(* This is a provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only. The original text is in Japanese.)

Press Conference by Minister for Foreign Affairs Katsuya Okada

Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
Place: MOFA Press Conference Room

Main topics:

Opening Remarks
- (1) Situation in Kyrgyz Republic (Relations with New Government)
- (2) Disclosure of Diplomatic Documents
US Military Realignment Issue
Situation in Iran
Advisory Panel of Experts on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Negotiations on Japan-India Nuclear Energy Agreement
Japan's Seeking to Gain Permanent Seat in UN Security Council
Disclosure of Diplomatic Documents
Appointment of Ambassador to the United States
Japan’s Fiscal Situation
Dispatch of PKO Units to Sudan
Situation in Israel
Abduction of Japanese Citizens by North Korea

1. Opening Remarks

(1) Situation in Kyrgyz Republic (Relations with New Government)

Minister Okada: I made some comments on our relations with the new government of the Kyrgyz Republic during the Cabinet meeting this morning. A political change took place in the Kyrgyz Republic in April of this year. Following a democratization process, a national referendum was held on June 27. As a result of the referendum, a draft new Constitution and interim President Otunbayeva gained the confidence of the people. Japan has so far been carefully observing the development of the situation in the Kyrgyz Republic. Recently, the Japanese Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic issued a note verbal dated July 6, expressing congratulations to the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry for the fact that a national referendum was held peacefully and interim President Otunbayeva gained the confidence of the people. The Embassy indicated that Japan intends to maintain its relations with the Kyrgyz Republic.

(2) Disclosure of Diplomatic Documents

Minister: A press release on the disclosure of diplomatic records has been separately distributed, but at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, 29 files of diplomatic documents on the negotiations on the reversion of Okinawa, and 8 files on the negotiations on the revision of the Japan-US Security Treaty will be open to the public in the Diplomatic Records Office. With regard to administrative documents for which a certain period has passed, I have said many times that it is important to disclose those documents in principle as intellectual resources to be shared by the people, and enable the people, in which the sovereignty resides, to proactively make use of these resources. In other words, we have determined that this is an important policy issue related to the fundamentals of democracy that not only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the Government as a whole should tackle. However, among the files that we have been thinking about disclosing this time, there is a file that requires coordination between MOFA and other ministries and agencies, and we are currently conducting coordination. We have decided to postpone disclosing that particular file and disclose the remaining 37 files first. We hope to quickly proceed with the disclosure screening process. With regard to those files for which the preparations are ready, we plan to disclose them in order.

2. US Military Realignment Issue

Hasegawa, AFP: Last weekend, the mayor of Ginowan City in Okinawa indicated that he intends to sue the government over Futenma Air Station. Please tell us how you feel about that.

Minister: I am aware of the fact that he said so. I believe that if it turns into a trial, the government would boldly lay out a case.

Iwakami, Freelance: It has been reported that US Secretary of Defense Gates asked the Government of Japan to shoulder additional costs of relocating US Marine Corps troops to Guam. How does the government intend to deal with this? In addition, as I feel that this could lead to a revision of the Guam Agreement, if the US side makes such a unilateral demand, I think that the Japanese side had room to conduct tough negotiations or may have room to do so from here on, giving consideration to Japan’s national interests or the interests of the local Okinawan people. Please tell us about your thoughts on this point.

Minister: I am aware that there is such a report as you mentioned, but I will not make any comments on that in particular. I also think that at the moment, I am not in the position to answer the latter part of your question that is premised on this report.

Iwakami, Freelance: Why is that?

Minister: I am not commenting on the first half of your question. In any case, at least I think that Japan has been conducting tough negotiations with the United States.

