Outline of the Japan-United States of America Summit Meeting
20 October 2001
On the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, on 20 October from 11:50am local time (12:50pm Japanese time), Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met for about 30 minutes with President George W. Bush of the United States of America and held summit talks.
(Attendees)
United States side: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Ambassador to Japan Howard H. Baker, Chief of Staff to the President Andrew Card, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Condoleezza Rice, and others Japanese side: Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kosei Ueno, and others(Outline of the Summit Meeting)
1. Response to the Simultaneous Terrorist Attacks in the United States
(1) Prime Minister Koizumi stated that while Japan would not participate in the use of force, Japan was willing to provide cooperation in areas such as goods and transportation, which was one of the aims of the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Bill. The Prime Minister noted that the assignment of new roles to the Self-Defense Forces is gaining support from the people of Japan, and other than military action, economic and diplomatic efforts blocking terrorist funding were also of necessity. The Prime Minister stated that concerning this issue, military success, political stability and reconstruction were the three important factors and that Japan would make all efforts possible to achieve political stability and reconstruction.
(2) President Bush expressed his appreciation for Japan's continuing efforts, noting that the non-participation in the military activities was secondary when the friendly relations between the United States and Japan were considered. The President offered his deep gratitude for Japan's support and noting that efforts towards reconstruction of Afghanistan would be necessary in the future, suggested that Japan, with its successful experiences of building peace in the Kingdom of Cambodia, could usefully make a broad contribution in coming up with ideas and ways to proceed.
2. Support to Countries Surrounding Afghanistan
President Bush stated that Japan's US$40 million assistance to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was a truly generous support and expressed his opinion that Japan's continued participation in support efforts would be of great importance when considering the future of the countries in the region.
3.Relations with China and the Republic of Korea
Prime Minister Koizumi noted that he had recently visited both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) and held summit meetings with President Jiang Zemin and President Kim Dae Jung. He mentioned that he was making efforts to promote good relations with these two countries and that he confirmed Japan's cooperation with these two countries in the fight against terrorism.
4. Economy
(1) In response to a question from President Bush, Prime Minister Koizumi noted that although people in Japan support the reform in general, there are still a number of differing opinions as to the means to realize reforms. The Prime Minister added that since the terrorist attacks on 11 September, the world has been facing the possibility of a global economic recession, and that there are those now calling for positive economic growth because of that. The Prime Minister stated that reforms were in any case necessary in order to achieve sustainable growth. The Prime Minister noted that he intended to pursue reforms based on a long-term perspective for growth, rather than on a short-term view.
(2) President Bush responded that his father, the 41st President of the United States George Bush had also faced the issue of non-performing loans which Japan is now faced with, and that he had also proceeded to resolve the situation by attaching greater importance to a long-term perspective, in the same way as Prime Minister Koizumi is doing.
(3) President Bush stated his hope of seeing a new round of negotiations being launched at the 4th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference to be held in Doha. Prime Minister Koizumi nodded his head in agreement.
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