Press Conference by the Press Secretary 6 July, 1999

1. Visit to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi from 8 to 11 July
2. Visit to Japan by Prime Minister John Howard of the Commonwealth of Australia
3. First Plenary Meeting of the New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century and the Japan-Mexico High-Level Economic Consultation
4. Agenda of discussions for meetings between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China
5. Position of the Government of Japan on accession of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization
6. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir

1. Visit to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi from 8 to 11 July

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I would like to make a couple of comments at the beginning. First, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's visit to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia. If the Diet approves, Prime Minister Obuchi will pay a visit to Beijing this week from 8 to 10 July and then Ulaan Bator from 10 to 11 July. In Beijing, Prime Minister Obuchi will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and President Jiang Zemin. Prime Minister Zhu will host a dinner and President Jiang will host a lunch in honor of Prime Minister Obuchi. This visit will clearly be the in-depth cementing of the friendship between the two countries and the two peoples. As you recall, we received the visit of President Jiang last year in autumn. This is in a way a return visit. We hope that based upon the basis of the Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development established by last year's successful visit of President Jiang to Japan, Prime Minister Obuchi's visit will further develop the relationship for the new century. In Ulaan Bator, Prime Minister Obuchi will meet Prime Minister Janlavyn Narantsatsralt, I hope I pronounced that properly, and President Natsagiin Bagabandi and on 10 July he will attend the opening ceremony of the Mongolian State Festival, the so-called Naadam. This is the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to Mongolia since 1991. Prime Minister Obuchi's visit will further promote the overall partnership established by the first visit by a Mongolian President to Japan in May last year.

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2. Visit to Japan by Prime Minister John Howard of the Commonwealth of Australia

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: My second topic is on the official visit to Japan of Prime Minister John Howard of the Commonwealth of Australia and Mrs. Janet Howard who already arrived yesterday and will stay until Friday, 9 July. At the last press conference, I already explained some details of the importance which we attach to this visit, so I shall be very brief. The Government of Japan sincerely welcomes their visit which will further strengthen the friendly relations between Japan and Australia. This visit will provide a good opportunity to enhance our relations from a regional partner in the Asia-Pacific region to a global partner and further strengthen personal relations between Prime Minister Obuchi and Prime Minister Howard.

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3. First Plenary Meeting of the New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century and the Japan-Mexico High-Level Economic Consultation

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: My third topic is related to two meetings between Japan and the United Mexican States. The first one is the First Plenary Meeting of the New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century. The First Plenary Meeting of the New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century will be held on 14 July at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. The Chairmen will be, from the Japanese side, Vice-Chairman Nobuo Matsunage of the Japan Institute of International Affairs, former Japanese Ambassador to Mexico, and from the Mexican side, Advisor Sergio González Gálvez of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former Mexican Ambassador to Japan. This New Japan-Mexico Commission for the 21st Century is a wisemen's conference of the private sector, which Prime Minister Obuchi and President Ernesto Zedillo agreed to establish at the Summit meeting in November last year. It is expected that the new Commission, based on the achievements of the old Commission that submitted its final report in 1992, will present useful recommendations to the two governments on the bilateral relations between Japan and Mexico toward the 21st century, while taking account of new changes in the international environment.

   The second meeting is the Japan-Mexico High-Level Economic Consultation. The Japan-Mexico High-Level Economic Consultation will be held on 15 and 16 July in Tokyo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Consultation will be attended on the Japanese side by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichi Haraguchi, Vice-Minister for International Affairs Hisamitsu Arai of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), and other officials from related ministries and agencies, and on the Mexican side, Under Secretary for International Trade Negotiations Luis F. de la Calle of SECOFI, Under Secretary for Latin America and Pacific Asia Carlos A. de Icaza of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others. At the Consultation, there will be the exchange of opinions on concrete measures to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries in trade, investment and other areas. The holding of this economic Consultation was agreed upon at the Japan-Mexico Summit meeting held in November 1998, and this will be the first meeting. In principle, the Consultation will be annual and held alternately in each country. Those are the announcements that I wanted to make, and I will be delighted to answer any questions you may have.

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4. Agenda of discussions for meetings between Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and President Jiang Zemin of the People's Republic of China

   Q: Concerning the topics of the bilateral discussion between Prime Minister Obuchi and the Chinese President and Prime Minister, what will Prime Minister Obuchi tell the Chinese side about the security Guidelines issue?

   Mr. Harada: We have been finalizing the agenda of discussions so I cannot enumerate completely the agenda, but since, I think, the security issue is of mutual interest, it would be natural that the two leaders would discuss the security issue. During that course, although I cannot prejudge what Prime Minister Obuchi would tell the Chinese leaders, I would expect that Prime Minister Obuchi would explain our basic position on our security policy, including the Guidelines for Japan-US Defense Cooperation.

