Top > Announcement > Press Conference by the Press Secretary of MOFA > 13 January 2011

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 13 January 2011

  1. Visit to the United States by Foreign Minister Maehara
  2. Statement by Foreign Minister Maehara on the on the demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel in East Jerusalem
  3. Statement by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Beginning of the Referendum in Southern Sudan
  4. G8 Foreign Ministers Statement on Terrorist Attacks
  5. The Seventh Asian Senior-level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP-VII)
  6. The 4th International MANGA Award
  7. VIP Visits
  8. Question concerning the Ambassador of Japan to the Russian Federation
  9. Questions concerning the potential visit of Foreign Minister Maehara to the Russian Federation
  10. Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks
  11. Question concerning territorial issues with Russia

  1. Visit to the United States by Foreign Minister Maehara

    2. Deputy Press Secretary Hidenobu Sobashima: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to my press conference. Today I have several topics I would like to share with you.

    Mr. Sobashima: The first is the visit of Foreign Minister Maehara to the United States. He visited there from 6-9 January. He first gave a speech at CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) and then had a Foreign Minister's meeting with Secretary Clinton on 6 January, followed by a courtesy call on Vice President Biden. And from 6-7 January he had meetings with senators and a congressman and he had a luncheon on 7 January with senior officials of the US Government including Deputy Secretary of State Steinberg and Assistant Secretary of Defense Gregson, among others. He had an interview with the Washington Post, and he had meetings with Japanese businessmen in Washington.

    In Florida, which we visited on 8 January, he met the new governor of the state, and their discussion included the possibility of the State of Florida deciding on the Japanese high-speed train. In this respect the Foreign Minister explained the technology, safety, etc. of the Japanese bullet train, the favorable impact on the local economy, and also the financial schemes that are available.

    Coming back to the CSIS speech, we have distributed the text of his speech. In the second paragraph he said, "Since I was first elected to the Diet in 1993, I have visited the United States every year to exchange views with US government officials and experts, precisely because I have believed that the Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy, and that it is essential for statesmen, who engage in governing a country, to build a relationship of trust with the partner country."

    In the section entitled "Current Situation in the Asia Pacific and its Future Vision" he said, "There is no doubt that the twenty-first century is the era of the Asia Pacific", "Japan, the United States, and China occupy the top three spots in global GDP ranking", among others. He also said "At the same time, the Asia Pacific is fraught with factors of instability and uncertainty." In this regard he mentioned the nuclear and missile development issue of the DPRK as a cause for major concern. In the case of Japan, he said that Japan has with the DPRK the unresolved issue of the abduction of Japanese citizens.

    At the end of the page he said that "The Asia Pacific is a region full of diversity with a multiplicity of ethnicities, cultures, and religions", and on the next page he said "it will be important to develop institutional foundations embodying the rule of law, democracy, respect for human rights, global commons, and free and fair trade and investment rules, including the protection of intellectual property rights."

    In the next paragraph he said "I myself attended the 3rd Bali Democracy Forum last December on behalf of the Japanese Government and gave a presentation titled 'Democracy in Diversity -- Building on Asia's Unique Strength --'".

    In the next section, entitled "Roles Expected of Japan and the US", he referred to ASEAN-related meetings, the East Asia Summit (EAS), and on the next page he also referred to APEC, he said "From Yokohama to Honolulu" among others.

    In the next section, "Deepening Japan-US Alliance", he explained the Japanese position for deepening the Japan-US Alliance, first of course on the security matters. He said that the Japan-US Alliance has strategic importance not only for the two countries but also for the region's stability. And he explained, in the second paragraph from the bottom, about Japan's revised National Defense Program Guidelines, adopting the concept of "Dynamic Defense Force". He referred to the second pillar of deepening the US Alliance, which is economy, and also the third pillar, on the next page, of cultural and people-to-people exchanges. So this is just roughly what he said in CSIS.

    Of course in his meeting with his counterpart Secretary Clinton he discussed the three pillars, how to deepen the Japan-US Alliance, and thus made preparation for the expected visit of Prime Minister Kan to the United States in the first half of this year. So this is about Foreign Minister Maehara's visit to the United States.

  2. Statement by Foreign Minister Maehara on the on the demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel in East Jerusalem

    3. Mr. Sobashima: We then have the statement by the Foreign Minister on the demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel in East Jerusalem, issued on Tuesday 11 January, two days ago. Japan condemns the demolishing of a part of the Shepherd’s Hotel in East Jerusalem with a view to constructing new housing units for Jewish people. Japan does not recognize any unilateral measures that prejudge the final resolution on pre-1967 borders, nor does Japan recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel. In this regard, Japan urges Israel to refrain from any unilateral act that could change the existing conditions of East Jerusalem. Ambassador Yutaka Iimura, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East, who was in Israel at that time, has already informed Israeli Government officials of these Japanese views. Japan once again strongly encourages both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides to focus on the goal of a two-state solution.

