Press Conference 7 October 2005
- ODA On-Demand-Delivery Lecture
- Meeting of Heads of Japanese Diplomatic Offices in the US and Canada, Meeting of Honorary Consuls-General of Japan in the US and Canada, Japan-US Economic Review Forum and Japan-Canada Economic Review Forum in the fiscal year of 2005
- Emergency assistance from the Government of Japan to the Republic of El Salvador following damage caused by tropical depression "Stan"
- Statement issued by the UN Security Council on the terrorist attacks in Bali
- Visit to Japan by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Takkari Bechir of the Republic of Tunisia
- Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht of the Kingdom of Belgium
- "3rd Meeting of Subcommittee on the Trade and Investment of the Japan-Russian Inter-Governmental Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs"
- Third Negotiations for the Conclusion of the "Social Security Agreement between Japan and Canada"
- Second Meeting of the Joint Study Group for Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement Talks
- Recent visit by Representative of the Government of Japan Tatsuo Arima to the State of Israel
- Candidacy of Dr. Sawako Takeuchi for the position of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Questions concerning ODA
- Questions concerning the East China Sea
- Question concerning the possible visit to Japan of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
- ODA On-Demand-Delivery Lecture
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. I have some announcements that I would like to make quickly. First about official development assistance (ODA) followed by aid, and events that we are going to hold in the United States of America (US), visits, meetings, and so on.
First of all the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to launch a new ODA initiative domestically here in Japan. It is called "ODA On-Demand-Delivery Lecture," which is planned to be held about six times a year in order to deepen the understanding of ODA at all levels of Japanese society. From yesterday, 6 October, the lecture will start inviting requests of such institutions as high schools, universities and colleges, local governments, international exchange associations, international cooperation non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and chambers of commerce and industry. Upon receiving the requests, officials of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will visit those schools and other institutions and lecture on ODA and other matters.
- Meeting of Heads of Japanese Diplomatic Offices in the US and Canada, Meeting of Honorary Consuls-General of Japan in the US and Canada, Japan-US Economic Review Forum and Japan-Canada Economic Review Forum in the fiscal year of 2005
Mr. Taniguchi: Item number two, there are going to be a couple of meetings in the US involving no other nation. These are going to be discussions held under the auspices of Embassies in the US and Canada.
First of all, the Meeting of Heads of Japanese Diplomatic Offices in the US on 11 and 12 October to exchange views on the present situation of Japan-US relations, and domestic and foreign affairs of the US. By the way, I am going to have to join this meeting, so I am going to be absent for a while and as usual Assistant Press Secretary Akira Chiba is going to give the press conferences.
Secondly, at the Japan-US Economic Review Forum on 13 October, they are going to talk about the economic situation regarding Japan-US relations.
Thirdly, the Meeting of Honorary Consuls-General of Japan will be held in the US. There are a number of honorary consuls-generals in Japan and this is going to be an opportunity where diplomats from our side can talk to these honorary consuls-general. The meeting is likely going to be held on 14 October.
Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the following three meetings in Canada: The Meeting of Honorary Consuls-General of Japan in Canada on 14 October in Ottawa; the Meeting of Heads of Japanese Diplomatic Offices in Canada, involving the heads of consuls offices and alike in Canada the following day, also to be held in Ottawa; thirdly, the Japan-Canada Economic Review Forum on 17 October which is going to be in Vancouver. This is going to be an opportunity where we can talk about ways to strengthen economic relations between the two nations of Japan and Canada.
- Emergency assistance from the Government of Japan to the Republic of El Salvador following damage caused by tropical depression "Stan"
Mr. Taniguchi: There was a terrible disaster caused by the tropical depression called "Stan" to the Republic of El Salvador. This tropical depression caused terrible disasters, such as flooding and landslides in every part of the country resulting in 49 deaths and 32,045 evacuees on 5 October. On 6 October the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance such as sleeping mats, blankets, and water purifiers worth about 12 million yen to El Salvador.
