Press Conference 11 April 2003

Tenth Japan-Islamic Republic of Iran Deputy-Ministerial Regular Consultation
Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer of the Federal Republic of Germany
Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic
Questions concerning Japan's involvement in the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) of the Department of Defense of the United States of America

Tenth Japan-Islamic Republic of Iran Deputy-Ministerial Regular Consultation
Assistant Press Secretary Jiro Okuyama: Good afternoon.

First, I would like to announce that the Tenth Japan-Islamic Republic of Iran Deputy-Ministerial Regular Consultation will be held in Tokyo on 14 April.

From the Japanese side, Mr. Hitoshi Tanaka, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, will attend this consultation, and from the Iranian side, Mr. Mohsen Aminzadeh, Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia, Pacific and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Affairs will attend. They will exchange views on bilateral relations and the regional and international situation, including the situation in Iraq.

Japan regards the dialogue with Iran as important not only because of the importance of bilateral relations between our two countries but also because Iran is a country that neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan and has a great influence over the Middle East region as a whole. This consultation follows the ninth regular consultation, which took place in Tokyo last September.
Related Information (Japan-Iran Relations)
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer of the Federal Republic of Germany
Mr. Okuyama: Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi is now in Europe, and I would like to give you the gist of her meetings with the foreign ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic.

I shall start with the German Foreign Minister. In Berlin, on 10 April from 12:10 to 13:30 local time, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi held an exchange of views with Mr. Joschka Fischer, Deputy Chancellor and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs over a working lunch. They discussed three items: Iraq, the Middle East, and North Korea.

On Iraq, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that peace and stability in the Middle East is important for the peace and stability of Japan. Due to the seriousness of the issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, Japan made a painful decision to support the military action by the coalition forces. She referred to Japan's humanitarian assistance and assistance to neighboring countries and explained in detail Japan's five principles on humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq.

In response, Foreign Minister Fischer supported the five principles thus outlined by Foreign Minister Kawaguchi. He then said that Germany could not support the military action without the exhaustion of peaceful means, but now that the military action was in place, it is important that it be brought to an end as early as possible. Germany is watching the situation carefully, thinking that it is naturally necessary for the American and British forces to win.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that it is important to respond flexibly on reconstruction assistance to Iraq. It is important for the international community as a whole to engage in the task of maintaining security and other tasks. We should ensure that the United Nations be sufficiently involved in the reconstruction process. UN Security Council resolutions should be pursued in a manner that suits the evolving situation in Iraq.

Foreign Minister Fischer responded that his current primary concern was the humanitarian situation in Iraq and that it was important for the American and British forces to deal with the situation, including security. On the question of the reconstruction of Iraq, it is important that the UN play a central role and that the members of the international community combine their efforts to deal with the reconstruction.

On the Middle East issue, Foreign Minister Fischer, who had just returned from visits to the State of Israel and the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, briefed Foreign Minister Kawaguchi that the economic situation in Israel was getting worse, and in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories preparations for the formation of the cabinet under the new prime minister, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, were proceeding smoothly. He said that Germany would give its full support to the new cabinet.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi replied that it is important to tenaciously work on both parties to break the chain of violence and to build mutual confidence, to which Foreign Minister Fischer agreed.

On North Korea, the two Foreign Ministers shared the view that North Korea should seriously accept the message issued by the Chair of the UN Security Council after its informal consultation on North Korea's nuclear weapons development on 9 April, and they both strongly hoped that North Korea would make specific responses to that message to wipe away the concern of the international community. Foreign Minister Fischer said that Germany is ready to support a peaceful solution of this issue in cooperation with other countries in Europe.
Related Information (Press Conference 4 April 2003)
Related Information (Press Conference by Ms Yoriko KAWAGUCHI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan)
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
Meeting between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic.
Mr. Okuyama: In France, in the evening of 10 April local time, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi had an exchange of views for about one hour with Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic.

There were two issues: Iraq and North Korea. On Iraq, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said it was necessary for the members of the international community to combine their efforts to deal with the safety, security, and humanitarian issues in Iraq. It is desirable that the military action come to an end as early as possible with minimum casualties. As regards humanitarian requirements in Iraq, she explained Japan's response to the UN Flash Appeal for Humanitarian Requirements of the Iraq Crisis and Japan's assistance to countries neighboring Iraq. She also outlined the five principles on humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq, and her remarks met the full support from the French Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister de Villepin said that it was clear that those countries on the ground bear special responsibilities for the current security situation in Iraq. As for the role of the United Nations, what the United Nations actually does is important.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that as the current and future situation in Iraq provides an opportunity where the international community can demonstrate its combined efforts, Japan believed that UN Security Council resolutions were necessary.

To this, Foreign Minister de Villepin said that France would likewise pursue the involvement of the United Nations, but the most pressing issue at the moment was how to deal with the security situation facing us. As regards the responses after the current situation, it is difficult to see what needs to be done until the situation stabilizes.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that there are various specific items to be considered in response to the current situation, which include the mandate of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, what we do after the expiration of the current oil for food program, and also what should be done for the Iraqi interim administration in the future. The French Foreign Minister agreed on the necessity to consider these specific items.

