Press Conference, 13 July 2007

Fourth meeting between Japan and Viet Nam on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations
Tenth Meeting of Japan-ROK Joint Committee on Cooperation in Environmental Protection
Meeting between Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenichiro Sasae and US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill
Welcoming reception for the Japan-China 21st Century Friendship Program
Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks

I. Fourth meeting between Japan and Viet Nam on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: It has been a slow week, and I have only four announcements, all rather simple, to make.

Firstly, a meeting will take place in Hoi An, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, from Wednesday, 18 July to Saturday 21 July. That will be the fourth meeting between Japan and Viet Nam on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations. The negotiations started six months ago, in January of this year, and the second and the third meeting each took place in March and June. The third one, held in Tokyo, was rich in content, for it covered a wide array of areas, like market access, rules of origin, tariff procedures, service trade, intellectual property rights, competition policies, and so on. The two governments are working hard for the early completion of the negotiations.

Related Information (Press Release)

II. Tenth Meeting of Japan-ROK Joint Committee on Cooperation in Environmental Protection

Mr. Taniguchi: Secondly, today in Seoul the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan are holding the Tenth Meeting of Japan-ROK Joint Committee on Cooperation in Environmental Protection. For your information, we have a similar bilateral framework for dialogue between Japan and the People's Republic of China, as well as between Japan and the Russian Federation.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Meeting between Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Kenichiro Sasae and US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill

Mr. Taniguchi: Thirdly, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill will come to see his counterpart, Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at about half past five this afternoon. He is on his way to Beijing, China, where the chief representatives of the Six-Party Talks member nations will gather on 18 July.

IV. Welcoming reception for the Japan-China 21st Century Friendship Program

Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly, there was a welcoming reception last night at a hotel in Tokyo for the 400-some Chinese high school students who have just newly arrived. They came on the Japan-China 21st Century Friendship Program, which is also an integral part of the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchanges for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Program. At the reception were also some of the Japanese high school students who were from host schools like Tokyo Metropolitan Shinjuku Yamabuki High School, which is offering unique credit-based courses, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Fukagawa High School which is known for having a large number of Chinese-speakers among the students. It appeared the conversation flowed naturally between the Fukagawa students and the Chinese boys and girls.

V. Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks

Q: Mr. Hill is coming today, and I understand that he will be staying in Japan until Sunday. I was wondering if he has any other plans for talks with Japanese officials other than Mr. Sasae?

Mr. Taniguchi: I have no idea at the moment.

Q: I know that the Japanese Government has repeatedly stated its stance about the abduction issue, and I would again like to ask about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' position on the abduction issue in the sense that there has always ongoing concern that the abduction issue is tearing apart the solidarity of the six parties, putting Japan against the others. I am sure that these concerns will likely come up, especially with the financial assistance going on, and Japan is the only one not participating. How does Japan react to this?

Mr. Taniguchi: As for the importance of the abduction issue for Japan, it has been rightly understood as one of the dire concerns for Japan by other member nations including Russia, the ROK, and China, not to mention the United States (US). That is number one.

You could also say a state regime which has been willing to kidnap people from other nations can also be such a regime as to be willing to produce fissile materials in order for them to build nuclear weapons. The abduction issue in that sense is a symptom of a larger sickness on the side of the North Korean Government, and that being the crux of the issue, other nations, like Russia, the ROK, and China have been very much supportive of the stance of the Japanese Government.

Q: There are concerns that the US might remove North Korea from its terror list, but Japan does not want the US to remove North Korea because of the abduction issue. On these concerns, what would Japan do if the United States actually does remove it?

Mr. Taniguchi: My answer to that question would be that before discussing those sorts of issues, I think the US and Japan should jointly pressure North Korea in order for North Korea to come forward to the negotiation table with Japan and make themselves more clearly accountable on the abduction issue. That is the point that Japan, together with other member nations, notably the US, should nail down upon the Pyongyang side.

Q: Is Japan right now very sure that it has the full support of all five parties with regard to the abduction issue?

Mr. Taniguchi: We have a substantial amount of confidence about it, and not only among the five nations of the Six-Party Talks framework. As has been said by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister Abe has been talking to foreign leaders and dignitaries as frequently as he can possibly do (to raise the issue). I cannot recall how many times he has cited as the number of occasions on which he conveyed his concerns and intentions on the abduction issue to foreign leaders, but that is what the Japanese Government is trying hard to do, not only within the Six-Party Talks framework, but also among the wider community of nations.

Q: There was report that presented a view that Prime Minister Abe is doing double-talk; he is trying to push forward the resolution of the abduction issue but at the same time he is kind of stumping on the comfort women issue. I know that these two are separate matters, but there is this view, and I was wondering how Japan sees this kind of view?

Mr. Taniguchi: On the comfort women issue, I do not think I should repeat what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said many times so far. I think the two are totally separate issues from one another.

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