Press Conference 17 November 2000

1. Announcement concerning Japan's assessment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting
2. The first meeting of the G8 Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOT Force) to be held in Tokyo
3. Questions concerning President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru's visit to Japan

1. Announcement concerning Japan's assessment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to begin with a couple of announcements.

   Firstly, I would like to share with you Japan's assessment of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting, which finished yesterday in Brunei Darussalam. I would like to highlight some points that Japan especially emphasized. We are very glad that all of these points have been accommodated in the Leaders' Declaration. I would like to limit myself to two areas to which Japan attached particular importance. The first area is the information technology (IT) issue and the whole issue of the digital divide. The second area is the launching of the new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

   First, regarding the IT issue. I will read out the relevant paragraph of the Leaders' Declaration. I quote, "We welcome the comprehensive package announced by Japan before the Kyushu-Okinawa G8 Summit to provide about US$15 billion for addressing the international digital divide, noting that a significant portion will be mobilized in the APEC economies."

   At the APEC meetings, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori underlined our intention of fully utilizing this comprehensive package and stated that a significant portion will be mobilized in the APEC economies, which is reflected in the paragraph I just read out. I believe that this is the first time that Japan has indicated that a significant portion will be mobilized in the APEC economies. The amount of US$15 billion is to be disbursed within a comprehensive package with a time span of five years. The content is yet to be worked out. As the first step regarding how to shape the contents of this comprehensive package, the Foreign Ministry sent an information technology mission a couple of weeks ago to three countries, namely the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of the Philippines, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. The purpose of this mission was to see what requirements and needs these countries face in relation to addressing the IT and digital divide issues. This is the first mission, but it will certainly not be the last. We intend to send more missions with the same purpose to the APEC region.

   The second point relates to the new round of the WTO, and I would like to quote again from the relevant paragraph from the Leaders' Declaration. I quote, "We reiterate that there is a need to expeditiously launch a new WTO round for the benefit of all WTO members, particularly the least developed and developing economies. We agree that a balanced and sufficiently broad-based agenda that responds to the interests and concerns of all WTO members should be formulated and finalized as soon as possible in 2001, and that a round should be launched in 2001."

   The Government of Japan believes that APEC could contribute to the launch of the new WTO round by showing the path of how and when to launch this new round. This is why Prime Minister Mori strongly advocated that when he was one of the recent speakers at the APEC Leaders' Meeting. As I just read out to you, we are delighted that a consensus was reached on these lines, and that APEC has certainly fulfilled its role in showing the path for the launching of the WTO round.

   Related Information (APEC 2000)
   
2. The first meeting of the G8 Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOT Force) to be held in Tokyo

   Mr. Harada: My second announcement also has to do with IT; it is on the first meeting of the G8 Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOT Force). As you may remember, in the Okinawa Charter on the Global Information Society (Okinawa Charter) released at the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit Meeting in July this year, the establishment of the Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOT Force) was agreed on in order to bridge the international digital divide. The first meeting of the DOT Force will take place on 27-28 November in Tokyo.

   The Government of Japan, as the G8 Presidency, has invited to this meeting one government and one private-sector representative from each G8 country and one from the European Commission, and representatives from developing countries, namely the Republic of Bolivia, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the People's Republic of China, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of South Africa, and the Republic of Tanzania; and international organizations concerned; non-profit organizations and other organizations. From Japan, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the DOT Force Yoshiji Nogami and Chairman of the Board Taizo Nishimuro of Toshiba Corporation will participate in the meeting.

   The meeting aims at fostering a common understanding of the current state and challenges of the digital divide, discussing the outline of the report, and deciding on a concrete work schedule. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will deliver the opening speech. The DOT Force will promote discussions and policy dialogue with stakeholders, work to raise awareness of the international digital divide, examine inputs from the private sector, and report its findings and activities to the G8 Sherpas before the next meeting in Genoa. Those are the announcements which I wanted to make, and I would welcome any questions you may have at this time.

   Related Information (G7/G8)
   
3. Questions concerning President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru's visit to Japan

   Q: Today, President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru arrived in Japan. Can you tell me if this is an official visit, and when he will go to another country? Do you know where he is going to?

   Mr. Harada: As far as I know, President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru is making a brief, informal transit stay in Japan, on his way back to Peru. As far as his departure from Japan is concerned, the Peru side has requested the Government of Japan not to announce the date. Therefore, I will refrain from making any announcement on that.

   Q: Did President Fujimori ask the Japanese Government for any type of political asylum?

   Mr. Harada: Not to my knowledge.

   Q: Is President Fujimori having any kind of contact with government officials while he is here in Japan?

   Mr. Harada: As far as I know, President Fujimori is going to meet the President of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). I do not have any information on any other meetings. I do know that there are no plans to meet Prime Minister Mori or Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono. As you know, Prime Minister Mori is not yet in Japan.

   Q: What is the purpose of President Fujimori's meeting with the President of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation?

   Mr. Harada: I do not know the purpose. Thank you very much.

   Related Information (Japan-Peru Relations)