Press Conference by the Press Secretary 17 March 2000

1. Cabinet decision on food assistance to North Korea
2. Dispatch of a medical team by the Government of Japan to the Republic of Mozambique
3. Announcement on the Report of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Evaluation System
4. Meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrook
5. Question on the meeting between Director-General Tsutomu Kawara of the Defense Agency and Secretary of Defense William Cohen of the United States of America
6. Questions relating to the presidential elections in Taiwan

1. Cabinet decision on food assistance to North Korea

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon. Let me start with four announcements.

   First on Japanese food aid to North Korea. As you recall, on 7 March the Government of Japan decided to extend to North Korea 100,000 tons of food through the World Food Program. Following this decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been consulting with the ministries concerned, and today the Government of Japan decided to extend to the World Food Program about JPY3.84 billion through which the World Food Program will procure about 100,000 tons of rice from Japan to distribute among children, orphans, old people, pregnant women, and others in North Korea. The Government of Japan decided to extend this food assistance from a broad perspective in addition to humanitarian considerations. We will consult with the World Food Program so that monitoring of this food assistance will be properly carried out.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
   
2. Dispatch of a medical team by the Government of Japan to the Republic of Mozambique

   Mr. Harada: My second announcement is on the emergency assistance for the flood disaster in the Republic of Mozambique. On 16 March the Government of Japan decided to dispatch a twenty-member medical team of the Japan Disaster Relief Team along with the provision of medicine and medical equipment over two weeks to Mozambique, which sustained an unprecedented flood disaster. In Mozambique the severest flood damage in 50 years has been caused by successive blows, including the rainfall from mid-January, torrential rain in early February, and the cyclone that hit the country on 21-22 February. In the afflicted areas, life-saving activities are close to an end, and there is mounting fear of the spread of such infectious diseases as cholera and malaria, and medical treatment is needed in evacuation camps. In such a situation the Government of Mozambique requested on 6 March that the Government of Japan dispatch a medical team. In response to that request, on 9 March Japan dispatched an advanced team comprising four members. We have decided to take this measure from a humanitarian standpoint in addition to the already announced emergency grant aid and emergency assistance in kind totaling about JPY121.5 million, equivalent to approximately US$1 million, in view of the severity of this disaster and the friendly relations between the two countries.

   Related Information (Japan-Mozambique Relations)
   
3. Announcement on the Report of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Evaluation System

   Mr. Harada: My third announcement is on the Report on Reform of Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) Evaluation System. The Report on Reform of Japan's ODA Evaluation System was submitted to Foreign Minister Kono on 15 March by the ODA Evaluation Reviewing Panel, which is an advisory body to the Director-General of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Panel discussed and analyzed comprehensively wide-ranging issues related to ODA evaluation, such as objectives, subjects, capacity building, human resources development, methods, and public relations, and made concrete proposals for the reform of Japan's ODA Evaluation System.

   The main proposals include the establishment of a consistent evaluation system from the advance study to the ex-post evaluation, the introduction of policy-level evaluation, and the promotion of quick access to information on the ODA evaluation. We are now working on the translation of the summary of the report into English, which you will shortly be able to gain access to through the homepage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

   In response to this report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to implement the proposals wherever feasible and as quickly as possible, in particular the three main proposals which I just referred to. I understand that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation are also studying measures to be taken in response to the proposals of this report.

   Related Information (Japan's ODA)
   
4. Meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrook

   Mr. Harada: My final announcement is on the meeting between Foreign Minister Kono and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrook. Foreign Minister Kono and Ambassador Holbrook met last night and exchanged views on issues related to the United Nations. I would like to share with you read-outs of the meeting.

   Foreign Minister Kono and Ambassador Holbrook reaffirmed the important role of the United Nations in tackling conflicts and the economic and social challenges which the world faces today. They agreed that Japan and the United States should cooperate to strengthen the capability and effectiveness of the United Nations. In this context, Ambassador Holbrook expressed appreciation for Japan's important contributions to the United Nations' efforts. They agreed to strengthen the cooperation in the United Nations to accelerate the Security Council reform process toward realization of the Security Council reflecting the reality of today's international community. In this context, Ambassador Holbrook restated that the United States supports Japan's becoming a permanent member of the Security Council. Foreign Minister Kono emphasized the need to review the various elements of the Security Council reform in order to make substantive progress.

   They also discussed financial reform of the United Nations, in particular the issue of the review of the scale of assessment for regular budget. Ambassador Holbrook said that the scale of assessment should be reviewed as a whole, and Foreign Minister Kono said that the current methodology of the scale of assessment, which was not fair and improvable, should be reviewed.

   They agreed that Japan and the United States should continue to discuss this issue.

   Related Information (Japan and the United Nations)
   
5. Question on the meeting between Director-General Tsutomu Kawara of the Defense Agency and Secretary of Defense William Cohen of the United States of America

   Q: Did Mr. Kawara and Defense Minister Cohen discuss the Taiwan issue? If so, what was the content of the exchange of views?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have the read-out of the meeting between Director-General Tsutomu Kawara of the Defense Agency and Defense Secretary Cohen. However, Defense Secretary Cohen had a meeting with Foreign Minister Kono yesterday in which they discussed the Taiwan issue, so I can share that part with you. Foreign Minister Kono said that it was difficult to predict the result of the elections in Taiwan and that Japan was of the view that the issues relating to Taiwan should be settled peacefully. He further stated that Japan hoped that the dialogue between parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait would be promoted. Defense Secretary Cohen said that the US shared that recognition. He also said that they had difficult relations with Congress with regard to Taiwan.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
   
6. Questions relating to the presidential elections in Taiwan

   Q: Candidate Chen recently said that he would like to develop the relationship between Japan and Taiwan. Could you please comment on this?

   Mr. Harada: I do not think it is appropriate to comment directly on the remarks of Mr. Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party. Instead, I would like to reiterate our basic position on relations with Taiwan. Japan has consistently maintained its non-governmental and working relations with Taiwan-that is, exchanges of a private and regional nature. We will not change this basic position.

   Q: Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji recently made remarks on the elections in Taiwan. If candidate Chen wins in the election, it might serve to enhance tensions between Taiwan and China, which could possibly lead to a situation of war. What would be Japan's response to this?

   Mr. Harada: The position of the Government of Japan is, as Foreign Minister Kono said to Defense Secretary Cohen, that the issues relating to Taiwan should be settled peacefully through dialogue. I do not want to make any comment on the assumption that there will be a possibility of a situation of war.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)