Press Conference 22 September 2000

1. Announcement on the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in light of the upcoming elections
2. Statement on the People's Republic of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and approval of permanent normal trade relations to China by the United States of America
3. Comment on the passing of Mrs. Maureen Mansfield, wife of former United States Ambassador to Japan Michael Mansfield
4. Details of the visit to North Africa by Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kiyohiro Araki
5. Japan's position with regard to economic sanctions imposed on the Republic of Iraq
6. Question in regard to Japan's basic policy on promoting democratization

1. Announcement on the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in light of the upcoming elections

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon. I have four announcements to start with. Firstly, I have a comment on the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

   Yugoslavia will hold Federal Presidential and Parliamentary elections on 24 September.

   Japan looks forward to seeing promptly a democratic Yugoslavia and hopes that the country will, in concert with the international community, play a constructive role in bringing peace and stability to the southeastern European region. Japan, from this viewpoint, is paying careful attention to these elections to see if they are carried out in a fair and peaceful manner in accordance with democratic principles.

   Japan reiterates its request to the Yugoslav authorities not to take any measures against democratization, and hopes that all democratic forces in Yugoslavia will play an increasingly important role in ensuring their country's democratization and stability.

   Related Information (Japan-Serbia and Montenegro Relations)
   
2. Statement on the People's Republic of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and approval of permanent normal trade relations to China by the United States of America

   Mr. Harada: The following is a statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono. "The Government of Japan has been consistently supporting the early accession of the People's Republic of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO). From this point of view, I would like to welcome the fact that the United States Senate has approved a bill granting permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China. I believe the approval of the bill will give significant impetus to the process of China's accession to the WTO and further promote relations between the United States of America and China.

   The Working Party on the Accession of China and its related meetings, which started in Geneva on 13 September, have been working intensively on preparations for the accession of China to the WTO. Japan expects that China will play a greater role as a constructive partner in the international community, and intends to continue to cooperate with other countries for the realization of China's accession to the WTO."

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3. Comment on the passing of Mrs. Maureen Mansfield, wife of former United States Ambassador to Japan Michael Mansfield

   Mr. Harada: My third announcement is on the passing of Mrs. Maureen Mansfield, which we learned about yesterday. While Mr. Mansfield rendered services as US Ambassador to Japan for more than a decade, Mrs. Mansfield, together with Mr. Mansfield, was devoted to the development with trust and friendship of the Japan-US relationship into the most important alliance in the world. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Mrs. Mansfield and most sincere condolences to former Ambassador Mansfield and his family.

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4. Details of the visit to North Africa by Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kiyohiro Araki

   Mr. Harada: Last week at the press conference I made an announcement on the visit to North Africa by Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kiyohiro Araki. Today, I would like to share with you some information on his visit.

   State Secretary Araki visited the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria from 15 to 17 September and held meetings with Head of Government Ali Benflis, Minister of Participation and Coordination of the Reforms Hamid Temmar, Minister of Energy and Mining Chakib Khelil and others. In these meetings, State Secretary Araki appreciated the Algerian efforts to advance political and economic reforms, and expressed his hope that Algeria will play a leading role not only in North Africa and the Mediterranean region, but also in the community of developing countries. He stated that Japan would like to strengthen our relationship with Algeria. He also appreciated Algeria's efforts as a moderate power for the stabilization of the oil market. He requested the Government of Algeria to make further efforts to improve the security situation in the country.

   The Algerian side expressed that Algeria will make every effort to strengthen the relationship with Japan, and asked for Japan's cooperation for the success of the reforms. Both sides agreed to activate political dialogue between the two countries. There was an exchange of views on the international situation, including on United Nations reform, the African situation and disarmament. In the context of UN Security Council reform, the Algerian side reiterated its support for Japan's permanent membership on the Security Council.

   Moving to the Republic of Tunisia, State Secretary Araki stayed there from 17 to18 September. He met State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Tahar Sioud. Both sides hoped to strengthen the bilateral relationship and to that end shared the view that it was important to activate the exchange of leading figures between the two countries. State Secretary Sioud highly appreciated Japan's economic assistance to Tunisia and also Japan's initiatives as the Chair of the G8 in the area of information technology (IT). They also exchanged views on UN reform, the Middle East peace process, the Northeast Asian situation and other issues. State Secretary Sioud also expressed Tunisia's support for Japan's permanent membership on the UN Security Council.

   State Secretary Araki then moved to Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and stayed there from 18 to 21 September. This visit was the very first to Libya by a ministerial or vice-ministerial level official of Japan. He held meetings with Secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation Abdulrahman Mohammed Shalqam, former Secretary for Economy and Trade Abdulhafid M. Zlitini, who visited Japan during the first half of this year, and others. I have not received a detailed readout of these meetings, so I cannot share with you the information. But according to the preliminary report, at these meetings, they exchanged views on strengthening the bilateral relationship, including economic relations, and development issues of Africa.

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5. Japan's position with regard to economic sanctions imposed on the Republic of Iraq

   Q: Last week former Director-General of the Defense Agency Fumio Kyuma said that he had asked the Government to stop sanctions against Iran immediately. What is the Foreign Ministry's comment on this?

   Mr. Harada: First of all, we are aware of the news information on his remarks, but we do not know what he really meant. So I do not think it is appropriate to make a direct comment on his remarks before we find out what he really meant. We would like to listen to his views after he returns from his visit abroad. I can explain our position on the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq. We are of the position that we hope that Iraq implements the relevant Security Council resolutions and thereby returns fully to the international community. On the other hand, Japan has been providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq through international organizations. We also have concern over the severe situation that the Iraqi people are suffering from.

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6. Question in regard to Japan's basic policy on promoting democratization

   Q: You mentioned that Japan is hoping that democratization in Yugoslavia will be achieved. Is this a new trend in Japanese foreign policy to concentrate on democracy in other countries?

   Mr. Harada: That is our basic policy -- to hope for democracy in other countries. I do not think it is a new trend in our policy.

   Q: There are some governments considered not democratic with which you have good relations. Are you planning to stress concerns about the democratic situation to them?

   Mr. Harada: I am not sure which countries you have in mind, but we express our position to whichever country we believe requires democratization. Yugoslavia is not an exceptional case.

   Related Information (Japan-Serbia and Montenegro Relations)