Press Conference 16 November 2004
- Visit to Japan of Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Questions concerning possible simulations with regard to North Korea
- Question concerning Japan-North Korea working-level talks
- Questions concerning possible meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China
- Question concerning Northern Territories issue
- Questions concerning security situation in Iraq
- Follow-up question concerning possible meeting between Prime Minister Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao
- Question concerning Chinese response to submarine issue
- Question concerning possible change of Secretary of State of the United States of America
- Questions concerning Japan-North Korea dialogue on Six-Party Talks
- Questions concerning peace treaty with Russia
- Visit to Japan of Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make one announcement before I take questions.
The announcement is about the visit of the German Chancellor to Japan.
Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by representatives of German business circle will visit Japan from 8 to 10 December at the invitation of the Government of Japan.
During his stay in Japan, Chancellor Schroeder will have a summit meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and deliver a speech at an economic symposium.
Chancellor Schroeder's visit to Japan is the first since June 2002 and his fourth as the Federal Chancellor.
Related Information (Visit to Japan of Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany)
- Questions concerning possible simulations with regard to North Korea
Q: Concerning North Korea, the Japanese Government has been considering economic sanctions regarding the abduction issue. Has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ever considered measures other than economic sanctions? Has it ever conducted any sort of simulations?
Mr. Takashima: The team of government officials which visited North Korea to find out the result of North Korea's study and investigation of the abduction cases returned to Tokyo yesterday. They brought back lots of information connected to the abduction issue. The Government is conducting a thorough study of the materials along with a careful analysis of the records of the interviews they conducted in North Korea on the abduction cases. Upon completing these studies and analyses, the Government will decide what it will do next. Until such a time comes, it is still undecided. We are flexible, but first, we are thoroughly studying the materials.
Q: How long do you expect this study or analysis to take?
Mr. Takashima: The interview records are thick, and also, there are a lot of other materials. Therefore, at this moment, we cannot predict how long it will take.
Q: You said you did not know how long the analysis would take, but for example, will it be within this year? Would it take say six months? Could you give a rough idea?
Mr. Takashima: I am sorry, I do not have any rough ideas.
Q: Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura recently said that the Foreign Ministry is conducting simulations with regard to economic sanctions to analyze what would happen if in fact the Japanese Government decides to take that step. Has the Foreign Ministry done any other simulations or are there any under consideration?
Mr. Takashima: It is not true that the Foreign Ministry has done any sort of simulations. The simulation was done by a group of parliamentarians. The Government and also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as I have said, are conducting a thorough study of those materials. Until this study is completed, we are not in a position to think about what sort of measures we would take.
Q: Foreign Minister Machimura made his statement on the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) regarding the Foreign Ministry's simulation of the possible economic sanctions before the team of negotiators came back. What are your comments?
Mr. Takashima: It is not a simulation. There is a law that was passed by the Diet which will be implemented if necessary. For that, we conducted a study, but it is not directly related to the actual situation surrounding this issue at this moment. We are still doing the necessary things step-by-step.
Q: Can you elaborate on what this study was?
Mr. Takashima: I am not in a position to disclose this kind of internal consideration or study because as I have said, there is a law and if the law has to be implemented, we have certain obligations under the law as one of the governmental agencies.
Q: The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) currently has a simulation team as you know. Does the Foreign Ministry have any sort of contingency plans ready if in fact the economic sanctions are imposed? Does the Foreign Ministry have any contingency plans ready considering the various reactions that might arise?
Mr. Takashima: The simulation was done by members of the Diet, and I am not in a position to make any comments. I am not prepared to make any comments on whether or not there are contingency plans.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Question concerning Japan-North Korea working-level talks
Q: Has there been any discussion about having another round of talks on normalization?
Mr. Takashima: Not yet because first, as I have said, we are conducting a thorough analysis. After that, if we find it necessary to call upon a next round of working-level talks, then we will do so in due course. However, we have not come to that point yet.
- Questions concerning possible meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China
Q: Prime Minister Koizumi, in his briefing this morning, said he wants to meet with the leaders of the People's Republic of China to discuss their relations after a Chinese nuclear submarine was found in Japanese waters. There are a lot of issues between Japan and China-Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine are upsetting the Chinese and also, the dispute of the territories in the southern islands. Have there been any concrete moves toward a possible meeting between Japanese and Chinese officials? Are Prime Minister Koizumi and President Hu Jintao of China likely to discuss these issues?
