Press Conference by the Press Secretary 12 June, 1998

1. Announcement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto at the session of the Foreign Relations and Defense Committee of the House of Councillors on 11 June
2. Letter from Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi to the foreign ministers of 30 non-nuclear weapons states
3. Possibility of talks between Japan and the People's Republic of China concerning the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
4. Response of the Government of Japan to the currency exchange rate of the Japanese yen
5. Possibility of a visit by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the Republic of Korea

1. Announcement by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto at the session of the Foreign Relations and Defense Committee of the House of Councillors on 11 June

   Before I take your questions, I would like to make one announcement regarding the statement that Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto made at the session of the Foreign Relations and Defense Committee of the House of Councillors yesterday. It is a very comprehensive statement on Japan's position concerning the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Let me summarize for you what he said in the statement since it will give you a good idea of the position that Japan will be taking at the Group of Eight (G8) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in London which will start in a few hours from now. As you know, Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi is in London to attend that meeting. In his statement at the Diet yesterday, Prime Minister Hashimoto focused on two aspects; firstly, Japan's approach to maintaining and strengthening the international non-proliferation regime; and secondly, our approach to maintaining peace and stability in the South Asia region. He examined the first aspect from two perspectives.   The Prime Minister first underlined the importance of calling on India and Pakistan to discontinue nuclear testing, to stop the development and deployment of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) without conditions and to participate in the negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-off Convention. Then he went on to say that it was important for the international community to work in unison in order to prevent nuclear proliferation and to uphold the existing regime in which the NPT and CTBT are playing a central role. He also underscored the importance of preventing the transfer of nuclear weapon-related and missile- related equipment, materials and technology to and from India and Pakistan. He further emphasized the need to make it clear to the world that challenges to the non-proliferation regime such as those posed by India and Pakistan are an option that will entail huge costs for these countries and that the two countries must not be rewarded with a special status in the non-proliferation regime. He then turned to the issue of nuclear disarmament. While underlining the fact that the current situation was brought about by India and Pakistan, he discussed the need for the nuclear weapons states to push forward nuclear disarmament. He referred to the fact that Japan has been appealing to the world on the need to steadily advance nuclear disarmament step-by-step through concrete and practical measures in order to realize the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. He mentioned in this context, Japan's efforts to encourage the early conclusion of Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) II and the initiation of START III talks as soon as possible between the United States of America and the Russian Federation, as well as the reduction of nuclear weapons by other nuclear weapons states. He then described the initiatives taken by the Government of Japan to address the present situation; that is the United Nations Security Council resolution sponsored by the Government of Japan and adopted by the Security Council on 6 June, and the Emergency Action Forum on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, which as you are well aware, is an initiative launched by Prime Minister Hashimoto and Foreign Minister Obuchi last week. I will not go into the details of these two initiatives since they have been discussed in detail in previous press conferences. In the last part of his presentation, Prime Minister Hashimoto addressed the issue of maintaining peace and stability in South Asia. Here he first expressed grave concern that the heightening of tensions between India and Pakistan might go beyond the bilateral framework and affect the security of South Asia and even peace and stability in the entire international community. He also referred to the implications that the rising tensions had for regional cooperation and the social and economic development of the countries in the region. In this context, he underscored the need for India and Pakistan to initiate serious dialogue and make efforts to keep mutual distrust from growing and to prevent an arms race between the two countries. The Prime Minister also called for the need of the international community to take strong interest in the root causes for the tensions between India and Pakistan, including Kashmir and consider how to maintain the security of the South Asia region. He underscored from this perspective the need for the international community to encourage meaningful dialogue between India and Pakistan. He concluded his statement by expressing his hope that the G8 Foreign Ministers will address the present situation by bringing together their wisdom at their meeting in London.

2. Letter from Minister for Foreign Affairs Keizo Obuchi to the foreign ministers of 30 non-nuclear weapons states

   Q: Foreign Minister Obuchi sent a message to non-nuclear countries. What is the message contained in the letter and which countries received the letter?

