Press Conference by the Press Secretary April 17, 1998

  1. Itinerary of the visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the Republic of Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark
  2. Visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Islamic Republic of Iran
  3. Grant assistance for the election in the Kingdom of Cambodia in aid of democratization
  4. Activities of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in Kawana
  5. Japan-Russian relations since the Krasnoyarsk meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin
  6. Personal contact between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin
  7. Informality of discussions between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin in Kawana
  8. Signing of a peace treaty between Russian and Japan by the year 2000
  9. Areas of Japan-Russia cooperation
  10. Tokyo Declaration between Japan and Russia
  11. The visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United Kingdom
  12. Encounters between Their Majesties and the people of the United Kingdom
  13. Creation of itinerary for Their Majesties while in the United Kingdom
  14. Itinerary of Their Majesties while near London

  1. Itinerary of the visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the Republic of Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Denmark

    It was decided at the Cabinet meeting this morning that Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan would visit the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Denmark and they will also be going to the Republic of Portugal on the way to the United Kingdom. The Emperor and Empress will leave Tokyo on 23 May and return on 5 June. Their Majesties will leave Tokyo and stay in Lisbon and then arrive in London on 25 April. On 27 April Their Majesties will make a trip to Cardiff, Wales. Then Their Majesties come back to London. Their Majesties will be leaving London on 31 May and then go on to Denmark. Their Majesties will be leaving Copenhagen on 4 June and will be arriving back in Tokyo on 5 June.

  2. Visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Islamic Republic of Iran

    State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura will visit the Islamic Republic of Iran from 22 to 26 April. During the course of his stay in Iran, State Secretary Koumura will pay a courtesy call on President Seyed Mohammad Khatami of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will also have talks with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and others. There have been some contacts between Japan and Iran. For example, the Government of Japan hosted the Japan-Iran Deputy Minister-level consultations in Tokyo in November 1997, and this was in light of the new developments in Iran, since President Khatami assumed office last August. We feel that the visit by State Secretary Koumura is a move for strengthening political dialogue with this new administration in Iran. Incidentally, the last Japanese ministerial-level visit to Iran took place when then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Nakayama made a visit back in 1991.

  3. Grant assistance for the election in the Kingdom of Cambodia in aid of democratization

    Today, 17 April, the Government of Japan decided to extend a grant-in aid of US $250,000 to the United Nations (UN) to assist the Kingdom of Cambodia's general election to be held on 26 July and this will help the country's democratization. Japan's donation will be used for the UN monitoring of the safe return and free participation in politics of politicians who left the country in opposition to the present administration at the time of the incident in July last year. We do attach a great deal of importance to a free and fair election taking place in Cambodia. For that, the safe return and free participation of the opposition politicians are of vital importance. To this end, the UN started monitoring in October last year in response to a request from the Cambodian Government. It is under this, under this monitoring that most of the opposition politicians have returned. Prince Norodom Ranariddh of the Kingdom of Cambodia did return to Cambodia. He is temporarily out of the country, but he is expected to return to Cambodia again. As the election campaigns get underway, the importance of the UN monitoring will increase. We have been pursuing this four pillar proposal and things have been progressing under that plan on the basis of the collaboration among Japan, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and other friends of Cambodia like the United States of America, the French Republic and Australia. The Friends of Cambodia are meeting this weekend on 19 April and State Secretary Koumura will be taking part in that meeting in Bangkok. He will be taking a lengthy trip from Bangkok to the Persian Gulf. There will some considerable activity in Kawana over this weekend.

  4. Activities of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation and Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto in Kawana

    Q: Can you provide any elaboration on the visit by President Yeltsin? What does Japan hope to achieve? When will President Yeltsin arrive and when will he depart?

