Press Conference 2 December 2003

1. Murder of Japanese diplomats in Iraq
2. Upcoming trilateral coordination meeting on North Korea among Japan, United States of America and Republic of Korea
3. Questions concerning investigation of incident in Iraq
4. Questions concerning murdered diplomats
5. Questions concerning nature of incident
6. Questions concerning apparent conflicting reports
7. Question concerning international reaction to incident
8. Questions concerning security at Embassy of Japan in Baghdad
9. Question concerning security situation in Iraq
10. Questions concerning basic plan for dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq
11. Question concerning weapons embargo on People's Republic of China

1. Murder of Japanese diplomats in Iraq

   Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you for coming to the briefing. Today I have two announcements I would like to make.

   First, let me say a few words on the tragic incident that happened near Tikrit in Iraq on 29 November which killed two Japanese diplomats and one Iraqi driver.

   Although the details of the incident are still unknown, the information collected so far indicate that two diplomats, Mr. Katsuhiko Oku and Mr. Masamori Inoue, were heading for Tikrit to attend a conference on reconstruction of Northern Iraq by the Embassy's light-armored car driven by the Iraqi driver when an ambush was carried out.

   All three were killed by small arms, and the bodies of the Japanese diplomats have already been taken to Kuwait where the families of the victims and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who flew away from Tokyo will meet before returning with the coffins. The driver's body has already been returned to his family in Baghdad.

   There are various reports on what happened and where it happened but, so far, we have not been able to establish the facts. Therefore, we cannot say if this incident was a terrorist attack or not, although we believe that it is possible. We still do not know when the bodies of the two diplomats will arrive at Narita Airport but we are trying to make it as early as possible.

   Following this tragic incident, the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad has stepped up its security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel warning to the Japanese citizens in the region to evacuate Iraq. This is a reaffirmation of an already issued travel warning.

   On the other hand, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi made it very clear that the Government of Japan would not be intimidated by the act of terrorism and that Japan was determined to continue its efforts to assist Iraq's humanitarian and reconstruction effort in many ways, including the use of Self-Defense Forces (SDF).

   Related Information (Japan-Iraq Relations)
   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   
2. Upcoming trilateral coordination meeting on North Korea among Japan, United States of America and Republic of Korea

   Mr. Takashima: Next, I would like to make an announcement on negotiations on North Korea among Japan, the United States of America and the Republic of Korea.

   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today announced that the next meeting of the three nations' unofficial policy coordination on North Korean issues will be held in Washington, DC, on 4 December.

   From Japan, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Mitoji Yabunaka will attend, while Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly will represent the United States and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lee Soo-hyuck will represent the Republic of Korea.

   We still do not know when the next six-party talks will be held but we are hoping that it will not take too long before the opening of the second round of this important meeting.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
   
3. Questions concerning investigation of incident in Iraq

   Q: I have a few questions about the circumstances under which the two diplomats were killed. First of all, related to the bodies, has an autopsy or any kind of postmortem been conducted? And, are there plans to conduct one?

   Mr. Takashima: There has been no autopsy or postmortem examination done yet. We have not asked if the members of the two families allow the autopsy because they are still on their way to Kuwait. When they meet with Foreign Ministry officials in Kuwait, they will discuss if there should be an autopsy or postmortem examination. So far, the government officials who have arrived in Kuwait have already viewed the bodies of the two diplomats. However, this is simply an observation by non-medical personnel and therefore they could not say in much detail on the state of the bodies.

   Q: Also, I know you say that there is still an investigation ongoing, but there are a lot of very conflicting reports. One of the most conflicting pieces of information is that the American forces spokesperson said that the attack occurred at 17:00. Yet, according to a lot of reports in the Japanese media and elsewhere, it appears that the diplomats departed the Japanese Embassy in Iraq that morning around 10:00. What do you think is the explanation for why they were on the road for so long to Tikrit or why there is this discrepancy in time?

   Mr. Takashima: You are right to say that there are so many conflicting reports and information. Some of the information we have already obtained from the local police indicates that the attack occurred sometime around 11:30. The report of the time around 17:00 by the American sources indicates that it was the time at which the American forces became aware of the incident; in other words, when they were informed by the locals or the hospital. Still, this information has to be confirmed in addition to other information such as whether they stopped on the way to get some food or water from the street vendors. We still do not know if that is true or not. That is the reason we are still checking.

