Press Conference 9 April 2004
- Dispatch of Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa to Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Follow-up questions concerning Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa's dispatch to Amman
- Questions concerning release of Republic of Korea hostages in Iraq
- Questions concerning operations of the Government of Japan
- Questions concerning demands of the hostage takers
- Questions concerning possibility of participation by Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in rescue operations
- Question concerning upcoming visit of Vice President Richard Cheney of the United States of America
- Questions concerning communication with other governments
- Questions concerning deadline given by hostage takers
- Questions concerning security situation in Iraq
- Questions concerning family members of hostages
- Questions concerning task forces set up to deal with hostage situation
- Questions concerning operations at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Question concerning hostage takers
- Question concerning previous crisis situation
- Questions concerning timing of first report
- Follow-up question concerning hostages of the Republic of Korea
- Question concerning operations of the Self-Defense Forces
- Question concerning relations with Arab nations
- Dispatch of Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa to Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Press Secretary Hatsuhisa Takashima: Good afternoon and thank you very much for coming to the briefing. Today, I would like to make one announcement.
Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ichiro Aisawa departed Tokyo today to Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in order to head the task force to be set up at the Japanese Embassy in Amman to cope with the hostage situation.
In Amman, Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa will supervise the Japanese Government's effort to obtain the early release of three hostages taken by unknown terrorists yesterday and also to be in touch with the governments of neighboring countries in the area including Jordan.
Related Information (The Issue of Iraq)
- Follow-up questions concerning Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa's dispatch to Amman
Q: How long will Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa stay in Jordan? For how long he is going to stay in Jordan?
Mr. Takashima: There is no set date for his return to Tokyo.
Q: Because I heard, I mean, he was going to leave for the Libya sometime next week so is that postponed for the time being?
Mr. Takashima: Since his departure was very hastily arranged, I do not have any information on his return flight, but he will stay as long as he is needed there.
Q: How big is the staff of the task force in Amman where Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa is heading right now?
Mr. Takashima: It is now being organized and therefore I cannot say exactly how many, but there are at least several people.
Q: Could you give me the reason why Senior Vice-Minister Aisawa was chosen to go and not Foreign Minister Kawaguchi herself?
Mr. Takashima: The Japanese Diet is in session right now and Foreign Minister Kawaguchi is requested to attend the Diet session to respond to questions there. At the same time, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi needs to stay here in order to preside over the operations of the task force of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to cope with this situation. She is the top of this task force.
Q: I thought that Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuda was top of the task force and not Foreign Minister Kawaguchi?
Mr. Takashima: I am referring to the task force within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We have an operations room and she presides over the conference.
- Questions concerning release of Republic of Korea hostages in Iraq
Q: There are news reports saying that there were these eight missionaries from the Republic of Korea who were captured and then released, and the group of Japanese people was not. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Mr. Takashima: We have been in touch with the Government of the Republic of Korea and asking them to provide the information on that press report. So far, we received some reports saying that those ROK nationals met with a certain number of foreigners when they were captured by the terrorists, but that information did not say the nationality of the foreigners. Since this is very important information and a very valuable one we are asking authorities of the Republic of Korea to provide us more in detailed information.
Q: Is there any possibility where Japan will pay the money for the hostages released, like Korea?
Mr. Takashima: I cannot understand the last part of your question, but in general terms, we are not in a position to discuss that sort of very hypothetical question, but basically, we have learned a very important lesson from past experience.
- Questions concerning operations of the Government of Japan
Q: Does the Japanese Government have any concrete plans as to how to rescue the hostages?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi instructed his Cabinet to make utmost effort to obtain the earliest and unconditional safe release of the three hostages so the Government including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is doing our best. The problem here is that we still do not know who the kidnappers are or who the terrorists are. We are still trying to establish the facts of what happened on the day of abduction and so forth. Also, we are trying to collect as much information as possible which may lead to the group itself. Otherwise, we will be in a very difficult position to get in touch with the terrorist groups. So far, we have not had any contact from them.
