Press Conference 3 December 2004

1. Attendance by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa at inauguration ceremony of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan
2. Procedures for visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists
3. Emergency assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for torrential rain disaster
4. Emergency assistance to the Republic of Papua New Guinea for volcanic disaster
5. Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura on the presidential election in Ukraine
6. Questions concerning upcoming visit to Japan by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of the Federal Republic of Germany
7. Questions concerning possible visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists
8. Question concerning recent Japan-People's Republic of China Summit Meeting in Vientiane

1. Attendance by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa at inauguration ceremony of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan

   Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make several announcements before I take questions.

   The first announcement is about the dispatch of a Special Ambassador to the Afghan presidential inauguration ceremony.

   The Government of Japan today decided to dispatch Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa to Afghanistan as a Special Ambassador to represent Japan at the inauguration ceremony of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to be held on 7 December in the capital city of Kabul. Mrs. Sadako Ogata, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and former Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Afghan issues, will also attend.

   Japan has been providing various assistance to Afghanistan to promote its rehabilitation and reconstruction through such programs as the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants and dispatch of election monitors and specialists for the presidential election. The Government of Japan intends to continue its support to Afghanistan for further progress in reconstruction and stabilization under newly elected President Karzai.

   Senior Vice-Foreign Minister Aisawa, after attending the inauguration ceremony in Afghanistan, will visit the Republic of the Sudan to have talks with Sudanese government officials and also United Nations officials on the situation in Darfur, among others. He will also visit Morocco to attend the first gathering of the Forum for the Future to be held on 10 and 11 December at Rabat. The forum was established in accordance with the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future with the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa adopted at the G8 Sea Island Summit last June.

   Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)
   
2. Procedures for visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the procedure of the visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists.

   In order to attract more tourists from overseas to Japan, especially for the Expo 2005 Aichi, Japan scheduled to be held for half a year from 25 March 2005, the Government of Japan today decided to commence the necessary procedures for the visa waiver for tourists from Taiwan.

   At today's Cabinet Meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kazuo Kitagawa both expressed their intention to work closely with each other to realize this visa waiver program for Taiwanese tourists.

   Related Information (Taiwan)
   
3. Emergency assistance to the Republic of the Philippines for torrential rain disaster

   Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about emergency assistance to the Republic of the Philippines.

   The Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance in kind (blankets, tents, electric generators, water purifiers, etc.) of approximately 28 million yen (US$250,000) to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, which has sustained damage from torrential rain and possible further damage from incoming typhoons.

   In the Philippines, torrential rain caused by typhoons and tropical low pressure fell mainly in the eastern part of Luzon Island and Mindoro Island after 20 November, resulting so far in 532 deaths and 390 missing (as of 2 December).

   In order to identify the needs for further humanitarian assistance to the victims of this torrential rain in the Philippines, the Government of Japan has decided to dispatch a three-person survey team to the Philippines from 5 December.

   Related Information (Emergency Aid to the Philippines for Torrential Rain Disaster)
   
4. Emergency assistance to the Republic of Papua New Guinea for volcanic disaster

   Mr. Takashima: In addition to this emergency assistance to the Philippines, the Government of Japan also decided to extend emergency assistance in kind (plastic seats, tents, blankets, etc.) to the Government of Papua New Guinea, which has sustained disastrous volcano eruptions, which affected more than 9,500 islanders. The volcano ashes also caused great damage to the reservoirs and fields.

   Related Information (Emergency Aid for Volcanic Disaster in Papua New Guinea)
   
5. Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura on the presidential election in Ukraine

   Mr. Takashima: The last announcement is about the Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Machimura on the presidential election in Ukraine.

   Foreign Minister Machimura issued the following statement:

   In connection with the presidential election in Ukraine, the Government of Japan urges the Ukrainian authorities to ensure democratic principles by removing the concerns of the international community that the election has not met democratic standards through such measures as re-voting or a re-election. Also, the Government of Japan expects that a political solution of the Ukrainian situation will materialize as soon as possible through the mediating effort by the European Union (EU), which the Government of Japan fully supports.

   The Government of Japan considers the maintenance of the integrity of Ukraine extremely important and calls upon the parties concerned to exercise self-restraint.

   Related Information (Japan-Ukraine Relations)
   
6. Questions concerning upcoming visit to Japan by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of the Federal Republic of Germany

   Q: Next week, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of the Federal Republic of Germany will come to visit. What does Japan hope to achieve from this visit?