   In order to find out those details, one of the measures we have already taken is that the Embassy in Baghdad dispatched the Iraqi security company's official to the area to collect information from various sources.

   Q: The Japanese Embassy officials themselves then have not gone to investigate the area?

   Mr. Takashima: They have been very busy with the handling of the bodies of the two diplomats which were brought, firstly, from Tikrit to Baghdad by American forces, and then taken from Baghdad to Kuwait by an American C-130 transport airplane. Such arrangements had to be made, but since the bodies have now already arrived and been settled in Kuwait waiting for the families to arrive, the Embassy would start planning to make further study of the incident, including the possible dispatch of Embassy staff to the area. However, in doing so, we have to be very careful because we do not want to see a repetition of this kind of attack.

   Q: What about the car? Has anybody seen the car?

   Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that the car is in the compounds of the American forces in the Tikrit area.

   Q: Has anyone from the Japanese Embassy, either Iraqi staff or people hired by the Embassy or members of the Embassy staff itself, seen the car?

   Mr. Takashima: Not to my knowledge.

   Q: Has a request been made to see the car?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not know if a request has been made, but the American side has said that they would cooperate with the Japanese Embassy fully to the extent that they can. Thus, I believe that there would be no problem at all if the Japanese Embassy staff arrives there and requests permission to take a look at it.

   Q: When Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kazunori Tanaka was dispatched initially on Sunday, the announcement was that he was going to Iraq to conduct an investigation, but then he stopped in Kuwait. According to what we understand from the Ministry, he no longer has any plans to go to Iraq. This seems to imply that the investigation has been scaled down by the Japanese?

   Mr. Takashima: Actually, the purpose of Mr. Tanaka's visit to that region is first of all to meet with the bodies of the two diplomats wherever he could. Owing to the active cooperation of American forces there, the bodies were swiftly taken, as I have said, to Baghdad first by truck, and then American forces provided the military transport to Kuwait. Therefore, it was much easier for Mr. Tanaka to go to Kuwait to join the bodies there.

   Another mission of his is to wait for the families of the diplomats to arrive and make arrangements for the viewing of the bodies by the families.

   Thus, the purpose of Mr. Tanaka's visit is not for the investigation, research or fact-finding, but to take care of the bodies and the families.

   Q: Who is in charge ultimately of the investigation in terms of what happened?

   Mr. Takashima: In Iraq, we have our Embassy. Currently, the Ambassador is out of the country, but the Charge d'Affaires is there and he is in charge.

   In Japan, we have already set up a task force in this building to cope with this situation. The task force, which is headed by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi, is ultimately in charge of the handling of this case including the investigation.

   Q: On the road, did they have any sort of telecommunication equipment? Did they have some telephones or special equipment to communicate with the Embassy?

   Mr. Takashima: Usually, when the Embassy staff make an out-of-town trip, or even within the town, they carry mobile phones, which could sometimes mean satellite mobile phones.

   Q: Are you going to investigate the communications if there was any?

   Mr. Takashima: Yes, of course. After the departure from the Embassy, my understanding is that they reported that they were on their way to Tikrit.

   Q: Do you have any recordings already of what could have been said by Mr. Oku or Mr. Inoue to the Embassy in Baghdad?

   Mr. Takashima: No, we do not have that.

   Q: Have your Embassy staff or people under their employ spoken to any eyewitnesses of the incident?

   Mr. Takashima: Not that I know of yet, except for the local police who made investigations on the site as well as hospital staff where the bodies of the three victims were taken to by the local people.

4. Questions concerning murdered diplomats

   Q: Regarding Mr. Oku, he was from the London Embassy but assigned to Iraq. Is that right?

   Mr. Takashima: Mr. Oku was a member of the Japanese Embassy in London and he was given the assignment to temporarily stay in Baghdad to not only be the coordinator between the Japanese Embassy there and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) but also do some independent study of the needs of the Iraqis for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. As such, he had been traveling with his colleague, Mr. Inoue, very extensively to various places in Iraq.

   Q: Does it mean that it was not his first time on the trip?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not know whether it was his first, but my understanding is that he had very extensive knowledge and experience of making trips within Iraq.

   Q: On this point, do you have a record of former missions or journeys to this area which were undertaken prior to that day by Mr. Oku?

   Mr. Takashima: At this moment, we do not have any, but I am sure the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad has some.

   Q: Do you know if he was engaged with contact establishment with some people in Tikrit or on the way there?

