Press Conference 5 February 2002

1. Announcement on emergency assistance to East Timor
2. Announcement regarding emergency assistance to West Timor
3. Announcement concerning the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Constantinos Simitis of the Hellenic Republic
4. Announcement regarding the visit to Japan by President George W. Bush of the United States of America
5. Statement on a press release concerning an article written by Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority
6. Questions concerning travel advisories
7. Question on the reaction of the Japanese Government to President George W. Bush of the United States of America's State of the Union Speech

1. Announcement on emergency assistance to East Timor

   Press Secretary Norio Hattori: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have several announcements to make.

   First, two points deal with the Government of Japan's assistance to East and West Timor.

   First, the emergency assistance to the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor: Today, the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance. This is a cash grant: US$530,000 to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) to support reconciliation efforts in East Timor.

   Related Information (Timor-Leste Situation (Archives))
   
2. Announcement regarding emergency assistance to West Timor

   Mr. Hattori: The second point is the Government's assistance to West Timor, emergency assistance to solve the problem of East Timorese refugees in West Timor. Today the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid--also a cash grant--of US$5.386 million in total, to the Republic of Indonesia to assist its efforts to solve the problem of East Timorese refugees in West Timor, Indonesia.

   Related Information (Timor-Leste Situation (Archives))
   
3. Announcement concerning the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Constantinos Simitis of the Hellenic Republic

   Mr. Hattori: Third, there are two visits of foreign dignitaries to Japan to announce. First, there is the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Constantinos Simitis of the Hellenic Republic and his wife Daphne Simitis. Prime Minister Simitis and his wife, accompanied by a suite, will pay an official visit to Japan from 3 to 8 March.

   Related Information (Japan-Greece Relations)
   
4. Announcement regarding the visit to Japan by President George W. Bush of the United States of America

   Mr. Hattori: Then, there is the visit to Japan of President George W. Bush of the United States of America and First Lady Laura Bush. President Bush and the First Lady, accompanied by a suite, will pay an official working visit to Japan from 17 to 19 February.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
   
5. Statement on a press release concerning an article written by Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority

   Mr. Hattori: I would like to remind you of the statement, in my name, issued yesterday regarding Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Authority's article contributed to the New York Times on 3 February. The Government welcomes Chairman Arafat's article, contributed to the New York Times on 3 February, which showed his vision of peace and expressed his determination to put an end to extremist activities.

   Those are all of the announcements, and I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you might have.

   Related Information (Japan-Palestinian Authorities Relations)
   
6. Questions concerning travel advisories

   Q: This is not connected with the speech you just gave. Yesterday, I heard on the television on CNN, the Japanese Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs will change travel advisories from coming here. We now have five levels, but there is no change in the travel advisory levels. Is it possible for me to get some kind of information on paper, in English or Japanese?

   Mr. Hattori: Yes, I understand the news reports made by some of the press are based on speculation. But, it is true, if I remember correctly. I said in my previous press conference that the Government was studying changing the travel advisory classifications to more streamlined ones. I can say that we are very close to a conclusion, but not yet at the stage of finalizing and announcing it at this point in time. We are trying to streamline the divisions, the classifications of several levels, in regards to travel advice. Our intention is to make it easier to understand for those concerned. I would like to ask you to be patient just a little bit longer. We would like to make it final and then announce it very shortly.

   Q: Sorry again about travel advisories. Speaking about travel advisories, now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' mission is in Kabul, Afghanistan. The mission's aim-what is the mission's aim traveling in Afghanistan? They are aiming, how shall I say, "level down" level five to level two or one so that people can travel to Afghanistan easier?

   Mr. Hattori: Very recently, we announced our Charge d'Affaires ad interim, to Kabul, and Charge d'Affaires ad interim Komano is expected to be in place shortly. I think we have to wait, first of all, for our official missions to be in place, in order to see first and then assess the severity of the situation in Kabul and then other areas. Of course, we may be dispatching missions or people to conduct surveys and research in order to get the necessary information for us to move onto the next stage. So, at this point in time I am not in a position to say whether we will be able to change our travel advisory level with regard to Afghanistan or not.

7. Question on the reaction of the Japanese Government to President George W. Bush of the United States of America's State of the Union Speech

   Q: Is there any comment or reaction from the Japanese Government on recent President Bush's speech against Iraq, and things like that?

   Mr. Hattori: It is the address of the State of the Union by the President of the United States, so the Government has no comments to make on the contents of the speech made by the US President. It is their policy. Thank you very much.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)