Q: Exactly how is the Government working to try and obtain some kind of contact with this group?
Mr. Takashima: We are making various efforts including the contact with the countries concerned in the area as well as the nations which are involved in Iraqi affairs. Also, we are trying our best to analyze the information collected by our own system.
Q: So, on that, is it fair to say that the Japanese Government does not know how to rescue the people at the moment?
Mr. Takashima: At this moment, we do not know where they are, I mean, the kidnappers or where those three hostages are. We are trying to get that information.
Q: Coming from the last mission you had regarding the effort to supervise Iraq, you have learned things from that time, I mean, in terms of security of the troops based there. Do you have more specific information that this task force can benefit from? This is my first question.
Second, do you have other ways of contacting troops of third nations?
Mr. Takashima: To answer your first question, we have been taking every possible measure to protect Japanese diplomats as well as members of the Self-Defense Forces in Iraq because the security situation is very tense there. There have been so many incidents of bombings or terrorist attacks or car bombings and so forth.
Also, the Government of Japan has been urging Japanese people not to go to Iraq because that area is designated as an evacuation-recommended area. So it was very unfortunate that those three Japanese who have no official mission to visit there entered Iraq. But, at the same time, because we feel that to make the utmost effort to rescue those three Japanese people is the major mission of the Government so we are making our effort, but it was a very unfortunate case.
To answer your second question, since we have not established who the terrorists are, it is very premature to talk about possible negotiation or deal with the group.
Q: You use the word negotiation?
Mr. Takashima: It is premature to say anything on the possible negotiation or deal or whatever which may arise. This is another hypothetical situation. If that group is established or named as a certain group, then there might be a possibility, but it is too early to say.
Q: If you use the word negotiation, you are in a possible turf. That is my last question. What is the segment of negotiation that you would be ready to undertake?
Mr. Takashima: That would put me in a very complicated situation, but the central issue is that since we have not obtained any sort of information of who they are, where they are and what they are doing except for demanding the withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces, I cannot say one way or the other.
Q: Has Prime Minister Koizumi stated that he would eventually go to Iraq?
Mr. Takashima: I recall that once he said that if the situation allows, he wanted to go to Iraq.
- Questions concerning demands of the hostage takers
Q: Would you say that there is some sort of correlation between the alternatives of respect for human life and the withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces from Iraq which was demanded by the terrorist groups?
Mr. Takashima: About the withdrawal of the Self-Defense Forces demanded by the terrorists, we see no reason why we should withdraw because the Self-Defense Forces are in Iraq not to fight or not to engage in any sort of combat activities but to conduct humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for the sake of Iraqi people. This is exactly what the terrorist group has been saying, that Japan should be a friend of the Iraqi people. The Self-Defense Forces are exercising that concept on the ground, helping Iraqi people by purifying dirty water or reconstructing or rehabilitating public buildings such as schools and hospitals and so forth.
At the same time, the respect for human life is a very important thing for the Government, especially when we have three Japanese in the captivity of terrorist groups. We should make utmost effort to obtain their early release. We believe that the Government's effort should be played at this stage in full to realize the earliest release of those three hostages.
Q: To follow up on that, since the Cabinet Order authorizing the presence of the troops in Iraq expires on 1 May, I believe, do you think the Cabinet would be inclined to renew this or possibly not renew it at that junction?
Mr. Takashima: I think we should wait until 30 April, but I do not think that the Government would act the other way around, in other words, keep the Self-Defense Forces on the ground of Iraq to complete the mission.
Q: If the kidnappers changed their demand later, for example, asking for a ransom from the Japanese Government to release the hostages, would the Government pay?
Mr. Takashima: They have not demanded any money.
Q: If they changed their demand from withdrawal of SDF to say that they want money, would the Japanese Government pay?
Mr. Takashima: I cannot answer that sort of question because it is very hypothetical and I am not in a position to say one way or the other. All I can say is that we are determined not to give into terrorist threat.
- Questions concerning possibility of participation by Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in rescue operations
Q: Would there be any possibility of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces participating in the rescue operations of the hostages?
