Press Conference by the Press Secretary 19 October, 1999

1. Japan's position regarding the statement made by Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf on the current situation in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
2. Moves made by Japan in response to the United States Senate's refusal to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
3. In regard to the Japan-Republic of Korea Ministerial Meeting
4. Visit to Japan by Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations
5. Further issues concerning the situation in Pakistan
6. Visit to Japan of First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Dr. Hasan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran
7. Japan's position on the next round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations conveyed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to Director-General Mike Moore of the WTO

1. Japan's position regarding the statement made by Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf on the current situation in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have a comment to make on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. On the evening of 17 October Pakistan time, the Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf addressed the nation, in which he announced his basic policy, including the establishment of a national security council comprising military leaders as well as legal, fiscal, foreign policy and domestic policy experts. There are certain aspects of this policy statement that we appreciate. For example, the pledge by General Musharraf to achieve real democracy in Pakistan; his statement that armed forces would not stay in charge any longer than necessary; his expression of the intention to pursue a policy of nuclear and missile restraint; and his expression of the intention for a unilateral withdrawal of military forces along the border with the Republic of India. At the same time, however, we do feel that it is important for a concrete process to be indicated with respect to the return to democracy, as well as the timing of such a return to democracy. Our intention is to continue to talk with the military leadership in Pakistan with these points in mind and we will continue to monitor the situation there closely.

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2. Moves made by Japan in response to the United States Senate's refusal to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

   Mr. Numata: My second comment is with respect to the rejection by the United States of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). As you know, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto was sent by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono to Washington, where he met Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States. Incidentally, State Secretary Yamamoto used to be a student at Georgetown University where Secretary Albright was his professor, and I understand that in the meeting which took place between State Secretary Yamamoto and Secretary Albright, he kept referring to her as his professor. State Secretary Yamamoto carried a letter from Foreign Minister Kono to Secretary Albright, in which Foreign Minister Kono expressed Japan's deep concern about this recent rejection by the United States Senate of the CTBT, and he also expressed Japan's strong hope that the Government of the United States would make the utmost effort to continue to exercise leadership for the early ratification of the CTBT and the upholding of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

   The main points of Secretary Albright's response were as follows. When I talk about Secretary Albright's response, I also include the responses from other people in the US administration, whom State Secretary Yamamoto met in the course of his one-day trip to Washington, mainly in the National Security Council and also in the State Department. Firstly, that the United States would continue to respect the CTBT and would continue to refrain from nuclear testing; secondly, that the Government of the United States would continue to step up its efforts toward the early ratification of the CTBT; thirdly that the United States would continue to exercise leadership for the upholding of the nuclear non-proliferation regime; and fourthly, the Government of the United States expressed the hope that Japan would be able to cooperate with the United States and other interested countries in the efforts to persuade those countries which have not ratified or signed the CTBT. In the latter category, Pakistan and India are included. I might also mention that Foreign Minister Kono has written to his counterparts in the United Kingdom, the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, and the Commonwealth of Australia with the message that we should continue to work closely toward the shared goal of the early ratification of the CTBT and the upholding of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

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3. In regard to the Japan-Republic of Korea Ministerial Meeting

   Mr. Numata: Turning to Japan-Republic of Korea relations, there will be the Ministerial Meeting between Japan and the Republic of Korea on Che Ju Island in the Republic of Korea this coming weekend, 23-24 October. The first of these Ministerial Meetings took place in Kagoshima in November last year. These series of meetings are designed to enhance dialogue between the two countries in the process of building a Japan-Republic of Korea partnership toward the 21st century. We do look forward to free and candid exchanges among the ministers of the two Governments, as was the case in November last year, and we do hope that this meeting will serve to build further the relationship of mutual understanding and trust between the new ministers of the Obuchi Cabinet and their Korean counterparts. There are a number of participants in this meeting. From the Japanese side, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi will be attending, as will Foreign Minister Kono. We also have the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Minister of International Trade and Industry, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Economic Planning, as well as the Senior State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the Senior State Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and also Deputy Cabinet Secretary Soichiro Matsutani. Their counterparts on the Republic of Korea side attending are, for example, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, the Minister of Ocean and Maritime Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Industry and Resources, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, the Minister of Construction and Transport, the Minister of Administration and Home Affairs, and the minister in charge of trade negotiations.

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4. Visit to Japan by Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations

   Mr. Numata: The next item is simply to announce that Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations and Mrs. Annan will be visiting Japan from 10-14 November as Official Working Guests of the Goverment of Japan.

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5. Further issues concerning the situation in Pakistan

   Q: Is Japan disappointed at the failure of Pakistan's military ruler to set a timetable for the country's return to democracy?

   Mr. Numata: As I said at the beginning, we do appreciate that General Musharraf made this pledge to achieve real democracy in Pakistan, but at the same time, the exact procedure or timetable for that is yet to be indicated, and in that sense we cannot say that his policy statement in this regard is sufficient yet. That is why we have been making clear that we do attach importance to this specific concrete process being implemented as soon as possible.

   Q: If Pakistan now signs the CTBT will Japan ease its sanctions or partially resume ODA to Pakistan, even though the country remains under military rule?

   Mr. Numata: I think we do need to watch developments. We have been saying that if there are clear, positive moves on the part of Pakistan with respect to this question of the nuclear testing -- and there have been several benchmarks that we have set -- one of the most important elements is Pakistan's participation in the CTBT, so we will indeed be watching with very keen interest Pakistan's move in that regard. We have also been saying since the change of government in Pakistan, that the question of whether the recent situation would necessitate a further review of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Pakistan, is something that we would need to look at rather carefully in light of further developments. That is where we remain at this point in time.

   Q: Is Japan against any military coup in general?