   Mr. Takashima: The purpose of the visit to Tikrit, as I said before, was to attend a conference. This conference was organized by the civilian part of the American forces to discuss how to organize reconstruction work in the northern part of Iraq.

   My understanding is that invitation was extended not only to embassies of foreign countries but also to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Therefore, it was a planned event and I understand that the conference itself was covered by TV crews.

   Q: Last question on this point, do you believe that Mr. Oku was on a special assignment to contact some eventual adverse forces?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not think so, because as far as this trip to Tikrit was concerned, he specifically had to attend that conference.

   Q: One question regarding Mr. Oku and Mr. Yukio Okamoto, what is the exact nature of their work relation?

   Mr. Takashima: Mr. Okamoto is a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister who spontaneously visits Iraq and its vicinity to do some fact-finding work in order to assist the Prime Minister's considerations on the basic plan and other things. Mr. Oku, since he was a diplomat temporarily stationed in Iraq, with Mr. Inoue assisted Mr. Okamoto whenever he came. The three gentlemen often traveled to various places in Iraq.

   Q: Was Mr. Oku an agent of your intelligence service?

   Mr. Takashima: He was a genuine diplomat.

   Q: He had no special mission or anything?

   Mr. Takashima: I knew him personally and I can assure you that he was not any special agent.

   Q: When he was reporting to Mr. Okamoto, does it mean he was reporting to Kantei (Prime Minister's Office) also?

   Mr. Takashima: Mr. Oku was not reporting to Mr. Okamoto, because Mr. Oku reported to the Ambassador at the Baghdad Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while Mr. Okamoto has to report to the Prime Minister directly.

5. Questions concerning nature of incident

   Q: On what basis did Foreign Minister Kawaguchi say at the first moment of announcing this incident that this was a terrorist attack? How do you establish the fact that this was done by terrorists? And, what do you mean by terrorists specifically?

   Mr. Takashima: We have not yet established that this incident was a case of terrorist attack. We believe that there is a possibility that this is the case. However, we do not have enough information to prove whether this was a terrorist attack. We are still trying to collect information from various sources, from the local police or American forces in the region and areas. Also, we are trying to dispatch one of our people in Baghdad to collect more information, including from local people who might have witnessed the incident.

   Q: What is the background of Foreign Minister Kawaguchi emphasizing that Japan will fight terrorists if you do not have any facts that this was a terrorist attack?

   Mr. Takashima: The reason we emphasize the importance of the fight against terrorism is that many foreigners, including Spaniards, Koreans, Colombians and Italians, and needless to say Americans and Britons, have already been killed or injured by acts of terrorism in Iraq. Furthermore, there are so many other incidents of terrorism around the world, especially in Afghanistan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the Republic of Turkey. Since we cannot exclude the possibility of terrorist attack in this case as well, we simply reiterate our determination to fight against terrorism.

   Q: Speaking strictly of attacks against American forces, does Japan consider these attacks as terrorism? Mr. Takashima: We do believe that many of the atacks can be put into the category of an act of terrorism, because the cause of some of them is not military action, but rather what you might call a possible terrorist attack, be it targeted at Americans, Britons, Spaniards or Japanese.

   Q: I am talking strictly against American forces in Iraq. Does Japan consider these attacks terrorist or not?

   Mr. Takashima: Since we do not have any legal definition of terrorism, it is difficult to define whether an attack is or is not terrorism. Generally speaking, the things happening in the region may well be called terrorist attack in general terms.

   Q: Sorry to keep belaboring this issue, but apparently also in that area between Baghdad and Tikrit, there were US convoys going back and forth, Operation Iron Hand was going on; it is a very sensitive area. Is the investigation including the possibility that there could have been a friendly fire incident?

   Mr. Takashima: At this moment, we do not have any information which indicate that our diplomats were killed by friendly fire.

   At the same time, I would like to point out that on the same day in a nearby location from where the two Japanese diplomats were killed, two Koreans were killed in a separate incident which was also an attack from a car to the car they were occupying. Therefore, you rightly say that some sort of danger of being attacked was very high in that area on that particular day.

6. Questions concerning apparent conflicting reports

   Q: Did anybody in the Ministry find it strange that the American side was so quick to say that the attack happened at 17:00 when these diplomats had departed the Embassy at 10:00?

