Press Conference by the Press Secretary 10 September, 1999

1. Announcement on the visit to the Four Northern Islands by their former inhabitants
2. Latest developments on the process for the return of the Four Northern Islands
3. Japan's position in regard to the East Timor issue and the possibility of Japan participating in United Nations Peacekeeping Forces
4. Possibility of other methods which could be taken to contribute to the resolution of the situation in East Timor
5. Ministerial meeting attended by the foreign ministers of the countries concerned with East Timor

1. Announcement on the visit to the Four Northern Islands by their former inhabitants

   Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have one announcement to make, which is on the visit to the Northern Islands by the former inhabitants of these islands and their families.

   As you know, when Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi went to Moscow in November last year, he discussed this with President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation, and Prime Minister Obuchi emphasized the need for these visits, which we call the "free visits," to the islands by the former inhabitants on humanitarian grounds, because many of these former inhabitants are already very advanced in age, and they have this genuine desire to see where they used to live. We have been intensively coordinating with the Government of the Russian Federation with a view to making these visits a reality.

   The first group of these inhabitants and their families are leaving for the Shibotsu Island in the Habomai Islands to visit there from tomorrow, 11 September to 12 September. The group comprises 44 people, accompanied by interpreters, a doctor, one official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and one official from the Management and Coordination Agency. When First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko of the Russian Federation visited Japan in September, we did manage to establish the framework for this visit and we came to an agreement on 2 September. Since then we have been working on the details which have been finalized, and we do feel that this early realization of the first does symbolize the strong relationship of trust which has been evolving between Japan and Russia.

   They will be leaving the port of Nemuro - they will be traveling by ship of course - on the morning of 11 September and they will go directly to Shibotsu Island. They will be visiting their old homes, and some members of the group will be camping out on the island. They will stay on the island until the morning of 12 September and they will be returning to the port of Nemuro on that evening.

   Q: Do you plan to have some more visits during this year?

   Mr. Numata: I think it depends on further discussion with the Government of Russia. As I said, this is indeed the first visit. We would like more of these visits to take place and we have been focusing on having this first group go out in the course of this year. It may mean that perhaps we have not got enough time to organize a second group, but our immediate focus was on realizing this visit in the course of this year and we are happy that this is coming about in September. Also, we do hope that after this first visit we will be able to continue these visits and at the same time to improve the mechanisms for these visits in various ways, and we will certainly be in consultation with the Government of Russia to that end. But the important thing is that this very first visit is taking place.

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2. Latest developments on the process for the return of the Four Northern Islands

   Q: What are the latest developments between Japan and Russia regarding a peace treaty and the return of these islands?

   Mr. Numata: The subject continues to be a matter of serious consultation between our two governments. If we are to talk about recent developments, the subject was discussed on the occasion of the visit to Japan by First Deputy Prime Minister Khristenko earlier this month. We are looking forward to the meeting which will be taking place in Auckland between Prime Minister Obuchi and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.

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3. Japan's position in regard to the East Timor issue and the possibility of Japan participating in United Nations Peacekeeping Forces

   Q: I have two questions regarding the East Timor issue. What is the Japanese Government's official stance for stabilizing East Timor? And if the United Nations sends its Peacekeeping Forces to East Timor, would Japan participate in this?

   Mr. Numata: With respect to your first question - what is our thinking about stabilizing East Timor - we have consistently held the position that it is vitally important for all the parties concerned to accept the result of the direct ballot, because the fact that the process leading up to the ballot and the announcement of the ballot have taken place in a democratic manner was very significant. We do hope that all parties will accept the result. Having said that, we have been seriously concerned about the very tense situation which exists on the ground, and we have been emphasizing to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia that the responsibility for maintaining security and safety there lies with the Government of Indonesia. We have been making our position known to the Government of Indonesia, and we have also been taking part actively in the international deliberations on the subject most recently in Auckland, where the foreign ministers of the countries concerned discussed this yesterday. In that meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries concerned, Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura stated that Ambassador to Indonesia Takeo Kawakami met President Bucharuddin Jusuf Habibie of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta on the evening of 8 September, and told President Habibie that for the current situation to continue would not be in the interests of Indonesia, so we would like very much to see Indonesia fulfill its responsibility in maintaining security and safety there. Prime Minister Habibie responded by saying that his government is exerting the utmost effort with unwavering resolve to restore security and safety there, but it might take some time for these measures to take effect.

