Press Conference 27 January 2006
- Visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the Republic of Singapore, Malaysia and the Kingdom of Thailand
- Japan-DPRK Comprehensive and Parallel Talks
- Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso on the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council
- Statement by Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on the direct talks on implementation of Cease-fire Agreements between the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
- Seminar to further understand Middle East and Islam in Yamaguchi
- Follow-up question concerning Middle East/Islam seminar
- Follow-up questions concerning the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council
- Question concerning Russian violation of Japanese airspace
- Questions concerning the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law
- Follow-up questions concerning Japan-DPRK Talks
- Visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the Republic of Singapore, Malaysia and the Kingdom of Thailand
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. The first and most important announcement that I have to make today is about the visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the Republic of Singapore, Malaysia and the Kingdom of Thailand.
His Excellency the President of the Republic of Singapore has, taking account of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in the year 2006, extended an invitation to Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to visit his country. Through a letter of His Excellency the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Government of Thailand has asked the presence of Their Majesties at the 60th Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty the King of Thailand.
In view of the friendly relations existing between Japan and these two countries, the Government of Japan has advised Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress to pay state visits, and Their Majesties have accepted the invitations.
In addition to these two countries, Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will also officially visit Malaysia. The Emperor and Empress last undertook a state visit to Malaysia in 1991.
The itinerary of the visits will be finalized after consultations with the Governments of those countries. Their Majesties are scheduled to leave Tokyo on 8 June 2006, and the duration of the visit will be about a week.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement which reads as follows:
"I am pleased to announce that Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress will pay a state visit to the Republic of Singapore and to the Kingdom of Thailand. In addition to these countries, Their Majesties will also officially visit Malaysia.
Japan has enjoyed longtime intimate friendly relations with these countries. The Republic of Singapore has requested Their Majesties' State Visit for some time. This year is a memorable year for Japan and Singapore, celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Kingdom of Thailand, based upon the long-established close relationship between the Imperial Family and the Thai Royal Family, has requested the presence of Their Majesties at this year's Sixtieth Anniversary Celebrations of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty the King Bhumibol.
Their Majesties have also been invited to Malaysia by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin who visited Japan last year as a State Guest.
I am confident that the visit will further strengthen Japan's cordial relations with these counties and I join the nation in sharing the delight.
I would like to express my sincere hope for Their Majesties' pleasant journey and safe return home."
- Japan-DPRK Comprehensive and Parallel Talks
Mr. Taniguchi: The next item is about the holding of talks between Japan and North Korea.
Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to hold Japan-DPRK Comprehensive and Parallel Talks in Beijing, the People's Republic of China from 4 February.
In the Talks, the development of the bilateral relations in general will be pursued through a comprehensive framework which consists of three consultations, namely, "The Consultations on Issues of Concern including Abduction Issues", "The Consultations on Security Issues including Nuclear and Missile Issues", and "The Normalization Talks".
The Japanese delegation will be led by Mr. Koichi Haraguchi, Ambassador in charge of Japan-DPRK Normalization Talks. The North Korean side will be led by Mr. Song Ilho, Ambassador of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK.
- Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso on the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council
Mr. Taniguchi: There are two more items, the next is the Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso, on the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The statement is as follows:
"Japan welcomes that the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council were conducted as scheduled on 25 January and appreciates the elections as an important step towards building a democratic Palestinian state.
Japan strongly expects that the Palestinian Authority, following the successful implementation of the elections, will make efforts for peace in accordance with the Roadmap, such as to control the extremists.
Japan has dispatched an election monitoring mission led by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shintaro Ito, and has also provided about U.S.$720,000 of assistance for the elections. Japan intends to continue to play an active role towards achieving the Middle East peace."
- Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on the direct talks on implementation of Cease-fire Agreements between the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Mr. Taniguchi: The next item is the statement by the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the direct talks on implementation of Cease-fire Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam(LTTE).
The Government of Japan welcomes that the Government of Sri Lanka and Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), through the facilitation of the Government of Norway, have agreed to commence talks on the implementation of Cease-fire Agreement in mid February in Geneva, Switzerland. The Government of Japan commends the role of Norway as facilitator in bringing about this important agreement.
The Government of Japan strongly hopes that escalating violence in the North and East will be stopped, and actual talks between the Government of Sri Lanka and LTTE will commence at an earliest possible date.
The Government of Japan also hopes that the peace process will be reinvigorated through such talks. The Government of Japan remains committed to supporting the efforts of the parties to the conflict towards achieving a lasting peace through pursuing the negotiated settlement of the conflict.
