Internet Press Chat Conference 25 August 2005
- Introduction
- Dispatch of Japanese personnel to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) concerning the Assassination of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
- The 21st Meeting of the Japan-ASEAN Forum
- Grant aid for the Project for the Improvement of Hoa Binh General Hospital of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
- Visit to Japan by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of the Kingdom of Thailand
- Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on completion of evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the Northern West Bank
- Statement by the President of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan
- Non-project grant aid and grant aid to the Republic of Bolivia
- Non-project grant aid to the Republic of Ghana
- Cultural grant aid to the University of Ghana in the Republic of Ghana
- Questions concerning Six-Party Talks
- Follow-up question concerning Japan-ASEAN Forum
- Question concerning situation in the Union of Myanmar
- Introduction
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. Today, it's my very first press chat conference. From today, I will be giving regularly a press chat conference once every two weeks, as has been the case with my predecessor, Mr. Hatsuhisa Takashima.
Before beginning today's press chat conference, let me introduce myself. My name is Tomohiko Taniguchi. I have been a member of the Ministry for only less than a month. I was appointed on 2 August as Deputy Press Secretary. Before then I had been a journalist myself. I was trained as a financial journalist and worked for a magazine called Nikkei Business for more than 18 years. I have been posted to London, and have spent some time in places like Shanghai and Washington D.C.
I am not so sure exactly as of yet about what I can do and how I can use my capacity here within the Foreign Ministry. However, one of the things that I would like to do is maintain openness to the media community and remain accountable. As a financial journalist, I have been accustomed to buzz words such as "disclosure," "transparency" and "accountability." These, I think, are three of the most important things to keep in mind if you are a manager of corporate finance of any major corporation. The same is true with the Foreign Ministry, and for that matter, other ministries across the board. I am accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day. As far as you need me, I am accessible.
As the regular press chat conference is to update you on information and announcements, I will only touch upon announcements which have not been covered in regular press conferences of preceding days. However, you may inquire, after my opening statement, any issue that you wish to take up.
Now, I would like to make several announcements before I take questions.
- Dispatch of Japanese personnel to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) concerning the Assassination of Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri
Mr. Taniguchi: We have a breaking news story on the dispatch of Japanese personnel to the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) concerning the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
The United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) recently recruited three Metropolitan Police Department criminal identification experts to assist in the investigation of the assassination of Mr. Rafic Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon. The commission was established in April this year in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1595; its headquarters are in Beirut. The three experts will engage in various activities seeking to identify those responsible for the crime.
Japan strongly hopes that the participation of these Japanese personnel in the work of UNIIIC will help to ensure the independence and neutrality of the commission and throw further light on the case.
- The 21st Meeting of the Japan-ASEAN Forum
Mr. Taniguchi: Today's "juice" starts with the introduction of "The 21st Meeting of the Japan-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Forum" that is being held today and tomorrow (on 25 and 26 August) at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo. This obviously makes an integral part of Japan's overall policies toward ASEAN nations with which Japan is keen on strengthening its ties.
The Forum Meeting is attended on the Japanese side by Mr. Tsuneo Nishida, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of political affairs and Mr. Mitoji Yabunaka, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of economic affairs, and on the ASEAN side by vice-foreign-minister-level officials and the Secretary General of the ASEAN. At the forthcoming Meeting, the participants will exchange views on follow-ups and future direction of Japan-ASEAN cooperation, including Japan-ASEAN Plan of Action, which was issued at the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit held in 2003, East Asian regional cooperation, including the East Asia Summit to be held in December this year, and regional and international issues. It is expected that Japan-ASEAN relations, which is the core of East Asian regional cooperation, will be further strengthened through this Forum Meeting.
As a footnote, the Thai Prime Minister is scheduled to make a visit to Japan on 31 August, as will be introduced later.
- Grant aid for the Project for the Improvement of Hoa Binh General Hospital of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Mr. Taniguchi: The next announcement is about cooperation with the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Viet Nam may be one of the recently joined nations in the ASEAN but is of course one of the most important. The Government of Japan has decided to extend grant assistance of up to 967 million yen to the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam for the implementation of the Project for the Improvement of Hoa Binh General Hospital. The hospital is located between 60 to 70 kilometers from Hanoi and is viewed by the local people as among the most reliable sources of medical care.
Through the implementation of this project, aging facilities and equipments of Hoa Binh General Hospital would be improved and appropriate medical services would be provided. Furthermore, by centralizing the currently dispersed central clinical facilities, the project is expected to enable the provision of efficient medial services and prevention of nosocomial infections.
- Visit to Japan by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of the Kingdom of Thailand
Mr. Taniguchi: In terms of schedule, as announced in Tuesday's press conference, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of the Kingdom of Thailand is going to visit Japan in his official capacity from 31 August to 1 September. During his stay in Japan, there will be the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Prime Minister Thaksin. During the bilateral meeting, the topics that are going to be discussed will include topics concerning the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two nations, Japan and Thailand. Obviously Prime Minister Thaksin's state visit is going to be one of the most important diplomatic events not only for strengthening the two nations' relationship, but also for further cooperation between Japan and ASEAN nations.
- Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on completion of evacuation of settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the Northern West Bank
Mr. Taniguchi: As a nation that has continued to pay keen interest in the peace process, Japan welcomes the successful completion of the evacuation of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank ("the Gaza Strip, etc.") on 23 August and commends the courage and determination of the Government of Israel, and will continue to strive for advancing the Middle East peace process proactively and to support the peace efforts of the parties concerned, including steady implementation of US$100 million of assistance to the Palestinians.
- Statement by the President of the United Nations Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan
Mr. Taniguchi: As you know, Japan currently chairs the UN Security Council, and the next item concerns that role. On 23 August, an open debate and informal consultations on the situation in Afghanistan were conducted at the United Nations (UN) Security Council, and a Presidential Statement was issued at around 13:30 NY time (around 0:30, 24 August, Japan time). The statement covers lower house and provincial council elections, security situation, relations with neighboring countries, completion of disarmament, efforts for remaining issues, engagement of the international community following the end of the Bonn process, among other topics.
Based on its position as a leading country on the Afghanistan issue at the Security Council and as this month's chair of the Security Council, Japan coordinated with the Government of Afghanistan regarding the issuance of the Presidential Statement and played a key role.
- Non-project grant aid and grant aid to the Republic of Bolivia
Mr. Taniguchi: The Government of Japan has decided to extend grant assistance totaling 1.647 billion yen to the Government of the Republic of Bolivia, with a view to helping the country's efforts to improve its economic structure and medical health services. Assistance was extended for the 1) non-project grant aid (800 million yen) and 2) Project for the Improvement of Medical Health Services in the Southern Zone of Beni Prefecture (847 million yen).
- Non-project grant aid to the Republic of Ghana
Mr. Taniguchi: The Government of Japan has decided to extend grant assistance of 500 million yen (non-project grant aid) to the Government of the Republic of Ghana.
This non-project grant aid is intended to assist Ghana in its implementation of structural reform programs including poverty reduction, and will be used for the purchasing of goods that are necessary to further promote this program.
- Cultural grant aid to the University of Ghana in the Republic of Ghana
Mr. Taniguchi: The Government of Japan has decided to extend cultural grant assistance of up to 46.2 million yen to the Government of the Republic of Ghana for the Project for the Improvement of Physics and Chemistry Equipment of the University of Ghana.
- Questions concerning Six-Party Talks
Q: Regarding the Six-Party Talks on North Korea's nuclear program, has a date for its resumption been decided? The representative of the People's Republic of China, Wu Dawei, has been quoted as saying that they would be held on 2 September.
Mr. Taniguchi: Thanks very much for your question. I know that Mr. Wu Dawei from China has been reported to have said something about the schedule to a Japanese politician but all I can say for now is that we are still discussing the opening of the meeting to be held sometime in the week of 29 August. Indeed, Mr. Wu himself, according to what I saw on TV, said that the schedule he cited is his own idea. No specific date has been set at the moment.
Q: As a follow-up question, did anything concrete come out of the meetings with Mr. Wu today?
Mr. Taniguchi: As far as I know, an official schedule has not been planned for today between the Ministry and Mr. Wu.
Let me be precise again about the meeting between Mr. Wu and the Ministry. There has been no meeting between us today.
- Follow-up question concerning Japan-ASEAN Forum Meeting
Q: OK, VOA here. Yesterday, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General, Mr. Ong, in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) criticized Japan's inflexible stance in the ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) talks and warned that Japan's market position threatens to be supplanted by more cooperative partners, such as the Republic of Korea (ROK). What sort of progress on this issue can we expect at the Japan-ASEAN meeting this weekend?
Mr. Taniguchi: As I said at the beginning, this Japan-ASEAN Forum Meeting, which is the 21st, is going to discuss broad overall situation regarding Japan and ASEAN relationships. Of course, FTA remains an important part but it is only one of the many issues we are covering. In terms of the so-called "inflexible stance" that you say of Japan, I would like to say that the treaty Japan is going to have with some of the leading nations in ASEAN is extremely rich in content and I would urge you to look into the content and compare that with that in some other corresponding treaties.
- Question concerning situation in the Union of Myanmar
Q: Thank you. And do you have any information on rumors that there has been a coup in the Union of Myanmar?
Mr. Taniguchi: Thanks again for the question. This is new also to us. We know that such a rumor is running now but we have been unable to see a clearer picture. Embassies in the region are busy collecting information.
As it seems that you have no more questions, I would like to end today's Regular Internet Chat Press Conference. See you at the next Regular Internet Chat Press Conference on 8 September at the same time. Please do tell your colleagues that I am doing this regularly. See you.
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