   Mr. Takashima: Japan and Germany are cooperating with each other to realize, firstly, the United Nations reform. Our countries support each other's candidature for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, along with the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of India. Certainly, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will discuss this issue with Chancellor Schroeder. Also, the Iraqi situation will be one of the major topics to be discussed, and we will discuss further about the bilateral cooperation to assist the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Iraq together through such programs as training of the Iraqi police forces, as well as other assistance. The Ukrainian issue will be another topic to be discussed, and we hope that this visit by the German Chancellor will further promote the warm and cordial relations between our two countries.

   Incidentally, next year is the German Year in Japan, so there will be many events to introduce Germany to the Japanese people, and we hope that this visit will be a very good curtain-raiser for these very important cultural events to be held next year.

   Q: On the UN bid for a permanent seat at the Security Council, you said they would discuss the issue, but is there any move to increase cooperation, to coordinate the separate bids for permanent seats?

   Mr. Takashima: We are coordinating our efforts very much and recently issued a joint statement with Brazil and India on the report of the high-level panel which presented its report to Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan. We will of course discuss the contents of this report and also the strategy for the coming year, since next year will be the crucial year for the UN reform effort.

   Q: One very common cause of concern in Europe and Japan at the moment, and with Germany being the largest economy within the euro zone, is the issue of currencies, particularly the issue of the weaker dollar. Officials in Germany at the European Central Bank have said that they are concerned about the dollar or the rise of the euro against the dollar, and in Japan also, Minister of Finance Sadakazu Tanigaki said that Japan is concerned about any sudden rise in the yen's value. Will Prime Minister Koizumi and Chancellor Schroeder discuss currencies with the view that Japan has said that it wants to closely coordinate its currency stance with the euro zone?

   Mr. Takashima: Certainly there is the possibility that Prime Minister Koizumi will introduce to Chancellor Schroeder that President George W. Bush of the United States of America at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Santiago, Republic of Chile expressed his desire to see a strong dollar, in accordance with which the currency policy on the side of the United States would be conducted. Beyond that, I have no comment.

   Related Information (Japan-Germany Relations)
   
7. Questions concerning possible visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists

   Q: This visa waiver program for Taiwanese tourists, has the Government of Japan decided already to waive visas for people from Taiwan for the Aichi Expo?

   Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan today decided to commence the necessary procedures for the visa waiver for the Taiwanese tourists to come to the Aichi Expo 2005. Today's decision is about the intention but not yet the decision of actual implementation.

   Q: Will this decision be made by the government?

   Mr. Takashima: The visa waiver for Taiwanese tourists requires the adoption of special legislation. There will be a proposal made at the Diet for a special legislation to that effect in order to implement the program in time for the Aichi Expo.

   Q: If the visa waiver does go through for Taiwan, what kind of increase in the number of visitors from Taiwan do you expect to have?

   Mr. Takashima: Taiwanese tourists are in second place after Korea on the list of overseas tourists to Japan. The number is quite significant at 817,000, Korean tourists total 1.62 million and in third place is the United States. We hope that the number will increase because of the measures scheduled to be taken.

   Q: Do you have any kind of estimate about how many?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not have any estimates.

   Q: How many visa waiver programs does Japan have with other Asian nations?

   Mr. Takashima: Japan currently grants visa waivers to 58 countries and regions including the United States, United Kingdom and the French Republic, and in Asia for the Republic of Korea, State of Brunei Darussalam, Republic of Singapore and Hong Kong.

   Related Information (Taiwan)
   
8. Question concerning recent Japan-People's Republic of China Summit Meeting in Vientiane

   Q: According to a Japanese press report, Premier of the State Council Wen Jiabao of China during his talks with Prime Minister Koizumi in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic stated that China no longer needed Japanese official development assistance. Is that true?

   Mr. Takashima: Prime Minister Koizumi and Premier Wen discussed Japanese official development assistance to China during their talks in Vientiane, in which Prime Minister Koizumi expressed his view that due to the rapid economic growth in China, the graduation of China from recipient status of Japanese ODA would come some time in the future.

   My understanding is that Premier Wen expressed that China is appreciative of Japanese ODA which helped Chinese economic development and agreed in principle to the view of Prime Minister Koizumi.

   The Government of Japan intends to continue to provide official development assistance to China, especially for environmental programs and human resources development as long as necessary. However, in view of the fact that the Chinese economy has been developing very rapidly, time has come to put more emphasis on trade and investment to promote further economic collaboration between Japan and China than ODA.

   Related Information (ASEAN+3 Meeting)