Press Conference 20 December 2002

1. Visit to Japan by H.E. Dr. N. Hassan Wirajunda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia
2. Adoption by the United Nations of the Resolution on the Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
3. Congratulatory statements to President-elect Roh Moo Hyun of the Republic of Korea by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi
4. Dispatch of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister Masahiko Koumura to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
5. Question concerning meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Sha'ath of the Palestinian Interim Authority
6. Question concerning report by the Advisory Group on International Cooperation for Peace
7. Question concerning meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Habib Ben Yahia of the Republic of Tunisia
8. Question concerning report by the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations Security Council
9. Question concerning issuance of travel advisories

1. Visit to Japan by Dr. N. Hassan Wirajunda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia

   Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon, thank you very much for coming to this briefing. I have four announcements I would like to make.

   The first announcement is about the visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajunda of the Republic of Indonesia.

   Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, will visit Japan from 22 to 27 December as a guest of the Foreign Minister of Japan.

   During his stay in Japan, Dr. Wirajuda will have talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi, and exchange views on issues regarding Aceh, anti-terrorism measures, the investment environment, international affairs and other matters, and also exchange views with leading figures in the government as well as those of economic circles. The Minister will also have a tour to Kyoto and Osaka.

   Related Information (Visit to Japan by H.E. Dr. N. Hassan Wirajuda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia)
   
2. Adoption by the United Nations of the Resolution on the Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the adoption by the United Nations of the resolution on the Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

   The Government of Japan welcomes the unanimous adoption at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly on 18 December of the resolution on the Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

   Japan became the co-sponsor of this resolution, considering it appropriate to arouse international public opinion on the question of enforced disappearances occurring all over the world, including the cases of abduction by North Korea.

   Japan expects North Korea to seriously accept the consensus of international society as shown in this resolution and sincerely move forward toward solving the abduction issues.

   Related Information (Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Resolution on the Question of Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances)
   
3. Congratulatory statements to President-elect Roh Moo Hyun of the Republic of Korea by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi

   Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is in conjunction with the presidential election in the Republic of Korea.

   Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi separately sent congratulatory telegrams to Mr. Roh Moo Hyun on his election as the President-to-be of the Republic of Korea.

   In these telegrams, Prime Minister Koizumi and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi both expressed their strong desire to maintain and further strengthen the friendly, cooperative relations with the Republic of Korea under the leadership of President-elect Roh Moo Hyun, and promised to work together with Mr. Roh for peace, stability and prosperity in Northeast Asia.

   Related Information (Comment by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the election of the President to-be of the Republic of Korea)
   Related Information (Statement by Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the Results of the Presidential Election in the R.O.K.)
   
4. Dispatch of Special Envoy of the Prime Minister Masahiko Koumura to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

   Mr. Takashima: The fourth announcement is about the dispatch of the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister to the Middle Eastern region.

   Prime Minister Koizumi's Special Envoy, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura, ended his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and today will return to Tokyo.

   During his stay in Saudi Arabia, Special Envoy Koumura met with King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and held talks on the issue regarding the situation in Iraq and asked the Government of Saudi Arabia to urge the Government of the Republic of Iraq to comply with the Resolution adopted at the United Nations Security Council.

   Japan dispatched three Special Envoys to the countries neighboring Iraq in conjunction with the situation in Iraq. This visit of Mr. Koumura's to Saudi Arabia successfully concluded this dispatch. It was intended to enhance the solidarity of the international community over the issue of Iraq and was highly appreciated by the countries concerned.

   Related Information (Japan-Saudi Arabia Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Iraq Relations)
   
5. Question concerning meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nabil Sha'ath of the Palestinian Interim Authority

   Q: I was wondering about the meetings between Foreign Minister Kawaguchi and the Palestinian Minister. Was it about the Palestinian situation? Has there been any briefing about this?

   Mr. Takashima: We have had a briefing, and if you would like to know the details of the briefing, I can give them to you later.

   The basic thrust of the briefing was such that the meeting between Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, Dr. Nabil Sha'ath, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of the Palestinian Interim Authority, and also Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Maher Al Masri, was held in Tokyo, and they all discussed the current Palestinian situation and the cycle of violence there.

   Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi urged the Palestinian side to work hard toward peace and stability in that region and expressed Japan's intention to assist in the reconstruction of the Palestinian region and further improvement of the lives of the people there.

   Q: Did they mention any numbers in this respect?

   Mr. Takashima: No, they did not.

   Related Information (Japan-Palestinian Authorities Relations)
   
6. Question concerning report by the Advisory Group on International Cooperation for Peace

   Q: Could you comment on the report submitted to Prime Minister Koizumi by the advisory panel to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on international cooperation?

   Mr. Takashima: We will read that report submitted to the Prime Minister' Office by the Advisory Group on International Cooperation for Peace very carefully. We believe that the recommendations contained within are very valuable and will first examine the contents and then try to involve them in international efforts to make this a more peaceful and more stable world.

   Q: There were some recommendations regarding official development assistance (ODA) and how it should be used more effectively. How would that affect the policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

   Mr. Takashima: I understand that there were many specific recommendations made on various aspects of the international contribution and cooperation of Japan. However, at this moment, I cannot make any comments on an item-by-item basis, but rather we would like to view it as a very valuable recommendation report for further study.

   Related Information (PDF)
   
7. Question concerning meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Habib Ben Yahia of the Republic of Tunisia

   Q: Do you have any details about the meetings with the Tunisian Foreign Minister?

   Mr. Takashima: During the meeting between Foreign Minister Kawaguchi and Foreign Minister Habib Ben Yahia of the Republic of Tunisia, the Tunisian side expressed appreciation for the Japanese financial contribution through official development assistance and also announced its decision to participate in the 2005 World Exposition, Japan (EXPO 2005 Aichi).

   In return, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi expressed her appreciation for the decision by the Government of Tunisia to participate in the international exposition in Aichi and also the strong wish by Japan to work together with the Government of Tunisia to have a successful third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) to be held in October 2003. They also touched upon the question of international terrorism and the necessity of further development in the less-developed world.

   Q: When was it held?

   Mr. Takashima: It was held yesterday from 15:15 to 15:35.

   Related Information (Japan-Tunisia Foreign Ministers Meeting (Outline))
   
8. Question concerning report by the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations Security Council

   Q: I have recently heard many statements by Japanese officials repeating requests for Iraq to dispose of so-called arms of mass destruction. Does it mean that Japan suspects that the report issued by Iraq is faulty?

   Mr. Takashima: It is something that was requested by the UN Security Council, and we understand that the Government of Iraq was urged by the Resolution to disclose all information regarding weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, if they do possess such weapons, they are requested to dismantle, discard or discharge them.

   Those are the requests, as we understand them, made by the international community vis-à-vis the Government of Iraq. The Government of Japan, as a member of the international community, also urges the Government of Iraq to comply with all the requests stemming from that Resolution.

   Q: I notice that you have repeated this request. What is the motive behind repeating this request? Is it a suspicion or something else?

   Mr. Takashima: We understand that Executive Chairman Hans Blix of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as Secretary of State Colin Powell of the United States of America and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland all indicated that there might be some shortcomings in the report submitted by the Government of Iraq. We do hope that Iraq will fully comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1441, take this last chance for them seriously, and act in accordance with the items spelled out in the Resolution.

   Related Information (Japan-Iraq Relations)
   Related Information (Japan and the United Nations)
   
9. Question concerning issuance of travel advisories

   Q: I would like to ask a question about recent issuance of travel advisories. We have not had many travel advisories this year, especially for major countries like the US and leading countries in Europe compared to last year and the year before. That is a very typical trend after a terrorist attack. Could you check the reason why they have not issued many travel advisories recently?

   Is it perhaps because many of the embassies and tourist bureaus of various countries have requested for you not to issue a travel advisory for their country because they are afraid that many Japanese would not travel there?

   Mr. Takashima: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been issuing travel advisories, spot information or travel warnings whenever it feels that it is necessary to do so. There is no difference in the quantity or quality of information issued from the Ministry based upon the nations, regions or areas concerned. In particular, spot information is often issued in accordance with information given by the governments of the nations concerned.

   Q: On your website, there are many opinions from many of the Embassies of Japan overseas and the advice on the danger and safety of a country differs greatly. It would be helpful to have a travel advisory issued.

   Mr. Takashima: Thank you for your input.