Press Conference by the Press Secretary
20 October, 1998
- Visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan on 25 November
- Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Russian Federation from 16 to 18 October
- Schedule of visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan
- Reported future issuance of a joint communique between Japan and the People's Republic of China
- US$30 billion package of Japan to Southeast Asian countries
- Participation of the Government of Japan in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) and reported Taiwanese expression of interest in participating in KEDO
- Response of the Government of Japan to vice-ministerial meetings between India and Pakistan
- Position of the Government of Japan regarding the theater missile defense system
- Response of the Government of Japan to the meeting between Mr. Koo Chen-fu of Taiwan and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China
- Visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan on 25 November
Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: Good afternoon. Today, I would like to make two statements. First, I can finally make an official statement on the visit of President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China. The Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China have agreed that the visit to Japan by President Jiang, which had been postponed, will take place from 25 November and both Governments will work on necessary arrangements for his coming visit. I would like to make an additional comment. We have been doing preparatory work for the visit by President Jiang so that this visit will be a significant one in creating a framework for our long-term and stable Japan-China relationship extending into the 21st century. We now accelerate our preparation in order that the forthcoming visit will be a cornerstone for us to set up our Japan-China relationship where Japan and China work together to make international contributions.
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
- Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Russian Federation from 16 to 18 October
Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: My second announcement relates to the recent visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to Russia from 16 to 18 October. He conducted the meeting of the Co-chairmen of the Joint Japan-Russian Federation Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty, as well as the 10th Round of the Foreign Ministerial Consultations with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of Russia. He also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Evgenii Primakov of Russia and had a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Maslyukov of Russia, the Russian Co-chairman of the Governmental Committee on Trade and Economic Relations. Foreign Minister Koumura did, through these meetings with Russian leaders, further promote the negotiations of the peace treaty as well as bilateral relations in economic and other fields. I would like to point out four things. First, it was agreed that the visit of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will take place from 10 to 13 November and Prime Minister Obuchi will visit St. Petersburg on 13 November. Second, Foreign Minister Koumura intensely discussed the peace treaty with Foreign Minister Ivanov. They reconfirmed the agreements in Krasnoyarsk and Kawana. The Russian side reiterated its commitment that the reply to the proposal made in Kawana by then-Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will be given by President Boris Yeltsin of Russia himself when Prime Minister Obuchi visits Russia. Third, as for economic relations, Foreign Minister Koumura expressed the expectation that Russia will continue its political and economic reform despite the severe economic situation and explained the Japanese policy to further support the realistic reform efforts of Russia. It was also reconfirmed that both countries will facilitate their economic relations centered on the amplification and steady implementation of the Hashimoto-Yeltsin Plan. Finally, Foreign Minister Koumura discussed with Russian leaders on security dialogue, other bilateral issues and cooperation in various fields including nuclear non-proliferation.
Related Information (Japan-Russia Relations)
- Schedule of visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan
Q: You said that President Jiang is coming to Japan on 25 November. When will he leave?
Mr. Okada: We have not been able to coordinate that point yet. We can just announce that President Jiang is coming to Japan on 25 November. We have not taken the Cabinet decision to receive him as a state guest yet, therefore we will have to make another statement when all procedures have been done.
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
- Reported future issuance of a joint communique between Japan and the People's Republic of China
Q: Regarding Jiang's visit, today's NHK noontime news mentioned that there will be a joint communique and it also mentioned that it will not only talk about the historical issue but also mention the Taiwan issue. Can you comment on that?
Mr. Okada: Concerning the outcome of the visit, we are certainly considering making a certain kind of document but we have not decided yet what kind of document it will be. Concerning the contents of the document, we are still considering and consulting. Therefore, for the time being it would be premature for us to mention any of the contents of the document.
Q: However, Foreign Minister Koumura already said after Kim Dae Jung's visit that the Cabinet will apologize for the history with China. In other words, there must be a joint communique, otherwise he would not have said that. So it is not premature at all for me to ask about any content because it has already been mentioned by the Foreign Minister.
Mr. Okada: I believe Foreign Minister Koumura has not stated that there is going to be a joint communique. We have not decided yet. It is true that if we make a certain kind of document, we might need to input some element of the status with China or the status of Taiwan somewhere in there. However, as for those kinds of things, we have already approved very significant documents like the Joint Communique in 1972 and the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978. The elements are already written in those two documents and that is the basis for our consideration, for our future work.
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
- US$30 billion package of Japan to Southeast Asian countries
Q: The Government of Japan recently announced a package of US$30 billion in aid to certain Southeast Asian countries. What kind or how much of the aid is likely to go to Malaysia if it is made during Prime Minister Mahathir's visit here? Is there a chance that the political crisis in that country and the Anwar case could threaten any of that aid from ever reaching Malaysia?
Mr. Okada: Concerning the US$30 billion which was announced by Minister of Finance Kiichi Miyazawa, we are still working on the elaboration of that proposal so for the time being I cannot explain to you what are the components of this US$30 billion. However, as for the visit of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia, we explained to them we are going to make utmost efforts to respond to their economic difficulty. We are now considering the extension of yen credit as well as the credit of the Export-Import Bank of Japan and also the finance, utilizing the system of export insurance. As for the yen credit, we promised Prime Minister Mahathir to send a mission of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). Therefore, the examination or planning of our assistance to Malaysia is now going on. We hope that the political situation in Malaysia will be stabilized so that we can cooperate smoothly in the future and that is what we strongly expect.
