Press Conference, 6 February 2007

Signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Speech by Vice-Minister Hamada at the Free Children from War Conference in Paris
Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Luis Amado of the Portuguese Republic
Arab-Islamic Journalists Meeting in Tokyo
Emergency assistance to the Republic of Indonesia
Question concerning the Six-Party Talks
Question concerning Japan's value oriented diplomacy

I. Signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon, for my opening statements today I have a couple of points to make.

The first one is on a new international convention that the United Nations General Assembly adopted in December last year, 2006, which has a great deal of relevance to the abduction issue that lies between Japan and the regime in Pyongyang.

Called the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, or in shortened form, Convention on Enforced Disappearance, it would recognize the right of persons not to be subjected to enforced disappearance, regardless of circumstances, and the right of victims to justice and reparation. It would commit states party to it to criminalize enforced disappearance, to bring those responsible to justice, and to take preventive measures.

Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masayoshi Hamada is in Paris to sign the Convention at a signing ceremony scheduled today, 6 February.

The significance of the Convention is to confirm enforced disappearance such as abduction in the international community as punishable crime, and to deter crimes of this nature from being repeated in the future.

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II. Speech by Vice-Minister Hamada at the Free Children from War Conference in Paris

Meanwhile, Vice-Minister Hamada also attended yesterday an international conference called "Free Children from War" to address the issues of children in armed conflict. The Government of the Republic of France and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) hosted the Paris conference, and Vice-Minister Hamada delivered a speech, highlighting some of the assistance that the Japanese Government has provided, like the one called "Youth at Risk Integration Project" in the Republic of Congo.

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III. Visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Luis Amado of the Portuguese Republic

Mr. Taniguchi: Next, Minister for Foreign Affairs Luis Amado of the Portuguese Republic came to Tokyo this morning, 6 February, as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is meeting His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito tomorrow. When he meets Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso tomorrow evening, both Ministers are signing a memorandum setting out that Director-General level consultations will be held on a yearly basis, alternately in Tokyo and in Lisbon. Mr. Amado is leaving Japan on 8 February.

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IV. Arab-Islamic Journalists Meeting in Tokyo

Mr. Taniguchi: Now, on 8 February, Foreign Press Centre Japan (FPCJ) is holding the Second Japan-Arab Islamic Journalists Meeting, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The thread of the topics to be discussed is dubbed as "the Role of the Media in Multi-Cultural Society," and leading journalists from such media organizations as Al-Ahram Newspaper of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Jordan News Agency PETRA of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Al-Hayat Newspaper of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are joining to meet their counterparts from Japan. To know more, I should suggest that you take a look at the FPCJ web site.

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V. Emergency assistance to the Republic of Indonesia

Mr. Taniguchi: Last, the Government of Japan has decided to provide emergency assistance in kind, comprising blankets, sleeping mats, plastic sheets and polyethylene containers, equivalent to approximately 15 million yen, to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for its large-scale floods in the Jakarta Province and neighboring areas.

That is all for today. Any questions, please?

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VI. Question concerning the Six-Party Talks

Q: The Six-Party Talks are going to take place on Thursday. I understand that Japan has repeatedly said that without resolution of the abduction issue, it will not provide economic or energy assistance to North Korea. On the other hand, apparently some participants like the Republic of Korea (ROK) have indicated a positive stance to providing economic or energy assistance to North Korea. Given that situation, it looks like there might be a possibility that these two stances might undermine the efforts for the five parties to show a common front in dealing with North Korea. How does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs see this situation?

Mr. Taniguchi: I recall that I have touched upon this very question a couple of times before, and I should repeat what I have said already: that is, that the abduction issue is probably among the most important issues lying between North Korea and Japan, but it is not to say that Japan is single-mindedly focused on the abduction issue. As has been said repeatedly by Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso and others, including myself, the aim of the Six-Party Talks is primarily to effectively and concretely denuclearize North Korea. From the Japanese perspective, three items, namely the denuclearization and the freezing of missile programs and the abduction issue equally are important to make the single package that the Government of Japan is pursuing earnestly. The Government of Japan is among the most enthusiastic partners in the Six-Party Talks framework to actually push North Korea to effectively, and I would repeat concretely, denuclearize itself.

VII. Question concerning Japan's value oriented diplomacy

Q: I would like to ask about Japan's "value oriented diplomacy" that has been emphasized recently. What is the background for the emergence of this new diplomacy? And how will this value-oriented diplomacy be applied to the People's Republic of China?

Mr. Taniguchi: The gist of "value oriented diplomacy," which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been promoting recently, is that the Government of Japan will assist various developing countries in establishing firm roots of democracy, human rights, rule of law, and the market economy, which flourishes only when these values are achieved.

As to why we are pursuing this policy now, there are two answers I can give. First, it has been more than ten years since the end of the Cold War, and there are a number of formerly communist nations that are already taking steps on their own towards democracy. It is easy to talk about democracy, but since it takes several generations for it to establish truly stable roots, Japan has a strong desire to assist in this process. In addition, against this background, the more countries that share such common basic values as democracy, market economy, rule of law, and human rights, the more stable a world order we will have. This is one consensus that the humanity has reached over the years. So based on this consensus, the Japanese Government intends to help the kind of values I have just mentioned take root. That is one reason.

I think that the second reason why this is happening now is due to the confidence of the Japanese people, a confidence which comes from the record of Japanese contributions to world peace. Since the 1990s, Japan has committed itself to rebuilding post-conflict nations in many places around the world. It has been over 60 years since the end of World War II. Another confidence derives from the steps that Japan as pacifist nation has taken for 60 years after World War Two. Japan has no hesitation or doubt about this. Now Japanese nationals share a sense of wide spread confidence underpinned by these two points I have made.

To sum up why Japan has raised this idea at this time, I have mentioned first the recognition of the times, and second the will of the Japanese people. But in any case, this is by no means a sudden development. In fact, Japan has been pursuing this kind of diplomacy in Asia and Africa over the last 15 years or so. What is new in Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso's speech is that he has given this responsibility a name, as he made clear in his speech.

As to how this diplomacy will apply to China, China is becoming Japan's most important economic partner, from the trade perspective. Looking at people-to-people exchange as well, every day there is exchange between more than 10,000 people. That is more than 4 million people a year. Foreign Minister Aso mentioned in his op-ed piece to the Wall Street Journal that he welcomes ten years down the road, people giving crackers to the deer in Nara Park may be mostly Chinese tourists, and Chinese may be the language most often heard at a hot spring in Hokkaido.

Democracy can take root once a broad middle class exists, and many countries are struggling to create this middle class. This is something that Japan learned through its own struggle: that once this middle class is developed, society can develop steadily. When we look at China now, we see a consensus among the Chinese people to build a stable society through economic prosperity. Our position is that Japan will do its best to help in order that this kind of stable society can develop.

Also, as China becomes one of the world's biggest economic and political powers, the more it conducts its actions in accordance with common international rules, the more it will benefit China, the Chinese economy, and the Chinese people. This is the message the Japanese Government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been sending to China for years. So, in the context of value oriented diplomacy, China is a partner that Japan wants to encourage.

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