  3. Statement by the Press Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Beginning of the Referendum in Southern Sudan

    4. Mr. Sobashima: Next is a statement by the Press Secretary on the beginning of the Referendum in Southern Sudan, again issued last Tuesday, 11 January. Japan welcomes that polling has started for the Southern Sudan Referendum as scheduled on 9 January. The referendum holds great significance as a historic step towards the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) concluded between Northern and Southern Sudan in 2005.

  4. G8 Foreign Ministers Statement on Terrorist Attacks

    5. Mr. Sobashima: Next we have distributed the G8 Foreign Ministers Statement on Terrorist Attacks issued last night, 12 January. I will read this. "G8 Countries condemn in the strongest terms the abduction and the cowardly murder of two French nationals. They, that is the G8 Ministers, commit to intensifying their efforts to bring an end to the abhorrent practice of hostage-taking. They offer their condolences and express their deepest sympathy to the families of victims. They also present their condolences to the authorities of Niger, and to the families of the members of the security forces who have again paid a heavy toll to the fight against terrorism. This barbaric act will only strengthen our common commitment to spare no effort to fight against terrorism which no motives can justify. G8 countries stand committed, in cooperation with the entire international community, to combat and prevent terrorism and violent extremism and the conditions conducive to its spread.

  5. The Seventh Asian Senior-level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP-VII)

    6. Mr. Sobashima: Next, we have distributed the paper on the Seventh Asian Senior-level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP-VII). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the Seventh Asian Senior-level Talks on Non-Proliferation (ASTOP-VII) on Monday 17 January at the Mita Kaigisho (Mita Conference Hall) in Tokyo. ASEAN member states, China, the Republic of Korea and countries with a common interest in the security of the Asian region such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States will be represented by senior government officials in charge of non-proliferation policies. In ASTOP, various issues related to the strengthening of the non-proliferation apparatus in Asia are discussed. In ASTOP-VII, building on the discussions of the previous six meetings, discussions are expected particularly on the prevention of the transfer of proliferation-sensitive materials, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Apparatus under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). We explained in the note that the first meeting of ASTOP was held in 2003, and the coming meeting will be the seventh. All previous meetings were held in Tokyo, and the coming meeting will also be held in Tokyo.

  6. The 4th International MANGA Award

    7. Mr. Sobashima: The final topic that I would like to explain to you is the 4th International MANGA Award. The winners of the 4th International MANGA Award have been selected by the Jury. The International MANGA Award was established in May 2007. This time we received 189 entries from 39 countries and regions all over the world. An awarding ceremony will be held in February, next month, or March. The International MANGA Award Gold Award winner is Ms. Xiao Bai from Belgium. The title of the piece is "Si loin et si proche..." This is the best award. We have three Silver Award awardees. The first is Mr. Olivier Martin and Mr. Sylvain Runberg from France, with a piece called "Face cachée", and then Mr. Enrique Fernández from Spain, with the title "La Isla sin Sonrisa", and then Mr. Verachai Duangpla from Thailand with the title "The story begins with...". We also have the Bronze Award, but I will skip this in the interest of time. We have distributed the pictures of the comics.

  7. VIP Visits

    8. Mr. Sobashima: So these are the topics, and then for the visits, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates is in Tokyo now. He had a meeting with Foreign Minister Maehara this morning, and I think he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Kan, and also he should have had a meeting with Defense Minister Kitazawa. Then we will have His Excellency Mr. Viktor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, coming from 18-21 January. Earlier the program was from 18-20 January, but the new program is one day longer than originally scheduled.

    For the outgoing visits, Foreign Minister Maehara is now planning to visit the Republic of Korea next Saturday. Earlier he planned to visit from 14-15 January, however under the current situation we felt that we needed to change the schedule, and this morning Foreign Minister Maehara made a phone call to Foreign Minister Kim Sung-Hwan for about 15 minutes, and he explained that under the current situation he felt he has to reschedule his visit, and then the two ministers agreed to arrange the program for Foreign Minister Maehara to visit the Republic of Korea on 15 January only, that is the coming Saturday. The detailed schedule is being arranged between the two countries. We have Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kikuta visiting now West African countries - Mauritania, Senegal and Mali - from 7-14 January, and we have Parliamentary Vice-Minister Tokunaga visiting Middle East countries - Oman, Jordan and Qatar - from 10-14 January.

    So, these are the visits, and I invite your questions.

