Press Conference 13 February 2004
- Appointment of Mr. Toshiyuki Niwa as the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF
- Ministerial meeting on the Western Balkans to be held in Tokyo
- Meeting between the ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi
- Questions concerning the visit by Japanese Foreign Ministry officials to North Korea
- Question concerning meeting between ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi
- Follow-up questions concerning North Korea
- Question concerning Japan's ban on US beef
- Appointment of Mr. Toshiyuki Niwa as the Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. I would like to make three announcements before I take questions.
Firstly, the Government of Japan welcomes the appointment of Mr. Toshiyuki Niwa, the Executive Director of the Capital Master Plan Project at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters to the post of Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). This was announced at the UN Headquarters on 12 February and will become effective on 1 March.
Japan highly values the work of UNICEF, especially in the field of humanitarian assistance for children in hard-hit places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. With this first appointment of Japanese UN staff to the post of Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, the Government of Japan hopes that the close working relations with UNICEF will become even closer.
- Ministerial meeting on the Western Balkans to be held in Tokyo
Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is on the ministerial meeting on the Western Balkans. Under the co-chairmanship of Japan and Ireland, which currently holds the European Union (EU) presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will host a ministerial meeting on peace consolidation and economic development of the Western Balkans on 5 April in Tokyo.
The ministers in charge of foreign and economic affairs of the Western Balkan countries - Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Croatia, and the former Yugoslav republics of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro - will be invited to the meeting. Representatives from other southeastern European countries, the EU member states including the newly acceding countries, the G8 countries and international organizations such as the European Commission Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe and others are also scheduled to attend.
The meeting will discuss measures to ensure the consolidation of peace in the Western Balkans, an area which is still vulnerable while the region is heading towards stabilization after the end of a series of conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in an attempt to achieve sustainable economic development.
Related Information (Ministerial Meeting on Peace Consolidation and Economic Development of the Western Balkans)
- Meeting between the ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi
Mr. Takashima: The last announcement I have is on the meeting between the ministers of the Palestinian Authority and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The ministers of the Palestinian Authority, including Dr. Nabeel Shaath, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi of Japan yesterday in Tokyo. During the course of the discussions, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi reaffirmed Japan's commitment to the active involvement in the international effort of the Middle East peace process, as well as assistance towards a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issues, and nation-building efforts by the people of Palestine.
Foreign Minister Kawaguchi urged the visiting ministers of the Palestinian Authority to make utmost efforts to stop the further deterioration of security in the autonomous areas of Palestine, while making it very clear that the Government of Japan opposes the Israeli construction of the wall of separation inside the Palestinian Autonomous Areas.
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
- Questions concerning the visit by Japanese Foreign Ministry officials to North Korea
Q: Could you give us an update on what is going on with the talks between Japan and North Korea?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that from 10:00 this morning, the talks were held between the visiting Japanese Foreign Ministry officials and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. Other than that, I do not have any information.
Q: Can you tell us when exactly the delegates are coming back?
Mr. Takashima: They are scheduled to be back in Tokyo tomorrow. Because there are limited commercial flights, I expect that they will arrive at Narita Airport tomorrow evening.
Q: Are they going to hold any talks tomorrow or are they going to end today?
Mr. Takashima: We do not have any idea yet because the talks are still underway and we do not know what sort of results they would achieve in Pyongyang. If there is any schedule for press-related activities, we will let you know.
Q: Just the fact that Pyongyang accepted the delegates to hold government-level talks on the abduction issue is a concession in itself. Could you comment on how the Japanese Government is looking towards the six-party talks at the end of the month?
Mr. Takashima: It is very difficult for me to interpret North Korea's intention of inviting the Japanese Foreign Ministry officials to Pyongyang. However, we do hope that the North Koreans are taking a positive attitude on the resolution of such issues as abduction, the nuclear issues and missiles as a part of the comprehensive solution to the issues lying between North Korea and Japan.
Q: Today the papers said that the Japanese Government proposed a plan to restart negotiations on the normalization talks, but Pyongyang needs to return the eight family members. What is going to happen if they do return the eight family members but the nuclear issue has yet to be resolved?
Mr. Takashima: We have been making it very clear that the abduction issue is the number one priority as far as Japan is concerned. We would like to see that the family members of the five victims of abduction cases be reunited in Japan with their parents or wife. Without having this reunion of the families in Japan, it is simply impossible for Japan to attend or reopen the normalization talks with the North Korean side.
Q: What if North Korea decides to return the family members, but the nuclear issue remains to be solved? Is Japan going to still restart normalization talks?