   Mr. Numata: We can certainly say that we do not like it. A military coup taking place in a country where democratic processes for the transfer of power are clearly laid out under the Constitution, for example, can only be interpreted as a move which runs counter to the idea of democracy. In that sense, this particular development in Pakistan falls under that category.

   Q: I noticed that Japan has a lot of good relations with countries whose leaders have a military background, so I was wondering, why there is such a big protest against Pakistan by the Japanese Government?

   Mr. Numata: Well, the reason is precisely the one that I have just given you, where there is a clear process spelled out for a democratic transfer of power, and when that process is flouted, that gives us cause for concern.

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6. Visit to Japan of First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Dr. Hasan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran

   Q: There is an Iranian official visiting Japan. How have the meetings been going?

   Mr. Numata: You are talking about First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Dr. Hasan Rouhani of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who met Foreign Minister Kono yesterday. As I understand it, this gentlemen is not only the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, but is also the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council on National Security. They discussed several things, for example Iran's development plan and the possibility for Japan's cooperation in that regard. Under that heading, Deputy Speaker Rouhani referred to the fact that the Iranian Parliament was in the process of deliberating the third five-year plan for Iran's development, and expressed the hope that Japan would be able to extend our positive cooperation in that regard. Foreign Minister Kono responded by saying that we would like to be briefed on the details of the third five-year plan and on that basis we would like to study positively what sort of cooperation we may be able to extend. Deputy Speaker Rouhani also referred to the fact that there are a number of disputes taking place in the areas surrounding Iran, for example in the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Iraq and so forth, and as a result, for example, Iran has had an influx of quite a number of Afghan refugees. He expressed the wish that Japan might be able to extend some grant assistance to help the plight of the refugees. Foreign Minister Kono responded by saying that we would like to look at this positively. I might add a footnote here by saying that we have already extended some grassroots grant assistance to help the Afghan refugees in Iran.

   Deputy Speaker Rouhani also referred to the question of the problems of the environment, for example air pollution in Iran, as well as the problem of education against the background of the population increase there. Foreign Minister Kono said that these are the sort of issues to which Japan attaches importance, so we would like to study these issues.

   Deputy Speaker Rouhani also said that Iran was basically taking a positive approach with respect to the question of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear weapons and chemical weapons. Deputy Speaker Rouhani said that Iran wanted to work together with Japan to build a system for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and Foreign Minister Kono shared this sentiment. Foreign Minister Kono, for his part, said that Japan appreciated the policy pursued by President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Deputy Speaker Rouhani said that President Khatami's policy of the relaxation of tension and inter-civilization dialogue will be steadily implemented. Those are the main points.

   Q: Did they discuss anything related to the Middle East peace process?

   Mr. Numata: I think I have given you a full plate of the items that they discussed, so perhaps they ran out of time.

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7. Japan's position on the next round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations conveyed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi to Director-General Mike Moore of the WTO

   Q: I note that Mr. Moore of the WTO is visiting. Were there any meetings today with Japanese Government officials?

   Mr. Numata: He met Foreign Minister Kono and Minister of Finance Kiichi Miyazawa yesterday, as well as meeting with Prime Minister Obuchi this morning. I will tell you what Prime Minister Obuchi told Director-General Mike Moore of the World Trade Organization (WTO). I think you have this paper with you, and those are the points that Foreign Minister Kono also told Director-General Moore -- that is, our basic approach to the next round of WTO negotiations. We attach importance to the following set of issues in the next round of WTO negotiations. First, strengthening the WTO system through the strengthening of rules and further liberalization. In this connection, we attach importance to further enhancing the discipline on anti-dumping rules. Second, we attach importance to further integrating developing countries into the WTO system. We would like to achieve that through giving due consideration to the legitimate concerns of developing countries, as well as through promoting technical assistance to the developing countries. Thirdly, we do need to respond to the changing world and to the challenges of globalization. In that context, we attach importance to the formulation of multilateral rules on foreign direct investment, and also properly addressing such issues as e-commerce and genetically modified organisms (GMO). Fourthly, we also need to pay attention to the concerns of the "civil society," for example on questions related to the environment. This applies to the question of trade in forestry and fishery products, in the sense that in addressing that issue we should bear in mind not only market access issues, but also the issues of global environment and the sustainable utilization of exhaustible natural resources.

   With respect to the overall approach to the WTO negotiations, we have consistently held the position that the next round should be comprehensive, covering a sufficiently broad-based agenda. That means that we should address not only market access improvement but also the strengthening of rules and discipline. With respect to agriculture, we do feel that in the next round of negotiations there should be established a set of rules and disciplines that are genuinely fair and equitable for both food importing and exporting countries, as well as for developed and developing countries, and these rules should also allow the coexistence of the various types of agriculture among the members of the WTO. In that context, we feel that due consideration should be given to the multifunctional role of agriculture. We also feel that the imbalance in rights and obligations between exporting and importing countries should be redressed.

   Given that we are only 40 days away from the Seattle Conference, both Prime Minister Obuchi and Foreign Minister Kono have taken up the question of the drafting process of the Ministerial Declaration, and Director-General Moore will of course be very heavily involved in it. We noted in this connection that the Chairman's first draft, that was presented for consideration by the contracting parties, does not make us very happy in the sense that it is neither neutral not well-balanced, and we indeed hope that the draft will be improved as soon as possible. Those are the main elements. Director-General Moore finds himself in a neutral position, so he did not go into the details of these issues. In his meeting with Foreign Minister Kono, he said that his job was to work for all contracting parties. He also said that in working for all contracting parties, he did have in mind the concerns and aspirations of the developing countries, as well as the concerns and wishes of the civic society.

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