Press Conference by the Press Secretary February 27, 1998

Press conference announcements
1. Inauguration of President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: On 25 February, the inauguration ceremony of the new President of the Republic of Korea took place in Seoul. On that occasion, the new President, President Kim Dae Jung, gave his inauguration speech. We noted, with very considerable interest, that President Kim Dae Jung emphasized the significance of the birth of what he called a genuine government of the people. The theme for his inauguration speech was very appropriately called "overcoming national crises and taking a new leap forward." We also took note that President Kim Dae Jung, in his speech, expressed the positive stance of his Government to promote reform in a number of areas under the trying economic circumstances that the Republic of Korea faces today. We also noted that, with respect to foreign policy, President Kim Dae Jung expressed the willingness of his new Government to move forward with South- North relations through, for example, proposing an exchange of special envoys to promote the implementation of the South-North Basic Agreement, and also through expressing his willingness to agree to a summit meeting with the North if North Korea wants. We, on the part of the Government of Japan, welcome President Kim Dae Jung's assumption of office under what are today trying circumstances for the Republic of Korea. We, on our part, would like to do our best toward further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between Japan and the Republic of Korea.
2. Meeting between President Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Heydor Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  Spokesman Numata: President Heydor Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan is now in Japan. Yesterday, he met with Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. The two leaders signed a number of documents. Let me just mention some of the titles of the documents. Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Heydor Aliyev signed the Joint Statement on Friendship and Partnership between Japan and the Azerbaijan Republic, and the Joint Statement on Cooperation in the Areas of Trade and Economy between the two countries. There was also a Joint Communiqué between Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sherifov of the Republic of Azerbaijan on consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. There were also several other documents that were either signed or exchanged. Let me give you the highlights of what was discussed between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Heydor Aliyev yesterday. Prime Minister Hashimoto, in welcoming the visit of President Heydor Aliyev, mentioned the fact that the first Japanese who started business with Azerbaijan was a Japanese who was living in the Ottoman-Turkish Empire about 100 years ago. There is also a historical significance if we take a broad view of the world. Japan and the Azerbaijan Republic are placed on both ends of the Silk Road, which goes back about 1,000 years. Prime Minister Hashimoto also stated that we would like to establish an embassy in the Azerbaijan Republic as soon as possible. The Prime Minister also expressed Japan's willingness to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the latter's efforts for economic development. In that context, Prime Minister Hashimoto referred to Japan's commitment to provide a yen loan amounting to 20.7 billion yen for a power plant, grant assistance amounting to 400 million yen, the donation of medical equipment to a tuberculosis and lung disease institute in Baku, which would amount US$1.75 million, and so forth. President Heydor Aliyev expressed his appreciation of the fact that Prime Minister Hashimoto has been promoting this idea of Silk Road diplomacy. The President said that he was planning to convene a Silk Road Conference in Azerbaijan in the latter part of May to which he would like to invite representatives from 33 countries, stretching from Spain and Portugal on the western end to Japan on the eastern end. Prime Minister Hashimoto said that he would like to send a Japanese Government representative, or somebody who can personally represent the Prime Minister.
3. Planned visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Gohar Ayub Khan of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
  Spokesman Numata: Minister of Foreign Affairs Gohar Ayub Khan of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will be visiting Japan with Mrs. Khan from 8 to 11 March as guests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the course of his visit, he will be meeting Foreign Minister Obuchi, other Japanese Government officials, Japanese business leaders and others. This visit is a result of a return invitation made on the visit to Pakistan by then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda in July of last year. Then-Foreign Mininister Ikeda extended an invita- tion to Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan to visit Japan at that time. We feel that this visit is highly significant in light of the strategic importance of Pakistan, which lies at the juncture between Central Asia and South Asia, in light of Pakistan's importance in the context of the United Nations and the Islamic world, and also in light of strengthening the political dialogue and the economic relations between Japan and Pakistan.
4. U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective
  Spokesman Numata: The forum entitled the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective will held on 12 and 13 March in Tokyo at the Takanawa Prince Hotel. The forum will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the State Department of the United States. Among the participants will be former President Jimmy Carter of the United States of America, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono, Honorary Chairman Gaishi Hiraiwa of The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and other leading figures. Cooperation under the U.S.-Japan Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective (Common Agenda) has been going on since its inception in July 1993. In that process, there have been a number of results achieved in cooperation in wide-ranging areas which have to do with the world's most pressing global problems, for example, health, rapid population growth, disaster mitigation and the environment. In the Common Agenda Plenary Meeting which took place in Japan on the occasion of the visit to Japan by Vice President Albert Gore of the United States of America in May of last year, five new initiatives were endorsed as areas for cooperation in the future. The five areas were environmental education, global change research and prediction, oil spill response, children's health, and environmental cooperation. This open forum, which is to take place in March, is designed to be an occasion for our two Governments and for other informed people to reflect on the progress made and to think about the future in the framework and context of the Common Agenda as we approach the 21st Century.
Japan-Republic of Korea relations
Q: Concerning the relationship between Japan and the Republic of Korea, after the inauguration of President Kim Dae Jung, does Japan expect this relationship to improve?

