Press Conference, 13 November 2008

The Situation in the Eastern Congo
UN High-Level Dialogue Special Meeting on understanding between religions and civilizations
Question concerning the Japan-South Korea Security Dialogue in Fukuoka
Question concerning the holding of a trilateral summit in Fukuoka
Question concerning abductee Kyoko Matsumoto
Question concerning Prime Minister Aso's visit to Washington, D.C.
Question concerning the Six-Party Talks
Questions concerning the abduction issue

I. The Situation in the Eastern Congo

Deputy Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura: First, briefly, I have two announcements.

First, concerning the situation in the Eastern Congo, the Government of Japan strongly calls for an immediate ceasefire by all armed groups, a response to the serious humanitarian situation, and immediate enforcement of the existing Peace Agreements. We also hope that H.E. Mr. Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda, and Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will have further dialogue to resolve the situation.

Japan appreciates efforts by all countries concerned in addressing the situation in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo including the Summit Meeting hosted by the African Union (AU) on November 7th in Nairobi, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) extraordinary Summit on November 9th in Pretoria, capital of the Republic of South Africa. We also hope that these efforts will pave the way for a resolution of the situation.

Related Information (Press Release)

II. UN High-Level Dialogue Special Meeting on understanding between religions and civilizations

Mr. Kawamura: Second, Mr. Masahiko Koumura, former Minister for Foreign Affairs, is now attending a Special Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York as a Special Envoy of Prime Minister Taro Aso. This Special Meeting is held from November 12th (Wed) to 13th (Thu), as a response to the initiative by the Custodian of The Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to promote a constructive dialogue on the universal values shared by all humankind, such as moderation and tolerance, to promote understanding between religions and civilizations, and to confront extremism and fanaticism.

Those are the announcements, now I would like to take your questions.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Question concerning the Japan-South Korea Security Dialogue in Fukuoka

Q: The Japan-South Korea Security Dialogue is being held in Fukuoka today. What are the issues on the agenda, and what kind of outcomes is Japan expecting?

Mr. Kawamura: The Japan-Korea Security Dialog is being held today, on the 13th, in Fukuoka. The issues that both countries will deal with include the national security situation surrounding both nations, and also their respective national security and defense policies in general. Both parties will have a broad aspect of those issues which they will discuss today.

IV. Question concerning the holding of a trilateral summit in Fukuoka

Q: Has the trilateral summit for Fukuoka been decided?

Mr. Kawamura: We are going to hold the conference toward the end of this year, but we have not decided yet the concrete date of the conference. We will make an announcement later.

V. Question concerning abductee Kyoko Matsumoto

Q: There have been reports that North Korea is going to let abductee Kyoko Matsumoto meet her family. Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received any kind of information on that from whatever channels you have? Mr. Yabunaka was saying on Monday that the Ministry is checking on the facts, and I was wondering if there has been any progress on that.

Mr. Kawamura: We have several pieces of information from various sources about Ms. Kyoko Matsumoto's issue, and also the committee of the abductee's families requested to the Cabinet Secretariat for government actions, but at this moment we cannot confirm any definite information and the situation regarding the issue, but we are going to closely monitor the situation and think of the appropriate responses to the situations.

VI. Question concerning Prime Minister Aso's visit to Washington, D.C.

Q: Do you have an idea of what Prime Minister Aso's itinerary is going to be like in Washington? He is leaving today, I believe, he is leaving this afternoon, and how long is his stay and when is he flying back?

Mr. Kawamura: My understanding is that currently the Chief Cabinet Secretary has disclosed the information. Can I get back to you later after confirmation, but my understanding is that the Prime Minister is leaving today.

[Confirmed: Prime Minister Taro Aso is visiting Washington D.C. from today, Thursday the 13th, through Saturday, the 15th. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Mr. Shoiichi Nakagawa, Finance Minister, and Mr. Jun Matsumoto, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. Prime Minister Aso is also expected to attend a dinner which President George Bush will kindly host.]

VII. Question concerning the Six-Party Talks

Q: Getting back to North Korea, what are the prospects for the Six-Party Talks being held by the end of this month? Or is it going to be postponed again?

Mr. Kawamura: We hope to hold the Six-Party Talks at the earliest possible date. As Mr. Saiki discussed with the United States recently, and also with China as chair on the issue, we would hope that there will be some positive movement on that direction, but at this point I cannot confirm that any particular date is fixed for the Six-Party Talks.

VIII. Questions concerning the abduction issue

Q: There was a Kyodo News report this morning about North Korea hinting at the existing of other Japanese nationals that it had previously refused to admit that it had abducted, apart from the 17 on Japan's official list. Do you have any comment on that? Apparently it came out in talks that were held in June in Beijing.

Mr. Kawamura: First of all, about the press report you have just mentioned, there is no factual element about the content of the press report. The press report that you have mentioned is that, if my understanding is correct, "North Korea is expressing its view to provide new information about the whereabouts of the abductees, other than the already recognized 17 people, in exchange for a progress of the Japan-North Korea bilateral consultations." There is no factual basis to this press report. That is the first point.

The second point is the Japanese Government's stance. It is the very basic stance that the Japanese Government continues to be keenly interested in promoting the negotiations with North Korea so that we have the safe return of all the abductees to Japan. So those expected actions should be based upon the agreement with the North Korean Government, which was reached last August, and North Korea agreed to take certain measures to promote this process forward. We look very much forward to seeing progress in the dialogue to have those effects.

Just to correctly clarify the content of the press report that you mentioned, the point of the press report is that there might have been hidden negotiations under the surface of the water between Japan and North Korea. In total with what I said in the beginning the description of the press report of this morning was not based upon fact.

Q: Would it be fair to say that North Korea hinted at the existence of Japanese nationals? Not to do with the way that that information was passed on to you, but would it be fair to say that they did actually hint that there are other Japanese nationals that they know the whereabouts of?

Mr. Kawamura: We cannot make any comment on what kind of dialogues or what kind of information is given by the North Korea side. It is in negotiations.

Q: I understand. But given the situation with Ms. Kyoko Matsumoto would you say that you are more optimistic now that there might be progress on this issue than you have been in the past?

Mr. Kawamura: Whether optimistic or pessimistic I cannot make a prediction or speculate what the situation will be like. In general we will do our utmost for the resolution of the issue. That is what we stand by.

No further questions? Thank you very much.

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