The French Foreign Minister said that the issue of Iraq should be considered in the context of the entire Middle East. In this connection, it is important that progress be made in the Middle East peace process. In response, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi agreed with the French Foreign Minister's views.

Further, Foreign Minister de Villepin said that there are now worries and concerns in the Arab world prompted by the military action that was taken against Iraq. He believed that there was a role for France to play in order for Arab countries to recover their feeling of security. He said that he would visit via Spain the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese Republic and the Syrian Arab Republic from 11 April.

On North Korea, Foreign Minister de Villepin said that he understood that this issue is critically important for Japan's security and asked Foreign Minister Kawaguchi's current thinking. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that she raised this issue in her recent trip to the People's Republic of China. The countries in the region are all hoping for a peaceful resolution of this issue, and in connection with this, the UN Security Council Chairman issued a statement after the informal consultation on 9 April. She was pleased that a unified message was issued by the UN Security Council.

In response, Foreign Minister de Villepin said that France is ready to extend assistance and cooperation to help with the solution of this issue, through the framework of the UN Security Council as well as that of the European Union.
Related Information (Press Conference 4 April 2003)
Related Information (Press Conference by Ms Yoriko KAWAGUCHI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan)
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
Questions concerning Japan's involvement in the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) of the Department of Defense of the United States of America
Q: About the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), the US-led body for the reconstruction of Iraq, could you clarify Japan's stance on whether or not it will send Japanese staff to this body?

Mr. Okuyama: We are still watching carefully what is going to happen to ORHA. At the moment, we do not yet see clearly what kind of structure ORHA will have. Then, we will consider whether it will be legally possible and politically appropriate for Japan to send personnel to ORHA.

Q: Related to that, in his press conference this morning, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said that there would be no legal problem to send staff to ORHA. Furthermore, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda earlier said that it would be possible to send civilian staff to this body, but later retracted his remarks and said that Japan was currently considering what it can do. What is the difference between Mr. Motegi's and Mr. Fukuda's stance?

Mr. Okuyama: I think what Senior Vice-Minister Motegi said this morning is two-fold. Firstly, generally speaking, Japan can send personnel to international organizations or organizations of foreign countries. In such general terms, we do not have any limitations. Secondly, if ORHA is directly involved with military operations, then perhaps there may be certain considerations that need to be taken concerning whether it is possible for Japan to send personnel to engage in ORHA's activities.

Also, there are two separate things to be considered. One is whether something is legally possible, and the other is whether it is politically appropriate. To come back to what I have said earlier, we do not know what kind of structure ORHA will actually have and what kind of activities ORHA will actually carry out before some form of interim administration is established. Therefore, at the moment, we are trying to see what the functions of ORHA will be, and after that we will consider whether to send personnel to assist in ORHA's activities.

Q: Is it fair to say that Mr. Motegi sees no legal problems as of now, at this stage?

Mr. Okuyama: In general terms, we do not see any legal difficulties.

Q: Further, Mr. Yukio Okamoto, the Special Advisor to the Cabinet who is currently in Jerusalem, earlier visited with the head of ORHA and told reporters that there could be a legal problem in Japan sending personnel to an administration of occupation forces. Does that not conflict with what Mr. Motegi said?

Mr. Okuyama: The remarks of Senior Vice-Minister Motegi and Mr. Okamoto are saying the same thing from a different angle. Senior Vice-Minister Motegi's explanation is in the realm of generality, so depending on the character of ORHA, it may be legally impossible for us to send people. I do not have the exact quote of what Mr. Okamoto said to the press, but perhaps what he meant to say is that depending on the character of ORHA, the Government of Japan might find it difficult to send personnel to ORHA.

I do not really think that there is a conflict of views. We have to think about the legal aspects very carefully, and Senior Vice-Minister Motegi did not say that we can send somebody without legal questions regardless of the character of ORHA. He said that generally speaking, there are no legal obstacles to sending personnel to international organizations or organizations of foreign governments, but in the case where that organization is directly involved with military operations, we may face legal obstacles, including the Constitution of Japan.

Q: When you say "directly involved with military operations," what do you mean?

Mr. Okuyama: That is also something that we need to define. It is difficult to define and needs to be thought about very carefully. We cannot define at this moment what we mean by "directly" or "indirectly". In actuality, it is a degree of involvement and the modalities of involvement of that specific organization in the military action inside Iraq.

Q: I believe that Mr. Motegi mentioned the separation within ORHA of the public welfare and the military portion. If the two portions were divided, would that be considered adequate?

Mr. Okuyama: That also has to be considered.

To sum up where we are now, we are still considering what we can do. We have not reached any specific conclusion on what we can do under the laws and regulations of Japan, and everything is under consideration, so we cannot say that we may be able to send people depending on whether there is separation between the civil part and the military part. That is something that we need to consider from now on, and we cannot, at this moment, answer hypothetical questions. We need to see exactly what kind of structure ORHA will have and see if it is legally and politically appropriate for us to send personnel.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)

Back to Index