Press Conference by the Press Secretary July 25, 1997

Press conference announcements
1. "Eurasian diplomacy" speech by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto: Yesterday, 24 July, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto gave a speech to the Japanese Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), expressing his views on a new concept, namely "Eurasian diplomacy", which is the broadening of perspective out from the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (C.I.S.) and the People's Republic of China. With regard to Russia in particular, Prime Minister Hashimoto presented three new principles, namely, trust, mutual benefit and long-term perspective, and expressed his strong political will toward drastic improvement of bilateral relations, including solution of the Northern Territories issue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will endeavor to further strengthen relations with these countries on the basis of the perspective expressed in the above-mentioned speech.
2. Visit to India and Pakistan by Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda
  Spokesman Hashimoto: Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda is now visiting the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I would like to briefly outline the discussions he conducted with his counterparts in those two countries. At the Japan-Pakistan dialogue, it was agreed that mutual visits of eminent persons and policy dialogue between the two countries should be strengthened. Minister of Foreign Affairs Gohar Ayub Khan of Pakistan was invited to Japan as the guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Minister responding that he would like to make that visit in the near future. Foreign Minister Khan also invited Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to visit Pakistan. The Ministers also discussed issues such as bilateral economic relations (investment), economic cooperation, reform of the United Nations Security Council, global environmental issues and the situation in the South Asian region. Foreign Minister Ikeda welcomed the dialogue which is currently being advanced between India and Pakistan, and expressed the wish that concerns such as the Kashmir issue would be resolved through talks between the two countries. In regard to the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), Foreign Minister Ikeda urged Pakistan to sign the CTBT, simultaneously suggesting that it would be a good idea for Pakistan to sign the treaty first, because the CTBT will not go into effect as long as India does not sign it. He also hoped that Pakistan should work in concert with the United Nations over the Afghanistan issue. At the meeting between Japan and India, Ministers agreed that bilateral policy dialogue needed to be strengthened and that mutual visits by eminent persons needed to take place more frequently. Foreign Minister Ikeda invited President of India Shri K.R. Narayanan, who had just taken office, to visit Japan during 1998, while Minister of External Affairs Gujral invited Prime Minister Hashimoto to visit India. Foreign Minister Ikeda promised that a visit to India by the Prime Minister next year at an appropriate time would be considered. Foreign Minister Ikeda also proposed the establishment of a Japan-India Eminent Persons' Committee for the 21st Century and the Japan-India Center concept, and asked Minister of External Affairs Gujral for his cooperation in regard to these. Foreign Minister Ikeda highly commended India's good-neighbor policies -- the Gujral Doctrine -- and welcomed the progress of India-Pakistan dialogue, referring to the importance of both countries taking forward sincere efforts toward the improvement of relations. He also urged in this regard that India sign the CTBT.
3. Upcoming ASEAN meetings
  Spokesman Hashimoto: Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Post-Ministerial Conference from 26-29 July. As ASEAN approaches the thirtieth anniversary of its establishment, this region is taking on increasing importance as a world growth center. Japan hopes that ASEAN will continue to contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region. Japan also believes that the expansion of ASEAN through the accession of Laos and Myanmar will contribute to the further stability and prosperity of the region. Japan hopes that Myanmar's accession to ASEAN will further contribute to the promotion of democratization and national reconciliation in that country. Japan's goals in regard to the ASEAN+9 and the ASEAN+1 meetings are as follows. Regarding the ASEAN+9 Meeting, the goals are: communicating to ASEAN Japan's expectation that the expansion of ASEAN will contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region; communicating that each new ASEAN member will actively contribute to peace, stability and prosperity as an ASEAN member, following the rules of the region and of the international community; confirming that economic cooperation within the ASEAN region will be open to the countries outside the region; exchanging views on the strengthening of regional and international economic cooperation through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and on the political situation in other regions; and exchanging views on narcotics and other global issues. Regarding the ASEAN+1 Meeting, the goals are: following-up on the initiative put forward by Prime Minister Hashimoto at the beginning of the year in preparation for the Japan-ASEAN summit this December; encouraging the efficient utilization of official development assistance (ODA); and enhancing policy coordination in international fora with ASEAN, which is gradually gaining international influence. Lastly, in regard to Cambodia, Japan asks that in normalizing the situation, the Government of Cambodia observes the following four basic principles: observance of the Paris Peace Accords; maintenance of the present Constitution and political system; respect for basic human rights; and the implementation of free and fair general elections next May.
Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Q: Foreign Minister Ikeda suggested that it is a good idea for Pakistan to sign the CTBT first. Could you elaborate on that?

