Press Conference 26 August 2005
- The 21st Meeting of the Japan-ASEAN Forum
- Dispatch of Japanese diplomat to the Republic of the Sudan
- Public forum on United Nations reform
- Press statement by the UN Security Council on Gaza withdrawal
- The 11th Japan-China Cooperation Committee on Science and Technology
- Grant aid for the Project for HIV/AIDS Control of the United Republic of Tanzania
- Guests and national/special days of the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan (27 August - 2 September)
- Questions concerning comfort women issue
- Question concerning interview of President General Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
- Questions concerning disclosure of government documents regarding comfort women
- Question concerning Takeshima Island
- Follow-up question concerning Japan-ASEAN Forum
- Question concerning terrorist attacks in Japan
- Question concerning Group of Four (G4) framework
- The 21st Meeting of the Japan-ASEAN Forum
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. Before making some of the announcements that I would like to make, let me just give you a brief idea about The 21st Meeting of the Japan-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Forum which is now going on.
I have heard a number of questions over the last couple of days about what it is all about and what they have been discussing. I am afraid I cannot give you information as detailed as you might wish at this point because the Forum is not finished yet. But of course, it is an important event in the run-up to the East Asia Summit which is to be held in December this year. It does not necessarily mean that the Japan-ASEAN Forum is especially geared toward that East Asia Summit because this has been done for many years, actually since 1977. That was the period when Japan, as you might know, gave a fresh idea toward ASEAN colleagues. That was expressed explicitly in the so-called Fukuda Doctrine that said that Japan would be proceeding with ASEAN nations hand-in-hand, together, sharing minds and hearts. That is the spirit that has been driving the Japan-ASEAN Forum.
Over the last two days, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsuneo Nishida, who is in charge of political affairs, and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka, who is in charge of economic affairs, have been attending the Forum. Some of the topics that have been covered include of course regional affairs and the international situation, and the idea that was announced by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at the Asian-African Summit 2005 in April about a new partnership in Asia. Some of the cooperations between Asia and Africa have also been discussed. We are also following up with the action program of Japan-ASEAN and so forth. I believe there will be opportunities for you to be briefed more precisely in due course.
- Dispatch of Japanese diplomat to the Republic of the Sudan
Mr. Taniguchi: Let me just make some of the announcements by introducing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to send a very capable young diplomat to the Republic of the Sudan.
As you may know, Sudan has been struggling since January this year to stabilize the situation and to achieve prosperity. Japan has been helping that country to achieve that purpose in a number of ways, and most notably, by sending equipment like vehicles, mine detectors, huge tents and so forth. In addition to these supports, the Foreign Ministry has decided to send Mr. Yusuke Kudoh, who is 32 years old, specialized in the Arabic language and has once worked in Sudan already. He is going to join force with other colleagues from other nations at an institution called the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). Under that institution, there is another organization called the Unified Mission Analysis Center (UMAC). Mr. Kudoh is going to be involved in analyzing some of the regional information. He is going to work there from September this year for about six months. Certainly it is our hope that he will contribute a lot to the process that is going on in Sudan to make the country peaceful and prosperous.
- Public forum on United Nations reform
Mr. Taniguchi: The second item that I wanted to touch upon is about a public discussion forum that the Foreign Ministry is going to hold on 30 August. It is called the Public Forum on United Nations (UN) Reform. This is not necessarily directly related to the UN reform process that you might have been interested in, because this is about deepening the relationship between the Foreign Ministry and relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There have been a number of groups and NGOs that have been working in the field of international relations, international support effort and so on. Some of those NGOs came to the Foreign Ministry and suggested that there be an occasion where exchanges of views can be done between the Foreign Ministry and relevant NGOs.
So for that purpose, we are going to have the forum on 30 August at the conference facility in Mita, Tokyo, involving a number of people from Japanese NGOs. We are going to discuss developmental issues, peace, disarmament issue, human rights and so on. We are going to have some panel discussions. If you are interested, I would be happy to tell you who you should talk to.
- Press statement by the UN Security Council on Gaza withdrawal
Mr. Taniguchi: The third item is about the Palestinian peace process.
This month has been the month when Japan has been chairing the Security Council of the UN. In terms of the force withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, a press statement was issued by the Security Council. I am pleased to say that Japan, as chair of the Security Council, has been instrumental in issuing this press statement. As to what sort of press statement that was, if you are interested I would be able to tell you more about it later.
- The 11th Japan-China Cooperation Committee on Science and Technology
Mr. Taniguchi: The fourth one is about the Japan-People's Republic of China relationship. Once again, this has been an on-going process. It is a long project that started in 1981. It is about the Japan-China Cooperation Committee on Science and Technology. The two countries have been meeting approximately once every two years. Therefore, we have had in total 11 committee meetings so far. The first one started in June 1981 in Beijing and then in a rotating manner we have been holding discussions in Beijing, Tokyo, Beijing, Tokyo and so forth.
This is going to be the 11th committee meeting, and it is going to be held on 31 August. Representatives from the Foreign Ministry are going to be attending, as well as from ministries like the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. As I said, this has been based upon the treaty between the two nations about science and technological cooperation. Actually, there have been a number of accomplishments about which I would rather not touch upon now for saving time.
- Grant aid for the Project for HIV/AIDS Control of the United Republic of Tanzania
Mr. Taniguchi: The fifth one is about Japan's aid in terms of HIV/AIDS. It is about grant aid for the United Republic of Tanzania. In order for Japan to help prevent the disease in Tanzania, the Government of Japan has decided to extend grant assistance in total of 303 million yen as the maximum amount. On 25 August, in the capital city of Tanzania, Japanese Ambassador to Tanzania Ikeda gave a letter to his counterpart, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Gray S. Mgonja of Tanzania. It is a very important initiative given the fact that in that country, as of the end of 2003, there have been as many as 1.6 million patients suffering from the HIV disease.
