Press Conference by the Press Secretary 22 December, 1998

1. Comment by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura concerning the end of the use of military force against the Republic of Iraq by the United Kingdom and the United States of America
2. Position of the Government of Japan concerning the actions against the Republic of Iraq
3. Reported relationship between the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East
4. Relations between Japan and Arab countries
5. Anticipated Defense Agency Report on North Korea
6. Cabinet announcement concerning possible Japanese information-gathering satellite
7. Calendar of Japanese diplomatic activities in 1999

1. Comment by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura concerning the end of the use of military force against the Republic of Iraq by the United Kingdom and the United States of America

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. Let me briefly go back to what happened over the weekend. It is all over the news, but people were working busily over the weekend for reasons that are well-known to you. On 20 December, Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura issued a Comment concerning the end of the use of military force against the Republic of Iraq by the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Let me recapitulate that statement: "Japan welcomes the announcements made in the morning of 20 December, Japan time, that the Governments of the United Kingdom and the United States had achieved their mission and halted the use of their military forces against Iraq. Japan once more, strongly urges the Government of Iraq to comply immediately and unconditionally with all the latter's obligations under the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, including the acceptance of UNSCOM inspection team. Japan intends to make further démarches to the Government of Iraq in cooperation with other states concerned. Japan strongly hopes that Iraq's compliance with all its obligations under the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions will make it possible for Iraq to normalize its relationship with the international community and that international peace and security will be attained at the earliest possible date. Japan also strongly hopes that the plight of the Iraqi people will be alleviated as soon as possible."

   I have just mentioned Japan's intention to make further démarches to the Government of Iraq and we did that on Sunday afternoon. Director-General Kishichiro Amae of the Middle Eastern and African Affairs Bureau, called in the Iraqi chargé d'affaires in Tokyo and the gist of the dJmarche was the points that I have just mentioned in the Foreign Minister's Comment. And now, as you know, there are discussions taking place in the context of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), mainly with respect to what can be done from this point on and we are actively participating in that discussion, although I might add that Japan's term as a non-permanent member of the UNSC will run out at the end of this month. Perhaps that makes it all the more reason for us to participate actively in that discussion.

   Related Information (The Situation in the Republic of Iraq, and Measures Taken by Japan)
   
2. Position of the Government of Japan concerning the actions against the Republic of Iraq

   Q: Has Japan been asked to help fund the latest operation against Iraq?

   Mr. Numata: No. We have not been asked.

   Q: Japan was rushed to support the American strike against Iraq. Why this rush?

   Mr. Numata: I do not know whether I agree with your characterization. Shortly after the announcement of the military action by the United States and the United Kingdom, we did express our support for that action in the form of the Comment by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who happened to be in Hanoi at the time. There was intensive communication as you can imagine between Tokyo and Hanoi on that morning, that is 17 December. I think the important point is that this event did not happen in a vacuum. It came as the result of a series of events that preceded this military action, and by the series of events I mean Iraq's unwillingness to cooperate with the inspection activities of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) which surfaced quite prominently in February, then Iraq's decision not to cooperate with UNSCOM announced in August and then announced more formally, I believe, towards the end of October. There was a near crisis in November as you recall. Then came the report by Chairman Richard Butler of UNSCOM that Iraq's cooperation with UNSCOM was insufficient, citing specific examples of Iraq's non-cooperation. What all these events portended was that the whole basis of the cease-fire at the end of the Gulf War, and if you recall UNSC Resolution 687, Iraq's unconditional compliance with the inspection activities of UNSCOM was an indispensable and essential part of the cease-fire under the terms of the Resolution. So that basis was being threatened. So this is a matter to which we have been giving some considerable thought. We felt that it would be appropriate for us to express our support when this action was taken in view of the fact, and I quote from Prime Minister Obuchi's Comment on 17 December: "Up to now the UN Security Council and the countries concerned have worked strenuously to persuade the Government of Iraq to cooperate fully and unconditionally with UNSCOM and the IAEA, and to ensure Iraq's full compliance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. Japan for it part has made numerous démarches to the Government of Iraq and has made various efforts in cooperation with other states concerned in the Security Council and elsewhere in order to correct Iraq's behavior. To our strong regret however, Iraq has failed to provide its full cooperation to UNSCOM, leading to the consequences we had today..." (That was on 17 December.) "...and in view of the course of events as stated, Japan supports the action taken by the United States and the United Kingdom." That is a very long answer to your question, which seemed to imply that Japan rushed to support it. I am saying that this came as a result of a whole series of events.

