(* 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 Seiji Maehara

Date: Friday, March 4, 2011, 5:47 p.m.
Place: MOFA Press Conference Room

Main topics:

Opening Remarks
- (1) Visit to Japan by Foreign Minister Niang of the Republic of Senegal
China's Defense Spending
Investigations Concerning the So-called “Secret Agreements” Issue
Politics Funds (omitted)
Review of ODA
Economic Diplomacy
Earthquake in New Zealand's South Island

1. Opening Remarks

(1) Visit to Japan by Foreign Minister Niang of the Republic of Senegal

Minister Maehara: I have once announcement. Foreign Minister Niang of the Republic of Senegal will visit Japan from March 8 (Tuesday) to 10 (Thursday), 2011 as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to a foreign ministerial meeting, Foreign Minister Niang will also have exchanges of views with JICA officials as well as with the Japanese private sector.
From the standpoint of further strengthening the bilateral relations with Senegal, we are delighted that a signing of a technical cooperation agreement is to take place. Senegal is to serve as a joint chair for the Third TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting to be held in Senegal in early May this year. We would like to confirm the two countries cooperation toward making the meeting a success.

2. China's Defense Spending

Nishioka, Mainichi Newspapers: I have a question concerning China's defense spending. There was an announcement today that it increased by 12.7% over the previous year. It appears that China is developing its military technology at a faster pace than we expected and has enhanced its attack capability. Please tell us how you think Japan should respond to this.

Minister: This is an extremely high rate of growth in defense spending, and as we have been saying all along, we cannot help but have concerns. Although it is also very important to increase transparency, I think that we have to continuously ask China what they intend to use its increased defense spending for or what their intentions are, as well as call on China to make efforts to increase transparency.

Saito, Kyodo News: With regard to the 12.7% increase announced this time, former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said: "This is less than 2% of the gross domestic product. Therefore, it is not correct to say that our defense spending has increased very much." Regarding the purpose of the increase, he said, "Since we are carrying out a defensive national defense policy, we will not be a threat to any country." Although I believe that this is the logic of the Chinese side, how do you feel about this?

Minister: Two percent of the GDP is a considerable amount. Since China has overtaken Japan to become an economic super power with the second largest GDP in the world, I think that 2% is a considerable percentage. As for defensive weapons, there is controversy over whether weapons can be classified as offensive or defensive. I think we have to examine that carefully.
In any case, as I said earlier, I believe that we must seek thorough explanation and call for making efforts to increase transparency.

Lee, Hong Kong Phoenix TV: China apparently has plans to build stealth fighters and indigenous aircraft carriers. Do you now feel that China will become a threat to Japan?

Minister: Although I believe that they are thinking about building aircraft carriers and there are yet to be confirmed matters with regard to when they would be deployed, China is developing stealth fighters. I hold strong doubts as to what they are presuming in promoting such modernization of their military arsenal. I would like to say that we have strong concerns.

3. Investigations Concerning the So-called “Secret Agreements” Issue

Naito, Mainichi Newspapers: I have a question in relation to the foreign affairs documents made public the other day. The documents show that consequent to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan, Japan was to shoulder the cost of $16 million for the relocation of Voice of America facilities. As with Minister Okada, is it your awareness that in addition to the $4 million to subrogate the cost of restoring military land to its original state, there were no fiscal burdens consequent to the reversion of Okinawa to Japan that could not be explained to the Japanese people? Please also tell us the reason for your answer.

Minister: These documents became public because our administration has revealed the various diplomatic negotiations that have taken place in the past, by making as many diplomatic documents public as possible. The documents that we have made public include secret agreements in the broad sense. However, the documents that have been made public are from the past, and with regard to their evaluation, it is our position not to mention them at the current time.

Naito, Mainichi Newspapers: In other words, is it your awareness that there were no secret agreements?

Minister: Including that, we do not put ourselves into a place to make judgments.

4. Politics Funds (omitted)

(omitted)

5. Review of ODA

Yamaguchi, Asahi Shimbun: I would like to ask a question concerning ODA review, on which you replied to interpellations at the Diet this morning. While you said you instructed the review, I think that you gave the instructions on a strategic review of the ODA immediately after your inauguration as Foreign Minister, so is that what you were referring to, or did you give instructions once again on a review of the ODA program, including that for China, due to some recent circumstances? Please tell us when it was that you gave the instructions that you mentioned in your response to Diet interpellations today, or if they are not the instructions you gave immediately after your inauguration, what is the objective of the new instructions? Although compared to the time that China received hundreds of billions of yen, China is now receiving a much smaller amount. Please tell us why this small amount has to be reviewed again.

