Press Conference 30 January 2001

1. Announcement on emergency aid for the Republic of India in the wake of the earthquake disaster
2. Visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa of the State of Bahrain
3. Announcement on the release of members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar
4. Follow-up questions on emergency aid to India
5. Question on the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Republic of India
6. Questions on preparations for meetings between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and the leaders of the United States of America and the Russian Federation
7. Question on a visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri of the Republic of Lebanon
8. Question with regard to reports of requests made by the American military to Japanese airlines

1. Announcement on emergency aid for the Republic of India in the wake of the earthquake disaster

   Deputy Press Secretary Chikahito Harada: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have three announcements to start with. My first announcement is on emergency aid for the Republic of India in the wake of the recent earthquake that struck that country.

   On 27 January the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency aid of 103.5 million yen, comprising US$700,000 of emergency grant aid and materials assistance equivalent to about 30 million yen, to the Government of the Republic of India, in response to the large earthquake that occurred in the northwest of India.

   On 29 January the Government of Japan also decided to extend assistance, materials, medicines and medical equipment, and to dispatch a medical team of the Japan Disaster Relief Team consisting of 20 people for about two weeks from today.

   The Government of Japan has decided to extend the present aid from a humanitarian point of view, as well as in consideration of the seriousness of the damage caused by the earthquake and the friendly relations between the two countries.

   Related Information (Earthquake in India)
   
2. Visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa of the State of Bahrain

   Mr. Harada: Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa of the State of Bahrain will visit Japan from 3-7 February as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

   During his stay in Japan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed will meet with Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono on 5 February to exchange views on future Japan-Bahrain relations, particularly on the "New Initiatives toward Promotion of Multi-layered Relations between Japan and the Gulf States" (the so-called "Kono Initiative"), which Foreign Minister Kono proposed when he visited the Gulf States recently.

   Since the State of Bahrain is the Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council for this year, there will also be wide-ranging consultation on relations between Japan and the Gulf States, as well as on the regional and international situations.

   Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed will also meet with Their Imperial Highnesses The Crown Prince and Crown Princess and visit Kyoto during his stay in Japan.

   Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed, a leading member of the royal family of the State of Bahrain, has been Foreign Minister for almost 30 years and is an eminent figure not only in the State of Bahrain but in the whole Gulf region. This is the first official visit to Japan by a foreign minister of the State of Bahrain.

   Related Information (Japan-Bahrain Relations)
   
3. Announcement on the release of members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar

   Mr. Harada: My final announcement is on the release of members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Myanmar.

   The Government of Japan welcomes the release on 25 January of many NLD members, who had been detained by the Myanmar authorities after they had accompanied Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as she sought to travel outside the capital, as a positive step which promotes confidence-building in the dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD.

   The Government of Japan hopes for further progress in the dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

   The dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the NLD and the release of NLD members were achieved through the initiative of United Nations Special Envoy Razali Ismail. The Government of Japan will continue extending its full support to Special Envoy Ismail's efforts.

   Related Information (Japan-Myanmar Relations)
   
4. Follow-up questions on emergency aid to India

   Q: Can you tell us the composition of Japan's medical team sent to India?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have the member list, but I can give you the details later.

   Q: India is asking for a World Bank loan of US$1.5 billion to meet the emergency of this latest earthquake. Will Japan also help India with this loan on humanitarian grounds?

   Mr. Harada: I have not got detailed information about that Indian request for the World Bank loan, but I am sure that the Government of Japan will consider the request. At this moment I cannot give you any concrete position on the request, but when we come to a conclusion, it will be announced one way or the other.

   Related Information (Earthquake in India)
   
5. Question on the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of the Republic of India

   Q: Is there any possibility of Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee postponing his visit to Japan because of the earthquake, which may have killed between 20-30,000 people?

   Mr. Harada: We recently announced the visit to Japan of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajyapayee of the Republic of India. I do not think there is any change of plans at this moment.

   Related Information (Japan-India Relations)
   
6. Questions on preparations for meetings between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and the leaders of the United States of America and the Russian Federation

   Q: Can you update us on any advances in scheduling for Prime Minister Mori's meetings with the presidents of Russia and the United States?

   Mr. Harada: Yesterday Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yutaka Kawashima stated at a press conference that we are coordinating with our counterparts to find a convenient time to realize bilateral summit meetings with the leaders of these countries, but so far we have not yet reached any agreement.

   Q: There are reports that the meeting with the Russian president might be postponed quite a bit, May or later?

   Mr. Harada: As I said, we have not come to any agreement or conclusion with our Russian counterpart, so there is no decision that we are going to postpone the meeting. The situation is that coordination is going on and we have not yet reached agreement.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Russia Relations)
   
7. Question on a visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri of the Republic of Lebanon

   Q: Do you have any information on the visit by the Lebanese prime minister?

   Mr. Harada: We have not come to a stage where we can make a public announcement on a possible visit to Japan by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri of the Republic of Lebanon, but I hope we can announce that in the very near future.

   Related Information (Japan-Lebanon Relations)
   
8. Question with regard to reports of requests made by the American military to Japanese airlines

   Q: There are some reports that the American military are requesting assistance with the transportation of some materials from Japanese airlines.

   Mr. Harada: I do not have information on that. I will check the reports and let you know later.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)