Press Conference, 1 April 2008

Announcement of the inaugural laureates of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize
Visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan of the Republic of Korea
The first Officials' Meeting for the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers' Meeting, and the first ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation
Announcement of Yen Loans
Questions concerning the Yasukuni film
Questions concerning the Dalai Lama
Questions concerning the first visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rudd of the Commonwealth of Australia
Questions concerning the 17th Japan-European Union Summit Meeting

I. Announcement of the inaugural laureates of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming.

I have four announcements to start off with.

The first is on the inaugural laureates of the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize. Japan established the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize in July 2006 to award individuals with outstanding achievements in the field of medical research and medical services in and for Africa. And, the very first prize goes to Dr. Brian Greenwood and Dr. Miriam K. Were.

Dr. Brian Greenwood, a professor of clinical tropical medicine of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is the recipient of the Prize for medical research for his bold and innovative work on malaria. At a time when malaria was spreading uncontrollably across the African continent claiming more than 1 million lives a year, Dr. Greenwood contributed to creating and designing effective strategies to control malaria.

Dr. Miriam K. Were, on the other hand, is a co-founder of the UZIMA Foundation. Uzima is the Kiswahili word for "abundant life" or "good quality life." The foundation is a charitable trust registered in Kenya. She is the recipient of the Prize for medical services for her efforts to bring basic medical services and health care to women and children in the villages of East Africa, which have been a beacon of hope for millions of people in Africa and the world.

The first award ceremony is planned to coincide with the TICAD IV or the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama in May, later this year. The Prize consists of a citation, a medal, and an honorarium of 100 million yen or about US$1 million. The Prize will be awarded every five years after this.

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II. Visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan of the Republic of Korea

Mr. Taniguchi: Secondly, let me remind you that Mr. Yu Myung-hwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the ROK (Republic of Korea) will visit Japan from Thursday, the 3rd to Sunday, the 6th of April. Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura will hold a bilateral with him. Minister Yu is also scheduled to attend the Outreach Session of the G8 Development Ministers' Meeting 2008 to be held from Saturday, the 5th for two days in Tokyo.

III. The first Officials' Meeting for the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers' Meeting, and the first ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation

Mr. Taniguchi: The third is on the inaugural talks held in Hanoi, Viet Nam over the weekend. Last Friday, the 28th of March, Japan participated in the two meetings. One is the first Officials' Meeting for the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers' Meeting, and the other is the first ASEAN-Japan Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation.

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IV. Announcement of Yen Loans

Mr. Taniguchi: Lastly, let me briefly introduce a number of yen loans Japan has recently decided to extend. To Bulgaria, Japan will extend up to 36.932 billion yen or about US$369.32 million for maintenance of port terminals. For Morocco, Japan will extend up to a total of 22.054 billion yen or about US$220.54 million for roads and water supply. And, to Tunisia, Japan will extend up to a total of 9.936 billion yen or about US$99.36 million for flood prevention. Although I won't go into the details any more, additional yen loans are also to be given to Viet Nam, Thailand, India, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

V. Questions concerning the Yasukuni film

Q: I want to ask about another topic.

Mr. Taniguchi: Whatever topic, yes.

Q: About the Yasukuni film.

Mr. Taniguchi: Oh, the Yasukuni film?

Q: Yes. What do you think about the Yasukuni film?

Mr. Taniguchi: The answer is I have no idea, because the Government has nothing to do with the filming and running the show.

Q: Can it lead to a rise in the anti-Japan movement?

Mr. Taniguchi: I have never seen the film myself, so I should be cautious about making any comment on that.

Q: That is all. Thank you.

VI. Questions concerning the Dalai Lama

Q: There are reports that the Dalai Lama plans to stop over in Japan on his way to the US. How would the Japanese Government deal with such a visit?

Mr. Taniguchi: The shortest answer to your question is as before, by which I mean the Dalai Lama has come to Japan a number of times. The first visit took place way back in September 1967, 41 years ago that is. Since then 22 visits have been made, the latest of which was in November last year. The Japanese Government has given no refusal to his visa applications. This time around, the Japanese Government is going to take a lot of elements into consideration, obviously, but ultimately come to an appropriate decision on this.

Q: Since the Japanese Government is urging for direct dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, if he actually stops by Japan later on this month, is the Government planning on having anybody to meet him on the Tibet issue?

Mr. Taniguchi: I have no idea who the Dalai Lama is going to meet during his short stay. To my knowledge there is no meeting scheduled between him and Japanese Government officials. That said, as you have pointed out in your question, the Japanese position has been such that it is urging both sides to have a peaceful dialogue.

Q: Can you confirm when he is going to be at the airport?

Mr. Taniguchi: No, I am not in a position to explain his itinerary, so I would not get into that detail.

VII. Questions concerning the first visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rudd of the Commonwealth of Australia

Q: On a separate issue, there has been a report from Australia saying the Japanese Government and the Australian Government are trying to arrange for a visit by Prime Minister Rudd before the Toyako Summit. Can you confirm any of the details?

Mr. Taniguchi: I would like to confirm that but I can't, because the Japanese Government has heard no official proposal from the Australian side as of yet. Certainly, the invitation to Prime Minister Rudd is being extended all the time, anytime. Mr. Rudd can come to Japan whenever he wants, Australia-Japan being in good terms.

Q: Is Japan hoping in any sense that he will make a special visit to Japan, aside from coming for the Toyako Summit, since he kind of skipped Japan in his seven-day tour which included China?

Mr. Taniguchi: The Australian press is trying to depict as if he deliberately skipped the Japan leg from his grand tour stretching from the United States, India to China. But in my understanding, there was an agreement that he would come eventually to join the Toyako Outreach Session later in July. So he just wanted to make his itinerary effective by visiting other countries first. But if Prime Minister Rudd wants to come to Japan, nonetheless, before the G8 Summit Meeting taking place, the Japanese Government is willing to welcome him wholeheartedly.

VIII. Questions concerning the 17th Japan-European Union Summit Meeting

Q: Just one last question. About Prime Minister Fukuda's Summit Meeting with the European Union and the European Commission chiefs later on: can you tell us a little bit more about what they are going to discuss?

Mr. Taniguchi: Okay, about what specifically?

Q: What major items are on the agenda? Will they be taking about climate change leading up to the July Summit?

Mr. Taniguchi: That is going to be actually the 17th Summit Meeting that has been taking place on a regular basis. That will take place on the 23rd April, which is a Wednesday. The venue is going to be in Tokyo. From Japan, as you said, Prime Minister Fukuda is going to take part in that meeting, and President of the European Commission Barroso as well as Prime Minister Jansa from Slovenia are going to represent the EU side.

The issues to be discussed are going to be, by nature, wide-ranging, from climate change, issues related to energy, the global economy, African development, and so on and so forth, as has been the case before with these regular meetings between Japan and the EU. In particular for this year, because we are right in the middle of the process of coming up with the post-Kyoto framework about climate change and global warming, certainly the Japanese side and the EU side are going to discuss the possible effective framework post-Kyoto. That would include all the major emitters, that should be stressed, all the major emitters. We are going to reconfirm the importance to strengthen further the Japan-EU bilateral ties as a lynchpin to enhance cooperation for development, especially development in Africa. So that is the rough sketch for what the meeting is going to look like.

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