   Mr. Takashima: Of course we thought that it was very puzzling and we could not understand the lag between their departure and the reported time of the American side. However, it turned out that their time of around 17:00 was not the actual happening of the incident but when the report was received by the Americans. The exact time of the incident was not known at that time. And still, the only information we have, provided by the local police, is that the incident happened sometime around 11:30.

   Q: One thing that strikes us as a bit odd was that television journalists were given access to Spanish and the Korean cars but have not been given access to the Japanese car; nor, it appears, have Japanese diplomats or agents of Japanese diplomats been given access to the car. Why do you think that access to the Japanese car is so restricted when access to the other cars has not been?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not have that answer. The only information I have is that the car is in a compound of American military forces in Tikrit. Inside the base, no press access would be allowed, as far as I understand. However, the car was looked at by the local police, according to some of the press reports in the Japanese newspapers.

   Q: Where do you think this version of events came from, that they got out of their car to stop at a roadside stand to buy food and drink? It seems like Mr. Oku was very experienced in the region, and even I, who has never been to Iraq, it strikes me as not a very wise thing to do on the road to Tikrit to stop at a stall and buy refreshments. Where do you think that explanation came from?

   Mr. Takashima: I would like to refrain from playing any sort of guessing games, but that is also a riddle that we have to solve. That information is not confirmed, and we have other conflicting reports. The facts have not been established and we have to make a study of the situation as to where, how and what happened exactly.

   Q: What kind of conflicting reports do you have? Can you give us an example, please?

   Mr. Takashima: Since those are unconfirmed conflicting reports, I do not want to go into the details of it.

   Q: For example, have you received officially the report that has been widely reported in the media here that another vehicle came up from behind?

   Mr. Takashima: Some of the information we have indicates that that is part of the information floating in that area. However, we cannot substantiate it with other evidence, so it may take time for us to establish exactly what happened.

   Q: It is puzzling because it seems that both in the instance of the Spanish and the Koreans, the facts of the case were established pretty quickly. Why do you think it is taking so much longer to establish the facts in the Japanese case?

   Mr. Takashima: Actually, our Embassy staff has not been there yet. Secondly, we do not have any witness yet. We only have secondhand information; in other words, it might only be hearsay.

   Not only the press, but we ourselves really would like to know what happened, so we are trying to find the way to get more information, analyze it and to establish what happened.

7. Question concerning international reaction to incident

   Q: I have seen many people coming today to the Ministry - foreign diplomats or Japanese politicians - and you have also received many telegrams from the likes of US President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac. On the international plan, are you going to raise some issue at the United Nations on this point after this tragedy? Are you on some kind of initiative to try to boost security or the efficient reconstruction of Iraq?

   Mr. Takashima: We are very much interested in making an international coordinated effort to fight against terrorism and also to assist Iraqis to reconstruct their nation as a peaceful and prosperous nation. We have been trying our best to make our belief and thought known to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, we are not a member of the United Nations Security Council at this moment, so our opportunities are rather limited, but we are trying our best to do that.

   Q: Are you in the process of discussions with some members of the UN Security Council to issue some request or formulate some policy reports?

   Mr. Takashima: I do not know of any such thing because of this situation, but there may be. I can check on that.

8. Questions concerning security at Embassy of Japan in Baghdad

   Q: What is the current situation of your hiring of security personnel in Baghdad? Do you have only Iraqi security or are you considering hiring other forces from other countries?

   Mr. Takashima: Currently, the security personnel of the Japanese Embassy in Iraq are Iraqi security personnel hired by the Embassy, and we do not have our own security personnel from Japan since we do not have any kind of framework of sending members of the SDF or the police to anywhere in the world to protect our overseas missions.

   However, because of this incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already indicated that it would start studying the possibility of having additional security measures including having our own security team in some of the places such as the Embassy in Baghdad.

   Q: How come? I mean, that is the main question that we have: How come security seemed to be so light in the compound or around your diplomats?

   Mr. Takashima: As far as the Embassy in Baghdad is concerned, security is very tight. Recently, we had a shooting incident nearby the Embassy but it was deterred and did not become a very big or serious incident, so we believe that our security measures really worked on such an occasion. We also believe that we can trust the security guards that we hire, and we have been doing fairly well. The question we have to study is the reason why two diplomats went to Tikrit without having an armed guard in their car. This is something we have to find out.

   Q: Are the procedures to have such armed guards?

