Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 25 August 2011
- The Senkaku Islands
- General Kim Jong-il in Russia
- Libya
- Syria
- Myanmar
- 25 Years of JET
- Taylor Anderson Reading Corner
- Cosplayers in Tohoku
- Planned Visits and Events
- Questions Concerning the Senkaku Islands Incident
- Question Concerning North Korea
- Question Concerning Information Given to the Foreign Press
- Question Concerning Kim Jong-il’s Trip to Russia, and the Japan-Brazil Relationship
- Question Concerning the Situation in Libya
- Additional Question Concerning the Senkaku Islands Incident
- Additional Question Concerning the Situation in Libya
- Question Concerning Mr. Sobashima’s Last Press Conference
- The Senkaku Islands
- General Kim Jong-il in Russia
- Libya
- Syria
- Myanmar
- 25 Years of JET
- Taylor Anderson Reading Corner
- Cosplayers in Tohoku
- Planned Visits and Events
- Questions Concerning the Senkaku Islands Incident
- Question Concerning North Korea
- Question Concerning Information Given to the Foreign Press
- Question Concerning Kim Jong-il’s Trip to Russia, and the Japan-Brazil Relationship
- Question Concerning the Situation in Libya
- Additional Question Concerning the Senkaku Islands Incident
- Additional Question Concerning the Situation in Libya
- Question Concerning Mr. Sobashima’s Last Press Conference
Mr. Sobashima: First, I would like to explain about the Senkaku Islands.
As announced and explained by the Chief Cabinet Secretary yesterday, we are concerned that two Chinese fishery patrol vessels entered the territorial water around the Senkaku Islands early yesterday morning. Immediately afterwards we made a protest to the Chinese Government through diplomatic channels in Tokyo and Beijing. In addition, yesterday morning, Vice-Minister Sasae of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Ambassador of China Cheng Yonghua to the Vice-Minister’s Office, and drew his attention to the fact that the two Chinese fishery patrol vessels entered the territorial water around the Senkaku Islands, and that the people on the boats made their own assertions, and said that they were executing Chinese law there. Therefore, Vice-Minister Sasae explained once again that the Senkaku Islands are a part of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) vessels there gave warning to the two Chinese vessels. Despite the repeated warning made by the JCG vessels, they remained in the territorial water of Japan. Therefore, the Government of Japan regards the action taken by these Chinese vessels as contradicting to the right of innocent passage, and we made a strong protest to the Chinese side. Vice-Minister Sasae also mentioned to the Chinese Ambassador that the two countries are now making efforts to promote mutually beneficial relationship based on the common strategic interests, but the action taken by the Chinese fishery patrol vessels contradict the agreements by the leaders of the two countries, and he requested the Chinese side to prevent these incidents from happening again.
The Chinese Ambassador explained the Chinese position, and therefore, once again, Vice-Minister Sasae made the Japanese position clear to the Chinese side and once again requested that the Chinese side to prevent these things from happening again.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the Chief Cabinet Secretary reported this in his daily press conference, which was held around midday yesterday. He referred to the fact that in response to the action by the Chinese vessels, the Foreign Ministry’s Vice-Minister already made a protest to the Chinese Ambassador. The Chief Cabinet Secretary also mentioned that in the Cabinet we have established an information and coordination office to monitor the situation. The Chief Cabinet Secretary added that he wished to request the Chinese side to take appropriate action from the broad perspective of the Japan-China bilateral relationship.
Later in the evening, Ambassador Niwa in Beijing met Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and made a protest similar to the one made by Vice-Minister Sasae.
Later yesterday morning, we understand that the two Chinese vessels left the territorial water, but they remained in our contiguous zone. Later in the afternoon, the two Chinese vessels left the contiguous zone. We remain vigilant.
So this is what happened yesterday regarding the Senkaku Islands.
Mr. Sobashima: Next is a comment on the visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
We understand that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has visited Russia, and we understand yesterday he had a meeting with President Medvedev. The Government of Japan has been collecting information and continues to collect information and analyze the situation in coordination with the countries concerned.
The only thing I would like to add is that in any event, we hope that North Korea will take concrete actions to demonstrate its intention to honor its commitments. That would lead to the resumption of the Six Party Talks and the positive engagement of North Korea in the international community. We believe that is also for the benefit of North Korea itself. From this perspective Japan intends to continue consultation and coordination with the countries concerned. So this is the comment on the visit to Russia of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
Mr. Sobashima: The third agenda item is Libya.
We are watching closely. I may not be aware of the latest, but certainly we recently had significant developments. Last Tuesday, Foreign Minister Matsumoto made a comment in this room in his regular press conference. He said last Tuesday, that is, August 23, 'I am aware of significant developments in Libya. We call on Libyan leader Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi to step down at an early date in order not to cause more human or material damage. We hope that with the broad participation of the Libyan people and based on the roadmap announced by the Libyan Transitional National Council, a new political process will start, a constitution will be established, and a democratic election will be conducted peacefully.
