Press Conference by the Press Secretary 5 November, 1999

1. Official Working Visit to Japan by Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations and Mrs. Annan
2. State Visit to Japan by His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah
3. Japan's position on comments by Policy Coordinator on North Korea Dr. William Perry of the United States appearing in the Asahi Shimbun
4. Potential visit by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh of the Republic of India
5. Additional information on the visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Jordan
6. Concerning the potential visit to Japan of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation

1. Official Working Visit to Japan by Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations and Mrs. Annan

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon. I have two announcements to make to start with. First, on the visit to Japan of Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations. Secretary-General Annan and Mrs. Annan, accompanied by a suite, will make an Official Working Visit from 10-14 November. This will be Secretary-General Annan's third visit to Japan as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. During their stay in Japan, Secretary-General Annan and Mrs. Annan will be received in audience by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Secretary-General Annan will also hold a meeting with Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono and others. They will exchange views on a wide range of issues related to the United Nations, including United Nations reform, East Timor, and the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET) and they will also possibly talk about the Millennium Summit to be held next year. The Government of Japan sincerely welcomes the visit of Secretary-General Annan and Mrs. Annan which will further strengthen the friendly relations between Japan and the United Nations.

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2. State Visit to Japan by His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah

   Mr. Harada: My second announcement is on the visit to Japan of His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. His Majesty King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein and Her Majesty Rania Al-Abdullah, accompanied by a suite, will make a State Visit to Japan from 30 November to 4 December. During their stay in Japan, Their Majesties the King and Queen of Jordan will make a State Call on Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan. Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan will host a State Dinner in honor of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Jordan. King Al-Hussein will also hold a meeting with Prime Minister Obuchi. They will exchange views on bilateral relations, as well as international issues, which include Japan's assistance to Jordan and the Middle East peace process. The Government of Japan sincerely welcomes the visit of Their Majesties The King and Queen of Jordan which will further promote the traditionally friendly relations between Japan and Jordan.

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3. Japan's position on comments by Policy Coordinator on North Korea Dr. William Perry of the United States appearing in the Asahi Shimbun

   Q: The Asahi Shimbun this morning published an interview with the U.S. Policy Coordinator to North Korea William Perry, in which he expressed the view that he was opposed to Japanese participation in the Theater Missile Defense system study. Were you surprised by his comments and what does the Japanese Government feel about his argument that such participation could lead to an arms race with China?

   Mr. Harada: I read his interview in the Asahi Shimbun and I also read the press release that I just received from the Embassy of the United States, which you might not have. So I will share it with you. This is a press statement by Policy Coordinator on North Korea Dr. William Perry of the United States. This statement is on the article in the 5 November 1999 Asahi Shimbun, which quoted Dr. Perry on the topic of so-called Theater Missile Defense (TMD). It says that Dr. Perry's remarks may have been misinterpreted. Here follows the statement of clarification by Dr. Perry. I quote: "When I was Secretary of Defense I recommended that Japan cooperate with the United States in TMD research, and I still believe this is a prudent move for the Japanese Government. My statement in the interview referred to a potential future decision to deploy TMD. A decision to deploy should be considered in the light of the threats. If North Korea is threatening Japan with ballistic missiles at that time, that would be a strong incentive to deploy TMD. But in the meantime, the U.S., Japan and South Korea are all working to convince North Korea not to make such attempts." I think this clarification has made it clear what he really meant.

   It might be useful to reiterate our position on Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) -- we do not call it TMD because we are not interested in a theater-wide defense system. What we are interested in is the pure defense of Japan. This is my first point, and this is in no way meant to trigger an arms race nor is it meant to give an adverse effect to the peace and stability of the region. We have made a budgetary allocation in this year's budget to conduct joint technological research with the United States to look at this idea. So there will need to be further decisions to be made if one is going to go further along the path in the sense of deciding whether to go from research to development, and then again whether to go on from development to deployment. We have not decided anything about development and deployment.

   Q: By making the emphasis that you have only engaged in study and not in development, do you acknowledge that there are some concerns that going down that path could spark an arms race with China?

   Mr. Harada: No, I do not think so. As I said, this system itself is purely a defensive one and is not meant to trigger any arms race and it is not aimed at any third countries or areas, so I do not think this will cause an arms race.

   Q: Do you think that with Dr. Perry's comments there is still some concern expressed over going ahead with the TMD? Do you think his comments really help the debate here in Japan and the United States?

   Mr. Harada: I think what he mentioned in his clarification is completely in line with Dr. Perry's report. Indeed we are working to convince North Korea not to make attempts to develop ballistic missiles anymore. I do not think Dr. Perry said this to express concern about BMD. It is clearly not the intention of Dr. Perry.

   Q: You mentioned about the budget for this research. Do you have any specific numbers?

   Mr. Harada: No, I am sorry I do not have the figure now.

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4. Potential visit by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh of the Republic of India

   Q: Is there any indication when the Indian External Affairs Minister will visit Tokyo and what kind of topics will be discussed with him?

   Mr. Harada: When State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto visited the Republic of India in October -- I think Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata already explained to you the gist of the meetings between State Secretary Yamamoto and the leaders of India -- it was agreed that the two Governments would be coordinating the visit by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to Japan with a view to realizing the visit in the course of this year. At this moment, we are working on that and have not come to a conclusion. When we come to an agreement with our Indian counterparts on the concrete timing of External Affairs Minister Singh's visit, we will announce that. When External Affairs Minister Singh visits Japan, we will have a wide range of discussion about bilateral relations, as well as international issues. But again, I think we will have to work out the agenda.

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5. Additional information on the visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Jordan

   Q: Concerning the statement about the visit of King Abdullah, do you have any more information?

   Mr. Harada: We have some time to go before the visit, so we are working on the details of the schedule and also the agenda. As I told you, we will have a wide range of issues to take up, including Japan's assistance to Jordan and the Middle East peace process. When we come closer to the visit, I will have more to share with you.

   Q: Do you have some names from the Jordanian delegation?

   Mr. Harada: I have in the list of the suite Prime Minister Abdul-Rouf Al-Rawabdeh, Chief of the Royal Court Abdul Kareem Al-Kabariti, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Elah Al-Khatib and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Akel Eid Biltaji.

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6. Concerning the potential visit to Japan of President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation

   Q: Will Mr. Yeltsin be coming to Japan later this year? Or will a summit take place in Moscow?

   Mr. Harada: We have an agreement that President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation will visit Japan within the year. The Russian side is telling us that they attach importance to this visit for which they are continuing to prepare, but at this moment because of the domestic situation they can not present the concrete timing of this visit. We would like to get a concrete answer from the Russian side as soon as possible to realize President Yeltsin's visit. As for an answer to your second question about whether Prime Minister Obuchi will visit Moscow instead, as I told you we are waiting for a reply from the Russian side on the timing of President Yeltsin's visit. At this moment, we are not considering a visit by Prime Minister Obuchi to Russia.

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