- Participation of the Government of Japan in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) and reported Taiwanese expression of interest in participating in KEDO
Q: Could you update us on the Japanese status of its participation in KEDO? I understand that the Government is stating a freeze today. A Taiwanese delegation expressed its interest in participating in KEDO for some reason while in China. What is the response of the Government of Japan to this?
Mr. Okada: First, in response to your first question, I would like to come back to the starting point. At the end of August, in response to the missile launch by North Korea, as you know, Japan suspended the resumption of the negotiation on the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations as well as food aid. Japan also tentatively suspended progress of Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) after consulting with the United States and the Republic of Korea. I understand that the resolute stance of Japan is also felt by North Korea by now. On the other hand, as we have been explaining repeatedly, Japan understands that KEDO is the most realistic and effective framework to cope with the nuclear weapon development by North Korea. That is a cause of serious concern for our security. Therefore we do not think it is appropriate to collapse KEDO and give North Korea an excuse to resume nuclear weapon development. At the same time, we think it very important to coordinate with the United States and the Republic of Korea in our relations with North Korea. Quite recently some new developments happened and on Friday, 16 October, Primer Minister Obuchi instructed us to swiftly examine our policy related to the progress of KEDO. The Government started an examination involving its policies based on the factors I mentioned. This morning, we reported to the important organs of the governmental party concerning our policy regarding KEDO and after this report we are now making final-stage examinations to resume our cooperation with KEDO soon. As for the Taiwanese interest in participating in the KEDO process, we have not received any direct and formal explanation from the Taiwanese side, therefore I cannot make any comment here.
Q: You have said that you are in the final stage of examination to resume cooperation to KEDO. How long will it take?
Mr. Okada: I think we are now considering to resume our cooperation soon.
Q: Soon. A week, ten days?
Mr. Okada: Well, you can guess.
Q: I believe Foreign Minister Koumura at a press conference this morning said something about the willingness of Taiwan to join KEDO. Could you reiterate what he said?
Mr. Okada: Foreign Minister Koumura explained if we receive a sort of application from Taiwan, we have to consider it carefully.
Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
- Response of the Government of Japan to vice-ministerial meetings between India and Pakistan
Q: Could you comment on the Indian-Pakistani vice-ministerial meeting?
Mr. Okada: This meeting of the Indian and Pakistani vice-ministers which took place 15 to 18 October and this was the first vice-ministerial consultation between the two countries after the nuclear tests in May. They discussed the issues of peace and security as well as Jammu and Kashmir. According to the joint press statement which was released after the consultation, concerning Jammu and Kashmir they just exchanged their positions, however as for peace and security, they underscored their commitment to reduce the risk of a conflict by building mutual confidence in the nuclear and conventional weapons fields. Both vice-ministers agreed that the next round of talks on the issues of peace and security and confidence-building measures as well as Jammu and Kashmir will be held in the first half of February 1999 in New Delhi. We positively evaluate that India and Pakistan agreed to continue this consultation and we expect that both countries will steadily handle this issue to have the goal to solve these problems.
Related Information (Response of the Government of Japan to the Nuclear Tests Conducted by India and Pakistan)
- Position of the Government of Japan regarding the theater missile defense system
Q: I understand that there was a meeting of the Security Council of Japan this morning to discuss the theater missile defense. Could you tell us about that?
Mr. Okada: As I told you a few weeks ago, the theater ballistic missile defense -- when we met at the 2+2 Meeting --
Q: I am referring to today's Security Council meeting.
Mr. Okada: We are now proceeding with necessary work in the direction of conducting cooperative research, but we have not decided yet whether to start with this cooperative research in the coming year. In this situation, we think that this ballistic missile defense (BMD) survey is a significant, important project not only for the defense section of the Government, but also for the total Japanese security policy. A sort of civilian control is necessary. Therefore, we started to convene this kind of meeting of the members of the Cabinet -- I do not remember when exactly, but a few weeks ago -- and this is a continuation of that kind of meeting.
Q: So the Government has not come to a final decision to take part in this joint research, is that correct?
Mr. Okada: Not yet.
Related Information (Security)
- Response of the Government of Japan to the meeting between Mr. Koo Chen-fu of Taiwan and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China
Q: Could you comment on the across-the- Strait meeting between Taiwan and Beijing yesterday?
Mr. Okada: The representative of Taiwan, Mr. Koo Chen-fu, visited the People's Republic of China and met his counterpart as well as President Jiang and Deputy Prime Minister Qian Qichen and we welcome this exchange of views and opinions between the Taiwanese leader and the Chinese leaders. We strongly hope that the problem concerning the Taiwan Strait will be solved peacefully through the consultation and discussion by the people concerned on both coasts of the Taiwan Strait. We have explained this view repeatedly. We expect that the consultation between China and Taiwan will develop further and the problem will be solved as soon as possible
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
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