Mr. Takashima: Since the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are dispatched to Iraq under the Law Concerning the Special Measures on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq which authorizes the Government to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq. Therefore, the other missions including the protection of the Japanese nationals had to be studied very carefully in legal terms. I am not in a position to give any sort of interpretation of that Special Law at this moment, especially under such hypothetical circumstances of rescue operation of the hostages.
Q: Regarding the rescue of the hostages, you mentioned in your previous answer about the Special Law. In general terms, from other existing laws about rescuing or helping Japanese nationals overseas, what kind of things can the Government do? I do not remember, I do not recall any occasion where Japanese police or Self-Defense Forces went into rescue operation in other countries. What kind of legal frameworks are there?
Mr. Takashima: The law which establishes the Self-Defense Forces specifically mentions one of the missions of the Self-Defense Forces is to transport Japanese nationals abroad in case of emergency. By following that Article, the Self-Defense Forces may be able to conduct the necessary operation to fulfill the mission.
- Question concerning upcoming visit of Vice President Richard Cheney of the United States of America
Q: Vice President Richard (Dick) Cheney of the United States of America is due in Tokyo tomorrow. He is expected to ask Japan to reiterate its support for the US mission in Iraq and to remain in Iraq itself. That contrasts quite dramatically with the tearful pleas of the hostages' relatives this morning to bring the troops back home. How are Japanese officials going to play this tomorrow when they meet Vice President Cheney so that they appear not to be listening to the United States and ignoring their own citizens?
Mr. Takashima: As I have said, the Government of Japan sees no reason why we have to or we should withdraw Self-Defense Forces from Iraq because they are engaged in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for the people of Iraq. That position is unchanged. Prime Minister Koizumi as well as other ministers including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda reiterated this again and again. This is the position of the Government of Japan.
Related Information (Japan-The United States Relations)
- Questions concerning communication with other governments
Q: US Ambassador Howard Baker promised that the US Government would do whatever it can do assist the Japanese Government on this issue. Can you share as much detail as you can on what kind of assistance the US Government is willing to provide at this point?
Mr. Takashima: We welcome any sort of assistance given by any country to obtain the earliest possible release of the hostages.
Q: No details have been provided to the Japanese Government by the US Government, any sort of ideas or proposals?
Mr. Takashima: I would rather like to refrain from going into the details of such things.
Q: Has Japan, which is expecting a lot from US forces in Iraq to assist them in case of any danger, has there been any communication through your channels of discussion? Has there been discussion frequently, in the last hours?
Mr. Takashima: We have been in touch with various governments, including the United States, but I will not reveal any sort of details of these discussions.
Q: So you cannot talk about a task force mission specifically?
Mr. Takashima: That's right.
- Questions concerning deadline given by hostage takers
Q: How does the Government of Japan view this three-day deadline proposed by the abductors?
Mr. Takashima: It was written in the note. That is all.
Q: Is it affecting the policy, any of the specifics that the Government of Japan has set so far?
Mr. Takashima: We took note of it, but that is all. We are trying our best to get the earliest possible release.
Q: I would like to confirm just a couple of points. The first one is that the video suggests that there are three days until the hostages would get killed. When do you take that time to end because obviously there are time differences and every hour counts? When exactly is the Government of Japan saying is the end of the three days?
Second, would I be correct in thinking that because these people went on their own accord and at their own responsibility, there is need for this planning. But before, had the Japanese Government made any provision or had it had any plan of action in case this kind of situation occurred to deal with this sort of situation?
Mr. Takashima: On your first question about when the three days expire, I would like you to ask them instead of me. In their statement, they said "three days after the showing of that video." If you take it at face-value, the deadline would be at 21:00 on Sunday (Japan time).
On your second question, as I have said, since the Government has been issuing a travel warning to evacuate Iraq, they were there at their own responsibility, but the Government has been trying to do whatever it can do to rescue them.
