Press Conference 18 April 2000

1. Hosting of the Second Japan-South Pacific Forum Summit Meeting (PALM 2000)
2. Announcement on the implementation of the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons in the People's Republic of China
3. Visit to Japan of President Abdurrahman Wahid of the Republic of Indonesia
4. Meeting between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono
5. Japan's response to the official announcement by the State of Israel to withdraw its forces in the Republic of Lebanon
6. Appointment of two Japanese professors to the Sub-commission on the Protection and Protection of Human Rights
7. Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-sessional Group (ISG) on Confidence Building Measures
8. Regarding the visit to Japan of the Dalai Lama
9. Relationship between the G8 and the G77 developing countries
10. Follow-up question on the Three Principles
11. Other issues

1. Hosting of the Second Japan-South Pacific Forum Summit Meeting (PALM 2000)

   Press Secretary Ryuichiro Yamazaki: Good afternoon. I have seven items I would like to announce at the beginning, so I will try to be as concise as possible.

   The first announcement is on the holding of the Japan-South Pacific Forum Summit Meeting (PALM 2000) this Saturday, 22 April. The meeting will be hosted by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori as Chairman, and will be attended by Heads of Government or Ministers from 16 countries and regions, including President Kuniwo Nakamura of the Republic of Palau, who is Chairman of the South Pacific Forum. This meeting is being held in this millennial year 2000, to further strengthen the future-oriented partnership and heart-to-heart relationship between Japan and the Pacific island countries by exchanging frank opinions at the summit level on various issues which have arisen along with globalization. It is also useful for Japan, which is working to bring the G8 Summit meeting to a success as the President of G8, to directly listen to the voices of Pacific island countries before the G8 Summit meeting in July.

   A quick snapshot of the schedule is that leaders from overseas will mostly arrive on Thursday 20 April. On Friday 21 April they will attend a lunch hosted by the Six Economic Organizations, and then go to a welcome reception hosted by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono. On Saturday 22 April, they move to Miyazaki, which also happens to be the site of the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting later in July. Upon arrival, the Opening Ceremony will be from 12.40 followed by the Summit meeting and a joint press conference to be held by all the leaders attending the Summit meeting. A dinner will be hosted by Prime Minister Mori that evening. On Sunday morning, although the official schedule for the meeting will have ended, there will be a welcome event and then a lunch hosted by Miyazaki Prefecture. Early in the afternoon there will be a friendly rugby match between a selected Japanese team and a selected Pacific islanders team, to which, schedule permitting, Prime Minister Mori will stay and watch.

   I will give you a brief background of what we hope to achieve at this meeting. It is our view that the so-called tide of globalization has both its positive and negative elements. We are concerned, as our colleagues in the South Pacific are, about the tide of globalization having some negative effects on these smaller countries, which can be very vulnerable to that trend. For instance, one area is the environment, which must be dealt with more vigorously in addition to the ongoing efforts. We will also probably discuss issues pertaining to economic development in general. We hope that through this meeting, we will have the opportunity to appeal to the international community at large of the difficulties faced by these island countries and elevate the attention concerning the importance of helping them in this context.

   Related Information (The Second Japan-SPF Summit Meeting ("PALM 2000"))
   
2. Announcement on the implementation of the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons in the People's Republic of China

   Mr. Yamazaki: This morning at the Cabinet meeting, it was decided to take some measures in relation to the implementation of the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons in the People's Republic of China, and to make an exception to the Three Principles which prohibit arms export, so that in the course of implementing the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons, the three principles will not forbid Japan to take arms over to China to actually locate, dig up and identify some of the chemical weapons that remain there. By arms in this case, we mean protective suits, gas masks and explosion containment vessels. This is because when you dig up this old weaponry, it may explode so you have to handle it very carefully. These are deemed "arms" under our law so it was necessary to have a Cabinet decision to exempt them from the prohibition of not exporting arms.

   In effect this whole operation is scheduled to take about two weeks with a little less than 100 private-sector people going over to join several hundred Chinese technicians in the location. They will take this protective equipment with them, and after the operation is safely over, they will bring it all back to Japan. This is one manifestation of our very stringent policy of adhering to the so-called Three Principles on arms exports. This whole operation is now being handled by the Cabinet side, because it pertains to various ministries, and they have a special Task Force office there to deal with the issue of the destruction of chemical weapons in China, which is based on the Chemical Weapons Convention to which both Japan and China are signatories.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   
3. Visit to Japan of President Abdurrahman Wahid of the Republic of Indonesia

   Mr. Yamazaki: My third announcement is on the recent visit to Japan of President Abdurrahman Wahid of the Republic of Indonesia, who made a brief stop here on Sunday. There were two purposes for his visit -- one, for President Wahid to have a meeting with new Prime Minister Mori, and two, for him to express to the Obuchi family that he hoped for the speedy recovery of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