   In this meeting of the foreign ministers of the countries concerned, Foreign Minister Koumura also made the point that we do need to monitor the progress of the consultations which are taking place between the mission dispatched by the United Nations Security Council to Indonesia and the Indonesian authorities. We understand that the mission is going out to East Timor, and they will be coming back to Jakarta to talk again with the Government of Indonesia. Foreign Minister Koumura also made the point that we would like to contribute immediately in the form of support to the refugees in that area, and from a longer term perspective, we would like to actively consider contributing to the rehabilitation and development of East Timor. That in general is our attitude toward East Timor.

   Now to your specific question about a possible international security presence - if I may call it that for we are not quite sure what form it would take. As I have said, there are measures being taken by the Government of Indonesia. They declared a state of emergency, they released Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, the Security Council mission is in consultation with the Government of Indonesia and the international community is keenly monitoring the progress in that regard. For the international community to consider what sort of contribution it can make toward the restoration of security and safety in East Timor, we do need to take into account the outcome and progress of these consultations and processes. My response to your question at this point in time - and I emphasize at this point in time because your question is partly hypothetical - is that should it be the case that security is not quickly restored by the measures of the Government of Indonesia, we will take account of the responses to be made by the United Nations, and we will consider ways in which to contribute to the stability of East Timor. I think it is a bit premature for me to go further into the details of what sort of possible participation there might be in the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.

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4. Possibility of other methods which could be taken to contribute to the resolution of the situation in East Timor

   Q: Is there any possibility for the Japanese Government to take effective methods toward the Indonesian Government if the situation in East Timor is not resolved after a certain time?

   Mr. Numata: I am not quite sure what you mean by "effective," because as a friend of Indonesia we have been making our concerns known to the Government of Indonesia. I referred to the meeting which took place the day before yesterday between our Ambassador in Jakarta and President Habibie. We continue to be in touch with the Government of Indonesia and we are discussing this seriously with the other governments concerned with a view to figuring out what the international community can do to best help the process in Indonesia. I think that would be my response. It depends on your definition of what you mean by "effective."

   Q: Since Japan is the largest economic donor to the Indonesian Government, can Japan not do something more effective to seek stability in East Timor?

   Mr. Numata: I did say that it depends on your definition of what you mean by "effective." If your question is whether we consider at this point in time any step which might have to do with our Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Indonesia as being effective in improving the situation, our answer is that we are not contemplating stopping our ODA to Indonesia now because, as you rightly pointed out, we have been playing a very important part in helping the economic and social development of the people of Indonesia. We are indeed the largest donor to Indonesia. Our ODA to Indonesia is more than US$2 billion per year on a commitment basis, or in terms of yen, 250 billion yen. On a net disbursement basis Japan's ODA to Indonesia accounts for about 60% of Indonesia's total aid received. This is the magnitude that we have been providing Indonesia, which has 200 million people. This also means that the effect of Japan's ODA to the Indonesian economy is indeed very vast. We do feel that we cannot jump to such steps as stopping our ODA to Indonesia without thinking about the total picture, that is including the effects of such a measure to Indonesia as a whole. So, my short answer is at this point in time is no.

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5. Ministerial meeting attended by the foreign ministers of the countries concerned with East Timor

   Q: You mentioned Mr. Koumura met the foreign ministers of the concerned countries. Who are these "concerned countries?"

   Mr. Numata: The meeting was chaired by New Zealand, but took place outside the context of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It is not a part of the APEC process, so it was a special ministerial meeting, on East Timor. The participating countries were the Commonwealth of Australia, the United States of America, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, Papua New Guinea, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the State of Brunei Darussalam, the United Kingdom (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook of the United Kingdom flew out from Japan to joint this meeting), the People's Republic of China, Russia, the United Mexican States, the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Peru.

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