Spokesman Hashimoto: As you recall, the CTBT has been signed by many countries. However, it cannot take effect unless India and Pakistan actually sign the treaty. When Foreign Minister Ikeda exchanged views with his counterpart on this specific issue, Foreign Minister Ikeda was told that the Pakistani Government is ready to sign the treaty if the Indian Government signs the treaty. In responding to this, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that, in that case, how about signing the treaty on the side of Pakistan first, so long as the CTBT does not take effect until India signs the treaty? This means that by signing the treaty first, Pakistan can show the outside world its willingness to sign the treaty and give a positive pressure to India to also sign the treaty. But at the same time, Pakistan can be assured that the CTBT will not be put into effect as long as India has not signed the treaty. That is basically what Foreign Minister Ikeda had in mind when he suggested that Pakistan sign the treaty first.

Q: What was the reaction on the part of the Pakistan Government to this initiative?

Spokesman Hashimoto: There was not a direct answer from Pakistan on this.

Q: Foreign Minister Ikeda did not suggest that India sign the CTBT first, did he?

Spokesman Hashimoto: He did not suggest that India should sign the treaty first, but he encouraged India to sign the treaty. The Indian Minister told Foreign Minister Ikeda that the CTBT is not comprehensive enough, because there is a loophole for doing some other type of tests under the CTBT.

Q: Is it correct that from now on, the Government of Japan will take the position that Pakistan must first sign the CTBT before India does?

Spokesman Hashimoto: Up until now, Japan has been urging both Pakistan and India to sign the treaty. This time is the first time for Foreign Minister Ikeda to suggest that Pakistan be the first to sign the treaty.

Q: Does this reflect a change in the course of the Japanese Government that Pakistan should sign the treaty first and then India should sign it?

Spokesman Hashimoto: We clearly know that the CTBT will not take effect unless the two countries actually sign the treaty. In the future, we will continue to ask the two countries to do so. However, this time Foreign Minister Ikeda made the suggestion for Pakistan to sign the treaty first, because he perceived a willingness on the part of the Pakistani side to sign the treaty if the Indian Government is ready to do so. Therefore, I believe that this is a good suggestion. But this does not change the nature of our fundamental position on this. It means that we will continue to ask the two countries to sign the CTBT as soon as possible.
Taiwanese visas
Q: Could you tell me the present position of the Japanese Government on the issue of Taiwanese visas?

Spokesman Hashimoto: We know that the Sankei Shimbun has reported on a possible amendment of the Japanese immigration law on the documentation of Taiwanese people. You are probably familiar with the present procedures. The Government of Japan separately issues a document for Taiwanese individuals to come to Japan. But the number of Taiwanese tourists and business people who want to come to Japan is increasing. It is increasingly unmanageable for us to keep issuing separate documentation. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now been consulting the Ministry of Justice on what we can do about the simplification of the documentation. One possibility is to treat specific documentation as equal to a passport. However, this does not mean that we will change our policy on the status of Taiwan. It is simply related to a possible simplification of the procedures. We have not yet reached a consensus among the ministries concerned. But, while we welcome the increase of the number of Taiwanese visitors, at the same time we would like to find out some good way to cope with the increase of the number.

Q: Do you mean that you would give a stamp on the passport rather than giving other papers? Does that link to the sort of thought that this means that the Japanese Government will admit a Taiwanese passport? This would probably invite some concern from China.

Spokesman Hashimoto: What I can tell you now is that we do not intend to change our basic policy. We do not want to antagonize the Government of China. But at the same time we would like to facilitate a smoother procedure for issuing documents. In line with this, the Government of Japan is consulting the Ministry of Justice. If you are interested in how we are going to treat the Taiwanese passport, I will need some time to put together some information for you, because this is a very technical matter.

Q: You do mention that the Japanese Government is considering Taiwanese travelers equal to other foreign travelers?

Spokesman Hashimoto: One of the possibilities is to treat one documentation as equal to the ordinary passport. The functions of the passport may be the same. But as I told you, we do not intend to change the basic policy or the system itself. Therefore, within that context, we are now trying to sort out what we can do.
Japan-Republic of Korea Fishery Agreement
Q: Regarding the Japan-Republic of Korea fishery dispute, from the point of view of the Republic of Korea, where the Republic of Korea fishing boats are captured is still open sea, because the Japan-Republic of Korea Fishery Agreement has not been finalized. However, Japan quickly put in a straight baseline and captured some fishing boats from the Republic of Korea. What is the reason for this?

