Press Conference 27 September 2005
- Visits of Deputy Press Secretary/Deputy Director-General for Press and Public Relations Tomohiko Taniguchi
- Human security
- Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH) 2005 Symposium
- Intercessional Open-Ended Working Group to Elaborate a Draft Legally Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
- Second Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) meeting concerning the remains of Korean citizens in Japan
- Measures to counter the spread of avian influenza
- Dispatch of Director of Earthquake and Tsunami Observations Division Masahiro Yamamoto of the Japan Meteorological Agency to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
- Visits to Japan by foreign dignitaries for the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan
- Japan-United Mexican States foreign ministers' meeting
- Grant aid to Iraq
- Japan-Russian Federation bilateral meeting
- Questions concerning Japan-People's Republic of China talks on the East China Sea issue
- Visits of Deputy Press Secretary/Deputy Director-General for Press and Public Relations Tomohiko Taniguchi
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Thank you very much for coming, it is always nice to have an arrested audience (laughter). Let me start today's press conference by briefly introducing what I'd been doing until this last Sunday.
I spent two weeks in Hong Kong, the Republic of Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Tunisia, and London in the United Kingdom (UK). The main purpose of the trip was to accompany the delegation of scholars and academics who are engaged in cultural exchanges with these countries, first in Turkey, then in Saudi Arabia, and then in Tunisia. This was an interesting trip because the judo athlete, Mr. Yasuhiro Yamashita, who won the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games was with us in Turkey. He coached a lot of small children and judo teachers in Turkey. I think he is a crown jewel of Japan's diplomacy because he is a role model for many youngsters in Turkey who want to be like him. I hope very much that Mr. Yamashita plays an even greater role in teaching what judo is all about to the world. One of the things that Mr. Yamashita told the audience that was impressive, was that in judo your opponent is not your enemy, your opponent is someone who can help you develop your skills and power. That is the reason why immediately after the judo matches they are supposed to bow to each other. And that is one of the messages that Mr. Yamashita repeatedly emphasized and I thought it resonated well with the youngsters in Turkey.
For me personally it was also an interesting trip because in Hong Kong I was asked to appear on Phoenix TV, and in London I was interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio and television. This is an indication that the people in countries like Hong Kong, UK, and Tunisia were very much interested in the outcome of the Japanese elections. It was a coincidence that the Federal Republic of Germany had their elections as well, and in comparison to the mixed result of the German elections, the landslide victory that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi won must have seemed very impressive to these journalists and reporters in a lot of countries.
- Human security
Mr. Taniguchi: That said, let me start today's press conference by introducing one of Japan's signature foreign policies, namely "human security."
You may or may not be aware of what human security means, but I can tell you with confidence that this is one of the signature policies that Japan as a nation has been long pursuing since approximately 1997. We have been very much flattered by the fact that the documents to come out of the United Nations (UN) Millennium Summit included the term "human security." Traditionally, security has been provided by the nation or state, but human security as an idea is to enhance the power of individuals. If you were born in developing nations you might not have as many chances for education to empower yourself as are available for the people in developed nations. The idea of human security really focuses on empowering people by stressing education, health and so forth. In conjunction with this, an open seminar is going to be held on 6 October 2005 from 10:00 to 20:00 as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, dubbed the "APEC Human Security Seminar - implementation of the human security related mandate from Leaders and Ministers." I have a brochure on hand, so please see what human security is about. People like former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen have been very much involved in this idea of promoting human security. Since this is an open seminar I urge you to go see what will be discussed at this event.
Related Information (Human Security)
Related Information (APEC Human Security Seminar) - Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH) 2005 Symposium
Mr. Taniguchi: I have several other items to announce before taking questions.
Let me also introduce a brand new idea, called GNH. We all know about Gross National Product (GNP), and we are increasingly aware of what GNC is, which is an acronym for Gross National Cool. But here is a new idea called GNH, which is an abbreviation for Gross National Happiness, as one way to measure what sort of opportunities are available for people in developing nations. So this is not irrelevant to the idea that I introduced earlier of human security. There is going to be a symposium called Bhutan and Gross National Happiness 2005 in Tokyo. This is between Japan and the Kingdom of Bhutan, and Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Katsuyuki Kawai has been very keen on pushing this issue and has been instrumental in bringing forth this symposium, which is going to be held here in Tokyo at the Mita conference facility.
- Intercessional Open-Ended Working Group to Elaborate a Draft Legally Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Mr. Taniguchi: The third item is about something that Japan has long been very committed to, which is about persons who were forced to disappear. There is a working group under the UN called the Intercessional Open-Ended Working Group to Elaborate a Draft Legally Binding Normative Instrument for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This is part of the UN working groups and you can talk to Director-General of the Global Issues Department Takahiro Shinyo of the Foreign Ministry who is in charge of international societies here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as people of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Division of the Global Issues Department. They have been putting a lot of emphasis on having the document include the word "abduction." Thanks to their effort the convention negotiators have come to agree on including the word "abduction." The implications of this should be obvious to everyone, and this is one of the accomplishments of Japan's foreign diplomacy.
