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Philippines Meetings


APEC Ministerial Meetings and Japanese Foreign Minister's Bilateral Meetings

Speaker : Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto
Title : Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan
Date: 22 November 1996
Time : 20:35 -- 21:05
Location : Meeting Room 6, PICC
Manila, Republic of the Philippines

Press Conference

22 November 1996

MAJOR TOPICS

  1. Opening Statement
  2. Japan-U.S. trade relationship
  3. Issues regarding APEC
  4. Information Technology Agreement (ITA)
  5. Secretary of State Christopher's trip to China

  1. Opening Statement

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the briefing session of the Japanese delegation. First of all, I would like to brief you on the content of the afternoon Ministerial Meeting. I think the Chair might have already briefed you on the afternoon session. They talked about the Individual Action Plans and the Collective Action Plan, the WTO and economic and technical cooperation. As for the Individual and Collective Action Plans, members highly appreciated the importance of the Action Plans and specifically some members emphasized the importance of furthering the content of the Action Plans, stating that the Action Plans are in an evolving process and etc. One country said, together with other members, that they will start on an experimental basis the so-called "business travel card" from the first quarter of next year. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda said that the exchange of business people in this area is very important, but as far as Japan is concerned, we are going to contribute to this on the basis of the existing Japanese system. We have the so-called non-visa treatment of the specific members of APEC, and at the same time applying the multiple reentry visas for business people. The meeting touched on the subject of new membership. A consensus was formed and tomorrow the Chair will announce measures on this. That is all, as far as the IAPs and CAPs are concerned.

    Next is on the WTO. First of all, on the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), the Japanese side clearly supported this idea and asked the conference to give a clear message for the upcoming Singapore World Trade Organization (WTO) Conference. The drafting is now going on and the Japanese Delegation has been urging the other delegations to make up good wording on the subject with something that is likely to reach an agreement by the time of the Singapore Ministerial Meeting. The Ministerial Meeting touched on the ongoing negotiations on the telecommunication service. One member stated that the United States and the European Union unilaterally made offers for improvement and asked the other members of the WTO and APEC to do the same. Foreign Minister Ikeda said that the members are requested to make any offers or improve the offers to the WTO even before the Singapore Ministerial Meeting begins.

    On "new issues," there are two different schools of thought. One school says the members should have a prudent approach to new issues. The other members are very positive on the issues. As far as Japan is concerned, the Foreign Minister supported further liberalization and at the same time it is necessary to have new issues picked up at the Singapore Ministerial Meeting. Specifically, he talked about trade and investment. He suggested starting from an educational process as far as this issue is concerned, suggesting to set up a working group under the WTO. Many members talked about the desirability of APEC members who have been negotiating with the WTO on its entry into that organization. The Japanese side also talked about this. As for the economic and technical cooperation, the report from the Economic Committee was presented to the Ministerial Meeting and it was formally adopted. That was the outline of the afternoon session.

    This evening, Foreign Minister Ikeda met Secretary of State Warren Christopher of the United States of America for 45 minutes or so. They talked about the bilateral relationship and some international issues. Secretary of State Christopher said he has been engaging in the Japan-U.S. relationship for the last 35 years off and on. Now is the best time and the two countries are now enjoying their best relationship, even during the last four years of the Clinton Administration. Foreign Minister Ikeda shared the same views with him and Secretary of State Christopher said that even regarding the economic and trade relationship, the present relationship is very good. At the same time, they talked on some specific issues. If you talk about the security and political relationship, they exchanged views on the Okinawa bases issues, a review of the guidelines for defense cooperation between the two countries, and the need to deepen policy dialogue between the two countries. If you talk about the trade and economic issues, they touched on the insurance issue, the civil aviation issue and, at the same time, Secretary of State Christopher took initiatives to touch on the Common Agenda which both countries have been dealing with for the past several years in cooperations in the field of global concerns. Foreign Minister Ikeda shared that this is one of the most important and positive aspects of the bilateral relationship and both gentlemen agreed to further cooperate in this field. They also talked about the need to strengthen policy dialogue in the international economic matters. Secretary of State Christopher briefly talked about his recent visit to the People's Republic of China and they also exchanged views about the Korean situation. If you are interested in the bilateral talks between Japan and the United States, I will answer your questions. Having said this, I will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.

