Press Conference 28 March 2003
- Provision of fuel to vessels of Canada and the Hellenic Republic of Greece in the Indian Ocean
- Dispatch of a medical team of civilian experts for Iraqi refugee aid
- Assistance to the Shan State of the Union of Myanmar for opium poppy eradication by the Trust Fund for Human Security
- Question concerning launch of information-gathering satellites
- Question concerning humanitarian assistance to Syria
- Question concerning human shield
- Question concerning visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yoon Young-kwan of the Republic of Korea
- Question concerning development of military action
- Provision of fuel to vessels of Canada and the Hellenic Republic of Greece in the Indian Ocean
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to this briefing. Today I have three announcements that I would like to make.
The first announcement is about the supply of fuel by Japanese vessels to vessels of other countries in the Indian Ocean.
The Government of Japan today decided to start the supply of fuel to naval vessels of Canada and the Hellenic Republic of Greece. These vessels are participating in the war against terrorism in the Indian Ocean. With this decision, the number of countries Japan is supplying fuel to has become ten.
Related Information (Exchanges of Notes concerning the Contribution of Supplies and Services to the Armed Forces or Other Similar Entities of Canada and Greece)
- Dispatch of a medical team of civilian experts for Iraqi refugee aid
Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the dispatch of a study team to the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Government of Japan decided to send a five-man medical team to Syria to conduct a preparatory study for the possibility of dispatching a large-scale medical team of civilian experts to the refugee camps to be set up in Syria by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
According to the UNHCR, some Iraqi and other people have actually begun to flee from the conflict, and it is feared that a large number of people will start moving, as was the initial prediction of the UNHCR, which estimated the number of refugees to neighboring countries at 600,000.
Related Information (Preparatory Mission for Dispatch of a Medical Team of Civilian Experts for Iraqi Refugee Aid)
- Assistance to the Shan State of the Union of Myanmar for opium poppy eradication by the Trust Fund for Human Security
Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about the assistance to the Union of Myanmar.
The Government of Japan and the United Nations (UN) decided to extend a total of US$ 1.2 million assistance through the Trust Fund for Human Security to the project "Drug Control and Development in the Wa Region of the Shan State" in Myanmar to be implemented by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).
This project is to support the opium poppy eradication plan of the Wa Special Region through such activities as training in construction of an irrigation system, building community-based capacity to manage and monitor the whole irrigation system, developing flat paddy fields, and introducing double cropping of rice.
Those are the announcements I would like to make, and if you have any questions I would be happy to answer.
Related Information (Assistance for Opium Poppy Eradication in the Shan State of the Union of Myanmar by the Trust Fund for Human Security)
- Question concerning launch of information-gathering satellites
Q: What is the latest situation regarding the launch of the two information-gathering satellites? I talked to the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) before I came here, and they said that the satellites have been deployed into orbit and that the next step would be for the Cabinet Office to check the satellites' instrumentation before they are put into operation. Do you have any further details on this? When are they expected to become operational?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that the launch of the two satellites was successfully completed at 10:27 today. They were put into initial orbit, and the separation of the two satellites was successfully conducted. These two satellites have expanded their solar battery system. The National Space Development Agency is now in the process of putting the satellites into the proper orbital path and checking the function of those two satellites.
It will take a while before confirmation of the function can be established, and some preparatory scheme will be necessary before those two satellites go into full operation.
Q: Is there no set date when they will go online?
Mr. Takashima: Preliminary operation will start in a month's time, and the full operation will be commenced sometime early next year.
Q: In relation to that, the Korean Central News Agency published an article yesterday criticizing Japan's launch of the information-gathering satellites. They referred to it saying that it would result in heightened vigilance in North Korea. Since the launch has gone ahead, have you had any information on any increased activity at potential North Korean missile sites or any other unusual activity?
Mr. Takashima: We have seen those reports, but we have not seen any vigilant activities or any increase in activities by the North Koreans so far. There have been no reports. In addition, we have been making it very clear that this launch of the information-gathering satellite system is not a hostile action, nor does it pose a threat to anybody. Thus, the criticism by North Korea cannot be substantiated.
Related Information (Comment by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda (The Successful Launch of the Information Gathering Satellites by the Fifth H-IIA Rocket))
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Question concerning humanitarian assistance to Syria
Q: With regard to this aid, Japan is going to send a team of medical teams to Syria to deal with the refugees there. However, we understand that there are refugees in other countries, such as in the Kingdom of Jordan. Is Japan only concerned for Syria?
