Press Conference by the Press Secretary April 23, 1997

Hostage crisis in the Republic of Peru
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: At 15:23 Peru time, on 22 April, a special unit of the Peruvian Armed Forces stormed the Japanese Ambassador's Residence, bringing an end to the four month-long occupation of the residence by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has already held two press conferences on this incident this morning.

Through these press conferences, I am sure that you have already learned of the developments which have occurred and of Japan's position on this incident. For the record, I will go through these one more time for your benefit. I understand that one official of the Peruvian Supreme Court who was being held hostage and two members of the special forces were killed. I express my sincere condolences to these victims and their bereaved families.

We have been able to confirm that the 71 hostages, including 24 Japanese nationals, were successfully rescued. Although some of them are reported to have injuries such as burns and bruises, no one has been seriously harmed. The Government of Japan highly appreciates the miraculous way that this operation was handled without yielding to terrorism.

Prime Minister Hashimoto spoke for 20 minutes on the telephone with President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru this morning. Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed his gratitude to President Fujimori and the other members of the Peruvian Government who seized the opportunity to implement this difficult operation successfully. Although he regretted that there had been no prior notification on this rescue operation, Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed his understanding of the situations leading up to President Fujimori's decision given the subtle timing of the strategy. President Fujimori asked Prime Minister Hashimoto to convey a message to the people of Japan that he regretted the long time it took to solve this incident, but that Peru had been able to bring this incident to closure without giving in to terrorism, and he expressed his appreciation for the trust which the people of Japan had shown him and his Government.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda will depart for Lima at around 20:00 this evening. Foreign Minister Ikeda will be taking with him a team of National Police Agency investigators and medical specialists.

I would like to take this opportunity to express the respect of the Government of Japan for the tremendous patience and endurance with which the hostages passed this ordeal. We intend to do all that we can to help all of the hostages to recover and return to their normal lives.

In the days to come, the Government of Japan will be reporting on the situation and thanking all of the countries which have been so gracious with various forms of assistance during this ordeal. We are truly appreciative of the continued support and solidarity shown by the international community. Here again, I must express my heartfelt gratitude to the many people who cooperated so much during the last four months.
Prior notification
Q: Regarding what Prime Minister Hashimoto said about prior notification, throughout this crisis, Japan, and you yourself, have said that prior notification would be necessary for any armed resolution to this problem. What is your feeling now on the lack of prior notification?

Spokesman Hashimoto: President Fujimori repeatedly told us and the public that the Peruvian Government would not take military action so long as the MRTA would not injure the hostages. In general, we expected that if that happened and President Fujimori had to decide to take actions, he would notify Prime Minister Hashimoto of these actions. As Prime Minister Hashimoto said, we regretted that this was not done, but at the same time, we understand the situation. As Prime Minister Hashimoto said in the press conference today, we understand the difficult situation, and President Fujimori, as supreme commander, had decided to take advantage of this opportunity. We are very grateful that this incident is over. Unfortunately, three people were killed.

Q: This excludes the kidnappers, because more than three people were killed.

Spokesman Hashimoto: As far as the MRTA is concerned, they deserve to be killed.

Q: So, the Japanese Government never at any time gave its blessing, so to speak, to President Fujimori to conduct an operation of this kind should the need arise? Was there any discussion that he could make this decision on his own if it was deemed necessary?

Spokesman Hashimoto: President Fujimori expressed his regrets to Prime Minister Hashimoto over the telephone today that he could not give notification regarding these actions. Now that this incident has been brought to a successful end, we should understand that President Fujimori made decisions on his own regarding the timing, the actions, etc., and it was miraculous that only very limited numbers of people were killed during this operation.

Q: What if there was no notification and it did not turn out in such a favorable way?

Spokesman Hashimoto: Probably, we should think about the successful result which we, of course, wanted. One official of the Supreme Court was killed, I am sure that his family is very saddened over this incident. However, other than this loss the incident was resolved very peacefully. Knowing this, we say that although we regret that we were not told before the move, we are able to understand this situation very well.

Q: There was a newspaper report that Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Fujimori had exchanged documents, or signed some kind of agreement, in Toronto that Peru would notify Japan before taking military action. Does such a document exist, or is the agreement verbal? If this is a very formal agreement, do you consider the Peruvian action in violation of this?

Spokesman Hashimoto: In Toronto, there was no paper signed between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Fujimori. The two Governments issued a joint press statement in Toronto. On the basis of this, the two gentlemen went to their press conferences. At that time, President Fujimori clearly stated that he would not use force unless the hostages were threatened or injured by the MRTA. Prime Minister Hashimoto supported what President Fujimori said and he clearly warned the MRTA not to make any threats against the hostages. Of course, I must tell you that the Government of Japan, in general, wanted to bring this incident to an end peacefully. In general terms, we expected that prior notification would be given if President Fujimori were to take military action; this was not the case. However, Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed his understanding of the situation where President Fujimori could not provide prior notification. We are very appreciative that this difficult operation brought a successful end to the four month-long hostage incident.

Q: When Prime Minister Hashimoto says that he understands the circumstances of not notifying the Japanese Government, what does he mean by "circumstances"? What circumstances does he understand?

