Press Conference 23 January 2004
- Upcoming visit to Middle East by Special Envoy of the Government Responsible for Peace in the Middle East Tatsuo Arima
- Emergency grant assistance to Palestinians for improvements to humanitarian situation
- Grant assistance to Mongolia for water supply improvement project and for human resource development scholarships
- Grant assistance to Timor-Leste for road improvement project
- Upcoming round of negotiation on economic partnership agreement (EPA) between Japan and United Mexican States
- Security dialogue between Japan and Islamic Republic of Pakistan and between Japan and Republic of India
- Follow-up question concerning Dr. Arima's upcoming visit to the Middle East
- Questions concerning North Korea
- Questions concerning results of dispatch of Self Defense Forces (SDF) advance team to Samawa, Iraq
- Question concerning Japan-Egypt medical cooperation for Iraq
- Follow-up question concerning negotiation on Japan-Mexico EPA
- Question concerning talks between Japan and the United States of America on measures against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
- Upcoming visit to Middle East by Special Envoy of the Government Responsible for Peace in the Middle East Tatsuo Arima
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you for coming to the briefing. Before taking questions, today I would like to make several announcements.
Firstly, Special Envoy of the Government Responsible for Peace in the Middle East Tatsuo Arima departed Tokyo today for his trip to the Middle East. He will be visiting the Arab Republic of Egypt, State of Israel, Palestinian Autonomous Areas, Kingdom of Jordan and Syrian Arab Republic. He will come back to Tokyo on 30 January.
During his trip, he wishes to exchange views on the Palestinian situation and the Middle East situation in general with officials of those governments.
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
- Emergency grant assistance to Palestinians for improvements to humanitarian situation
Mr. Takashima: Secondly, on the Middle East, the Government of Japan today decided to extend US$9 million worth of emergency grant assistance for the Palestinians through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to implement seven projects for the sectors of health, medical care and education, such as construction and extension of water supply networks for approximately 100,000 in rural areas of the West Bank or providing self-learning materials for 190,000 primary school students negatively influenced by lack of school hours in the Palestinian areas.
The Government of Japan is committed to actively extend assistance to Palestinian people in the recognition that improving the humanitarian situation of the poverty-stricken Palestinians is essential to promoting the Middle East peace process.
Related Information (Emergency Humanitarian Grant Aid for the Palestinians)
- Grant assistance to Mongolia for water supply improvement project and for human resource development scholarships
Mr. Takashima: Thirdly, the Government of Japan and the Government of Mongolia today exchanged a diplomatic note in which Japan extended up to US$1.8 million worth of grant assistance to the Government of Mongolia for two projects.
One is for the project for the improvement of water supply facilities in the capital city of Ulanbaatar; the other is for the project for human resource development scholarships, in which 40 young officials of the Government of Mongolia will be given the chance to study in graduate school in Japan to improve their skills in terms of education administration and adaptability for the newly developing market economy in that country.
Related Information (Japan-Mongolia Relations)
- Grant assistance to Timor-Leste for road improvement project
Mr. Takashima: Fourthly, on East Timor, the Government of Japan and the Government of Timor-Leste today exchanged a diplomatic note in which the Government of Japan extended US$377,000 grant assistance for the project of improvement of roads between the capital city of Dili and the city of Cassa.
Through this project, it is expected that the agriculture will be revitalized; thus, the living standard of the people in East Timor will be improved.
- Upcoming round of negotiation on economic partnership agreement (EPA) between Japan and United Mexican States
Mr. Takashima: Fifthly, the negotiation between Japan and the United Mexican States in terms of an economic partnership agreement (EPA).
The EPA negotiation between Japan and Mexico will be held from 26 to 30 January here in Tokyo. This is the thirteenth round of the negotiation and the Government of Japan expects that through this negotiation the draft agreement will be finalized in general for the successful conclusion of the negotiation at the earliest possible date.
- Security dialogue between Japan and Islamic Republic of Pakistan and between Japan and Republic of India
Mr. Takashima: Lastly, the security dialogue between Japan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and between Japan and the Republic of India.
The security dialogue between Japan and Pakistan will be held in Islamabad on 24 January and the security dialogue between Japan and India will be held on 27 January in Delhi. These dialogues will be attended by the Japanese delegation headed by Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Mitoji Yabunaka of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Related Information (Japan-India Relations)
Related Information (Japan-Pakistan Relations)
- Follow-up question concerning Dr. Arima's upcoming visit to the Middle East
Q: With regard to the mission of Dr. Arima, is he going to meet the leaders of the Middle East countries; in particular, will there be a meeting with Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)?
Mr. Takashima: Arrangements are still under way and I still do not have a list of names of the people Dr. Arima will be meeting. This is not his first trip as Dr. Arima has made several previous trips to the region and has a lot of contacts there. We hope that he will be able to have very fruitful meetings with his counterparts and government officials.
However, I do not have any information at this moment whether he will be meeting with Chairman Arafat.
Related Information (Japan's Measures Toward the Middle East Peace Process)
- Questions concerning North Korea
Q: On the latest development on North Korea, there have been reports that Japan is getting ready to impose sanctions on North Korea in regard to the abduction issue.
Also, there have been reports that North Korea looks like it may be willing to allow the families of the returned abductees to come to Japan on the condition that the abductees return to North Korea and meet with the family members to ask them if they wish to come to Japan. What is the latest information you have on this situation?
