Press Conference 9 July 2002

1. Emergency relief assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia
2. Symposium on Further Actions Against Climate Change
3. Press conferences in Japanese

1. Emergency relief assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia

   Assistant Press Secretary Daisuke Matsunaga: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have two announcements to make.

   The first one concerns Japan's emergency relief assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia. The Government of Japan today decided to provide emergency relief goods worth 10 million yen to the Federated States of Micronesia, which suffered from typhoon damage. The typhoon, which passed through the country on 1-2 July, caused large-scale landslides in the country, doing tremendous damage. More than 10,000 people have been victimized, and 1,500 houses have been either completely or partially destroyed. In the meantime, I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to the victims and to the Federated States of Micronesia.

   Related Information (Japan-Micronesia Relations)
   
2. Symposium on Further Actions Against Climate Change

   Mr. Matsunaga: The second announcement is about the Symposium on Further Actions Against Climate Change. The open symposium will be held at the Mita Conference Hall in Tokyo, not too far from here, on 19 July. Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi will give a keynote speech. It will be attended by Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC, or the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as Dr. Jonathan Pershing, who is a renowned expert on climate change from the International Energy Agency. It will also be attended by United States Senior Climate Change Negotiator Dr. Harlan L. Watson and other officials from the Commonwealth of Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Since this symposium is open to the public, everyone is welcome to come and listen to what these representatives have to say, and also it may be covered by the media.

   Prior to this open symposium an informal closed-door meeting on climate change will be held on 17-18 July, and it will be attended by officials from Japan as well as other major participants in climate change negotiations, including Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC, who is also going to attend the open symposium, and Ms. Joke Waller-Hunter, Executive Secretary of the Climate Change Convention Secretariat, as well as Jonathan Pershing, whom I had mentioned just now. There will be a short press photo opportunity at the opening of the informal closed meeting. They are going to discuss the Kyoto Protocol and how to reinforce the arrangement to prevent climate change in the future.

   Related Information (Climate Change)
   
3. Press conferences in Japanese

   Mr. Matsunaga: Also, I want to make it clear that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conferences given in Japanese are also open to members of the Foreign Press in Japan (FPIJ) even though they are conducted in Japanese. If you would like to take a look at the list of regular press conferences given in Japanese, I can provide a copy.

   For example, tomorrow Press Secretary Mr. Norio Hattori will give a press conference at 17:00, so you are welcome to attend. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi is also scheduled to give a press conference on Friday morning. In fact, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi gives a regular press conference twice a week, on Tuesday morning and on Friday morning right after the regular twice-weekly Cabinet Meeting. However, sometimes it is given in the Parliament Building, so please check with us on the evening of the day prior to the conference, then we can inform you ahead of time whether Foreign Minister Kawaguchi will hold the press conference here, in this room, or in the Parliament Building. (Note: Vice Minister Takeuchi gives a press conference at 17:00 every Monday.)

   There is some misunderstanding among the foreign media that press conferences are not open to the foreign press in Japan, but in fact they are. Particularly, those who are well versed in the Japanese language might find it useful to attend those press conferences, so you are definitely encouraged to attend.

   If you have any further inquiries please come to my office and ask for details, or we may be able to refer you to some other relevant section.