Press Conference 4 April 2003

1. Visit to the People's Republic of China by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi
2. Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi plans to visit Europe
3. Special Advisor to the Cabinet Yukio Okamoto to visit Middle East
4. Travel warning expected to be issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs today
5. Question concerning possible North Korean missile launch
6. Question concerning Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi's visit to Europe
7. Question concerning Special Advisor Okamoto

1. Visit to the People's Republic of China by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi

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

   The Government of Japan announced today that Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi will visit the People's Republic of China from 6 to 8 April. During her stay in China, Minister Kawaguchi will have foreign ministerial talks with her counterpart, newly appointed Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing and meet with other Chinese leaders to exchange views on overall Japan-China relations in this year, which marks the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between our two countries.

   In addition to bilateral relations, Minister Kawaguchi will discuss with Chinese leaders such issues as the situations with North Korea, Iraq and so forth.

   Related Information (Visit to the People's Republic of China by Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs)
   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
   
2. Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi plans to visit Europe

   Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is that following this Chinese trip, Minister Kawaguchi is planning to visit three European countries, namely the United Kingdom, French Republic, and Federal Republic of Germany from 9 April, provided that this visit is approved by the Japanese Diet. The purpose of this planned visit is to exchange views on the Iraq situation and also the reconstruction effort for post-war Iraq with her counterparts in those three countries.

   Minister Kawaguchi is also interested in finding out if there is any chance to regain a harmonious international approach to this Iraq issue in view of the fact that the Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council looked divided during the discussion of the Iraq situation.

   Related Information (Japan-Europe Relations)
   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   
3. Special Advisor to the Cabinet Yukio Okamoto to visit Middle East

   Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about the visit of the Special Advisor to the Cabinet to the Middle East. Mr. Yukio Okamoto, the Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan, will be visiting five Middle Eastern countries from 6 to 13 April. The countries Mr. Okamoto will be visiting will be the State of Kuwait, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, State of Israel, Arab Republic of Egypt and Palestinian Autonomous Areas.

   The purpose of this visit by Mr. Okamoto will be to take a first-hand look at the situation in the Middle East in the wake of the Iraqi war and also to exchange views with the officials of those countries' governments on the Iraqi situation and the reconstruction effort, as well as possible Japanese assistance to Iraq and neighboring countries.

   In connection with these visits of Foreign Minister Kawaguchi and Special Advisor Okamoto, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi today held a press conference and revealed the so-called five principles of Japanese policy on the reconstruction of Iraq. Minister Kawaguchi also said she will be discussing the Iraqi issue, as well as reconstruction issue, based upon these five principles of the Japanese Government.

   These principles call for peace and stability in Iraq, which is essential in order to achieve peace and stability in the entire Middle East.

   The first of the five principles is that Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity should be maintained. Second, Iraq's governing regime should be decided by the Iraqi people. Third, there should be sufficient involvement of the United Nations in the reconstruction effort. The fourth and fifth principals relate to the Japanese policy, and the fourth is that Japan will engage in reconstruction assistance in a seamless manner without any interruption. Fifth is that Japan will secure the participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other entities in order to form an all-Japan team when Japan is engaged in the reconstruction effort.

   Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
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4. Travel warning expected to be issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs today

   Mr. Takashima: The fourth announcement is that probably by the end of the day today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will issue another travel warning in connection with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is now spreading into various parts of the world. This expected travel warning will advise that people staying in or visiting the following areas or cities should take the utmost care or caution because there is an epidemic of an unknown disease. The areas and cities are as follows: Republic of Singapore, Hanoi, Toronto, Macau Special Administrative Region, Taiwan and Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China.

   Related Information (WHO | World Health Organization)
   
5. Question concerning possible North Korean missile launch

   Q: About this North Korean launching of a missile, the United States of America said "yes" and the Republic of Korea said "no." Does Japan not have its own means to trace it by itself?

   Mr. Takashima: Actually, we have various means to monitor North Korean activities, but in this case, we do not disclose what sort of measures we have been taking. On that missile launch, we are still double-checking whether or not there was an actual surface-to-sea missile launched by the North Koreans.

   Q: It looks like so far, South Korea's remarks are right, against the US.

   Mr. Takashima: We are aware of the press report indicating some sort of discrepancy between the US report and South Korean report, but we do not have comments since we do not have our own confirmation on this missile launch yet.

   Q: I think now as North Korea keeps silent, people start to suspect what they are really doing.

   Mr. Takashima: We are aware of a press report indicating North Korean leader Kim Jong Il emerged recently after a fifty-day absence from public appearances, but we do not have any comment.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
   
6. Question concerning Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawaguchi's visit to Europe

   Q: I would like to ask you a question regarding the second announcement. Has any specific schedule for meetings with leaders of the three European countries been finalized or set up?

   Mr. Takashima: At this moment, the meetings with her counterpart Foreign Ministers are being scheduled but they still have not been formally decided on and, therefore, there is no formal announcement yet. As for other meetings, at this moment there is no information.

   Q: I would like a little bit of background as to the importance of this visit to Europe at this time, when the war is still going on. However, obviously concerns about how reconstruction will be carried out are already emerging. Can you give a little bit of background to the decision to make this visit now?

   Mr. Takashima: The Japanese Government thinks it is very important to have well-coordinated preparation for the reconstruction and rehabilitation in Iraq and also, if necessary, assistance to the neighboring countries, because as I said when I touched upon Japan's five principles, peace in the Middle East is of utmost importance to the security and well being of Japan itself. Since Iraq is one of the most important countries in that region, the Iraq situation should be stabilized as quickly as possible with international effort and assistance and therefore, we do believe that the Japanese Government has a big role to play in formulating this kind of international effort. That is the reason we decided to have a visit of Minister Kawaguchi as well as Special Advisor Okamoto to have a wider exchange of views with the countries concerned. In addition to that, certainly, we will constantly be in touch with the US government in order to exchange views and to try to coordinate our effort with the American effort to have peace and stability in Iraq.

   Q: Will the visit be in the sequence you announced earlier: UK, France, Germany?

   Mr. Takashima: It is still being arranged.

   Related Information (Japan-Europe Relations)
   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   
7. Question concerning Special Advisor Okamoto

   Q: When was Mr. Okamoto appointed as Advisor to the Foreign Minister?

   Mr. Takashima: He is Special Advisor to the Cabinet. I am sorry I do not have the date of his appointment, but he has been serving as Special Advisor to the Cabinet for a while.

   Q: Still, he is to report to Minister Kawaguchi on his mission?

   Mr. Takashima: He is supposed to report to the Cabinet, itself, and the Chief Cabinet Secretary is Mr. Yasuo Fukuda. Also, he is in frequent contact with the Prime Minister's Office.