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Ministerial Meetings & Japan's Positions for the Joint Press Conference

Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan

Mr. Hidehiko Hamada Spokesperson for the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan

Press Conference

23 November 1996

1. Briefing by Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto
   1. Japan's positions going into the Ministerial Meetings
   2. Background of Progress of Work on Long-term and Inter-related Issues of Food, Energy, Environment, Economic Growth and Population (FEEEP)
   3. Japanese aid provided to an APEC fund for trade andinvestment liberalization and facilitation
   4. Japan's position on Partners for Progress (PFP)
   5. Japan position on public and private sectorcooperation
   6. Japan's position on the Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
2. Briefing by Spokesperson for the Foreign Minister Hidehiko Hamada on the Bilateral Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas of the Republic of Indonesia and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda
3. Japan's Individual Action Plan
4. Japan-U.S. bilateral meeting
5. Export credit agency cooperation
6. New visa measures for APEC business people
7. Zero-zero negotiations on pharmaceutical products
8. Japan-U.S. bilateral meetings

PARTIAL LIST OF ATTENDANTS
There were approximately 15 journalists in attendance

1. Briefing by Spokesperson for the Prime Minister ofJapan Hiroshi Hashimoto

   1. Japan's positions going into the Ministerial Meetings
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As you know, the Ministerial Meeting is still not over, therefore,it is a bit awkward for me to debrief you on the content ofthe morning session in detail. What I would like to do is explain the position of the Government of Japan on this meeting. Probably some of the following things have been touched upon by me. But, I will quickly review and then add something new, if that would be the case. First of all, Japan is very happy about the Manila Action Plan for APEC (MAPA) and the Individual Action Plans. I already explained the content of Japan's IAP, therefore I will not repeat it.

   2. Background of Progress of Work on Long-term and Inter-related Issues of Food, Energy, Environment, Economic Growth and Population (FEEEP)
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Secondly, on Progress of Work on Long-term and Inter-related Issues of Food, Energy, Environment, Economic Growth and Population (FEEEP), we have distributed the statement made by the Minister Sato of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Would you please refer to this. I would like to draw your quick attention to the following points on this FEEEP. Firstly, the process of joint research and analysis is very important. For example, the APEC regional energy outlook being developed at the Asia-Pacific Energy Research Center will lay the foundation for future intra-regional policies. The FEEEP is a well-balanced approach dealing comprehensively with the inter-related subjects of food, energy, the environment, economic growth and population rather than taking up each of these issues in isolation. The next focus of attention is on global environmental issues, and will be convening of both the Third Session of the Conference of the parties to Framework Conventions on Climatic Change (COP3), and the United Nations General Assembly on Environment.

   3. Japanese aid provided to an APEC fund for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Thirdly, yesterday, and probably the day before yesterday, I explained to you that the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) has already approved 30 projects under trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. The APEC Secretariat has set up a special fund for this. The Government of Japan decided to extend US$4,450,000 to the special account of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to implement 30 projects.

   4. Japan's position on Partners for Progress (PFP)
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Fourthly, I already explained about the nature of Partners for Progress (PFP). Up until now, the members of APEC more or less shared the view that this PFP program should be basically used for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. But, Japan is strongly advocating that this method should be utilized in the other fields such as the improvement of infrastructure and improvement of the environment.

   5. Japan position on public and private sector cooperation
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Fifthly, I would like to talk about cooperation with the private sector. Japan is of the view that infrastructure should be improved by utilizing capital in the private sector. In this context the Japanese delegation has been advocating a cooperative dialogue among the existing export credit agencies. The Japanese delegation emphasizes the importance of direct investments and proposes to further exchange views on how to share a better understanding on the need to strengthen direct investments in the Asia-Pacific region.

   6. Japan's position on the Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Sixthly, I would like to discuss the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the morning, the APEC Ministerial Meeting still could not finalize wording onseveral sub-items under the (WTO). Japan supports the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), as I explained yesterday, and hopes that the ITA will be agreed on at the upcoming Singapore Ministerial Meeting. On the membership of the WTO, Japan strongly supports the participation into the WTO of the APEC Members which are currently negotiating with the WTO on the entry. Those items are related to the APEC Ministerial Meeting.

