Press Conference 10 January 2003

1. Japan's reaction to North Korea's declaration to pull out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
2. Upcoming visit to Japan by President Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Republic of Chile
3. Upcoming visit to Japan by Prime Minister David Oddsson of the Republic of Iceland
4. Upcoming visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to France
5. Upcoming visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to the Republic of Korea
6. Opening of Consulate General's branch office in Lyon, Republic of France
7. Questions concerning North Korea's declaration on the Non-Proliferation Treaty
8. Questions concerning situation in the Republic of Iraq
9. Question concerning statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a ballistic missile launch test by India

1. Japan's reaction to North Korea's declaration to pull out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

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

   The first announcement is that the Government of Japan finds it extremely regrettable that North Korea declared today that it would pull out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The Government of Japan expresses great concern and strongly urges and demands that North Korea swiftly withdraw this declaration of its decision to pull out from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

   In light of this new development, Japan will continue to work together closely with the United States of America and the Republic of Korea to deal with the situation.

   Related Information (Comment by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi concerning North Korea's Withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)
   
2. Upcoming visit to Japan by President Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Republic of Chile

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the visit to Japan by His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of the Republic of Chile.

   President Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Republic of Chile, and Mrs. Lagos, accompanied by a suite, will pay an official working visit to Japan from 12 to 15 February.

   During their stay in Japan, the President will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The Prime Minister will host a dinner in honor of the President and Mrs. Lagos. The Government of Japan sincerely welcomes the visit of the President and Mrs. Lagos, which will further strengthen the friendly relations existing between our two countries.

   Related Information (Visit to Japan of His Excellency Mr. Ricardo Lagos Escobar, President of the Republic of Chile)
   
3. Upcoming visit to Japan by Prime Minister David Oddsson of the Republic of Iceland

   Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about the visit of Prime Minister David Oddsson of the Republic of Iceland to Japan.

   Prime Minister Oddsson will visit Japan from 13 to 19 January. During his stay in Japan, Prime Minister Oddsson will meet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and is also scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the Chamber of Commerce of Iceland in Japan.

   Related Information (Japan-Iceland Relations)
   
4. Upcoming visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to France

   Mr. Takashima: The fourth announcement is about the visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to France.

   Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi will visit France from 12 to 15 January. During her stay in France, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi will meet with French Government leaders to exchange views on the international situation and other matters in view of the fact that France takes the Group of Eight (G8) chair this year; to confirm cooperation in such international forums as the Third World Water Forum and its Ministerial Meeting, G8 Evian Summit Meeting, and the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III); and to promote collaboration in dealing with global issues.

   Related Information (Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi's Visit to France)
   
5. Upcoming visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to the Republic of Korea

   Mr. Takashima: The fifth announcement is about the visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to the Republic of Korea.

   Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi will visit the Republic of Korea from 15 to 16 January. During her stay, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi will have a Japan-Republic of Korea foreign ministerial conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Choi Sung Hong of the Republic of Korea to exchange frank views on policies toward North Korea and other bilateral concerns.

   Foreign Minister Kawaguchi will also pay courtesy calls on President Kim Dae Jung and Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, President-elect of the Republic of Korea.

   Related Information (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)
   
6. Opening of Consulate General's branch office in Lyon, Republic of France

   Mr. Takashima: The last announcement is about the opening of the new branch office of the Consulate General's Office in Lyon, France.

   Today, in the city of Lyon in France, the Government of Japan opened a branch office of the Consulate General's Office. In this area, the city of Lyon and its surroundings, approximately 1,800 Japanese nationals reside and 15 Japanese corporations operate. With the opening of this branch office of the Consulate General's Office based in Marseille, the consular service to those Japanese nationals and corporations will be improved.

   Related Information (Japan-France Relations)
   
7. Questions concerning North Korea's declaration on the Non-Proliferation Treaty

   Q: On the withdrawal by North Korea from the NPT, does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plan to convey Japan's view directly to North Korea? If so, how would this be done?

   Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan is working closely together with the United States and the Republic of Korea to deal with this new development, and we are also consulting with the IAEA. In the case of withdrawal from the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, the IAEA is expected to take the necessary action.

   Q: Have there been any contacts through the Embassy of Japan in Beijing?

   Mr. Takashima: We have been in constant touch with North Korea through various channels, including the embassy in Beijing.

   Q: Have there been any contacts since the statement was issued?

   Mr. Takashima: At this particular moment, I do not have any information on that.

   Q: With your contacts with North Korea, do you know when the next contact is when you will discuss this issue and directly tell North Korea of Japan's view?

   Mr. Takashima: The North Korean side maintains that the atmosphere is not yet ripe to hold formal normalization talks and also security dialogue between Japan and North Korea. Therefore, there is, regrettably, no official contact or formal dialogue between the two countries. However, we have been maintaining so-called unofficial channels of contact, including through the embassies in Beijing. This is a sort of spontaneous contact, and not a regular one.

   Q: In this case, when you want to express your regret, how would you directly do that?

   Mr. Takashima: We send a message through our embassy in Beijing to the North Korean embassy in Beijing.

   Q: That is what will happen in this case?

   Mr. Takashima: Yes, and that channel has been working so far and is still operational.

   Q: Has Japan's position already been conveyed to North Korea?

   Mr. Takashima: At the moment, my statement and other types of statements would represent the initial reaction.

   Q: You said that in case of actual withdrawal from the NPT, the IAEA is expected to take necessary actions. Could you elaborate a little bit on that?

   Mr. Takashima: Since the second part of the North Korean declaration relates directly to the Safeguards Agreement between North Korea and the IAEA, the IAEA is the responsible party to deal with this situation.

   Q: Japan, the US and Republic of Korea just came out of their Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group (TCOG) meeting last week. The United States has shown a softened stance on North Korea. Do you have any concern that this latest revelation may affect Washington's stance?

   Mr. Takashima: We have been working closely together with the United States and the Republic of Korea. One good example is the press statement issued at the end of the recent TCOG meeting in Washington, D.C., in which, as you said, our side exhibited the willingness to discuss the issue with the North Koreans. That is one of the reasons why we express deep and extreme regret toward the action taken by the North Koreans today.

   Q: There are many reports suggesting that there is a kind of double standard in dealing with the Republic of Iraq and North Korea. Why is it that we see North Korea expelling IAEA inspectors and announcing clearly that it has a nuclear weapons program, whereas Iraq is saying that Iraq does not have anything, no program, and that everybody, including CIA officials, is welcome to check its sites. However, we still feel that the United States wants to have war against Iraq, and Japan has not made any clear position as far as attacking Iraq is concerned. On North Korea, however, it adopts diplomacy to solve the problem peacefully and diplomatically.

   What is your comment on this?

   Mr. Takashima: We have been working very closely with other members of the international community to resolve these two issues diplomatically and peacefully.

   In the case of Iraq, the United Nations Security Council has adopted Resolution 1441. Under the terms and conditions stemming from that Resolution, the current inspections are going on. So far, nobody has decided to take military action, and therefore, there is no foundation to the alleged double standards.

   At the same time, in the case of North Korea, we have been urging the Government of North Korea to adhere to the commitment they made to the international community through the NPT as well as the IAEA Safeguards Agreement, the 1994 Agreed Framework, and the North-South Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We hope that this issue will also be resolved peacefully and diplomatically.

   Related Information (Comment by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi concerning North Korea's Withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty)
   Related Information (Statement by Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, on the Declaration by North Korea to Withdraw from the NPT)
   Related Information (TCOG JOINT PRESS STATEMENT)
   
8. Questions concerning situation in the Republic of Iraq

   Q: Does Japan support issuing a new resolution by the UN Security Council before launching any attack against Iraq, a position shared by Russia and China within the international community.

