Press Conference by the Press Secretary March 13, 1998

Press conference announcements
1. Attendance by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura at the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura will be in Geneva to attend the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. He will be speaking on 17 March. This year is the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the universal declaration of human rights. In commemoration of this, the first week of this session of the UN Commission on Human Rights will be marked by speeches by high-level representatives such as ministers from various countries. State Secretary Koumura's speech will be a part of that. With respect to human rights in general, we consider the promotion and protection of all human rights to be a legitimate concern of the international community. We also believe that the respect for human rights is a universal value, the pursuit of which is the most basic task for mankind. We also feel that, in the pursuit of this objective, a balanced approach based on dialogue and cooperation is called for. I might also note that we have been hosting this Asia-Pacific Symposium on Human Rights since 1995. The Third Symposium was held in January of this year, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson was in Tokyo to attend the Symposium.
2. Vice-Ministerial Consultations with Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunji Yanai
  Spokesman Numata: Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shunji Yanai will be in London and Paris to hold Vice-Ministerial Consultations with his counterparts in the British Foreign Office and the French Foreign Ministry.
3. Fourteenth Conference of the U.K.-Japan 2000 Group
  Spokesman Numata: The 14th Conference of the U.K.-Japan 2000 Group will be held from Friday, 13 March to Monday, 16 March in Grantham, which is in the north of London. This group has a 13-year history, having been established in 1985. It is one of the precursors to what you might call the wise-men group's exercises. Something similar has been observed with respect to, for example, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Italian Republic. The Japanese side will be chaired by Mr. Moto Shina, a member of the House of Councillors. There will be other people, including members of Parliament and prominent business people. The U.K. Chairman is Lord Howell, who used to be the Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Foreign Affairs. This U.K.-Japan 2000 Group has had a very useful role in identifying the sort of issues which the two countries need to face -- not just the government, but the private sector, and so forth. We look forward to a fruitful discussion. This is not a government- government discussion, but a discussion consisting of wise men from various walks of life getting together to discuss issues of mutual interest.
4. Vice-Ministerial Level Subcommittee of the Japan-Russian Federation Joint Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty
  Spokesman Numata: The Vice-Ministerial Level Subcommittee of the Japan-Russian Federation Joint Committee on the Conclusion of the Peace Treaty will be held in Tokyo on Thursday, 26 March. You will recall this setting up of the structure for the peace treaty negotiations, which we discussed with the Russian side in January, when there was the Vice-Ministerial Level Consultation. Then, the first of the Co-Chairmen's Meeting of the Joint Committee, that is, the meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and his counterpart Minister of Foreign Affairs Evgenii Maksimovich Primakov that took place in Moscow last month. So, there was this meeting in January and the Foreign Ministerial Meeting last month. This month, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Minoru Tamba of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his counterpart, Deputy Minister Grigorii Karasin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, will be meeting in Tokyo.
5. Subcommittee of the Japan-Russian Federation Government Committee on Trade and Economic Relations
  Spokesman Numata: There will be another Japan-Russian Federation meeting taking place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on 24 and 25 March, which is the Subcommittee of the Japan-Russian Federation Government Committee on Trade and Economic Relations. This is the third meeting of this Subcomittee on the economic relations with Far Eastern Russia. This meeting will be led by representatives of both Governments. In parallel with this meeting which is taking place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there will be a sort of business group meeting held in the same location. Japanese and Russian business people will be getting together to discuss the same sort of issues -- economic relations with Far Eastern Russia.
6. Korean Peninsula
  Spokesman Numata: As you know, the Four-party Meeting on the Korean Peninsula, a meeting consisting of the Republic of Korea, North Korea, the United States and the People's Republic of China will be meeting in Geneva from 16 March. This is the second round of talks. Following that, on 21 March, there will be a sort of Senior Official-level meeting of Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States to discuss the situation in North Korea and the policies of the countries concerned with respect to North Korea. This meeting will be attended on our side by Deputy Minister Minoru Tamba.
Schedule of the trip to the Republic of Indonesia by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
Q: Regarding the trip of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto to Indonesia, could you give me the schedule of his trip?