   7. Bilateral Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda of Japan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoo Chong Ha of the Republic of Korea
      
      Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: I will quickly explain about the meetings between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda ofJapan and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoo Chong Ha of the Republic of Korea, which took place this morning for about 45 minutes. Those two ministers shared views on many points. Firstly, they recalled the very big success of the meeting between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea at Cheju Island last June. Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Kim Young Sam will meet on the basis of this successful meeting at Cheju Island to further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. Foreign Minister Ikeda and Foreign Minister Yoo exchanged views on the bilateral relationship between the two countries. I will quickly brief you on the subjects they talked about. Foreign Minister Yoo stated that in order to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries, both governments should endeavor to get support from the public opinion. Foreign Minister Ikeda agreed with this. Foreign Minister Ikeda asked Foreign Minister Yoo for cooperation in accelerating the fishery talks. They quickly touched on issues such as the exchange of youth, joint study of history at the private level, and other issues very briefly. It was agreed that Foreign Minister Ikeda will visit the Republic of Korea by the end of this year, probably sometime at the end of December. They exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula situation. They talked about the recent submarine incident. Foreign Minister Yoo explained the influence on the public opinion of the Republic of Korea, and the influence on the North-South relationship, as well. Foreign Minister Ikeda expressed his personal condolences to the people who were killed because of the incident. At the same time, he said he understands the position of the Republic of Korea on this. At the same time, he reiterated the importance to permit North Korean conduct the U.S.-North Korea agreement. Foreign Minister Yoo and Foreign Minister Ikeda agreed that Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States should cooperate, and keep each other informed on this issue. At the same time, they expressed the same opinion on the need to permit North Korea to implement the agreement between the United States and North Korea. The two gentlemen agreed to continue to pursue the Four-Party Conference. Lastly, the gentlemen briefly talked about the need for cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea in international fora, such as the United Nations, APEC, OECD, etc. That is what was discussed in the bilateral talks between Foreign Minister Ikeda and Foreign Minister Yoo. I will ask my colleague, Director of the International Press Division Hidehiko Hamada, to brief you on the content of the meetings between the Japanese and Indonesian Foreign Ministers. After that, both of us are ready to answer any questions you may have.

2. Briefing by Spokesperson for the Foreign Minister Hidehiko Hamada on the Bilateral Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas of the Republic of Indonesia and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda
   
   Spokesperson for the Foreign Minister Hidehiko Hamada: Thank you very much. Yesterday we held bilateral talks on the ministerial level between Japan and Indonesia, beginning at 10:35 and lasting for 15 minutes. At the Meeting, they touched on three major issues: firstly, APEC; secondly, the United Nations; and, thirdly, the East Timor problem. First of all, on APEC, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that APEC is now moving into a period of action, and that we welcome that IAPs were presented from all 18 economies, and also that it is gratifying to witness that further discussion is being held to get more action to be initiated, even in the field of economic and technical cooperation. In his response to this statement, Foreign Minister Alatas said that it is also gratifying to see that the initiative taken by Japan at the last Osaka Meeting is now being made concrete, and also said that he would like to make further efforts and cooperation with Japan for the sake of further development of APEC. Foreign Minister Ikeda said that it is important to make this Manila APEC Meeting successful, for the sake of the success of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Singapore next month. He said it is important to tackle various issues, including the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), positively to that end. Secondly, on the issue of the United Nations, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that Japan has been elected a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations, and would like to play even more positive roles in the Security Council in the years to come. Foreign Minister Alatas congratulated him on the election of Japan to the Security Council, and said he would like to make further efforts in cooperation with Japan for the reform of the United Nations. Thirdly, on the issue of East Timor, Foreign Minister Ikeda expressed his hopes that the problem could be peacefully and quickly resolved through various measures, including dialogues with Portugal through the mediation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations -- also, that the Government of the Republic of Indonesia would tackle this issue wisely in the future. In response to this statement, Foreign Minister Alatas said that the conferment of the Nobel Prize on the two gentlemen was quite a surprise to the Government of Indonesia, especially the conferment on Mr. Horta. Nevertheless, the Government of Indonesia would like to make further efforts to seek a peaceful solution to this issue in a restrained manner, and they hope that Portugal will take an appropriate measure or response to this end. Finally, Foreign Minister Ikeda extended his invitation to Foreign Minister Alatas to visit Japan as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as soon as possible, and Foreign Minister Alatas gladly accepted this invitation and said that he would like to further coordinate schedules.