Mr. Takashima: The Japanese and Chinese Governments are currently negotiating to make arrangements for that meeting, but nothing has been finalized yet. Therefore, I am not in a position to say one way or the other as for whether there will be a meeting.
Q: Will that be a meeting between Prime Minister Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao?
Mr. Takashima: Yes because Prime Minister Koizumi will be attending the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting to be held in Santiago, Republic of Chile later this week. My understanding is that President Hu Jintao of China will also be there.
Q: So you are hoping to arrange a meeting there?
Mr. Takashima: The two governments have been discussing the possibility of holding that meeting, but the final decision has not been made yet.
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
- Question concerning Northern Territories issue
Q: Another comment that Prime Minister Koizumi made this morning relates to the Northern Territories. According to reports, the Russian Federation has said that they are willing to discuss the possibility of retaking two of the islands that Japan has held previously. Prime Minister Koizumi this morning said that Japan will not settle for anything less than the retaking of all four islands. When President Vladimir Putin of Russia comes next year, is Japan willing to make any concessions on the issue of the Northern Territories?
Mr. Takashima: It is too premature to predict that sort of things. What is happening is that Prime Minister Koizumi will be meeting with Russian President Putin in Santiago as well. Therefore, there will be further discussions on this issue before President Putin's visit to Japan early next year so there will be at least two occasions. Also, the arrangement is now being made for a meeting between Foreign Minister Machimura and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov of Russia if not in Santiago, in Vientiane. Therefore, there are many occasions for the leaders of the two governments to meet.
Talking about President Putin's statement which was reportedly to the effect of what you have said, officials from the Russian Government or that of the former Soviet Union have been saying that sort of things in the past. Our position which has been agreed upon with the Russians is that the attribution of the four islands had to be settled before the signing of the peace treaty between the two governments. Therefore, our position is that the attribution issue of the four islands still stands, and this issue will be discussed between the two leaders and governments.
Q: Will Prime Minister Koizumi and President Putin also discuss oil or energy issues when they meet?
Mr. Takashima: Energy is one of the major subjects we expect the two leaders to discuss because we have very close working relations.
Q: Regarding the problem with Russia, what state interests are lost if only two islands come back?
Mr. Takashima: The four islands are Japanese territory by international law and also by history. We regard that the Russian occupation is illegal. We believe that these four islands belong to Japan so the attribution of the four islands had to be settled first before signing the peace treaty with Russia. That is our position.
Q: What national interest can be lost?
Mr. Takashima: The national interest is territorial integrity. Since our territory is now being illegally occupied by the Russians, this is truly a damage to our national interest, and we would like to recover that national interest.
Related Information (Japan's Northern Territories)
- Questions concerning security situation in Iraq
Q: As you know, the Dutch troops will be leaving Iraq in March. Who will be patrolling Samawah after that?
Mr. Takashima: If Dutch troops leave, the responsibility of security maintenance would be taken up by British troops or those of some other countries. However, this is still an undecided and hypothetical situation. The one thing that is clear is that Japan cannot conduct the security maintenance operation because of the requirements under the Law Concerning the Special Measures on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq which enables the Japanese Government to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq.
Q: You said the United Kingdom (UK) or other countries. Can you elaborate on these other countries?
Mr. Takashima: That area is primarily an area whose security has been designated to the British responsibility.
Q: Has the Foreign Ministry been negotiating with its British counterpart?
Mr. Takashima: Not yet.
Q: I vaguely recall that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK told Japanese officials that they are willing to take on that responsibility. Is this accurate?
Mr. Takashima: We are in constant touch with the British as well as Americans on the Iraqi situation so nothing special has been done yet.
Q: Who will be in control after March?
Mr. Takashima: We have not started that discussion yet. The Dutch troops will be in position until March.
Q: But nothing has been discussed?
Mr. Takashima: Not yet.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
- Follow-up question concerning possible meeting between Prime Minister Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao
Q: On the possible meeting between Prime Minister Koizumi and President Hu Jintao of China, what does Japan want to say to China? What is Japan's message to China? I mean, how would you fix or improve the relations between the two nations?
