Press Conference by the Press Secretary 9 June, 1998

1. Unanimous adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution co-sponsored by the Government of Japan against nuclear testing by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
2. Response of the Government of Japan to the situation in the province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
3. Visit by Mrs. Kumiko Hashimoto to the Russian Federation to attend photographic exhibition of her husband, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
4. Position of the Government of Japan to announcement of North Korea regarding Japanese wives and suspected abduction cases
5. Position of the Government of Japan concerning the Japanese yen exchange rate
6. Response of the Government of Japan to the bombing of 2 June in Teheran in the Islamic Republic of Iran
7. Position of the Government of Japan concerning global nuclear disarmament
8. Proposal by the Government of Japan for an Emergency Action Forum on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation

1. Unanimous adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution co-sponsored by the Government of Japan against nuclear testing by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   I see a leftward shift in the seating arrangement, here. That statement was without political implications. As you know, on Saturday, 6 June, the United Nations Security Council resolution on the nuclear testing by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted unanimously. This was co-sponsored by Japan, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Republic of Costa Rica and the Republic of Slovenia. The resolution calls on the international community to maintain and consolidate the international regime on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as to cope with the threat against the preservation of peace and security in South Asia and other regions. As one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, we are particularly gratified that our effort, with the other co-sponsors and other like-minded countries has borne fruit in the form of this resolution and to give you an idea of why we attach importance to this resolution, let me very briefly outline the three salient points which were mentioned by Ambassador Hisashi Owada, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York. Firstly, we share the grave concern of the international community at the serious negative effects of the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan on peace and stability in South Asia. Secondly, the people in Japan have been particularly shocked by these nuclear tests because we know at firsthand the unspeakable horrors of nuclear weapons and we are therefore determined not to allow the nuclear tragedy such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki ever again to visit us on our globe. It is precisely for this reason that Japan has been placing the supreme importance upon the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Thirdly, the resolution does mention the continuing need for efforts towards nuclear disarmament on the part of the nuclear weapons states under article six of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). The view of Japan is that in parallel with our efforts to promote the international regime for non-proliferation, steady progress for nuclear disarmament is essential for a safer world. Japan makes it an article of faith to uphold its own three non-nuclear principles not to produce, not to possess and not to introduce nuclear weapons. Japan seeks to realize a world free of nuclear weapons and on this basis Japan has consistently appealed to the international community to aim at steady progress in nuclear disarmament through concrete and practical measures on a step-by-step basis.

2. Response of the Government of Japan to the situation in the province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

   My second comment concerns the worsening situation in Kosovo. We are greatly concerned that since the end of May, conflicts have again intensified in the province of Kosovo in the Republic of Serbia of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This worsening conflict has forced many ethnic Albanians to leave their country as refugees and because of the intensified conflict, the dialogue between the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo has unfortunately been suspended. Naturally, terrorism by ethnic Albanians in Kosovo cannot be tolerated, but at the same time, it is deplorable that under the banner of "suppression of terrorism," many people, including women, children and old people are being killed and injured, and many people are fleeing as refugees. We urge all parties, that is the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to stop using force and start dialogue in earnest.

3. Visit by Mrs. Kumiko Hashimoto to the Russian Federation to attend photographic exhibition of her husband, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

   My third announcement is on a somewhat lighter subject. Mrs. Kumiko Hashimoto, the wife of Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, is going to the Russian Federation, not to negotiate the peace treaty on behalf of her husband, but to attend the opening ceremony of Prime Minister Hashimoto's photograph exhibition in Moscow. She will be visiting Russia from Wednesday, 10 June to Sunday, 14 June. The idea for this exhibition of photographs by Prime Minister Hashimoto came up in the course of the meeting between Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation in Kawana in April. Mrs. Naina Yeltsin invited Mrs. Hashimoto to come to the opening of this exhibition. The exhibition will be held from 11 to 25 June at the Tretjyakov Gallery in Moscow and it is expected that Mrs. Yeltsin will also attend the opening ceremony. As I understand it, at the exhibition there will be about 31 photographs by Prime Minister Hashimoto, including three which were taken by him at Krasnoyarsk which have not been put out in the public domain yet and there will also be an exhibition of some 100 classic photographs on Japan collected by Russian connoisseurs over the years and nine photographs of contemporary Japan from the TASS archives.

4. Position of the Government of Japan to announcement of North Korea regarding Japanese wives and suspected abduction cases

   Q: North Korea has announced that they will not be sending any more Japanese wives to Japan and that they have denied any kidnaping that the Government of Japan has asked them to look into. Can you state the position of the Government of Japan on their announcements?

   A: Yes. Neither of these announcements makes us happy, to say the least. With respect to the announcement by North Korean authorities about the suspected abduction cases, we do find this position of North Korea as announced, totally unacceptable and regrettable because this is a matter on which the Japanese law enforcement authorities have conducted investigations and have come to the judgment that there are seven cases of suspected abduction involving ten people and since this is a matter which concerns the safety and life of our own nationals, we have been urging the North Korean side to look very seriously into the matter. The response by the North Korean side as announced towards the end of last week, we must say we find to be very insincere, and therefore we find it regrettable. This does continue to be a matter of great importance to us because it concerns the life of our own people and our intention is to continue to urge the North Korean side to address the issue seriously. With respect to the return of the Japanese wives, at this point we have only this reported announcement by the spokesman of the North Korean Red Cross Central Committee, so we are not at this point aware of all the details and background, but this is something that we have been working on very hard -- the idea of bringing these Japanese wives home so that they will be able to see their relatives. This is something that we have been working very hard on from a humanitarian viewpoint and the announcement which in effect says that there will be no more of these wives returning, we also find it very regrettable. I think at this point that is all I would like to say.