Q: You are using the word "video" but according to what I have seen on NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), it was a DVD. It may mean that you are dealing with people who are basically familiar with computers and such, because it was delivered on a DVD. Does that have any meaning for you?
Mr. Takashima: I would like to ask you to refer to the statement that the hostage-takers sent. The words were there, and my saying "video." An English translation of the Arabic word. I do not know whether they meant video, DVD or picture or any visual image.
- Questions concerning security situation in Iraq
Q: The situation for civilians in Iraq has been quite dangerous for some time so I wonder if the Japanese government at any point considered also providing protection not only for SDF and for diplomats but also for Japanese civilians who are also there on a humanitarian mission in a sense. I believe two of the hostages were working for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Iraq so is there any consideration given to giving them some form of protection as well?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, we are urging civilians to evacuate the nation. Our ability, especially our embassy's ability to give protection to anybody in Baghdad is very limited. They have to protect themselves first. It is simply a very difficult situation. Once again, I have to say that our ability is very limited.
Q: Would you say they were irresponsible in going to Iraq independently?
Mr. Takashima: They went there on their own responsibility, on their own.
Q: The situation in Iraq seems more and more unstable, especially more fighting and more clashes and casualties everywhere. You said that you sent the Self-Defense Forces because it was a non-combat area, but that if the situation gets worse and worse, you will consider withdrawing from that area if it is no longer a non-combat area? It is a combat zone now. Do you have any comment on that?
Mr. Takashima: This is a matter to be considered by the Government itself or the Prime Minister's Office, but at this moment, they do not think that the area where the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are deployed is too dangerous to stay.
Q: You consider the situation in Iraq to be a non-combat zone. Yet, we hear every day that about 300 or 400 people are killed in any area and that there are clashes everywhere. Even your Self-Defense Forces cannot do their job of reconstruction according to some statements made by the Government. Do you not think that this situation now conflicts with the Constitution of Japan? Is it not basically a combat zone and you should at least wait until the situation calms down after which you can continue your activities?
Mr. Takashima: What I am saying is that not all of Iraq is a non-combat zone. Some places in Iraq are considered to be combat areas or areas where active fighting is still going on. However, at least the area to which the SDF are deployed at the moment is relatively safe and considered not to be a combat area as stipulated in the Special Law.
Q: There are reports that your camps are being attacked or shelled. It has happened twice so far. Other reports say that some people are throwing stones at Japanese people, according to Asahi Shimbun. If this is not a combat zone, then what kind of situation is it?
Mr. Takashima: We are taking necessary measures to prevent any sort of damage to be inflicted by those sorts of actions carried out by unknown people or unknown groups. So far, the area has been safe, there have been no casualties among the SDF members and they are, I would say, very vigilant of the situation there.
Q: Are they still doing their reconstruction work there or have those been suspended?
Mr. Takashima: They are doing their humanitarian work in their base right now.
Q: Does that mean they are confined to their barracks, that they stay there and do not go out working? Are they closing their barracks?
Mr. Takashima: Basically, they are in the camp because in the camp, there are facilities for the water purification which is one of the main tasks that they have to perform.
- Questions concerning family members of hostages
Q: I understand that the family members of the hostages met with Foreign Minister Kawaguchi. Did they specifically ask Foreign Minister Kawaguchi to withdraw the SDF from Iraq?
Mr. Takashima: My understanding is that some of them made that request.
Q: How did she answer?
Mr. Takashima: She said that the Government is now making utmost efforts to obtain the earliest possible release.
Q: What will happen to the family members of the hostages from now? Is there any plan on having them fly to Iraq?
Mr. Takashima: It is up to them, I do not know.
- Questions concerning task forces set up to deal with hostage situation
Q: Time is very limited. So regarding this task force that you have established, could you please tell us a bit more about how it works, how it is organized, who is leading it and what the processes of decision making are? What do you expect from this task force?
Mr. Takashima: Are you referring to the task force at our embassy in Amman?
Q: I am talking about the one that has been organized at the Prime Minister's Office. What is it?
