Press Conference 22 April 2005
- Statement by Press Secretary on situation in the Republic of Ecuador
- Election of the new pope in the Vatican, The Holy See
- Emergency assistance for flood disaster in Afghanistan
- Upcoming visit to Japan by President Joseph Urusemal of the Federative States of Micronesia
- Upcoming visits by dignitaries to National Day events at World Exposition in Aichi
- Question concerning visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese lawmakers
- Question concerning East Siberian pipeline development
- Questions concerning content of upcoming speech by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Asian-African Summit in Indonesia
- Questions concerning Japan-China bilateral consultations
- Question concerning gas development in the East China Sea
- Question concerning possible lifting of arms embargo on China by the European Union (EU)
- Question concerning creation of an East Asian Community (EAC)
- Question concerning Japanese official development assistance (ODA) to Africa
- Question concerning Taiwan's observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA)
- Statement by Press Secretary on situation in the Republic of Ecuador
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 on the situation in the Republic of Ecuador.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the following statement by the Press Secretary in which it says as follows.
The National Congress of Ecuador, a South American country in which anti-government protests have recently been intensifying, adopted on 20 April a resolution to dismiss President Lucio Gutierrez, and Vice-President Alfredo Palacio assumed the new presidency. From the viewpoint of placing importance on the stability and democratization in Latin America, Japan is carefully following the current development in Ecuador and strongly expects that the stability and order will be restored as soon as possible in accordance with the constitution.
- Election of the new pope in the Vatican, The Holy See
Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is on the election of the new pope.
The Government of Japan decided to dispatch former Minister for Foreign Affairs Kabun Muto to the inauguration ceremony of the new pope Pope Benedict XVI to be held on 24 April in the Vatican, The Holy See. Wishing the further strengthening of the relations between Japan and the Vatican, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura both sent congratulatory messages to the Vatican on the election of the new pope.
- Emergency assistance for flood disaster in Afghanistan
Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about emergency assistance to Afghanistan.
The Government of Japan decided to extend emergency assistance in kind equivalent to about US$125,000 including tents, blankets and plastic sheets to the Government of Afghanistan, where great damage has been sustained from flooding caused by recent heavy rains.
- Upcoming visit to Japan by President Joseph Urusemal of the Federative States of Micronesia
Mr. Takashima: The fourth announcement is about the visit to Japan by the President of the Federative States of Micronesia.
President Joseph Urusemal of Micronesia will visit Japan from 25 to 29 April at the invitation of the Japanese Government. During his stay in Japan, President Urusemal will have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of Japan and have talks with Prime Minister Koizumi and Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shuzen Tanigawa.
- Upcoming visits by dignitaries to National Day events at World Exposition in Aichi
Mr. Takashima: The last announcement is about the visits of dignitaries to the World Exposition in Aichi.
During the next week from 23 to 29 April, the Government of Japan welcomes two dignitaries from overseas. They are: Minister of Transport Jeffrey Radebe of the Republic of South Africa who will attend the National Day event on 26 April at the Exposition site and Federal Minister of Economics and Labour Dr. Martin Bartenstein of the Republic of Austria who will attend the National Day event on 27 April.
- Question concerning visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese lawmakers
Q: This morning about 80 lawmakers visited Yasukuni Shrine. Considering the volatile situation of the Sino-Japanese relations, do you think the timing was wise? Or, to put it in a different way, is the Japanese Government concerned that this action by these Japanese lawmakers might be misconstrued by the Chinese public or the Chinese Government?
Mr. Takashima: Freedom of religion is a part of the democracy we entertain in this country. Therefore, I would not make any comment on each individual visit to Yasukuni Shrine by lawmakers or any other persons.
- Question concerning East Siberian pipeline development
Q: There has been some news report about the Russian pipeline and that the Russians are looking into building a branch pipeline to China before they build one to Japan. Do you have any comments or information on this?
Mr. Takashima: Minister of Industry and Energy Victor Khristenko of the Russian Federation is in Tokyo to attend the Japan-Russia governmental consultative committee meeting to be held in Tokyo today.
He will have a thorough discussion with Foreign Minister Machimura. At this meeting, and also over a working dinner tonight, the construction of the East Siberian pipeline would be on the agenda for discussion between the two ministers. Until then, I would like to withhold any comment, except to say that Japan is very interested in any sort of cooperation with Russia to construct this very important pipeline and also exploration of the East Siberian oil field.
- Questions concerning content of upcoming speech by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Asian-African Summit in Indonesia
Q: There are reports going around that Prime Minister Koizumi is going to express deep remorse and apologize for Japan's aggression before and during the war in Asia. I wonder if you could confirm that. This is based apparently on an advance copy of his speech that he is going to make in Jakarta, Indonesia this afternoon. What is the purpose of that particular part of the speech? And, was it added recently or has it always been part of the speech that he is going to give this afternoon?