- Guests and national/special days of the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan (27 August - 2 September)
Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly, as has been the case, I am going to make announcements about what will happen in terms of visits of foreign dignitaries to Japan because the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan is still going on. There will be many visits in the week of 27 August to 2 September.
First, from the Independent State of Samoa, Minister of Tourism Hans Joachim Keil will be visiting Japan from 28 August to 1 September to attend the National Day event scheduled for 30 August. From Malaysia, Minister of Tourism Leo Michael Toyad is going to visit the Aichi Expo. Also to attend the National Day event for the Republic of Mali, Minister of Trade and Industry Choguel Kokalla Maiga will be visiting Japan from 29 August to 4 September. From the State of Qatar, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Ltd. Faisal M. Al-Suwaidi is going to visit the country's National Day event scheduled for 2 September.
- Questions concerning comfort women issue
Q: Regarding the so-called comfort women issue, the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) maintains that not necessarily all of the problems can be said to have been solved by the two nations. What is the position of the Foreign Ministry on this issue?
Mr. Taniguchi: The position that the Japanese Government holds has been clear, is clear and will be clear. That is, all the issues have been solved completely and ultimately by the treaty that was forged in 1965. Nonetheless, having said that, there have been a number of issues that the Japanese Government has dealt with from a humanitarian standpoint. I am not mentioning detailed projects here at this point, but as you might know, the Japanese Government has done its utmost based on that understanding from a humanitarian perspective to deal with separate issues. That is the position that the Japanese Government holds and that is what I can say to you now.
Q: The Government of the ROK made the claim that there is something unresolved between the two nations about some of the issues such as the so-called comfort women. Your statement is exactly the same as what the Japanese Government has been maintaining so far. But here are a new set of claims. Are there any changes in the stance and policies of the Japanese Government?
Mr. Taniguchi: I am afraid that there has been no change in terms of the property and claims made by the Government of the ROK.
Q: Is that different from the stance taken by the ROK Government?
Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, there is a difference, but please do not amplify that there is a difference. Please do not quote the "different" part per se in order to amplify the problem of any kind.
- Question concerning interview of President General Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Q: President General Pervez Musharraf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan gave an interview to the Kyodo News Agency. He said that Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan was involved in sending centrifuges to North Korea. How is the Japanese Government going to evaluate this statement?
Mr. Taniguchi: I know I must disappoint you because as someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I cannot give you any detailed information based on news reports. In terms of those news reports, of course, the Japanese Government has been doing its best to collect information. All I can say to you now about the interview, about the alleged activities of the doctor in question, Dr. Khan, or whether or not there have been suspicious interchanges between the countries in question, I cannot say anything. I can say only that we are collecting information.
- Questions concerning disclosure of government documents regarding comfort women
Q: From the perspective of the Japanese Government, could you comment on the disclosure process of important government documents, documents related to the process between Japan and the ROK?
Mr. Taniguchi: Once again, I cannot tell you much. It is a process of your nation. All I can say from the Japanese Government's perspective is that it is not appropriate for an outside party, the Japanese Government, to make any comment about the process that is going on in your nation. That is about it.
Q: Will the Japanese Government continue to disclose information?
Mr. Taniguchi: Each and every nation has its own policy to disclose information related to diplomatic processes. The Japanese Government has been disclosing the information so far, and that will continue from now on as well.
- Question concerning Takeshima Island
Q: Regarding the Takeshima Island issue, there seems to be a difference between the stance that the Japanese Government took before and the one that it is now taking. There was an interest by the Japanese Government to bring the issue to the international court. Does the Japanese Government still hold that position? Or has there been a change in the policies of the Japanese Government?
Mr. Taniguchi: I am not entirely familiar with what you are mentioning about the stances or the differences thereof. I am afraid I cannot give you a comment.
In terms of the sovereignty of the island, it has been the Japanese Government's position and it still is the Japanese Government's position that Takeshima Island is within Japanese sovereignty.
- Follow-up question concerning Japan-ASEAN Forum
Q: Just to confirm, the Japan-ASEAN Forum is being held from when until when?
Mr. Taniguchi: From yesterday, 25 August, to today, 26 August.
- Question concerning terrorist attacks in Japan
Q: It has been reported that Al-Qaeda is preparing to launch a terrorist attack against a nation, particularly Japan, the Republic of Singapore or the Commonwealth of Australia. Could you comment on what the Japanese Government is doing in response?
Mr. Taniguchi: I have read that article. I think it is based on an interview with a French officer. Japan experienced a terrible terrorist attack already in 1995 on the Tokyo subway system, so in that sense I can say that Japan has been at the forefront to help prevent those terrorist attacks. Incidentally, a number of other governments including the United States of America (US) have learned earnestly from the sarin attack. Having said that, there is no such thing as 100% assurance from terrorists conducting evil affairs in any country. Japan is also doing a lot to prevent those things from happening.
As a part of that effort, the Foreign Ministry is going to start issuing a new type of passports that are going to be integrated circuit (IC) based, in which you can input a lot of information like who you are, which country you have gone to and so on and so forth. That is going to be one of the most information rich passport systems of any country.
- Question concerning Group of Four (G4) framework
Q: It has been reported that Japan might be opting out of the framework of the Group of Four (G4). Is Japan seriously thinking about opting out of the G4?
Mr. Taniguchi: I must say that it is one of the wildest speculations that I have ever heard. Frankly speaking, I have never heard such a speculation. The Japanese Government is still very much committed to sticking to the framework.
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