Press Conference by the Press Secretary February 17, 1998

Press conference announcements
1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nagano Olympics Homepage
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been featuring a special Nagano Olympics Homepage. This homepage is designed to familiarize children with the Olympics and to give them an easy guide on how to get to Nagano if they want to take virtual trips to Nagano because they are unable to physically go there. We have had a dramatic increase in the number of accesses to this homepage. For the month of December, the average daily number of accesses was 68,000. In January, the average daily number of accesses rose to 150,000, which is more than twice the number of accesses in December. Since the opening of the Nagano Olympics through last Sunday, that is, for the past nine days, the average daily number of accesses has been 260,000. This shows the popularity of the Nagano Olympics, as well as the sophistication of the individuals utilizing the Internet, including children.
2. Situation in the Islamic State of Afghanistan
  Spokesman Numata: You probably recall that, on 4 February, a very severe earthquake hit the Islamic State of Afghanistan, specifically in the Northwestern part of the country, leaving massive human and material damage. It is estimated that there have been over 4,000 persons killed, over 1,600 persons injured and approximately 4,000 homes which have been completely or partly ruined. We have been seriously thinking about extending emergency aid to the victims. This has not been easy, because the afflicted area is very closely situated to where the internal strife is taking place. We have been exploring the possibility of sending emergency aid not bilaterally, but through the international organizations concerned. The Government of Japan decided on 13 February to extend emergency aid of 75 million yen to help the victims of this disaster. This aid is channeled through the Japanese Red Cross Society, which is in response to the United Nations appeal for an emergency airdrop issued jointly on 12 February by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations. As the name of this appeal indicates, aid which will take the form of food, blankets, clothes, etc., will be airdropped to the afflicted areas.
3. Elections in the Kingdom of Cambodia
  Spokesman Numata: Some time ago, I mentioned this idea that Japan is floating in the context of seeking a political solution for Cambodian issues. This idea consists of four main points or four pillars which are: 1) the suspension of military cooperation between Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge; 2) an immediate ceasefire on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity of Cambodia and the return of the former Royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldiers to the present former Royal Cambodian Armed Forces; 3) the conclusion of Prince Ranariddh's trial as soon as possible, and the granting of amnesty by the King to Prince Ranariddh; and 4) the guarantee by the Government of Cambodia of Prince Ranariddh's security and safety in Cambodia, and the undertaking by the Cambodian Government not to bar him from participating in the election, as long as he observes Cambodian law. We have been floating this idea and talking to the countries and parties concerned, including Prince Ranariddh, Second Prime Minister Hun Sen of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the ASEAN countries, the United States of America, the French Republic, Australia, and so forth. We have had a generally favorable response. On Sunday, 15 February, the Friends of Cambodia Meeting took place in Manila, which included participants from the ASEAN troika countries -- the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of the Philippines. Also, Japan, the United States, France, Australia and others participated in this meeting. They discussed, in particular, the biggest pending issue, which is the question of the participation of Prince Ranariddh in the election which is to take place this coming July. In that meeting, what was an idea floated seemed to be gaining considerable support, because in the communiquJ which was issued at the end of the Friends of Cambodia Meeting, the Friends of Cambodia expressed strong support for the underlying principle of the present four-pillar initiative by the Government of Japan. It is our intention to continue to work closely with the Friends of Cambodia and other like-minded countries, and to continue to encourage Cambodia toward the implementation of a free and fair election in July. We are also in the process of contemplating extending some actual assistance to the holding of the election in the form, for example, of providing ballot boxes. We have done that before.
Sending of a United Nations technical team to the Republic of Iraq
Q: I would like to know the position of Japan on the technical team that Secretary General Annan will send to Iraq.