   Mr. Takashima: Is it not kind of premature to predict what the next step will be at the United Nations while the inspections are still going on and the international community is united in urging Iraq to fully comply with all the UN resolutions and waiting to see the outcome of the inspections?

   Q: With regard to Iraq, the United Kingdom mobilized some of its forces to send to the region. The US is building up troops there. France has also told its forces to be prepared for eventualities.

   Obviously, for Japan, with its pacifist constitution, a military contribution is out of the question. Has there been any discussion about what kind of contribution Japan could make if there is any action in Iraq? Would it be in the form of financial contribution like in the Gulf War ten years ago, or perhaps in coordinating humanitarian operations in a way as is being done in Afghanistan? Have there been any thoughts by Japan, or any discussions with the United States on this issue?

   Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan has been examining all the possibilities in connection with the possible development of the situation in Iraq. The study includes the possible evacuation of Japanese nationals from that area, assistance, especially economic assistance, to the neighboring countries, which would suffer very much from a worsened situation in that region if it were to happen, or possible Japanese assistance in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the region. Various studies are under way within the government.

   However, since no decision has been made yet by anybody to take military action, these studies are done within the government, and we do not believe that now is the time to make any sort of official, public statement to respond to future possible developments in that area.

   Q: Do you have any estimate of how much it would cost Japan? During the Gulf War last time, Japan's financial contribution was quite substantial at the end of the day. So if there is any conflict there, there are reports that say that there would be at least 7 million refugees in Iraq, possibly another million refugees in Iran. In view of this, have you any estimate on how much Japan's financial contribution would be, whether it be humanitarian relief or refugee assistance?

   Mr. Takashima: We do not have an estimate for that yet.

   Related Information (Japan's Diplomatic Efforts on the Issue of Iraq)
   
9. Question concerning statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a ballistic missile launch test by India

   Q: Concerning your statement about the missile launch test by India, I believe that this test was done on the same day that Foreign Minister Kawaguchi was leaving India after a visit during which she pledged to extend some financial help to the Government of the Republic of India through yen loans. However, your reaction is just expressing regret, so is that all, because we would expect a bigger reaction from Japan against weapons of mass destruction?

   Mr. Takashima: To be precise, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi left India on 8 January and arrived here on 9 January. Aside from that, we very much regret India's ballistic missile launch test, as it would intensify the missile-development race in South Asia. We expressed our concern to the Government of India, because this is quite contrary to our wish of easing the tension between India and Pakistan.

   At the same time, the official development assistance (ODA) extended to India this time is mainly for the benefit of the people in India, because we felt that it was necessary to extend our helping hand to one of the poorest countries in the world, especially to alleviate the hardship of the people of India. While expressing our strong concern and regret to the Government of India, we decided to maintain the ODA for the sake of the people in India.

   Q: Do you not feel that while you are trying to help the people of India, you are giving the Government of India a chance to use extra money to develop ballistic missiles? In such a way, you might be indirectly giving the Government of India extra space to feel financially comfortable to pursue its development of weapons of mass destruction. Do you not feel that this is a bit controversial?

   Mr. Takashima: That is one reason why we have our own ODA Charter, of which every factor is involved in our considerations of whether to extend official development assistance to certain countries.

   In this case, we made the decision to extend ODA, and later the missile test was conducted. We regret it very much, and we urge the Government of India not to repeat it.

   Q: Do you consider ballistic missiles to be weapons of mass destruction?

   Mr. Takashima: In the semantic sense, it is very difficult to describe. In general, we think that ballistic missiles are one of the forms of weapons of mass destruction, because they are the delivery vehicle of any weapons of mass destruction, nuclear warheads or chemical or biological weapons. Therefore, we have to stop not only the proliferation of those weapons of mass destruction, but also the delivery mechanism as well.

   Related Information (Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations,Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on a Missile Launch Test by India)