Press Conference by the Press Secretary 25 June, 1999

1. Response of the Government of Japan to heightened tensions in Southern Lebanon
2. Plenary Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering
3. Hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military
4. Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Middle Eastern region
5. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir
6. Visit of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan
7. Results of the Group of Eight (G8) Summit in Cologne
8. Situation in the Republic of Iraq

1. Response of the Government of Japan to heightened tensions in Southern Lebanon

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: Good afternoon. Firstly, I would like to take up two issues. The first is concerning the recent situation in Lebanon. Japan has been concerned over the recent intensified fighting in Southern Lebanon, and deplores the fact that the Hezbollah's rocket attacks on the northern part of Israel on 24 June and the Israeli air strikes on Lebanon, including the power station on the outskirts of Beirut, have heightened the tension in Lebanon, causing civilian casualties. Japan is concerned that such deterioration in the situation in Lebanon has a negative effect upon the environment surrounding the Middle East peace process at a time when Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak of the State of Israel is trying to form a new cabinet and the Middle East peace process is expected to be activated. The Government of Japan urges all the parties to immediately suspend the use of force, and to exert maximum self-restraint in order to avoid further deterioration of the situation. Japan has been actively calling on the parties concerned to make further efforts to restore peace in the region, as shown in the Four-Point Proposal on Southern Lebanon, and intends to continue such efforts vigorously.

   Related Information (Japan-Lebanon Relations)
   
2. Plenary Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: The second item is about the Plenary Meeting of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF). The FATF will take place from 30 June to 2 July in Tokyo. As Japan has held the one-year Presidency of the FATF since July last year (President: Deputy Director-General Jun Yokota of the Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the Plenary Meeting will be held this time in Tokyo. The Plenary Meeting will be attended by relevant officials of the 26 member countries and regions and two international organizations. From Japan, Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura will give an opening address, and others from such related ministries and agencies as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Financial Supervisory Agency, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Justice will attend the Meeting. At the Meeting, there will be a wide-ranging exchange of views and consultations on such matters as the present situation of measures against money laundering, the activities and experience of the members, and the future policies of the Task Force. Japan expects that the Plenary Meeting will further promote measures against money laundering. Concerning this Meeting of the FATF, there will be a joint press conference in the evening of 2 July at 18:30 in the Foreign Press Center/Japan. Your attendance is very much welcome.

   Related Information (Economic Affairs)
   
3. Hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israeli military

   Q: Concerning the situation in Lebanon, how exactly does Japan consider the use of force by Israel in this way? Do you consider it productive to solving the crisis in Southern Lebanon?

   Mr. Okada: This recent use of force is not an isolated one. Quite recently we have observed a series of exchanges of gun fire and bombardments and air attacks and so on. I think as a sort of combination of this series of use of force on both sides, the Hezbollah side and Israeli side, lead to this very serious situation. As I already explained to you, we are very much concerned and we would like to appeal to both sides for maximum self-restraint. We really deplore the situation because Prime Minister-elect Barak, he himself, explained during his campaign that he is going to withdraw the Israeli armies from Southern Lebanon within one year. We hope that positive steps will be taken in the future so that the serious situation in Southern Lebanon will be solved.

   Q: You mentioned that you will convey the message to the parties concerned. Do you mean Israel and Hezbollah? Do you have direct contact with Hezbollah?

   Mr. Okada: I am not informed that we have direct contact with Hezbollah, but we have been appealing to all the parties involved in the Middle East peace process, not only Israelis, but also the Syrian side and we have also had chances to exchange views with the leaders of Lebanon.

   Related Information (Japan-Middle East Relations)
   
4. Visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Middle Eastern region

   Q: I have read many reports about Mr. Koumura's planned visit to the Middle East and concentrating on Iran. Recently, the news reports say that it is postponed until the end of the parliamentary session of Japan. Do you have any confirmation about this visit?