Kamide, Freelance: Then, let me ask a question in general terms. So far, Japan’s tax money has been used in such issues in the form of the Host Nation Support (HNS) budget, among other things. Therefore, I have asked you about this recently, but in the Futenma issue, it has been agreed within the Japan-US statement to divert the HNS budget in connection with various debates that will be conducted by August. I believe that the relocation of Marines to Guam is the same in that this budget will be used, but in general terms or in terms of national sentiment, amid the existence of public opinion that the GOJ does as told by the United States, please tell us, in general terms, what kind of approach the GOJ intends to take with regard to using the HNS budget or accepting the US demands. Following these negotiations on the Futenma issue, how will the government be able to fulfill its accountability to the people? Please tell us about these additional expenses.

Minister: With regard to the host nation support, which you just mentioned, there are references to that in some parts of the Japan-US statement, but nothing specific is written there. With regard to what to do about the host nation support itself from here on, I believe that being able to properly explain to the people, who are the taxpayers, will be the precondition. In any case, amid the existence of the Japan-US alliance – the fact that the US military exists for the security of Japan – I would like to hold thorough discussions regarding how Japan and the United States should shoulder the burden in general. I do not think that it is appropriate to look at just one aspect of this matter and speak about Japan as doing what the United States tells it to do. I do not think that it is proper to talk about this matter at that level.

Nakaima, Ryukyu Shimpo: I would like to ask a question about the relocation of Marines to Guam. I believe that the Japan-US Joint Statement agreed upon in late May contains the wording to the effect that the composition of the Marines moving to Guam would be reconsidered. On the other hand, I believe that the Guam Agreement, which stipulates the shouldering of the expenses by the GOJ, is an agreement that has been concluded on the premise that the command headquarters would accompany the Marines to Guam. Please tell us whether the Guam Agreement would have to be changed if the composition of the troops to be relocated were to change, or whether the GOJ intends to shoulder the financial burden based on the Guam Agreement even if the composition of the personnel to be relocated changes, or whether there is any room for reconsideration.

Minister: Currently, there is no difference in the basic number of personnel. Although there may be slight differences in the substance compared to what had been initially expected, that is a matter to be discussed from here on. We would like to hold thorough discussions regarding whether that would be acceptable to Japan. As to whether the agreement would need to be reviewed as a result of that would all depend on the substance, so I feel that I should not engage in hypothetical discussions very much at the moment.

Iwakami, Freelance: I was thinking for about two to three minutes, but I am not quite satisfied with your earlier response, so I would like to ask you once again. Since the people’s hard-earned tax money will naturally be used for the additional financial burden requested by US Secretary of Defense Gates, I feel that we ordinary citizens should be given a little more information regarding whether the GOJ, which manages our hard-earned tax money, intends to accept or reject Secretary Gates’ request. Even in terms of fulfilling accountability to the taxpayers regarding how tax money is used, this request by a foreign country for additional cost burden may be a sensitive issue, but please give us a little more explanation

Minister: Of course, when the GOJ makes some kind of decision, I think that it is natural for it to give the people an explanation. Currently, we are not at that stage.

3. Situation in Iran

Saito, Kyodo News: Continuing from the previous press conference, I would like to ask a question on the situation in Iran. As you well know, the Obama administration enacted a law on sanctions against Iran the other day, but according to reports, this sanctions law targets foreign companies that have transactions with Iran over oil development or export petroleum products to Iran. Do you believe that the enactment of this sanctions law is causing some kind of effect on Japanese companies’ economic activities? Do you have any plans to approach the US side or conduct coordination so that their economic activities are not hampered?

Minister: It is true that the law has been enacted, but currently, we are carefully studying its details. I think that upon discerning how it will affect Japanese companies, we will hold consultations with the US Government as necessary. At the moment, the situation does not warrant my making any specific comments in particular.

Saito, Kyodo News: I would like to ask you once again, but when speaking about Iran, the nuclear issue always becomes the focal point. While I think that that is natural, I believe that looking from a historical perspective, Japan and Iran have deep economic ties. Please tell us about your perception, shall I say, of the importance of economic exchanges between Iran and Japan and the overall coordination of economic activities between Japanese companies and Iran.

