Press Conference by the Press Secretary 30 June, 1998

1. Visit to Japan by Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko of the Russian Federation from 12 to 14 July
2. Visit to the People's Republic of China by President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America in relation to the trilateral relationship with Japan
3. Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America in Washington D.C.
4. Possible visit to Japan by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America

1. Visit to Japan by Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko of the Russian Federation from 12 to 14 July

   Good afternoon. I have a couple of announcements to make. Firstly, regarding the visit by Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko of the Russian Federation to Japan. He will be visiting Japan on an official working visit from Sunday, 12 July to Tuesday, 14 July and in the course of his visit he will have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor and will meet Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and quite possibly other members of the Cabinet. He is also to meet the representatives of the Japanese business community. In fact, this is the first-ever visit, either official or unofficial, by a Russian Prime Minister to Japan and we do attach importance to this visit as a part of the high-level political dialogue which has been going on between Russia and Japan, in particular since the Summit Meetings in Krasnoyarsk and then Kawana earlier this year and then the Summit Meeting which took place at the time of the Birmingham Summit. We also feel that this is an important visit in preparing the ground for the scheduled visit by Prime Minister Hashimoto to Russia sometime this autumn. We do hope that this visit will serve to add further breadth as well as depth to the high-level exchanges and dialogue between our two countries and thereby further consolidate the friendly relations between Japan and Russia.

2. Visit to the People's Republic of China by President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America in relation to the trilateral relationship with Japan

   President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America is visiting the People's Republic of China and his meetings with the Chinese leaders have taken place. This is the first visit by a United States President to China in nine years and we understand that there were a number of areas covered in the Summit Meeting between President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China on 27 June. They discussed among others, the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the question of Chinese participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the currency issues and other economic issues, such global issues as international crime, drugs and terrorism as well as issues relating to Taiwan and also human rights. We understand that there was a positive, constructive and productive dialogue between the two leaders on this broad range of issues. We welcome this development in U.S.-China relations in the sense that a good and stable trilateral relationship between Japan, the United States and China is not only in the interests of the three counties concerned, but also is in the interest of the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. It is from that viewpoint that we attach importance to the trilateral relationship developing as a positive-sum game as opposed to a zero-sum game and it is in that context that we do hope that this visit by President Clinton will serve the further development of the relationship between the United States and China.

   Q: You mentioned that it is not a zero-sum game, but there have been articles in the Japanese press indicating that Japan does feel to some degree left out or possibly excluded. The term "Japan Passing" has been used. Could you comment on that please.

   A: Firstly, about the term "Japan Passing." Although I do not claim to be the foremost expert on the English language, I do find that usage somewhat curious. Not only do I find the usage somewhat curious, but I do find myself in rather strong disagreement with the characterization of whatever phenomenon that they are describing as "Japan Passing." The fact is that we do have a very valuable and close alliance relationship with the United States. At the same time we have been working hard to develop our own relations with China. We are strong in our belief that these interrelationships between the three countries should indeed be a positive-sum game and it should be possible to develop it as such and I think we are in the process of developing it as such. I do not think that it is correct to try to see this relationship in the context of a sort of psychological complex. I think we should have confidence in our alliance relationship with the United States. We should have confidence in our ability to develop our relations with China. We shall also have confidence in the future of U.S.-China relations.

   Q: President Clinton, while he has been in China, has expressed a lot of support and praise for China's economic progress, while at the same time repeatedly urging Japan to take steps to put its own economy in order. Do you think his statements have been appropriate or are they somewhat unfortunate diplomatically?

   A: Well, there is no doubt that on the part of China, the United States and other partners of ours, there is this strong expectation for the Japanese economy to be put back on the track to sustained growth and we also feel that it is not only in our interest, but also in the interest of our neighbors and partners, as well as in the interest of the world economy, that we pursue very vigorously the objective of revitalizing and restructuring our financial market, attaining domestic demand-led growth and opening and deregulating the Japanese market. Right now the focus is very much on the financial market, and people concerned, not only in the government but in the political parties concerned, are working very hard to grapple with this task. So the expression of expectation for Japan's efforts in this regard is something that we find natural and the statements which have been made, either by President Clinton or the Chinese leaders, in the context of the visit by President Clinton to China should also be seen in that context.

   Q: Many countries, including the United States are accusing Japan of not doing enough to improve its economic situation. How does Japan view this?

   A: I though I answered that question by saying that we see these as expressions of expectations on the part of those countries for Japan's economy to be put back on its track and that is something to which we attach importance. That is something that we are working very hard on. I do not think it would be very productive for us to start saying that people are accusing us unfairly. I think that would lead us into the sort of psychological complex mentality that I was referring to earlier.

   Q: Could you comment on to what degree Japan was informed in advance or has been kept abreast of the U.S. talks with China? Was Japan fully-briefed ahead of time as to the issues that Clinton would be raising? Were their any surprises to you as to --

   A: No. I do not think there were any surprises. Of course those are bilateral discussions between the United States and China, but at the same time we have been in touch with the United States on various occasions and through these contacts we have been given some very good ideas as to what they may be discussing and it includes the sort of areas that I referred to earlier such as the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, global trade, currencies and other economic issues, global issues such as an international crimes, drugs, terrorism and so forth. I think everybody agrees that if the United States and China are to discuss matters of mutual interest, which also happen to be matters of interest to other countries in the world, those are naturally the items to be taken up and these items have been taken up and some positive results have been achieved. So, I would say in that context that we have reasons to welcome the outcome of this visit which I think has taken place largely in accordance with our expectations of the visit.

