Press Conference 9 March 2001

1. Announcement of the formation of a new coalition government in the State of Israel
2. Announcement of Japan's response to the Taliban's edict to destroy statues
3. Announcement of the visit to Japan of Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Sattar of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
4. Announcement of the International Symposium on Conflict Prevention "Culture of Prevention: Multi-Actor Coordination from UN to Civil Society"
5. Question concerning Japan's reaction to the summit meeting between President George W. Bush of the United States of America and President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea
6. Questions on the status of the scheduled summit meeting between Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and President Bush
7. Questions on the meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono and Foreign Minister Sattar

1. Announcement of the formation of a new coalition government in the State of Israel

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

   Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono just issued a statement on the formation of the new coalition government in the State of Israel, which I will now read out.

   "On 7 March, a new coalition government, headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the State of Israel, was established in Israel, and Japan welcomes the fact that the political foundation for resuming the Middle East peace talks was laid in Israel by the establishment of the coalition government.

   "Japan believes that peaceful settlement through negotiations is the only realistic option in order to achieve peace in the Middle East. I strongly hope that Israel, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sharon, will make its utmost efforts to bring about a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, taking well into account what has been achieved in the past negotiations."

   Related Information (Japan-Israel Relations)
   
2. Announcement of Japan's response to the Taliban's edict to destroy statues

   Mr. Harada: Japan expressed it deepest concern over the edict issued by the Taliban's leader to destroy all statues in the Islamic State of Afghanistan and has been strongly urging those concerned to revoke the edict through its embassy in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

   As part of its efforts, the Government of Japan on 7 March commissioned a group of representatives of the three ruling parties who left for Afghanistan to convey a letter addressed to Mr. Mutawakil, who serves as the Taliban's "foreign minister," from Foreign Minister Kono, urging the Taliban to review the edict. As a footnote, Japan has not legally recognized the Taliban.

   On 7 March, Foreign Minister Kono also sent letters to the foreign ministers of eight countries mainly in the Gulf region (the State of Bahrain, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Yemen) and also on 8 March to Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Sattar of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, expressing the deepest concern of Japan about the issue and requesting that all efforts should be made to urge the Taliban to review the edict.

   Yesterday on 8 March, Foreign Minister Kono had a telephone conversation with Director-General Koichiro Matsuura of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on this issue. They agreed to strengthen cooperation between Japan and UNESCO in dealing with this issue.

   The Government of Japan urges the Taliban to respond to Japan's request by reviewing the edict and taking proper measures for the preservation of cultural treasures. Japan also urges the Taliban and the other conflicting parties in Afghanistan to stop fighting and resume direct talks aimed at peace as soon as possible.

   Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)
   
3. Announcement of the visit to Japan of Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Sattar of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

   Mr. Harada: Foreign Minister Sattar will visit Japan from 14 to 17 March as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

   During his stay in Japan, Foreign Minister Sattar will meet with Foreign Minister Kono on 15 March and exchange views on bilateral relations, international issues, and other matters, as a follow-up on the visit to Pakistan by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in August last year. His schedule will also include consultation with leaders of the political arena and the private sector.

   As a footnote, this will be the first visit to Japan by a Pakistani foreign minister since that of then Minister of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in March 1998. From Japan, then Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda visited Pakistan in July 1997.

   Related Information (Japan-Pakistan Relations)
   
4. Announcement of the International Symposium on Conflict Prevention "Culture of Prevention: Multi-Actor Coordination from UN to Civil Society"

   Mr. Harada: An International Symposium on Conflict Prevention, entitled "Culture of Prevention: Multi-Actor Coordination from UN to Civil Society," will be held on 13 and 14 March in Tokyo. This Symposium is organized by the Government of Japan as part of the follow-up of the G8 Miyazaki Initiatives for Conflict Prevention.

   The Symposium will be chaired by Chairman Yasushi Akashi of the Japan Center for Preventative Diplomacy. Other participants will include various actors such as governments, international organizations, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and civil society.

   In recent years, studies on methods of conflict prevention have been rapidly progressing, including those on "small arms and light weapons" or "conflict and development." It is necessary for various actors participating in conflict prevention activities to complement and cooperate with one another in putting those methods into practice. Bearing this in mind, the Symposium is intended mainly to consider how the United Nations (UN) and NGOs should tackle conflict prevention, in particular, what will be the concrete approaches to the issues of "conflict and development in East Timor" and "small arms and light weapons in Cambodia," and while making a comparative study with other cases and areas, what should be the effective cooperative measures among actors involved in conflict prevention activities including local communities, governments, international organizations, NGOs, civil society and third countries?

   Related Information (Conflict Prevention)
   
5. Question concerning Japan's reaction to the summit meeting between President George W. Bush of the United States of America and President Kim Dae Jung of the Republic of Korea

   Q: What is Japan's reaction to the meeting between President Bush and President Kim?

   Mr. Harada: Since this is a summit meeting between two third countries, I will have to refrain from making detailed comments, so my comment would be a rather general one.

   Japan welcomes that the leaders of the two countries had a frank exchange of views on the policies toward North Korea, in which we have a keen interest. Also, as included in the United States-Republic of Korea Joint Statement, we agreed on the importance of maintaining close consultation and coordination between Japan, the United States of America and the Republic of Korea concerning policies toward North Korea. Japan, on its part, will continue to maintain close consultation and coordination with the other two countries on the policies toward North Korea.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
   
6. Questions on the status of the scheduled summit meeting between Prime Minister Mori and President Bush

   Q: I have heard that the Japanese Government is hoping for or thinking about having Prime Minister Mori meet President Bush on 19 March. What is the status of that? What will happen if Prime Minister Mori is no longer prime minister at that time?

   Mr. Harada: We are still coordinating with our counterparts in the United States. The concrete date for Prime Minister Mori's visit to the United States has not been fixed yet.

   Q: Do you have any comments on what seems to be his impending resignation? Is that affecting your plans in any way?

   Mr. Harada: I do not have any information to confirm Prime Minister Mori's resignation. I believe he will stay on as prime minister.

   Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
   
7. Questions on the meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono and Foreign Minister Sattar

   Q: Is Japan going to apply some sort of diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to stop the Taliban's destruction of the statues?

   Mr. Harada: I am sure this issue regarding the Taliban's edict to destroy statues will be discussed by the two foreign ministers during the Pakistani foreign minister's visit to Japan. But I do not believe this is a matter to apply diplomatic pressure on Pakistan.

   As I said in my announcement, Foreign Minister Kono already sent a letter to Foreign Minister Sattar expressing Japan's deepest concern about this issue and requesting Pakistani cooperation to urge the Taliban to review the edict.

   Q: Is Japan thinking of applying any additional diplomatic pressure?

   Mr. Harada: I think we have to cooperate with the international community to stop such activities. The representatives of the three ruling parties will try to meet someone concerned with the matter in Afghanistan to convey Japan's message.

   Japan will cooperate with UNESCO to prevent and stop such activities. We will do whatever we can do in cooperation with other countries.

   Q: Have you had any response?

   Mr. Harada: So far, we have not had any response from the Taliban.

   Related Information (Japan-Afghanistan Relations)