(* This is a provisional translation by "WIP ジャパン" for reference purpose only. The original text is in Japanese.)

Press Conference by Foreign Minister Taro Aso

Date: Friday, March, 2, 2007, 8.55 a.m.
Place: In front of the Ministers' Room in the House

Main topics:

Contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Visit to Japan by Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
Opening of the first Meeting of Experts on International Cooperation
Japan-North Korea Working Group

1.Contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Minister:
The Ministry has decided to donate USD186 million (approx. 20.6 billion yen) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. As a nation that is strongly committed to supporting the fight against infectious diseases, Japan views this Fund's activities as extremely vital.

Related Information (Press Release)

2. Visit to Japan by Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia

Minister:
Mr. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia will visit Japan from March 11 to 14. A summit meeting will be held between Mr. Howard and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. I will also meet with Mr. Howard, for the first time in about a year.

Related Information (Press Release)

3. Opening of the first Meeting of Experts on International Cooperation

Minister:
The first Meeting of Experts on International Cooperation will be held on March 5. On that occasion, the Ministry will welcome representatives from numerous fields in Japan, each with extensive expertise and experience.

4. Japan-North Korea Working Group

Question:
Next week, a Japan-North Korea Working Group will convene in Hanoi. What actions and policies will the government follow?

Minister:
We will start with North Korea's insistence that the abduction issue is resolved, which is quite the opposite of Japan's view. Japan is responding in accordance with the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration. Since North Korea takes the view that the matter is settled, right from the start the discussions will not be easy.

Question:
Recently you stated, "The notion that the abduction question is settled is absurd." What is your minimum expectation to be able to say that progress has been made on the abduction issue?

Minister:
On this issue our views differ in many ways, however, as the media suggests, if North Koreans are not acting in good faith, this is unacceptable. North Korea hasn't started to conduct an internal survey. From that standpoint, as a minimum step North Korea must demonstrate its good faith and willingness to respond by cooperating with our investigations.

Question:
In an address the other day, you stated that as the initial actions to be implemented within 60 days the Working Group should meet not once but on several occasions. Will the meeting next week be the first of the series of meetings?

Minister:
Though we wanted to have one more meeting without the media's knowledge, we couldn't, because the media had been chasing us. I'm joking. Actually it was because it was simply difficult to arrange the meeting. This is why the meeting is schedule for March 7. The first official meeting will be on March 7, and the 30-day period will expire around March 15. Before then it may be logistically impossible to meet one more time. At least, talks will be launched within 30 days. We'll decide the rest of the schedule later. We have to try to achieve the degree of progress that is expected to be accomplished within 60 days, balancing with the other four Working Groups. We must make a certain degree of progress.

Question:
From that point of view, how much progress on the abduction issue would be equivalent to the assistance for North Korea from other Working Groups, in the form of 50,000t of fuel?

Minister:
That 50,000t supply of fuel is not directly related. Rather than those 50,000t, the remaining 950,000t will bear more directly on the issue. Japan's view is that at the stage where no progress has been made on the abduction issue, we are not prepared to discuss either the 50,000t or the remaining 950,000t.

Question:
Might the Working Groups on March 7 and 8 be extended, depending on progress?

Minister:
It's certainly possible.

Question:
Do you consider these Working Groups to be a part of the process of the Japan-North Korea Normalization Talks, which were held on 13 prior occasions?

Minister:
The purpose of the Six-Party Talks is to prevent North Korea from possessing nuclear weapons. North Korea has already conducted a nuclear test once, which changes the background significantly. I will deal with the Japan-North Korea Working Group this time with a completely different attitude.

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