5. Position of the Government of Japan concerning the Japanese yen exchange rate

   Q: I have an economic question. The Japanese yen has been dropping at an alarming rate these days and it has hit 141 yen to the dollar today. That is the lowest point in seven years. How is the Government of Japan looking at this and how is the Foreign Ministry thinking about the situation when this is giving the Asian economy quite a scare at the time of the Asian economic crisis?

   A: Firstly, I think I better say that as bureaucratic division of labor works out, I am not in the position of "Mr. Yen." For that reason, whatever I may be able to say on the exchange rate as such is extremely limited. Perhaps I had better refrain from anything which might be taken as my attempt to influence the exchange rate, but in the general context of the difficulties in our own country and other Asian countries, the question of the falling value of the yen naturally is a matter of concern to us. However, at the same time in trying to deal with our own economic difficulties and also in trying to help our Asian neighbors overcome the current turmoil, we have been making our own efforts, both with respect to helping our neighbors through support on various fronts as well as through our own efforts to reflate our economy, and we are determined to continue with these efforts.

6. Response of the Government of Japan to the bombing of 2 June in Teheran in the Islamic Republic of Iran

   Q: What is the position of the Government of Japan concerning the militant group that has claimed responsibility for the bombing in Teheran?

   A: I understand that you are talking about these bomb explosions in Teheran which occurred on 2 June which left a number of people dead and injured. We receive this news with anger and sorrow and we would like to express our deep condolences to the victims and their families and to the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran and we would also like to extend our deep sympathy to the injured. The Government of Japan is aware that the MKO declared its responsibility for the bombings. Terrorism cannot be justified in any way for whatever reason and terrorism solves nothing. Japan again affirms its basic stance that it resolutely condemns any acts of terrorism.

7. Position of the Government of Japan concerning global nuclear disarmament

   Q: Mr. Numata, about this resolution of the Security Council protesting the nuclear testing by India and Pakistan. Japan is the only country to have been bombed by atomic weapons by the Americans at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a consequence one would expect Japan to work for the total abolishment of nuclear weapons but the policy of the Government of Japan amounts to what can be called a policy of "nuclear apartheid" in that you support weapons being held by five countries and not any other country in the world. Can you explain the rationale?.

   A: I am not quite sure if I agree with you about your characterization of our policy as "nuclear apartheid." I think I will try to refrain from using emotively-charged words. That is my first point. My second point is that if you look at the history of the world over the past fifty years, especially over the past twenty years or so and how peace has been preserved, the nuclear non-proliferation regime as embodied in the NPT has served as a stabilizing factor with respect to the issues of nuclear weapons in the world and that is a reality. At the same time, as I mentioned earlier in talking about the points made by Ambassador Owada, the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York, we are desirous of a world which would be free of nuclear weapons but at the same time, the realities of the world are such that we cannot go from here to there in one day or in a short number of years and that is why we do take this approach that we do desire nuclear disarmament but we also need to pursue that objective in a realistic manner.

8. Proposal by the Government of Japan for an Emergency Action Forum on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation

   Q: Japan offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the issue of Kashmir. That seems to have been rejected by India, but are you still pursuing it and if so, in what way? Can you give us more details about the proposed Emergency Action Forum on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation? What level is that going to take place on?

   A: Again, I am not quite sure whether I would use the word "mediate," but press conferences are not a forum for quibbling. I did mention earlier that these nuclear tests bring into sharp relief this very disturbing element of instability in South Asia and the need for dialogue between the two parties concerned and the need for India and Pakistan to work for mutually acceptable solutions on the sources of tension between the two countries including Kashmir and in fact, this kind of recognition is indeed reflected in the Security Council resolution which we co-sponsored and which has been adopted. Operative paragraph five of the Security Council resolution urges India and Pakistan to resume the dialogue between them on all outstanding issues and encourages them to find mutually acceptable solutions that address the root causes of those tensions, including Kashmir. This is the very strong desire of the international community as reflected in the Security Council resolution. We expect that something similar to this idea will probably be discussed in London in the Group of Eight (G8) Foreign Ministers' meeting and we hope that there will be efforts by the international community to work further along this path of encouraging India and Pakistan to resolve their differences. Now if there are to be such international efforts and if there is any role that Japan can play in that process, we will be looking actively at what we will be able to do. The idea that you mentioned of a possible meeting in Tokyo for example, may be a possibility in the process but we will first be discussing this basic idea of the desirability of dialogue between India and Pakistan on a host of issues and also the desirability of India's and Pakistan's efforts to resolve, to find mutually acceptable solutions on a host of issues including Kashmir. This needs to be discussed further in the international community and we will be looking at the question of whatever role we may be able to play in that process. So, I am not quite sure if it is quite correct to say that the idea is dead. We will have to see how this sort of idea may become a reality. As to the Emergency Action Forum, again there is a whole complex process going on now. Firstly, there was the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (P-5) meeting and the P5 statement, then the Security Council resolution, and then there is going to be the G8 meeting in which the participants will be four nuclear weapons states and four non-nuclear weapons states and there can be a larger involvement on the part of the international community. From our point of view, for the reasons that I mentioned earlier, we acutely recognize the need for continuing efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and that is the context in which Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi and Prime Minister Hashimoto mentioned this idea of an Emergency Action Forum on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The idea is to have prominent thinkers, former policy makers and experts, not only from Japan but also from other parts of the world. The number of people involved is not fixed yet, but about ten people, perhaps a dozen, perhaps a few more, and the idea is to have these people thrash out ideas and possibilities of attaining these goals of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and for that reason to have about four meetings of these people in the course of about one year with a view to having their recommendations. The idea is still in its formative stage but the rough outline is just as I have given you, and we will be giving further thought to this.