- Seminar to further understand the Middle East and Islam in Yamaguchi
Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly as a minor issue just as a straightforward announcement there will be a seminar about furthering the understanding of Middle East and Islamic affairs. This will be held in Yamaguchi Prefecture on 11 February. This is part of an ongoing seminar series that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Japan Foundation and other bodies has for some time been implementing. This time, Ambassador from Turkey, H.E. Mrs. Solmaz Unaydin will be making a speech.
- Follow-up question concerning Middle East/Islam seminar
Q: Just regarding the last announcement, when is the date?
Mr. Taniguchi: That is going to be 11 February (Sat) in Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In addition to the Turkish Ambassador, a gentleman called Mr. Masato Iizuka, Assistant Professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies will be making a presentation.
- Follow-up questions concerning the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council
Q: On your statement regarding welcoming the results of the elections, can you please elaborate on what you mean by "control the extremists"? Do you mean the Israeli extremists, or the Palestinian extremists?
Mr. Taniguchi: The Palestinian extremists. Given the fact that Hamas has gained the majority, which has surprised the world, it is very much important for Hamas to give up violent means to continue the pursuit of the Roadmap. So this is what is meant.
Q: Do you think it is also important for Israel to stop violent means in carrying out its policies?
Mr. Taniguchi: What is most important for both parties is to stick to the Roadmap and to move step by step on the course that has been laid out by both parties, by the Palestinians and the Israelis to seek the peaceful settlement of the issue and peaceful cohabitation in the region.
Q: Japan has been a leading country in providing assistance and support for the Palestinians. Thus is it to be understood from your statement that Japan is willing to deal with Hamas, with the will of the Palestinian people, which is shown in these elections, through the selection of many Hamas representatives.
Mr. Taniguchi: We want to wait for some time until the dust has settled. We are earnestly and keenly watching whether and how Hamas will be giving up violent means to seek their policy objectives.
Japan has been resolute in opposing any sort of terrorist activities. Until the time when any clear cut indication comes from Hamas and the government to be made in the Palestinian Territories concerning giving up terrorist activities, we should refrain from making any concrete statement, or showing you concrete views about the question you raised.
Q: So during this time, despite the fact that Hamas had not reportedly resorted to any actions of violence, there were many reported actions of violence by certain members of other parties. So is Japan asking other parties to stop this and follow the Roadmap?
Mr. Taniguchi: As a general principle, Japan has been very much opposed to any party conducting any violent means against any other.
It was very unfortunate that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi could not make his planned visit to both Israel and the Palestinian Territories in January this year. His intention was to send the message that a peaceful settlement is very much, absolutely necessary for both parties, and it is all the more important for both parties to really stick to the Roadmap.
Q: Is it safe to say that Japan will support this until you have confirmation that no violence is carries out by both parties?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well in terms of the Palestinian Territories, it is a new government. And as a new government it will take some time for them to clearly come up with policy objectives and the means with which they seek their objectives.
As it is going to be a coalition government, for anyone, be it Palestinians or Israelis, the Japanese, or any others to see clearly which direction the newly created government is headed for it will take a while. So I have to say at this moment it will be sometime for Japan to make a clearer view about the Palestinian Territories.
Q: What about this issue between Israel and Hamas, in terms of the fact that Hamas does not recognize Israel?
Mr. Taniguchi: That is exactly one of the issues that we are watching very closely.
Q: Just to clarify, the position of the Foreign Ministry in regards to the latest outcome in the Palestinian elections is that it is hoped that with Hamas gaining a more political role, there could be progress with the peace process? Does Ministry of Foreign Affairs think that it is a good thing?
Mr. Taniguchi: We have first-hand knowledge about how the elections were conducted. Because in addition to the Vice-Minister I mentioned, there are many other people who actually went to see how the elections were carried out. So we have no doubt as to the fact that the elections were conducted in a peaceful and very much democratic fashion. So it is encouraging, there is no question about it, that the people in the Palestinian region have conducted these elections. So in that way the elections were a very much welcomed one.
What I am saying is we have to wait for sometime to see what they will say to the world concerning what sort of policy objectives will be carried out and equally importantly what sort of policy means will be used in the future. So those things, in addition to of course their stance towards Israel should be the ones that Japan is very much keenly watching.
Q: Can I ask about Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso's statement that Japan will support the establishment of a Palestinian state. Principally, does that include the right for that state to have an army and defensive weapons?
