Press Conference, 10 November 2006

Statement on the Situation in the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Visit to Japan of Mr. Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency
Visit to Japan of Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Official development assistance (ODA) to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Republic of Zimbabwe, and the Republic of Ghana
Report of the New United Nations' (UN) High-Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence
Follow-up question concerning the Situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Follow-up question concerning the Visit to Japan of Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei
Question concerning the results of the US midterm Elections
Question concerning the Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asian Countries

I. Statement on the Situation in the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Mr. Taniguchi: Good afternoon. To start with, I must introduce what is new to you.

I am not going to say much about the newly-issued Statement on the Situation in the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories, as that is already up on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website.

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II. Visit to Japan of Mr. Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency

Mr. Taniguchi: Second, Mr. Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, arrived this morning in Tokyo for an overnight stay. He is making a courtesy call to Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso in the afternoon today.

He is running a "road show," visiting many nations to present the newest version of the Agency's signature publication, World Energy Outlook.

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III. Visit to Japan of Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Mr. Taniguchi: Third, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is visiting Japan from November 29 to December 4, as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He is making his fifth visit to Japan as IAEA Director General to exchange views with Japanese Government leaders including Foreign Minister Aso on such matters as the nuclear issue in North Korea and Iran and how the non-proliferation regime should be further strengthened. He is making public appearances in Tokyo as well as in Kyoto.

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IV. Official development assistance (ODA) to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Republic of Zimbabwe, and the Republic of Ghana

Mr. Taniguchi: The rest relates to Japan's official development assistance (ODA) attempts.

Toward the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Government of Japan has decided to extend a grant aid of up to 35 million Japanese yen to support the groundwater development project in the Central Highland Provinces, where people in the ethnic minorities have long suffered from the lack of adequate water supply. The project is to build deep wells and thereby dramatically improve the supply of water to the region's 45,000 people.

The Government of Japan and the United Nations have decided to extend assistance totaling approximately US$1.4 million to the Republic of Zimbabwe through the Trust Fund for Human Security. The money will be used to help boost a project to empower teachers and students at the country's schools so that they can become evangelists to spread the values of health and nutrition.

In another African nation, the Republic of Ghana, a project with a long name which I should nonetheless cite as it speaks for itself, a "project for the assistance to the refugees of the UNHCR settlements in Buduburam and Krisan for their repatriation, local integration, and resettlement through micro and small-scale enterprise development," is going on. The Government of Japan and the UN decided to extend assistance totaling about US$1.7 million through the Trust Fund for Human Security to that project.

V. Report of the New United Nations' (UN) High-Level Panel on System-Wide Coherence

Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly, we have just issued a press release in order to welcome the newly-published UN report of what is called a High-Level Coherence Panel. In terms of the report and about the Panel, you may want to go have a look at them at the relevant website of the United Nations. I should only remind you that the Government of Japan, represented by Senior Vice-Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare Keizo Takemi, has always been beside UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in his attempt to publish the report for sweeping UN overhaul.

VI. Follow-up questions concerning the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Q: Related to your concern about the Israel/Palestinian situation, I remember Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi proposed the so-called Corridors for Peace and Prosperity. Is anything going on on this project?

Mr. Taniguchi: The project gained support, both moral and otherwise, from the leaders in the region, and the project has got to be supported also by the pledge of the Government of Japan in giving financial aid and other assistance to the Palestinian Territories and the surrounding region. Actually, Dr. Tatsuo Arima, who is the Japanese Government's Special Envoy to the Palestinian peace process, is in the region talking to officials with the Israeli Government, the Palestinian Authority, and the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic to exchange views about what is to be done as a next step in that project. But I do have to say that because of the tumultuous situation in that area, the progress has been made slower than originally planned. Nonetheless, everyone assumed that this would take a lot of time to accomplish; the only thing is we have to proceed slowly but steadily.

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VII. Follow-up question concerning the visit to Japan of Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei

Q: Regarding Dr. ElBaradei's visit, do you have the date when he is meeting up with Mr. Aso? Or any specific dates?

Mr. Taniguchi: I cannot release the full details of his itinerary, but I can give you a brief idea of what is happening. He is coming to Japan directly from Vienna on Wednesday, 29 November, and he is meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso during his stay in Japan. He is also scheduled to give speeches in Tokyo and Kansai area.

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VIII. Question concerning the results of the US midterm elections

Q: Following the results of the midterm elections in the US, there is speculation that President George W. Bush might change his position on the situation in the Republic of Iraq, as well on North Korea in terms of taking a moderate stance toward North Korea. How would the Japanese Government react? How will the Japanese Government react if there were to be such a change in position?

Mr. Taniguchi: As you know, it is always virtually impossible for people like me to answer questions based on speculations. In terms of Iraq, the Japanese engagement in Iraq in providing logistical support using the assets of the Air Self-Defense Force is still going to continue, and we are pledging that so far as the need is there we are going to provide that, and the presence of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces is going to be reviewed constantly, taking into consideration such factors as the situation in the local area, the intentions of the Iraqi Government, and what other coalition members view the situation.

In terms of North Korea, the two resolutions that the UN has passed since summertime have got to be kept, and we are still committed very much to cementing the unified front that is being created and strengthened in the aftermath of the alleged nuclear test by North Korea. Other than that there is very little that I can say to your question.

IX. Question concerning the Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asian Countries

Q: Relating to the Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asian Countries, is that somehow related to the latest developments surrounding North Korea? Or does it have nothing to do with it?

Mr. Taniguchi: Not directly. It had been planned long since, but we are taking advantage of all sorts of possibilities to show the world and North Korea how important it is to maintain and strengthen the non-proliferation regime, and you are looking at a state which is violating that very regime openly. You could say the same with the visit of the Director General of the IAEA. That visit itself has also been long planned, and yet the Government of Japan and the IAEA got to work together to do exactly the same: to show to the world, and to North Korea in particular, the importance of strengthening the non-proliferation regime.

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