Press Conference 19 May 2000

1. Signing of the Joint Understanding for Humanitarian Pause for Aceh document
2. The current situation in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
3. United Nations Resolutions on the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea
4. Announcement on the parole of anti-government human rights activists in the Republic of Cuba
5. Visit to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia of Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tetsuma Esaki
6. Meeting of the G8 Senior Experts Group on Transnational Organized Crime (Lyon Group)
7. Questions on North Korean's application to participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
8. Question on the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea
9. Question on the funeral of the former late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi
10. Other issues

1. Signing of the Joint Understanding for Humanitarian Pause for Aceh document

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon. I have several announcements to make at the outset.

   On 12 May, the Government of Indonesia and the GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) signed the document entitled "The Joint Understanding for Humanitarian Pause for Aceh" in Davos.

   The Government of Japan, while supporting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia, hopes that the issues regarding the Aceh province will be resolved between the Government of Indonesia and the parties concerned in Aceh. In this context, Japan welcomes the signing of "The Joint Understanding for Humanitarian Pause for Aceh," and hopes that this will encourage this issue to be resolved in a peaceful manner.

   The Government of Japan also supports and will assist the effort of the Government of Indonesia to maintain its territorial integrity. Japan has already provided grant aid of 40 million yen for four grass-root projects. Japan is willing to provide further assistance and also hopes that the international community joins in providing generous support to help resolve the issue.

   Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)
   
2. The current situation in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

   Mr. Harada: The Government of Japan is gravely concerned about the current situation in the Jaffna peninsula of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The Government of Japan strongly urges both the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to exert the utmost self-restraint and take reasonable steps to prevent the continued fighting from causing suffering to the ordinary people.

   The Government of Japan eagerly hopes that the two parties will, through negotiations under the Kingdom of Norway's good offices, surmount the present crisis to take a definite step toward a peaceful solution of their ethnic conflicts.

   Related Information (Japan-Sri Lanka Relations)
   
3. United Nations Resolutions on the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea

   Mr. Harada: The Government of Japan expresses its concern on the continued fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Security Council of the United Nations adopted its resolutions 1297 of 12 May and 1298 17 May, which demanded that both parties immediately cease all military action.

   Japan supports the initiative taken by the Security Council of the United Nations toward the definitive settlement of the conflict. Japan strongly hopes that both parties immediately cease any military action and that the peace talks, under the auspices of the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), will be resumed in response to the resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations.

   Related Information (Japan-Ethiopia Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Eritrea Relations)
   
4. Announcement on the parole of anti-government human rights activists in the Republic of Cuba

   Mr. Harada: The Government of Japan welcomes the fact that the Government of the Republic of Cuba paroled two of the four members of the Internal Dissident's Working Group, whose incarceration had been drawing the attention of the international community.

   The Government of Japan will continue to observe the situation in Cuba and strongly hopes that the release of the two activists will lead to the release of the other two members and those who are detained for the peaceful expression of their opinions.

   Japan has been urging Cuba to take necessary measurers for its democratization as well as for the improvement of its human rights situation, and will continue to encourage Cuba, through frank and sincere dialogue, to make further efforts in this regard.

   Related Information (Japan-Cuba Relations)
   
5. Visit to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia of Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tetsuma Esaki

   Mr. Harada: Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tetsuma Esaki will visit the People's Republic of China and Mongolia from 21-24 May. During his stay, Senior State Secretary Esaki will meet with leading figures of China and Mongolia to exchange views on matters including bilateral relations and the current situation in the region.

   In China, Senior State Secretary Esaki will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan of the People's Republic of China and will also exchange views with his Chinese counterpart in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the context of securing regional peace and stability. In Mongolia, Senior State Secretary Esaki will pay a courtesy call on President Natsagiyn Bagabandi of Mongolia.

   This high-level political dialogue, which takes place for the first time since July last year when former Prime Keizo Obuchi visited Mongolia, is expected to strengthen the friendly and cooperative relationship between the two countries.

   Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Mongolia Relations)
   
6. Meeting of the G8 Senior Experts Group on Transnational Organized Crime (Lyon Group)

   Mr. Harada: The meeting of the G8 Senior Experts Group on Transnational Organized Crime (Lyon Group) will take from 22-24 May in Kyoto and some subgroup meetings will be held until 25 May.

   This meeting will be attended by senior experts at the Director-General level in transnational organized crime from G8 countries and the European Union (EU). Participants from Japan will include officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Agency, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Japan hosts this year's Lyon Group meetings chaired by Director-General of the International Affairs Department Toshinori Kanemoto of the National Police Agency. These meetings, including the forthcoming one, will be held in Japan. The first meeting was held in February in Tokyo; details of the third meeting are yet to be decided.

   At this meeting the Lyon Group will discuss measures against high-tech crimes, taking into account the result of the G8 Conference "a Government/Industry Dialogue on Safety and Confidence in Cyberspace," which was recently held in Paris, and will also hold active discussions on cooperation among G8 member states for the early adoption of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and related protocols on firearms, trafficking in persons, and smuggling of migrants. The results of this meeting are expected to be reflected in the discussions at the Kyushu-Okinawa G8 Summit.

   Related Information (Transnational Organized Crime)
   
7. Questions on North Korean's application to participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)

   Q: What is Japan's reaction toward the mission of North Korea to enter the ARF?

