Press Conference by the Press Secretary 8 May, 1998

1. Statement by the Press Secretary / Director-General for Press and Public Relations of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi on the formal decision of the original European Union member states for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
2. Trip by Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi to the Kingdom of Thailand, Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore
3. Discussion of the Middle East peace process at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom
4. Position of the Government of Japan regarding the Middle East peace process
5. Discussion concerning the Asian economic crisis at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom
6. Discussion of the situation in Indonesia at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom
7. Response of G-8 members to economic stimulus package announced by the Government of Japan
8. Passing of the economic stimulus package by the Diet of Japan
9. Status of the peace treaty between Japan and the Russian Federation

1. Statement by the Press Secretary / Director-General for Press and Public Relations of the Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi on the formal decision of the original European Union member states for the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)

   I hope you had a restful Golden Week. I think we have some catching up to do because we have been resting over the past week. The first item in terms of catching up concerns the decision at the special meeting of Heads of State and Government on the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in Brussels concerning the introduction of the single currency. On 3 May we issued a statement in my name on this and although it is no longer news, I thought it best that I share it with you. As you see in the statement which has been handed out to you, we would like to pay tribute to the European Union (EU) for the remarkable progress it has made in overcoming numerous difficulties towards this historic experiment of realizing monetary union. We hope that the euro will come into being through a smooth process, and that once the single currency is put in place, the governments of the countries consisting of the "euro zone," as well as the European Central Bank, will manage their policies in such a way as to ensure that the euro becomes an easily accessible, stable and reliable currency. We also hope that the introduction of the euro will benefit the international community as a whole. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has written to Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom, who has the Presidency of the European Council and Jacques Santer, President of the European Union. Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi has also sent messages to Sir Leon Brittan, Vice-President of the European Commission and Mr. Yves-Thiboult de Silguy, Member of the European Commission, basically making these points. The points that have been made by our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister are very much in line with the discussions on the subject that took place at the time of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in London when the Asian participants expressed their views about the euro and it was in fact Prime Minister Hashimoto who spoke on behalf of the Asian participants.

2. Trip by Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi to the Kingdom of Thailand, Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore

   The next item in terms of catching up is the trip by Foreign Minister Obuchi to the Kingdom of Thailand, Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore in the course of the Golden Week. He was traveling from 1 to 5 May. This was in fact the first visit by Foreign Minister Obuchi to Southeast Asia after there arose this serious concern about the economic and financial crisis in East Asia. We feel that through the visit by Foreign Minister Obuchi, we were able to impress upon our neighbors our determination as an Asian country to share their sufferings and to work together with them to overcome the current difficulties. Foreign Minister Obuchi did this through his meetings with his counterparts as well as the leaders in the countries that he visited. In terms of timing of the visit, this came in the wake of the announcement of the historic reflationary package, historic in terms of size and also in terms of contents, and through explaining the contents of that package, we conveyed to our Asian neighbors our determination to put our economy back on the track to recovery which will benefit Asian countries in terms of their own economy as well. In terms of timing, this visit took place just before the G-8 Summit and Foreign Minister Obuchi had the opportunity through his discussions with the Asian leaders to solicit their views as to what they would like to see achieved in the Summit because Japan is the only Asian country participating in the G-8 Summit. Foreign Minister Obuchi, in the course of his visit announced our decision to contribute US $20 million to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foundation which is to be used for helping the socially weak who are most severely effected by the economic and financial crisis through medical and health care. In terms of helping the socially weak, he also announced what we call grass root grant assistance to the poor in Bangkok and the presentation ceremony took place in the slums of Bangkok. In Singapore, Foreign Minister Obuchi gave a policy speech which is entitled "Japan and East Asia-Outlook for the New Millennium." In fact, Foreign Minister Obuchi delivered the whole speech in English and although I was not there to listen to it, it was eminently comprehensible. I think we have distributed the text of this speech. In his speech, in the context of our efforts to overcome the current economic difficulties, he referred to what he himself called "Obuchi's version of the essential five C's." Although I am not an expert on Singapore, there are these essential five C's in Singapore which have to do with credit and condominium and so forth. I can not remember the Singapore five C's. The Obuchi version of the essential five C's I think I do remember. I will just give you the five C's: courage, creativity, compassion, cooperation and confidence. There is a bit of alliteration so perhaps it is easier to remember. I might also mention that, and this is not in the text distributed because this was something that was said more or less off the cuff, but Foreign Minister Obuchi apparently said that one of the essential jobs for a politician is to have his name remembered and he said that perhaps for non-Japanese it is not always easy to remember the name Obuchi.

