Press Conference 20 December 2005
- Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso to Kanagawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima Prefectures
- Emergency grant aid for the Palestinian Legislative Council elections
- Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso on the opening of the National Assembly and the completion of the political process in Afghanistan
- Statement by Foreign Minister Aso on the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and the Republic of Korea
- Official development assistance (ODA) budget for FY2006
- Food aid to the African countries through the World Food Programme (WFP)
- Grant aid to the Republic of Palau
- Questions concerning light water reactors and the so-called graphite moderated reactors in North Korea
- Questions concerning Six-Party Talks
- Follow-up question concerning FY2006 ODA budget
- Question concerning the Middle East
- Questions concerning this year's foreign diplomacy and the prospects for next year
- Question concerning message to SDF in Iraq
- Visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso to Kanagawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima Prefectures
Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon. There are seven points to make.
The first is about the visits of Minister Aso to Kanagawa, Yamaguchi and Hiroshima.
Foreign Minister Aso will visit Kanagawa Prefecture on 26 December and Yamaguchi and Hiroshima Prefectures on 16 January next year.
During his stay in each prefecture, Foreign Minister Aso will meet Mr. Shigefumi Matsuzawa, the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr. Sekinari Nii, the Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Mr. Yuuzan Fujita, the Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, to exchange views. In addition, Foreign Minister Aso will inspect the US military installations and sites.
The itinerary looks as follows:
On 26 December, in the morning, Foreign Minister Aso will visit the United States of America (US) Naval Air Facility Atsugi, meet the Mayor of Zama City in Kanagawa Prefecture and visit Camp Zama. In the afternoon of the same day, he will visit Sagami General Depot, meet the acting Mayor and others of Sagamihara City and the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Next year, on 16 January, in the morning, Foreign Minister Aso will meet the Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture, and in the afternoon, visit the Airport of Iwakuni Air Station and meet the Mayors of Iwakuni City and Yuu City.
So that is about his visits to those areas.
- Emergency grant aid for the Palestinian Legislative Council elections
Mr. Taniguchi: The next is about emergency grant aid for the Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
On 20 December, the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency grant aid totaling about US$720,000, that is about 77 million yen, to support the fair and smooth implementation of the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, to be held on 25 January next year.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is planning to conduct Legislative Council elections on 25 January next year, and its central election committee has recently requested donor cooperation in funding for the elections. Following that request, the Government of Japan will extend assistance of about US$500,000, that is about 53.5 million yen, for the central election committee's voter education and provide about US$220,000, that is about 23.5 million yen, through the Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for the establishment of a Liaison and Support Unit (LSU) for monitoring by international and domestic electoral observers.
The Government of Japan considers that the fair and smooth implementation of such important elections is very much important in promoting the Middle East peace process. Therefore, the Government of Japan is also planning to dispatch an election monitoring mission of the government, headed by Mr. Shintaro Ito, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and also support the election monitoring activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the PA through grassroots human security grant aid.
- Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso on the opening of the National Assembly and the completion of the political process in Afghanistan
Mr. Taniguchi: The next item is about Foreign Minister Aso's statement on the opening of the National Assembly and the completion of the political process in Afghanistan.
The statement is as follows:
Japan welcomes the opening of the National Assembly in Afghanistan on 19 December (Mon). Japan, while welcoming the completion of the transitional period for building national governance structure - the political process - of Afghanistan, extends its heartfelt congratulations to the people of Afghanistan.
Since September 2001, Japan has extended assistance amounting as much as US$1 billion in all fields - political process, security improvement and reconstruction, based upon its firm belief that Afghanistan must not relapse into a hotbed of terrorism and narcotics.
Japan will continue to extend its active assistance for further developing the nation-building of Afghanistan.
By the way, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsuneo Nishida is visiting Afghanistan from today until tomorrow.
- Statement by Foreign Minister Aso on the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and the Republic of Korea
Mr. Taniguchi: The next item is about another statement by Foreign Minister Aso in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). He issued a statement dated 18 December. He mentioned first of all that 40 years previously on the same day the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea came into effect, and paid tribute to the effort people on both sides made in making it happen.
He then said that both the ROK and Japan had come a long way by referring to the intensity of the people-to-people exchanges between the two nations.
Following this he said, and I quote, "Japan intends to sincerely respond to various issues related to the past from a humanitarian viewpoint, taking into account the fact that this year marks a milestone in various ways in the history of Japan-ROK relations in the modern period and also taking seriously the ROK nationals' sentiments concerning the history.
