Press Conference by the Press Secretary 5 October, 1999

1. Accident at the uranium processing plant in Tokaimura
2. The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in Vienna
3. Financial assistance to the United Nations multinational force in East Timor
4. International assistance to the Government of Japan in regard to the nuclear accident in Tokaimura
5. Japan's foreign policy stance after the formation of the new coalition
6. Regarding participation in the ad hoc conference in Tokyo on the Palestinians

1. Accident at the uranium processing plant in Tokaimura

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have a few things to say at the beginning. Firstly, with respect to this accident at the uranium processing plant in Tokaimura. It was indeed a very serious accident involving "criticality," to use a technical term. Fortunately, the situation has been brought under control and there has been a thorough check of the radiation levels in the vicinity of the facility, the levels have been found to be back at the normal level, and the inhabitants in the vicinity of the facility have now resumed normal activities. Our priority now is to exert the utmost efforts to identify the cause of this accident and to correct the failings or shortcomings where they are found to exist, and then to take steps to prevent the recurrence of such accidents in the future. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has instructed all of the Government agencies concerned to step up their efforts in this regard. At the same time, we attach importance to transparency in our nuclear energy policy, and from that viewpoint it is our intention to make the information related to this accident available to all those countries and international organizations concerned.

2. The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in Vienna

   Mr. Numata: Secondly, on the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which is being convened in Vienna, Republic of Austria from Tuesday 5 October to Saturday 9 October. This Conference is taking place at the ministerial level and Mr. Masahiko Koumura, who was until a few hours ago Minister for Foreign Affairs is attending this Conference; he will be attending as the Government of Japan representative and he will be chairing this Conference. This is an important international disarmament conference with the participation of more than 100 countries. The Conference is designed to promote the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which was adopted more than three years ago, but which has not come into effect yet. The Conference is designed to promote the early coming into effect of this Treaty, and Japan for its part would like to exert every possible effort in its capacity as the Chair of this Conference to send a forceful message to those countries which have not signed the Treaty, as well as to those countries which have signed the Treaty but have not yet ratified it to work towards the early coming into effect of this Treaty.

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3. Financial assistance to the United Nations multinational force in East Timor

   Mr. Numata: Yesterday, Foreign Minister Koumura announced the decision of the Government of Japan to contribute around US$100 million to the United Nations Trust Fund for the multinational force in East Timor with the view to facilitating the participation of developing countries in this multinational force. We also intend to continue to provide as much assistance as possible for the peaceful resolution of the East Timor issue. We will be looking actively at our possible assistance for refugees and displaced persons as well as for reconstruction and development of East Timor in the mid- to long-term. I might add that with respect to the humanitarian assistance for the refugees, we already announced US$2 million assistance to be channeled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP). We sent out a survey mission on humanitarian assistance to East Timor the other day. We have the report of this mission and we anticipate that there will soon be appeals made by the United Nations humanitarian organizations concerned, and we will be looking actively at further humanitarian assistance in the light of the report of the mission as well as this appeal.

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4. International assistance to the Government of Japan in regard to the nuclear accident in Tokaimura

   Q: Concerning the nuclear accidents, I read some reports that Japan asked for international assistance or Japan refused some international assistance. What is the situation concerning this?

   Mr. Numata: Firstly, as we were grappling with the task of bringing the situation under control, we received several kind offers of assistance from the countries concerned, for example the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the French Republic, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). When we talk about assistance, there can be two kinds of assistance. Firstly, assistance with respect to dealing with the emergency situation, that is, with respect to bringing the situation under control. As you know, the situation was brought under control and now the radiation is confined more or less to the area within the facility. So in that sense, before we could take advantage of these kind offers, the situation was brought under control. But at the same time, we did get in touch with those countries which had had experiences of similar accidents in the past so that we can learn from their experience. We did get in touch with, for example the United States, the United Kingdom, the French Republic, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Belgium, and the Federal Republic of Germany. We also got in touch with the IAEA to ask for data and other information related to these accidents. As I said earlier, our task now is to identify the causes and to learn the lessons from this investigation, and to take steps to prevent the recurrence of such accidents. In that process, it will be important for us to share the relevant information with the countries concerned as well as with the IAEA, and if in that process it transpires that we do need assistance of some kind then we will actively consider such a possibility. That is where we stand.

   Q: According to a report, Japan requested assistance from the American military stationed in Japan, but they declined.

   Mr. Numata: I am not sure if that report was entirely correct. As far as the United States is concerned, shortly after the accident, President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America said on a public occasion that the United States, for its part, would be prepared to give what assistance they could give to this accident. There was also a telephone conversation between President Clinton and Prime Minister Obuchi in which a similar offer was made by President Clinton, and Prime Minister Obuchi expressed his deep appreciation for that. With respect to the United States, we did ask for possible cooperation, including cooperation in the area of know-how, in dealing with these accidents. The United States response was forthcoming. That is the thrust of the exchange between Japan and the Government of the United States. On the question of the United States military, as I said, I am not quite sure whether that report was correct. If the report was that the United States declined the request for assistance or cooperation by the Japanese side, that is wrong. The exchange between the two leaders, for example as I have just outlined, proved that, and I think that is all I can say on that subject. It may be true that certain segments of the Government of Japan and the United States military in Japan are in constant contact and they may have discussed this accident in that process. What is important is that these messages are going back and forth between the Government of the United States and our Government at the level of the Prime Minister and the President as well as between our Minister of State for Science and Technology Akito Arima and Secretary of Energy Mr. William Richardson of the United States of America.

   Q: Because of this accident, do you expect that Japan's nuclear policy is going to have some review? I know that this is the issue of another ministry, but do you have any information on that?

   Mr. Numata: A couple of points. Firstly, our priority now is to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of this accident and to learn the lessons from it, and on that basis to formulate steps to prevent the recurrence of such accidents. That is our foremost plan. My second point is that on the question of the energy supply in Japan, it is true that Japan is a country scarcely endowed with natural resources, oil in particular, and we have very little choice but to seek alternative sources of energy than oil. Nuclear energy has formed an important part of that alternative source of energy and we rely on nuclear energy for more than 30% of our energy supply. It is also true that there has generally been public acceptance of this fact that it is necessary for us to utilise nuclear energy for our energy supply. Having said all of that, it is also true that this particular accident does have a rather serious impact on the public confidence in the safety aspects of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We do feel it is vital for us to exert our utmost efforts in the sense of identifying the cause of this accident, to learn the lessons from this and prevent the recurrence of this accident so that we can restore the confidence of the public in our nuclear energy policy.

5. Japan's foreign policy stance after the formation of the new coalition

   Q: There is some talk that there will be some changes at the post of Foreign Minister in Japan. I do not know if this is official or not. What is the state of Japanese foreign policy under the new coalition?

   Mr. Numata: The appointment has just been announced; I did not have the time to see the press conference by our new Minister Yohei Kono for Foreign Affairs. We have two new State Secretaries that have just been appointed. Yes, there is this change, but we feel that there will be a basic continuity of our foreign policy. There is a new coalition coming into place. The three parties which comprise the coalition have been working on this policy document. This policy document is not something that I as an official should comment on, but you will see from this document that as far as the basic thrust of our foreign policy is concerned, there is very clearly continuity.

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6. Regarding participation in the ad hoc conference in Tokyo on the Palestinians

   Q: Do you have any information about next week's ad hoc conference in Tokyo on the Palestinians?

   Mr. Numata: I have not checked the participants, although we do hope that, for example such people as President Yasser Arafat of the Palestine National Authority will come to this meeting. I do not think that I have heard anything which contradicts that hope.

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