Minister: First of all, if you think about Iran in a slightly broader scope rather than in terms of economic relations, Iran is a large country in the Middle East, and there have been historical exchanges between Iran and Japan until now. In that sense, I believe that it is a very important country. However, the UN Security Council (UNSC) has once again adopted a sanctions resolution against Iran in response to its repeated violation of UNSC resolutions, and it is naturally necessary for Japan to firmly uphold these sanctions resolutions. In addition to these resolutions, we are currently carefully discerning what kind of unilateral sanctions are conceivable. We strongly hope that Iran will rectify the situation where it is violating UNSC sanctions and take the path of coexistence with the international community instead of a road to isolation.

Beppu, NHK: With regard to additional sanctions or unilateral sanctions against Iran, is there a possibility that Japan would not impose its own unilateral sanctions against Iran?

Minister: We have just started studying the matter, so I would like to refrain from making any prejudged response regarding the decision on that matter. We are thinking about conducting a thorough study regarding what Japan can possibly do upon thoroughly discerning various countries’ unilateral sanctions, including those of the EU and the latest law enacted by the United States.

4. Advisory Panel of Experts on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Kawasaki, Yomiuri Shimbun: Today, the Advisory Panel of Experts on Nuclear Disarmament had their first meeting. The panel will offer its proposal by September, but how do you specifically intend to use their proposal? Also, regarding the proposal, one of the panel members today made an ambitious statement that he would like the substance of the panel to go beyond that of the NPT Review Conference. I think that whether this can be turned into an actual policy is really a different issue, but what are your views on this?

Minister: Firstly, the Advisory Panel of Experts on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation was launched today, but they have not said that they will reach a conclusion by September. I would like this panel to discuss a wide range of topics, but one of them is the talks with the foreign ministers of various countries at the UN General Assembly in September, and the question is which topic should be mainly discussed there. Today, I mainly received opinions related to which countries’ foreign ministers I should approach, and what substance I should discuss. In other words, this is about creating a new group relating to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. I very much intend to approach foreign ministers who are passionate about nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, but in a way that is not too variously biased. But I do not want this expert panel to stop there; I want it to debate various issues thoroughly. For example, following the recent signing of the nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia, one topic is how to move ahead with nuclear disarmament, the scope it will take, and what will be targeted. Other topics are proposals on the role of nuclear weapons, and negative security assurance. How can we make negative security assurances more effective, or is there something new we should aim for ahead of negative security assurance? Many things have been mentioned, such as sole purpose, or main purpose, and the principle of “no first use,” and I would like to discuss these as well. The issue of India came up earlier, and I think that how to incorporate countries that are non-signatories to the NPT into a framework for nuclear arms reduction is also an important topic. I am hoping to see substantial discussions and proposals on these various basic issues of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and issues surrounding peaceful use.

5. Negotiations on Japan-India Nuclear Energy Agreement

Kawasaki, Yomiuri Shimbun: I have a related question. You just now mentioned India. On the earlier topic of the Japan-India nuclear energy agreement, some media have reported that India wanted to explain its position, and would dispatch a special envoy. This has been in the news, but were you already aware of this?

Minister: I have no particular knowledge of it.

6. Japan's Seeking to Gain Permanent Seat in UN Security Council

Uesugi, Freelance: Amid the ongoing campaigning for the House of Councillors election, I have been a little lazy, so perhaps this may be a redundant question, but in the (DPJ) manifesto, it is expressly written that Japan would “aim to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council” I do not recall that you spoke about that, so I would like to ask specifically what kind of approach Japan intends to take in aiming at that.

Minister: I believe that becoming a permanent member of the UNSC is basically a very important theme in conducting Japanese diplomacy. I think I touched on this in my foreign policy speech, but currently, various debates are going on within the government concerning specifically how to promote this. I think that it is still a little too early to speak about the direction we are heading.