Spokesman Numata: There are flurries of diplomatic activities taking place on all fronts. A part of these diplomatic activities are taking place in the United Nations, in the United Nations Security Council and around the Secretary-General. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations dispatched this technical team to identify the presidential sites. I believe he dispatched a team of three technical experts to the Republic of Iraq. There has also been an intensive consultation going on between Secretary-General Annan and the permanent representatives of the permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council. That consultation is still ongoing according to the reports this morning. We, on our part, have been in touch with the counties concerned. Furthermore, we have been in touch through our permanent representative with the Secretary-General to follow the discussions that are taking place. We do hope that such diplomatic efforts will bear fruit. I think that it is a bit premature for us to comment any more specifically on that, because as I said, these diplomatic efforts are ongoing. With respect to the possible visit of the Secretary-General, I believe that the Secretary-General has stated this morning that the intensive consultation is still going on and that they needed a little more time.
Visit to Moscow by Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi
Q: Will Foreign Minister Obuchi discuss this crisis during his visit to Moscow?

Spokesman Numata: When Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi goes to Moscow to have his consultations with his counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Evgenii Maksimovich Primakov of the Russian Federation, they will be discussing the bilateral relationship as well as the international situation in general, which may include Iraq.
Diplomatic efforts in regard to the situation in the Republic of Iraq
Q: Could you compare, in terms of Japan's situation, the Gulf War in 1991 with the situation that you have now in Iraq in which war is becoming increasingly more possible? Could you compare this in terms of Japan's ability to take part in any military action if war takes place?

Spokesman Numata: I do not feel very much inclined to talk in terms of hypotheses, especially at a time when intensive diplomatic efforts are going on and we ourselves are engaged in very intensive diplomatic efforts, including consultation with a number of countries. We are engaged in these efforts to avert precisely the kind of situation that you have described. I believe it is indeed premature for us to be talking about the kind of comparison you have asked for.
International peace and stability
Q: Since 1991, you have had the peace-keeping operations (PKO) law and the new Japan-U.S. Guidelines for Defense Cooperation, etc. Have these not changed your situation in terms of taking part in any action?

Spokesman Numata: There are several issues involved here. One is the question of Japan's possible involvement in the preservation of international peace and security -- I mention this as a general proposition, not necessarily with specific reference to Iraq -- As far as the question of Japan's involvement in international peace and security is concerned, a number of things have been taking place under the aegis of the United Nations. That is what we have been doing with respect to Cambodia and the Republic of Mozambique, with respect to emergency human relief operations in the Republic of Kenya and the Republic of Zaire with respect to the Rwandese Republic and the Golan Heights. There have been steps taken in that respect. You also mentioned the Japan-U.S. Guidelines for Defense Cooperation. That raises the question of this concept of "situations in areas surrounding Japan." Let me be very clear in saying that this concept is not a geographical concept, but it is a situational concept. We have also been saying that we do not feel that this particular situation with Iraq would fall under that category. Having said all that, our current priority is to seek a diplomatic solution for the situation that now exists. This situation is a very grave one and has its origin in Iraq's failure to comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, which laid down the terms and conditions for the cessation of hostilities after the Gulf War.

Q: Does Japan have an inspector on the United Nations technical team to Baghdad?

Spokesman Numata: We do not, because the nature of this sort of inspection requires experts that are able to go into a plant or such a site and to be able to identify what sort of production facility it is. Expert knowledge is required not only with respect to the topography of the plant, but with respect to the way the piping is laid out and so forth. I cannot go into details. I used to be a weapons treaty negotiator, but I should not bore you with that. Japan is not in that game.
Possible four-party security consultations
Q: Yesterday, Foreign Minister Obuchi proposed that a four-nation security dialogue be established. Do you have any rough timetable for that?