Spokesman Numata: I can only give you the rough schedule, because we are still in the process of finalizing it. The Prime Minister will be leaving Tokyo sometime tomorrow afternoon. He will arrive in Jakarta tomorrow evening. On Sunday morning, we expect the Summit Meeting to take place between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia. The length of the meeting and the details are still being worked out. The main purpose of Prime Minister Hashimoto's visit is to talk directly with President Suharto. The important point is for the two leaders to sit down together and to discuss the current economic difficulties. It could well be what they call in Bahasa Indonesia an "empat mata" or tﾃｪte-ﾃ-tﾃｪte meeting. This is taking place against the background of Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto having met in Jakarta in January of last year. I believe that they also had a chance to meet in the course of the APEC Summit Meeting in Vancouver. I believe that they have a very close friendship based on mutual trust and respect. What is happening in Indonesia is that it is now facing economic difficulties. The Prime Minister has felt that, given his close relationship with President Suharto and this relationship of friendship based on mutual trust and respect, perhaps the best thing for him to do at this juncture is to sit down together with President Suharto and discuss how best these challenges can be overcome, how Indonesia might try to overcome these challenges and how Japan might help Indonesia in that regard. Those are the main objectives. In that context, I think that we will be discussing the sort of assistance that we have been extending to Indonesia, as well as the sort of assistance we have been contemplating with respect to Indonesia.
Economic assistance to the Republic of Indonesia
Q: We already know that the situation in Indonesia is very terrible right now. Will there be an opportunity for Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto to talk about direct assistance from Japan to Indonesia without going through the IMF?

Spokesman Numata: I am not quite sure what you mean by direct assistance outside the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Export-Import Bank loan of some 300 billion yen is to be directed to Indonesia and other countries to help the import industries of these countries. I think that the possibility of a Two-Step Loan is being contemplated with particular reference to Indonesia. That, I think, is the kind of assistance which is already sort of outside the framework of the IMF-organized concerted efforts of the international community. So, some such assistance is already there. Also, medical supplies, dialysis filters and dialysis tubes which we were providing to Indonesia in terms of emergency grant assistance would, again, be contemplated outside the framework of the IMF. But, we feel that in Indonesia's efforts to overcome the current difficulties, it would be important for the IMF programs to be implemented. We hope that these programs will be implemented. I do not want to put myself in the position of prejudging what Prime Minister Hashimoto may wish to say to the President himself directly.
Sending of rice to the Republic of Indonesia
Q: I have heard that Japan is prepared to send one million tons of rice to Indonesia.

Spokesman Numata: That is not quite correct, because the whole question is still under intensive consideration. We are aware of the serious problem being faced by Indonesia with respect to the question of rice. We feel that it is a very important issue to tackle. We would like to extend whatever assistance we can at the earliest possible opportunity. But with these thoughts in mind, the matter is still under active discussion, and I do not think that we have come to any sort of decision yet.
Visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt by Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Minoru Tamba of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Q: Deputy Minister Tamba is supposed to visit Cairo next week. What subjects will he be prepared to discuss on his arrival there?

Spokesman Numata: I am sorry, I have not talked to Deputy Minister Tamba, but there are a number of matters that could be discussed by Deputy Minister Tamba. There are events that have been taking place in the Middle East. I am speaking in terms of what may come up, not really in terms of a fixed agenda. Such events include the current situation surrounding the Republic of Iraq, the Middle East peace process, and so forth. I think that he will be free to discuss matters of mutual interest to both Japan and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
IMF financial assistance to the Republic of Indonesia
Q: Is there any discussion in terms of stepping up or moving forward the second line financing under the IMF package if President Suharto decides to follow the line of conditionalities?

Spokesman Numata: I think that it may be a bit premature for me to speculate on what may be the outcome of the discussions that take place in Jakarta. But, the IMF program and the framework program laid down by the IMF in which there will be a concerted effort by the international community, international organizations as well as Japan and other countries to provide assistance, is an important framework. And, we would like to see matters being advanced in that regard.

Q: Currently, the IMF, the World Bank and, I believe, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) have suspended the second payments until possibly April.

Spokesman Numata: I do not believe that we have had any formal communication with the IMF, for example, related to this sort of postponement by the IMF Board meeting. So, I think that it may be a bit premature to say that the postponement by that Board meeting until such and such a date has been fixed.

