Press Conference, 24 November 2006

Statement by the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Rapprochement between the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic
6th Japan-China-ROK Economic Director-General Consultations
The International Symposium on Human Security and Commemoration of Japan's 50 Years in the United Nations
Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Union of Myanmar, Mongolia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Republic of El Salvador
Questions concerning the Visit to Japan of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia
Questions concerning the Timeline for Resumption of the Six-Party Talks
Question concerning a Recent Visit by Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Taiwan
Questions concerning to Visit to Japan of Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

I. Statement by the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Rapprochement between the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming.

This afternoon I am going to introduce first a new Statement by the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the rapprochement of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic issued on 22 November. The statement is to welcome the rapprochement, saying that it is a positive first step forward.

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II. 6th Japan-China-ROK Economic Director-General Consultations

Mr. Taniguchi: Next, on Tuesday next week, 28 November, the three countries of Japan, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) will have the 6th Japan-China-ROK Economic Director-General Consultations, in Seoul, ROK.

The Director-General level tripartite consultations began in January 2002, with the first one in Tokyo. The second took place in November the same year in Hangzhou, China, and the third, fourth, and fifth, in November 2003 in Seoul, October 2004 in Tokyo, and November 2005 in Beijing, respectively.

During the two-day session this year, the Directors-General will review the so-called Action Strategy on Japan-China-ROK Cooperation. They will also look into how they should accelerate the negotiations for the projected tripartite investment agreement.

For those of you interested in the Action Strategy signed by the Foreign Ministers from the three countries in November 2004, it is very broad, covering issues that range from intellectual property rights, environmental protection, to the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations. Its English full text has since been made available on the website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If you key in "The Action Strategy on Trilateral Cooperation," the text will come up at once.

III. The International Symposium on Human Security and Commemoration of Japan's 50 Years in the United Nations

Mr. Taniguchi: Thirdly, 18 December this year will be a big day for Japan's diplomacy, as it was on that day 50 years ago, in 1956, that Japan joined the United Nations (UN). You will hear in due course what commemorative event the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host on that day, but we are going to make our annual International Symposium on Human Security also a commemorative event, of which details are as follows.

The Symposium will be held on 6 December at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In order to take part in it, both Dr. Kemal Dervis, Head of the UN Development Programme, and Mr. Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will visit Japan.

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IV. Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Union of Myanmar, Mongolia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Republic of El Salvador

Mr. Taniguchi: Finally, as usual I must say a few words on Japan's latest official development assistance (ODA) attempts.

There is a 310 million yen grant aid to the Union of Myanmar through the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

To Mongolia, we are going to provide a 200 million-yen worth of food aid and a sector-program grant aid that is 800 million yen.

To the Central American nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we are going to extend a grant aid of up to 555 million yen, which will help construct a facility for the local fishing industry.

Also in Central America, we are extending a non-project grant aid of up to 500 million yen to the Republic of El Salvador.

V. Questions concerning the Visit to Japan of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the Republic of Indonesia

Q: I have a question on President of the Republic of Indonesia Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Japan next week. What will be some of the major issues that will be discussed while he is here? I believe he is coming with a big delegation, as well. Do you have an idea of this?

Mr. Taniguchi: Obviously, the economic partnership agreement (EPA) is going to be the biggest issue.

Q: So is it likely that the EPA will actually be signed between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the President?

Mr. Taniguchi: We are very much hoping to do that

Q: What is significant about this particular EPA? Is there any specific trend as compared to some other EPAs? What are some areas that are being focused on?

Mr. Taniguchi: Basically, an EPA is different from ordinary free trade agreements (FTAs), if I may say so. Its range is broader, covering intellectual property rights and investment issues as well, and the more EPAs Japan can have with neighboring nations, for that matter, the better and more intertwined the economies of this region will become. This is because EPAs, as I said, will cover much broader aspects of bilateral economic relationships, as in this case between Indonesia and Japan.

Q: I believe that Japan imports a lot of energy-related resources from Indonesia. What about that area? What are the issues relating to that? I guess that will be a major area that will be discussed between the two countries?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, certainly.

Q: How about Japan's cooperation on the haze? That has been a major issue in Southeast Asia. Indonesia's forest fires which have been spreading, and in the Republic of Singapore and Malaysia. It has uncontrollable, and really ruining the health of many people in the region. Is Japan cooperating in that effort?

Mr. Taniguchi: I have to update my knowledge, I have not been following that issue particularly, I am sorry about that.

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VI. Questions concerning the Timeline for Resumption of the Six-Party Talks

Q: As for the Six-Party Talks on North Korea, the dates, once again. Everybody is seeking for the dates. There was a report on Asahi Online, and a Japanese Government official, namely Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, has reported a date in early December, whereas so far the US side is still saying mid-December. Can you maybe not confirm, but give some sort of indication of which is the more likely date?