Mr. Takashima: As far as Japan is concerned, the relations between Japan and China are very important, and we wish to maintain good relations with China. In order to achieve that objective, the Governments and leaders have to do whatever they can do in order to have relations improved.
Related Information (Japan-China Relations)
- Question concerning Chinese response to submarine issue
Q: Correct me if I am wrong, but Japan issued a protest in China about the submarine. What was China's response to that protest?
Mr. Takashima: The Chinese side said that they were also studying the situation. Until the conclusion of their study has been obtained, they said they were not in a position to apologize or comment on the protest. What we are doing right now is waiting for their response.
- Question concerning possible change of Secretary of State of the United States of America
Q: According to reports from the United States of America (US), Secretary of State Collin Powell of the US is likely to be replaced by National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice of the US. How does the Japanese Government view that change in terms of its impact on international affairs concerning Japan?
Mr. Takashima: I am aware of the press reports to the effect that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice would be the successor of Mr. Collin Powell as Secretary of State. Since we do not have an official word from the US Government, I would like to refrain from making any comments except to say that National Security Advisor Rice was a member of the team responsible for US national security policies along with Secretary of State Collin Powell. That means that if this is the case, then there will be a continuation of existing US foreign and security policies.
Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
- Questions concerning Japan-North Korea dialogue on Six-Party Talks
Q: During the trip to North Korea, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Mitoji Yabunaka of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke with a North Korean official about the Six-Party Talks. Could you tell me what the response was?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, Director-General Yabunaka met with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan who is the head of the North Korean delegation at the Six-Party Talks. Director-General Yabunaka urged North Korea to attend the Six-Party Talks immediately, by the end of this year, without attaching any conditions to the attendance. As I understand, North Korea said that the environment was not quite ready for reconvening the Six-Party Talks. The Japanese side insisted that since the US presidential election was over, there was no reason for North Korea or other members of the Six-Party Talks to postpone any further the reconvening of the Six-Party Talks.
Q: What was Deputy Foreign Minister Kim's reasoning in saying that the environment is still not ready?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that he raised some issues which are in line with the statement of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's spokesman which was broadcast yesterday or the day before, saying that the US has a hostile attitude toward North Korea and that the US demands North Korea to take unilateral action to abolish its nuclear program and such.
Q: What was Director-General Yabunaka's response to that?
Mr. Takashima: As I have said, North Korea should come back to the negotiating table without attaching any conditions to it.
Q: I am not sure if you have been briefed, but how long or what was the duration of the talks regarding the Six-Party Talks during the last visit? For how long did they talk about the Six-Party Talks?
Mr. Takashima: I think it was a one and a half or a two hour discussion.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations Six-Party Talks on North Korean Issues)
- Questions concerning peace treaty with Russia
Q: Many people talk a lot about the peace treaty with Russia, but what does it actually mean to conclude a peace treaty? How will that change your relations with Russia?
Mr. Takashima: Concluding a peace treaty means that there is an official border line or final demarcation between Japan and Russia. Without having a set border line, the relations between Japan and Russia cannot be fully normalized. Without having that normalization of full relations or without having the territorial dispute being settled, for example, the business community in Japan has a certain reservation about putting money into the Russian industrial base or such, so we would like to see the peace treaty issue be settled as quickly as possible by settling the attribution of the four islands.
Q: For economic ties, how does it affect, for example, the Japanese economic aid to Russia?
Mr. Takashima: Russia is not a recipient of Japanese official development assistance (ODA). It is the issue of investment and trade. Currently, the volume of trade between Japan and Russia is about one-fortieth of the trade between Japan and China because of this unsettled question and other reasons.
Q: Just to clarify, it was then the Soviet Union. Now it is the Russian Federation. So in some ways, it is a different state. The Soviet Union is no longer a part of the Russian Federation. In that sense, when you conclude a peace treaty, does that equally affect the process or does that complicate the peace treaty?
Mr. Takashima: No because Russia is a succeeding nation of the Soviet Union. There is no legal complication or difficulty on that. Rather, this peace treaty issue has been a remaining issue since the end of World War II. Therefore, we believe that this is a very good time to settle this long outstanding issue.
Related Information (Japan-Russia Relations)
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