Mr. Takashima: Firstly, Prime Minister Koizumi is scheduled to make a speech at the Asian-African Summit being held in Jakarta today. We still do not know his point of order, but we expect that his speech will be delivered fairly soon, if it has not been done already.
We delivered the draft text of the speech with the condition to check against the actual delivery, but apparently the contents have already been distributed to the world through the news wires and so forth.
In the draft speech, Prime Minister Koizumi expresses deep remorse and heartfelt apology as something which is always in his mind, saying that "with feeling of deep remorse and heartfelt apology always engraved in mind Japan has resolutely maintained consistently since the end of World War II never to turn into a military power but an economic power, its principle of resolving all matters by peaceful means without recourse to use of force." This is the expression of the heartfelt conviction of Prime Minister Koizumi and the inclusion of this passage was not decided recently but already decided when we started the preparations for this speech well before the latest incidents, both in the Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China.
As a matter of fact, this is exactly identical to the wording used by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama to express his feelings to the world on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The reason that Prime Minister Koizumi decided to include this expression of remorse and apology in his speech to the Asian-African Summit is that this Summit Meeting commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Summit, which was the first occasion for post-World War II Japan to attend this kind of international gathering. At that time, Japan expressed its strong determination to the world that Japan would live as a nation of peace. Fifty years later, Prime Minister Koizumi decided to do the same, namely to reconfirm the Japanese determination to live as a nation of peace and make utmost efforts to help other Asian and African nations for their economic development and for prosperity, peace and stability. That is the main reason, and this really reflects the personal feeling of Prime Minister Koizumi.
Q: Does the wording therefore not go as far as the statement that Prime Minister Koizumi made on the Marco Polo Bridge? That was in Japanese and I cannot remember the exact difference, but at the time it was viewed as going slightly further than what former Prime Minister Murayama said.
Mr. Takashima: There might be a difference of the expression or difference in the use of words, but the spirit and the feeling are the same. There is no difference in magnitude of the expression.
Q: When Prime Minister Koizumi makes his apology, by some counts that will be Japan's 18th official apology. When are these apologies going to stop? When is Japan going to decide that it is going to stop apologizing?
Mr. Takashima: This may be 18th time, but the number does not mean much. It is our own feeling. Especially since this year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, it is a time for reflection on the past. Therefore, Prime Minister Koizumi decided to include this passage into his speech. We do not foresee any set date for the stoppage of expression of apology or remorse. This is something that is engraved in our hearts. Therefore, on various occasions there may be repetition of the same type of expression.
- Questions concerning Japan-China bilateral consultations
Q: Could you tell us the latest development of the bilateral consultations between Japan and China to arrange summit talks between Prime Minister Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao?
Mr. Takashima: Both leaders are in Jakarta today, and my understanding is that they are attending the session of the Asian-African Summit. During their stay in Indonesia, in Jakarta and the last day, Sunday, in Bandung, sometime during these three days, we are very much hopeful that a meeting will take place between the two leaders. The final arrangements are still going on, and no date nor venue has been decided yet.
Q: Has there been any discussion about whether Japan and China will restart a situation in which the leaders can actually meet in their own countries? That has been suspended obviously since 2001 and the first Yasukuni visit. Has there been any talk of having a summit meeting between the leaders in either Japan or China?
Mr. Takashima: Last Sunday when Foreign Minister Machimura visited Beijing and held talks with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing, exchange of high-level officials, including the President, the Premier and the Prime Minister, was discussed.
Foreign Minister Machimura handed a personal message from Prime Minister Koizumi to Premier Wen Jiabao in which he invited Premier Wen to visit Japan during the time of the Aichi Exposition. Our invitation to President Hu is still standing and both countries are in favor of the realization of these high-level exchanges. The Chinese side has said that in order to make this kind of high-level meeting or visit happen, there should be appropriate circumstances or environment. On our side, we will make our own effort to create these appropriate circumstances and environment.
Q: When you mention effort on your part, is there any process that we can talk about after the anti-Japanese demonstrations in China and the Republic of Korea? As one problem leads to new problems, there is a tendency to appreciate now the question of history, for example, the history textbooks in Japan. When you talk about effort, do you mean that you are going to emphasize the revision of those textbooks?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, Foreign Minister Machimura proposed to initiate something along the lines of a joint study of history between Japan and China. In response, the Chinese Foreign Minister said that China would make a consideration on its own in a positive manner. We hope that this kind of joint study will be materialized.
In addition, when Foreign Minister Machimura met with State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan the following day, they discussed the issue of textbooks and they agreed that a study would be done in both countries on each other's textbooks and we would make an effort to improve the content of the textbook, if necessary.
It is not the matter of making a request and getting a response between our two countries, but it should be done domestically by each other's own will. In order to create a better understanding between our two countries, many efforts will be made through this kind of attempts. The Japanese and Chinese sides also agreed to set up a fund for cultural exchange as soon as possible, possibly by the end of this year. This will also constitute a further attempt for the betterment of the relations and resolving the issue of various things, including education.
