Press Conference by the Press Secretary 19 May, 1998

1. Response of the Government of Japan to the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India
2. Current situation in the Republic of Indonesia
3. Role of the patrol boats dispatched to the waters near the Republic of Indonesia
4. Response of the Government of Japan to the speech of President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia
5. Response of the Government of the Islamic Republic to the visit by Special Envoy Seiichiro Noburu
6. Possible visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
7. Communication between the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India
8. Ongoing aid from Japan to countries in Southeast Asia
9. Events of National Awakening Day in the Republic of Indonesia
10. Departure of Air Self-Defense Force transport planes

1. Response of the Government of Japan to the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India

   My first announcement concerns the nuclear tests by the Republic of India. As you may already know, the head of our Cabinet Councillors' Office on External Affairs Seiichiro Noburu is now visiting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as the special envoy of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. On 18 May, Special Envoy Noburu had a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan following a meeting with Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Let me tell you a little about what transpired in Special Envoy Noburu's meeting with Prime Minister Sharif. After handing a letter to Prime Minister Sharif from Prime Minister Hashimoto, he explained to Prime Minister Sharif that Japan is the only country in the world to suffer nuclear bombings and therefore there exist very strong sentiments against nuclear weapons among the Japanese people. He said that India's recent tests only served to provoke such sentiments and that against this background Japan took strong measures against India. He also referred to the strong message issued by the Group of Eight (G-8) in Birmingham, strongly condemning India and urging restraint by Pakistan. After telling the Prime Minister that Japan does recognize the difficult situation that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is placed in, Special Envoy Noburu asked Pakistan to exercise restraint from a broad perspective. In response, Prime Minister Sharif told Special Envoy Noburu that Pakistan is now considering what kind of response is in Pakistan's national interest, taking into account all factors. He also expressed his appreciation for the measures taken by the Government of Japan in response to India's nuclear tests.

2. Current situation in the Republic of Indonesia

   I would like to give you an update of the situation in the Republic of Indonesia and the steps that the Government of Japan has taken since Friday, that is when we had the last press briefing. I would like to focus in particular on the efforts that the Government of Japan is making to protect Japanese nationals there. In the light of the situation in Indonesia, we upgraded the travel advisory from level two to level three on Friday, 15 May. In my last briefing I told you that we had upgraded the advisory from level one to level two. Immediately after that press conference of 15 May, we decided to upgrade the advisory to level three. On Sunday, 17 May the advisory was further upgraded to level four which means that the Government of Japan recommends to Japanese residents in Indonesia to evacuate their family members. This was done in view of the fact that tensions might rise further as 20 May approaches. I think you are aware that 20 May is a special day in Indonesia known as National Awakening Day. Another reason we decided to upgrade the travel advisory was because the situation in Indonesia remained unpredictable. In order to facilitate the departure of Japanese nationals from Indonesia, the Government of Japan requested Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways to arrange extra flights in addition to their regular flights. As a result there will be 20 additional flights available between 17 and 22 May. Furthermore, we have arranged for four charter flights between Indonesia and Japan and other destinations. On 18 May, Foreign Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi made a formal request to Director General Fumio Kyuuma of the Defense Agency pursuant to article 100-8 of the Self-Defense Forces Law to send transport aircraft of the Air Self-Defense Force to the Republic of Singapore in order to be fully prepared for a contingency requiring the quick transportation of Japanese nationals out of Indonesia to a safe place. The aircraft will be standing by in Singapore. The decision to send the aircraft from Singapore to Indonesia will have to be made separately. I repeat, the aircraft is being sent to Singapore. The aircraft will be standing by there. On the same day, Foreign Minister Obuchi requested the Ministry of Transport to send a patrol vessel towards Indonesia. The ship will stand by in the high seas near Indonesia.

3. Role of the patrol boats dispatched to the waters near the Republic of Indonesia

   Q: What will the patrol boats be doing on the high seas?

   A: The patrol boats will be standing by.

   Q: To evacuate?

   A: If that proves necessary. At the present moment the patrol vessel has orders to stand by in the waters off Indonesia in preparation for a possible contingency which we of course hope does not happen.

4. Response of the Government of Japan to the speech of President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia

   Q: President Suharto just announced in his speech that he was setting up a reform committee to hold new elections as soon as possible and that he would not stand for reelection. Does the Government of Japan have any response to that announcement?

   A: I think that you are well aware that the speech was delivered about 25 minutes ago and we do not have the full text yet. We will have to examine the contents of the speech of President Suharto of the Republic of Indonesia carefully before we can make any comments on it.

   Q: Do you expect that later today?

   A: Hopefully. I will have to check with my fellow officials, but I think that they are in the process of preparing something.