- Statement issued by the UN Security Council on the terrorist attacks in Bali
Mr. Taniguchi: In terms of the terrorist attacks in Bali, a statement was issued by the United Nations (UN) Security Council, and I say this because this statement was issued in large part because Japan pushed this case hard to the other members of the Security Council. Remember, Japan is a member of the UN Security Council at this point. At 12:55 p.m. New York time on 4 October, the UN Security Council issued a Presidential statement concerning the series of terrorist bomb attacks in Bali on 1 October. The Government of Japan played a leading role in issuing the statement, in coordination with the Government of the Republic of Indonesia. From the standpoint that this terrorist act, which caused many casualties including some Japanese nationals, was extremely despicable and inexcusable, the Government of Japan strongly condemns all such heinous and unjustifiable acts of terrorism.
- Visit to Japan by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Takkari Bechir of the Republic of Tunisia
Mr. Taniguchi: The third announcement concerns some of the visits from foreign nations. First, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Takkari Bechir of the Republic of Tunisia is visiting Japan from 5 to 7 October as Special Envoy of President BEN Ali of Tunisia. In the afternoon of 6 October Minister Takkari had talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs MACHIMURA Nobutaka on various issues, such as the Tunisian candidate to the election of judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Also, Japan and Tunisia are going to have the 50th anniversary of the bilateral relations between Japan and Tunisia, and there is going to be another event called "World Summit of the Information Society" that is going to be held pretty soon from 16 to 18 November in Tunisia, to this Japan will send members.
By the way, the Tunisian economy is small, but it is one of the important recipients of Japanese ODA. Their industries are mainly textile and tourism, and the textile industry has been suffering heavily from the influx of cheap textile goods from China, so that is background.
- Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht of the Kingdom of Belgium
Mr. Taniguchi: Minister for Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht of the Kingdom of Belgium will visit Japan from 12 to 17 October. Actually nine years have passed since the last visit to Japan in 1996 by then Foreign Minister Erik Derycke of Belgium. Mr. De Gucht the current Foreign Minister will meet with Foreign Minister MACHIMURA on 12 October. The visit is expected to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two nations.
- "3rd Meeting of Subcommittee on the Trade and Investment of the Japan-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs"
Mr. Taniguchi: The next topic is about meetings, and one of them is what is called the "3rd Meeting of Subcommittee on the Trade and Investment of the Japan-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs." This will be held on 7 October which is today, here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting will be attended by Deputy Director-General of the European Affairs Bureau Takeshi Yagi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Japanese side. The head from the Russian side will be Director General of the Department of Investment Policy Dmitry Anatolevich Levchenkov of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation.
- Third Negotiations for the Conclusion of the "Social Security Agreement between Japan and Canada"
Mr. Taniguchi: The next meeting is between Japan and Canada the Third Negotiations for the Conclusion of the "Social Security Agreement between Japan and Canada (tentative translation)." The Third Negotiation will be held from 11 to 13 October in Ottawa.
- Second Meeting of the Joint Study Group for Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement Talks
Mr. Taniguchi: The Second Meeting of the Joint Study Group for Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement Talks will be held from 11 to 14 October in Tokyo. I am afraid I cannot give you more details about this, but this is part of many of the ongoing free trade and economic partnership agreement talks between Japan and other countries. EPA being an acronym for Economic Partnership Agreement, Japan has had a number already, but we are talking the same thing with the second meeting for that purpose will be held on 11 to 14 October.
- Recent visit by Representative of the Government of Japan Tatsuo Arima to the State of Israel
Mr. Taniguchi: I will make another short announcement about the visit of Representative of the Government of Japan Tatsuo Arima to the State of Israel. Mr. Arima made a visit to Israel from 26 to 29 September. In Israel he talked to people in Israel and the Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority and a number of other officials about the peace process. His initiative has been highly appreciated by those people. He returned to Japan on 30 September.
- Candidacy of Dr. Sawako Takeuchi for the position of Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Mr. Taniguchi: The other announcement I wanted to tell you about is a female professor whose name is Sawako Takeuchi. She is a candidate for the next Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The selection process is going on. As far as we know, her candidacy has so far been pretty much well-received. We are getting even more hopeful that Ms. Takeuchi will become the Secretary-General of the OECD.
