Press Conference, 6 March 2007

Visit to Japan by President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia
Seventh High Level Consultation between Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso
Convening of the Japan-North Korea Working Group
Follow-up questions concerning the Japan-North Korea Working Group
Question concerning the possible visit to Japan by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
Questions concerning the Japan-Republic of Korea Strategic Dialogue

I. Visit to Japan by President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon.

For my opening statement I have two points, both of which are closely related to what I have been referring to as the AFP initiative or the initiative to create an Arc of Freedom and Prosperity.

The point number one is that from Wednesday, 7 March until Sunday, 11 March, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia and Mrs. Sandra Elizabeth Roelofs, the First Lady of Georgia, will pay a working visit to Japan.

During their stay, the President and the First Lady will be received in audience by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan. President Saakashvili will also hold meetings with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as Speaker of the House of Representatives Yohei Kono.

Both governments will issue a Joint Statement in which Japan, as has been the case, will highly value Georgia's efforts to promote freedom and prosperity through such initiatives as the Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (GUAM) Organization for Democracy and Economic Development and the Community of Democratic Choice (CDC), both of which Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso specifically highlighted in his speech on the AFP, dated 30 November last year.

As this will be the first visit to Japan for the President and the First Lady, they will spend two days in the Kansai area, looking around Kyoto and watching the Sumo matches where their country's proud sons are now playing. It is to be hoped the visit will make a landmark to get both nations closer together.

Related Information (Press Release)

II. Seventh High Level Consultation between Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Mr. Taniguchi: That being point number one, the point number two is that Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will hold their seventh High Level Consultation tomorrow in Tokyo.

Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Mitoji Yabunaka will lead the Japan team, comprising officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, whose top participant is Director General for International Affairs Masaru Tsuji, and from the NATO side Ambassador Martin Erdmann, the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy will join, heading his team.

The Japan-NATO High Level Consultation came into being in 1993, and tomorrow's seventh meeting is to follow the last one both sides held in April 2006 in Brussels.

You may recall both Foreign Minister Aso and Prime Minister Abe have recently been to the North Atlantic Council (NAC), NATO's highest decision-making body, addressed the NAC, and cemented bilateral ties.

Indeed, closer cooperation between Japan and NATO is one of the key linchpins for both sides to effectively lead such nations as the Islamic State of Afghanistan toward a more stable path for democracy and development, once again, an important exercise for the AFP initiative.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso

Mr. Taniguchi: Speaking of the AFP, Foreign Minister Aso will further elaborate himself on that initiative in a speech he will give on 12 March to the Japan Forum on International Relations.

IV. Convening of the Japan-North Korea Working Group

Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly I must warn you that I have almost nothing to add to what you may have already been aware of about the Japan-North Korea Working Group discussion that will convene officially in Hanoi, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, tomorrow.

V. Follow-up questions concerning the Japan-North Korea Working Group

Q: You said that there is nothing to add on the Japan-North Korea Working Group, but I just wanted to confirm, has Japan proposed this before? When did Japan to propose to North Korea setting up separate sessions on abduction and settlement of past under the Working Group?

Mr. Taniguchi: I think you are referring to what Foreign Minister Aso said this morning to the members of the press, that it is desirable that Japan and North Korea can have two tracks, one for abduction, and the other for the normalization of the relationships. I do not know when or whether or not the Japanese side exactly made the proposal to the North Korean side, so I cannot say anything.

Q: Why does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs see this as more effective? I guess that it is more efficient?

Mr. Taniguchi: We would like to focus on abduction very much, and we would also think it important for the normalization talk to go on, so in order to achieve the maximum efficiency, probably the two-track approach would be desirable, as was said by the Foreign Minister. But again, as he said, I am not sure whether North Korean human resources in their Foreign Ministry would enable the two-track approach to actually take shape.

VI. Question concerning the possible visit to Japan by the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

Q: On a totally different topic, it has been reported that the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand might be coming to Japan. Any updates on that?

Mr. Taniguchi: I am afraid I cannot confirm.

VII. Questions concerning the Japan-Republic of Korea Strategic Dialogue

Q: Any updates on the Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Strategic Dialogue? Yonhap reported 12 March, and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro Yachi himself also said that.

Mr. Taniguchi: I understand it will be a matter of time for the Japanese side to make an announcement. This will be the first meeting for the new Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ROK to meet his counterpart, Mr. Shotaro Yachi, and so it will be a very important talk, of course.

Q: Sometime this week?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, sometime this week.

Q: Naturally the Six-Party Talks, the North Korean issue, would be discussed?

Mr. Taniguchi: I think so.

Back to Index