3. Japan's Individual Action Plan
   
   David Holley (Los Angeles Times): I am sorry that I missed your briefing yesterday and I know that you talked about this yesterday. On Japan's Individual Action Plan, if you could just very briefly mention just two or three of what you consider are the most important categories that you would like to draw attention to as key parts -- some of the most important parts of that Plan?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Yesterday, I explained to your colleagues that Japan's Individual Action Plan, first of all, contains the so-called Initial Plans which were already announced at the last Osaka Meeting in relation to the reductions of tariffs on certain commodities. But, this time, Japan's Individual Plan contains new measures in relation with deregulation, harmonization, and conformity of standards, relaxation of visas, etc. Those measures are directly related to a smoother movement of goods and services and people. We have mentioned several things that have not yet completed the legal procedures in Japan. Those measures are legally completed, we are sure that they will contribute to the further facilitation of free movement of goods and services. But, as there are many programs the IAP. I would hope that you would draw your attention to, for example, when talking about the quarantine regulations, we decided to extend the hours for quarantine officers for two hours to inspect the cargo goods. We are going to align 1,000 industrial Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) with international standards, and about 500 electrical goods standards with international standards.

   David Holley (Los Angeles Times): As kind of a follow-up to that, I see that several of the regulations are related in one way or another to agricultural products. Will the changes proposed here be sufficient to have a practical effect on the quantity of fruits or other agricultural goods imported from the United States and other countries?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: If you are talking about the macroeconomic trend of trade between Japan and the United States and between Japan and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, imports of goods from the United States and the ASEAN countries have been increasing. The trade imbalance between Japan and the United States has been narrowing. At the same time, the actual volume of imports of manufactured goods is increasing. But, as far as tariff reductions are concerned, we have already done all that can be done now. So, what we are doing further is deciding how to deregulate our economy or how to conform our regulations with international regulations -- how to heighten our transparency, etc. I am sure that the business people can actually benefit from the reform of these regulations in Japan.

4. Japan-U.S. bilateral meeting
   
   Journalist: Do you have any details on Mr. Kantor and Mr. Sato's meeting?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: I apologize, but I just read the gist of the talks; however, I did not attend the meeting. I wonder if a colleague from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) can brief you. If you are interested in that, I believe that my office will know whether that wil lbe possible or not.

5. Export credit agency cooperation
   
   Journalist from Indonesia: Could you clarify some parts Japan has been giving on the proposal on export credit agencies. I understand that during the bilateral meeting between Mr. Ikeda and other APEC delegates, this issue has been raised, and it seems to me that this question, although it is important among other members, it was overwhelmed by the question of the ITA this time.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: First of all, if you talk about the cooperations among the export credit agencies, I understand that a phrase has been already put into, or is going to be put into, the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting. But, that is a separate issue from the ITA. The existent export credit agency cooperations is mainly aiming at improving infrastructure by the private sector. The Japanese Delegation has been stating the importance of this to its colleagues, and we hope that we can continue to talk on that question in the future. As for the ITA, in the morning, there was a difference of opinion among certain members on a phrase related to the ITA, but in any case, Japan fully supports the idea of the ITA. We hope that some compromise formula is going to be found and put into the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting.

   Journalist (Bangkok Post): I would like to follow up on the export credit agencies. We have been told that the Japanese Delegation made the proposal without any prior indication throughout one year of discussion to prepare for this meeting. Could you tell us the background of why the Japanese Delegation is seeming to push quite hard for the inclusion of a sentence on this in the Ministerial Communique?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: The Japanese Delegation has no intention to impose something against the will of the other members. Probably, in the past, they did not have time to consult with the other members on this new idea. But, once this Ministerial Meeting addresses the importance of cooperation between the public and the private sectors, the Government of Japan is of the view that the utilization of export credit can play a constructive role for this. Probably, this time, we did not have sufficient time to educate each other on the importance of this. However, we will continue to talk on this, so that our understanding can be deepened toward next year's meeting in Canada.

6. New visa measures for APEC business people
   
   Journalist: On the question of visas, may I just ask for a clarification. In Japan, you already have a business visa which is good for three years, right?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Probably, my explanation of yesterday warrants elaboration. I will explain to you very quickly the existing visa system. Japan extends non-visa treatment. This means the Visa Exemption Agreement regarding eight members of APEC. It means that, irrespective of business people or journalists or whoever, people from the eight members of APEC can come to Japan without visas. But, asfar as the other members are concerned, we do not have this kind of agreement. What we have been doing is, from 1 January on, the Government of Japan adopted new measures for business people in the APEC area. They can have a three-year period multiple re-entry visa. He or she can stay in Japan for a maximum of 90 days. What the Government of Japan is now thinking is to extend the period of three years to five years, and if this is realized, the ASEAN business people can utilize the five-year re-entry visa, so that they will have easier access to Japan. That is what I meant to explain to you yesterday.