Kamide, Freelance: My question concerns how you are viewing the trend of debates surrounding the House of Councillors election in general. Various questions are being raised that foreign affairs, including this UNSC permanent membership issue, are not being taken up at all, not to mention that the Futenma issue seems completely forgotten, and the consumption tax issue has become the central topic. I think that the way that the media has been taking these up is also a problem, but amid this situation, hardly any references have been made to the important issue of the Japan-US security arrangement and the like. Please let us know how you view this situation, and if there is anything that you, as the Foreign Minister, would like to definitely say about it to the media, please tell us.

Minister: During this very limited election campaign period, there have not been very many cases where foreign affairs have become a theme, even until now. That is slightly saddening for a foreign minister, and I would be glad if debates were definitely held on global issues such as security, global warming, nuclear issues, and poverty. Regrettably, however, that is not the case.
I try to watch debate programs as much as possible, but the consumption tax issue has become the center of debates. However, I think there probably are no political parties that are talking about raising the consumption tax immediately. The government has been saying that a general election would be held before the consumption tax is raised. We are only calling out for holding debates, but I feel very strongly that, for some reason, there have been many cases in which this has ended up getting reported as if the consumption tax would be raised right away.

Tanaka, JanJan: With regard to seeking to gain a permanent seat in the UNSC, there arises a simple question whether a country – where the prime minister keeps changing frequently and where there are politicians who avoid direct confrontation with journalists and develop collusive ties with the press club – would be able to gain international confidence if it were to gain a permanent seat in the UNSC. How do you feel about this?

Minister: Your explanation seems somewhat far-fetched, but after serving as the foreign minister for 10 months, I have come to re-acknowledge how important it is to become a permanent member of the UNSC. Japan is currently in the UNSC, and precisely because of that, we have given support to the ROK, which is not a member of the UNSC, over such matters as the (ROK patrol ship) Cheonan incident. As such, there is a huge difference between being a UNSC member and not being one in terms of influential power.
   Amid this situation, what normally happens especially with regard to permanent members of the UNSC is to hold consultation with other UNSC members upon firming up various matters first. Due to its economic strength and its being a democratic country, Japan, along with Germany, is viewed by other countries in the world as a country that has been exercising good influence. Moreover, if a country that does not possess nuclear weapons were to become a permanent member of the UNSC and firmly fulfill its role of serving the world, I believe that that would be very significant.
   However, since we must not only advocate that but also bring it about, we are currently holding various debates within the ministry on how we should go about it to begin with, considering that our previous attempts did not bear fruit.
   Recently, when I visited Africa in May, I spoke about Japan’s becoming a permanent member of the UNSC with the foreign ministers of various countries during bilateral meetings without exception. The current situation is that in many ways, we have been quietly making preparations for that.

7. Disclosure of Diplomatic Documents

Nishino, Kyodo News: I have a question about diplomatic documents. Thirty-seven documents have been made public, and I believe that in your opening remarks, you explained the significance of disclosing information in general terms, but this time, I believe that the two main topics of the documents were the 1960 revisions to the Japan-United States Security Treaty, and matters relating to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. I think that the revised security treaty and Okinawa can be linked to discovering secret agreements, but there are also many issues about Futenma relating to Okinawa. It also ties into relations with the United States in the future. I would like to ask again the significance of this disclosure linked to these two issues, and whether there is anything that you would like to reach out to the Japanese people.

Minister: It is not a question of what I want to reach out. Rather, it would be better to think of this as part of our process of properly disclosing information once the time limit has expired. There were no special intentions behind it. We are simply doing what one should expect: we are disclosing documents as soon as possible once the 30-year limit has expired.
Disclosures will not be limited to issues of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan or security. There are still documents on other topics that will be made public. We will disclose these documents continually, after viewing their contents, and coordinating with other relevant ministries and agencies as necessary.