The Japanese Government would like to continue to provide Libya with necessary support in cooperation with the international community.
So this is the basic position announced by the Foreign Minister. I would like to add that in view of the further developments after the Foreign Minister’s announcement in his press conference, we are continuing to monitor closely the developments in Libya, and we hope that a new political process will commence soon.
Mr. Sobashima: As for Syria, we have distributed a paper. This is a statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto on the Situation in Syria. This was issued on 19 August, that is last Friday.
Japan has for some time been calling upon the Government of Syria to listen to the wishes of its people and voices of the international community and immediately cease the use of force against civilians, progress toward urgent and practical dialogue with the public – including the opposition – and quickly start fundamental reforms toward democratization.
It is highly regrettable that despite requests by Japan and many other members of the international community, the wide-scale use of force by Syrian security authorities has continued to cause many deaths and injuries among the general populace. Japan firmly reproaches the Syrian security authorities that have used force against civilians and call for the immediate halting of such activities.
Japan shares the serious concerns of the international community regarding the situation in Syria. Japan believes Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has already lost the trust of the international community, can no longer legitimately govern the country and should step aside.
Japan holds great interest in the agreement President Al-Assad made with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 17 August to halt military and police operations, carry out the constitutional and other reforms, and accept a United Nations mission to evaluate humanitarian conditions in the country.
In relation to the above, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Syrian Arab Republic Toshiro Suzuki will temporarily be called back to Japan – in fact he was called back – for a consultation on the situation in the country.
So this was issued last Friday. On the same day, Foreign Minster Matsumoto called Syrian Ambassador Al Habash to the Minister’s office and explained Japan’s position as written in this statement. The Syrian Ambassador explained the position of the Syrian Government, but he added that what Minister Matsumoto said will be communicated to his home government. So this is the information I would like to provide in relation to Syria.
Mr. Sobashima: And then we have a written statement again. This is the statement of the Press Secretary on the situation in Myanmar.
The Government of Japan values recent measures taken by the Government of Myanmar including the meeting between Mr. Thein Sein, President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday, 19 August, as a positive step which contributes to Myanmar's democratization and its national reconciliation.
The Government of Japan hopes that the Government of Myanmar will continue to take such measures so that steady progress will be made for democratization and national reconciliation, bringing about substantial achievements.
Mr. Sobashima: Then the Symposium and a Reception Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the JET Program.
On 8 September, we will be having a symposium and a reception at United Nations University, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR), and supported also by the National Governors' Association, Japan Association of City Mayors, and National Association of Towns and Villages.
As you know the JET Program aims to enhance foreign language education and promote international exchange at the local level. The symposium will be held to reflect on the past achievements of the Program during the 25 years, and contribute to the Program's further development, as well as to widely publicize the Program to all walks of life in Japan.
We have the detailed program for this symposium and reception there.
Mr. Sobashima: We also distributed the paper entitled, 'The Dedication Ceremony of ‘Taylor Anderson Reading Corner.’' Ms. Taylor Anderson is one of two American JET participants who lost their lives because of the earthquake and tsunami.
The first 'Taylor Anderson Reading Corner' will be donated by her family and the Tokyo American Club to seven schools in Ishinomaki City, where Ms. Taylor Anderson, a victim of the Great East Japan Earthquake, was working as an assistant language teacher of the JET program. The dedication ceremony will be held 6 September at 1:15 P.M. at Mangokuura Elementary School, Ishinomaki City, which is the first school to receive the donation.
The reception to honor the Anderson family will take place in the Ishinomaki Grand Hotel before the Dedication Ceremony.
A 'Taylor Anderson Reading Corner' will be placed in the library of each school, in memory of Ms. Taylor Anderson who loved children and books. Her favorite books and a DVD which explains about 'Taylor Anderson Reading Corner' or 'Taylor Bunko,' together with a personal computer to play the DVD, will be set in bookshelves made by Mr. Shinichi Endo, a woodworker who lost his three children in the tsunami. Two of the three children were taught by Ms. Anderson. Book vouchers will be donated as well to the PTA of each school, which will enable them to purchase additional books.
Students of Mangokuura Elementary School will attend the ceremony. Ms. Anderson’s family will come from the United States to Japan to hand the memorial DVD for the 'Taylor Anderson Reading Corner' over to the students.
So if you are interested to cover this, we have the contact information there. Mr. Toru Takanarita is the personal representative of the Anderson family.