Mr. Takashima: That is the headquarters of the entire operation that the Government of Japan is now conducting.
- Questions concerning operations at Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Q: Could you tell us what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is doing other than issuing travel warnings or recommendations to protect Japanese nationals and to prevent such kind of a situation?
Mr. Takashima: We have issued a number of travel warnings to Japanese citizens and possible travelers to that region stating that they should not go into Iraq; or if they are in Iraq, they should evacuate immediately. At the same time, we realize that there are so many Japanese people of the non-government sectors in Iraq, mainly the members of the press. The number is somewhere close to 70 and we are constantly considering how we can ensure that they are in a safe situation.
In the case of Samawa, the members of the press are the only Japanese expatriates staying in that area. In fact, they are invited to enter the SDF base, so that they are better protected.
Q: Did the Foreign Ministry know beforehand that the three people who are being held hostage right now were heading to Iraq?
Mr. Takashima: Actually, we did not know that they were there.
- Question concerning hostage takers
Q: From the statement in Arabic, I could sense that it was not really written in religious-oriented language at all, except the first word "Mujahedeen" which is used by many religious people. It also has included the threat of burning the hostages alive, and as everybody knows, in Muslim teaching, you are not allowed to burn any creature, not to mention humans. From this kind of remark among other things, do you think that these people and their group, known to be involved in anti-war related activities, are not really linked to Iraq and are in fact just seeking money out of this kidnapping case? Do you think that this party may not be an Iraqi party? Could it be just a gang and not even terrorist? Have you considered this option in your task force duties?
Mr. Takashima: The statement issued by them is one of the matters to be analyzed by the specialists and we are doing that.
- Question concerning previous crisis situation
Q: Are you surprised by the emotion which is extremely important in Japan for this situation as it was the case in 1998 when North Korea launched a missile on Japan? Are you surprised by the fact that this country seems not to be ready to accept any challenges although it is trying to enforce peacekeeping missions? What is your comment on that?
Mr. Takashima: I do not know why you ask that question because I do not see any sort of equivalency between those two incidents.
Q: In the emotions.
Mr. Takashima: Do you sense that? That would be your feeling.
Related Information (Japan-North Korea Relations)
- Questions concerning timing of first report
Q: I understand that the first report of this hostage situation was made to the Foreign Ministry yesterday evening. Who exactly extended this information to the Ministry? Was it Al-Jazeera?
Mr. Takashima: Al-Jazeera provided us with the first information.
Q: In what language was this given to you? Did they call? From Japan, or where from?
Mr. Takashima: They conveyed the information from Qatar to Japan.
Q: When was this?
Mr. Takashima: Yesterday at 18:20.
- Follow-up question concerning hostages of the Republic of Korea
Q: There was news during lunchtime saying that the seven Koreans who were also held hostage were released and one of them said that they saw those three Japanese and that they were with them for a while. In terms of the contact with the Government of the Republic of Korea, can you comment on that because they could have important clues in order to be able to rescue those people? Has that news been confirmed?
Mr. Takashima: As I have responded earlier, it is very important information and we are asking the ROK authorities to provide us more information. The information we have obtained so far from the Republic of Korea side is that those freed hostages saw foreigners but their nationalities were not known.
- Question concerning operations of the Self-Defense Forces
Q: Now the so-called uprising in Iraq is spreading, it seems. I heard many statements by American defense-related officials suggesting the possibility of increasing US forces in Iraq. Do you think that the United States will ask Japan to increase its forces into Iraq to face such an uprising?
Mr. Takashima: The purpose of the Japanese SDF being dispatched to Iraq is not to be engaged in any sort of security maintenance operation, but for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. Therefore, we do not foresee any sort of request from whomever for an increase in the dispatch of SDF for the sake of maintenance of security there.
- Question concerning relations with Arab nations
Q: So you think these events might affect Japanese policy toward the Middle East, which is based on very good friendship relations?
Mr. Takashima: Japan has been, is and will be a very good friend of Arab countries and that remains.
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