- Second Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) meeting concerning the remains of Korean citizens in Japan
Mr. Taniguchi: Fourthly, on 28 September in Tokyo there is going to be a meeting between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan. It is going to be the second Japan-ROK meeting concerning the issue of the remains of the retired military personnel, civilian employees, and persons who were conscripted into private companies in Japan from the Korean Peninsula. In layman's terms it is about the people who worked for Japanese companies during the war. There still are the bones and remains of 1,266 people, who are not identified. Those bones and remains are under the care of the Government of Japan and are kept at a temple called Yutenji Temple in Naka-Meguro, Tokyo. The bilateral negotiations over those remains have been long going on between the ROK and Japan. A large number of those bones and remains have been returned to Korea, but there are still 1,266 that are yet to be identified. This is going to be a meeting about that and will be held on 28 September at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Measures to counter the spread of avian influenza
Mr. Taniguchi: Next, you may know as avian influenza is a very serious issue, and media such as the Economist have been devoting a lot of coverage to this. To investigate avian influenza the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are going to send specialists to the Republic of Indonesia, which has been suffering from avian influenza. This is a serious issue because it hinders economic development and tourism and so forth, so developed nations like Japan have to do a lot to help support these countries in tackling this issue of avian influenza. From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Tooru Kuramata is going to be dispatched with specialists from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
So those are the events that are upcoming.
- Dispatch of Director of Earthquake and Tsunami Observations Division Masahiro Yamamoto of the Japan Meteorological Agency to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
Mr. Taniguchi: Also, as part of the international effort to tackle the tsunami and its aftermath Director of Earthquake and Tsunami Observations Division, Seismological and Volcational Department Masahiro Yamamoto of the Japan Meteorological Agency, a tsunami specialist, will be dispatched to the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of Untied Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and he is going to be involved with the Unit for Global Operation Ocean Observation and Hazard Warning part of UNESCO. He is going to be involved in an effort to create an international tsunami early warning system, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
- Visits to Japan by foreign dignitaries for the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan
Mr. Taniguchi: The 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan ended officially last Sunday. From the perspective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it has been very successful in the sense that there have been a number of visits of dignitaries and leaders from a number of nations. There have been handouts about that. Also about the state visits and dignitary visits from various nations to the Aichi Expo, there were 9 kings or other royalty, 18 presidents or former presidents, 8 vice presidents, 16 prime ministers, 9 vice ministers, and 132 ministers who came from abroad to Aichi. Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress met 33 guests, and Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Princess met 15 guests. President Jacques Chirac of the French Republic, President Horst Koehler of the Federal Republic of Germany, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, and lots of others came to visit the Aichi Expo.
- Japan-United Mexican States foreign ministers' meeting
Mr. Taniguchi: There was a bilateral foreign ministers' meeting between Japan and the United Mexican States yesterday.
- Grant aid to Iraq
Mr. Taniguchi: Let me briefly introduce what Japan is going to do in Iraq: (1) Project for Improvement of Chest Diseases and anti-Tuberculosis Center, up to US$796,100, (2) Project for Improvement of Allergy and Asthma Center, up to US$740,562, (3) Project for Improvement of Special Center for Dental Care, up to US$335,108, and (4) Project for Improvement of Medical Instruments for Central Health Laboratory, up to US$547,500.
- Japan-Russian Federation bilateral meeting
Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly, there was a visit to Japan by the head of the tourism agency of the Russian Federation, who met with Mr. Takeshi Yagi of the Foreign Ministry. They agreed on the necessity to ease restrictions on visas to Russian tourists. He returned to Russia on Sunday, 25 September.
- Questions concerning Japan-People's Republic of China talks on the East China Sea issue
Q: Regarding the dispute with the People's Republic of China over the gas field developments in the East China Sea, have any specific dates been decided on when Japan and China will hold the talks in Tokyo? Also at this meeting, what kinds of demands is Japan going to make?
Mr. Taniguchi: In terms of demands, Japan has long been demanding the Chinese side to just sit down and talk, and exchange information about the resources and about what each side has been doing, and that is going to be an important first step to be taking. But we have to meet constantly with each other and just talk over this issue, so it is encouraging that both sides are able to come to the table and discuss matters.
In terms of the schedule, both parties have been engaged in the discussions as to when but so far I cannot see. The process is still ongoing, but it is not that far off, of course.
Q: Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Shoichi Nakagawa said yesterday that the meeting would be sometime in Tokyo, but the Chinese report that the venue had not been decided, apparently although not specifically contradicting Minister Nakagawa. Is Minister Nakagawa right? Is the venue going to be Tokyo?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well, when it comes to the schedule it is subject to abrupt changes. So what you have just said is about all that I can say. It is going to be within the week, but the exact day and time are not yet decided.
Q: So the venue may not be Tokyo?
Mr. Taniguchi: In principle what you have said is right, and I am not aware of any changes.
Q: As far as you understand it will be in the latter half of this week in Tokyo?
Mr. Taniguchi: Yes.
Q: Also, according to today's Nikkei Shimbun Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) is boosting surveillance in the East China Sea over the disputed territory. Can you confirm that?
Mr. Taniguchi: I was not aware of that. Of course Japan's MSDF has long been engaged in elaborate surveillance activities, but I am not aware if they are geared towards this disputed area.
Q: Will anyone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be taking part in the meetings this weekend?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well that depends on what you mean by "part of." Of course the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in close touch with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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