   A: The nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan have caused great concern in the international community. As a part of our response to the situation created by the nuclear testing by the two countries, we have initiated an effort to appeal to the international community for the consolidation of the global non-proliferation regime. As a part of this effort, Foreign Minister Obuchi has sent letters to the foreign ministers of 30 countries that have shown a strong commitment to nuclear non-proliferation. Of these 30 foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Obuchi will be meeting the foreign ministers of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Argentine Republic, the Republic of South Africa and Ukraine at the meeting in London. Do you want the full list of the 30 countries? I can tell you later on. I can read out the whole list if you like. I would like to spare the other people of the agony of listening to me reading this long list. You are interested in the contents of the letter sent out by Foreign Minister Obuchi. Since we are talking about a diplomatic communication, I cannot give you the full details of the letters that he sent out but I can give you some of the salient points made in his letters.   In his letters he deplored the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan and he reiterated Japan's position to urge the two countries to accede to the NPT and CTBT without conditions. He also mentioned the need for non-nuclear weapons states to redouble their efforts at nuclear non-proliferation. He underscored the importance of maintaining export controls on nuclear weapon-related material and equipment. He also underscored the need to move forward nuclear disarmament and he mentioned the urgency of reducing tensions in South Asia. Those are the main points of his letters.

   Q: Could we say that this is part of Japan's view to pressure India and Pakistan to give up their nuclear programs?

   A: We believe that the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan and the new situation created by these tests require a global response. We believe that it is an issue that the entire international community needs to work together to address. That is why, among other things, Foreign Minister Obuchi decided to send letters to his counterparts in 30 countries in view of the fact that these countries have demonstrated in the past a very strong commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.

3. Possibility of talks between Japan and the People's Republic of China concerning the nuclear tests conducted by the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Q: With regard to the nuclear issue, you talk about the need for the international community to work together, but obviously it is a problem at the moment that is concentrated on South Asia and perhaps an Asian dimension to the solution might be useful. Has there been any talks specifically between Tokyo and Beijing as to what the two major powers in Asia can contribute towards a solution or some kind of step forward at the London meeting?

   A: We have very close ties with the People's Republic of China and the discussion of issues with global implications has become an increasingly important part of the dialogue between our two countries. So, I would not be surprised if this issue has been discussed between our two governments, but I am not aware of any specific plan or proposal such as the one you just mentioned.

4. Response of the Government of Japan to the currency exchange rate of the Japanese yen

   Q: When I left my office today, the yen had fallen to 144 to the dollar. In the past week there has been a lot of talk or suggestions at least, by Japanese monetary authorities that they would not tolerate much of a further fall of the yen but nothing has been done so far. I wonder whether the position of the Government of Japan has changed in any way and what has happened just today?

   A: I think you are well aware that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for Japan's diplomatic relations. We are not the financial authority of this government. Furthermore, one of the first things that a Foreign Ministry spokesman is taught upon assuming his post is never comment on movements in the foreign currency markets, so I will not depart from this long-standing practice in this building. However, let me just draw your attention to the fact that the Government of Japan is now making all-out efforts to emerge from the current economic difficulties. We have been addressing as a matter of top priority the problems of the financial sector, in particular the bad loan problem. We are also, as you know, in the process of implementing the Economic Stimulus Package announced back in April, the largest economic stimulus package ever announced by the Government of Japan. The total amount is 16 trillion yen. We expect that through these efforts the Japanese economy will get back on the growth track in the near future and that the markets will respond favorably if that happens.

5. Possibility of a visit by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the Republic of Korea

   Q: Is there any possibility of a visit by His Majesty the Emperor to the Republic of Korea?

   A: There are no specific plans. On a number of occasions President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea has referred to the possibility of including in the range of possibilities a visit by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the Republic of Korea together with the opening of doors in the Republic of Korea to Japanese culture and the World Cup tournament which Japan and the Republic of Korea will be hosting jointly in the year 2002. He mentioned the possibility of a visit by His Majesty in the context of the efforts by the two countries to forge a new relationship. The Government of Japan fully agrees with President Kim on the importance of developing friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries, looking toward the 21st century.