Press Conference by the Press Secretary March 17, 1998

Press conference announcements
1. Visit to Japan by President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro of the Italian Republic
  Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sadaaki Numata: President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro of the Italian Republic will visit Japan from 13 April to 19 April. He will be accompanied by his daughter, Ms. Marianna Scalfaro. This is the first state visit to Japan by the President of Italy since the state visit in 1982 by then- President Pertini.
2. Participation by Japanese diplomats in the special group for inspection of presidential sites in the Republic of Iraq
  Spokesman Numata: Two senior diplomats may be on call by the special group which will inspect the presidential sites in the Republic of Iraq. These two diplomats have been nominated by the Government of Japan. One diplomat is Chargé d'affaires Yasuo Makita in Iraq, who is, in fact, resident in Jordan. The other diplomat is Councillor Tsukasa Uemura at our Embassy in Saudi Arabia. These two diplomats have been nominated as the Japanese diplomats who will be available to participate in this special group. We notified Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, who will be heading this special group. As you recall, the Government of Japan played an instrumental role in bringing about United Nations Security Council resolution 1154. In fact, we cosponsored the resolution with the United Kingdom. The resolution was adopted on 2 March. In accordance with the resolution, these inspection activities are to take place. We hope that we will be able to continue to play an active role in contributing to the resolution of the problem in Iraq, including, among others, participation in this special group.
3. Visit to the Republic of Indonesia by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
  Spokesman Numata: Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto made a very short visit to Indonesia, arriving in Jakarta on Saturday, 14 March, and coming back on Sunday evening. In the course of his stay in Jakarta, the Prime Minister had a very friendly one-on- one meeting with President Suharto, which went on for about two and one-half hours. I believe that a one-on-one meeting of that length is unprecedented, apparently. They met as close friends who respect each other. They exchanged views on the problems that Indonesia is currently faced with. President Suharto expressed his appreciation to Prime Minister Hashimoto for having taken the initiative to visit Indonesia solely for the purpose of sitting together with him to discuss Indonesia's difficulties so soon after the inauguration of the Indonesian Government, and so soon after President Suharto's reelection for the seventh term. President Suharto was appreciative of this gesture on the part of Prime Minister Hashimoto, which, in President Suharto's view, was befitting of the longstanding relationship and trust between Japan and Indonesia. We feel that this visit did serve to strengthen the bilateral relations between Japan and Indonesia in the sense that it demonstrated, in an effective manner, Japan's willingness to support and cooperate with Indonesia as much as possible as another member of the Asian community, and at time when Indonesia finds itself in dire difficulties. Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto affirmed the importance of working in harmony and together with the international community in accordance with international rules such as the Bogor Declaration from APEC and the Manila Framework. You may recall that, in the making of these rules, both Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto have been actively involved together. President Suharto stated that Indonesia would live up to any undertaking that it has entered into, thus indicating his determination to proceed with the reforms on the basis of the discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister Hashimoto called on the Indonesian Government, other countries, international organizations concerned, and others to work together and in harmony so that Indonesia can promptly recover from its economic difficulties and can steadily develop further. Prime Minister Hashimoto also said that Japan, on its part, will be prepared to extend as much cooperation and assistance as possible. Japan is doing so in the belief that President Suharto will make these endeavors to win the confidence of the international community. The specific forms in which we will be extending this sort of assistance will include, for example, the provision of medical, pharmaceutical and other goods. Earlier in my press conferences, I talked about this commitment to provide about one billion yen worth of emergency grant assistance, consisting of medical and pharmaceutical goods, including, for example, dialysis filters and syringes, and so forth. In fact, the first shipment of this grant assistance arrived in Jakarta yesterday in the late afternoon -- that is, Sunday afternoon. We are also in the process of actively considering food assistance. We have also made clear that we will be underwriting a very substantial amount of trade insurance, even for those transactions which are not covered by letters of credit. So, these are the things that we will be doing. President Suharto, on his part, expressed his deep appreciation for Japan's continuing support.
4. Visit to Japan by newly-elected Vice President Bucharuddin Jusuf Habibie of the Republic of Indonesia
  Spokesman Numata: Also, I would like to mention that, following this meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Suharto, newly-elected Vice President Bucharuddin Jusuf Habibie of the Republic of Indonesia will be visiting Japan from Wednesday, 18 March to Saturday, 21 March. The Vice President is expected to meet with Prime Minister Hashimoto, Foreign Minister Obuchi, other ministers in the Government of Japan, as well as the Chairmen of the Policy Coordination Councils of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Sakigake. In fact, these three policy leaders of these parties went to Jakarta together with Prime Minister Hashimoto and they had the opportunity of sitting down together with Vice President Habibie to discuss Indonesia's current difficulties. Such discussions are expected to continue here in Japan. Vice President Habibie may also be meeting with business leaders, people from the financial sector and people from the Diet. His itinerary is in the process of being worked out.
5. Phone call from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America to Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi concerning the situation in the Republic of Indonesia
  Spokesman Numata: In connection with Indonesia, I would like to mention another item, which is that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States of America telephoned Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi this morning. It was at her initiative that the telephone call took place. The telephone call was made at 10:10 this morning. They talked for about 10 minutes. In this telephone conversation, Secretary of State Albright expressed her high appreciation of the Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia, especially the fact that the Prime Minister clearly stated Japan's support for Indonesia, and also the fact that the Prime Minister underlined the importance of Indonesia abiding by its undertakings, for example, with the IMF. Secretary of State Albright also expressed the hope that Japan and the United States would be in very close contact, not only between, for example, individuals of the United States Treasury and the Ministry of Finance of Japan, but also between the foreign policy establishments of the two countries, and for example, between herself and Foreign Minister Obuchi. Foreign Minister Obuchi responded by stating that Japan is very seriously concerned about maintaining the stability of Indonesia. Thus, the Prime Minister took this initiative to visit Indonesia as a longstanding friend of that country. Foreign Minister Obuchi referred to Prime Minister Hashimoto's expression of our willingness to extend as much support as possible to Indonesia, as well as the importance that he attached to Indonesia's going forward with the reform programs contemplated for the purpose of recovering market confidence. The Foreign Minister further said that the Prime Minister was gratified, because President Suharto stated to him that he would abide by the undertakings, for example, with the IMF. Foreign Minister Obuchi and Secretary of State Albright agreed to be in very close touch on this and other issues.
Visit to Japan by newly-elected Vice President Bucharuddin Jusuf Habibie of the Republic of Indonesia
Q: You mentioned that Vice President Habibie is beginning his visit to Japan starting tomorrow. This visit will last for three days. Is he going to discuss any new kind of financial assistance from the Japanese side to Indonesia?