   Mr. Takashima: The normal procedure is to always put an armed guard in the car when the diplomats travel by Embassy car, even if it is light armored or an armored sedan vehicle.

   Q: Could it be possible that some weapons were in this car?

   Mr. Takashima: Not that I know of because Japanese diplomats are unarmed and the driver was unarmed.

   Q: Is that something that has been confirmed?

   Mr. Takashima: That is my understanding.

9. Question concerning security situation in Iraq

   Q: How do you evaluate the current situation in Iraq when it comes to the deteriorating security? I mean, when you supported the invasion of Iraq, the war against Iraq and the American policy in Iraq, was it in your mind that you would reach this kind of point at which your innocent diplomats would be killed? Did you think that after six months after the war, you would be under a heavier threat by whoever you think that this threat is coming from? Are you satisfied with the American invasion or occupation forces in Iraq?

   Mr. Takashima: It is not an only American effort, but an international effort to assist the Iraqi people to reconstruct their nation. Everybody is making their utmost effort to do that.

   As far as Japan is concerned, we believe that there are many things that we can do. Indeed, we have already pledged US$5 billion up to the year 2007 for the assistance of Iraqi reconstruction especially for the humanitarian and basic needs of the people. What we have to do is help the Iraqi people to identify their needs and put them into formality to activate the assistance scheme, and that is exactly what Mr. Oku and Mr. Inoue had been doing so diligently.

   In fact, the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad has recently received a thank-you letter and call from the members of the City Council of Baghdad, specifically mentioning the two or three projects that Mr. Oku and Mr. Inoue had already completed, which were to assist the reconstruction of school buildings in Baghdad and also a small hospital. The members of the City Council came to the Embassy and stated that Japan actually implemented what it pledged, although there are some who make pledges but whose implementation do not come easily.

   Q: I know through the Arabic press that there is no doubt about the Japanese good intentions toward rebuilding Iraq and, in particular, your friendly relations with Arabic countries. However, it seems that, according also to Japanese newspapers, your image with the Arabic country and in Iraq is going down relatively because you are following the American policy which is not under the banner of the UN or a legitimate Iraqi government. Do you feel that your assisting the American policy is becoming a liability on your interest in the Middle East or in Iraq?

   Mr. Takashima: We admit that the situation in Iraq is not an easy one. There are some dangerous spots; there are some problems. At the same time, not too long ago, Mr. Oku, who went to the southern part of Iraq, filed a report with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that there were places where there was no combat or no fighting, and where people are welcoming the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to come and assist them. That is the reason why we still believe that Japan will be able to dispatch the SDF to Iraq to fulfill the mission we pledged to do.

10. Questions concerning basic plan for dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq

    Q: Did you decide on the date for sending the forces, because I think a report in some newspaper today said that you put off this plan for the time being?

    Mr. Takashima: We have not put off nor made it earlier, because we have not set any deadline or date yet. The Government is still studying the report filed by the study group that went to Iraq recently, in addition to other information. Of course, this very tragic incident has to be taken into account but this does not make much difference since the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister clearly stated that they would continue to go on with what they have been saying to do.

    Q: When you say that there is not much difference, do you plan to review the military assessment that you have established such as sending a certain amount of troops from Japan to Iraq? Do you plan to review this number of personnel? Are you thinking about enlarging the number of personnel? Do you have some kind of new strategy that is being discussed?

    Mr. Takashima: We are still in the process of finalizing our basic plan for dispatching the SDF as well as civilians to Iraq. We are doing the paperwork for that right now. In doing so, we always update our information on the security situation in the areas to which these people may be deployed.

    Q: Is Japan in the current situation ready to take, though hopefully not, more casualties?

    Mr. Takashima: Of course we do not want to see any more casualties at all. At the same time, Prime Minister Koizumi said today at the Cabinet meeting that he would make his thought very clear to the Japanese public when he decides on the basic plan.

11. Question concerning weapons embargo on People's Republic of China

    Q: I have a question regarding something completely different. After France, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the People's Republic of China during his visit there stated that he favors the lift of the embargo on weapons to China. This embargo was declared right after the 1998/'99 Tiananmen tragedy. What is your comment or reaction on such a lift of the embargo by France and Germany on the sales of weapons to China?

    Mr. Takashima: I do not have any comment because Japan has a very strict policy of not to export, not to sell and not to hand over any weapons or technology related to the military. Since our policy is as such, we do not want to make any comment on others' policy because theirs are quite different from ours.