Press Conference by the Press Secretary March 27, 1998

Press conference announcements
Meeting between Deputy Minister Grigorii Karasin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Minoru Tamba
The Middle East peace process
Return of Prince Norodom Ranariddh to the Kingdom of Cambodia

Press conference announcements
1. Emergency grant-in-aid to the Republic of Indonesia
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: Today, the Government of Japan decided to extend to the Republic of Indonesia an emergency grant-in-aid of 3 billion yen in medical supplies and daily necessities, including powdered milk, with a view to assisting the socially weak. You may recall that, earlier, we extended emergency aid of 1 billion yen, comprising medical supplies and medical equipment such as dialysis filters and tubes and syringes, which are already being shipped. You may also recall that when Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto met President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta a couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister told President Suharto that we were ready to help Indonesia meet this dire need for medical supplies to help the socially weak. We were ready to extend additional measures in grant assistance of 2 to 3 billion yen. We decided on the larger amount. This is in light of the difficulties that Indonesia faces because of the depreciation of its currency and the soaring costs of the chemicals used in making antibiotics, antipyretics, analgesics and vaccines. The costs have risen considerably, because 90 percent of this equipment has to be imported. The 1 billion yen figure that I mentioned was a rough figure. That is the earlier extension of the grant assistance, which was, in fact, 1.02 billion yen.
2. Japanese support to the Middle East peace process
  Spokesman Numata: The Government of Japan has decided to extend US$12 million in assistance to the Palestinians, consisting of US$10 million to the Japan-Palestine Development Fund of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and US$2 million to the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) to support the Palestinians, which includes the refugees in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon. Japan's assistance to the Palestinians has been extended since 1993, when then-Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, in September of 1993, pledged US$200 million worth of assistance to the Palestinians over a period of two years. We have been continuing this sort of assistance. Up to now, including this recent package of US$12 million, the total of our assistance to the Palestinians amounts to US$340.84 million. One notable feature of this assistance in recent years is that, while in the earlier stages we were channeling all of this assistance through international organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP, UNRWA, since two years ago, we have started extending a part of this aid directly to the Palestinians. About three-fourths of this assistance is now channeled through international organizations and about one-fourth is channeled directly to the Palestinians. This US$12 million in assistance is being extended in light of the considerable economic hardship experienced by the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, since last year's border closure, which has resulted in a considerable loss of employment opportunities and revenues for the Palestinians. For that reason, we are to channel this aid to help the Palestinians cope with the problems of unemployment, the shortage of educational facilities and the lack of medical supplies.
3. Emergency aid for refugees in the former Yugoslavia
  Spokesman Numata: The Government of Japan has decided to contribute emergency aid amounting to US$15.86 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international organizations, to be used for the benefit of refugees in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. I also note that we have been extending this kind of assistance for the benefit of the refugees in the former Yugoslavia since March 1992. The cumulative total is about US$340 million, of which US$200 million has been channeled through the UNHCR.
4. Emergency aid to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Trust Fund for the Republic of Rwanda for returned Rwandan Refugees
  Spokesman Numata: The Government of Japan has decided to extend emergency aid to the UNDP Trust Fund for the Republic of Rwanda for the return of Rwandan refugees in the amount of US$4.2 million. This will bring the cumulative total of aid to the UNDP Trust Fund for Rwanda from Japan to US$17.6 million. One other point about this particular installment is that the UNDP has been increasingly looking toward development, rather than constructing houses for the returnees. With that in mind, this particular aid will be used for the Project to Construct the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology.
5. Ground-breaking ceremony of the Japan Center in Moscow State University
  Spokesman Numata: The ground-breaking ceremony of the Japan Center in Moscow State University will take place at Moscow State University on Tuesday, 31 March. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura, Ambassador to the Russian Federation Takehiro Togo and others will be there. The Japan Centers in Russia have been established for the purpose of nurturing talents to advance the shift to a market economy in countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. There are already four Japan Centers in existence in Russia. There is already one in Moscow, and the other three are in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The construction of this Japan Center is related very closely to one very important item in the Hashimoto-Yeltsin Plan, which is the training of Russian business managers. You may recall that, in February, a group of Russian business managers were to undergo training. They have undergone training in Japan Centers in Russia. Some of them were chosen to come over to Japan. I think about 40 or 50 people came in February. We expect the next group to come very soon, perhaps by the end of this month. The idea in the Hashimoto-Yelstin Plan was that 1,000 future Russian business managers will undergo training in the various Japan Centers in Russia, out of which about 500 people will come over to Japan to do further on-the-job training.