Mr. Takashima: This is simply based upon the request from the UNHCR. The Japanese Government has been requested by the UNHCR to assist them in the operation of refugee camps there. That is why we decided to first send an advance team in order to make a preparatory study. Upon their return and receiving their report, we will decide when and how, as well as how long, our own medical team of civilian experts will be dispatched from Japan.
Related Information (Preparatory Mission for Dispatch of a Medical Team of Civilian Experts for Iraqi Refugee Aid)
- Question concerning human shields
Q: There is still fighting going on in Baghdad, although it has slightly slowed down. I understand that there are many volunteers involved as human shields, including some Japanese nationals. Do you have any recent information on this?
Mr. Takashima: We only have information on the Japanese staying in Baghdad and in the Republic of Iraq itself. There are 41 Japanese nationals remaining in Iraq. Of them, seven are claiming themselves as human shields, and they are now scattered at three locations in Baghdad: one is at an electricity-related facility, and the other two are in water supply facilities.
Q: Do you have any information on the nationalities of the other people involved as human shields?
Mr. Takashima: I understand that there are several nationalities, but we do not have any information on the specifics, their whereabouts or the number.
Q: Of the 41 Japanese staying in Baghdad, seven of them are volunteers? What are the others doing there? Have they been living in Baghdad or do they have some other purpose?
Mr. Takashima: Some of them are in Northern Iraq in Kurdish areas, but most of them are in Baghdad. Many of them are journalists. Other than those who claim themselves as human shields, they are civilians, as well as volunteers from Japanese civil society organizations.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
- Question concerning visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yoon Young-kwan of the Republic of Korea
Q: I believe that the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea will visit Japan from Sunday and is meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi. What will be the major topic of discussion?
Mr. Takashima: This is the first time for Foreign Minister Kawaguchi to meet with the new Korean Foreign Minister, Mr. Yoon Young-kwan. Therefore, they will talk about not only the issues concerning North Korea, but also bilateral issues between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Furthermore, Foreign Minister Yoon will be visiting Japan after spending a few days in the United States of America, having had talks with American officials. Therefore, we are very much interested in having discussions on the policy coordination among Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States in conjunction with the North Korean situation.
Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Question concerning development of military action
Q: With regard to the war, the US has announced that it will deploy another 100,000 troops into the region. I know that Prime Minister Koizumi and yourself have expressed the wish that war conclude as quickly as possible. Obviously, it is taking longer than originally expected, and resistance has been more than anticipated. In light of the fact that this may be a prolonged conflict, is the Government of Japan surprised or disappointed about the situation?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that President George W. Bush of the United States and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom last night expressed their satisfaction on the military situation in Iraq. They said that the operation was underway as scheduled. Since we are not a member of the coalition forces, we do not have any independent information except to say that we still hope that this military operation will be concluded as quickly as possible with minimum causalities.
Q: You mentioned that the expected number of refugees to be the 600,000 by the UNHCR. What information do you have about the flow of refugees to the neighboring countries?
Mr. Takashima: Our information is very limited but indicates that the number of refugees is still very low. In some border areas, reports say that so far there appear to be none. We are still very worried about a sudden increase in the number of the refugees if the military operation or the situation in Iraq worsens and civilian life becomes threatened because of this military action.
Q: Where do you expect the majority of these refugees to go? Do you think it will be Syria, Jordan, Iran or the Republic of Turkey? And if there is a sudden increase in the number of refugees, how would Japan react to that? What would Japan do to help in that?
Mr. Takashima: With that anticipation, Japan is sending 160 tents to give shelter for 1,600 people next Sunday to Jordan. Those tents are not to be used in any one particular area but as preparation for setting up a refugee camp anywhere the necessity arises. At the moment, it is too difficult to predict where those refugees will emerge. Syria is one possibility, so is Jordan, and Iran would be another possibility. If the military situation worsens, then there would be a massive flow of refugees in Northern Iraq toward the border with Turkey.
Q: Does your own analysis suggest that the number of refugees is probably going to increase soon?
Mr. Takashima: At the moment, we do not have any predictions. We are simply preparing to cope with the situation.
No more questions? Thank you very much.
Related Information (Provision of Supplies for Iraqi Refugees and Transport by Government Aircraft)
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
Back to Index