Mr. Takashima: We held the normalization talks in October 2001 while the nuclear issue was still pending at the time. That means that the nuclear issue will be dealt in an appropriate venue such as the six-party talks while the bilateral issues will be handled through the normalization talks.
Q: So there is a possibility that Japan may restart bilateral normalization talks while the nuclear issue remains to be solved?
Mr. Takashima: We hope that the nuclear issue will be also discussed bilaterally as well as multilaterally through various venues. We would also like to see the resolution of the abduction issue prior to the resumption of the bilateral talks. Bilateral talks mean bilateral normalization talks.
Q: Has the Japanese Government consulted the United States?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that the visit of Foreign Ministry officials to Pyongyang was duly informed to the United States, Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Question concerning meeting between ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi
Q: Yesterday Dr. Nabeel Shaath said in a press conference that he would like to see Japan join the quartet. He also said that he was sure that Japan wants to join the quartet. Has this been discussed? Does Japan want to join the group to check the peace process?
Secondly, Dr. Shaath also mentioned that Japanese aid for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has been reduced over the last few years and he would like to see this increased. Has this been discussed?
Mr. Takashima: To answer your first question, Japan has already been involved in the quartet process because Japan is the chair country of the subcommittee on environmental issues. If we are invited to become a member of the quartet and the quartet becomes a quintet, that is a welcoming event for us. We are ready to take that position if it is so desired by the participating countries.
To answer your second question, the amount of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) was discussed yesterday during the course of the meeting between the ministers of the Palestinian Authority and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that it is very difficult for the Japanese Government to do more in terms of assistance in the situation of deteriorating security in Palestine because it is very difficult for Japan to send officials dealing with ODA. That is one of the reasons why Foreign Minister Kawaguchi urged the ministers of the Palestinian Authority to make utmost efforts to stop the further deterioration of security and improve the security situation so that the officials can return and new development assistance programs can be implemented.
Q: To follow up, you said Japan would join the quartet if so desired by the other parties, but would the other parties desire that?
Mr. Takashima: I cannot comment on their behalf, but we will certainly join if we are so requested.
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
- Follow-up questions concerning North Korea
Q: On the talks with North Korea, are the North Koreans are willing to resume the talks this time because of the economic pressures that they might be feeling? What kind of things would they want from Japan?
Mr. Takashima: We cannot comment on their behalf, but we hope that the North Koreans are now taking a very sincere attitude towards the resumption of the normalization talks between North Korea and Japan. Without resolving those bilateral issues and without achieving the normalization, Japan cannot offer any sort of economic assistance to North Korea. My understanding is that this position of Japan is fairly well known by the North Koreans.
Q: Does the Japanese Government have an idea as to whether there are abductees other than those that have been acknowledged? Has there been any idea that there are actually more people of Japanese nationality who are still possibly in North Korea?
Mr. Takashima: There are some Japanese pronounced by the Japanese police that they might have been abducted by the North Koreans, but their fate is not confirmed yet. Also, we are asking the North Koreans to provide us with more information on the ten Japanese people whose names were on the list provided by the North Korean side at the time of the talks held between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and General Secretary Kim Jong Il in September 2002. In that document, eight were pronounced dead and two were pronounced missing or that there was no record of their entry into North Korea. The information given to us was so vague and sometimes very contradictory, so we are urging them to give us more information.
Q: Is this a part of the talks that are going on now?
Mr. Takashima: Yes, we are urging them.
Q: Regarding economic assistance, if North Korea proposes to return the families, it is easy to anticipate that North Korea is expecting some economic reward. What are the conditions right now for Japan giving any assistance to North Korea?
Mr. Takashima: As I have said, Japan's basic position is that we would give economic assistance when the normalization of relations is achieved.
Q: So only after normalization is achieved that economic assistance will be given?
Q: You mean that only after the nuclear issue has also been resolved, too?
Mr. Takashima: The nuclear issue, missile issue and other legal issues - they are the conditions that are listed in the Japan-Pyongyang Declaration. North Korea fully knows about these conditions.
Q: Will any consultations be made with the United States Government about resuming economic assistance?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, the normalization of the relations is a matter of our foreign policy and will be decided by ourselves.
Q: Several relatives of the abductees that are already back in Japan were interviewed on television last night. A couple of them said that they felt slightly more optimistic about the talks on 25 February than they did about the first round of talks last year. Is there a feeling of guarded optimism within the Japanese Government and if so, why?