   Mr. Harada: In Bangkok, the senior official meeting (SOM) of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was held on 18-19 May. From Japan, Deputy Vice Minister for Foreign Policy Yukio Takeuchi attended this meeting. I have just received the information from Bangkok on the results of the discussions on the issues which you just mentioned.

   The meeting discussed North Korean's application to participate in the ARF. There was a general consensus at the meeting that the participation of North Korea in the ARF would contribute to advancing the ARF as a regional forum for security dialogue as well as help advance the course of regional peace and stability as a whole.

   The meeting agreed that the ARF SOM would recommend to the ministers to support the application of North Korea and once the response to this effect has been received from all ARF ministers, the Kingdom of Thailand, which is the chair of the ARF now, would write to North Korea to convey the decision in the hope that arrangement could be made for North Korea's participation at the 7th meeting of the ARF, which is to be held in July this year.

   At the meeting, Deputy Foreign Policy Vice Minister Takeuchi expressed Japan's support for North Korea's participation in the ARF from the point of view that North Korean participation in the ARF would contribute to the objectives of the ARF.

   Q: Do you think this participation will bring Japan and North Korea closer to each other?

   Mr. Harada: We hope that our support will be received positively by the North Korean side.

   Q: Does Japan expect Foreign Minister Kono to have some contact with his North Korea counterpart?

   Mr. Harada: Formally, it has not been officially decided that North Korea will participate in the ARF. Besides this, I think it is premature to say what bilateral meetings or bilateral contacts would be held during the next ARF meeting. At this stage, I have to refrain from making any concrete comment on your question.

   Q: Do you think that this meeting will give Japan a chance to speak directly at a high-level to North Koreans?

   Mr. Harada: If North Korea participates in the ARF, generally speaking, this would provide a possibility for various countries to make contact with the participants. But, this does not necessarily mean that we will have bilateral contact with North Korea or not. At this stage it is difficult to say whether we will arrange that.

   Q: Is there any new word from North Korea on the second round of normalization talks?

   Mr. Harada: Not to my knowledge.

   Q: Has North Korea asked either formally or informally Japan to support its request to become an ARF member?

   Mr. Harada: As far as I know, we have not had that sort of direct approach from North Korea.

   Q: What is the current status now concerning Japan-North Korea normalization talks?

   Mr. Harada: At the meeting of the last normalization talks held in Pyongyang in April, it was agreed to hold the next meeting in Tokyo at the end of May. However, recently we received a proposal from North Korea to postpone the next normalization talks for the time being. This is the current situation. We would like to hold the next meeting as soon as possible, but we have to coordinate with the North Korean side to set up the date.

   Related Information (Japan-ASEAN Relations)
   
8. Question on the situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea

   Q: Concerning Ethiopia and Eritrea, I think that there are sanctions or arms embargoes from the United Nations, so is Japan ready to go further in imposing sanctions or other measures against these two countries?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have the material with me, so let me check and come back to you later.

   Related Information (Japan-Ethiopia Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Eritrea Relations)
   
9. Question on the funeral of the former late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi

   Q: Do you have a list so far of the foreign government leaders attending former Prime Minister Obuchi's funeral?

   Mr. Harada: This morning the Cabinet decided to perform the funeral for the late former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi jointly with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on 8 June at Nippon Budokan. Following that decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to inform the foreign governments and major international organizations of the funeral. We have not got any information on which countries will attend at this stage.

10. Other issues

    Q: Do you have some background information about tomorrow's trip by the Emperor and Empress to Europe?

    Mr. Harada: I think that we announced this before. Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress will visit the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Sweden as well as making an informal visit to the Republic of Finland and the Swiss Confederation. The itinerary is as follows: they will leave Tokyo tomorrow and arrive in Geneva. They will leave Geneva on 23 May and arrive in Amsterdam on the same day. They will leave Amsterdam on 26 May and arrive in Helsinki on the same day and leave on 28 May, arriving in Stockholm on the same day. They will leave Stockholm on 31 May and arrive back in Tokyo on 1 June.

    Q: There are some reports that the Japanese Government might prevent Mr. Ishihara from visiting Taiwan.

    Mr. Harada: Our basic position on Taiwan is embodied in the Japan-China Joint Statement of 1972, and we will not change this position. On the other hand, even if a head of local government visits Taiwan, such as visit does not represent the diplomatic position of the Japanese Government and has nothing to do with the Government's position.

    The Chinese Government requested us through the diplomatic channels in Tokyo and Beijing to prevent Governor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Shintaro Ishihara's visit to Taiwan. From our side we explained our basic position which I just explained to you. We are not going to prevent Governor Ishihara's visit to Taiwan.

    Q: Concerning the visit of Alexy II, what is the result of this visit?

    Mr. Harada: Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia visited Japan from 12-19 May at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and he made a State Call on his Majesty The Emperor on 17 May and met Foreign Minister Kono. He also paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on 18 May. Our assessment of his visit is reflected in the remarks made by Prime Minister Mori to Alexy II. That is, his visit to Japan has deepened mutual understanding and strengthened friendship at the people's level.

    Q: Do you have any plans to invite any religious leaders from other countries in the near future?

    Mr. Harada: At this stage I do not have any concrete information.