Press Conference 29 October 2004
- Hostage situation in Iraq
- Adoption of the draft resolution on nuclear disarmament at the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly
- Dispatch of monitoring team to North Korea
- Questions concerning press reports alleging body of Asian person found in Tikrit, Iraq
- Question concerning Japanese officials dispatched to Jordan and Iraq
- Follow-up questions concerning monitoring team
- Follow-up question concerning hostage situation
- Questions concerning family members of Mr. Shosei Koda
- Follow-up question concerning press reports
- Questions concerning international cooperation with hostage situation
- Hostage situation in Iraq
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make three announcements before I take questions.
The first one is about the hostage taking in Iraq. A Japanese 24 year old, Mr. Shosei Koda, was taken hostage in Iraq by an armed group believed to be led by a terrorist named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Government of Japan strongly condemns this act of hostage taking of an innocent civilian who visited Iraq as a traveler and has no relations with the Government of Japan or the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
The Government of Japan is making an utmost effort to secure the immediate and safe release of Mr. Koda through various means and measures, including the dispatch of Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Syuzen Tanigawa to Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to hold a special task force set up at the Japanese Embassy there to cope with this situation.
We are aware that the group that took Mr. Koda is demanding the withdrawal of Japanese SDF from Iraq, but the Government of Japan has made it very clear that it has no intention of giving in to this demand because we see no reason to withdraw the SDF that are deployed in the Samawah area, not to fight or occupy that nation but to assist the Iraqi people to rebuild their nation.
On behalf of the people and the Government of Japan, I would like to call upon the group that holds Mr. Koda to release him unconditionally and immediately.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
- Adoption of the draft resolution on nuclear disarmament at the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly
Mr. Takashima: The second announcement is about the adoption of a nuclear disarmament resolution at the first committee of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
On this adoption, the Government of Japan issued a statement through the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which says as follows:
The Government of Japan welcomes and highly values the fact that these draft resolutions of nuclear disarmament, namely "A path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons" was adopted by an overwhelming majority at the first committee meeting of the UN General Assembly on 28 October (New York time).
The Government of Japan has annually submitted draft resolutions on nuclear disarmament to the UN General Assembly since 1994 and has enjoyed overwhelming support from the international community, inspired by the strong national sentiment calling for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Japan, as the only nation in the world to have suffered an atomic bombing, submitted a draft resolution this year as well. The resolution is based on the fundamental position that places great importance on the realization of a peaceful and safe world, free of nuclear weapons through a steady continuation of a practical and incremental approach towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons. This draft resolution was adopted with large support.
Japan considers it particularly important to further increase the international momentum for nuclear disarmament leading up to the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Following the adoption of its draft resolution, Japan intends to continue and intensify its diplomatic efforts in the area of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Related Information (Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Adoption of the Draft Resolution on Nuclear Disarmament Submitted by Japan to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly)
- Dispatch of monitoring team to North Korea
Mr. Takashima: The third announcement is about the dispatch of a monitoring team to North Korea.
The Government of Japan today decided to dispatch four government officials to North Korea from 2-6 November to join the monitoring team of the World Food Programme (WFP) that will be organized to conduct the preliminary monitoring of the food distribution provided by the Government of Japan to North Korea through the WFP as humanitarian assistance.
The team, including Japanese officials, will visit the places of distribution in North Korea and have meetings with the representatives of international organizations working there. The preliminary monitoring is scheduled to be followed by full-scale monitoring by the end of this year. The Government of Japan will dispatch an additional team in order to secure adequate and appropriate distribution of the 125,000 tons of food provided by Japan to North Korea that has already been arriving at North Korean ports and put into the process of distribution.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Questions concerning press reports alleging body of Asian person found in Tikrit, Iraq
Q: Could you tell us if the Japanese Government has already confirmed the reports that a human body which is believed to be that of an Asian person was found in Tikrit?
Mr. Takashima: We are aware of that press report, that a dead body was found in the Tikrit area, which is about 300 kilometers north of Baghdad in Iraq. We are checking that press report, but so far, we have not obtained any independent confirmation of it.
Q: Have you sent any officials to this place? Do you have a team at this place to monitor the situation in Tikrit, where the body was found?
Mr. Takashima: It is still very early in the morning. Of course, we are using various means to check this press report. At this moment, I do not think any member of the Japanese Embassy there has left the Embassy to check it. We are asking the Iraqi Government to initially find out the accuracy of the report.
Q: Do you have any plans to send Japanese officials there in the future?
Mr. Takashima: I do not have any information of such at this moment.
Q: You said that the Iraqi authorities were doing an initial official investigation of this body, the body reportedly found. Are there any plans to ask the United States of America or other foreign governments or forces for assistance in the investigation?
Mr. Takashima: We are getting in touch with various authorities and offices to find out exactly what this press report means, whether or not this dead body believed to be that of an Asian person is truly Asian or Japanese. This press report is rather vague, and we have to find out exactly what this report means.