Spokesman Numata: When Prime Minister Hashimoto talked with President Suharto, he talked about Japan's willingness to help Indonesia meet its short-term difficulties, which directly affect the life of the Indonesian people. He was referring, in particular, to the very dire need for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and so forth. The dialysis filters, and intravenous tubes and syringes are one such example of this short-term assistance. We have already made the commitment of one billion yen. But, Prime Minister Hashimoto said that we will be prepared to extend another two to three billion yen worth of emergency grant assistance to Indonesia. When you talk about trying to meet Indonesia's short-term demands, we can think of such items as pharmaceuticals, medical supplies or powdered milk for children. But, the Prime Minister requested of President Suharto that Indonesia try to work out some ideas of the sort of items that it needs in the very short term, so that we can very quickly put this idea of two to three billion yen of additional assistance into practice. So, that is one area that will probably be discussed. Another area is the area of food assistance. The acute shortage of rice in Indonesia, which has to do partly with the El Nino phenomenon, and so forth, has been a matter of concern to the international community for quite some time. There has been active consideration going on about how best we can help Indonesia in that regard. As a general proposition, to put this idea of food assistance to Indonesia into practice, two particulars need to be worked out. One is to look at the various options which we might have available for providing food assistance to Indonesia. Without going into the details, for example, we can think of providing rice as a loan, or providing rice as a grant, or, as a third option, Indonesia might use a part of the concessional loans that we provide it in order to purchase rice. Broadly speaking, these three options are possibilities, but we need to discuss exactly how these three options operate, so as to facilitate the judgement on the part of the Indonesian Government of which of these options, or combination of these options, might best meet Indonesia's needs. That is one particular. We expect that such discussions will probably take place between Vice President Habibie and the Japanese authorities concerned in the course of his visit. At the same time, in respect to food assistance, another very important factor is to ascertain Indonesia's needs. I understand that the teams from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are going out to Indonesia shortly. They will be looking at Indonesia's needs on the basis of the reports of these teams, so that we will have a clear idea of exactly what kind of demand there may be in Indonesia. So, a discussion on that sort of question is another possibility. The question may come up of what might be done about the value of the rupiah and how Japan might help in this regard, because we are talking in general about the need to restore the confidence of the international community. So, I think that there can be a broad range of issues that can be discussed.
Prime Ministerial visit to the Republic of Indonesia
Q: Japan has participated in international efforts to assist countries facing the economic and financial crisis in Asia. You mentioned Prime Minister Hashimoto's initiative to go to Indonesia to discuss this matter with President Suharto. Will we be able to see this type of initiative in the future being made toward countries such as Thailand the Republic of Korea, etc.?