In stepping up such efforts, I believe that the relationship of mutual understanding and trust to build a future-oriented Japan-ROK relationship will be even more strengthened. Both Japan and the ROK, sharing the basic values of freedom and democracy and as important neighbors striving for peace and economic prosperity for their peoples through market economy, have fostered a relationship of mutual dependency in various fields, including politics, economy and security.
I believe that tackling together the various common challenges, such as the formation of an East Asian community and the peaceful solution of North Korea's nuclear issue, and making further efforts to cooperate and coordinate for these goals will contribute to the stability and prosperity of the Asian region and of the international community."
So that is the statement. The English translation will be available soon on the website of the Foreign Ministry.
- Official development assistance (ODA) budget for FY2006
Mr. Taniguchi: The next items are about Japan's official development assistance (ODA) but before touching on those, let me just state that I have just heard from my counterparts how much the ODA budget is going to be for the year 2006.
Of note here is that you should put together the initial and supplementary budgets. The total amount, by putting together these initial and supplementary budget amounts, will be greater than the previous year's. In yen terms, that is 505.6 billion yen. In contrast, the figure for the previous year, which is this year, was 503.6 billion yen. Although the difference is very much small, nonetheless we have managed to increase the amount of ODA under the circumstances where a massive belt-tightening, as you know, is going on throughout the government agencies.
- Food aid to the African countries through the World Food Programme (WFP)
Mr. Taniguchi: One of the items that I wanted to say is about food aid through the World Food Programme (WFP) to African countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone and the Republic of Congo.
The Government of Japan has decided to extend food aid totaling 940 million yen, that is approximately US$7.9 million, through the WFP to refugees and internally displaced persons of countries facing a serious food crisis in a transitional stage from conflict to peace, such as Burundi and Rwanda in the Great Lakes region, and also Sierra Leone.
The breakdown of this assistance is as follows: (1) For internally displaced persons and refugees in Burundi, 170 million yen; (2) For internally displaced persons and refugees in Rwanda, 180 million yen; (3) For refugees and conflict-afflicted people in Tanzania, 310 million yen; (4) For internally displaced persons and refugees in Sierra Leone, 170 million yen; and (5) For vulnerable persons in the Republic of Congo, 110 million yen.
- Grant aid to the Republic of Palau
Mr. Taniguchi: Next, the Government of Japan has decided to extend grand aid of up to a total of 581 million yen to the Republic of Palau for the Project for the Improvement of North Dock of Peleliu State.
- Questions concerning light water reactors and the so-called graphite moderated reactors in North Korea
Q: Yesterday the North Korean news agency announced that the country would be increasing its nuclear deterrence and today there is a more lengthy announcement that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will build their own light water reactors and resume work on the so-called graphite moderated reactors, which if they do, would make them capable of having a large amount of materials for atomic weapons.
In view of the fact that Japan is usually considered to be a primary target for these weapons, what is the view of the Japanese Government on these latest statements coming out of Pyongyang?
Mr. Taniguchi: Concerning the increase in their deterrence capacity I have to say we have heard similar comments a number of times before from the DPRK.
More seriously about the light water reactor, I do not think that the North Korean government has attempted to produce light water reactors themselves in the past. Now they say they want to, and we will say please do. However, that will nullify the rational of the Six-Party Talks. In exchange for North Korean compliance to the non-proliferation regime, we would like to provide light water reactor facilities to North Korea. If North Korea produces their own light water reactors, there is going to be no use for the six-party framework to provide North Korea with such capacity. Thus it is going to be counter-productive for North Korea to pursue that course.
Q: What about the graphite?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well, North Korea wanted to get electricity, that is what they said. For that purpose North Korea requested to the world community at large that countries like the US and Japan provide North Korea with the capability to produce electricity. So the same applies, if they really believe they can do it themselves, well they can. However I will repeat, this is going to undermine the core rational of the Six-Party Talks.
Let me just add by saying that they seem to have long thought that time is always on their side, that is the crux of their misinterpretation.
- Questions concerning Six-Party Talks
Q: The ROK is making new initiatives to enhance the Six-Party Talks. As far as I have heard they will start at the beginning of next year. How is Japan going to find common ground with the ROK to make a common initiative to start the Six-Party Talks in the beginning of next year together with the ROK?
Mr. Taniguchi: As far as the Six-Party Talks are concerned, the Government of Japan has always sought the early resumption of the process and we have worked intensively with relevant countries like the People's Republic of China, the ROK and the US to resume the process as soon as possible. This is the general remark.
