Press Conference, 19 January 2007

Announcements Available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website
Visit to Japan by Prof. Ing Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic
Visit to Japan by Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Japan-Arab Islamic Journalists Meeting in Tokyo
Reception for the Heart-to-Heart Exchange Program
Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks
Question concerning Visits by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro Yachi to the Russian Federation and People's Republic of China
Question concerning China's Test Satellite
Question concerning Prime Minister Abe's Recent Visits to Europe and the East Asia Summit (EAS)

I. Announcements Available on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Website

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon.

As usual, let me remind you that the following items are already uploaded on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

The Fifth Informal Meeting on Further Actions against Climate Change;

The Fourth Asian Senior-Level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP);

The second round of negotiations for free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC);

and the Invitation Program for Colombians concerned with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

II. Visit to Japan by Prof. Ing Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic

Mr. Taniguchi: In addition to those, let me introduce also a couple of more items, the first of which is about the visit to Japan of His Excellency Professor Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, and Mrs. Klausova. They will pay an official visit to Japan from 13-16 February. During their stay in Japan, President and Mrs. Klausova will make a state call on Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will host a court luncheon in honor of President and Mrs. Klausova. The President will also hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Government of Japan sincerely welcomes the visit of President and Mrs. Klausova, which will further strengthen the friendly relations between Japan and the Czech Republic.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Visit to Japan by Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mr. Taniguchi: Next, let me also tell you that there is going to be a visit by Ms. Louise Arbour, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights. Ms. Arbour will visit Japan 25-27 January as a guest of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. During her stay Ms. Arbour will exchange views with Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso and other senior officials of the Government of Japan on UN reform in the field of human rights, including the establishment of the Human Rights Council and how to deal with human rights issues in the international community, including North Korea.

Related Information (Press Release)

IV. Japan-Arab Islamic Journalists Meeting in Tokyo

Mr. Taniguchi: Also, let me say that a Japan-Arab Islamic Journalists Meeting will be held on 8 February in Tokyo. This is the second such meeting, and it will feature five journalists from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Japan as panelists. It is in a symposium form, and the main theme is the role of the media in multicultural society.

Related Information (Press Release)

V. Reception for the Heart-to-Heart Exchange Program

Mr. Taniguchi: Let me also highlight that the so-called Heart-to-Heart Exchange Program conducted by the Japan Foundation, inviting high school students from the People's Republic of China is going to hold a reception on the 1 February, because from 31 January until 27 February, 40 young people, mostly high school students, from China are scheduled to visit Japan and to spend as long as two weeks actually going to high schools in a host of different places in Japan, like Osaka, Hyogo, Shimane, Okinawa, Hokkaido, and so on. This is part of the ongoing effort jointly conducted by the Japan Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

VI. Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks

Q: Negotiations are ongoing to restart the Six-Party Talks, and as part of it US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill is now in Seoul. He is coming to Tokyo on Saturday and right after that going to Beijing. About tomorrow; in whatever way you could disclose, do you have any information as to what time exactly he is coming to Tokyo?

Mr. Taniguchi: I am afraid I do not. He is coming to Tokyo tomorrow. As to what time that is going to be, and when and where the meeting between Mr. Hill and his counterpart, probably Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take place, I cannot give you any details at the moment.

Q: Basically the agenda is that Mr. Hill is going to brief Mr. Sasae on the Berlin talks?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, I think that is going to be the case.

Q: And Japan for its part has no plans for saying anything? No plans for proposing anything?

Mr. Taniguchi: In terms of proposals as such, I have heard nothing about it. It is always important for the members of the Six-Party Talks framework to cement ties among themselves in order to have as unified a front as possible towards North Korea, and Mr. Hill's visit, "shuttle diplomacy" if you like, between many parts of the world is I think part of that effort.

Q: There are a lot of reports that the Six-Party Talks could resume next week. Others, like the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Yonhap have said by 18 February. There is no information from the Japanese side as to when?

Mr. Taniguchi: I am afraid I should not speculate on that point, but I can only say that we are expecting to have it as soon as possible.

VII. Question concerning Visits by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro Yachi to the Russian Federation and China

Q: In the upcoming visit of Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro Yachi to the Russian Federation and to China next week, they have said that they are going to talk about issues of mutual concern. That probably would mean that with Russia they are going to talk about the Four Northern Islands issue and with China about the gas dispute, as well as the North Korea nuclear standoff.

Mr. Taniguchi: I think that is definitely going to be the case. They are going to talk on a host of issues with the spirit that the conversations will have to take place in a very casual, relaxed fashion. I do not think I can tell you anything about the agenda as such that Vice-Minister Yachi and his counterparts are going to look at, but definitely those issues that are very important between Japan and Russia and between Japan and China are going to be dealt with, in addition to many other items.

VIII. Question concerning China's Test Satellite

Q: On an entirely different topic, the report of the apparent action by China, the missile test to bring down a satellite, do you have any information apart from what Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said earlier, that they have asked China for more information?

Mr. Taniguchi: As you point out, Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso touched on that subject in answering a question about the missile launch, and then said that the Government of Japan is requesting that the Chinese Government provide as much information as possible to the Japanese side. We are talking to the Chinese side through a diplomatic channel. Other than that, I have got nothing to add.

IX. Question concerning Prime Minister Abe's Recent Visits to Europe and the East Asia Summit (EAS)

Q: About the summit that just finished, as well as Prime Minister Abe's Europe trip, how does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assess the trip from the standpoint of gaining the support and understanding of European and ASEAN countries with regard to the abduction issue? Do you think that somehow Prime Minister Abe's trip was able to draw understanding and support?

Mr. Taniguchi: I would rather ask you not to focus single-mindedly on the abduction issue, which is only part of the overall agenda that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touched on with his counterparts in Europe and among Asian nations. We were all gratified to see that in the East Asia Summit (EAS) and in other meetings that President Gloria Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines chaired, the abduction issue was specifically mentioned.

That was a very good thing, but if you look at the overall accomplishments of Prime Minister Abe, I think the common sense is that it was a remarkably successful trip, stretching from Europe to Asia, and as was mentioned repeatedly, that his attendance at the North Atlantic Council (NAC) meeting was a historic landmark for Japan's diplomacy in the sense that it made it much closer to democratic allies, notably North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) nations, and showed Japan's strong aspiration to collaborate still further with like-minded peers for the promotion of peace and stability not only in this part of the world, but also globally.

It was also good that the Prime Ministerial visit to Europe was accompanied by a Foreign Ministerial visit to the central and eastern parts of Europe. That was also very good in that it made it possible for Japan to send a clear message to the people of the central and eastern parts of Europe that Japan will be there beside them to help them build their own market economies and own democracies. I think that I can tell you on behalf of my colleagues within this Ministry that everyone is looking at both Prime Minister Abe's and Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso's trips to Europe, and in the case of the Prime Minister to Asia, have been a remarkable success.

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