   I will highlight one or two points of the meeting. Prime Minister Mori mentioned that he looked forward to continued cooperation with President Wahid, and although there has been a change in the Prime Minister, the basic policy for deepening the good relations between our two countries continued to be the same. In this respect, Prime Minister Mori mentioned two things, in addition to the fact that he placed importance on the G8 Summit. First, he emphasized that it was very important for President Wahid to show leadership in implementing the reform program agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The second point was concerning East Timor. Prime Minister Mori mentioned that he also appreciated very much President Wahid's leadership in this area. He said that there was still deep interest in the international community toward the future of East Timor. He expressed his hope and belief that President Wahid would continue to take appropriate measures in relation to some doubts raised about the fact that some of the Indonesian military are helping or supporting some elements of the militia who support the integration of East Timor with Indonesia.

   In response, President Wahid said that he himself had strongly advocated and instructed the relevant economic and finance ministers of his Cabinet that Indonesia abide by the Paris Club agreements, and that it was important that Indonesia gain credibility from the IMF and international community at large. He said that he has also instructed his Economic Advisor to monitor how the agreements were being implemented. On East Timor, President Wahid said that he is scheduled to visit the Commonwealth of Australia, and that on the way he hoped to meet with Mr. Xanana Gusmao to continue their exchange of views.

   Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)
   
4. Meeting between United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono

   Mr. Yamazaki: I will give you a brief rundown of the visit to Japan of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Sadako Ogata, who had meetings with both Prime Minister Mori and Foreign Minister Kono during the course of yesterday.

   High Commissioner Ogata is in her tenth year as a whole as UNHCR and she is highly regarded by the international community for exerting a very important role. It was confirmed that Japan would continue to support the activities of the UNHCR as it has done in East Timor, Kosovo and other conflict areas. She raised the thought about the UNHCR planning a regional center in Tokyo to be named the Asia-Pacific Regional Center for International Humanitarian Responses. The purpose of the Center is that because NGOs are playing a more and more important role in humanitarian assistance, it is important to have some sort of center which could provide necessary training to NGO people as they go out to the field. Both Prime Minister Mori and Foreign Minister Kono recognized that this was a very useful project, and the Government of Japan would like to consider support in a positive way by utilizing the Human Security Fund which we have established in the United Nations.

   Related Information (Japan and the United Nations)
   
5. Japan's response to the official announcement by the State of Israel to withdraw its forces in the Republic of Lebanon

   Mr. Yamazaki: I would like to say a few words on the recent development at the United Nations in New York, where on 16 April Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy of the State of Israel informed Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations in writing that Israel would withdraw from South Lebanon by July this year in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426. We welcome the fact that Foreign Minister Levy has informed the United Nations of this matter. We hope that through the smooth and complete implementation of this withdrawal, the stabilty of the area will be realized and that the Middle East peace process will be further promoted toward the achievement of comprehensive peace.

   Japan has been supporting Security Council Resolution 425, which called for the Israeli troops' immediate withdrawal from the Republic of Lebanon. In January 1999, we proposed a specific four-point proposal on this issue, and it is in this context that we have been making approaches to those concerned about how to restore peace in this region. After Israel has withdrawn from South Lebanon and peace is attained, it is our wish to play a positive role for the further stability of the region.

   Related Information (Japan-Israel Relations)
   
6. Appointment of two Japanese professors to the Sub-commission on the Protection and Protection of Human Rights

   Mr. Yamazaki: I have another brief announcement in the context of the United Nations. Under the Commission on Human Rights, there is an expert group called the Sub-commission on the Promotion and Protection on Human Rights, whose mandate is to make recommendations from the experts' viewpoint on various human rights-related issues. There are 26 members of this Sub-commission, half of whom are chosen every two years, their term being four years. Last Friday, 14 April, in Geneva, Professor Yozo Yokota of the University of Tokyo was elected as a member of the Sub-commission, and Professor Yoshiko Terao of the University of Tokyo was elected as an alternate member. They both got the highest number of votes at 47. We are very happy that they were both elected in this way, because we believe that our Japanese experts can contribute in their own way to the work of this Sub-commission.

   Related Information (Human Rights)
   
7. Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-sessional Group (ISG) on Confidence Building Measures

   Mr. Yamazaki: My final announcement is on the meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-sessional Group (ISG) on Confidence Building Measures held in Singapore on 5-6 April. The meeting was co-chaired by Japan and Singapore. A meeting had been held early in Autumn last year in Japan, and this second meeting was in Singapore. The ARF is composed of ASEAN and other countries mainly in the Asia-Pacific region. The ISG was mainly focused on confidence-building, but also included preventive diplomacy.