Mr. Taniguchi: The answer is that I cannot. Mr. Christopher Hill, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and his counterpart in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been in close contact with one another, and we are busy scheduling that. But apart from the fact that if it is really going to be held in December, that has to be before diplomatic events such as the ASEAN+3 and East Asia Summit meetings, both of which are taking place in the Republic of the Philippines, and also before Christmas, because nothing is going to take place just before and after Christmas. So you can see how limited the time space is going to be to schedule the Six-Party Talks. Therefore, Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso once suggested that if indeed it is taking place in December it has to be some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and between Thanksgiving and the diplomatic events in the Philippines. You can get a vague idea of when that may be.

Q: Because the East Asia Summit is planned to be held in Cebu, is it still feasible from Japan's perspective to hold the Six-Party Talks beforehand?

Mr. Taniguchi: What I have said is a strong possibility, but it remains only a possibility. I cannot say anything further than that, simply because it involves a lot of scheduling efforts for the six different countries, and we are not yet able to confirm the date.

Q: I wonder why this earlier date came up from a Japanese Government official? Also, it was only reported on Asahi, but I just was wondering this date came up, and whether an earlier date would be preferable for the Government of Japan?

Mr. Taniguchi: What is most important from the Government of Japan's perspective is not necessarily when it is going to be, but on what conditions the Six-Party Talks are going to be held. We are looking at a nuclear-powered nation, a nation that is declaring that it is a nuclear power, and we are not able to tolerate such a being's entering the Six-Party Talks framework. We are working hard to come up with a set of conditions whereby the participation of the North Korean Government is going to be legitimized in the spirit of the Six-Party Talks. If you ask me what is most important for Japan's diplomacy, I would say that that is the most important factor. The scheduling is rather secondary.

Q: It is just that the media is very much after the scheduling, so that is all. As for the ASEAN and the East Asia Summit, we are aware that the East Asia Summit is to be held in Cebu, but do you already have a timeline for this trilateral summit?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, we can give you details. The preliminary schedule is soon to be made available, and I can brief you on that later on.

Q: Does that include other bilateral meetings and summits?

Mr. Taniguchi: Sure. Prime Minister Abe is scheduled to meet a number of leaders from many nations. Once again, I cannot cite who specifically Prime Minister Abe is going to meet, but on that as well you will learn in due course.

Q: You might have been asked this question before, but I wanted to ask where last year's Joint Statement stands. Since last year the situation has dramatically changed, with the North Koreans firing missiles and conducting a nuclear test. What is the status of the Joint Declaration, and is that going to be the starting point when the Six-Party Talks resume later on this year or perhaps early next year?

Mr. Taniguchi: The whole spirit and the most important part of the Joint Declaration remains intact, as well as its exact wording. The spirit is that the Korean Peninsula and North Korea have got to be denuclearized in a verifiable fashion and in an irreversible fashion. That being the crux of the whole purpose of these Six-Party Talks, it will remain intact and unscathed throughout the course of the Six-Party Talks. If your question is whether any change is going to be necessary to be put into the existing Joint Declaration, I would say no, there is no need for that to happen.

What is new is that North Korea is now openly admitting that it is a nuclear power nation, and because we cannot tolerate North Korea's continuing to be a nuclear power nation or a nation that openly claims itself as a nuclear power, nations involved in this Six-Party Talks framework have got to work very hard to establish what sort of preconditions we should put before inviting North Korea once again to these Six-Party Talks.

Q: There have been news reports quoting a very senior North Korean official saying that, these are not his exact words, but basically saying that "we have not made a bomb to relinquish." Does that not scrap the whole concept of the Joint Declaration?

Mr. Taniguchi: No, I do not think so. As I said, the Joint Declaration has got to be changed with close consultation among the participating nations. If you do not have further rounds of the Six-Party Talks, nothing is going to change in terms of the Joint Declaration either.

VII. Question concerning a Recent Visit by Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Taiwan

Q: Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori visited Taiwan earlier this week. It has been reported in a very small way, has the Government of China issued any complaints to the Government of Japan about that? Since he has met with President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan.

Mr. Taniguchi: I have not heard anything about it. Not that I know of.

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

Q: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is planning to visit Japan from next Wednesday. What would the Government of Japan like to discuss with him?

Mr. Taniguchi: I have to disappoint you a little bit by saying that this visit has been planned for many months, and it has simply become very timely, in many respects, that Dr. ElBaradei visits Japan at this point. Dr. ElBaradei is going to make public appearances once in Tokyo and once more in Kyoto, and there he is going to discuss many issues like North Korea, nuclear proliferation in general, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and so on. Between the Government of Japan and Dr. ElBaradei, those issues will certainly come up, and once again the Government of Japan is very likely to pledge its long-held non-nuclear principles. Then, as such a nation, the Government of Japan is going to encourage the IAEA to stick to its long-held policies toward the denuclearization of the entire world. But apart from that I cannot predict what meat Dr. ElBaradei and the Government of Japan are going to discuss.

Q: So he has no plans to meet with any Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) executives?

Mr. Taniguchi: Good question. There may or may not be, but I do not know.

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