Q: There are rumors that this news report was initially issued by a German news agency or such. Do you have any information on that?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that various news agencies of various countries have reported this, and they have also carried each others' reports. We have not established which one is the real source of this press report or information.
- Question concerning Japanese officials dispatched to Jordan and Iraq
Q: Can you recall who are the officials dispatched now to Jordan and Baghdad for this issue?
Mr. Takashima: We have dispatched ten officials headed by Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Syuzen Tanigawa. They include some members from the police department.
- Follow-up questions concerning monitoring team
Q: A question on the monitoring. You said the places of distribution. Does that include households? Do you have any ideas on where they will be visiting?
Mr. Takashima: The team will be organized by the WFP initially. Japanese officials will join that team. The itinerary or schedule of the monitoring team will be decided initially by the WFP. My understanding is that they will be visiting the actual distribution sites of the food provided by the Japanese Government.
Q: Executive Director of the WFP James Morris was in Japan earlier. He said that there are restrictions on the means of monitoring North Korea, and that they have to give prior notice before they actually inspect these sites. There may be arguments on whether through this monitoring the Japanese Government can really check that these distributions are actually getting to those in need. Do you have any comments on this?
Mr. Takashima: This is one of the reasons why we decided to dispatch our officials to the monitoring team to do the monitoring and also inspection, if you will, to find out exactly what sort of distribution is being done, where and how. We hope that the North Korean authorities will fully cooperate with the effort of the international community including Japan to assist them in a humanitarian way.
- Follow-up question concerning hostage situation
Q: What exactly is the reason why Mr. Koda went to Iraq or Jordan? Have you established some kind of schedule of what he did until he was taken hostage?
Mr. Takashima: We have not established the reason why he went to Iraq despite the fact that the Government of Japan has been issuing a series of travel advisories or warnings which calls upon Japanese people not to go to Iraq or evacuate Iraq immediately if they are there. Therefore, we do feel that it was very regrettable that this gentleman went to Baghdad.
According to a family member of Mr. Koda, it seems that he has been in touch with his family until July of this year, and after that, he had no communication with his family in Japan. Until July, he was taking a working holiday in New Zealand. So it was quite surprising and astonishing information even to the members of the Koda family, that he actually went to Iraq and was taken hostage.
- Questions concerning family members of Mr. Shosei Koda
Q: Are there any plans for these family members to come to the Foreign Ministry today?
Mr. Takashima: I do not have such information.
Q: Who are the members of the Foreign Ministry who are now in contact with the family members of Mr. Koda?
Mr. Takashima: We are having constant communication with the members of the Koda family. At this moment, this communication is channeled through the temporary office set up by the prefecture and the municipal government. Also, we have direct communication with the family members, but we do not have any officials currently stationed at the place where the Koda family resides.
Q: Does the Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura or Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi or any official at the cabinet level have any plans to meet with the family members?
Mr. Takashima: Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura has already been in touch with the father of Mr. Koda. Actually, he made three telephone calls already. I myself met with his mother and brother. Currently, we do not have any plans to have members of the Koda family come to this building. If they decide to come, we will welcome them.
Q: So they have not contacted the Foreign Ministry?
Mr. Takashima: They have not contacted us yet.
- Follow-up question concerning press reports
Q: Mr. Takashima, I am sorry I came in late. Maybe this question has come up already, but it has been reported that an Asian body was found in Tikrit. I am sure you have the information, but how far do you know about it?
Mr. Takashima: We are aware of that press report, but we do not have any independent confirmation yet. We are checking through various channels the accuracy of this report or the exact meaning of this body found in the Tikrit area.
Q: Have you heard any rumors that Mr. Koda was actually in Tikrit?
Mr. Takashima: I have not heard that sort of rumor at all.
- Questions concerning international cooperation with hostage situation
Q: Regarding the cooperation that you seek from other countries, have you had support from the US?
Mr. Takashima: It is very difficult for me at this moment to elaborate what sort of cooperation we are getting, but we are very much appreciative of the cooperation extended by various governments and also groups to secure the safe return of Mr. Koda. They are sharing with us their knowledge and their information, and those are very helpful.
Q: I have heard that Foreign Minister Machimura has been contacting a number of countries to gather information. In all, as of now, how many countries? Who are the people that he has asked for support to resolve this kidnapping issue?
Mr. Takashima: Foreign Minister Machimura instructed 25 Japanese Embassies in various countries of the world to solicit the cooperation from their host governments. At the same time, Foreign Minister Machimura had telephone conversations with various leaders, including Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government, Secretary of State Collin Powell of the US, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of the United Kingdom and also Minister of Foreign Affairs Franco Frattini of the Italian Republic.
Q: What has been the response to this issue?
Mr. Takashima: They were all very kind in offering us any sort of assistance that they can give.
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