Press Conference by the Press Secretary September 12, 1997

Appointment of the new Foreign Minister
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: At the outset, I would like to make one statement. There was an article in today's Financial Times entitled "Stir in Japan as Sato Gets Cabinet Post." In this article there is a reference to Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi, which said that he is a "diehard nationalist who has angered Japan's neighbors, notably China, for his stringent defense of Japan's Second World War record." If they wish to talk about the record, I would like to put the record straight. In the first place, everybody is a nationalist, including Mr. Obuchi and myself. This word "diehard" is not correct. This is not an accurate description of Foreign Minister Obuchi. Not only that, this article is groundless, inaccurate and, at best, misleading. Foreign Minister Obuchi has a very good record of maintaining our relationship with neighboring countries, including the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation. I must point out that he visited China in March and was very warmly received by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China. He also met with several Chinese leaders at that time. Furthermore, at Foreign Minister Obuchi's inaugural press conference yesterday, he made it clear that he resigned as the president of the Association to Visit Yasakuni Shrine in order not to invite any misunderstandings on the part of foreign countries. All in all, these evidences suggest that he is a very warm friend of our neighbors, including China. It is in this sense that the aforementioned article is quite misleading.
Japan-Russia relations
Q: Concerning relations with Russia, my understanding is that for Foreign Minister Obuchi, relations with Russia are going to be very important, especially after Prime Minister Hashimoto announced his principles for relations with Russia, i.e, trust, mutual benefit and long-term perspective. These steps are very welcome, but what concrete steps will Foreign Minister Obuchi and the Government take to further bilateral relations with Russia?

Spokesman Tanaka: First, let me say that Foreign Minister Obuchi is personally committed to furthering the bilateral relationship between Japan and Russia. He visited Russia recently and had discussions with President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. He also visited many areas in and around Russia. He repeatedly said yesterday at press conferences that he would like to do his best to improve the relationship between the two countries. He also said that, at first, his role is to see to it that Prime Minister Hashimoto's visit to the Russian Federation is successful. Following this, he would like to vigorously follow up with necessary actions that arise out of this bilateral meeting at the heads-of-state level. Of course, there are a lot of questions involved in this. However, he said that he would like to proceed along this course in line with the three principles that Prime Minister Hashimoto has put forth, namely, trust, mutual benefit and long-term perspective. He repeatedly stated his commitment to resolving the long-standing Northern Territories issue, despite the complexity of the issue, and thus to normalize our relationship with Russia. But first and foremost, he would like to make sure that the visit of Prime Minister Hashimoto will be a successful one. After that, he would like to personally follow up with any kind of actions which may be necessary.

Q: Is he going to Krasnoyarsk himself?

Spokesman Tanaka: No, he is not.

Q: Are there any preparatory meetings scheduled before Krasnoyarsk?

Spokesman Tanaka: As the schedule now stands, Foreign Minister Obuchi is going to New York to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations at the end of this month. Several bilateral meetings are slated for that time, including Russia. Although the details are not fixed as yet, we would like to hold a meeting with Russia. That could be Foreign Minister Obuchi's first meeting with his counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs Evgenii Maksimovich Primakov of the Russian Federation.

Q: So, am I right in assuming that Foreign Minister Obuchi can meet Foreign Minister Primakov at the end of September and discuss the preparations for the Summit Meeting in Krasnoyarsk?

Spokesman Tanaka: We certainly hope so, but it all depends on the schedule of the meetings, and so forth, which are not yet finalized. However, we would like to hold a meeting.

Q: How long will Foreign Minister Obuchi stay in New York?

Spokesman Tanaka: He will stay in New York about one week.
Middle East policy
Q: I would like to know if Foreign Minister Obuchi has any new ideas regarding Japan's foreign policy toward the Middle East?

Spokesman Tanaka: Peace in the Middle East is vital for peace and stability around the world. We have been doing our best to make any possible contributions along these lines. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Obuchi launched the idea of "Eurasian Diplomacy." Eurasia encompasses a huge mass of area, including not only this part of the Asian continent (i.e., Russia and China), but also those countries which border on Russia such as the Republic of Azerbaidjan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, etc., and also the Middle East. We will continue to examine our possible contributions to the Middle East region. Foreign Minister Obuchi certainly has a very keen consciousness in this regard. We will continue to make a further study of contributions we can make to this region in addition to what we have already done in the past. We have helped a lot in the building of infrastructure for the Palestinians. We have also sent many emissaries to the Middle East. Also, we have been participating in the Middle East comprehensive talks and so forth.

Q: Will Foreign Minister Obuchi make a visit to the region in the near future?

Spokesman Tanaka: Foreign Minister Obuchi's schedule is yet to be examined and is therefore not fixed. Right now, we do not have a concrete schedule for Foreign Minister Obuchi, except for the forthcoming General Assembly Meeting in September. However, important meetings are scheduled toward the end of this year, including the APEC Ministerial Meeting, the APEC Informal Summit Meeting and the ASEAN Summit Meeting. But, the agenda for visits by the Foreign Minister is yet to be fixed.
Japan-Russia fishery talks
Q: At the end of this month in Tokyo there will be a bilateral meeting concerning fishing in the area of the South Kuril Islands of the Northern Territories. Several months ago, Russian officials said something to the effect that the agreement is about 90 percent finished. My understanding is that the two sides are extremely close to a final agreement. Do you foresee the possibility that Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin can sign this agreement prior to the meeting in November?

Spokesman Tanaka: I think that the fishery issue is complicated and technical. We know that they have made certain significant steps forward in the last rounds of negotiations. Although it would be difficult for the two leaders to delve into the details of the negotiations, there could be an opportunity for both leaders to provide further political impetus to the negotiations.

Q: Do you think that the agreement itself could be reached and signed by the end of this year?

Spokesman Tanaka: At this stage of the negotiations I cannot say how things will progress. The negotiations are the compilation of many technical details. Therefore, unless you nail down all of these technical details, it is very difficult to envisage a quick wrap-up of the negotiations.
Japan-U.S. bilateral meetings
Q: I assume that Foreign Minister Obuchi and Secretary of State Albright will meet during the Foreign Minister's trip to the United States. Could you comment on this at all?

Spokesman Tanaka: We would certainly like to arrange a bilateral meeting with the United States. We also have to have a 2 + 2 Meeting in order to finalize the Japan-U.S. Guidelines for Defense Cooperation. The final details of these meetings have not yet been fixed. We are going to have a meeting with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America. We are also going to have a 2 + 2 Meeting at which we will finalize the Defense Guidelines. This will be the first encounter between the Foreign Minister and the Secretary of State. This will be a good opportunity to make an examination of the issues before us and to make sure that the management of our bilateral relationship will be carried out in the appropriate manner.
Scheduling of the upcoming 2 + 2 Meeting
Q: When and where will this 2 + 2 Meeting take place?

Spokesman Tanaka: The details of this meeting are not yet fixed, but probably sometime around 22-24 September.

Q: Will this meeting be in New York?

Spokesman Tanaka: The meeting will be held either in New York or in Washington, D.C. We are currently working on the details.

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