Press Conference 26 January 2001

1. Announcement of the attendance of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori at the Annual Conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos
2. Announcement of the visit to the United States of America of Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono
3. Remarks on the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the Republic of India
4. Announcement of the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of the Kingdom of Belgium
5. Announcement of the First Formal Negotiations for the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership
6. Follow-up question regarding the First Formal Negotiations for the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership
7. Questions concerning the misappropriation of public funds

1. Announcement of the attendance of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori at the Annual Conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have a few announcements to start with.

   Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori left Japan today to attend the Annual Conference of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and will return on 28 January.

   At the conference, Prime Minister Mori will deliver a speech at the Special Session on 27 January entitled, "Shaping Japan and Shaping a Global Future: A Special Message From Monsieur Mori."

   Taking this opportunity where the leaders of the international community will be gathering, Prime Minister Mori, as the head of the Japanese Government, intends to promote international understanding concerning the global meaning of the rebirth of Japan.

   Related Information (World Economic Forum)
   
2. Announcement of the visit to the United States of America of Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono

   Mr. Harada: Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono is visiting the United States of America and will meet Secretary of State Colin Powell of the United States of America today. They will exchange views on a broad range of issues covering the bilateral relationship, the international situation, and cooperation in tacking global issues.

   I am sure they will establish a good personal working relationship and set the tone and direction for their relationship and how they want to work together from now on.

   Related Information (Foreign Minister Yohei Kono's Visit to the United States of America)
   
3. Remarks on the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the Republic of India

   Mr. Harada: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the Republic of India will pay an official visit to Japan from 10-14 February. Prime Minister Vajpayee will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mori on 13 February, and on the same day Prime Minister Mori will host a dinner in honor of Prime Minister Vajpayee.

   During his stay, Prime Minister Vajpayee will also be received in audience by His Majesty The Emperor of Japan on 14 February. His Majesty The Emperor will host a Court Luncheon in honor of Prime Minister Vajpayee on the same day.

   Related Information (Japan-India Relations)
   
4. Announcement of the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of the Kingdom of Belgium

   Mr. Harada: Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of the Kingdom of Belgium, accompanied by a suite, will pay an official visit to Japan from 21-26 February.

   Prime Minister Verhofstadt will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mori on 22 January, and on the same day Prime Minister Mori will host a dinner in honor of Prime Minister Verhofstadt.

   Prime Minister Verhofstadt will also be received in audience by His Majesty The Emperor of Japan on 26 February, and on the same day His Majesty The Emperor will host a Court Luncheon in honor of Prime Minister Verhofstadt.

   Related Information (Japan-Belgium Relations)
   
5. Announcement of the First Formal Negotiations for the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership

   Mr. Harada: The First Formal Negotiations for the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership will be held on 31 January and 1 February in the Republic of Singapore.

   The negotiations will be attended on the Japanese side by Ambassador Kazuo Asakai, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan, as Chief Negotiator, and on the Singaporean side by Chairman Lim Chin Ben of Singapore Technologies Aerospace, as Chief Negotiator.

   The negotiations are intended to deepen discussions on basic issues related to the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership.

   As a footnote, in October last year, Prime Minister Mori and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of the Republic of Singapore made a joint announcement that the two countries would enter into formal negotiations concerning the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership. The two Prime Ministers decided to begin formal negotiations for the Agreement in January this year, and to conclude the agreement within a reasonably short period of time, but not later than 31 December this year, so as not to lose momentum.

   Related Information (Japan-Singapore Relations)
   
6. Follow-up question regarding the First Formal Negotiations for the Japan-Singapore Economic Agreement for a New Age Partnership

   Q: With regard to the Japan-Singapore talks, which will be held in Singapore, what sort of issues will be addressed in the next round of talks? Can you be more specific?

   Mr. Harada: I am not informed of the specific issues or agenda for the next round of negotiations. However, there is a shared position between the two countries that we should work expeditiously to conclude an economic agreement for a partnership, which would also be consistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and this agreement should encompass the broad range and scope of items proposed by the Joint Study Group which presented their report to both governments. Therefore, taking into consideration the report of the Joint Study Group, I would think that this time they will try to identify the basic issues to be dealt with during the future negotiations.

   Related Information (Japan-Singapore Relations)
   
7. Questions concerning the misappropriation of public funds

   Q: With regard to the secret diplomatic funds, according to reports, the opposition parties as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee in the LDP expressed dissatisfaction with the content of the report being incomplete. Does the Foreign Ministry plan to conduct a more thorough investigation in response to that and also increase transparency of the fund itself?

   Mr. Harada: Foreign Minister Kono announced yesterday the result of the investigation conducted by the Foreign Minister's Secretariat concerning the suspicion of the misappropriation of public funds by former Director of the Overseas Visits Support Division, Katsutoshi Matsuo.

   I do not think I have to repeat in detail the content of the report and the action, which was announced yesterday. Just briefly, during that press conference, Foreign Minister Kono said that since we do not have a compulsory investigation authority, there are limits to our investigation. However, a careful review of the records of the account at a certain bank of former Director Matsuo led to the determination that there was a clear suspicion that during the period from October 1997 until March 1999, former Director Matsuo misappropriated approximately 54 million yen of public funds, which were used for personal reasons, including the purchase of racehorses.

   Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed charges against former Director Matsuo with the Metropolitan Police Department.

   The Metropolitan Police Department will investigate this case, but at the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide full cooperation for their investigation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will conduct whatever investigations are necessary.

   Q: Internally?

   Mr. Harada: Yes, internally. But let me repeat what I have said. Primarily, the police authorities will make the investigations after we file charges against former Director Matsuo.

   As regards your second question, in light of the nature of the funds, I think it may be difficult to increase transparency. At the same time, it has turned out that the checking system was clearly not appropriate, so yesterday Foreign Minister Kono announced that effective from 31 January, the Overseas Visits Support Division will be abolished and from that time on the activities of supporting overseas visits will be carried out under the direct supervision of the Director of the General Affairs Division of the Minister's Secretariat. Moreover, full consideration will be given to the introduction of a system to ensure duplicate and triplicate monitoring of transactions involving money.

   Q: In relation to the issue of the so-called misusage of public funds, how did you first react when you heard about this incident? Were people like yourself and people in the Ministry shocked? I was wondering how you reacted. When did you first learn of this incident?

   Mr. Harada: Actually, I myself personally learned on 1 January from a newspaper. I am sure my colleagues of this Ministry were shocked to learn this.