Spokesman Hashimoto: He understood the timing of taking the action. He understood why President Fujimori could not notify Japan of the actions before the actual operation. Prime Minister Hashimoto understood the difficult situation under which President Fujimori acted.
Timing of the storming of the Japanese Ambassador's Residence
Q: What is your understanding of the timing of this incident?

Spokesman Hashimoto: The headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not aware at all that this kind of military action would take place today. However, in general terms, we expected that President Fujimori might take military action if the MRTA did something wrong in regard to the hostages. In light of this, we prepared ourselves for what we should do in the case that military action was taken. However, we simply were not aware of any signs that force was going to be used.

Q: Is there any indication that the hostages were threatened with violence and that is what prompted President Fujimori to begin military action?

Spokesman Hashimoto: So far, what we know about the operation is very limited. Ambassador Morihisa Aoki said in his press conference that he personally did not know very much about the operation itself. I think it will take some time for us to be fully informed of the process of the operation.
Japanese Ambassador to the Republic of Peru
Q: This afternoon, Ambassador Aoki said that for him to continue in his job depends on the attitude of the Japanese Government. Do you have any comment on that?

Spokesman Hashimoto: First of all, we are very appreciative that he has carried out his responsibility very successfully. For the time being, we must take care of the people who have been injured. Foreign Minister Ikeda is flying to Lima. There are many things to do before we can say anything in regard to your question. In any case, we are happy that we have that kind of responsible, calm and confident ambassador.
Police investigations at the Japanese Ambassador's Residence
Q: In this morning's press conference, Prime Minister Hashimoto said that President Fujimori asked for the ambassador's residence to be closed for two days. What is the Japanese response to this?

Spokesman Hashimoto: We have given our consent to this. With the cooperation of a team of national police in Lima, I think that the Japanese Ambassador's Residence will be closed for two days. However, together with Foreign Minister Ikeda, another team of National Police Agency investigators will fly to Lima. So, with the cooperation of the Peruvian police, I think that the necessary investigations can be carried out in Lima.
Japan-Republic of Peru discussions on hostage crisis responses
Q: Were you consulted on the nature of the military response?

Spokesman Hashimoto: Not if you are talking about a concrete plan. However, our team in Lima consulted various people, for example, the police which were engaged in first aid, etc., on what we should do in the event of a crisis. This was carried out on the basis that some kind of crisis might happen, which does not mean that the Peruvian Government was contemplating taking action in cooperation with Japan.
Protection of Japanese embassies
Q: Will the experience of the last four months change the way the Japanese embassies are protected in countries around the world?

Spokesman Hashimoto: When we found out that the MRTA had seized the residence, we started to investigate and study what we should learn from this incident. Also, under the Foreign Minister, a small committee was established and has already been operating regarding how to more effectively protect our overseas establishments. In addition to this, this morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established another committee of investigations. We must study many things regarding this incident, e.g., why it happened, what we should learn from the incident, what sort of protection we should provide, etc.
Visit of Prime Minister Hashimoto to the United States, Australia and New Zealand
Q: In light of what happened today, will Prime Minister Hashimoto change his plans regarding his visit to the United States?

Spokesman Hashimoto: No, he is scheduled to fly to the United States, and after that he will go to Australia and New Zealand.
Death of MRTA members at the Japanese Ambassador's Residence
Q: The report said that 14 members of the MRTA are dead. Is there any report as to how they were killed? And, what is the reaction of the Japanese Government on the fact that 14 members are now dead?

Spokesman Hashimoto: We are not aware of the details of the operation itself. Therefore, I cannot tell you how they were killed. I have already told you that they deserved to be killed.
Negotiations during the hostage crisis
Q: Do you have any opinion on why the negotiation process was unsuccessful in this case?

Spokesman Hashimoto: Again, we must review why Archbishop Cipriani's mediating efforts could not bear a tangible result. We very much appreciated that he enthusiastically mediated between the Peruvian Government and the MRTA. However, from the very start of the incident, President Fujimori stated that he would not allow any MRTA members in prison to be released. At the same time, we knew that the MRTA strongly demanded the Government to release MRTA members. So, what Archbishop Cipriani, together with other members of the Commission of Guarantors, could do was very limited. However, Archbishop Cipriani was extremely sincere in dealing with this incident. Unfortunately, the MRTA demands for release of prisoners did not change up until the last moment.

Q: You mentioned that this was a successful mission, although perhaps the Japanese Government was not ready for it. Do you think that the Japanese Government will perhaps change its policy in dealing with terrorists in future hostage situations should they arise?

Spokesman Hashimoto: Japan is a member of the G-7 countries or P-8 countries, which have been denouncing terrorism. In this incident, that principle has been adhered to with gratitude to the actions taken by President Fujimori. I believe that our policy will continue as such in the future.
Other hostage situations in Japanese history
Q: Can you think of any other incidents in recent times where a hostage situation involving Japanese was resolved by use of force?

Spokesman Hashimoto: No, I do not recall any incidents. This was the first time that Japanese Government officials together with other civilians and foreign dignitaries were taken hostage. So, many things are very new to us. In the past, the Japanese Embassy was seized by terrorists, but this was a long time ago. I cannot give you precise information on how we solved this incident. But, for a long time, a hostage incident of this kind has not taken place. This is a new experience for us. In the last four months, we have learned quite a lot from this incident. So, I am sure that we can take more appropriate actions if any similar incident takes place in the future. Of course, we do not want this to happen.

Back to Index