Press Conference, 12 January 2007

Announcements and documents available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website
Questions concerning the visit of Mr. Taku Yamasaki to North Korea
Questions concerning the relationship between the deployment of fighter jets with the current situation in North Korea
Follow up questions concerning the dispatch of Japanese Government Delegation for Anti-Human-Trafficking Measures
Question concerning Prime Minister Abe's meetings with the French Presidential candidates

I. Announcements and documents available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Thanks for coming, and belatedly Happy New Year to you.

I am looking at the first page of the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now. It includes a number of important announcements and information about developments on the foreign policy front.

For yesterday 11 January there are four items uploaded already, including one about grant aid to the Republic of Kenya for a project for improvement of district hospitals in the western region of Kenya.

There is an item about a provision of yen loan to the Republic of Iraq. Japan has announced its intention to provide yen loans up to the total amount of 79,837 million yen to Iraq for implementing projects such as follows. I will not read them all.

This is followed by a statement made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso on the announcement by the United States of America on US new policy in Iraq.

For today, 12 January, there are two: one which is about the visit by Islamic boarding school teachers from the Republic of Indonesia. This has been an annual event, by the way. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been inviting teachers from the Islamic boarding schools of Indonesia to let them get familiar with the education system in Japan, and to let them exchange their thoughts and visions with their counterparts in Japan.

Here is another one, which is about the dispatch of a Government Delegation on Anti-Human Trafficking Measures.

If I may consume your time a little bit more, I have a couple more items to make announcements about.

The next one is about Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Katsuhito Asano's visit to the Republic of Ecuador. He is visiting the country, Ecuador, from 13 January to 16 January. The purpose is to attend as Japan's ambassador on a special mission, the inauguration ceremony of the new president of the country, Ecuador, Mr. Rafael Correa, to be held on 15 January.

Now, from the State of Israel there is going to be a visit of Ms. Tzipi Livni, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. She is coming to Japan on Wednesday 17 January, and leaving the next day on 18 January. During her visit she will have a meeting with Foreign Minister Taro Aso and pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This will be the first visit to Japan by an Israeli Foreign Minister since Mr. Silvan Zion Shalom, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited Japan in October 2003.

II. Questions concerning the visit of Mr. Taku Yamasaki to North Korea

Q: How does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs view Mr. Taku Yamasaki's visit to North Korea.

Mr. Taniguchi: I must say I know nothing at all about his visit, about his itinerary, or about who he is meeting with, so I am afraid I cannot say anything.

Q: They have said it is an unofficial visit played by his office, and I understand that it has nothing to do with the foreign affairs, but...

Mr. Taniguchi: Nothing to do with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, right.

Q: How does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs view his visit itself? To be visiting and meeting the North Korean officials.

Mr. Taniguchi: As was stated by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, it might contradict the situation when Japan is imposing stricter sanctions against North Korea, and banning almost all officials from going back and forth between North Korea and Japan. But again, it is up to Mr. Yamasaki. We are keenly watching what he is doing, but we have not formed any opinion yet as such.

Q: Is it the view of the Japanese Government that engaging in dialog with the North Korean government, is that a form of appeasement?

Mr. Taniguchi: I should say that the ball is not in the court of Japan, but in the court of North Korea. It is North Korea's turn to come to us, the members of the Six-Party Talks framework, with feasible scenarios, with feasible plans, about how they can denuclearize, and how they can dismantle all the plants related to nuclear development, and then proceed with the Six-Party Talks framework. So it is not the time for the Japanese Government to positively engage the nation for conversation. It is the time for the Japanese Government to pressurize North Korea even further.

Q: To pressurize further?

Mr. Taniguchi: Further, yes.

III. Questions concerning the relationship between the deployment of fighter jets with the current situation in North Korea

Q: Along similar lines, it has been announced yesterday that a squadron of F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters are being deployed, I believe. Next month 12 F-22 fighters will be deployed in Kadena. Does this have anything to do with the situation in North Korea right now?

Mr. Taniguchi: Frankly speaking, I do not know anything about it, and I should not speculate any further.

Q: Was it the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was notified of these deployments, or was it the new Defense Ministry?

Mr. Taniguchi: Obviously the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I am sure the Defense Ministry as well, have been in close contact on a regular daily basis with the United States and with the Department of Defense (DOD) of the US Government, so I do not think anything comes out of the blue, if I should say so.

IV. Follow up questions concerning the dispatch of Japanese Government Delegation for Anti-Human-Trafficking Measures

Q: Could you elaborate on your earlier announcement about the dispatch of the Japanese Government Delegation for Anti-Human-Trafficking Measures. What is the purpose, and what specifically will they be doing?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, if I can tell you a little bit more about the dispatch. The Government of Japan is going to dispatch the Delegation on Anti-Human-Trafficking Measures headed by Mr. Masanori Nishi, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and composed of representatives of the ministries concerned, such as the Cabinet Secretariat, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, for five days from 15 January to 19 January to the Kingdom of Cambodia and Lao People's Democratic Republic, which are allegedly countries from which the victims come to Japan. This dispatch is aimed at combating the problems of human trafficking more efficiently. The delegation will have consultations with the concerned government agencies in the countries visited on efficient anti-human-trafficking measures, and hear about the actual conditions from international organizations and local NGOs.

Japan considers human trafficking to be a grave violation of human rights, and recognizes the urgent necessity of taking measures to combat it. Based on this recognition, it formulated a comprehensive Action Plan of Measures to Combat Trafficking in Persons in December 2004, and has taken various measures based on the plan while pursuing international cooperation. Japan has dispatched government delegations to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Columbia, Eastern Europe and other countries, based on the understanding that close international cooperation is crucial in efficiently combating human trafficking, which is a transnational organized crime, and hopes to build up closer ties and cooperation with the countries concerned through the present dispatch of a delegation to Cambodia and Laos.

That is it.

Q: Thank you.

Mr. Taniguchi: Just for your information Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is supposed to address the North Atlantic Council at 18:00 Japan time. Then he is going to head for Paris, before setting off to Cebu island, the Philippines, on Sunday 14 January. As far as the press occasion is concerned, on Saturday 13 January Prime Minister Abe is going to have a joint press conference with President Chirac in Paris at 18:10 Japan time on the Saturday.

Related Information (Press Release)

V. Question concerning Prime Minister Abe's meetings with the French Presidential candidates

Q: Will he be meeting any of the French Presidential candidates - Segolene Royal or Mr. Sarkozy?

Mr. Taniguchi: It is scheduled that Prime Minister Abe is going to meet the head of the Socialist Party and Interior Minister Sarkozy, both are supposed to meet Prime Minister Abe on Saturday 13 January.

As far as Foreign Minister Aso's schedule goes, he is in the Republic of Hungary today, meeting the President and Prime Minister, and then within today he is moving over to the Slovak Republic.

Back to Index