Press Conference by the Press Secretary 22 October, 1999

1. Selection of the new President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia
2. Cooperation in kind for East Timorese displaced persons
3. Letter from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States to Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono concerning the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
4. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto's visit to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
5. Nomination of Japanese Ambassador to France Koichiro Matsuura as candidate of the next Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
6. Japan's position in regard to sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
7. Points concerning the UNESCO Director-General election and the nomination of Ambassador Matsuura
8. Concerning reports of nuclear weapons stored in Okinawa by the United States military until 1972
9. Other issues

1. Selection of the new President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon. First I would like to make five announcements to start. The first is on the selection of the new President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. The Government of Japan expressed its congratulations upon the fact that through a democratic process the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia on 20 October chose Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid as President and on 21 October, Mrs. Sukarnoputri Megawati as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. Indonesia's stability is vital for the stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. We expect that Indonesia's reform efforts will make further progress under the leadership of President Wahid and Vice President Megawati in a stable manner. Japan will continue to extend assistance for Indonesia's reform efforts. We also intend to further develop cooperation in broad areas with the new administration of Indonesia, not only in the bilateral, but in the Asia-Pacific and global context.

   Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)
   
2. Cooperation in kind for East Timorese displaced persons

   Mr. Harada: My second announcement is on cooperation in kind for East Timorese displaced persons. With respect to Japan's contribution to the East Timorese, we already announced some time ago US$2 million of humanitarian assistance to be channeled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP). We also announced our decision to contribute around US$100 million to the United Nations Trust Fund for the multinational force. Today, the Government of Japan decided to extend material grant assistance based on the International Peace Cooperation Law to the Office of the UNHCR for East Timorese displaced persons in East Timor and Indonesia. The assistance goods will be delivered promptly in three installments between 23-27 October. Assistance in kind consists of the following items: 500 tents, 9,000 blankets, 11,140 sleeping mats, 20,000 water containers and 5,120 plastic sheets. The situation in East Timor has generated hundreds of thousands of displaced persons who are forced to lead a difficult life in refugee camps. Although the repatriation of these displaced persons has started gradually, the basic infrastructure in East Timor remains paralyzed and even daily necessities are reportedly in short supply. In such a situation, the UNHCR has requested the Government of Japan to provide these goods, and the Government of Japan has decided to implement this cooperation in kind. We intend to actively study further assistance in the future while taking account of the situation, including appeals to be issued by the United Nations humanitarian assistance agencies.

   Related Information (Timor-Leste Situation (Archives))
   
3. Letter from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States to Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono concerning the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

   Mr. Harada: The third announcement is on the letter from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright of the United States to Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono. As you know, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto recently visited the United States and carried a letter from Foreign Minister Kono to State Secretary Albright, in which Foreign Minister Kono expressed Japan's deep concern about the recent refusal by the United States Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). He also expressed in his letter Japan's strong hope that the Government of 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. In reply to this letter, Foreign Minister Kono received a letter from State Secretary Albright this week, and I would like to share with you the main points of the reply. First, the Government of the United States will again request the Senate to ratify the CTBT. Second, the United States will continue to refrain from nuclear testing. Third, the United States highly appreciates Japan's initiatives demonstrated by the chairing by former Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura of the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, and also dispatching State Secretary Yamamoto to the United States. Japan is able to play an important international role for the CTBT and the Government of the United States hopes to continue to work closely with the Government of Japan in the areas of upholding the nuclear non-proliferation regime as well as arms control. We appreciate this reply from State Secretary Albright and will continue to work closely with the Government of the United States to realize the early entry into force of the CTBT to maintain the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

   Related Information (The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT))
   
4. State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto's visit to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Q: Mr. Harada: My fourth comment is on State Secretary Yamamoto's visit to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Today, Foreign Minister Kono decided to send State Secretary Yamamoto to India and Pakistan from 25-28 October. State Secretary Yamamoto will call on both countries to sign and ratify the CTBT and also will exchange views on bilateral relationships with these two countries. With respect to the coup d'etat in Pakistan, State Secretary Yamamoto will call on the military leadership to indicate as soon as possible a concrete process for the return of democracy, such as the procedures and timing of the return to civilian government. With regard to India, our bilateral relationship has advanced through recent dialogue, including Foreign Ministers' Meetings in July and September this year. Foreign Secretary Jaswant Singh of the Republic of India's visit to Japan is planned, and State Secretary Yamamoto will have an exchange of views with leaders of the new Government of India on the future bilateral relationship.