6. Basic guidelines for the comprehensive economic measures announced by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the New Party Sakigake
  Spokesman Numata: Lastly, I have an announcement regarding the basic guidelines for the comprehensive economic measures which were announced by the three ruling parties, that is, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the New Party Sakigake. After the adoption of these measures by the three parties, there was a meeting of the economic ministers this morning. Let me give you the gist of what Prime Minister Hashimoto said on the occasion of this Ministerial Meeting, which did discuss these emergency economic measures. The gist of what the Prime Minister said is, firstly, that our utmost priority at the moment with respect to our economy is to work toward the early passage of the FY1998 budget and the reform of the taxation system and other bills in our Diet. He also went on to say that, firstly, the economy is a living thing, and timely and effective measures are necessary to keep it in good health. He also said that these guidelines adopted by the three ruling parties reflect the fact that the three ruling parties do recognize that the Japanese economy today is in dire straits. The Prime Minister said further that in light of these facts, the Government, on its part, considers these proposals by the ruling parties to carry much weight. The Government shares with the ruling parties the recognition that we do need to extricate ourselves from the present predicament as soon as possible. Therefore, that is how the Government, as represented by the Prime Minister, is considering these guidelines as proposed by the three ruling parties. Although these are basic guidelines adopted by the three ruling parties, let me, for your benefit, give you some of the salient points of these guidelines. The guidelines set out concrete economic measures which will create effective demand. The basic guidelines state that the magnitude of the economic measures package should be in excess of 16 trillion yen, including an adequate amount of fiscal expenditure, with the main focus on expanding domestic demand. This 16 trillion yen package is the largest package of this kind ever contemplated. It is estimated that it will amount to about 3 percent of the estimated GDP for Japan in FY1998. The guidelines set out the sort of areas in which effective demand may be expanded, or the means by which effective demand may be stimulated. For example, front-loading of the execution of public works, to the extent of possibly over 80 percent of contracts for public works in FY1998 to be made in the first half of the fiscal year. The rate of front-loading would be at the historically highest level. Secondly, there are talks about investments in several areas. For example, in the area of building the basis for safe and affluent lives of the people into the 21st century, the guidelines point out the need for focused investment in the areas of environment, new energy, education, social welfare and medicine. They also point out the need for intensive investment in the area of building a basis for a vibrant economic community. In that context, the guidelines talk about the need for investments in such areas as science and technology, telecommunications and the modernization and streamlining of the distribution system. Thirdly, the guidelines also talk about the need to utilize management skills, technical prowess and financial resources in the private sector through, for example, what they call Japan's version of private finance initiative(PFI). The guidelines also talk about the areas of taxes, saying clearly that policy-prioritized tax cuts should be considered, that is, tax cuts which are related to a particular policy. Exactly what sort of policies are to be decided later. However, what a policy-prioritized tax cut means is, for example, cutting tax for the purpose of promoting education. This is a tax cut tied to a specific goal. The guidelines further say that, in view of the global standard and also the desire generally shared nationwide, consideration should promptly be given to how individual income tax and corporate tax should be structured. In other words, discussions will continue on income tax and corporate tax. Those are the main features. The guidelines also mention further measures aimed at stabilization of the financial system and at easing the credit crunch. In that context, they point to the need for facilitating loans for small and medium enterprises, and making use of the resources available in the Postal Savings Services and the Postal Life Insurance Services. The guidelines also envision, as an important part of this package, the continuing need to help our neighbors in Asia, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions. In that context, the guidelines provide for continued Export-Import Bank financing in the form of Two-Step loans, investment financing, import financing or through Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans.
Meeting between Deputy Minister Grigorii Karasin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Minoru Tamba
Q: What were the results of the meeting between Deputy Minister Karasin with his Japanese counterpart and with Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi?

