Press Conference by the Press Secretary 18 September, 1998

1. Visit by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to New York from 20 to 22 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
2. Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to New York from 19 to 25 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations
3. Other meetings to be attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura while in New York
4. Status of accession of countries to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
5. Meeting between former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation
6. Reported visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan
7. Meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tanba and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation
8. Reported Official Development Assistance (ODA) cuts to nations purchasing missiles from North Korea

1. Visit by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to New York from 20 to 22 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: Good afternoon. I have two announcements to make today. First of all, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will visit New York from 20 to 22 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In the afternoon of 21 September, Prime Minister Obuchi will deliver a speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations. Prime Minister Obuchi's schedule in New York will include talks with Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations, and a summit meeting with President William Clinton of the United States.

2. Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura to New York from 19 to 25 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

   Deputy Press Secretary Masaki Okada: Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura will visit New York from 19 to 25 September to attend the Fifty-Third Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. During his stay in New York, Foreign Minister Koumura will take advantage of the presence of other foreign ministers at the session to hold bilateral talks and consultations with regional groups, as well as to attend other meetings.

3. Other meetings to be attended by Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura while in New York

   Q: Prime Minister Obuchi will be making his speech on the afternoon of 21 September. And he will meet with President Clinton on 22 September.

   Mr. Okada: Yes. On 22 September in the morning. Foreign Minister Koumura is going to attend the meeting of the so-called 2+2. There will be a meeting of Foreign Minister Koumura, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright of the United States and Foreign Minister Hong Soon Yung of the Republic of Korea. Also, there will be a working dinner of the Group of Eight (G8) Foreign Ministers and he is also going to have some bilateral talks with other ministers.

4. Status of accession of countries to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

   Q: What is the situation regarding the CTBT?

   Mr. Okada: Do you mean within the framework of these consultations and meetings with other ministers at the United Nations?

   Q: Yes.

   Mr. Okada: We are not in a position to explain what we will discuss there, but concerning the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), there was a recent news report in which the Islamic Republic of Pakistan explained that it is going to sign the CTBT without any reservations. We are now confirming that news. There was also a news report in a Japanese newspaper that Japan is now considering relaxing its policy of giving aid to those countries that accede to the CTBT and so on. However, those are only newspaper reports. I just want to make one comment to the latter newspaper report, namely the relation between our aid to those countries and their accession to the CTBT. Japan as you know has been urging the Republic of India, Pakistan and others to accede to CTBT without any reservations. Also, Japan has been urging more strict export control of materials and technology related to nuclear weapons and missiles for the purpose of nonproliferation, the suspension of development and export of nuclear weapons, the suspension of the production of nuclear fissure materials for the production of nuclear weapons as well as accession to Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) without reservation. However, Japan has not stated a relaxation of a part of its measures concerning aid to these countries in return for progress on such measures related to nonproliferation. That is Japan's message to those countries and its relation to CTBT.

5. Meeting between former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation

   Could you comment on the meeting between President Yeltsin and former Prime Minister Hashimoto?

   Mr. Okada: We found it a very good meeting. Especially, we understand that in that meeting, President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation reconfirmed his commitment to answer to the proposal from then Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto during their meeting in Kawana at the next Summit meeting to be held in November. That reconfirmation is very welcomed by us.

6. Reported visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan

   Q: When is Jiang Zemin going to visit Japan? There are reports that it will take place in November. Do you have any details?

   Mr. Okada: There was a news report that we are now preparing for a visit by President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China to Japan in November. However we are still consulting with the Chinese side to realize President Jiang's visit to Japan as soon as possible and at the present stage we are not in a position to give any concrete date.

   Q: Is November a pretty good possibility?

   Mr. Okada: If it is possible we welcome it very much, but we are still not sure.

7. Meeting between Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tanba and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation

   Q: Could you give us some details concerning the meeting between Deputy Tanba and Foreign Minister Ivanov?

   Mr. Okada: First of all, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Tanba explained to newly-appointed Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation that our Russian policy has not changed and we are going to continue our support to the reforms of Russia. We understand, as Foreign Minister Ivanov explained to us, that there will be no change in the foreign policy of Russia, including relations with Japan. Foreign Minister Ivanov also explained to us that he is going to go with the agreements made in Krasnoyarsk and Kawana. He is willing to continue the political dialogues and stated there is no set back to reform in Russia and no change concerning the determination for a market economy. That is part one. Part two is we agreed to have a foreign ministers' meeting in New York when both foreign ministers go there for the purpose of attending the Fifty-Third General Assembly of the United Nations and we also agreed to arrange the visit of Foreign Minister Koumura to Russia before the visit by Prime Minister Obuchi.

8. Reported Official Development Assistance (ODA) cuts to nations purchasing missiles from North Korea

   Q: There are some reports that the Government of Japan is discussing cutting ODA to those countries which buy missiles from North Korea. Can you comment on that?

   Mr. Okada: In Japan, the decision to provide aid shall be made on the basis of a comprehensive approach that takes into account such points as the economic and social situation of the recipient country and bilateral relations. We make the decision strictly, paying sufficient attention to the key points listed in the principle of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Charter such as trends in the recipient country's military spending, including the development or manufacture of missiles or weapons of mass destruction and weapon trafficking. So this is our basic policy. That is what I can explain to you now.

   Q: Does that mean that the Government discussed this option?

   Mr. Okada: These are the basic principles of the Government of Japan and if it is clear that some countries import missiles from certain other countries, we examine that import in this rather comprehensive context and decide what to do.