   Related Information (Japan-Asia Relations)
   
5. Nomination of Japanese Ambassador to France Koichiro Matsuura as candidate of the next Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

   My last comment is on the nomination of Japanese Ambassador to France Koichiro Matsuura as candidate of the next Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the Executive Board. The Government of Japan is pleased that Ambassador Matsuura was nominated by the Executive Board of UNESCO as candidate of the next Director-General of UNESCO in the election held on 20 October in Paris. Ambassador Matsuura is expected to be officially appointed on 12 November at the UNESCO General Conference. Upon his appointment, he will be the first Director-General of UNESCO from Asia. At the election, Ambassador Matsuura was able to gain all-round support from every region. This shows that Ambassador Matsuura's outstanding qualifications and leadership are appreciated by a great number of people. UNESCO is a United Nations specialized agency dealing with education, science, culture and communication. Japan intends to make a further international contribution by taking more positive initiatives in these fields.

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6. Japan's position in regard to sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Q: Concerning the visit of the State Secretary to India, you said he will meet with military leaders and encourage them to work out a timetable to restore democracy. Will Japan make its demand related to its economic assistance to Pakistan? Will Japan impose some sanctions against Pakistan?

   Mr. Harada: As you know, we imposed sanctions on Pakistan after the nuclear test, and we have been saying that if there are clear, positive moves on the part of Pakistan with respect to this question of nuclear testing, 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 that since the change of Government in Pakistan, we need to watch closely how the situation develops there. That is where we remain at this point in time.

   Q: So Japan does not intend to impose any other sanctions?

   Mr. Harada: If you are talking about further sanctions, our position is that we have already imposed very severe sanctions on Pakistan. We suspended new grant Official Development Assistance (ODA) and also new ODA yen loans. The only exceptions are assistance of an emergency humanitarian character and grassroots grants. But with these exceptions, we have suspended practically all new grants and yen loans. The Pakistani economy is already in a very severe and difficult situation, and further pressure might bring about instability both in the economy and politics. At this stage, we do not consider that we will take further sanctions.

   Related Information (Japan-Pakistan Relations)
   
7. Points concerning the UNESCO Director-General election and the nomination of Ambassador Matsuura

   Q: Is the Foreign Ministry aware of any complaints over the voting process for the UNESCO decision?

   Mr. Harada: We are aware of some news reports containing some complaints or information about the voting process or improper lobbying. I must say that these are totally groundless allegations and nothing can be further from the truth. I think I have already said why Ambassador Matsuura was elected. Ambassador Matsuura ran a very energetic and impressive campaign with the full backing not only of the Government of Japan, but also of many people from political, academic and cultural circles. During his election campaign, he visited 35 countries and met with the leaders of these countries. He also exchanged views with almost all members of the Executive Board. In these meetings he explained his vision for UNESCO, and the result of the election just shows that his outstanding qualifications and leadership are appreciated by a great number of people on the Executive Board of UNESCO.

   Q: Is it true that Prime Minister Obuchi played a fairly active role in lobbying some of the other countries to gain their vote?

   Mr. Harada: Prime Minister Obuchi actively supported this election campaign, and he also played a certain role in the campaign.

   Q: It is said that UNESCO has problems of inefficiency. As Ambassador Matsuura is the first Director-General from Asia, could you emphasize the vision you said regarding the initiatives?

   Mr. Harada: The best thing would be to read his platform. He made six pillars for his campaign, and out of these, one of the pillars is improving the efficiency and transparency of UNESCO. The essence under this point is that UNESCO should continue to seek out further fields and forms of action, to concentrate its resources and to strengthen coordination with other institutions. It should improve coordination and cooperation between the Secretariat and the Executive Board while increasing transparency of its actions so as to revitalize existing human resources. I am sure that upon his appointment he will take leadership with this view.

   Q: Could you elaborate on that?

   Mr. Harada: I think it is up to Ambassador Matsuura to take initiatives, so at this stage I can only say that the Government of Japan will back up his role and the initiatives he is going to take.

