Press Conference 27 February 2004

1. Signing of the Agreement Amending the Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement (ACSA)
2. Change of itinerary for upcoming visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic
3. Upcoming visit to Japan by Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas
4. Upcoming visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka of the Republic of Kenya
5. Increase of number of vehicles to be donated to Iraqi police
6. Follow-up questions concerning amended ACSA
7. Question concerning China's stance at six-party talks on North Korea

1. Signing of the Agreement Amending the Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement (ACSA)

   Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make several announcements before I take questions.

   First, on the signing of the Agreement Amending the Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement (ACSA).

   The Government of Japan at today's Cabinet meeting decided to sign the Amendment of the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America concerning the Reciprocal Provision of Logistics Support, Supplies and Services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Armed Forces of the United States. The signing will take place this afternoon here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi and US Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker.

   The ACSA sets forth a framework concerning the reciprocal provision of supplies and services between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the US Armed Forces. The present ACSA is applied to bilateral exercises and training, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, humanitarian international relief operations and operations in response to situations in areas surrounding Japan. The amended Agreement will be applied to a wider range of activities, such as (1) operations in armed attack situations or situations in which an armed attack is expected, and (2) operations to further the efforts of the international community to contribute to international peace and security and to cope with large-scale disasters or for other purposes. The provision of supplies and services by the Self-Defense Forces of Japan requires a domestic legal basis for each of its activities.

   Related Information (Signing of Agreement Amending Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement)
   
2. Change of itinerary for upcoming visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic

   Mr. Takashima: Secondly, on the visit to Japan by Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin of the French Republic.

   There has been a change of the itinerary for Foreign Minister de Villepin's visit to Japan. Originally, it was scheduled that he would arrive in Japan on 1 March. However, this has been amended and Mr. de Villepin will arrive on 29 February at Fukuoka and will then move to Tokyo on 1 March. On 2 March, he will have a meeting with Foreign Minister Kawaguchi before he leaves Japan.

   Related Information (Japan-France Relations)
   
3. Upcoming visit to Japan by Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas

   Mr. Takashima: Thirdly, Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas will visit Japan from 1 to 7 March at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry.

   During his stay in Japan, Dr. Chambas will visit Tokyo and Kyoto to exchange views with Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Masatoshi Abe, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kazunori Tanaka, and others concerned in government and academic circles about the consolidation of peace in Africa, the modality of cooperative relations between Japan and ECOWAS, and other matters.

   It is expected that Dr. Chambas' visit to Japan will further strengthen cooperative relations between Japan and ECOWAS.

   Related Information (Visit to Japan by Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS))
   
4. Upcoming visit to Japan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka of the Republic of Kenya

   Mr. Takashima: Fourthly, the visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka of the Republic of Kenya.

   Foreign Minister Musyoka will visit Japan from 7 to 11 March as Guest of the Foreign Minister of Japan.

   During his stay in Japan, Foreign Minister Musyoka will have talks with Foreign Minister Kawaguchi and other government officials concerned, and will exchange views on a wide range of topics such as the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III) and bilateral relations between Japan and Kenya.

   Related Information (Visit to Japan by Mr. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya)
   
5. Increase of number of vehicles to be donated to Iraqi police

   Mr. Takashima: Lastly, about the donation of Japanese police cars to Iraqi police.

   The Government of Japan today decided to increase the number of police patrol cars to be donated to the Iraqi police forces from the originally planned 620 to 1,150 vehicles. Of those, 740 will be used by the Iraqi police service and 410 will be used by the border enforcement police of Iraq.

   Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
   
6. Follow-up questions concerning amended ACSA

   Q: In your first announcement on the amended ACSA, you said that it could also apply wider such as to armed attack. Could you explain further that specific part?

   Mr. Takashima: Armed attack generally means attack on Japan as well as the US Armed Forces in Japan.

   Q: As a hypothetical question, if anything happened, for example, in the Pacific region, such as between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, is that considered to be part of the area that this amended agreement applies to?

   Mr. Takashima: As I have said, this agreement as well as the Self-Defense Forces' activities will have to be based upon Japanese domestic law. Each individual case will be considered by the Government of Japan on a case-by-case basis. We do not prejudge what sort of activities the Self-Defense Forces would conduct in the case of such a hypothetical situation.

   Q: Do you have any concrete statements or documents to support this news?

   Mr. Takashima: There is a document on the amendment.

   Related Information (Signing of Agreement Amending Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement)
   
7. Question concerning China's stance at six-party talks on North Korea

   Q: Currently, the six-party talks are going on in China. I have a question about the Chinese attitude toward the raising of the issue of abduction during the talks. Has there been any change in the Chinese attitude in this second round of talks compared to the first round that was held last year?

   Mr. Takashima: First of all, we appreciate the Chinese effort to organize this second round of talks.

   To answer your question, my understanding is that the Chinese side fully understands the Japanese position that without there being a resolution of the abduction cases as part of a comprehensive solution of the North Korean issues, including the nuclear issue, Japan cannot participate in any sort of final solution which includes economic cooperation to North Korea. We believe that the Chinese Government fully understands our position. We do not see any sort of change in the attitude of the Chinese side between the last session and the current round.

   Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)