    A: The visit this weekend by President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation to Japan will take place largely in the fashion of the meeting at Krasnoyarsk, that is, a very informal encounter between the two leaders. We expect that much of the exchanges between the two leaders will take place basically in a one-on-one fashion, although they will need interpreters. We certainly hope that such a friendly encounter will further cement the mutual friendship and trust between the two leaders. There is one difference compared to Krasnoyarsk, which is that the spouses will also be present. In a way, what is in addition to Krasnoyarsk this time will be this en famille element. Given such nature of the meeting, there is no fixed agenda and how the talks will proceed will be left largely to the two leaders. So I would not like to put myself in the position of prejudging what the two leaders would feel like speaking about. But having said that, perhaps we can make some guesses as to what they may be discussing. Firstly, the two leaders will be talking as two individuals who happen to occupy these very important positions in their respective countries and they may be comparing notes on a number of things, not just politics but how they see the world. Secondly, there has been steady progress in the relationship between Japan and Russia since Krasnoyarsk and we do hope that this positive trend would be further encouraged and it is entirely possible that the two leaders will address the present state and future of our bilateral relationship in that spirit. What are the components of this bilateral relationship? Firstly, there is this broad range of cooperative programs on which the two leaders reached an agreement in Krasnoyarsk. Since that meeting, the Hashimoto-Yeltsin Plan has been put into place. It covers cooperation in many diverse areas. So they may be reviewing the progress of this plan and they may also very well be discussing how these cooperative programs might be further deepened and expanded. Secondly, with respect to the question of the peace treaty and the territorial question, at Krasnoyarsk the two leaders agreed to make their utmost effort to conclude the peace treaty on the basis of the Tokyo Declaration by the year 2000. At the beginning of this year, the Japan-Russia Joint Committee on the Peace Treaty was established. There was a deputy ministerial-level meeting in January in Moscow. Then, in February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi, in his capacity as the Japanese Chairman of the Joint Committee, visited Moscow and had talks with then-Foreign Minister Evgenii Primakov of the Russian Federation. On 26 March there was another deputy ministerial-level meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tamba and Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin of the Russian Federation in Tokyo. It is against this background that the two leaders will be discussing this subject. We do hope that discussions between the two leaders this time will serve to advance the Krasnoyarsk meeting further and to give some sort of directions and guidance to the future negotiations. Thirdly, there is also the matter of improving the general climate for the solution of the territorial question, and by that I mean further promoting the exchanges between the inhabitants of the four Northern Islands and the Japanese people. The ways and means of achieving that may be discussed. Fourthly, an important part of this broad range of the bilateral relationship between Japan and Russia which is unfolding is the security dialogue and exchanges in the field of defense with a view to further confidence building between our two countries. That may be taken up as well. Fifthly, there are other aspects of our relationship, especially as we take the approach of trying to promote and further our relations in a multi-layered fashion, in all sorts of fields. In that context, cultural exchanges and other matters may be taken up. Sixthly, we do look forward to further political dialogue between our two countries, including the exchanges at the level of the two leaders, and that might also be discussed. Having given you this rather long list, I would repeat that I would not like to put myself in the position of trying to put words into the mouths of our two leaders. In that sense, nothing is excluded. Things will depend very much on the two leaders. President Yeltsin will be arriving tomorrow afternoon and leaving on Sunday from Kawana.

  5. Japan-Russian relations since the Krasnoyarsk meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin

    Q: Has there been sufficient progress since the Krasnoyarsk meeting to warrant a meeting of this type since Krasnoyarsk happened just a short time ago?

    A: There have been a flurry of activities since Krasnoyarsk. I was referring earlier to the meetings that have taken place in the context of the peace treaty negotiations; the deputy ministerial meeting in January, the ministerial visit in February and the deputy ministerial meeting again in March. That is only one aspect of the relationship. The other aspect of the relationship is the development of our relationship in a multi-layered fashion, in a broad range of fields. There have been a number of activities taking place under the Hashimoto-Yeltsin Plan. Some of the notable features are, first, that the negotiations on the Investment Protection treaty are underway. Secondly, you might recall that at the time of Krasnoyarsk, Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed Japan's support for Russia's participation in APEC. At the APEC Informal Summit Meeting in November last year, Russia's participation was decided and we are in the process of consulting with Russia so as to ease the process of Russia's participation in APEC which will become official in November this year. There has been progress in the area of trade insurance. There has also been progress in the area of training Russian business managers and the first group of Russian business managers came to Japan in February. The second group is in Japan now. I think that Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin will have an opportunity to chat with this group in the course of their stay in Kawana. There are active discussions taking place about how we can help the Russian small and medium-sized enterprises. There are discussions going on about possible cooperation with respect to the Trans-Siberian railway. The Japan-Russia energy consultation has also taken place. So there have been a flurry of activities and I think we can confidently say that there is this positive tenor to our relationship, something on which we would really like to build and this visit, I think, will provide a very good opportunity to achieve that. When the two leaders met in the Group of Seven (G-7+1) Denver Summit last year, they agreed to meet on a regular basis. The idea was that they would try to meet at least once a year in the form of visits in addition to their encounters in the context of multilateral meetings. So that is coming to pass in Kawana.

  6. Personal contact between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin

    Q: How important is Yeltsin himself to this process given that his own political future is somewhat uncertain?

    A: President Yeltsin is a very strong leader of Russia, there is no doubt about it. He does attach a great deal of importance to the development of Russia's bilateral relationship with Japan. There is this important element of personal friendship and rapport and trust which has been engendered through their encounters last year, especially at Krasnoyarsk. So we do feel that it is important for the two leaders to continue their discussions on this whole range of subjects, not just the peace treaty negotiation but also the development of our relationship in a host of other areas. We see this Kawana meeting as another important step in that whole context.

  7. Informality of discussions between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin in Kawana

    Q: Could you say a little more about what it is that will make this such an informal meeting? How will they be filling their time?