   The ISG first of all reviewed the regional security situation. It was generally viewed that on the whole the Asia-Pacific region was stable. The meeting took place before the announcement of the South-North summit meeting, but already at that time they noted that on the Korean Peninsula, in the South China sea and regarding several other issues, they saw positive developments for the security of the region. From our side, we explained the background to our recent normalization talks with North Korea, among other issues. On the ARF's work per se, they recognized the importance of continuing their discussion on preventive diplomacy, its concepts and its principles to be carried over into the next ISG meeting. They also discussed what the role of the Chair could be, and they basically agreed on the usefulness of registering experts on security affairs to tap their views as necessary. The specific terms of reference for such a register of experts is yet to be defined.

   A second development was in relation to transnational crime, and the three areas of small arms, piracy and illegal immigration were taken up. A lot of countries thought that an experts' meeting in these areas could be beneficial for clarifying the relevant issues therein. There may be some follow-up as we go into next year. In late July there will be the ARF Ministerial Meeting, and there the Chairmanship not only of the ARF but also of the ISG will change, and the work will continue to be taken up.

   Related Information (Japan-ASEAN Relations)
   
8. Regarding the visit to Japan of the Dalai Lama

   Q: The Dalai Lama is in town today. How many times has he been to Japan, and has China ever objected to his presence here?

   Mr. Yamazaki: As to the first question, I must check, but I believe that he has been here six times and twice more in transit. Whatever is said by any country, we look at each visa application according to our due process of rules and regulations, and we have done so also in this case. As a footnote, his coming to Japan is not in any way related to our position on Tibet, which we deem to be an internal problem for China.

   Q: I heard some criticism by Tokyo Governor toward the Foreign Ministry about not meeting the Dalai Lama because the Foreign Ministry prevented him. Do you have a comment?

   Mr. Yamazaki: I am not aware of that. Anyway, his remarks in general are those of the head of the local municipality so we are not normally in a position to comment directly on what he says, although on some of the points you should refer to what Foreign Minister Kono has been saying.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   
9. Relationship between the G8 and the G77 developing countries

   Q: The Group of the 77 Summit of the Developing Nations last week said that they will send a delegation to the G8 Summit in Okinawa. Do you have a comment?

   Mr. Yamazaki: First of all, Japan and the other G8 countries share the recognition that it is important to have a dialogue with developing countries' groups. I believe that there was a breakfast at last year's Cologne Summit between the G8 Foreign Ministers, and the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) Troika and the G77 Chair, which was the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at that time. That sort of meeting would promote the dialogue that G8 obviously wants with developing countries. I made the statement here a while ago that when Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma of the Republic of South Africa, which is now the Chair of the Non-Aligned Nations Movement (NAM), visited Japan, she said that NAM was interested in having a dialogue with the G8 together with the G77 as well at the time of the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit. We are now consulting with the other G8 member countries to see if there is anything we can do in regard to this request.

   Related Information (Regional Affairs)
   
10. Follow-up question on the Three Principles

    Q: Concerning the Three Principles on the exporting of arms, have you had exceptions before?

    Mr. Yamazaki: Yes, technical cooperation on arms-related technology with the United States of America was one exception. That was ratified by our legislative branch. I will have to check, but I think we have had cooperation in landmine equipment for the removal of landmines that was also an exception. In that sense, it is not the first time. In describing what the arms this time are, I was trying to impress upon you that we take strict measures for whatever exemptions there may be. Former cases of exemptions are very few in number.

    Related Information (Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation)
    
11. Other issues

    Q: When the President of Indonesia initially announced his desire to come to Japan, he said he wanted to visit former Prime Minister Obuchi in hospital. Was any consideration given to that? How close did President Wahid get to Mr. Obuchi during his visit?

    Mr. Yamazaki: He expressed his desire for former Prime Minister's Obuchi's speedy recovery to the Obuchi family through Prime Minister Mori. I do not think that he had a chance to physically meet him.

    Q: Do you know if he wanted to go to the hospital?

    Mr. Yamazaki: I have no idea. I do know that he wanted to express his feelings about the situation.

    Q: Has Japan said anything to Israel in public or in private on its ongoing sale of Falcon early-warning aircraft to China?

    Mr. Yamazaki: We have seen newspaper reports on that issue and are interested in the matter, but we are still in the stage of gathering various information on this, so we have no comment at this time.

    Q: Do you have any briefing about the meeting with Mr. Arai taking place in Iran now?

    Mr. Yamazaki: I have tried to get some information, but I do not have the latest. I think it is similar to the meeting of Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Ryozo Kato. Mr. Kato's was more on the political side, however, while this trip is more on the trade and energy side.