She was born in 1952. She holds dual PhDs in engineering and economics. She is one of the most internationally-minded professors. She is a fluent speaker and has spent many years as a professor at a university in the French Republic. She is also an entrepreneur, heading her own company. She has been consulting at the World Bank and advised a Chinese regional government. Her CV shows that she is a very experienced person, suitable for running an international organization such as this. She is one of the six candidates from countries like the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Poland, the United Mexican States, and the Commonwealth of Australia. I think she is in a very good position to become the next Secretary-General.
- Questions concerning ODA
Q: My question is on ODA from Japan. What is the focus of this aid? The funding has been going down significantly compared to ten years ago. Is Japan going to focus on why ODA is going down?
Mr. Taniguchi: If I may remind you of the situation involving Japan and other nations, the nations as a whole have made a pledge to substantially increase ODA as part of the Millennium Summit agreements. Japan is more than willing to contribute the maximum amount that we possibly can under this framework. As you have pointed out, the figure of Japan's ODA has been declining for the last couple of years. We are hopeful that, from the next budget onwards the amount of money will be increased. In fact, the figure that is already available as a fixed number for the preceding year shows that, in dollar terms, the amount has actually started to increase. This is part of an educational initiative from the side of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reach out to the wider public in Japan to inform them of not only the importance of ODA, but also about other important foreign policy issues. However, ODA being one of the central focuses of our side, and at this juncture, I think it is now time for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do its utmost to inform people of how important it is for Japan to further enhance Japan's ODA. That is the background: 1) Japan's ODA is going to increase, and 2) it is important for the Foreign Ministry to tell the Japanese audience the importance of ODA, among other issues.
Q: Can you give me some figures in dollar terms?
Mr. Taniguchi: If you drop by my office later on I can give you the exact number.
- Questions concerning the East China Sea
Q: My question is on the East China Sea. I understand that Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa announced earlier in his press conference that there were ships in the disputed fields. Does the Foreign Ministry have any information or reaction with regard to this issue?
Mr. Taniguchi: We are verifying that. If that proves to be the case, I think it is very much a worrisome development. We have decided that we should get together again as soon as possible, possibly this month. The ball is in the court of the Chinese, and if this is the ball that they tried to send back to Japan, which I hope it is not, this would obviously complicate the situation.
Q: Has the Foreign Ministry launched a protest?
Mr. Taniguchi: Through the director-general level, the Japanese side has repeatedly expressed concerns and sent signals to the Chinese side, but I am not aware if the Japanese side has already expressed concerns through the diplomatic channel to the Chinese side specifically about this report.
- Question concerning the possible visit to Japan of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
Q: The visit to Japan of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of the US has been delayed. Is the real reason for this the dissatisfaction on the US side with Japan's response to the Futenma air base issue? Secondly, do you know about any new dates for his visit to Japan?
Mr. Taniguchi: You said that the visit of Secretary Rumsfeld has been delayed. That is not really the case. The case is no such decision has ever been made by the Pentagon. Of course the Pentagon may have looked at the issue and it is public knowledge that Secretary Rumsfeld is scheduled to visit other nations, but whether the itinerary would include Japan has not really been decided by the Pentagon. One Japanese newspaper carried an article saying that Secretary Rumsfeld was going to visit Japan, and the same newspaper came out saying that that scheduled visit was cancelled. The fact to the matter is that Japan and the US are discussing this issue of base realignments in the broader context of military transformation. It is very much an important issue for both of us. We are headed for issuing an interim report. I cannot tell you when exactly Japan and the US are going to be able to issue this interim report, but that is actually the central focus point.
Schedule-wise, both Governments are discussing this issue. I am aware that there have been a couple of news articles speculating about when exactly a meeting between the two nations is going to be held, but on that point as well, no fixed date has ever been made public. That is one of the issues that the two Governments are still discussing.
The second part of your question, the level of frustration, it is all the more natural for anyone who has spent so much time on this one single issue to have frustrations, but having said that, given the enormous importance of this base realignment issue, not only to the people surrounding those bases but also to the overall situation and discussions between the two nations, it is one of those issues worth taking as much time as necessary. It may seem like this discussion has been going on for too long, but there is no such thing as spending too much time to look at such an important issue as this. It is important for the local people, to the people in Okinawa. Also it is very much important to both nations from a very broad point of view.
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