for the ICRC in the sense that the ICRC has been an exercise to discuss the political aspects of the reconstruction of Cambodia as well. In that sense, it has held several meetings since 1993, in 1994 and 1995, and people have been talking for some time about when the last meeting of the ICRC may take place, when and if a new Cambodian Government came into place. There were talks about holding it in Cambodia last year, but the events in Cambodia did not make it possible. So now that political process is coming to completion, in that sense the work of ICRC should probably come to an end in February as well. However, the meeting of donor countries to Cambodia obviously needs to continue because there will continue to be the need for economic assistance. So it is our intention to continue to help Cambodia in these areas.

   Related Information (Japan-Cambodia Relations)
   
4. Fourth meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group in Tokyo from 7 to 8 December in Tokyo

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: My next announcement is on the Afghanistan Support Group. The fourth meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group will be held in Tokyo on Monday, 7 December and Tuesday, 8 December and it will be hosted by the Government of Japan. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura will be chairing this meeting. We expect to have the participation of representatives of about 15 countries, from the United States, Europe and other areas, from the European Commission, relevant United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and representatives of the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) who are working in the field in the Islamic State of Afghanistan. They will have a broad range of items to discuss, such as the political and security situation in Afghanistan and the future outlook in that regard, the status quo of humanitarian assistance and the conditions for the return of United Nations personnel to Afghanistan, how we approach aid to Afghanistan once it is fully resumed, natural disasters and earthquakes, human rights and gender issues and narcotics issues. Now, these are the sort of items which reflect what had been discussed in this Support Group meeting up until its third meeting. But some of the items which I have mentioned also reflect the changes in Afghanistan that have taken since this past summer.

   Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)
   
5. Comparison between the Japanese text and Chinese text of the Joint Declaration between Japan and the People's Republic of China

   Q: Regarding President Jiang's visit, I wanted to know why the release of the Joint Declaration was so late, by about five hours that night. Was there an argument or some trouble?

   Mr. Numata: No, it does not necessarily mean trouble. It may mean that our colleagues may have been somewhat overworked. We issued the Joint Declaration in Japanese and Chinese. We obviously wanted to make sure that there is conformity between the Japanese and Chinese texts. I think we tend to be rather meticulous in checking written languages and it seems to be the case that the same degree of meticulousness exists on the Chinese side as well. So it turned out to take a bit more time than we had anticipated. But the important thing is that there is this Joint Declaration which does indicate the areas of commonality between us.

   Q: But the next day, I got two kinds of Chinese versions, one is from MOFA from Japan and one is from mainland China's Government.

   Mr. Numata: Sorry, I have not checked the Chinese text.

   Q: In the English version and the Chinese version -- the Chinese version has cut off some things.

   Mr. Numata: Cut off?

   Q: Yes. Quite important, is that both sides reiterate that it is unshakable -- in this paragraph -- it is quite important, they will not seek hegemony in the Asian region and the settlement of disputes by peaceful means without recourse to use of threat or force, especially for hegemony in the Asian region. This was cut off by the Chinese Government.

   Mr. Numata: Cut off?

   Q: Yes.

   Mr. Numata: Or deleted? What do you mean by --

   Q: The Chinese Government version did not have this paragraph.

   Mr. Numata: That is very strange. We do have it in Japanese.

   Q: The Japanese version has this paragraph?

   Mr. Numata: We do have it.

   Q: The Chinese Government released it without this paragraph. So I wonder.

   Mr. Numata: I do not know. I am a bit surprised about the reference to not seeking hegemony. I would be surprised if the reference of not seeking hegemony had been deliberately dropped by the Chinese side. Do you not agree?

   Q: This version was also reported by The People's Daily News. So I wonder, you say you want to build up a new partnership with mainland China. Can you trust each other?

   Mr. Numata: Firstly, I am basing my comments on the basis of the Japanese text of the Joint Declaration in which there is that reference. I have no reason to believe that I should be basing my comments on anything else. That is my first point. The mystery of what you claim to be the discrepancy between the two Chinese texts, I am not in a position to comment on.

   Related Information (President Jiang Zemin and Mrs. Wang's State Visit to Japan)
   
6. Comments by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China at Waseda University

   Q: President Jiang at a speech at a university, mentioned that Japanese conduct in the war cost China around US$600 million. Do you know how they came up with this figure?

   Mr. Numata: No I do not. No I do not. That is their calculation.

   Related Information (President Jiang Zemin and Mrs. Wang's State Visit to Japan)
   
7. Possibility of the establishment by Japan and the Republic of Korea of a free trade zon

   Q: At the Japan- Republic of Korea meeting in Kyushu, they have agreed to explore the possibility of a foreign trade zone.

   Mr. Numata: There have been some reports to that effect.

   Q: Do you have the exact wording of the discussions at that meeting and also any additional information?