Mr. Sobashima: And finally – I intended to distribute pictures rather than texts. These are the pictures taken with the Spanish, Italian and Danish participants in World Cosplay Summit 2011, who visited Sendai City and Miyagi Prefecture as well as Aizuwakamatsu City and Fukushima Prefecture on 10-11 August. So you will notice the visiting cosplayers and local cosplayers having time together. Certainly the visiting cosplayers from abroad, from Spain, Italy and Denmark, encouraged people there, and showed solidarity with the affected people.
Mr. Sobashima: These are the topics. As for the planned events and visits, we already announced that there will be a symposium for promoting tourism on 5 October in Sendai City hosted by MOFA and the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). We will have this meeting on 5 October, which we already announced. We do not have any additional events to announce at this time.
As for the outgoing visits, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yamahana is now in Buenos Aires to participate in the fifth FEALAC meeting. FEALAC stands for the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation. So from Asia, 16 countries including Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, ASEAN countries, Australia and New Zealand; and 18 Latin American countries Argentina, Uruguay, and other countries.
So these are the planned visits and events that I can share with you at this moment. Perhaps we will have additional announcements coming, but at this point, there are no more announcements. Thank you very much for waiting and I would like to invite your questions please.
Q: I have a couple of questions related to the fishing vessels. You said that people in the Chinese boats made their own assertions. Can you explain what assertions they made, if that was the case? Secondly you said that the action contradicted the right of something passage, I didn’t know…
Mr. Sobashima: Innocent passage.
Q: Innocent passage, okay. What about this hotline that has been spoken of so many times, the hotline that has supposedly been set up to defuse situations like this at the leadership level. There could be a maritime hotline or settlement mechanism. Is it actually operational? Those are my three questions.
Mr. Sobashima: Thank you. We understand that what they asserted is that Senkaku Islands are part of China. As I already explained, they said something like they were implementing Chinese law there. I do not know the details of what they actually said, but I understand that they claimed that the Senkaku Islands are part of China.
Q: And 'they' being a normal crew, or were they…?
Mr. Sobashima: The Chinese vessels were Government vessels. As I said, fishery patrol vessels. So these were official boats. As for the hotlines, I think it depends on the definition of 'hotline.' As you know, the leaders of the two countries have had telephone conversations on many occasions. I don’t know about the details of communications of the defense officials and officers. However, yes, we should develop communications channels.
Q: When the trilateral summit was held in Tokyo, I think earlier this year, there was very specific mention in the communiqué, or certainly verbally, about a hotline that was to be established between Beijing and Tokyo because of the event that occurred last year, so that if a maritime event seemed likely to occur, there would be very high level dialogue to defuse it.
Mr. Sobashima: Yes, there was a proposal, or an agreement in principle, to promote communications by means including what is called a 'hotline.' But as I said, it depends on the definition of what a 'hotline' is.
As I already explained, the two leaders – Prime Minister Kan made a phone conversation with Premier Wen Jiabao, many times perhaps, and I don’t know, I am repeating this, the details about the cases of defense officials. But certainly they have channels. Whether we call 'hotline' or not, we have communication channels. Also there is an agreement in principle to develop these. It depends on the definition of what 'hotline' means. I think I mentioned that earlier yesterday morning, we used diplomatic channels in Tokyo and Beijing. So communication is open between Japan and China.
Have I answered all of your questions? I may have failed to answer some of your questions.
Q: What you seem to be saying, sorry, is that there are no specific plans to set up in particular a hotline. That was not my impression at the time of the Trilateral Summit.
Mr. Sobashima: No, I did not say that. I said that there is generally an agreement to develop communication by means including what is called a 'hotline.' We should develop this.
Q: Thank you. I do have some other questions, but I will wait for other people.
Q: Just on North Korea, there were reports this morning that the Russian President himself has said that Kim Jong-il made some sort of loosely worded offer of a moratorium on nuclear tests and missile tests. In Japan’s view, is that the kind of concrete progress that you are after before you agree to a resumption of the Six Party Talks, or are you in alignment with South Korea or the US that there needs to be something beyond a loosely worded offer of a moratorium?
Mr. Sobashima: Thank you for your question. However, I am afraid I have to repeat what I already said, that we are not able to make any more comments in addition to what I already said. Yes, we are aware of the newspaper reports and other reports, but we have to have confirmed information, and then we should analyze it, and then we may be able to make comments based on that confirmed information and our own analysis. Also, I said that we will consult the countries concerned. Certainly the countries concerned should include the Republic of Korea and the United States, and members of the Six Party Talks. Therefore, what we are really looking for is positive concrete action to demonstrate the intention to honor their commitments, and also to implement UN Security Council resolutions. Unless having confirmed what was actually committed to by the North Korean leader, we are not in a position to make further comments more than what I already said.
