Press Conference 10 February 2006
- Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on the local elections in the Kingdom of Nepal
- Visit to Japan by young members of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
- Seminar on International Peace Cooperation "Role of Various Stakeholders in Post-Conflict Cooperation: Their Strategic Collaboration, Challenges, and Implication for Japan's International Peace Cooperation"
- Grant aid to the Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Follow-up question concerning Press Secretary's statement on the local elections in Nepal
- Questions concerning the Fourth Japan-China Comprehensive Policy Dialogue
- Questions concerning sale of whale meat
- Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations on the local elections in the Kingdom of Nepal
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Thank you for coming. For today's conference, I have just a handful of announcements to make.
The first one concerns a statement issued by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, and that is about the local elections in the Kingdom of Nepal. The gist of it goes as follows:
Japan deplores that the municipal election in the Kingdom of Nepal was held without a broad support of the people of Nepal. Japan also regrets that many persons concerned with political parties were arrested in the process. In addition, Japan strongly condemns the acts of violence including the killing of civilians.
Japan continues to urge the Maoists to halt the acts of violence and achieve peace through dialogue.
- Visit to Japan by young members of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
Mr. Taniguchi: The next one is about the visit to Japan by young members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The visit is from 13 to 19 February, and nine members of the Russian Duma led by Deputy of the State Duma Victor Leonidovich Nefedov are going to visit Japan. The purpose is to have a meeting with Japan-Russia Junior Representatives' Assembly to exchange opinions with Diet members and so on.
Looking at the list, the nine members are pretty much young, most in their 30s or 40s.
- Seminar on International Peace Cooperation "Role of Various Stakeholders in Post-Conflict Cooperation: Their Strategic Collaboration, Challenges, and Implication for Japan's International Peace Cooperation"
Mr. Taniguchi: The third item is about a seminar on international peace cooperation entitled "Role of Various Stakeholders in Post-Conflict Cooperation: Their Strategic Collaboration, Challenges, and Implication for Japan's International Peace Cooperation." That is going to be held on 17 February at the Osaka International Convention Center. The organizers are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP).
If I can introduce some of the panelists and speakers, they include Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, former Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General; Ambassador Joseph Caron, Ambassador of Canada in Japan; and Colonel Garland H. Williams, Commander of the United States Army Garrison of Japan. These people are going to be joined by Japanese experts for this seminar largely to say how important it is for nations to cooperate in post-conflict situations.
Related Information (Seminar on International Peace Cooperation [PDF]
) - Grant aid to the Lao People's Democratic Republic
Mr. Taniguchi: The fourth is the last one, which is about the grant aid to the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The first one is for the Project for the Improvement of District Hospitals amounting to approximately US$1.3 million. The second one is for the Project for Vientiane Water Supply Development, the amount of which is approximately US$360,000.
- Follow-up question concerning Press Secretary's statement on the local elections in Nepal
Q: It is about Nepal. Quite a strong worded statement was issued by Japan. If the Nepalese Government continues to disregard international opinion, is there any possibility on the part of Japan to impose any harsher measures like sanctions or cancellation of aid to Nepal?
Mr. Taniguchi: I think it is a farfetched question I am afraid I have to say. We are watching very much carefully, with the keenest interest, the situation evolving in Nepal. We are sending a strong signal to the people in Nepal that peace and stability have to be preserved and democracy has to be enhanced. We are hoping very much that Nepal can be a full fledged member of the international community following some of the globally accepted principles like preserving peace and democracy.
- Questions concerning the Fourth Japan-China Comprehensive Policy Dialogue
Q: We seem to have very little official information coming out about the current discussions between Japan and the People's Republic of China in Japan. I know Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso met with Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dai Bingguo of China last evening, and there are meetings going on today. First of all, what can you tell us? And if you cannot tell us very much, is there an agreement or a move to sort of keep these discussions low key?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well this is not the first attempt; this is actually the fourth such meeting, and it is called Comprehensive Policy Dialogue between the vice ministers from both nations, Japan and China. This was started in order for both nations to have as much as possible a cordial atmosphere in which to talk about a lot of things depending on the situation. So to preserve the spirit as such, it is basically a closed door meeting. The press is not allowed to see what is happening. In order to maintain this atmosphere, in order to maintain the spirit in which they can talk freely without any constraint, I should refrain from making any other comments.
But I can tell you that as far as the meeting between Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Foreign Minister Aso is concerned, that was conducted in a very much friendly atmosphere. Foreign Minister Aso expressed that he was very much glad to see Mr. Dai Bingguo for the first time since he became Foreign Minister last fall. So this is part of the ongoing discussions and meetings between the two parties.