Spokesman Hashimoto: It is true that both Japan and the Republic of Korea have been negotiating on the new Fishery Agreement. What we have been talking about is, among others, how to define the new fishing zone where the Republic of Korea vessels can fish in accordance with the new fishing agreement. However, we have not been negotiating and we do not intend to negotiate on the straight baseline of the Japanese territorial waters. Japan already announced the new arrangement on the territorial waters on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In June of last year, when we were going to announce the establishment of a straight baseline of the Japanese territorial waters, we thought that it might have an impact on the Republic of Korea. Therefore, we gave prior explanation and notification to the Government of the Republic of Korea on the details of the establishment of a straight baseline. On top of this, we allowed a notification period of about six months after the promulgations of the relevant legislation and the executions of this in January of this year. Therefore, what I would like to stress here is that if any foreign fishing boats, including Korean fishing boats, enter into Japanese territorial waters and engage in fishing, they will be the object of the breaching of Japanese territorial waters. Therefore, every now and then when we spot any Korean vessels doing so, we unfortunately must capture and arrest the boat and the crew.

Q: According to the Japan-Republic of Korea Fishery Agreement, Article I, Paragraph 1, if one country wants to draw a straight baseline, it must be agreed to by the other country. However, in this case, the Government of Japan did this without any consultation with the Government of the Republic of Korea. What is the reasoning behind this?

Spokesman Hashimoto: What you asked about the baseline in accordance with the Agreement is related to the straight baseline of the fishing zone, not the Japanese territorial waters. According to the existing fishing agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea, prior consultation over the establishment of a baseline in regard to territorial waters is not covered by the agreement. But, even so, as I explained to you, some fishermen in the Republic of Korea might misunderstand. Therefore, already more than one year ago, we explained to the Government of the Republic of Korea about the new arrangement. At the same time, as early as January of this year, we also gave the notification. We hope that the fishermen in the Republic of Korea will observe the existence of the Japanese territorial waters and will not dare to come into Japanese territorial waters.

Q: When the Republic of Korea consulted with Japan on whether they should make a straight baseline running east and west, Japan did not.

Spokesman Hashimoto: At that time, the Government of the Republic of Korea explained to us the straight baseline of the new fishing zones, not the territorial zones. This time, when we talk about the new fishing zone, of course, we have been consulting and negotiating with each other. But as far as the new straight baseline of the Japanese territorial waters is concerned, we do not believe that it is necessary to consult each other. What straight baseline is adopted in accordance with international law is entrusted to the country's sovereignty itself.

Q: The straight baseline in the area of Wakasa Bay is determined contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. I have brought a map. This line is determined contrary to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea. Do you agree with this?

Spokesman Hashimoto: First of all, I would like to explain to you that the new straight baseline was established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. At the same time, as I told you, we gave prior explanation and notification to the Government of the Republic of Korea on the details of the establishment of a straight baseline in June of last year. In addition to this, Japan allowed a notification of about six months after the promulgations of the relevant legislation and the execution of this in January of this year. So, I do not think that we established the baseline before we signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Q: A 200-nautical-mile zone cannot be determined without mutual agreement by the Republic of Korea and Japan. Could you comment on the negotiation process to carry this out?

Spokesman Hashimoto: As far as the new agreement is concerned, yes, I agree with you that we must negotiate on the new fishing zone, which might affect Japan's 200-nautical-mile zone. We have been negotiating for a long time, but the Government of Japan fundamentally considers that we would like to sign the treaty as soon as possible. Our attitude is very sincere. We understand that the Japanese fishermen and politicians have been pressing the Government of Japan to enter into the agreement very quickly. However, the Government of Japan is doing its best to solve this issue through negotiations. As you know, on 28 July Foreign Minister Ikeda will meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoo Chong-Ha of the Republic of Korea in Kuala Lumpur. I am sure that these two Ministers will touch on this very sensitive issue. We hope that these two gentlemen can come to a mutual understanding on this issue.

Q: The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was declared just one year ago. I think that one year is not long enough to negotiate with each other. However, Japan has taken action by capturing Republic of Korea fishing boats within only a one-year period.

Spokesman Hashimoto: We announced the new EEZ as you rightly pointed out. We have been arresting a limited number of fishermen, which are not in the 200-nautical-mile exclusive zone, but that are in Japanese territorial waters. Outside the territorial waters, the Korean fishermen can continue to operate in accordance with the present fishing agreement. But we sincerely hope that the Korean fisherman understand that they cannot violate Japanese territorial waters. If they do so, I am afraid that the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency will have to take appropriate measures on this.