  8. Question concerning the Ambassador of Japan to the Russian Federation

    9. Q: I have a question about Ambassador Kono and Moscow. Could you give me the exact reason why he is dismissed, because he is obviously not guilty for Mr. Medvedev's trip to Kunashiri Island? Is this an unprecedented dismissal, that it was so public, and will be dismissed from the Foreign Ministry or only from his ambassador's job, or is this a new style to dismiss ambassadors in this public fashion?

    Mr. Sobashima: There is no decision about the appointment of the ambassador yet, so I am afraid that at this moment I am not able to respond to your question. I am not in a position to answer your question on the assumption you mentioned.

  9. Questions concerning the potential visit of Foreign Minister Maehara to the Russian Federation

    10. Q: Can you comment please on the visit of Foreign Minister Maehara to Russia? Maybe it is already certain the date of the visit, and what will be the questions that Foreign Minister Maehara and Foreign Minister Lavrov will discuss.

    Mr. Sobashima: Thank you. Yes, Foreign Minister Maehara hopes to visit the Russian Federation at an early occasion this year, and when we have completed the arrangement we will make an announcement. What I can say at this moment is, however, that it is the intention of Foreign Minister Maehara to visit the Russian Federation at an early occasion this year. Of course we have various issues that should be discussed between the two countries. One is territorial issues, and another issue should be the economic cooperation. The two ministers already had a meeting in Yokohama last November, so building on their earlier discussions we expect that at least the two ministers on the occasion of Foreign Minister Maehara's possible visit to the Russian Federation should be discussing the bilateral relationship. And of course not only the bilateral relationship but also regional and international issues should be discussed. We understand the importance of the Russian Federation in the international fora, including the fact that the Russian Federation is a member of the Six-Party Talks and we may expect the possible discussion on the Korean Peninsula as well. But of course the schedule should be arranged between the two countries. When there is a decision we will make an announcement, perhaps simultaneously in the Russian Federation and Japan.

    Q: So the date is not clear yet?

    Mr. Sobashima: As soon there is a decision we will make an announcement. Foreign Minister Maehara expressed his hope to visit at an early occasion in this year, so we hope that this will be realized. Perhaps you may have information from the Russian side also, but only after there is a decision we are in a position to announce it.

  10. Questions concerning the Six-Party Talks

    11. Q: It looks like President Hu Jintao and President Obama will press for resumption of the Six-Party Talks when President Hu Jintao is visiting Washington. When the Six-Party Talks were running previously until 2008, the other parties, at least off-the-record the Americans, considered Japan's stance a bit of an obstacle, and Japan had this precondition that the abductee problem had to be involved into the Six-Party Talks. Now I get the impression, especially from the Kantei, that Japan has toned down this. Of course the abductee problem is still a problem, but it is not a precondition anymore. Is that correct, that the Six-Party Talks which are supposed to address the nuclear problem will not be preconditioned by Japan by the abductee problem, or what is the situation now?

    Mr. Sobashima: We understand that the main objective of the Six-Party Talks is to resolve the nuclear issue of North Korea, and as you correctly point out, it is one of the main concerns of Japan that the abduction issue exists. Therefore, it is the policy of the Government of Japan to seek the resolution of nuclear and missile issues as well as the abduction issue. However, as I have said, the main focus is the nuclear issue, so we have the common view. We had a trilateral Foreign Minister's meeting last December and the three Foreign Ministers confirmed that in the wake of the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island by North Korea, we should seek the positive action from North Korea, so the three countries agreed on this common position. So I think what you have said, that Japan is sort of obstructing the progress, should not be correct. But for you information, recently Foreign Minister Maehara explained his hope that there will be progress achieved so that there will be the possibility for Japan to have bilateral talks with North Korea. So if these talks resume, of course the abduction issue should be discussed in depth among the main three issues of which we are seeking the solution. However, as I said, yes, we are concerned with the abduction issue as well, but we understand that the main focus of the Six-Party Talks is the nuclear issue of North Korea.

    Q: You mentioned positive actions from North Korea. Could you give an example, and what are the conditions for Japan to have bilateral talks with Pyongyang?

    Mr. Sobashima: Specific positive actions. I am not able to give you an example of what we can regard as a specific positive action, however, we regard that currently there is no such specific positive action from North Korea, that is for certain. Certainly, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States will closely consult and coordinate the positions.

  11. Question concerning territorial issues with Russia

    12. Q: Today Kyodo News Agency made some article that one Russian Foreign Ministry senior official made the conclusion that the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan has no perspective to be resolved in a close future. Did the Japanese side get any official views from Russia on this point?

    Mr. Sobashima: No, I am not able to confirm if there is some sort of official communication from the Russian Government on this issue, while I read the news report. Regardless of what was said, our position is that we will seek the solution of territorial issues, and then we may further expand the relationship.

    Thank you very much.

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