Press Conference by the Press Secretary 4 September, 1998

1. Introduction of newly-appointed Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. Position of the Government of Japan on the announcement of the final results of the general election in the Kingdom of Cambodia
3. Dispatch of Japanese personnel to supervise elections in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Keizo Takemi to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Kenya
5. Response of the Government of Japan to the missile launch of North Korea
6. Measures considered by the Government of Japan to a second possible missile test by North Korea
7. Meeting between Foreign Minister Hong Soon Yung of the Republic of Korea and Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura
8. Situation of Iranian diplomats and journalists in the Islamic State of Afghanistan

1. Introduction of newly-appointed Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Masaki Okada and I am the newly-appointed Deputy Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thank you for coming to my first press conference. I hope I will have a good working relationship with you in my new appointment.

2. Position of the Government of Japan on the announcement of the final results of the general election in the Kingdom of Cambodia

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: I have a few announcements to make. First, concerning the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Government of Japan welcomes the announcement by the National Election Committee (NEC) of Cambodia on 1 September on the final results of the general election. The Government of Japan believes that the general election was conducted in a sufficiently free and fair manner to an extent that enabled it to reflect, in a credible way, the will of the Cambodian people. With the final election results confirmed by the NEC on 1 September, the Government of Japan hopes that the three political parties which gained seats in the National Assembly will, in a spirit of national reconciliation, open talks as soon as possible and form a coalition government in a manner that reflects the will of the Cambodian people as expressed through the election.

3. Dispatch of Japanese personnel to supervise elections in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: My second announcement relates to the dispatch of a Japanese team to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As you know, new elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina are planned for 12 to 13 September under Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) supervision. The Government of Japan decided to dispatch 34 supervisors, some of them are already leaving for Bosnia and Herzegovina today. These elections are an important opportunity to assess the implementation of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The outcome of the elections will have a heavy impact on the peace process such as resettlement of refugees and displaced persons. This dispatch of personnel to Bosnia and Herzegovina this time is the first case to which the new amendment to the International Peace Cooperation Law has been applied. This amendment to the International Peace Cooperation Law was approved in June this year by the Diet and this made it possible for Japanese to participate in the supervision or observation of elections executed not only under the auspices of the United Nations, but also other international and regional organizations, including the OSCE. Japan twice sent personnel to the previous elections in Bosnia; the first in September 1996 with 36 persons, and the second in September 1997 with 29 persons. However, these two were sent in accordance with the existing legal framework. That means that participants first had to become temporary officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they were dispatched in that capacity to the site. However, this new amendment allows Japanese personnel to participate in United Nations activities directly. In addition to this dispatch of personnel, Japan also contributed US$1 million to the elections. This will be used for the printing of ballots and so on.

4. Visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Keizo Takemi to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Kenya

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: My third announcement concerns the visit by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Keizo Takemi to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Kenya from 5 to 11 September. He will exchange views on wide-ranging issues including bilateral relations and the political and economic situation in Africa. In Kenya, he will lay a wreath at the scene of the bombing incident of 7 August. This visit we see in the context of the preparation of the Second Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD II) which will be held in October. State Secretary Takemi will attend a preparatory committee meeting of the Conference to be held in Ethiopia on 7 to 8 September to ensure success of Japan's initiative for TICAD II.

5. Response of the Government of Japan to the missile launch of North Korea

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: My fourth announcement, which you may be most interested in, concerns the recent North Korean missile launch. I will just summarize here what Japan has been doing until now. Of course that was already in a press release and I think you are aware of that. In response to the North Korean missile launch, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka on 1 September expressed "deepest regret" and at the same time announced concrete measures to be taken. The Government of Japan took additional measures on 2 September canceling permission for charter flights between Japan and North Korea scheduled from 3 to 15 September and further decided not to accept the applications of 14 further flights. North Korea commented on 2 September for the first time on this missile launching. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nonaka reacted on 3 September by stating that the comment by the spokesman of the Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee "lacked in good faith and Japan found it very regrettable." He once again conveyed to North Korea our "strongest objection." He also explained that depending on further developments, further measures will be considered by the Government of Japan. That is what the Government of Japan has stated and done up to now.

6. Measures considered by the Government of Japan to a second possible missile test by North Korea

   Q: Can you tell us what Japan's reaction is to the discovery of North Korean fishing vessels in the area north of Honshu? The implication is that perhaps there is preparation for another test on Saturday or Sunday. If that is the case, how does Japan respond and what possible measures might Japan take if there is another test?

   Mr. Okada: Concerning the possibility of a second North Korean test fire, we have different kinds of information. Some information is affirmative, some is rather negative. Therefore we are not sure what will happen in the future, but we have been expressing that this kind of missile launch should never be repeated. We have also been trying to tell this to the North Korean side through all possible channels.

   Q: Could you tell us what Japan would think if there is a test again? How angry would Japan be if that happened and what might Japan do?

   Mr. Okada: That is not a question which I should answer now. Should that kind of thing happen, Japan would consider what to do.

   Q: Has Japan done any sort of preparation or any sort of--

   Mr. Okada: We are now considering and examining what kind of measures we can take. The present status is that we are reviewing those measures.

   Q: Would those measures possibly include more economic sanctions against North Korea?

   Mr. Okada: For the time being, I am not in a position to say anything about future measures. Nothing has been decided yet.

   Q: However, this morning the Prime Minister said that Japan is considering taking further measures.

   Mr. Okada: The situation may make us take further measures, but under the present situation we are not thinking of any concrete measures to take.

7. Meeting between Foreign Minister Hong Soon Yung of the Republic of Korea and Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura

   Q: The Foreign Minister said there was some discussion in this meeting about the recent missile firing. Could you tell us what was discussed and if any agreements were made?

   Mr. Okada: Yes. The meeting took place late yesterday between Foreign Minister Hong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura. You are talking about this North Korean missile issue, and Foreign Minister Hong told us that the Republic of Korea finds this very serious just as Japan does and this indignation and shock by the Japanese is also shared by the citizens of the Republic of Korea. Foreign Minister Hong told us that he understands the difficult situation in Japan and the sentiment of the Japanese. It is not necessary to hasten the signature to the Korean Peninsula Development Organization (KEDO) agreement. He also agreed to the holding of the three ministers' meeting on the occasion of the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. He also told us that the Republic of Korea is going to cooperate with Japan when we handle this issue at the United Nations. Naturally, we talked about the visit of President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea to Japan, and Japan clearly sees the tasks ahead and Japan hopes that our two countries are going to cooperate for regional peace and stability, especially as to what is necessary in the 21st century. We also talked about other bilateral issues.

8. Situation of Iranian diplomats and journalists in the Islamic State of Afghanistan

   Q: In Afghanistan, the Taliban is holding more than 10 Iranian diplomats and journalists. Iran is making efforts to release them. What is the Japanese statement about this?

   Mr. Okada: Excuse me, but I am not prepared to make a response at this moment. I will respond to that question at the next occasion.