Q: According to the Japan-Republic of Korea Fishery Agreement, ten nautical miles has the same meaning as the territorial waters? Is this the same?

Spokesman Hashimoto: The fishing zone is established outside of the Japanese territorial waters. As far as Japanese territorial waters are concerned, those are the territories where Japanese people can continue to engage in various activities, including fishing. Outside of these, we have established a certain width of fishing zones. We are going to amend the fishing zone in accordance with the new fishing agreement. But while the new agreement is under negotiation, we hope that Korean fishermen will not try to violate Japanese territorial waters.

Q: There are a number of political issues between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Do you think that is possible for Japan and the Republic of Korea to draw up a new chart between the two countries?

Spokesman Hashimoto: The relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea are so important, we have got to overcome any difficulties that we have in front of us. We have had the fishing agreement. In accordance with this agreement, fishing operations have been conducted. Now we have a new arrangement on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Whatever problem we do have, I believe that both sides have the good will to solve it. I believe that we can solve it. But the trouble is that we cannot negotiate on this issue for a long, long time, because Japanese fishermen are very demanding toward the Government of Japan to reach an agreement with the Republic of Korea. We hope that the people and the Government of the Republic of Korea understand the importance of timing, as well. We hope we can do this without threatening the national interests of the two countries. We would like to solve this issue and have a new fishing agreement as soon as possible.

Q: The Government of the Republic of Korea does not agree with Japan on the straight baseline. Are you still planning to capture the Korean fishing boats from here on out?

Spokesman Hashimoto: If any fisherman, including Korean fishermen, violates Japanese territorial waters, I am afraid that the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency will have to take appropriate measures. Therefore, we hope that the Korean fishermen will not dare to do so. I am talking about the straight baseline of the Japanese territorial waters. I am not talking about a possible new fishing zone.

Q: But the straight baseline will have an effect on the EEZ.

Spokesman Hashimoto: Yes, if you talk about the technicalities, it may have an effect. However, the straight baseline of the territorial waters is a concern of our sovereignty. Any nation whose sovereignty is violated will have to take certain measures.
Northern Territories issue
Q: According to yesterday's speech by Prime Minister Hashimoto on the Northern Territories, there should be no victor or no loser in the settlement of this issue. Is he referring to joint ownership or something along this line? What does he have in mind?

Spokesman Hashimoto: He did not specifically mention a Japanese stance in the future negotiations on the Northern Territories. What he emphasized was his political will that this issue should be solved through negotiations. In the negotiations, both sides should get benefit, otherwise we cannot agree. That is basically what he really meant to say. He did not specifically say how the negotiations should be conducted in concrete terms. He just said, "let's apply goodwill, let's apply the principle of mutual benefit, let's apply the long-term perspective in order to enjoy good-neighbor relations."

Q: Would you say that this new attitude or announcement will help accelerate the resolution of this situation?

Spokesman Hashimoto: You may notice that the atmosphere of the bilateral relationship between Russia and Japan has been improving very rapidly. We had a very productive talk with President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation at the Denver Summit. Both Governments are seriously considering the holding of an annual summit between the two countries. Both sides have been trying to find a mutually acceptable time for the meeting itself. Therefore, we should be optimistic about the development of relations between the two countries. As far as atmosphere, as far as climate is concerned, that is much better than it used to be. On this basis, we would like to build something concrete in order to consolidate the bilateral relationship.
Issue of Japanese wives in North Korea
Q: Have there been any new developments in the issue of Japanese wives in North Korea? There have been reports that 15 to 20 Japanese wives will be arriving in Japan.

Spokesman Hashimoto: It is true that we had informal talks. Unfortunately we are not in a position to announce when and how the next round of the informal talks will take place. Having said so, if you are interested in the particular issue of Japanese wives, I can tell you that there has been a positive attitude expressed on the North Korean side. We hope that we can make progress on this issue, because we have been considering this issue as a very important humanitarian issue.

Q: As I understand, 15 to 20 women were selected. What is the basis of the selection?

Spokesman Hashimoto: I cannot answer you in great detail on this question. In any case, many Japanese people and the Government of Japan sincerely hope that we can make progress on this humanitarian issue.

Q: When you deal with this Japanese wives issue, is this separate from other pending issues, such as the abduction of certain Japanese individuals or the smuggling of drugs?

Spokesman Hashimoto: As far as the two issues that you mentioned, there has been no progress on these. Japan would like to ask the North Korean authority to cooperate in solving those important issues, as well.

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