   Mr. Numata: Actually, I do not think it was really a discussion of foreign trade zones as such that actually took place. They have been talking about a sort of joint study by a Japanese research institute and a research institute of the Republic of Korea on the sort of economic and trade relations that we may wish to see in the future, given that we are very close neighbors. So what is happening is that this kind of study by the research institutes of the two countries will be taking place but when you embark on a study you do not start it with a fixed view of what may be the outcome of that study. And that is exactly what is happening with respect to this. There have been some speculations, I know, about the idea of a free trade zone and so forth. Perhaps when the researchers conduct their study, they may get some inspirations, but they may not.

   Q: What are those speculations you are hearing?

   Mr. Numata: Basically my comment is not to feed speculations. My job is not to feed speculations.

   Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
   
8. Topics to be raised at the fourth meeting of the Afghanistan Support Group in Tokyo

   Q: Concerning the Afghanistan Support Group, do you expect them to discuss the issue of Osama Bin Ladin staying in Afghanistan. He is accused by the United States to be behind the explosions in Africa.

   Mr. Numata: I do not know. I do not know. It may or may not come under the heading of the political and security situation in Afghanistan. I think it depends on the concerns and interests of those who will be participating.

   Q: But since Japan is hosting will Japan raise this issue?

   Mr. Numata: This is basically about Afghanistan and Afghanistan peace. We have been concerned about the hostilities, the tension, between Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Iran and so forth and we have been talking to both sides. We have been using various channels to talk to both sides. So that set of issues is of considerable interest or concern to us and perhaps that concern is shared by a number of participants. The question of whether or not the particular person that you referred to, who has been referred to in the context of terrorism, may or may not be discussed, I have no way of telling at this moment.

   Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)
   
9. Response of the Government of Japan to the trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia

   Q: Do you have any view on what is happening in Malaysia these days? The trial of Anwar is going on and the judge has ordered the arrest of some of Anwar's lawyers. Also, some of his supporters reported that they were tortured and forced to confess to crimes that they actually did not commit. What is your view of all of this?

   Mr. Numata: I was in Malaysia about two weeks ago and the particular case that you mentioned was not without some media attention. Let us put it that way. Quite apart from the question of the details of what has been happening in the past few days, there has been this concern on the part of the international community about what is happening in Malaysia and what it may mean. When Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir of Malaysia came to Japan to attend the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II), Prime Minister Obuchi mentioned to Prime Minister Mahathir this concern on the part of the international community which does give us some cause for concern as well. Prime Minister Obuchi met Prime Minister Mahathir in Kuala Lumpur and he basically repeated the same point. I understand that Prime Minister Mahathir's response to Prime Minister Obuchi was that it was in the court of law, it is a matter to be decided in the court. Prime Minister Obuchi in Kuala Lumpur said to Prime Minister Mahathir that he hoped that things will be handled on the basis of law and justice. That is our position. That remains our position. Perhaps we may be somewhat different from other countries in that when we have an interest or concern we tend to convey that in a bilateral context and not necessarily by shouting our concern out loud.

   Q: Do you think that Mr. Anwar is getting a fair trial?

   Mr. Numata: We continue to watch the situation with the hope that this affair will be handled on the basis of law and justice.

   Related Information (Japan-Malaysia Relations)
   
10. Possible visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Middle East

    Q: Do you have any information about the visit by Foreign Minister Koumura to the Middle East?

    Mr. Numata: I have no confirmation at this point but let me say that the possibilities for Foreign Minister Koumura's travel overseas in January are being actively looked at, embracing a number of possibilities, perhaps including the area that you have mentioned as well. However, we have not come to a decision yet.

11. Quote from Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil of the Republic of Korea about the leadership of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

    Q: Regarding the meeting in Kagoshima, there was an interesting quote in the Asahi Shimbun and I was wondering whether it was accurate. Prime Minister Kim was quoted as saying to Prime Minister Obuchi that you are not only the leader of Japan but you are a world leader and we hope that you will give us guidance, please give us guidance and exercise leadership.

    Mr. Numata: Yes. I can give you the exact quote. I have it ready. Prime Minister Kim said to Prime Minister Obuchi, it was the end of their meeting, that "You are not only the leader of Japan but also a leader of the world, and as such I would like you to exert strong leadership." And Prime Minister Obuchi humbly responded by saying that he would like to make efforts in his own way. I inserted the word "humbly," incidentally.

    Q: The Japanese word shido kind of has the nuance as I understand it of sort of "guidance" or "guiding us."

    Mr. Numata: The language I have is what I have quoted you but of course when you say to somebody that "I would like you to exercise strong leadership," that does imply what I might call an emanation of some kind of guidance and a willingness on the part of the recipient to do, at least to try, to follow that to some extent, so it may have it in that sort of context but shidoryoku, leadership, I think is the key word here.