   Q: As you said earlier, you still have not received an official response to President Suharto's speech, but could you tell us whether there is any sort of relief that there has been a public statement made by President Suharto and what sorts of things will you looking for when you get the text of that speech?

   A: Since the speech was made only 20 minutes before I came to this conference room, I did not have the chance to talk to any of my fellow officials involved in the operation. So, I can not give you a good idea what the sense is right now. You will have to wait for that. I hope you will be patient.

5. Response of the Government of the Islamic Republic to the visit by Special Envoy Seiichiro Noburu

   Q: The Prime Minister expressed his concern and asked Pakistan to exercise restraint. Pakistan says that the G-8 countries have not responded satisfactorily. What has been the response of Pakistan to the request by Japan to exercise restraint?

   A: Do you mean Pakistan's response to the request made by Special Envoy Noburu?

   Q: Yes.

   A: Let me answer the first part of your question first. We believe that the G-8 issued a very strong statement. The statement clearly said that the G-8 condemned the nuclear tests conducted by India. The statement also called on India to accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We think that this statement is a very, very strong statement. However, with regard to specific measures, this is something that each G-8 member has to decide. I think you are aware of the measures announced by the United States of America and Japan in response to India's tests. I think Japan's measures send a very strong message to India. As to the second part of your question, basically I have already told you what the response of the Pakistani side was to the request by Special Envoy Noburu for restraint. I will repeat it. Prime Minister Sharif told Special Envoy Noburu that Pakistan is considering what kind of response is in Pakistan's national interest. That is Pakistan's response to Special Envoy Noburu's request. Foreign Minister Khan also said something along the same lines to Special Envoy Noburu.

6. Possible visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Q: There is a media report that Foreign Minister Obuchi is planning to send State Secretary Koumura to Pakistan. Is that true and if so, why? Is Japan not satisfied with Pakistan's response?

   A: Let me just say that we are considering that possibility. No decision has been made yet. No decision to send State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to Pakistan has been made yet.

7. Communication between the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China concerning the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India

   Q: Has there been any contact between the Government of Japan and China concerning the Indian nuclear tests?

   A: I will have to be very frank with you: I do not know. I am not aware of any contacts. That does not necessarily mean there have been no contacts. However, I am not aware of any.

8. Ongoing aid from Japan to countries in Southeast Asia

   Q: Has Japan done anything or is Japan going to do anything to help ease the situation in Indonesia? Do you have any role there?

   A: The Government of Japan has been calling on all the parties to exercise restraint. When I say parties, that includes the authorities as well as the students and the citizens of Indonesia. As you know, we have been extending large amounts of economic assistance to Indonesia to help Indonesia address the economic situation there. I think you are aware of the economic stimulus package announced on 24 April. The economic stimulus package has an Asia component to it. In the package we announced, in addition to the US $37 billion in assistance to Asian countries previously announced, we will be sending another US $5.4 billion, bringing the total to over US $42 billion in assistance to Indonesia and other Asian countries in economic difficulty. In the new package we give high priority to alleviating the difficulties of the poor and the most vulnerable segments of the population. As you know, Japan has been sending large amounts of humanitarian assistance to Indonesia in the form of medical equipment and milk for children. In accordance with the 24 April package, the Government of Japan will be sending 600,000 tons of rice to Indonesia. We will continue our efforts to support -- we are committed to supporting Indonesia's reform efforts and in so doing we will be giving special attention to the dire situation of the most vulnerable segments of the population in Indonesia. Of course that applies to other Southeast Asian countries as well.

9. Events of National Awakening Day in the Republic of Indonesia

   Q: Can you tell me why the Government of Japan is most concerned about tomorrow's events? What is Japan hoping the Government of Indonesia will do to help with any problems tomorrow?

   A: We are told that it is a special day called National Awakening Day and I think some of the groups in Indonesia have already announced that they were planning major demonstrations on that day. We were concerned that tensions might rise as that day approaches.

   Q: As a result, that is why extra flights are planned?

   A: That is one of the factors that we took into consideration. As I said, the overall situation remains highly unpredictable.

10. Departure of Air Self-Defense Force transport planes

    Q: You are sending six C-130's to Singapore. What is the scenario, what is the basis upon which you decided the number of aircraft to send?

    A: In his request to Director General Kyuma of the Defense Agency, Foreign Minister Obuchi did not specify the number of aircraft. I think the number of aircraft was decided by the Defense Agency, perhaps in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I am not aware of the contents of these consultations.

    Q: It appears that the use of six aircraft indicates that the Air Self-Defense Force is considering a plural number of destinations. Is that correct? What is your comment on that estimation?

    A: I do not want to speculate. I do not have the answer to that question on what basis we decided on the number of aircraft.