Spokesman Numata: I think that there can be many ways in which we can help our friends in need. On what sort of occasions the Prime Minister might take the initiative to fly out and sit down with a leader for few hours to discuss these issues will be dependent on the actual situation. But, I think that what this visit indicates is a genuine concern about the problems that Indonesia is faced with. That concern is based on our longstanding friendship with Indonesia, and also based on our genuine desire to help our friends. But, whether or not this Prime Ministerial visit sets a pattern, I think we will have to wait and see.
Financial crisis in East Asia
Q: Do you think that the Indonesian problem is much worse than the problem in the Republic of Korea?

Spokesman Numata: It is difficult to talk about these matters in relative terms. In a way, the problems of Indonesia, the problems of the Republic of Korea and the problems, for example, of Thailand are in some respects similar in the nature of their origin. That is, this is a problem that has its main root in the activities of the private sector, the movement of capital, and so forth. There is another similarity that, in order to resolve these problems, some fundamental reform programs are called for, hence the involvement of the IMF. If you ask me where these countries stand at the moment, perhaps we can say that Indonesia's problem is the most acute. So in that sense, there is a sense of urgency with respect to Indonesia.
Japan-Republic of India relations
Q: Regarding the recent elections in India, the new party has been asked to form a new government. Could you comment on the situation that has developed in India after the election?

Spokesman Numata: We do know that this very respected statesman, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been asked to formulate a coalition government. We welcome the birth of what is to be this coalition government, and we look forward to building a relationship with that government, which we hope will be as close as the relationship that we have enjoyed with India's previous governments. I might also say that we are gratified that there seems to be a good reservoir of goodwill on the part of the Indian people toward Japan. We also feel that there is a strong sense of the importance of Japan-India relations on the part of India, which we happily reciprocate. So, we are confident that we will be able to enjoy continuing close relations with India.
Upcoming visit to Japan by President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation
Q: What about President Yeltsin's visit? What are the prospects? Are his health conditions and the political situation being monitored everyday?

Spokesman Numata: As far as we know, what was reported about the health of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation seems to be a temporary indisposition. As such, I do not think that our people are worried that that will affect the forthcoming visit by President Yeltsin. So, we are indeed looking forward to welcoming him in Kawana. Prime Minister Hashimoto is indeed looking forward to receiving President Yeltsin in the beautiful surroundings of Kawana, perhaps with cherry blossoms in bloom. They will have a very friendly meeting without neckties, but I am sure that they will manage to discuss serious substance, as well.

Q: Are you in daily touch with Moscow?

Spokesman Numata: Yes, we are in touch daily as the visit approaches. There is a Russian advance team which was here last week, I believe. So, we are working on the logistic arrangements, as well.
Japan-U.S. contact regarding the financial crisis in East Asia
Q: Could you reiterate what Secretary of State Albright said? Specifically, how did she characterize her opinion about the situation in Indonesia?

Spokesman Numata: Secretary Albright said that she was seriously concerned about the situation in Indonesia. From that viewpoint, she highly appreciated the Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia, particularly regarding the fact that Japan clearly indicated its support to Indonesia, and also regarding the fact that the Prime Minister underlined the importance of Indonesia's honoring its commitments with, for example, the IMF. She said that we would need to continue to monitor the situation in Indonesia. In that sense, the negotiations between Indonesia and the IMF would be important. She said that she wanted there to be close contacts between Japan and the United States. Already, there are contacts between the United States Treasury and the Ministry of Finance of Japan, but she wanted to be in close contact with Foreign Minister Obuchi, and also see close contact between the foreign policy establishments of the two governments. That was basically what Secretary of State Albright said. I think that I gave you Foreign Minister Obuchi's response. To complete the picture, Secretary of State Albright also made a brief reference to Japan's economy, reiterating the U.S. position that it is essential for Asian economic recovery that the Japanese economy will achieve a recovery to domestic demand-led growth. Foreign Minister Obuchi responded that Japan fully recognizes the importance of its economy in that regard.

Q: I am sorry, but did you say that the Foreign Minister acknowledged the importance of the Japanese economy to the economies of Asia?

Spokesman Numata: Yes, the Foreign Minister said that we fully recognize the importance of Japan's economy in that regard. When I say in that regard, I mean for Asian economic recovery.

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