Announcement on the Occasion of Japan-US Summit Meeting

November 20, 1998

1. Assistance to the Palestinians

As a largest donor to the Palestinians, Japan has extended assistance worth more than $370 million in 5 years, since 1993 to date. Japan intends to continue its assistance to the Palestinians by providing aid up to $200 million in the next 2 years, in order to accelerate the momentum for the Middle East peace process created by the Wye River Agreement in which President Clinton took an instrumental role.

2. Assistance for Reconstruction of the Countries in Central America Stricken by Hurricane Mitch

Japan is extending its maximum assistance to the countries in Central America which were stricken by Hurricane Mitch, namely, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

1. Emergency material assistance consisting of electricity generators, water purifiers, tent, and pharmaceuticals worth around $500,000 (= 60.1 million yen)
2. Emergency grant assistance worth $1.5 million
3. Dispatch of a medical team consisting of 16 members to Nicaragua
4. Dispatch of SDF units consisting of 205 members to Honduras for emergency relief operations, which is the first dispatch of SDF under the Law concerning Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Teams

Realizing that Japan is a major donor of bilateral assistance to Latin American countries, and keeping close contact with the U.S., Japan will energetically extend its assistance to the countries in Central America for their rehabilitation and reconstruction.

3. Japan-U.S. Cooperation in Global Change Research and Prediction

Japan and the U.S. agreed upon the draft implementing arrangements on the Global Change Research and Prediction which is now underway as one of the initiatives for the environmental protection of the Japan-U.S. Common Agenda. The joint research will be conducted at International Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska (IARC) and the International Pacific Research Center of the University of Hawaii (IPRC), as well as other venues where the two sides may decide.

4. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty

The Government of Japan and the U.S. Government have agreed to start negotiations on the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

5. Japan-U.S. Statement on Democracy

Commemorating the 50th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 5th anniversary year of the Vienna Declaration issued by the World Conference on Human Rights, Japan and the U.S. as partners with shared values take the opportunity of this summit meeting to reaffirm their commitment to the democratic principles established in these Declarations. The two countries hereby make a joint statement on democracy.