Press Conference 19 December 2000

1. Announcement on the visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono to the Russian Federation
2. Announcement on the Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP6)
3. Comments on the Round Table Conference on Japan's Economic Assistance to the People's Republic of China in the 21st Century
4. Remarks on the Heads of Missions Meeting Among Japanese Ambassadors to Latin American Countries
5. Question concerning former President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru
6. Follow-up question on Foreign Minister Kono's visit to Russia
7. Question on Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to China

1. Announcement on the visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono to the Russian Federation

   Press Secretary Ryuichiro Yamazaki: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have four announcements to begin with at the outset.

   I would like to announce that from 16-17 January 2001, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono will visit the Russian Federation and have meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation. This is a follow-up to what was agreed on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Brunei, where Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation had an informal meeting there. It was agreed to seek a mutually convenient date for the two foreign ministers to meet to continue discussions on the important issues of the peace treaty and the Northern Territories.

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2. Announcement on the Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP6)

   Mr. Yamazaki: I would like to repeat what Minister of State, Director-General of the Environment Agency Yoriko Kawaguchi said earlier. She is the minister in charge of global environmental problems. The statement reads:

   "Immediately after the Hague meeting, I, with Ministers from the Umbrella Group and the European Union, started to explore the possibility of early agreement as was requested by Minister Pronk, the President of COP6, at the end of the meeting in The Hague. The Ottawa meeting of senior officials on December 6 and 7 was one of such efforts along this line. Japan has been participating in dialogue with as much flexibility as it has been able to show.

   "We repeated teleconferences at the ministerial level after the Ottawa meeting. Ministers from the Umbrella Group and the European Union agreed that the time is not yet ripe for a UG/EU ministerial meeting and that more time is necessary to seek an agreement. It is regrettable that an agreement will not have been achieved by the end of this year. However, we shared the view that political leadership is essential for resolving outstanding issues and unanimously decided to make use of every bilateral and multilateral occasion to continue our dialogue with each other to this end.

   "Our common goal is to make the Kyoto Protocol ratifiable and then have it enter into force by the year 2002. It is crucial to keep the momentum we have built toward our goal. I believe that Minister Pronk, as COP6 President, will continue to exercise his strong leadership to this end. In The Hague, ministers from the Umbrella Group and the EU almost reached agreement on a package of some key issues early in the morning of 25 November. Japan looks forward to continuing discussion on that basis.

   "Japan is determined to continue its intensive dialogue with other Parties with flexibility, and spare no effort to reach agreement on a package at resumed negotiations. Japan strongly urges other Parties to do likewise."

   That was the statement made by Minister of State Kawaguchi earlier today.

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3. Comments on the Round Table Conference on Japan's Economic Assistance to the People's Republic of China in the 21st Century

   Mr. Yamazaki: The Round Table Conference is composed of 15 non-governmental officials either in academia, the private sector or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The task entrusted upon the Round Table was to come up with a recommendation, which the Government of Japan would take note of for reference as it draws up during this fiscal year the Country Assistance Program of the People's Republic of China.

   We have started to take this Country Assistance Program approach for individual countries. During the last fiscal year, which was the first time we started this Country Assistance Program, we already covered nine countries. This fiscal year, eight countries, including China and the Republic of Indonesia, are scheduled to complete their Country Assistance Program.

   The backdrop of this is that, given Japan's severe economic and fiscal situation, on the one hand, there are various views within Japan regarding Japan's official development assistance (ODA) policy, especially toward China, and on the other hand, there are changes in the development needs on the Chinese side. This Round Table studied the various issues from various angles and has come up with a recommendation. Our staff are helping with the English translation, and if and when it is out, we can provide you with a copy. If you wish to have a Japanese copy, you are most welcome.

   They met nine times in the course of about six months to come to this conclusion. The format that was adapted for looking at Chinese ODA was, unlike in the past with the various five-year yen loan package plans, not to set as given the intended amount of assistance, but rather to take into consideration China's new assistance needs, to look at priority areas, and given Japan's severe economic and fiscal situation, look at each project on an individual basis and, by adding it up, come up with the overall picture. It is perhaps like an accumulative formula, whereas in the past it was more like an aggregate formula where the aggregate sum of the five-year plan was decided in advance.

   Some of the priority areas are to first start to shift the emphasis from infrastructure in the coastal areas toward environmental projects and also to improve the standard of living in the inner areas of China, as well as social and human resources development, institutional building, and technological cooperation. Some of the items registered in the report were assistance for reform and openness, and cooperation for solving global-scale problems, such as the environment. A third area was how to enhance mutual understanding. A fourth was assistance for overcoming poverty problems. The fifth was assistance in relation to commercial activities, which would include various assistance in relation to World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. The sixth area was the promotion of cooperation with China within the multilateral framework.

   The report also said that China should be fully aware of Japan's ODA Charter and its spirit, and that it was important to increase transparency of assistance to China and also that the Japanese people themselves should be convinced of the importance of rendering assistance to China. That is the gist of this report.

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4. Remarks on the Heads of Missions Meeting Among Japanese Ambassadors to Latin American Countries

   Mr. Yamazaki: Finally, I would like to touch upon the Heads of Missions Meeting Among Japanese Ambassadors to Latin American Countries, which was convened in Tokyo on 13-14 December.

   The overall message that came out of the discussions was how Japan could expand and deepen the political stability and economic development of the region against the backdrop of increasing regional integration. Some of the areas, for instance, on the political side touched upon how Japan could help promote further democratization of those countries, as well as how Japan could help with international activities through the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral organizations.

   On the economic side, it was recognized that the region was a newly emerging market along with Asia. The expansion and deepening of regional economic integration was again noted.

   On the social side, there were comments as to the increasing gap in wealth in some countries, as well as problems pertaining to drugs, unemployment, and domestic security situations.

   As for priorities for Japan in assisting this region, one area was that Japan should encourage its private sector to help the economies in the region through its business activities. Second was how to attain mid- to long-term stability in the region as a whole. In this connection, it was noted that Japan should strengthen assistance for their democratization efforts as well as coping with social problems and development efforts, such as infrastructure and other areas. It was also noted that in relation to Japan's energy policy, Japan should take a positive stance to secure a stable supply of important natural resources to the international market.

   These are some of the points that came up at the Ambassadors' Meeting.

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5. Question concerning former President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru

   Q: I am from thePeople's Daily. May I ask a question about former President of Peru Mr. Fujimori? Has he asked the Japanese Government for long-term residence? And what are the Peruvian Government's demands to the Japanese Government about this issue?

   Mr. Yamazaki: The Government of Japan confirmed that former President Alberto Fujimori of the Republic of Peru does have Japanese nationality. So, if you have Japanese nationality, there is no question as far as a Japanese citizen staying in Japan. As for the second question, there has been nothing communicated to the Government of Japan from Mr. Fujimori as such. That is what I understand.

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6. Follow-up question on Foreign Minister Kono's visit to Russia

   Q: Regarding Mr. Kono's trip to Russia, do you know if he plans to visit any other countries?

   Mr. Yamazaki: I can neither confirm nor deny anything on this point. His overall schedule will be announced in due course. As far as the Russia portion is concerned, it has been fixed.

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7. Question on Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to China

   Q: About ODA to China, does that report mention a reduction of the amount of ODA?

   Mr. Yamazaki: No. What I tried to explain was that it suggested the approach of, first of all, not taking any fixed amount as given, but building upon each project to come up with a total figure. They suggested an approach to the question and did not mention any figures of any kind. No reduction per se was mentioned.

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