Q: Sort of a question and comment wrapped into one. We have here a number of foreign journalists. I was wondering if you would be able to pass on to your successor our request to have a flow of information from the Foreign Ministry to the Foreign Correspondents Club or foreign journalists in general, that is more comparable to the kind of information that goes everyday to the Kasumigaseki Club journalists here, so that we have a better handle of what kind of events are going on, on a daily basis, and are just better informed about what events are happening. Because I know that the Kasumigaseki Club gets about 10 times more information than we do.
Mr. Sobashima: Thank you. I received from you a similar, or maybe the same comment, several weeks ago, and we made a new initiative, but it is only weekly. Also it is kind of a reproduction of my announcement about what will be happening, the major events. I believe it is progress compared to nothing, and certainly I will communicate your comment to my successor. It is up to the consideration by my successor and the division concerned, the International Press Division, what we may have been able to do. But certainly your comment or request has been well taken.
Q: On Kim Jong-il’s visit to Russia, I’ve seen suggestions that he’s there as a sort of energy broker, if you like, between Russia and China. If that is the case, does Japan have any views on that, and has Kim Jong-il also offered to be a broker on behalf of Japan? And the second question is on Brazil. Nissan, I think, has announced yesterday it intends to greatly step up its production of vehicles in Brazil and of course Minister Matsumoto recently attended the Mercosur Summit. I just wondered whether Japan is now sort of officially promoting Japanese investment in Brazil and other parts of Latin America and whether this Nissan move is part of any such initiative.
Mr. Sobashima: I’m afraid to disappoint you by saying that I’d like to refrain from commenting on the first question coming from information that we have not confirmed, and the second one, I’m sorry; I’m not in a position to confirm what you said about a new specific development. But certainly, as a general comment, we would like to enhance economic relations with foreign countries, in part for the reconstruction of affected areas in particular and of Japan in general.
The report of the Reconstruction Design Council advises the Government to consider reconstruction open to the international community, and therefore also for reconstruction purposes, international trade and investment should be measures that we bear in mind. But I don’t know the specific development you mentioned, so I’m not in a position to comment on the specific case you mentioned. But certainly we intend to promote what we call economic diplomacy, the interdependence between Japan and foreign countries, for the benefit of both sides, Japan and the other sides.
Q: My question is about the Libya situation. Both sides are claiming control of Tripoli. What is the current position of the Japanese Government on this situation in Libya?
Mr. Sobashima: I thought I was clear. The Foreign Minister already said that leader Gaddafi, should step down, and we recognize the transitional council as the legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people. It’s short of formal recognition as a Government, however it’s close to that, and I already explained that we hope that a new process of political development will commence, with the wide participation of the people. We regard the Libyan Transitional National Council as the legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people. Certainly we are expecting an important role to be played by them.
Q: You mentioned an information and coordination office, I think, in the Cabinet. What’s that? Is that an ad-hoc thing because of this incident or is this a permanent establishment, and what does it do?
Mr. Sobashima: It’s ad-hoc. In view of the entry into the territorial water of the Senkaku Islands by Chinese fishery patrol vessels, the Government decided to establish an office, an information coordination office, in the Cabinet, gathering information from relevant Ministries and Agencies, in fact all Ministries and Agencies. As the Chief Cabinet Secretary explained what the Foreign Vice-Minister had said, in his press conference, the information sharing and coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cabinet Office should have been shown.
Q: This is again regarding Libya. Which side is now controlling the Libyan Embassy in Tokyo? Who are they representing now?
Mr. Sobashima: I’m sorry, can I come back to you? I have come across certain information but I do not remember it in detail and I forgot the context. So I’d like to refrain from explaining what I think I read in this official forum.
Q: Since this is your last conference, would you like to share any state secrets with us.
Mr. Sobashima: I’m afraid I don’t have these. I’m not important enough to have access to state secrets. Joking aside, I’m very grateful for your presence here in my last press conference. I’ve tried to make my own efforts to make my press conferences more attracting to you. I have received various comments, for example, informing you in advance on the previous day what I’m going to explain on the following day. This is one thing. The second thing is that the agenda, the top page covering for distributed papers. This is only a few weeks old. As for the information on media coverage, I accommodated the requests partially by informing you weekly of the planned events and visits.
I really feel that it’s very important to have a dialogue with the journalists. I intended to explain the Government’s positions clearly, and by listening to your views, I tried to understand what your interests were. I really feel that the role of journalists is very important. I’m leaving Tokyo, but I hope that we’ll be able to meet again. I will pass your interests and concerns on to my successor, and I hope that you’ll be more active vis-à-vis my successor so that the press conferences for foreign journalists here will be more attractive to you. So this is what I want to say to you in my last press conference. I really appreciate your presence today. Thank you very much.
Back to Index
