Press Conference 21 January 2005

1. Assistance for earthquake/tsunami disaster
2. Sri Lankan peace process
3. Questions concerning deportation of Kurdish persons
4. Question concerning press reports on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
5. Question concerning assistance for Sri Lanka
6. Question concerning assistance for India

1. Assistance for earthquake/tsunami disaster

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

   Firstly, the Government of Japan has completed the disbursement of US$500 million emergency humanitarian assistance for the afflicted nations of the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters as of today, 21 January 2005. Of this US$500 million assistance, US$250 million have been directly paid to the Governments of the Republic of Indonesia, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives while the other US$250 million have been transferred to the bank accounts of 15 international organizations such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

   In conjunction with this assistance through international organizations, the first shipment of 125,000 tons of rice arrived in Indonesia yesterday. This rice will be delivered by the WFP to those who are afflicted in the Aceh area in Indonesia next week.

   The Government of Japan today decided to set up a temporary office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Banda Aceh, Indonesia to give assistance to the disaster relief activities of Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) emergency rescue team in Aceh province. This office will be manned by five Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials and will become operational in the first week of February. The advance team of SDF has already arrived in Aceh and has begun providing medical assistance for the people there, such as anti-measles vaccination for children. The main team will arrive in Aceh next week.

   Related Information (Major Earthquake off the Coast of Sumatra and Tsunami in the Indian Ocean)
   
2. Sri Lankan peace process

   Mr. Takashima: The next announcement is about the Sri Lankan peace process.

   The Government of Japan today decided to dispatch Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of the Government of Japan for the peace-building and reconstruction of Sri Lanka, to Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium to attend the third meeting of co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka to be held on 25 January. Special Representative Akashi will discuss the current situation with regard to the peace process in Sri Lanka with the representatives of the United States of America, the Kingdom of Norway and the European Commission. They are expected to issue a press statement after the meeting.

   Related Information (Japan-Sri Lanka Relations)
   
3. Questions concerning deportation of Kurdish persons

   Q: I would like to ask you about an incident which took place this Tuesday, 18 January. Two Kurds who had United Nations (UN) mandate refugee status were deported. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has already expressed its strong concern regarding the decision made by the Japanese Government. Could you please give us your response to this concern expressed by UNHCR? Also, could you please give us some sort of explanation concerning this decision?

   Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan decided to take this action after carefully studying the situation. It was established that the Kurdish persons were not in any way in danger of being executed or harmed by the Government of the Republic of Turkey, if and when they go to Turkey. This decision was based upon Japanese law. We are aware that the UNHCR does not have the same view as us. Since this is strictly a decision to be made by the Government of Japan, we believe we did what had to do and that it was right.

   Q: Why this difference in views between the Government of Japan and UNHCR?

   Mr. Takashima: We have decided independently based upon the facts and evidence we have gathered. For example, the person did not incur any sort of incident while he was in Turkey but returned to Japan and started claiming refugee status. We do not believe that his claim is substantiated by any facts or evidence.

   Q: We spoke to UNHCR officials here in Japan. We were informed that Japanese immigration officers investigated this issue in Turkey, escorted by Turkish Government officials, military personnel or police. A UNHCR official here said that conducting this kind of investigation with the authorities of the country is quite unusual. That leaves a sort of question as to whether this kind of investigation is credible in terms of international society if not under Japanese law?

   Mr. Takashima: I can confirm that officials from the Ministry of Justice were in Turkey to investigate this situation, but I cannot comment much on the details of what they did in Turkey. My understanding is that there was nothing inappropriate in terms of their activities and what they have done in Turkey. They collected the necessary information. Also, the Ministry of Justice collected other evidence and information in order to find out the real status of that person. The Government of Japan has decided in such a manner that is appropriate and legal, I would say, in accordance with the law.

   Q: Back in November 2002, Madame Sadako Ogata criticized the Government of Japan for not being extremely proactive or for being a little bit hesitant in accepting refugees. Two years have already passed since then. An amendment was made to the law last year, but at the same time, it is said that Japan is not very kind or generous in giving refugee status. Could you please describe the current situation?

   Mr. Takashima: As I have said, the Government of Japan has been acting in accordance with the existing Japanese law when there is any sort of request for a study of each individual case involving asylum seekers. This procedure and the law itself have been in constant review. My understanding is that the Ministry of Justice is conducting the review.

4. Question concerning press reports on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)

   Q: It is reported that 150 members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were killed by the Indonesian military. Could you give us your view on this report?

   Mr. Takashima: I am aware of that press report. The Government of Japan has been very active in the promotion of a peaceful settlement of the Aceh issue. We hope that the peace talks with the Indonesian Government will continue and that the talks will come to a successful conclusion. If the report is true, we regret that such a large number of GAM members have been killed.

   Related Information (Japan-Indonesia Relations)
   
5. Question concerning assistance for Sri Lanka

   Q: There is a complaint that the Government is not properly channeling its aid to Sri Lanka. What are your comments?

   Mr. Takashima: The Government of Japan has been in close consultation with the Government of Sri Lanka about this emergency assistance for afflicted persons and regions. We do not think that the Government of Sri Lanka is acting unfairly in its disbursement of any of the necessary assistance for those who are afflicted. This issue will also be discussed by Mr. Akashi at the meeting in Brussels which I mentioned earlier. At the same time, we hope that this very tragic incident of the tsunami will result in a rapprochement between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan Government so that peace will be rebuilt in that region.

   Related Information (Japan-Sri Lanka Relations)
   
6. Question concerning assistance for India

   Q: Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura said this morning that the Government is planning to extend longer term assistance to the Republic of India to help cope with the tsunami disaster. Could you give us any details?-When? What kind of assistance?

   Mr. Takashima: Emergency assistance was not requested by the Indian Government so we have not allocated any money for India yet. During the course of the talks between Japanese and Indian officials, the Indian side indicated a kind of willingness to place a request for yen credit or that sort of official development assistance (ODA) for the rebuilding or reconstruction of the areas afflicted by the tsunami. We are in a position to further discuss this issue with the Indian Government. This assistance will probably be given through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

   Related Information (Japan-India Relations)