Spokesman Numata: In fact, Deputy Minister Grigorii Karasin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was in town and had a very intensive and in-depth consultation with his counterpart, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Minoru Tamba, as well as with Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi. Allow me to talk about these meetings in their totality. At the Vice-Ministerial-Level Consultations, which is really the sub-group of the Joint Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty, there was a small meeting with a limited number of participants from each side. We did manage to have a very friendly and intensive consultation. This consultation took place on the basis of the agreement between the Co-Chairmen of the Joint Committee, that is Foreign Minister Obuchi and Foreign Minister Evgenii Maksimovich Primakov of the Russian Federation on the occasion of Foreign Minister Obuchi's visit to Russia in February, that in order to advance the negotiation further, there should be this Vice-Ministerial-Level Consultation in March. Both sides conducted consultations with a view to advancing the Krasnoyarsk Agreement on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty, that is, making utmost efforts toward the conclusion of the peace treaty on the basis of the Tokyo Declaration by the year 2000. They are making use of the various elements that have been in place between the two sides through the various rounds of peace treaty negotiations that have taken place between our two governments. They also talked about such matters as what might be contained in a peace treaty. Since the negotiation is ongoing, I am not at liberty to go into details. They also discussed the preparations for the visit by President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan in April. They also talked about the progress of the Hashimoto-Yelstin Plan and about exchanges between the defense establishments of our two countries and other matters. I might also add that Deputy Minister Karasin said that President Yeltsin has a firm determination to visit Japan as planned. Therefore, we are indeed looking forward to welcoming him in Japan. In the brief meeting between Deputy Minister Karasin and Foreign Minister Obuchi, the Foreign Minister said that he was happy to hear that there had been, throughout the day, a very meaningful consultation between the two sides. He also expressed his confidence that the Japan-Russia relationship will continue to proceed in a smooth manner under the leadership of President Yeltsin. He said he looked forward to hearing detailed reports from Deputy-Minister Tamba about the consultation itself. He said also that we, on the Japanese side, would like to continue to work closely with the Russian side in preparation for President Yeltsin's visit. He asked Deputy Minister Karasin to convey his best regards to Foreign Minister Primakov.
The Middle East peace process
Q: Japan has committed to financial aid to the Palestinian side in order to advance peace in the Middle East. However, what about a political initiative from Japan? Japan has played a large role in contributing to the resolution of the conflict in Iraq. Will Japan take similar political initiatives toward advancing the peace process in the Middle East?

Spokesman Numata: We continue to monitor the developments in the Middle East with keen interest. We do continue our dialogue with the countries concerned, including the visit by Deputy-Minister Tamba to the Arab Republic of Egypt. I think that was about two or three weeks ago. We continue our dialogue. At the same time, we are also continuing to play our role in what might constitute the economic and social underpinning to the Middle East peace process. I am referring specifically to the efforts that have been underway in the multilateral negotiations on economics, the environment and other matters. I think it was just last week that I announced two particular seminars which we are hosting in that regard. The political role that Japan can play in the Middle East process may not be as direct as some other countries, but that does not prevent us from continuing to have an interest, from trying to explore and monitor the situation, or from maintaining close dialogue with interested countries and trying to explore whatever roles we may have. Having said all this, I think the current state of the peace process is such that it is perhaps not easy to find a role for Japan which we can easily take.

Q: When does Foreign Minister Obuchi plan to visit Egypt?

Spokesman Numata: I will tell the Minister that you raised the question.
Return of Prince Norodom Ranariddh to the Kingdom of Cambodia
Q: Regarding the return of Prince Ranariddh to Phnom Penh on Monday, are there any plans to have Japanese officials accompany him?

Spokesman Numata: Firstly, I understand that Ambassador Ohta in Thailand did have an opportunity to talk to Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the Kingdom of Cambodia this morning. Prince Ranariddh said that he was indeed planning to go back to Cambodia on 30 March. There is of course the question of ensuring his safety when he returns to Cambodia. We note that the Cambodian Government has been saying that it will ensure Prince Ranariddh's safety . We also note that the United Nations on its part is saying that it will monitor the arrangements for ensuring the safety of Prince Ranariddh. We do feel that these two things combined will probably be a good enough basis to ensure Prince Ranariddh's safety. In other words, I am not aware of plans by the sort of personalities that you mentioned to accompany Prince Ranariddh.

Back to Index