Q: Is Prime Minister Hashimoto going to bring something that would get President Suharto to come back on track with the IMF?

Spokesman Numata: Again, I do not think that I should put myself in the position of trying to second guess what might be on the Prime Minister's mind.

Q: So, there is no carrot and stick or anything like that?

Spokesman Numata: As I just said, I do not want to put myself in the position of second-guessing what may be on the Prime Minister's mind. I am saying no more or no less.
Export-Import Bank Two-Step Loans
Q: You mentioned the Export-Import Bank Two-Step Loans. Are you saying that these are being contemplated?

Spokesman Numata: These are already in our plans, because, on 20 February, we announced that we will be extending some 300 billion yen worth of Export-Import Bank financing in three forms. One is Export-Import Bank financing through, for example, Two-Step Loans to industries in Indonesia or Thailand for export purposes. Another is the Export-Import Bank financing to Japanese importers of products from these countries, which will again have the same effect of boosting exports from these countries. And, thirdly, there is what we call investment financing, which would be financing to those Japanese- affiliated firms or industries operating in Indonesia or other countries which are running into the difficulty of the shortage of operational funds. This 300 billion yen is a very substantial amount of emergency financing. The commitment is there, and it is a question of finding the appropriate industries, and so forth, to channel the funds to.
Financial assistance for the economic crisis in Asia
Q: Could these be held up then? I know that there was also another OECF 20 billion yen signing earlier this month.

Spokesman Numata: The Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) 20 billion yen loan is to be provided in conjunction with, or in parallel with, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank loans designed for similar purposes. So, it forms a part of the package.

Q: So, if the IMF does formally push back the second-line financing, does that mean that the OECF 20 billion yen will also be pushed back?

Spokesman Numata: By the phrase pushed back, do you mean sooner or later?

Q: Later.

Spokesman Numata: You could argue the opposite, that if the IMF decides to extend it soon, then the OECF loan could be provided sooner.

Q: No, I am saying if the IMF decided that Indonesia was not following the --

Spokesman Numata: What I am saying is that I do not think it is quite fruitful to talk about pessimistic hypothetical scenarios of what happens if you push it back, because I think that the realization is shared rather widely by a number of people that the IMF framework is important and everybody is hoping that it will go forward. That is what we are discussing. We also would naturally hope that the assistance that we are contemplating and the assistance being contemplated by the IMF, the World Bank, the ADB and other donors will be disbursed as early as possible.

Q: I would like to hear your personal point of view on the fact that we are always hearing how Japan wants to strengthen relations with other countries, etc. But, on the other hand, Japan always looks to America to disburse assistance through the IMF. Why does Japan not have its own initiative and make more effort to provide direct aid to Asian countries?

Spokesman Numata: I am not quite sure that I share the assumption behind your question. I think that the problem that is happening in Asia, Indonesia and elsewhere is widely recognized to be not just an Asian problem, but to be a problem with global implications, which calls for global responses. It is important for the international community to act in a concerted fashion. We need a framework for that. Having said that, I would also point out that in this concerted effort by the international community, I think that Japan's contribution has been the most substantial. If you combine the total of Japan's contribution in the IMF package with that to the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, it amounts to US$19 billion, which is by far the largest contribution by any single country. The United States contributed US$8 billion. Besides, we are extending these OECF loans, we are extending this emergency assistance for the medical equipment and dialysis filters, we are providing Export-Import Bank financing, and so forth. So, what we are trying to do is to do both. Now, if your question is whether Japan is proposing an entirely different framework from that of the IMF, then I do not think so, because we do not think that that would be an appropriate way for Japan to be acting together with other countries in helping friends like Indonesia.
Travel certificates for Taiwanese visitors to Japan
Q: Reports say that Japan will give Taiwan a 72-hour long visa?

Spokesman Numata: We are issuing, with respect to the people of Taiwan, what we call travel certificates for 15 days to 90 days. At the same time, we are looking at this question of our immigration laws with respect to the rationalization of the whole business. That whole study is being carried out by the Ministry of Justice. It is being looked at, but it is a bit too early to talk about exactly when it will be implemented.

Q: Would that be from April?

Spokesman Numata: That may be a bit too early.

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