Spokesman Numata: We do not have a hard and fast timetable, because I believe that Foreign Minister Obuchi was talking about the general desirability of a closer interchange and dialogue among the four major players on the Asia-Pacific scene, if you will. That does not specifically refer to any timetable or scenario by which that objective may be fulfilled. It is clear if you look at this part of the world that the four countries that were mentioned -- Japan, the United States, the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation -- are very closely involved in the building of a stable relationship in this part of the world. It is desirable that political dialogue among these four countries be promoted as a means of fostering mutual confidence, which will compliment the bilateral relationships that exist among these four countries. How to get there and the timing involved, and so forth, will need further reflection. In that sense, it is not the case that we are saying that we should immediately start building that sort of framework. We are talking about what is desirable in the medium to long term.

Q: Is it correct to understand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informally started negotiations with the nations concerned in regard to this dialogue?

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nobuaki Tanaka: I think there is a world of difference between a negotiation and a consultation -- or I might say a dialogue. There are occasions in which policymakers of the four countries may get together in terms of non-governmental seminars which may sometimes involve government officials. It may be useful for them to exchange ideas freely, but that is very different from the negotiators of the four governments getting together to try to work out something.

Q: Why is the Republic of Korea not included?

Spokesman Numata: Any such concept should not be seen to be exclusive, because it is true that, if you look at Northeast Asian security, the Korean Peninsula is on the minds of all the players. We have been giving very serious thought to how the dialogue between the countries concerned in the region with respect to the Korean situation may take place. The four-party dialogue meeting is being started. Also, there have been reports recently about a member of the new Government of the Republic of Korea talking about a possible six-part framework. There may be different ideas being floated. I do not think that any of these ideas should be seen to be saying that we are limited to four and that there should be nobody else.

Q: What kind of structural relationship do you have in mind -- a soft kind or a hard kind, very rigid? What kind of structure do you have in mind?

Spokesman Numata: As I said, we are not proposing starting to build a structural framework right at the moment. Therefore, it is a bit difficult for me to start talking about something that we are not proposing to build at the moment and if it would be soft or hard. In any event, I think that you can take it from me that obviously we are not arguing for an immediate building of a hard structure.
Financial crisis in Asia
Q: In regard to the financial crisis in Asia, could we say that the idea of an Asian Monetary Fund is still alive, or is it dead?

Spokesman Numata: There were reports about a possible Asian Monetary Fund earlier. I believe that was toward the latter half of last year. As I understand it, a lot of ideas were exchanged among the countries concerned. The outcome of that is incorporated in what is known as the Manila Framework where they talked about the need for the countries concerned to consult closely, and so forth. I do not have the text of the Manila Framework with me. But, I think that the debate or discussion generated by this talk about a possible Asian Monetary Fund did find its expression in the Manila Framework, which was an outcome of the consultations by the financial authorities of the countries concerned.
Developments in the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)
Q: Could you update us on Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) development?

Spokesman Numata: The first point about the update is that nothing is cast in concrete. There was a meeting of the members of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) Council on 5-6 February in New York. The members of the Council are Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States and the European Union. Ambassadors of these countries met and talked about the funding of the KEDO project and other issues; they will be meeting again in the middle of March. They have not come to any sort of conclusion, so they will continue to discuss the issues.

Q: Earlier, you denied that there is any chance that Japan will increase its share. Can you deny it again?

Spokesman Numata: Are you referring to me specifically?

Q: Yes, about US$5.2 billion, and the Republic of Korea to play the central role -- and, Japan has no intention to increase its share --

Spokesman Numata: I do not know whether that is quite correct, because the operative concept is that the Republic of Korea will play a central role and Japan will make a significant financial contribution; I think that is the phrase used. I do not think that there has been any substantive change in that operative concept. Precisely how that may translate into numbers is something that these Ambassadors are working hard at.
Republic of Korea-North Korea Olympic esprit de corps
Q: There have been some reports of a North Korea-Republic of Korea dialogue regarding the Olympics. Has Japan played any part in facilitating this or is it purely on a one-to-one basis?

Spokesman Numata: It does seem to be a case of esprit de corps of athletes having its natural effect. I am not aware of any deliberate design on the part of the Government of Japan.

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