    A: I am sure they will find quite a lot to discuss. They may go fishing, although I have not yet checked whether the fish are willing to be caught. They will go on a cruise, weather permitting. In Krasnoyarsk, they went fishing on the river. When the leaders discuss matters of very considerable importance, both in the bilateral context and also in the context of their situations in their own country, we do feel that it is vitally important for personal rapport to be strengthened between the two leaders. We have had very encouraging development in that respect. One example of that is that the two leaders exchange personal letters very often; such as in celebrating their birthdays or when President Yeltsin came down with a cold and Prime Minister Hashimoto immediately sent a letter expressing his hope for President Yeltsin's quick recovery. In personal contacts through letters and other forms, I think given the history of the relationship between Japan and the then-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)and Russia today, we can look forward to developing our relationship further and resolving what has been the one obstacle to the development of our relationship, that is the question of the peace treaty and the territorial question.

  8. Signing of a peace treaty between Russian and Japan by the year 2000

    Q: Given the personal nature of this relationship with some continuity of diplomatic effort, is it possible it would be lost if Yeltsin does not remain the Russian President? What would happen to the chance of signing a peace treaty with Russia by the year 2000? Is that a concern?

    A: What is important is to keep on building on what we have achieved. What is not desirable is to leave things in abeyance, to lose the momentum. I think it is in that context that we do feel it is very important for us to continue this process. Whether or not leaders are entirely free from the whims of political fortunes, I think that is a matter that could be discussed at length, but I do not think I will address that at this point.

  9. Areas of Japan-Russia cooperation

    Q: Would energy cooperation between Japan and Russia include nuclear energy cooperation?

    A: It may. There could be a whole host of areas. I emphasize that this meeting is not going to take place in the fashion of having set a long list of agenda and the two leaders sitting down to tick-off each item, but if you look at the whole question of energy cooperation, it can cover a number of areas. The safety of nuclear power and nuclear power plants is something that has been under discussion between our two governments for some time.

  10. Tokyo Declaration between Japan and Russia

    Q: What is the best background paper to the territorial issue?

    A: The best foreground note is the Tokyo Declaration of 1993.

  11. The visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United Kingdom

    Q: Can you tell us if there is some kind of underlying theme to all these events in the United Kingdom? What is the thinking behind the full agenda of His Majesty?

    A: Their Majesties will have a very full program. Actually, Their Majesties have been to the United Kingdom a number of times, but this is the first time that the His Majesty is visiting as the Emperor of Japan. His Majesty first visited the United Kingdom in 1953, to attend the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Their Majesties, as Crown Prince and Crown Princess, made an official visit to the United Kingdom in 1976. Their Majesties visited the United Kingdom again, as Crown Prince and Crown Princess, in 1981 to attend the wedding of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Their Majesties made a stopover in 1984 on their way to the Republic of Zaire and the Republic of Senegal. In 1995, Their Majesties made another stopover while visiting the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Ireland. Their Majesties know a lot about the United Kingdom. The last visit by a Japanese Emperor to the United Kingdom took place in 1971, and that was Emperor Showa. The themes would be good will, friendship and coming into contact with the people of the United Kingdom. Most importantly, Their Majesties are visiting the United Kingdom at the very kind invitation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Their Majesties are looking forward to renewing their friendship with Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. Their Majesties will have an opportunity to come into direct contact with people of the United Kingdom, more specifically, the Welsh people in Cardiff, where a number of Japanese residents live. The theme is about goodwill and friendship. The state of our bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom is excellent. There is a flourishing relationship in all sorts of areas in terms of business cooperation, investment, political dialogue, scientific and technological cooperation, youth exchange and cultural exchange, and all other areas. We feel that the visit by Their Majesties to the United Kingdom this time is an excellent opportunity to highlight this excellent state of relationship between our two countries.

  12. Encounters between Their Majesties and the people of the United Kingdom

    Q: Will Their Majesties be shaking hands with the people?

    A: Their Majesties will be coming into very close proximity with the people that they meet and based on my own personal experience of having been close to these opportunities, Their Majesties take very great care to spend as much time as possible with the people that they meet, in terms of talking and engaging in conversations. As to whether Their Majesties will shake hands, I am afraid I have not been minute enough an observer.

  13. Creation of itinerary for Their Majesties while in the United Kingdom

    Q: Does the Imperial Household Agency have any part in organizing the itinerary of Their Majesties or is it done by the British side?

    A: It is done in close collaboration between the two.

  14. Itinerary of Their Majesties while near London

    Q: On 29 and 30 May, Their Majesties are staying near London. Is that the part of the visit that is private, and if so, where will they be? Will it be at one of the Queen's other homes? Will His Majesty be incognito? Will we be getting any more information about the itinerary during the unofficial portion of His Majesties visit?

    A: The way these state visits are run, there is a fixed period for the official part of the visit. Once that is over, the visit of Their Majesties is private, or unofficial. Their Majesties will be staying somewhere near London. I do not think Their Majesties will be staying at a home of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Their Majesties will be staying somewhere not too far from London where it is quiet enough for Their Majesties to relax. It would be terribly difficult for His Majesty to be totally incognito. I believe more details will be available closer to the time of the visit.


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