   Related Information (The Situation in the Republic of Iraq, and Measures Taken by Japan)
   
3. Reported relationship between the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East

   Q: There is a lot of speculation that the Japanese support for this strike was related to North Korea and the suspected nuclear program. Is there any connection between these two?

   Mr. Numata: There is no direct connection as such because we were looking at the problem of Iraq and the problem that Iraq's possible repossession of mass destruction weapons capabilities might pose to the security of that region and to the world. I think I have already given you a lengthy explanation of our position in that respect. We are looking at the problem in the context of Iraq. Having said that, as a general proposition, there can be risks of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in other parts of the world and if a nation which is known in the international community to engage in terrorist activities, is seen to be developing and possessing weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, that is something that we will need firmly to resist. So I will make that point as a general proposition.

   Related Information (North Korea's Missile Launch)
   
4. Relations between Japan and Arab countries

   Q: There were some reports that some Arab countries were against that attack on Iraq. Do you think Japan is concerned about its relations with Arab countries?

   Mr. Numata: I am not in a position to characterize the reactions of the Arab countries, but I think there are differences in nuances and shades of nuances, depending on which Arab countries you are talking about. What I am saying is that it does not seem to be the case that all the Arab countries were opposing this attack as such. That is my first point. My second point is that I wonder if any of these Arab countries would really support Iraq's resumption of weapons of mass destruction capabilities. I very much doubt if that is the case. That is my second point. My third point is that in the Prime Minister's Comment which was issued on 17 December, it says in paragraph five: "Japan strongly urges the Government of Iraq to comply immediately and unconditionally with all the obligations under the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and strongly hopes that as a result, Iraq will be able to normalize its relationship with the international community and international peace and security will be attained at the earliest possible date." And it goes on to say, "Japan also strongly hopes that the plight of the Iraqi people will be alleviated as soon as possible." In the Comment by Foreign Minister Koumura which I read out at the beginning of this press conference, we repeated this message that Japan also strongly hopes that the plight of the Iraqi people will be alleviated as soon as possible. So we do have the well-being of the Iraqi people in our heart, in our considerations. Exactly how that might be translated into reality would be one of the points which we will be discussing with other countries concerned, including possibly in the forum of the UNSC.

   Q: Statements or accusations have been made by the Iraqi Vice President concerning Japan. Do you think Japan-Iraq relations have reached a deadlock or no return?

   Mr. Numata: I am a diplomat and a diplomat is by definition a professional optimist, so I do not know whether at any point we would say that we have come to the point of absolute no return. I think we consciously try to expunge that particular word from our lexicon. Having said that, this is still a continuing process and for the reasons that I have cited earlier in explaining the Prime Minister's Comment and so forth, the situation that right now exists is that Iraq's actions of not cooperating with the UNSCOM inspection unfortunately is a matter which is in serious violation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions and that is not something that we can condone. That is the fact that exists. What may be done about this particular situation in the future, especially with respect to the resumption of the inspection activities of these weapons of mass destruction and so forth, is obviously something that we will be looking at very seriously together with other like-minded countries.

   Related Information (Japan-Middle East Relations)
   
5. Anticipated Defense Agency Report on North Korea

   Q: The Defense Agency did come out with a report that had North Korea with two new missile launch sites and a total of three suspected nuclear weapons development facilities, including the one we already know. Is there any follow-up to that in terms of details or anything else?