Nishino, Kyodo News: When you mention coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies, on the subject of one document that could not be disclosed this time, or not at this stage, within the scope that you are able to speak on it, what kind of exchange are you having with other ministries and agencies, including future prospects?

Minister: We intend to disclose the documents as soon as possible, once coordination has finished. I do not think that too much time should be spent on it, so I am not intending coordination to take matter of a month, or two months. Since coordination is ongoing, I do not think that I should speak further on it at this time.

Beppu, NHK: I believe that there are still many diplomatic documents on the reversion of Okinawa to Japan and the revisions to the security treaty. How should we interpret the 37 documents that were disclosed at this time? What were the selection criteria? Rather than a mechanical process, do you select documents based on which ones were interesting or important?

Minister: We did not make any judgment of that sort, nor do I think that we should. We are disclosing documents in the order that they become available. It is just that the 38 documents had been referred to under the topics of the security treaty and the reversion of Okinawa, so we used these terms when we disclosed them.
But of course, it is envisioned that other related documents are in many other files as well, so these are not all that we have.

8. Appointment of Ambassador to the United States

Uesugi, Freelance: On the topic of the appointment of an Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Fukiura of Eurasia 21 Research Institute wrote in his blog that Yoichi Funabashi of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper has been provisionally selected as the Ambassador to the United States. Is this true, or are there any such plans?

Minister: There are not.

9. Japan’s Fiscal Situation

Iwakami, Freelance: This is a somewhat older topic, but the issue of the budget deficits of the industrialized nations was discussed at the G20. At that time, there were a fair number of media reports and commentary saying that Japan was ostracized and is very much a problem child. But after a thorough investigation, it has been reported that Managing Director of the IMF Strauss-Kahn treated Japan as an exception because there is no imminent risk in its finances. In other words, Japan was ostracized, or shall I say treated as an exception, because it actually has low risk. When these extremely confused media stories continued, it was in the middle of the elections as well, and although I will refrain from mentioning the statements by each party, Prime Minister Kan at least brought up Greece time and time again, and made statements to the effect that Japan was at risk of a financial collapse. I think that it is extremely problematic that the Japanese people were told that Japan was in imminent risk of financial collapse, with not only the confusion in the media, but also confusion spurred by the government. What are your views on this?

Minister: I think that the treatment changed precisely due to the idea that Japan and the member states of the EU should not be discussed in the same terms. It is a fact, however, that Japan’s balance of issued government bonds is higher than any other country worldwide, and for example, Japan has far and away issued the largest amount of government bonds as a proportion of GDP. I think that it would be unpardonable if this situation were allowed to get even worse. This is why although I do not think that we need to inflame a sense of crisis, I think that our political responsibility strongly demands that we put a halt to this situation, and fix it.

Iwakami, Freelance: At the same time, however, it is said that Japan has 250 trillion yen in foreign assets, 500 trillion yen in government assets, and 1,400 trillion yen in financial assets held by individuals. In terms of net debt, Japan does not have a very large problem as a debtor nation. Speaking from this viewpoint, the only point of great concern is that Japan owns a huge amount of US treasury bonds, and is purchasing more of them. There have long been rumors of a risk that the prices of US treasury bonds could plummet. Given our special relationship with the United States, Japan may not be able to buy and sell US treasury bonds freely. If there is a risk of them someday crashing, and this actually happens, then there are concerns that Japan’s foreign assets would suffer a huge amount of damage. Could you please tell us your views on this risk of owning US treasury bonds, and whether the Government of Japan is able to control this risk freely, including selling them?

Minister: I think that the government is purchasing US treasury bonds after various considerations. Anything beyond that involves the markets, so I think that a cabinet member should refrain from commenting. You also just mentioned the credits owned by the Government of Japan. As to which this specifically refers to, it is often stated in debates and the like that Japan has, for example, loan claims. Meanwhile, in terms of government funds, conventionally speaking it would have been postal savings, and now it is government bonds. There are many things that could not be called net credits in the true sense, and I think that this should be debated a little more thoroughly.