Spokesman Numata: We certainly do. I might mention that on the occasion of President Kim Dae Jung's inauguration, Prime Minister Hashimoto sent a congratulatory letter. That congratulatory letter was carried by former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who attended the inauguration ceremony together with a number of Japanese dignitaries, including former Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and others. In that letter, Prime Minister Hashimoto extended his heartfelt congratulations on President Kim Dae Jung's assumption of office, and he stated how happy he was to be able to work together with President Kim Dae Jung to strengthen the friendly and cooperative relations between our two countries, and to work and contribute together to the international community in general. In the meeting that took place between former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and President Kim Dae Jung, that feeling was reciprocated. So, we do look forward to working closely together with the new Government in the Republic of Korea.
Japan-Republic of Korea fisheries issue
Q: What about the fishing agreement between the two countries?

Spokesman Numata: We are desirous of resuming the negotiations on the fisheries agreement, and we will be exploring ways of doing that. In that connection, I might mention that, in the meeting that took place between former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and Korean VIPs, including President Kim Dae Jung, as well as between former Prime Minister Takeshita and other Korean dignitaries, the desirability was expressed of having not just government officials, but the non-governmental individuals who are actually involved in the fisheries sector get together to discuss what can be done toward the smooth resolution of the issue. We may be exploring such possibilities and we will be looking at ways to resolve this pending problem.

Q: When Prime Minister Hashimoto meets President Kim Dae Jung at the upcoming Summit Meeting in London, is there any possibility that the fisheries issue can be resolved?

Spokesman Numata: It is a bit early in the day. The new Government in the Republic of Korea was launched only two days ago. However, we look forward to engaging in dialogue with the Republic of Korea with respect not just to the fisheries issue, but to a number of other matters of mutual interest. I am sure that we will be looking at opportunities for interface between our leaders as well as between other people in the two Governments.
Economic situation in the Republic of Indonesia
Q: What is the latest progress concerning economic measures to assist Indonesia that were announced last week by the Cabinet?

Spokesman Numata: The Cabinet announcement was an outline, as you may recall. There are certain matters that need to be fleshed out further. There are certain ideas which were announced which apply not just to Indonesia, but to other countries as well. The Government of Japan needs to work a little further on it. In regard to rice and other goods, I will say that the matter continues to be under intensive study, that is, we are intensively looking at various options by which we can help Indonesia overcome the problem of the food or rice shortage. No decision has been reached yet, but we are, within the Government, looking at various options. There is also the question of emergency supply of medical or pharmaceutical products that we are looking at. In the Cabinet decision on 20 February, we announced that we will provide emergency grant aid of about 1 billion yen for the supply of medical and pharmaceutical products. This is in light of the shortage of the supply of these products in Indonesia because of the soaring import prices of these products, which in turn is attributable to the volatility in the exchange rates. We are looking at such products as dialysis filters and other equipment. We are in close consultation with the Indonesian Government to see that these supplies reach their destinations in the most effective and efficient manner possible.