Minister: First of all, I instructed a review for the first time after I became Foreign Minister -- I think you can say that it was immediately after my inauguration. That is because I stated that I wanted to position economic diplomacy as the pillar of our foreign policy. There is no doubt that ODA, indeed, is an extremely powerful tool in carrying out economic diplomacy. In that sense, humanitarian assistance and grassroots assistence by NPOs and others are also important, but amid the situation in which economic growth is the top priority with the Japanese economy under three restraining factors -- the declining population, low birth rate and aging population, and huge budget deficits. Speaking of humanitarian ODA and strategic ODA, although what is humanitarian falls under what is strategic in a broad sense, I gave instructions that we need to utilize ODA in a strategic sense in a way that it contributes to economic diplomacy in a narrower sense. I believe that this is making progress.
Now that you asked me about China today, the point that we need to think about is -- even with regard to areas in which China is about to graduate from ODA to a certain extent -- what are some ways in which Japan can make commitments including infrastructure export. In other words, are we going to review the conditions for providing ODA, or should we separately create something like an infrastructure fund that is different from ODA? I have given instructions including such matters.
In addition, with regard to countries, including China, that have achieved economic growth to a certain extent, I am having studies conducted on what should be done about things that are really necessary.

6. Economic Diplomacy

Nanao, Niconico Doga: This question is in relation to economic diplomacy. It has been reported in the media that the Japanese public and private sectors are leaning toward involvement in the largest transportation and logistics infrastructure project in Southeast Asia, being planned by Vietnam. Although this may not be a final decision, the demand for infrastructure in Asia is reported to be greater than $8.3 trillion. If the Japanese public and private sectors continue and create a large number of projects in partnership, then I think that this will obviously be huge for Japan as well. In what form do you intend to promote economic diplomacy, for example using the PPP method, in the future?

Minister: In Vietnam now, with regard to the specific matter you mentioned, although I may also need to do a little mental brush up, speaking overall, Vietnam is on a par with Indonesia as one of the greatest recipients of ODA from Japan. In particular, Vietnam is a long, thin country that runs north to south, so there is general agreement among governments that Japan can play a central role in things like north-south expressways and rapid-transit railways. Prime Minister Kan and Prime Minister Dung also agreed at a summit to build two nuclear energy plants in Vietnam, which will be the first time Japan has built nuclear reactors abroad.
At the same time, when I was Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, we are now working on Lach Huyen Port using PPP as mentioned by the reporter from Niconico Doga. We are also conducting pre-preliminary feasibility studies for cooperation on things like airports and space stations. In this sense, we will create a linkage from the development of Vietnam to the development of Japan. I think that Vietnam is especially important as a model of a win-win relationship in economic diplomacy in a good sense. We intend to thoroughly strengthen relations with Vietnam, in this direction. We also intend to advance initiatives solidly in other countries with which we have relations enabling the use of these tools.

7. Earthquake in New Zealand's South Island

Hanamura, TV Asahi: I would like to ask about the earthquake in New Zealand. Although the confirmation of the safety of Japanese nationals is still ongoing, and although I am fully aware that the work of confirming identities is being carried out there under extremely strict standards, on the other hand, people with other nationalities, such as Thais and Israelis, have been identified. I have been told by people at the scene that people from those countries are working together with the local authorities. Japan is not at the scene, and the identification specialists and physicians that came from Japan are working separately, without going to the scene. I feel that if they had been integrated into the effort from the beginning, it would have been a little bit faster. Please tell us if this was at the request of the people in New Zealand, and whether you were aware that it was possible to perform the confirmation work together.

Minister: Actually, we discussed this with New Zealand, and we have collaborated with them, including doing joint work. We have gained the cooperation of the families of the 28 Japanese nationals whose whereabouts are yet to be confirmed, and they have provided physical descriptions and DNA samples. Our five experts have received advice from each family in turn, and we have submitted the advice that the experts received to the Government of New Zealand. I think that these individuals have played a very large role in the confirmation of the whereabouts of Japanese nationals, and we are playing this role upon holding discussions with the Government of New Zealand.

Hanamura, TV Asahi: What will be done from now?

Minister: We have already provided physical and biometric information about the missing individuals, so the first stage is finished, and the five experts will return to Japan. If there are any further materials that we can provide that will assist the Government of New Zealand to confirm these 28 individuals' whereabouts, then we intend to provide expert advice and assistance at the scene in order to support their efforts.

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