10. Dispatch of PKO Units to Sudan

Beppu, NHK: On the topic of the peace-keeping operation (PKO) in Sudan, there was finally a peace accord five years ago, and in January of next year, there will be a public referendum on the independence of the south, and the international community is also extremely interested in events there. In relation to the high significance, what is the bottleneck that is blocking the PKO? Is it security, or money? Please tell us within the scope of your understanding.

Minister: This is being discussed within the government. The Chief Cabinet Secretary has said that a conclusion will be made in a week, so I think that it is better not to say too much about the discussions going on now. If I do say something, then people will say that opinions are divided and so on, so I would like to explain the situation when the conclusion has been made, in line with that conclusion.

11. Situation in Israel

Saito, Kyodo News: The other day, it was announced that you had a telephone conference with Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Davutoglu, so I would like to ask about that. In an interview with a domestic newspaper, Foreign Minister Davutoglu spoke fairly decisively about the firing incident on the Gaza aid flotilla that is in the news; he said that Israel should make a resolute apology, and that if it cannot apologize, then it should accept an international investigation, and that if it does not, then Turkey will cut off diplomatic relations. I would like to ask whether Japan supports this extremely strong stance that Turkey has taken with regard to Israel, and that if Turkey demands the acceptance of this international survey they speak of, is Japan prepared to cooperate? This is not very big news in Japan, but it is creating major repercussions in the region, so I would like to ask for a clear comment on this point.

Minister: Firstly, I think that it is best not to speak about the details of my telephone conference with the Turkish Foreign Minister. But many people lost their lives in this incident, and although I have not been able to confirm if the statements by Turkey are the same as the ones that have been reported, whether he said that Turkey would cut off diplomatic relations, I have heard that Turkey is demanding a international investigation, or an apology. There are places to discuss how the international community will recognize this, so this discussion should be left to those places. I think that it is best that Japan does not show its direction too clearly at this time. The involved parties are still in the middle of discussions. But I conveyed my deep condolences to the Turkish Foreign Minister for the many people who lost their lives or were injured, and told him that such an incident must not be repeated.

Saito, Kyodo News: Although Israel says that it is “relaxing” its blockade of Gaza, the blockade has still not been completely lifted. Is the Government of Japan demanding that it be lifted completely, or does it intend to work to convince Israel to lift the blockade completely?

Minister: I think that this topic, the issue of Gaza, and this incident are all separate issues to be discussed. Speaking of the Gaza blockade, shall we say, the issue of adding restrictions to the access to the Strip has essentially not made it to me very much from within the Ministry. I therefore cannot speak candidly on this. This is the first time I have been at a loss for words at these press conferences, isn’t it… I think that it is a very difficult issue. It is a difficult issue, but I do not think that the issue of the access to the Gaza Strip from the outside directly is an easy one, because it involves the current international situation that the Gaza Strip has been placed. The issue of whether ships should be able to enter and leave the Gaza Strip freely is a very subtle matter of international law. Consequently, I cannot answer at this time without discussing the issue a little with experts.

Nishino, Kyodo News: I believe that this was also agreed to by the G8, because the G8 summit declaration states that it welcomes the decision to loosen some controls, and then will continue to be loosened. Doesn’t your answer just now take a step back from this?

Minister: As I said, a little study will be necessary as to whether it can be completely liberalized.

12. Abduction of Japanese Citizens by North Korea

Nishioka, Mainichi: My question is about the issue of abduction by North Korea. Some of the media have been reporting the possibility that former death sentence convict Kim Hyun-Hui may be visiting Japan. I believe that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be tasked as the point of contact, but could you tell us at this time whether there is a possibility that she will visit Japan, and when approximately this might take place?

Minister: I have nothing to say (about this).

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