Press Conference by the Press Secretary 10 November 1995

1. Response of the Government of Japan to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of the State of Israel
2. Legal proceedings regarding recent incident in Okinawa
3. Timing of possible signing of authorization of lease contracts for United States Forces' bases in Okinawa
4. Japan's role as Chair of the 1995 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meetings in Osaka
5. Recent comments regarding the Korean Peninsula by an official of the Government of Japan
6. Recent incidents of leaking of the off-the-record comments of government officials

1. Response of the Government of Japan to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of the State of Israel

   Acting Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ken Shimanouchi: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I do not have any announcements, and I would be very glad to answer any questions you may have.

   Q: I wanted to ask you two things. I read in the paper on Tuesday here that, when the Foreign Ministry received notification of the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin of Israel, they began discussing the response to that, beginning on the early morning of 5 November, and that, concerning the problem of who should attend the funeral, at first, the Foreign Ministry broached to Chief Cabinet Secretary Koken Nosaka the proposals of: a) sending former Foreign Minister Nakayama as a special emissary of the prime minister, or b) sending no one, and having the Japanese Ambassador to Israel attend the funeral. Is this accurate?

   A: No. What happened is that we discussed internally within the Government whom to send. We would have liked to send Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, but given the domestic situation, particularly the situation in the Diet, it was decided that Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono would be the most appropriate person to represent Japan at the funeral.

   Q: So, it is not true that the Foreign Ministry every broached to Chief Cabinet Secretary Nosaka the two proposals that are mentioned here. That is not true.

   A: I think that is speculation.

   Q: So, you are saying it may be true; it may not be true. You are not sure.

   A: To my knowledge, it is not true.

   Q: But you don't know for sure. You are not sure.

   A: I am sure that we had discussions within the Government, and it was decided that Foreign Minister Kono should go, and we think we made a good decision.

   Q: But you are not sure whether this is true or not. Is that correct?

   A: I am not aware of exactly what sort of discussions took place; I was not there. But the result of the discussion, I think, is quite clear, and I think we made a good decision. It is our policy not to comment on each and every article of that nature.

   Q: If I were to mention that such a report exists, I hope I do not hear later that this report is false.

   A: No. I do not think it is true.

   Q: But you are not sure.

   A: I was not involved in the discussions, but I know what the result of the discussions is. I think what is important is whom we actually sent.

2. Legal proceedings regarding recent incident in Okinawa

   Q: There was a report from Atlanta that the lawyers and families of the three American servicemen charged with the alleged rape of the Okinawan girl are claiming that the three have been framed because they are blacks. I know you cannot go into judiciary details about this case, but would you say that this kind of reaction may further deteriorate the domestic feeling of the Japanese citizens, particularly in Okinawa? Could you comment on this?

   A: All I can say regarding this matter is that we are confident that the three suspects are being given a fair trial.

   Q: But certainly you do not welcome this kind of reaction, do you?

   A: I cannot comment on each and every newspaper report.

   Q: You have been aware of this report.

   A: Yes. I have read the report.

3. Timing of possible signing of authorization of lease contracts for United States Forces' bases in Okinawa

   Q: Secondly, there seems to be a lot of confusion or seeming disagreement within the Government about when and how the Prime Minister should execute his authority to sign the rent contracts for Okinawan base spaces, and the Liberal Democratic Party says the decision should take place before 20 November when the two leaders meet. Could you enlighten us on that point?

   A: As you know, Prime Minister Murayama had a meeting with Governor Masahide Ota of Okinawa Prefecture on 4 November, and in the meeting, Governor Ota made it very clear that he had no intention of signing the document. After the meeting, I think Prime Minister Murayama said that he will be making the judgement himself. What is being done now is that the Government is discussing this matter internally. What I can say for sure is that we must avoid a situation in which Japan will not be able to comply with its treaty obligations.

   Q: You said that the point is that Japan must avoid a situation in which it cannot comply with its treaty obligations. Then, are you saying indirectly that you can wait until after 20 November?

   A: I am reluctant to discuss any specific time frame for this. All I can say now is that this matter is being looked at within the Government, and we are fully aware of the time constraints involved with this matter.

4. Japan's role as Chair of the 1995 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meetings in Osaka

   Q: On APEC, the past couple days and weeks, it seems like I hear a lot of criticism about Japan not being able to take a strong leadership role. It is kind of an inward-oriented posture, not able to bring nations together and take a strong leadership role. How do you respond to that kind of analysis of Japan's position as APEC chair?

   A: I think there is a tendency among the domestic press and perhaps the overseas press to focus on the disagreements that still exist among the APEC members regarding the Action Agenda. It is true that we have yet to reach agreement on some points, including the principle of comprehensiveness. But we have reached agreement on almost all the rest of the issues, or we are near agreement. I can say that we are 90% or 95% there, and we will continue to make efforts to reach consensus on all the remaining points, including the principle of comprehensiveness, and we hope to reach agreement among the APEC members on a meaningful Action Agenda.

   Q: How about the question of leadership style -- strong leadership versus not-so-strong leadership?

   A: As I said, up to this point, we have reached agreement on a majority of the issues; we have only a few points which have yet to be agreed on. Before you accuse us of a lack of leadership, I hope you look at the final product which comes out of the APEC Osaka Meetings.

5. Recent comments regarding the Korean Peninsula by an official of the Government of Japan

   Q: Is there any new development about Director-General of the Management and Coordination Agency Takami Eto, regarding the Republic of Korea?

   A: Have you heard about his press conference this morning?

   Q: Yes, I did.

   A: I think you are both aware of what he said in the press conference. He told the press that he was sternly admonished by Prime Minister Murayama, that he takes this matter very seriously, that he retracts his remarks in their entirety. With regard to the view that Japan did some good things on the Korean Peninsula during the colonial period, he said that the things that Japan did on the Korean Peninsula were out of self interest, and that the view that Japan did some good things was wrong and self-centered. He restated the Government's position by expressing his deep remorse and regret over the fact that Japan caused the people of the Korean Peninsula tremendous damage and suffering as a result of Japan's colonial rule. He said that he fully upheld the Prime Minister's statement of 15 August 1995, and he reiterated his apologies to the people of the Republic of Korea for having hurt their feelings. He also referred to the importance of enhancing mutual understanding and friendly and cooperative ties between Japan and the Republic of Korea, and that we must develop future oriented Japan-Republic of Korea ties while looking at the past squarely, and that he would be personally making efforts for the cause of the Japan-Republic of Korea ties, seeking the understanding of the people of the Republic of Korea with regard to his true intentions. Later this afternoon, Administrative Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Tadayuki Hayashi will be meeting Ambassador to Japan Kim Tae Zhee of the Republic of Korea here in Tokyo to explain officially to the side of the Republic of Korea the measures that the Government of Japan has taken. We will be doing our very best to gain the understanding of the side of the Republic of Korea. That is how matters stand right now.

6. Recent incidents of leaking of the off-the-record comments of government officials

   Q: A related question -- one thing I am curious about is that this is the second incident in a relatively short period of time that Japanese media who got statements on a total off-the-record basis had leaked the contents, and they were printed or broadcast. Does this kind of violation of the off-the-record arrangement bother the Government? I noticed that few government officials have mentioned this new trend, or whatever that is.

   A: There seems to be a lot of discussion in the Japanese media regarding this issue, and I am personally following these discussions with great interest.

   Q: I understand that, at least on a visible basis, there have been few discussions among Government agencies and ministries about this off-the-record rule. Am I correct?

   A: I am not in a good position to comment on that, because I do not know what the reaction to this has been in the other Government agencies.