Mr. Takashima: First, on the sanction issue, this is the issue that will be discussed at the current session of the Diet. We understand that a draft resolution would be proposed by the members of the Diet and the Government has no involvement in that legislative action, but the Government is also fully aware of that process, and if this legislation is actually passed by the Diet, it will add more tools to deal with North Korea. However, on what sort of occasion and at what sort of timing this future legislation will be implemented still remains to be seen.
On the general situation on the negotiation between Japan and North Korea, the Government of Japan is still urging the North Koreans to respond to our request of the early opening of the direct talks between our two parties, and we are still waiting for their reply to be given through the diplomatic channels including the embassies in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
At the same time, we recognize that the North Koreans have been giving us some sort of signal that they may have a kind of willingness to resolve this very important issue of abduction through negotiation, so we are waiting for their official words.
Q: Have there been any specific proposals about releasing the family members?
Mr. Takashima: There are many press reports as well as reports from members of the Diet who met with North Korean officials in Beijing that the North Koreans indicated that they might allow the families of the returned abductees to come to Japan on the condition that the five victims of abduction that have returned to Japan go to North Korea first. However, this is not the official word from North Korea, so we are waiting for their official word or proposal.
Q: Related to this question, last year, when similar sanctions and related things were being discussed, North Korea made statements saying that sanctions being implemented would constitute an act or declaration of war against North Korea. I was wondering how the Government stands right now to such discussions, particularly as it seems that they will submit a proposal to the Diet during this session?
Mr. Takashima: We are aware of that statement by North Korea. However, as I have said, this issue is now being dealt by members of the Diet and the Government is not involved in this procedure. And again, the implementation of the legislation or law is something that remains to be seen. It would be premature to make any sort of comment on a hypothetical situation on the implementation of sanctions.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Questions concerning results of dispatch of Self Defense Forces (SDF) advance team to Samawa, Iraq
Q: How do you evaluate the results of mission of the advance team of the Self Defense Forces (SDF) to Samawa? Was it positive or encouraging for the Government to dispatch the main corps in a few days?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, members of the advance team have just returned from Samawa, Iraq. They will be reporting first to the Defense Agency. Then, that report will be passed to the Prime Minister's Office as well as key figures among the members of the coalition parties.
The reports we have received so far through various channels including the daily telephone conversations are that the advance team has found so far that the security situation has not been changed since the last study mission went there, and that there has been no worsening nor improvement of the security situation in the city of Samawa and its vicinity.
At the same time, we are fully aware that the members of the advance team have so far been welcomed by the leaders of the city, and we are very pleased to learn that. I cannot speculate what sort of report those members that are now back in Tokyo would make to Director-General of the Defense Agency Shigeru Ishiba.
Q: In some reports, it is shown that the people there in Samawa are waiting for real help from Japan to find jobs, and they feel that Japan is not ready enough to give them the chance to find a job with these people from the Self Defense Forces. Basically, they are waiting for a chance to get a job. Do you think they are really ready to give this opportunity to the people waiting for work there?
Mr. Takashima: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi responded to the Diet session yesterday that the Government of Japan will take this issue of employment fully into consideration when the Government of Japan extends any sort of assistance to Iraq as well as the city of Samawa.
However, at the same time, the ability of the SDF, if and when the main group is dispatched there, would still be very limited because the number of personnel to be involved in this mission is about 500 to 600. Therefore, their ability to create any sort of job options is very much limited. Moreover, our ability to implement our official development assistance (ODA) is also very much limited because we do not have many officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) or any sort of arms to extend our ODA to Iraq itself. Therefore, although we will try our best, we hope that there will be no over-expectation by the people of Iraq or the people of the city of Samawa.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
- Question concerning Japan-Egypt medical cooperation for Iraq
Q: On another subject, there was a lot of arrangement made for the cooperation between Japan and Egypt among medical professionals. However, there has been no news about this cooperation. Why is that?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that the training program is still going on and the cooperation between Egypt and Japan to assist medical doctors and medical workers is still going on. We hope that this cooperation will continue so that the medical situation in Iraq will be improved.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
Related Information (Japan-Egypt Relations)
- Follow-up question concerning negotiation on Japan-Mexico EPA
Q: On the Japan-Mexico EPA, the most recent comment by Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Seiji Murata was that it should be Mexico that should move on the issue, rather than Japan on issues of access to the Japanese market. If there are concessions it should be from the Mexican side and not from the Japanese side. Mexico has indicated that if there is no agreement by the end of March, they will pull out of the process completely. Then there would be no FTA agreement. Will Japanese negotiators give any concessions to the Mexicans on access to the market in Japan?
Mr. Takashima: It is still up to the negotiation. We do not know whether there will be a successful ending of this negotiation. My understanding is that a senior official of the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development has been talking with his counterpart in Tokyo with the participation of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Efforts are now being made, and we still hope that both countries will reach agreement to finalize this negotiation and to make the economic partnership agreement a reality.
Related Information (Japan-Mexico Relations)
- Question concerning talks between Japan and the United States of America on measures against bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
Q: I understand that talks are right now being held in the United States of America among government officials and Japanese government officials regarding mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy; BSE) I was wondering whether it would be possible to have an outline of what Japan's stance is, what it wants and what is going on right now with the United States?
Mr. Takashima: Still talks are going on and it is a little bit premature to speculate what sort of agreement will emerge out of these talks. However, the Japanese side is very much aware of the consciousness of the Japanese people about safety of the beef or food that they eat. The fact is that in Japan every cow is examined before it is put into the market.
My understanding is that the Japanese side has been explaining measures taken by the Government of Japan concerning the beef produced and consumed in Japan.
Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
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