   Mr. Numata: I am aware of the press report which talked about this presumed report by the Defense Agency. I have also been told that this report itself has not come out yet. It just indicates that some of your counterparts in the Japanese press are very resourceful and very active. So that puts me in a rather difficult position to comment on the content of this report. However, I have the impression that, if they do talk about three missile sites or whatever, they may not necessarily be putting it in very categorical terms, but possibly talking about the possibility of there being perhaps as many as three missiles test facilities. So that puts a different sort of color to this story. However, I think that is all I can offer you at this moment because as I said, I have not seen that report. I might add that this whole business has been speculated on for quite some time and we have had a number of reports and rumors and so forth. I do not think we have quite come to the point of saying anything in very definitive terms yet. But I hasten to add that of course this is a matter which we continue to monitor with very close interest.

   Related Information (North Korea's Missile Launch)
   
6. Cabinet announcement concerning possible Japanese information-gathering satellite

   Q: The Cabinet today approved the plan to launch an information satellite. Is this plan going to mean cooperation with other countries and does it go with the Japanese Constitution?

   Mr. Numata: Yes it does. It is in perfect conformity with the Japanese Constitution. With respect to your question about our possible cooperation with other countries, with respect to the question of how we procure these satellites, the matter is still open. The matter is yet to be decided. We will first have to look at what we will need and so forth and then go on to examine the question of how we may go about procuring it. Incidentally, we have been talking about this with, for example, the Government of the United States and the Government of the United States was saying, for example, in September, that whether or not to have these satellites is a matter obviously for Japan itself to decide, but if Japan does decide to possess these satellites, the United States on its part will be ready to cooperate and to continue to provide necessary information, for example, in terms of providing information and so forth there can be possible cooperation because the United States has spent quite some time in this game. That is one possible form of cooperation. I think that is about all I can say at this point.

   Related Information (Security)
   
7. Calendar of Japanese diplomatic activities in 1999

   Q: Can you give us sort of a sneak preview, outside of the Prime Minister's scheduled trip to Europe from 6 to 13 January? What sort of diplomatic business can we expect next year?

   Mr. Numata: Sneak preview or crystal ball.

   Q: Are you going to make it up?

   Mr. Numata: No, I am not going to make it up. You mentioned Prime Minister Obuchi's trip to the European countries; the French Republic, the Republic of Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany in January. Foreign Minister Koumura is going to visit the Middle East at about the same time. In the Japan-Russia context, we are hoping that Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation will be able to visit Japan some time early in the year which may very well be followed by Foreign Minister Koumura's visit to the Russian Federation, which in turn we hope will be followed by the visit of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan. So that is one set of visits. When Prime Minister Obuchi met President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea in Hanoi at the time of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3 Meeting, President Kim said to Prime Minister Obuchi that he felt that his own visit, President Kim's visit to Japan, was very, very successful. That visit was followed not long thereafter by the visit of Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil of the Republic of Korea, with his ministerial colleagues in Kagoshima. That was also very successful. So President Kim said "I have been to Japan, my Prime Minister has been to Japan, it is time for you to come to the Republic of Korea." And Prime Minister Obuchi thanked him for that invitation and said he hoped that he would be able to visit the Republic of Korea in the not too distant future, possibly sometime next spring. That is one possibility. Prime Minister Obuchi has a standing invitation from President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America to make an official visit to the United States, I think the way we are talking about that time period was sometime in early May. Then you have the Group of Eight (G8) Summit taking place in Cologne, Germany in June. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meeting will take place in New Zealand in September. These are just the sort of things that I can think of offhand. In other words, there is no dearth of diplomatic activities. We will be kept busy and I think you will be kept busy as well.

   Q: How about Mr. Yeltsin's trip to Japan? Any sort of time frame for that visit such as the month it might take place?

   Mr. Numata: The timing is yet to be worked out. I think there may have been a time at which somebody was talking about the merit of visiting Japan when certain flowers are in full bloom and so forth, but I do not think we have sort of carried it to any further detail yet.

   I think this is going to be the last foreign press briefing this year. I was talking about the fact that there will be no dearth of diplomatic activities next year. There certainly has been no dearth of diplomatic activities this year. People may be somewhat tired, so you are entitled to a nice, leisurely Christmas and New Year holiday. When the new year comes, I will have to travel with Prime Minister Obuchi to Europe and Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada will probably have to travel to the Middle East with Foreign Minister Koumura. So while you are enjoying your leisurely holidays, we will be working very hard and we will be back to see you on 19 January. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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