A second follow-up question is what is Japan doing at the moment and what will they do between now and 25 February to remind its partners, the Russian Federation, China, United States and Republic of Korea, that the talks are about North Korea's nuclear program, but they are also about Japan's abductions?
Mr. Takashima: My vocabulary on the situation surrounding the talks in Pyongyang is very limited because we do not have any sufficient information to characterize whether or not the talks are in an optimistic or pessimistic situation. However, we hope that the North Koreans are now taking a serious attitude towards the improvement of the relations with us, as well as a serious attitude towards the talks.
To answer your second question, I will simply say that we have to wait and see what sort of outcome will be seen in these talks. Certainly, we will duly inform our other partners in the six-party talks on the results of these talks.
Q: What is the Japanese Government's position on so-called proposal to have the five abduction victims to go to the Pyongyang to meet their families?
Mr. Takashima: We believe that those five victims of abduction want to stay in Japan, rather than going to Pyongyang and meet their children. That is my understanding. We would like to respect their personal wishes as much as possible.
Q: One scholar from the Republic of Korea told me that perhaps the North Korean leader thinks that he might have been tricked last time. Is there a sense that if the abductees went to Japan, they would not be able to leave again?
Mr. Takashima: We have not made any firm promises that we will return those five people to Pyongyang after they spend a certain duration of time in Japan. It is a fact that there were preliminary talks between the Japanese side and the North Korean side on the possible return of the people. However, that was not the promise made between both sides.
I would like to add that those five people, after coming back to Japan and meeting their families and friends, they decided to stay in Japan. That was their wish and we have decided to honor their wish as much as possible.
Q: I was not implying that Japan was tricking the North Koreans. Is the psychology of the North Korean side reflecting simply that they misjudged what Japan was going to do?
Mr. Takashima: It is a humanitarian and human rights issue. The one who violated the human rights of those five people is the North Korean side and they have to admit their fault and respect the human rights of those five people in full.
Q: Going back to my previous question, you said the five victims would want to stay in Japan. Does this mean that there is a possibility that North Korea will agree?
Mr. Takashima: I do not know. That is up to them.
Q: Can you update us on the status of Mr. Charles Robert Jenkins, Ms. Hitomi Soga's husband? Have there been any discussions with the United States?
Mr. Takashima: The Japanese Government has been discussing the issue of Mr. Jenkins with the United States Government. There has not been any conclusion reached yet.
Q: So when the Japanese Government says it wants the families to come, do you include Mr. Jenkins because he might be arrested if he sets foot on Japanese soil?
Mr. Takashima: When we use the word "families of the victims," that includes Mr. Jenkins as the husband of Ms. Soga.
Q: When was the last time you discussed the issue of Mr. Jenkins with the United States Government?
Mr. Takashima: We do not discuss the details of the discussions we have had.
Q: What will be schedule for tomorrow after the officials return to Japan? Will they first go see Prime Minister Koizumi?
Mr. Takashima: Nothing has been decided yet.
Q: Could there be a press conference somewhere in Tokyo?
Mr. Takashima: There could be, there could not be. I do not know.
Q: Let me double check - are they arriving in Narita or Haneda?
Mr. Takashima: I suppose that it will be Narita Airport because there is only one connecting flight from Pyongyang to Tokyo tomorrow.
Q: Are they detouring somewhere this time?
Mr. Takashima: They will be coming back via Beijing, where they have to change their flight.
Q: In the morning meeting in Pyongyang, who was present for the North Korean side?
Mr. Takashima: I do not have their names.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Question concerning Japan's ban on US beef
Q: On the ban on US beef, what has been said in Washington is that the US delegation is preparing to come back to Japan as soon as Sunday or early next week. Does that indicate that the US and Japan have something more to say to each other than what they said at the last meeting?
Mr. Takashima: I do not know if they are actually coming next week, but what I understand is that the US side will dispatch the next delegation to Japan after they have finished examining the report filed by the study group of international scholars and scientists on the issue of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). I do not know if they have already finished that study or not. We are expecting to receive another US delegation sometime in the future that will bring their report and decision based on the facts and findings of the study group.
Q: Did the US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick's visit represent in any way what the US Department of Agriculture is going to be presenting?
Mr. Takashima: The main purpose of Mr. Zoellick's visit to Japan was to discuss the new round of World Trade Organization talks. He also touched upon the BSE issue and importation of US beef. He urged the Japanese Government to accept the US's findings and reopen the market to US beef.
The Japanese side, including Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, said that the Japanese side attaches importance to food safety, security, and the consumers' feelings on this issue in Japan.
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