   Mr. Okada: As for the visit to Iran, as you might still remember, when Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi of the Islamic Republic of Iran paid a visit to Japan at the end of last year, we agreed that Foreign Minister Koumura is going to visit Iran within this year. Thereafter, we have been considering the concrete date for the visit and there has been much media speculation as to the date, but we have not decided any date yet. Therefore, it is not correct to say that we have postponed the visit or something like that. We have promised to the Iranian side that Foreign Minister Koumura is going to visit Iran within this year. So bearing in mind this commitment, we are going to really coordinate the timing. As for the possible destinations other than Iran, we have not decided yet. There might be other countries, not only Iran.

   Q: Is it like two or three countries?

   Mr. Okada: Maybe some countries. It is under consideration.

   Related Information (Japan-Middle East Relations)
   
5. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir

   Q: President Clinton's special military envoy is now in Islamabad and he asked Pakistan to withdraw intruders from the Indian side of the Line of Control. Other major countries are also urging Pakistan to withdraw. Does Japan want Pakistan to withdraw from the Indian side of the Line of Control?

   Mr. Okada: Concerning your report about the visit of an American official to Islamabad, I am not informed of that. As for the Japanese position, as I explained to you last time, we share the views expressed in the G8 Summit Communiqué on regional issues. That means we are concerned about the military confrontation in Kashmir and the infiltration of armed intruders which violate the Line of Control. We also called for the immediate end of these actions, restoration of the Line of Control and for the parties to work for the immediate cessation of the fighting and so on. Our position is well-incorporated into this Communiqué.

   Related Information (Japan-Asia Relations)
   
6. Visit of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan

   Q: Reports say that Yeltsin is coming here in the fall. Have there been any encouraging progress in the talks on the peace treaty?

   Mr. Okada: The fall as the sort of timing for the coming visit by President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, that is a sort of common understanding for the preparation of this visit to Japan on both sides -- the Russian side and the Japanese side. When Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi had a meeting with President Yeltsin, when they attended the Group of Eight (G8) Summit Meeting, Prime Minister Obuchi said that we shall finalize the national border demarcation and conclude a peace treaty on the basis of the Krasnoyarsk agreement. President Yeltsin expressed his full support to this and said that national border demarcation is his own proposal. We understand that President Yeltsin strongly expressed his will to solve this issue of the Northern Islands, conclude a peace treaty and fundamentally improve the Japan-Russia relations which we have been continuously appealing for since the meeting at Krasnoyarsk between President Yeltsin and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Therefore want to further maintain close dialogue with Russia at the leaders level and to make utmost efforts to realize the Krasnoyarsk agreement and establish the full scope of cooperation between Japan and Russia.

   Related Information (Japan-Russia Relations)
   
7. Results of the Group of Eight (G8) Summit in Cologne

   Q: Regarding Mr. Obuchi's participation in G8, I know that Japan is trying to represent the Asian continent and some third world countries at the Summit. How did you evaluate the Japanese proposal or influence in this regard?

   Mr. Okada: We were satisfied with the results of the G8 Meeting. We were talking about two or three categories or topics. The first one is international economic affairs and in that context, we have also talked about the economic situation in Asia, and there we also explained what we have been doing and what the situation in Asia is. I think our position was also shared by other G8 member countries. Also in the context of security, we also discussed the security issues, in particular Northeast Asia. There the attention was paid to the Asian situation. Though the overwhelming agenda was surely Kosovo, we also talked about globalization, but surely due attention was paid to the situation in Asia and we are very much satisfied with that.

   Related Information (Cologne Summit)
   
8. Situation in the Republic of Iraq

   Q: There are reports saying that after America stopped its military campaign in Yugoslavia, attention now is going toward Iraq and the military situation might be escalated again. What is Japan's position so far regarding the Iraq issue and are there any new developments?

   Mr. Okada: As far as I understand, there have not been any new developments concerning the situation in Iraq. I cannot report to you any new elements in this regard.

   Related Information (Japan-Iraq Relations)