Q: You mentioned the various options that are still being considered. Could you elaborate more on that?

Spokesman Numata: I think it may be a bit too premature for me to comment on that. In the context of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) package, one of the ideas mentioned was that a part of the 70 billion in yen loans to help Indonesia's structural adjustment -- the soft loans which are quick dispersing -- be used to procure rice. People are looking at various options, but I think it is a bit premature for me to go into the details of what other options might be available.

Q: Did they also touch on democratization linked with this aid in the future?

Spokesman Numata: I do not think that that is very much on our mind at the moment, because our concern is to help Indonesia overcome the very acute economic and humanitarian difficulties that it now faces. At the same time, we continue to follow the developments in Indonesia with interest. I do not think that I have heard about discussions about a linkage to such items as, for example, the linkage to the supply of medical and pharmaceutical products; these are basically designed to serve humanitarian purposes.
Forest fires in the Republic of Indonesia
Q: Does the Japanese Government have any response in regard to the recent forest fires in Indonesia?

Spokesman Numata: We are again following the situation with concern and interest. The forest fires last year were also a matter of very serious concern to not just Indonesia, but to its neighbors, to Japan, to European countries, and so forth. Last year, we sent firefighters, other experts and helicopters. The total number of people that we sent to the afflicted areas was more than 50. It is also true that, after the experience of last year, some of the donors, including not only Japan, but the European Union and Germany, have been carrying out together this project for combating forest fires. They have also been trying to work out a division of labor. So, we are in close coordination with these other countries, as well as with the Indonesian authorities. So, it is in that context that we are looking at what seems to be a recurrence of forest fires. We have also noted that the ASEAN Environmental Ministers' Meeting, which took place in Sarawak in Malaysia on 25 February, came out with a request for emergency international assistance. We are looking into the details of that request to see what may possibly be done. What may be done will also be dependent on the wishes of the Indonesian Government, as well as what we may be able to do either jointly or singly in our relationship with the other donors.
Japan's aid to Africa
Q: Because of the current recession that Japan is facing now, there is an agenda to reduce aid to foreign countries. In the context of Africa, what will happen to programs that are already ongoing, especially those programs that are run, for example, by organizations such as JICA?

Spokesman Numata: I do appreciate the concern that you have in your question. If I may say so, the agenda of reducing aid is not an agenda that we would like to pursue. This is a matter of having very few other choices under the conditions of general fiscal austerity and the need to rebuild our fiscal structure. Having said that, we are faced with the situation that the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for the next fiscal year will have to be reduced by 10 percent. Under those circumstances, we are trying our very best to improve the quality of our ODA assistance, as well trying to make sure that our ODA be implemented efficiently and effectively. With a 10 percent cut, I would be less than honest if I said that the amount of aid to Africa would remain unaffected; it will have to be affected in some way or another. But at the same time, we continue to attach importance to our aid to Africa, especially in light of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development II (TICAD II) that is taking place later this year. So, it is a question of what we can do under these restraints and under these trying circumstances, but at the same time, what we can do to try to ensure that we attach importance to Africa. You specifically mentioned projects carried out by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA has been carrying out technical cooperation projects, especially what we call project technical cooperation, for some time and these are projected to go on for some time. This form of technical assistance is one of the most effective and efficient means by which we can contribute to the efforts on the part of developing countries for what we call human resource development, which really forms the basis of nation-building. It is also the kind of aid in which Japan's contribution can be actually seen. With this consideration in mind, the actual rate of decrease of the JICA budget is relatively small compared to the overall rate of decrease of the ODA budget. Specifically, in the FY1998 budget, the ODA budget in the general account will have to be reduced by 10.4%, but the JICA budget will be reduced by only 1.8%. So, this is another way of saying that under very severe fiscal conditions, we continue to attach importance to our aid for human resources development in developing countries such as Africa. With that in mind, we will work very hard to make sure that the purposes for which these technical cooperation projects are designed will be met.

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