Press Conference 31 January 2003

1. Joint Invitation Program for Israeli and Palestinian Young Leaders
2. United States of America to re-join the ITER project
3. Question concerning the joint invitation program of young Israelis and Palestinians
4. Question concerning visit to Europe by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi
5. Question concerning the situation in Iraq
6. Question concerning statement by Director General Osamu Akiyama of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau

1. Joint Invitation Program for Israeli and Palestinian Young Leaders

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

   The first announcement is about the visit of the group from the Joint Invitation Program for Israeli and Palestinian Young Leaders.

   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has invited six young Israeli and Palestinian leaders to Japan from 4 to 9 February. Members of the group are, firstly, on the Israeli side, one journalist and two government officials, including an advisor to the Foreign Minister of the Government of Israel, and from the Palestinian side, one journalist, one non-governmental organization (NGO) staff and one government official, a press officer from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of the Palestinian Authority.

   In Japan, they will jointly meet with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, namely a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, and visit an elementary school in the Shibuya area in Tokyo. The students of that elementary school have been sending various school items to Palestinian areas in the past years.

   This Joint Invitation Program of young Israelis and young Palestinians started seven years ago with the aim of providing an opportunity for the young leaders to get to know each other through this kind of scheme, which would contribute to the promotion of peace in the Middle East. However, the program was stopped two years ago because of the situation in the Palestinian areas. This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to resume it.

   Hopefully, those who participate in this Program will continue to stay acquainted and have friendly relations for years to come. In that regard, the Japanese Embassy in Tel Aviv will serve as a communication spot in the region for them.

   Related Information (Japan-Israel Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Palestinian Authorities Relations)
   Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
   
2. United States of America to re-join the ITER project (The ITER project is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy)

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the United States of America re-joining the ITER project.

   Japan welcomes the announcement by the United States on 30 January that it will re-join the ITER project, as US participation will greatly contribute to the future development of the project.

   Japan intends to cooperate closely with the US for the success of the ITER project.

   The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in liaison with other ministries and agencies in Japan concerned, has been making efforts proactively in the negotiations on the site selection for the ITER and the drawing up of an implementation agreement. In such a situation, Japan hopes that the return of the US to the project will activate the on-going negotiations and lead to success.

   Related Information (Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the United States' Re-joining the ITER Project)
   
3. Question concerning joint invitation program of young Israelis and Palestinians

   Q: On the invitation program, what made you decide to invite them at this juncture?

   Mr. Takashima: Originally, as I mentioned, the Program started seven years ago. At that time, we thought that this kind of project would help promote peace in that region, give an opportunity to those young leaders, both Israeli and Palestinian, to get to know each other while traveling together and for them to be well informed of Japanese Middle East policies, so that they could better understand the international views of the situation in that area. This year, we decided to resume the Program because we believe that this fifth invitation will do some good for the betterment of the situation in that region.

   Q: Does that indicate that Japan will have more initiatives to encourage the Israeli and Palestinian parties involved to re-open negotiations?

   Mr. Takashima: At the moment, this is one ongoing project. I do not have any details of other projects, but we are very hopeful that our efforts and projects, such as the training scheme for members of the Palestinian Authority and humanitarian assistance, will help to improve the situation there.

   Related Information (Japan-Israel Relations)
   Related Information (Japan-Palestinian Authorities Relations)
   Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
   
4. Question concerning visit to Europe by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi

   Q: On another issue, there was a statement by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi that he is going to Europe, and he has just chosen Germany and France, and perhaps Vienna also. Is that true?

   Mr. Takashima: Yes, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi will be visiting Vienna, Austria, to meet with Director General Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Then, he will move on to the French Republic, the United Kingdom, and the Federal Republic of Germany.

   In Germany, he will not only meet with governmental officials there but also attend the Munich Conference on Security Policy to be held in Munich, Bavaria, to exchange views with other participants, including various government officials and specialists. He will have the opportunity to discuss with them various issues, including the situation in the Republic of Iraq.

   Q: Does he have a specific mission?

   Mr. Takashima: The purpose of the visit of Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi to Europe, in particular those three countries, is to exchange views and information regarding the situation in Iraq, especially the strong wish of the Government of Japan to have international solidarity vis-à-vis the situation in Iraq. This is also applicable to the meeting between Mr. Motegi and Dr. ElBaradei of the IAEA.

   Related Information (Japan-Europe Relations)
   
5. Question concerning the situation in Iraq

   Q: Concerning the Iraqi situation, we have noticed recently that the only countries that are being mentioned as owners or countries trying to develop weapons of mass destruction are Iraq and North Korea, while everybody knows as a fact that at least five countries of the UN Security Council are the ones that own most of the weapons of mass destruction. Does Japan feel, as a leader of the disarmament movement in the world and being the only country that has been attacked by such weapons severely, that attention should also be given to countries that really own arms of mass destruction regardless of whether the country is an ally or a friend or mutual?

   Mr. Takashima: It has been well known among the international community that Japan has been advocating nuclear disarmament. Indeed last year at the United Nations General Assembly, we proposed once again the resolution on total nuclear disarmament by all countries that possess nuclear arsenals, and we welcomed the fact that this resolution was adopted at the General Assembly with an overwhelming majority.

   In addition, we are a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), under the terms of which every country, including the nuclear powers, is obliged to make efforts to eliminate all nuclear weapons. We are also the most vocal promoter of the NPT scheme in the international world. Therefore, from that point of view, Japan is well known as the most vocal advocate of nuclear disarmament. This applies once again to the nations which are suspected of any type of nuclear development, such as North Korea and Iraq.

   Related Information (Japan's Diplomatic Efforts on the Issue of Iraq)
   
6. Question concerning statement by Director General Osamu Akiyama of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau

   Q: Yesterday, there was also some statement at the Cabinet mentioning that it is possible for Japan to provide oil or fuel to US fighters attacking Iraq without violating Japanese laws or the Constitution. I am not sure if this is right. Can you elaborate on this issue?

   Mr. Takashima: I had better refer you to the actual transcript of the Budget Committee hearing of the House of Councillors.

   On that sort of statement, such as the one you have just mentioned, the question was whether Japan can provide fuel to foreign naval vessels operating in the Indian Ocean participating in the war against terrorism which is currently underway there, and Director General Osamu Akiyama of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau explained that under the terms of Japanese law, it could supply fuel to the naval vessels operating there. For the details, please refer to the full text of the hearing.

   Q: But legally speaking, is it possible for Japan to provide fuel in such a scenario?

   Mr. Takashima: The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is now providing fuel to the foreign naval vessels which are participating in the war against terrorism. Beyond that, if those foreign vessels are participating in any other operations, it would simply be impossible for Japanese supply vessels to provide them with fuel because the law specifically mentions the war against terrorism.

   Q: Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday said that Japan has no means to verify whether the fuel is being used for other purposes. Is that right?

   Mr. Takashima: We assume that that fuel is to be used for the war against terrorism.

   Related Information (Counter Terrorism)