   However, if you look closely into the text you will find a reference to his being an optimist and he made the suggestion that for his name to be remembered, if people found "Obuchi" difficult to pronounce, perhaps they should remember Obuchi as an "OPTI-mist."

3. Discussion of the Middle East peace process at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom

   Q: Today in London there will be a ministerial meeting for the G-8 preparation for the Summit. I would like to know if the discussions will touch upon the current situation of the peace process in the Middle East?

   A: It is entirely possible because there will be the Foreign Ministers' meeting as well as the Finance Ministers' meeting. You are quite right, Foreign Minister Obuchi is being peripatetic. He is traveling widely because he was back in Tokyo for two days and he went off to London. He is now in London. The Foreign Ministers are to discuss situations in various parts of the world as well as global issues and the Middle East may very well be discussed given that there has been some considerable activity concerning the Middle East, centering around London, and then perhaps extending to Washington. It is entirely possible that the Middle East peace process may be taken up. Exactly how it may be taken up I think I have to leave to my principals.

4. Position of the Government of Japan regarding the Middle East peace process

   Q: Could you touch upon the opinion of the Government of Japan concerning the peace process?

   A: We have been following the developments with very keen interest. We have been following the developments centering around Prime Minister Blair and Secretary of State Madeline Albright of the United States of America. We have noted that bilateral contacts have taken place and although a collective or pluralateral meeting was not possible in London, people talk about the possibility of continuing this process in some way or other and we do hope that this sort of intensive consultation will continue and will bear some fruit. If there are ways in which we can be of help, we will be very happy to help but at the moment I think the work is very much left to those who are directly involved, that is the parties to the conflict as well as the people who are directly involved; the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the United States of America.

5. Discussion concerning the Asian economic crisis at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom

   Q: Japan is the representative of all of Asia at the G-8 Summit. What are the messages that Japan is going to convey at the Summit regarding the economic turmoil in the Asian region?

   A: What is likely to take place is a sort of continuation of the discussions that took place on the occasion of the ASEM Meeting in London, that is that the basic approach should be that the problems in Asia are not just confined to Asia but have global implications and the whole international community should try to tackle it seriously. There is a need for concerted action and that is very much the feeling of the Asian countries. It is entirely possible that Japan, as the only Asian participant in the G-8 Summit, will be echoing these sentiments. The realization that it is a global problem calling for an internationally-concerted action was certainly shared by the European participants at the ASEM Meeting. I am sure that feeling is shared by the United States and Canada so it would be an opportunity for these leaders to try and see what can be done on the basis of this basic realization. What has been new since the ASEM Meeting which took place in the beginning of April and as far as Japan is concerned, we have come out with specific measures to reflate our own economy, including very large expenditure in terms of public investment, a substantial portion of which will be directed to social infrastructures which will be needed as we go into the 21st century in areas like telecommunications, science and technology, and medical care. Also, we are contemplating special tax cuts. Our proceeding along this path will also benefit our Asian neighbors as well as our partners in North America and Europe. Those are, I think, the key areas that might very well be discussed but again I have to always be careful when I talk about the Summit Meeting because I could be accused of second guessing what our principals might wish to discuss.

6. Discussion of the situation in Indonesia at the G-8 Summit in Birmingham, United Kingdom

   Q: The Summit may address the situation in Southeast Asia. Specifically, regarding the situation in Indonesia, will that be a focus of the discussions at the G-8 Summit?

   A: I do not know to what extent they will focus on or zoom in on any particular country but if you are to discuss the Asian economic and financial crisis and if you are to discuss which countries are most seriously effected, I think it still remains the case that the Republic of Indonesia is in difficulties so Indonesia might be discussed specifically, but again I have to go back to my caveat that I should not fall into the habit of putting words into the mouths of our leaders. With respect to Indonesia, I might also add that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board met on 4 May and they approved the amended and strengthened economic program of Indonesia. The Government of Japan welcomed this agreement. The approval by the IMF Executive Board of this program means that new funds will be made available by the IMF and I might refer to the fact that this has also made it possible for us to start dispersing some of the assistance that we have pledged in the past. Specifically, I mean that we will be providing immediately the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) sector program loan amounting to 20 billion yen and we are also front loading US $1 billion out of the pre-committed US $5 billion of the second line of defense to supplement Indonesia's foreign reserves. It has also become possible for us to extend Japanese Export-Import Bank's two-step loans amounting to US $1 billion to help Indonesia overcome its difficulties in terms of trade. These forms of assistance, which would come in total to US $ 2 billion, is the kind of assistance which will go to Indonesia immediately and we feel would contribute to enhancing Indonesia's trade financing. So if there is to be a focus on Indonesia and if there is to be a discussion about which member is doing what, perhaps these are the facts that we might be referring to.