Let me just also introduce another meeting that took place this week between Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Meng Xiao Si, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture of China. She was hosted by Mr. Shiozaki at the Guest House of the Foreign Ministry. The dinner was a good one-I can tell you that because I was a member of the dinner party. They talked a lot about how important it would be for both nations, Japan and China, to exchange young people, i.e. high school students and so on, between them. So the discussions between the two vice ministers are going on against that sort of backdrop.
Q: Just for informational purposes, after the conclusion of the talks which I believe is tomorrow, do you know whether there will be any press statement or news conference by Foreign Minister Aso, Japanese counterparts or yourself?
Mr. Taniguchi: There is going to be no press conference, and there is going to be no press occasion. No statement is going to be issued.
Q: I believe Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo at the start of the meeting yesterday said something like he heard a lot about Foreign Minister Aso making statements on China. Do you have any remarks with regard to Foreign Minister Aso's previous so-called controversial remarks on Yasukuni Shrine and so forth?
Mr. Taniguchi: I should refrain from making any comment on that because it was just a courtesy call and a short meeting. Foreign Minister Aso was very much glad that he was finally able to meet the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from China. Foreign Minister Aso did talk about such issues as post-Cold War international order in response to the question that Mr. Dai Bingguo raised. Other than that, I do not think I can tell you more.
- Questions concerning sale of whale meat
Q: There is a story that was put out on the wires yesterday that Japanese Government-affiliated associations are attempting to promote the sale and consumption of whale meat in Japan amid a reported glut of whale meat. I am wondering if this does not sort of undermine the Japanese Government's stance that Japan's whaling is for scientific purposes. Now we are hearing about reports of a glut of whale meat on the market. Could you clarify for us Japan's stance on whaling? As you know there have been a lot of very negative diplomatic reactions to the most recent activities in the southern ocean. What is your response to this?
Mr. Taniguchi: I am very much glad that you have raised that question. I have been aware of that article, which I believe was written by a Japanese reporter and has been run by a host of newspapers worldwide. The start of the article was misleading in a sense; it said something like Japan now kills more mammals, meaning whales, than its consumers care to eat. This gives a false impression, as if Japan is doing this in order to sell the meat for the nation to eat it. That is absolutely incorrect needless to say. It is very much essential to obtain the best scientific information in order to establish an appropriate conservation and management of cetacean resources, which is one of the objectives of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Let me take this opportunity to set some of the data straight.
Starting from June 2005 and ending in November 2010, Japan is conducting a program in the Antarctic Ocean region to capture 850 minke whales, 50 fin whales, and 50 humpback whales. That is in the Antarctic region. In the Northwest Pacific, during the period Japan is going to capture 220 minke whales, 50 tropical whales, 100 sei whales, and 10 sperm whales. This amount for the minke whales is small in proportion to the several hundred thousand minke whales believed to be living or existing in the world.
Let me put it this way. Sometimes you have to kill a deer or two but you do not have to get them dissected because you know they have eaten the tulip bulbs in your garden. But as far as whales are concerned, you really have to because if you want to know what they have eaten, you have to have them dissected. They are, as you know, big eaters of fish. One of the objectives of the scientific research that Japan has been conducting is to see whether or not good equilibrium is maintained in the ocean and what is happening to the food chain in the ocean.
In order for Japan to conduct the research activities, we are using approximately US$49 million in FY2005 for research objectives, and only 10% is coming from the national budget. The rest, namely 90%, has been funded by the money obtained by selling the meat to the marketplace. Whether or not there is an increased amount of inventory is absolutely a matter of supply and demand in the marketplace. As was mentioned by this very article, there has been a decreased appetite for whale meat, so the supply-demand balance situation is changing in that sense. It is absolutely incorrect to believe that the Japanese Government is doing this to sell the whale meat to the nation.
Q: My understanding was that as you mentioned there does appear to be a supply and demand situation so we have an increased amount of inventory perhaps. Can you confirm that Japanese Government programs or affiliated institutions of the Japanese Government are trying to promote the consumption of whale meat?
Mr. Taniguchi: I cannot confirm because I do not have any knowledge about it. As I mentioned, 90% of the budget for research activities is coming from the sales of the meat. There lies the background for the Japanese Government to sell as much meat as possible in order to maintain the research activities. But the important thing is that we have to maintain these research activities which actually have been very much highly appreciated by the international organization because they have been one of the few resources for obtaining scientific knowledge about how these kinds of mammals are living in the ocean, and as I said, whether or not good equilibrium is maintained in terms of the food chain in the ocean. Some people may say that you have to see the mammals and that would suffice. That is not actually the case either. Sometimes you have to really capture whales, and I will tell you why.
There is a breed called baleen whale, and say you want to know how old a baleen whale is. In order for you to know that, you have to capture the whale and get the cerumen, or in terms of tooth whales, you really have to get it and get a tooth or two to see how old it is. So it is not enough only to look at the whales from a ship. You really have to capture them if you want to know how old a baleen whale or a tooth whale is.
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