   Q: In regard to the voting, the claim has been made that Japan offered financial inducements of fairly large amounts to a number of countries to gain their vote. Do you have a comment on that?

   Mr. Harada: I think my answer to your first question applies to your second question too. Again, there is a press report that allegedly Japan linked ODA to this election, but this is a completely groundless allegation. It is true that Japan attaches great importance to ODA as one of the pillars of Japan's contribution to the international community. It is also true that Japan has been the top donor for the past eight years, but we have never linked ODA to an election. Japan's cooperation with developing countries is based on strict principles of humanitarian considerations and specific needs of each country. Furthermore, the granting and disbursing of aid are strictly controlled by relevant institutions and can never be influenced by outside figures, such as an election to a post in an international organization. As in other donor countries, Japan's ODA comes from Japanese taxpayers' money. As such, accountability for the Japanese people is ensured by a strict system of controls on ODA. Again, I would emphasize that the allegation which you suggested is totally groundless.

   Q: Do you think that the United States intends to have discussions regarding their future in UNESCO?

   Mr. Harada: It is difficult for me to speculate on the intentions of the Government of the United States, but certainly we would like to see the United States come back to UNESCO. I think that Ambassador Matsuura, in his platform, expressed that he would extend an invitation to non-Member States to become members to bolster the indisputable status of UNESCO as a unique universal organization. I might guess that Ambassador Matsuura may well consider the possibility of inviting the United States back to UNESCO.

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8. Concerning reports of nuclear weapons stored in Okinawa by the United States military until 1972

   Q: The latest American reports quoting official records say that the United States had stored nuclear weapons on Okinawa at least until June 1972. Can you comment on that?

   Mr. Harada: We have many reports of that sort, and our position is that the Government of Japan does not feel that it is appropriate to comment on internal documents of the Government of the United States or on private-sector research. The United States reported in a letter from then State Secretary Rogers to then Foreign Minister Fukuda on 15 May 1972, the day of the return of Okinawa to Japan, that the pledge of the Government of the United States concerning nuclear weapons in Okinawa had been completely implemented. The Government of Japan has continually repeated that it is our understanding that there have been no nuclear weapons in Okinawa since its return to Japan.

   Related Information (Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements)
   
9. Other issues

   Q: Has the Government received any formal complaints on Mr. Nishimura's comments?

   Mr. Harada: We have not received any formal complaints.

   Q: Is the Government taking any steps to assure Japan's neighbors that there is no change in policy?

   Mr. Harada: It is so crystal-clear that at this stage we are not considering to make any sort of diplomatic demarche on this issue.

   Q: Are you sending a high-ranking delegation for the inauguration of the new President of Indonesia?

   Mr. Harada: I think the new President was already inaugurated. I do not know whether there is an inauguration ceremony in Indonesia, so at this stage we are not considering sending anyone.

   Q: Do you have any information on the health of Mr. Wahid?

   Mr. Harada: We do not have any specific information about the health of President Wahid.

   Q: The Foreign Ministry sent a senior official to Canberra this month to talk about ways of repairing the damage in the relationship between the two countries. Is that a fair assessment of his mission?

   Mr. Harada: I would not say so. The purpose was to exchange views on the Indonesian situation and East Timor. We do not have any damage to recover in our relations with the Commonwealth of Australia. Our relationship is in good shape. You remember Prime Minister Howard made an excellent visit to Japan recently, and we are satisfied with that.

   Q: Could you tell us about the visit of Gerhard Schroder to Japan?

   Mr. Harada: We are working on the agenda of the summit meetings between Prime Minister Obuchi and Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of the Federal Republic of Germany. I think the timing of Chancellor Schroder's visit is very good, because as you know, we are going to take the Presidency of the G8 Summit from next January, and Germany is currently playing the role of that Presidency. It is very opportune to talk about the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit and how to make it a successful one. Of course Chancellor Schroder's visit will provide an excellent occasion to further strengthen our bilateral relations. When it gets closer, we can share more information on and prospects for the visit.

   Q: Again on the voting at UNESCO, did Prime Minister Obuchi really ring up Gerhard Schroder at 5am to ask for his vote?

   Mr. Harada: I am sorry, but I really do not know what time he called.