   Q: I want to ask about the tone of President Clinton's remarks rather than their content. The things he has been saying have been said before, but on the other hand Japan is an old friend of the United States and China until recently had a much more suspicious relationship with the U.S. Do you find it ironic that President Clinton in China should be lavishing praise on this relatively new international acquaintance and making criticisms, essentially, of Japan?

   A: Firstly, with respect to your last point, I do not think it is fair to say that what President Clinton was saying with respect to Japan or its economy was a criticism of Japan. I have checked every single word uttered by President Clinton with respect to Japan and do not agree with you that it is meant to be a criticism. That is my first point. My second point is that as I said earlier, that we have an alliance relationship with the United States, something that we have built and nurtured over the years and that alliance relationship is based not only on our shared security interests but also on our shared commitment to a set of values and ideals; freedom and democracy, our political and social systems and so forth. Now if you look at the relationship between the United States and China, it has been improving considerably since President Jiang Zemin's visit to the United States last year, but there were periods preceding that in which the relationship was not necessarily warm and in that sense, this is a time where a momentum for developing the relationship between the United States and China should be seized and that is being done through President Clinton's visit. However, at the same time, China and the United States are not allies in the same sense that we are allies with the United States and in a sense I think what is happening between the United States and Japan should be seen as a process where that relationship is maturing and I think in that sense we can say with confidence that our relationship with the United States is indeed mature and it is in that mature relationship that people do engage in some straight talk.

   Q: Regarding the Taiwan Straits and the Guidelines, to your knowledge were the Guidelines, which China has obviously expressed its displeasure over, was that issue raised, and if so, in the Japanese context, what was said and what is your reaction to that?

   A: Are you asking whether that issue was raised between President Clinton and President Jiang Zemin or --

   Q: Particularly the Guideline issue.

   A: As far as we are aware, we are not aware of any public signs that the issue was raised in the course of President Clinton's visit. With the exception of this Question and Answer session at Beijing University, where one student asked about the Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements and Taiwan, President Clinton responded by saying, and let me quote a portion of what he said: "On Japan, if you read the Security Agreement we signed with Japan, I think it will be clear from its terms that the Agreement is not directed against any country but rather in support of stability in Asia." And then he went on to say, "Our forces in Japan are largely designed to help us promote stability anywhere in the Asia-Pacific Region on short notice. But I believe that it is not fair to say that either Japan or the United States have a security relationship that is designed to contain China." So let me respond to your question directly by saying that I agree with him 100%.

   Q: Would you say that as a collateral result of the meeting between the Chinese and the Americans, the relationship between Japan and China has got better?

   A: In the sense that the three relationships that I have been talking about are mutually reinforcing, I think there is a good possibility that a stable and good relationship developing between the United States and China would also be in the interest of Japan-China relations, but at the same time President Clinton is still in China at the moment is he not, so perhaps I should not go too far in gazing at the crystal ball. However, I think I am optimistic.

   Q: Do you have any indication that President Clinton may change his schedule and also come to Japan?

   A: No.

   Q: Is it correct to say -- it has been widely reported that Japan was quite disappointed that President Clinton did not stop in Japan on his way back.

   A: No, it is not quite correct to say that. There is this very good possibility that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America is coming to brief us on President Clinton's China visit and also President Clinton will be receiving Prime Minister Hashimoto in Washington later in July, so there is indeed continuous dialogue taking place at that high-level between Japan and the United States.

   Q: Was the possibility of President Clinton coming to Japan raised at anytime, formally or informally, by either side?

   A: Not to my knowledge.

3. Summit Meeting between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America in Washington D.C.

   Q: Prime Minister Hashimoto is supposed to visit Washington -

   A: Yes. In July.

   Q: You mentioned earlier that it is important that Japan, China and the United States have a good relationship. Will there be discussion of a relationship formula for cooperation between the three countries?

   A: In fact, what is taking place now is this trilateral dialogue in the sense that President Clinton's visit to China has just taken place, and in weeks, President Clinton will be receiving Prime Minister Hashimoto in Washington and later in the year, President Jiang Zemin is coming to Japan, so in fact there is an intensive trilateral dialogue taking place. Now whether or not this sort of dialogue should be formalized into any kind of a formal trilateral dialogue, I think that is quite another question, but if you look, for example, at the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) which took place in April, all the three leaders were there. Later in the year when the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit takes place, again all the three leaders will be there. So what I am trying to say is in effect, there are a number of opportunities for the three leaders to meet and I think what is important is to make the best possible use of these opportunities.

4. Possible visit to Japan by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America

   Q: Madeleine Albright is coming at the end of this week is she not?

   A: Secretary of State Albright is coming, however we are still in the process of coordinating her schedule, but I understand that she is coming.

   Q: Will she be debriefing from this Summit, or is part of the purpose of her trip --

   A: It is partly for the purpose of briefing on us President Clinton's visit to China, and that is indeed something that we look forward to. At the same time, since it is the United States Secretary of State who deals with a number of other issues, it is entirely possible that other issues may be discussed with Foreign Minister Obuchi or Prime Minister Hashimoto. So, this seems to have turned into a single-issue press conference.