Press Conference 5 July 2005
- Visit to Japan by Mr. Norman Jose Caldera Cardenal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua
- Expansion of the issuance of entry visas to Japan for group tourists from China
- Dispatch of observers by Japan to the summit meeting of the African Union in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
- Japanese grant assistance to Saint Christopher and Nevis
- Questions concerning the African Union Foreign Ministers' meeting joint proposal for UN Security Council reform
- Visit to Japan by Mr. Norman Jose Caldera Cardenal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make four announcements before I take questions.
The first announcement is concerning the visit to Japan from Mr. Norman Jose Caldera Cardenal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua, from 10 July to 13 July as Guest of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
During his stay, Mr. Caldera will have talks with Mr. Nobutaka Machimura, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and will exchange views with other officials.
This year commemorates the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and the Central American countries. As part of "Japan-Central America Year 2005," a variety of events are being held. In August, a summit meeting between Japan and the Central American countries will take place.
Nicaragua has been the chair of the Central American Integration System (SICA) since July. It is expected that Nicaragua will play an important role toward the Japan-Central America summit meeting.
Mr. Caldera's visit is expected to strengthen the friendly Japan-Nicaragua relations and also the cooperative relations between Japan and all the Central American countries.
- Expansion of the issuance of entry visas to Japan for group tourists from China
Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan decided to issue entry visas to Chinese tourists from all over China who intend to visit Japan as members of a group tour to Japan organized by authorized travel agents.
Currently, the issuance of entry visas to Chinese group tourists is limited to those who are from three cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, and five provinces, including Guangdong and Tianjin.
This restriction will be lifted on 25 July this year and there will be no geographical restriction afterward. The Government of Japan decided to take this action to further ensure the success of Aichi World Exposition by attracting more visitors from China, and to promote and expand people to people exchange between Japan and China.
At the same time, the Government of Japan is determined to prevent any increase of illegal entry of Chinese people to Japan or crimes committed by Chinese nationals in Japan through close cooperation and consultation between the security officials of both countries.
- Dispatch of observers by Japan to the summit meeting of the African Union in the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan has dispatched the Director-General for Sub-Saharan African Affairs Mr. Masaharu Kohno, who is the Prime Minister's personal representative of African Affairs and Ambassador in Charge of Conflict and Refugee-related Issues in Africa, Keitaro Sato, to the summit meeting of African Union which is currently underway in Libya, as observers. Mr. Kohno and Ambassador Sato will meet with the leaders of African nations and exchange views on Japan's policy towards Africa featuring Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and international affairs, including the reform of the United Nations and the United Nations Security Council.
- Japanese grant assistance to Saint Christopher and Nevis
Mr. Takashima: Fourthly, the Government of Japan decided to provide grant assistance of up to 617 million yen or US$5.6 million to the Caribbean island nation of Saint Christopher and Nevis for the Project for Artisanal Fisheries Development, a development project for the small scale fishing industry. The project includes the improvement of a fishing port facility and the construction of an ice making factory.
Related Information (Japan-Saint Christopher and Nevis Relations) - Questions concerning the African Union Foreign Ministers' meeting joint proposal for UN Security Council reform
Q: I am wondering if you can evaluate the developments of the discussion at the summit of the African Union leaders over United Nations reform so far, especially concerning the fact that the Foreign Ministers have agreed to submit a joint proposal for the UN reform which is very close to that which Japan and many countries are planning?
Mr. Takashima: Our understanding is that the proposal was made at the African Union Foreign Ministers meeting but this has to be discussed at the summit meeting and therefore we have to wait for the outcome of the summit meeting which is underway in Libya for two days from the 4th to the 5th.
At the same time we understand that there are many similarities between the African Union (AU) Foreign Ministers' proposal and the draft resolution which we are thinking about at the Group of Four (G4). Therefore we believe that there is still room for negotiations between the two bodies. Currently we have two observers attending the AU summit meeting, the Director-General for Sub-Saharan African Affairs Masaharu Kohno and the Ambassador in Charge of Conflict and Refugee-related Issues in Africa, Mr. Keitaro Sato, and they are instructed to have close consultation and discussion with African leaders as well as the Secretariat. Therefore we would like to wait for the result of those talks and also the consultation with the AU.
At the same time Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura is engaged in various contact with the other foreign ministers of G4 countries to discuss how we should proceed with the idea of expansion of the Security Council, present it to the General Assembly, and hopefully have it passed. It is still in the midst of the process and it is a bit too early to predict any sort of outcome one way or the other at this time.
Q: Does the Government of Japan expect the current situation to positively affect the draft proposal in the Group of Four to expand the United Nations (UN) Security Council?
Mr. Takashima: We hope that our idea of expansion of the Security Council, both the non-permanent members and permanent members, is a very viable idea for making the Security Council more effective and more representative of the current situation in the international community. We hope that there will be a common understanding and agreement between AU, which is the largest regional group in United Nations, and the Group of Four on this issue so that we can proceed with the idea of presenting this draft resolution to the general assembly.
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