Press Conference 26 March 2003

1. Donation of tents to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by the Government of Japan
2. Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries
3. Statement regarding intensification of dialogue and exchanges with the Islamic world
4. Visit by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore to Japan
5. Visit by former President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan
6. Questions concerning the meeting with Ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries
7. Question concerning press reports on an Iraqi spy
8. Question concerning possible visit by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi to the People's Republic of China

1. Donation of tents to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by the Government of Japan

   Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to this special briefing. I would like to make several announcements.

   Firstly, the Government of Japan decided today to donate 160 tents capable of giving shelter to 1600 people to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to be used for refugees. The tents will be transported to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by the Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets of the Government of Japan. Two Japanese Government jumbo jets will depart from Narita Airport and go to Amman.

   This is the first occasion for Japanese Government jets to be used for such transportation since these two aircrafts came into operation ten years ago.

   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   Related Information (Refugees)
   
2. Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement I would like to make is that in conjunction with the current situation in the Middle East, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi met yesterday with 18 Ambassadors from Middle Eastern countries in Tokyo to explain Japan's policy on Iraqi affairs.

   During this meeting, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi talked about the efforts by the Government of Japan to resolve the Iraq question diplomatically and expressed her regret that these efforts could not be materialized. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi reiterated the Japanese Government's strong hope that the military actions will be concluded as quickly as possible with minimum civilian casualties.

   At the same time, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi made it clear that Japan would make its utmost efforts to assist the people and the Governments in the region to cope with the situation and help promote the Middle Eastern peace process. She also said Japan would make further efforts to promote better understanding between the people of the Middle East and the Islamic world and the Japanese people.

   Related Information (Japan's Humanitarian Assistance, Assistance to Neighboring Countries and Reconstruction Assistance)
   Related Information (Toward peace and stability in the Middle East (Statement by Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs))
   
3. Statement regarding intensification of dialogue and exchanges with the Islamic world

   Mr. Takashima: The third announcement I would like to make is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today issued a statement listing the efforts to intensify dialogue and exchanges with the Islamic world by the Japanese Government.

   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will intensify efforts for dialogue among civilizations, following and based on the Kono Initiative, by means of the actions along with the programs of youth exchanges, women exchanges and cultural grant aid. The programs include seminars with intellectuals from Japan and the Islamic countries to be held later in the year. The Islamic Study Group will also be set up. The first meeting was held in March 2000 but we will increase the number of such kinds of meetings.

   In addition, the Japan Foundation will also cooperate with the Japanese Government to promote better understanding between the people of Middle Eastern countries and Japan. The assistance provided by the Japan Foundation will be, and this is subject to approval by the Diet, 300 million yen in FY2003, namely US$2.45 million (current government expenditure rate @ 122 yen/USD).

   Related Information (Intensifying the dialogues and exchanges with the Islamic world)
   
4. Visit by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore to Japan

   Mr. Takashima: The next announcement I have is about the visit of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore to Japan. Mr. Goh Chok Tong arrived in Tokyo yesterday and will meet with Foreign Minister Kawaguchi this afternoon. He will attend the dinner hosted by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and attended by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi today. He will be going to Nagoya on Friday, 28 March and leave Japan from Nagoya on Sunday, 30 March.

   Related Information (Japan-Singapore Relations)
   
5. Visit by former President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan

   Mr. Takashima: The next announcement is about the visit of former President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. The former President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Boris Yeltsin, will arrive in Japan on 31 March and stay until 6 April. During his stay in Japan, he will be meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. He will visit Kagoshima Prefecture before returning to the Russian Federation.

   Related Information (Japan-Russia Relations)
   
6. Questions concerning the meeting with Ambassadors of Middle Eastern countries

   Q: Concerning the meeting with the Ambassadors, was the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq or the Charges d'Affaires present at the meeting?

   Mr. Takashima: He was not present as he was not invited.

   Q: Is there any reason why he was not invited?

   Mr. Takashima: We thought that this gathering was meant to explain what Japanese policy has been and is vis-à-vis the Iraqi situation. In addition to that, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi met with the Charges d'Affaires Mr. Qasim A. Shakir prior to this meeting on 20 March. She has already explained the Japanese policy on the Iraqi situation to him.

   Q: Was the Turkish Ambassador there? I thought that the Iranian Ambassador was also there.

   Mr. Takashima: The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran was there. They were mainly Arab countries and the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey was not there. The Ambassadors were from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Republic of Yemen, Iran, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, State of Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic, Republic of Lebanon, Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Tunisia, Kingdom of Morocco and Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

   Q: Senegal?

   Mr. Takashima: It says Senegal. The Republic of Turkey was not included.

   Q: Did they express any reactions?

   Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that there were no reactions or criticisms from the Ambassadors on the Japanese policy to support military action or the Japanese policy on the Middle East in general.

   The Ambassadors expressed their hope that this tragedy would be ended soon and that Japan would cooperate with the other members of the international community to that end. They expressed their strong hope that Japan would play a significant role in the promotion of Middle Eastern peace, especially on the question of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

   Q: Speaking of the Iraqi Charges d'Affaires, I think that Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi and perhaps Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said that Japan has rejected the American request to close the Iraqi Embassy and expel the diplomats. Do you have confirmation of this and further information on this?

   Mr. Takashima: Last night, we informed the Embassy of the United States of America of our decision not to request the closure of the Iraqi Embassy here.

   Q: Do you expect from any negative reaction from the United States?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not think so because this kind of decision has to be made by individual countries and we made our judgment on our own. We do not think that this would draw any negative reactions from anybody.

   Related Information (The Outline of Measures based on the Action Guidelines)
   Related Information (Measures to be Taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Response to the Military Actions Taken Against Iraq)
   Related Information (Toward peace and stability in the Middle East (Statement by Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs))
   
7. Question concerning press reports on an Iraqi spy

   Q: On the same issue, there were certain reports that information had been leaked to the Japanese press by Government sources. I read on Kyodo News and Jiji Press that there is an Iraqi spy among the Iraqi diplomats. I do not know the official Government reaction.

   Mr. Takashima: I saw the press report, but I have no comment or reaction to that.

8. Question concerning possible visit by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi to the People's Republic of China

   Q: I have one last question. I heard the Foreign Minister Kawaguchi will visit the People's Republic of China perhaps next month or soon. I wonder if you could confirm this and whether or not this visit has anything to do with the situation in Iraq. Has there been any contact with the Chinese Government regarding the situation?

   Mr. Takashima: It has not been decided yet. We are studying the possibility, but nothing has been decided.

   If this visit materializes, this will be the first meeting between the Japanese Foreign Minister and the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. The topics would be very wide-ranging, such as bilateral relations and the international situation, which could include the Iraqi situation and North Korea. If this meeting takes place, this will be the first encounter between the two foreign ministers and it will be a very important opportunity for them to have an exchange of views.

   Q: Thank you.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)