Mr. Taniguchi: It will depend on many elements about which nobody can foretell at this moment. Your question depends on many various elements thus I do not think it is appropriate for me, or for anyone to make that prediction.
- Question concerning Russian violation of Japanese airspace
Q: Is there any update concerning the incident of the Russian Airplane?
Mr. Taniguchi: We have been aware of some of the reports about complicated situations, but in terms of the update, I can tell you that we have heard nothing through diplomatic channels from the Russian side.
You know that the Japanese Consulate General was given information by the Russian side about the invasion of the aircraft. However, officially through diplomatic channels, we have heard nothing. We are waiting for it to come.
Do not make this issue big, as I said yesterday in the internet chat conference, back in the 1980's scrambling take offs were taking place almost daily. The last time this happened was three or four years ago, so do not make too much fuss about this issue now. If we deal with this in a very much calm manner, it will serve both parties well.
Q: So this could just have been a simple mistake.
Mr. Taniguchi: Well, we are checking about it and so we are waiting for the Russians to give us detailed explanations on why this happened and how this happened.
- Questions concerning the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law
Q: There were some reports that Yamaha and other companies violated foreign exchange and trade laws. If you can give me a little background to this, do these laws exempt the U.S. from importing Japanese military items?
Mr. Taniguchi: As you know Japan has been faithfully following the principle that no weapons should be exported from Japan to other parties. The exception that you are talking about between Japan and the U.S. is the only exception and is connected with the joint development program between Japan and the U.S.
However, given the development of technologies, there are many many things that can be used for weapons called "dual technologies". The helicopters that you are talking about have of course been used for civilian purposes, there is no question about it. However there is always a grey zone, and so long as Yamaha is seen to have violated the clearly stated rules regarding those technologies and items being exported to other countries, I think that Yamaha has to come out and tell what they have actually been doing.
Q: Do you have any reports from the People's Republic of China on this issue?
Mr. Taniguchi: I have known that the company on the recipient side has made some statements, but officially I have heard nothing.
- Follow-up questions concerning Japan-DPRK Talks
Q: I would like some clarification concerning your statement on Japan-North Korea talks. You mentioned about security concerns related to missiles. Can you please specify what you mean exactly by the missile issue?
Mr. Taniguchi: It has been an issue that Japan and North Korea have been dealing with for some time, since the Pyongyang Declaration, which materialized when Prime Minister Koizumi first made his visit to North Korea.
I do not think there is a need to tell you that in North Korea there are a bunch of missiles with a shooting range that covers pretty much the entire part of Japan. So if there is any country that should be worried about the development of missiles in North Korea, it is Japan.
Japan has been very vocal in telling North Koreans that the development of missiles should not happen and so long as the missile plans are not abolished, there will be huge room for doubt for any parties concerned.
So that will be part of the overall security dialogue, in addition to the abduction issue, which is amongst the most important issues for the Japanese. Non-proliferation and missile still make very much an important part of the dialogue, and do not forget that missile technology can be exported from North Korea to other nations. Thus from the perspective of non-proliferation, the missile issue will remain one of the most important issues for the bilateral relations.
Q: There is significant missile trade throughout the world. However, why do you concentrate on North Korea? Do you view it that other countries are not a threat to Japan, only North Korea?
Mr. Taniguchi: I think that there is a degree of misunderstanding here if I may say so, because as a present member of the United Nations Security Council, it is one of the issues that Japan has been very concerned about and in terms of proliferation you may note that Japan has been a full fledged member of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) from the beginning. The PSI's objective is to prohibit the missile technologies and related technologies from being exported from country A to country B. Japan has been a full member of this initiative so I think that it is safe to say that Japan has been very much committed in stopping the missile trade from occurring.
Q: Does this contradict with the Japan-U.S joint development program?
Mr. Taniguchi: By no means. Because the joint program that Japan and U.S. are seeking together is exactly the opposite, it has been in order for missiles to be less and less effective. Because the joint program as you know is for both nations to develop missile defense capacity not offensive. With missile defense capacity I hope that these missiles that we are talking about will be very much meaningless. So I think that there is no degree of contradiction here.
Q: Do you think that the normalization of relations between Japan and North Korea will come before solving the missile issue?
Mr. Taniguchi: Japan has laid out its "roadmap" let's say, for the normalization very clearly. First, abduction, and other issues including nuclear and missiles, those issues have to be solved before achieving normalization.
Certainly there are three parallel tracks and we are discussing the normalization process now but the procedure is very clearly understood that the abduction and other issues have to be solved first before achieving normalization.
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