  2. Japan-U.S. trade relationship

    Q: How far have you widened the trade relationship between the United States and Japan?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Are you talking about the Foreign Minister Ikeda's meeting with Secretary of State Christopher? Secretary of State Christopher stated that the trade and economic relationship is good now. He stated that both countries should endeavor to maintain this good relationship in the future. Foreign Minister Ikeda shared the same view on this. Foreign Minister Ikeda said that even if we have some trade issues, the Governments should try to solve those issues. After that, Secretary of State Christopher talked about insurance issues, and the deadline, meaning 15 December, is coming soon, and he expressed his strong hope that this issue be solved with the efforts of both Japan and the United States. He asked Foreign Minister Ikeda to convey this message to the relevant ministers of Japan. And, at the same time, Secretary of State Christopher asked Foreign Minister Ikeda to endeavor to reach an agreement on this. Foreign Minister Ikeda replied that, yes, the deadline would come soon, but as soon as possible, we should try to find a mutually acceptable solution, and he has promised to convey the United States message to his colleagues in Japan. They also talked about civil aviation, and Secretary of State Christopher said that now the two countries are going to find an occasion to negotiate, it is a good sign. Foreign Minister Ikeda replied that that was the case, and that both sides should apply mutual concession and try to find a solution. Foreign Minister Ikeda said that Japan and the United States should strengthen political dialogues on the various international, economic and trade issues. Secretary of State Christopher shared the same views on this. I believe that is about all that the two gentlemen talked about.

    Q: Sir, how much is the total trade balance between the United States in the --?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: I believe my colleague will tell you later on. In any case, the imbalance has been --.

    Q: Narrowing?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Yes, narrowing very fast. My colleague will give you the data later on.

  3. Issues regarding APEC

    Q: Does Japan share the sentiments of other economies that APEC would soon become a community of Asian nations?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Japan places very great importance to strengthening cooperations among the APEC members. We would like to do our best to further liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment in this area. In this sense, yes, we are for the APEC.

    Q: If it will be consolidated into a community of Asian nations, will it not threaten the NAFTA of the United States?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: APEC is an open regionalism. It is not an institution in the very strict sense like the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) or North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). APEC is based on voluntarism, and at the same time, to some extent, we are applying concerted actions. This is a very unique forum, and I think that APEC is very good for the countries of different degrees of economic development -- to gather together and exercise so-called peer pressure and mutually endeavor to liberalize trade and investment.

  4. Information Technology Agreement (ITA)

    Q: I just need your clarification regarding Foreign Minister Ikeda's suggestion in the meeting this afternoon that Japan would like to see the APEC members reach agreement by the time of the WTO Meeting regarding the ITA. Did he mean to suggest the inclusion of this sentence into the APEC Ministerial Meeting?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Yes, that is right. Drafting is now going on. We will have to wait and see how the wording will be, but we are now consulting among ourselves on this.

    Q: How much does discussion on this issue --?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: As far as the Ministerial Meeting is concerned, some members touched on this subject. A rather big number of members touched on the importance of the ITA, but there were no discussions on this matter. As far as discussions are concerned, the Senior Officials have been consulting on the wording of the Communiqu, on this item.

  5. Secretary of State Christopher's trip to China

    Q: Just now you just mentioned about Mr. Christopher's talk about his recent trip to China. What are the specific issues Mr. Christopher raised during his trip to China?

    Spokesperson for the Prime Minister of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Secretary of State Christopher told Foreign Minister Ikeda that he was well received by the Government of China and his trip was a good trip. He specifically mentioned the subject of the talks with the Chinese side, nonproliferation of arms, human rights, Chinese Taipei, and, at the same time, he said that in his speech in Shanghai, he talked about the security relationship between Japan and the United States, stating that it is a cornerstone for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The alliance between Japan and the United States is not a threat for any third party in this area. He said there was not a negative reaction from the Chinese side. Having heard this, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that we are glad to hear that the United States-China relationship is going in a good direction. As far as Japan's relations with China is concerned, we would like to always apply restraint and try to develop good neighborly relations with China. Thank you very much.

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