- Question concerning gas development in the East China Sea
Q: With regard to the gas development in the East China Sea, has there been any change on the policy on the Japanese side vis-á-vis the joint exploration or development of gas fields proposed by the Chinese side?
Mr. Takashima: There is no change in the policy as far as Japan is concerned. We have been requesting the data of the underwater gas field and suspension of the actual development works in the East China Sea by the Chinese side, before we start the discussion on the joint exploration of gas fields.
The Japanese and Chinese sides at the Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 17 April in Beijing agreed to hold high-level officials' consultation talks on the maritime-related issues, including this gas field exploration. However, as far as this joint development proposal is concerned, the content is still unclear to us. Whether China intends to have a joint exploration as such that both sides would benefit from it or whether China intends to do joint exploration on the Japanese side of the median line, leaving the Chinese side on their own, these are some of the issues on which would like to get clarification and have a discussion. In order to get clarification and have a discussion what we would like to have is the data and materials that the Chinese side has and the suspension of activities that are being carried out.
Q: Concerning the median line between China and Japan regarding the exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, firstly, will this issue be discussed during the officials' meeting in May? Secondly, will there be any compromise or concession by the Japanese side on this issue?
Mr. Takashima: To answer your first question, yes, it will be discussed.
As for the second question, no, there will not be at this moment, because we have not started discussions yet.
- Question concerning possible lifting of arms embargo on China by the European Union (EU)
Q: When British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw was here, he said that a lifting of the arms embargo on China by the European Union (EU) would create neither a qualitative nor a quantitative change in the flow of arms to China. First of all, is that Japan's understanding? And, does Japan remain opposed to any lifting of the EU arms embargo?
Mr. Takashima: Japan is still opposed to the lifting of the arms embargo by the EU based upon the notion that, as far as we are concerned, we believe that this action will cause some sort of unfavorable effect on the peace, security and stability of East Asia. That is the basic reasoning. Of course, we take note of the fact that British Foreign Secretary Straw and President Jacques Chirac of the French Republic both have said that this would not cause any quantitative or qualitative change in the arms exportation from Europe. We still believe that this will give a certain influence on the situation.
- Question concerning creation of an East Asian Community (EAC)
Q: Does the current situation in East Asia affect the process of organizing in Kuala Lumpur in December this year the East Asian Community (EAC) Summit? Are there any ramifications or changes in your preparation for this Summit?
Mr. Takashima: Japan and China have been enjoying very good friendly relations in the past 2,000 years or more with the exception of a very short period of time, 30 to 50 years, in conjunction with World War II. Since the end of World War II, we have been enjoying again very friendly and cordial relations.
Based upon this development of strong and friendly relations, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started discussing the creation of the EAC. This is a kind of forum or framework which is envisaged for the not too distant future of East Asia. We will take strides toward that direction and we hope that the current row between our two countries will not affect this kind of important work for the creation of a community.
Q: So you will attend in December this Summit?
Mr. Takashima: Yes, of course.
- Question concerning Japanese official development assistance (ODA) to Africa
Q: At the Indonesia summit, Japan has proposed to double its official development assistance (ODA) to Africa. So far, it represents about 8% of the total volume of Japan's ODA. I think that will mean that it will double to about 16%, but still some people complain that it is well under the target of 0.7% of GNI. What exactly is Prime Minister Koizumi's message to Africa? Are you going to really commit yourself to reach the international level of aid to Africa or are you just trying to play with the figures? In relation to that, Japan is the sixth country among the set of countries in terms of aid to Africa, so we hear a lot of nice and sweet words, but their realization is not always understood in the same way by African countries?
Also, besides that, do you monitor the aid that is provided to African countries?
Mr. Takashima: To the last question, yes, we monitor it.
The message that Prime Minister Koizumi is about to deliver to the Asian-African Summit, if he has not already done so, is that Japan will make every effort to the direction of achieving the 0.7% of GNI as stipulated by the United Nations study group. Japan will make utmost efforts to reverse the trend of the decrease of the ODA budget to increase from FY2006, which means this year and next year.
In addition, for assistance to Africa, we place more emphasis on this assistance and Prime Minister Koizumi declared that Japan would double its ODA to Africa in three years' time. I do not know whether the 8% will become 16%, because it is the total volume that will increase. As far as Japan is concerned, the total amount of this year's ODA to Africa will be doubled in three years.
Q: Will it then reach that 0.7% of GNI?
Mr. Takashima: That is something different, because currently the ODA ratio to GDP is 0.19%, less than 0.2%, because of various reasons, including the repayment received from China and other countries.
- Question concerning Taiwan's observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA)
Q: Last year, on the issue of Taiwan's participation as an observer to the World Health Assembly, Japan supported the idea. Has Japan's position on this changed?
Mr. Takashima: Japan supported the idea on the condition that the Taiwanese observer status would be accepted by the neighboring countries. This is the same policy that we will follow this year. We hope that Taiwan's participation as an observer will be in harmony with the neighboring countries' views.
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