7. Response of G-8 members to economic stimulus package announced by the Government of Japan

   Q: Regarding the stimulus package that you have talked about, how much pressure do you expect to receive from your G-8 --

   A: I do not believe in casting all these discussions in terms of pressures and submissions.

   Q: How much discussion do you foresee from your partners on the need for additional economic stimulus, perhaps by way of permanent tax cuts? Can you forecast any dissatisfaction with the current state of Japan's economy?

   A: I do not. Not in those terms. What may be possible is for our partners to express their keen interest in the implementation of the package that we announced and this has been evident in terms of the discussions that have taken place between some leaders from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Secretary-General Koichi Kato of the LDP, Chairman Taku Yamazaki of the LDP Policy Research Council and others who have been to the United States, for example. The officials in the United States administration expressed their appreciation for our package. They noted the size as well as the boldness of the package. They also looked forward to the expeditious implementation of the package so that there will be tangible effects of this package that will be felt. Similar sentiments may be expressed in the course of the G-8 Meeting by possibly the United States and other G-8 countries and we, on our part, are in the process of putting forward legislation in the current session of the Diet to make sure that these measures contemplated under the package will be implemented as quickly as possible. That is the general context.

8. Passing of the economic stimulus package by the Diet of Japan

   Q: Does the government have a target date for when they expect the package to be passed by the Diet?

   A: The current session of the Diet is rather crowded so I think we are trying very hard to try and have it passed as quickly as possible and to choose the right timing for the presentation. Beyond that, I am afraid I am not a real expert on parliamentary scheduling to be able to say exactly by which date it will be presented and by which date it will be over but obviously the current session of the Diet will go on for only so long and there is a sense of urgency in all of this.

9. Status of the peace treaty between Japan and the Russian Federation

   Q: Our information from Moscow is that the government spokesman has been saying that there is no way that Russia will give up the Kurile Islands and this is right after the meeting of the people responsible for pushing forward this matter. I was wondering what your understanding is of the outcome of the talks and whether you share this interpretation of the Russian view.

   A: Firstly, as far as the most recent consultation is concerned, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tamba was in Moscow on 6 May and he met his counterpart Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin of the Russian Federation and this was the vice-ministerial-level sub-committee of the Japan-Russia Joint Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty. This consultation took place as a follow-up to the discussion between the two leaders in Kawana. In this meeting, Deputy Minister Tamba and Deputy Minister Karasin reaffirmed that the members of this subcommittee will work very hard to achieve substantive progress to translate the Krasnoyarsk Agreement into reality and to accelerate the work therefore. The guidance for these negotiators is, as you recall, the guidance issued by the two leaders at the time of the Kawana meeting which is that the contents of the peace treaty should include a resolution of the attribution of the four islands on the basis of paragraph two of the Tokyo Declaration and should also incorporate the principles to govern the friendship and cooperation between Japan and Russia as we enter the 21st century. They conducted their negotiations in earnest and they discussed what may possibly be contained in the peace treaty, but the negotiations are to be continued energetically. In the context of the discussion about what should be in the peace treaty, the Japanese side explained its own ideas, the ideas broached by Prime Minister Hashimoto to President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation in Kawana to discuss this further and we feel that there is greater understanding of our ideas on the part of Russia, but here is the catch, I am afraid. Since this is a truly on-going negotiation, our understanding with the Russian side is that there is no way in which I can disclose the contents of the discussions further. I am sorry to disappoint you. That is as far as the consultation is concerned. As for the reported statement by the Presidential Spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky of the Russian Federation, I am not in a position to offer any similar comment as the Japanese spokesman. We are conducting these negotiations in earnest and we feel that it is to our mutual advantage that we do not conduct our negotiations through the media. This does not mean any disrespect on my part to the members of the media.