   Q: Would that also include a reference to the theater missile defense system as well?

   Mr. Harada: We do not call it TMD, but BMD. If this issue will be raised, I think Prime Minister Obuchi will also explain our basic position on this issue.

   Q: Will there be some kind of petition towards China in relation to North Korea. There are some rumors that there may be another missile launch some time in the future. Will there be some chance Japan will ask China to pressure North Korea on this issue?

   Mr. Harada: I think Japan and China share the view that the launch of a missile by North Korea would bring about a serious effect on peace and stability in Northeast Asia and also on bilateral relationships, including with Japan. I would expect, if they talk about security in Northeast Asia, we will discuss the missile issue as well, but again I do not want to prejudge the content of the discussion.

   Q: Does Prime Minister Obuchi have any plan to invite Jiang Zemin as an observer to attend the Okinawa Summit next summer?

   Mr. Harada: Japan alone cannot decide the invitees to the Group of Eight (G8) Summit Meeting. As far as I know, I do not think at the G8 Summit Meeting we have discussed an invitation to China. So I do not think that during this visit, Prime Minister Obuchi will extend an invitation to China to the Okinawa Summit Meeting.

   Q: What other topics do you think will be on the agenda that Prime Minister Obuchi will bring to China?

   Mr. Harada: As I told you, I cannot enumerate the agenda of discussion between the two leaders. I can indicate general ideas. I think during this visit, the leaders of the two countries will review the state of the implementation of wide-ranging cooperation in 33 areas which was agreed during President Jiang's visit last year and discuss the future orientation of this cooperation. Also, as I have already suggested, they will exchange views on international issues of mutual interest. That I can tell you at this juncture.

   Q: What about the formal written apology from Japan, with this friendship. Will there be an in-depth discussion of that?

   Mr. Harada: Are you asking about the past issue? If you look at the Japan-China Joint Declaration on Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development, issued at the end of President Jiang's visit last November, you will find the agreed recognition there. Since we have already a common recognition, I do not think this issue will mark a major agenda of the leaders' discussion.

   Q: On the agenda, will there be any mention of a shinkansen contract?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have information on that topic at the moment to be able to respond.

   Q: You said the two leaders will be reviewing the agreement to cooperate in the 33 areas. Can you give some examples of progress in any of these areas?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have the materials on what has been done in each area during the last several months, but I can tell you that the 33 areas cover, for example, youth exchange, security dialogue, police exchange, reform of enterprises, protection of environment, planting, energy, and intellectual exchange.

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5. Position of the Government of Japan on accession of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization

   Q: I would like to know the position of Japan towards entrance of China to WTO. Recently there was a report in Beijing, some government official said Japan and China are working towards the entrance this year of China into the WTO. I would like to know whether this is true and the details.

   Mr. Harada: Our basic position is that we support China's participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Bilateral negotiations are going on. On 1 and 2 July, we had negotiations at the working level in Beijing. Based upon the result of those negotiations, from today, 6 July, Deputy Minister Haraguchi, head of the Japanese delegation, will start negotiation at a high level. I must add that Prime Minister Obuchi at the Cologne Summit emphasized the importance of early Chinese accession to the WTO. At the same time, negotiation is negotiation -- we still have pending issues, for example, in the areas of distribution, telecommunication and construction. We hope that Prime Minister Obuchi's visit will provide good momentum for promotion of this negotiation, but as I told you, since this is a negotiation, I cannot prejudge the result.

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6. Hostilities between the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan over Kashmir

   Q: Can you comment on the joint statement of President Clinton and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in which they agreed that Pakistan must withdraw its men from the Indian side of the Line of Control in Kashmir? Do you now agree that Pakistan violated the Kashmir Line of Control?

   Mr. Harada: First, in answer to your first point, we are following very closely the situation in Kashmir with a great deal of concern. As for the Summit meeting between President William Jefferson Clinton of the United States of America and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, we have not got detailed information about the result of the meeting, but we do pay attention to the joint statement of the two leaders which says it was agreed between President Clinton and Prime Minister Sharif that concrete steps will be taken for the restoration of the Line of Control in accordance with the Simla agreement. At this juncture, I would limit myself to saying that we will observe closely how the situation develops. As for your second point, our position coincides with the relevant part of G8 Summit Communique. In the G8 statement on regional issues, the G8 leaders expressed their deep concern about the continuing military confrontation in Kashmir following the infiltration of armed intruders, which violated the Line of Control. When Special Envoy Raheed of Prime Minister Sharif visited Japan recently, Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura met him and emphasized that it is important for Pakistan to exercise influence on armed intruders to withdraw and thereby to realize cessation of the fighting. I hope I answered your question.

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