   Journalist: That is as you explained yesterday; I perfectly understand. There is a presumption that when you say these things, you are giving the impression that it is so easy to enter Japan. Now, the down side to this, it seems to me, is that there will be a lot more paper chasing in order for anyone from the rest of APEC, aside from the eight, to qualify for a visa. That is one question. That would probably be the down side of this issue. While it is true that you are giving the impression that you can just get a visa, it may not be so. There will be more complications. And, also --.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Probably, I do not completely understand your question. Would you please rephrase your question.

   Journalist: The reason I asked that is because you said that you will give a visa to business people. What I know now is that there is a three-year visa, and even that itself, for the moment, is very difficult to get. You plan to extend that for five years, right? So, what I am saying is that this is giving the impression that it is easy to get a visa for Japan.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Easier for business people.

   Journalist: It may be wrong, but that is my feeling, okay? The reason I asked that is --.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: I am not sure whether I can answer concerning your feelings. Anyway, what I am talking about is APEC business people -- only business people.

   Journalist: So, what are the qualifications of a person to qualify as a business person?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: There are several qualifications for this. I cannot cite you the complete examples here; one has to work for established companies, etc., so that our Immigrations Office can be assured of his or her residency in Japan. After they clear this, they can enjoy the multiple re-entry visa for five years -- if the Japanese regulations are changed.

   Journalist: Do you have another three-year visa, for example, for journalists?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: There are a variety of visas in Japan, yes. But, I am talking about the business visa for business people.

   Journalist: So, that is what I mean. To get this business visa -- for us in the Philippines, this is of interest, because so many Filipinos go to Japan and there are so many problems. So, what I would like to know is, you are giving the impression that this is easy, because under APEC you will agree to do this.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: I am talking about the easier exchange of business people.

7. Zero-zero negotiations on pharmaceutical products
   
   Journalist from Germany: I am interested in this pharmaceutical question, even if it is going beyond APEC. Fulfilling the Uruguay Round, you say that there will be a new concession list which will be voted on in the parliament as early as possible next year. I just wonder, as there are several other bodies, like the European Union, the United States, and Canada, is that something that Japan has to ratify to get the same level like the others, or is it something where other parties also have to vote on the new concession list in order to get the same playing field so to speak?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Are you talking about the zero-zero negotiations of the pharmaceutical products, or something that was included in the Individual Action Plan? Which one?

   Journalist from Germany: Exactly, the last item, thezero-zero initiative on pharmaceuticals.

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: As far as pharmaceuticals are concerned, we also place importance on the early negotiations on this. The ITA is important, but at the same time, the zero-zeronegotiations on pharmaceutical products, which are going on in Geneva, is also a very important subject. But, thistime at APEC, the members did not talk about this. Probably, that will be tackled by the upcoming Singapore Ministerial Conference. This is basically done by reciprocity under the umbrella of the WTO.

   Journalist from Germany: So, it is not a unilateral --?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: This is not a unilateral measure. The negotiations themselves are going on in Geneva. I apologize, but I cannot tell you what the subjects are that have been taken up over there.

8. Japan-U.S. bilateral meetings
   
   Mr. David Holley (Los Angeles Times): I was hoping you could tell us what might be the key topics that might be discussed between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Clinton in the bilateral tomorrow, and specifically, do you expect them to touch on the issues of insurance, aviation, and the return of land from Okinawa bases?

   Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Yesterday, Foreign Minister Ikeda and Secretary of State Warren Christopher of he United States met, and they said that both Prime Minister Hashimoto and President William Clinton of the United States have gained new support from the peoples of Japan and the United States, and that it is very important for them to meet and share their views on the importance of further developing bilateral relations. That is one very important political signal for the two nations. And, making use of this opportunity, although we have not set a detailed agenda, they will talk about the Okinawa bases issue. The Special Action Committee on Areas and Facilities in Okinawa (SACO) will take place very soon. So, there is a possibility that the two gentlemen will review the talks on this, and encourage the relevant ministers and ministries to accelerate the process, so that the SACO will is finalized as scheduled. As for the economic and trade matters, Secretary of State Christopher said we have a deadline on the insurance talks, and Foreign Minister Ikeda agreed with this. This is a very serious question, but we would like to solve the issue by 15 December, and probably President Clinton will touch on this, but I do not think that President Clinton will negotiate with Prime Minister Hashimoto on this. Yesterday, Secretary of State Christopher also touched on civil aviation. Foreign Minister Ikeda also touched on this subject. The point is that the two sides are exploring the possibility of reopening the talks; it is a good sign. The Japanese side said that we should try to solve this issue with a compromise. There is a possibility that President Clinton will also touch on this issue. At the same time, there is a possibility that they will exchange views on the other international situations, such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, etc. Thank you very much.