As for the schedule of the next round of Six-Party Talks, I am sad to say that nothing has yet been decided. However, this does not mean that we have lost interest. In contrast to what the DPRK wants to say, we are still very much committed to pursuing the course of the Six-Party Talks. We are also seeking an opportunity to resume bilateral talks with North Korea. I cannot say when or whether that is going to be possible, but regarding bilateral talks, we are also energetically pursuing that course.
Q: Does the Japanese Government prefer bilateral talks or does it prefer Six-Party Talks?
Mr. Taniguchi: That is not really the issue.
In the bilateral talks we are considering bilateral issues, such as the abduction and missile issues, issues that are very much relevant to the bilateral relationship.
As for the correlation between the bilateral and Six-Party Talks, you can imagine there are two tracks. It is in the interests of the Japanese Government that the two tracks reinforce each other. So the question is not whether we are interested in one or the other, we are interested in both.
Please note that after the completion of these tracks, only then will it be possible for both nations, the DPRK and Japan, to get engaged in the normalization process. So that is the outline as far as these talks are concerned.
- Follow-up question concerning FY2006 ODA budget
Q: On the ODA, according to the latest announcement on the ODA budget for FY2006, the budget will decline for the seventh straight year. Although in his regular press conference Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso seemed, I am not sure if it was praise, but he seemed to have said that the ODA budget is modestly good. How does the Foreign Ministry see the latest figures?
Mr. Taniguchi: As I said, we have to take into consideration that the overall figures for this fiscal year's initial budget have been much smaller than previously and the Government of Japan is conducting a massive belt-tightening effort. Under these circumstances, the amount that we have managed to get is fairly good. In fact if you combine the amount of initial budget and supplementary budget together, the total amount for the calendar year for 2006 is actually greater than the previous year's amount. Under these circumstances we have done a fairly good job.
- Question concerning the Middle East
Q: I have a question on the Middle East. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi going there next month and Japan is contributing to the elections. The US and the European Union (EU) have said that if Hamas were to take power in the Palestinian region of Phatah that they would cut off funding to the Palestinian territories because they regard Hamas as a terrorist organization. What is Japan's view on Hamas, and is there any information on how Japan would respond if Hamas were to take power?amas as a terrorist organoorganizationn
Mr. Taniguchi: Exactly for that situation not to happen, the Japanese Government is increasing its effort to help support the nation-building process in the Palestinian region. So, for that kind of chaotic situation not to happen, Prime Minister Koizumi is thinking of going to both Israel and the Palestinian region.
During his trip there is no doubt that Prime Minister Koizumi will send a very powerful message to both parties, that they should proceed with the process as they have done. It is the wish of the Japanese Government to play an even greater role in accelerating the peace process in that region. We should always be prepared for the worst case scenario, but we are still hopeful. If we were not, then we would not be going there.
- Questions concerning this year's foreign diplomacy and the prospects for next year
Q: As the year has past how would you assess the Foreign Ministry's diplomacy for this year and what issues do you think will figure highly for next year?
Mr. Taniguchi: Well that is a broad question you might want to ask Foreign Minister Taro Aso.
However, diplomats are like firefighters and that is always the case. We do hope that the better relationships we have with neighboring nations the better we will be served, and that general principle has never changed and something we will continue to hold.
This year has been eventful not in small part because this year marked the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. It reminds me that if you look at the forces with which the Self-Defense Force (SDF) personnel have collaborated in Iraq, those countries are the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and the Commonwealth of Australia. From these countries came prisoners of war (PWO) and civilian internees who had to suffer seriously because of the war. However look at these countries, they are collaborating with the Japanese service men and women in uniform in Iraq, so that shows that time is a great healer and that it is important to be forward looking.
As far as the past history is concerned, it has been noteworthy in the sense that Prime Minister Koizumi made a very powerful remark, at the Asian-African Summit in the Republic of Indonesia, and also Foreign Minister Aso has mentioned that we are not washing our hands. We are always giving serious consideration to what we have done in the past, and we believe we always have to be considerate about the feelings and sensibilities of our neighboring nations.
Q: So I suppose that 2006 will be a promising year for better Japan-China and Japan-ROK relations?
Mr. Taniguchi: Not only in terms of the following year, but we are always hoping for as good a relationship as we possibly can have with China and the ROK.
- Question concerning message to SDF in Iraq
Q: Regarding 2006, can you say something to the SDF in Iraq?
Mr. Taniguchi: I wish them the best in their daily routine.
In regards to the SDF, I will say the following. It is exceptional that the SDF personnel in Iraq have never conducted any petty crimes, which is remarkable considering the size of the military personnel in Iraq. So they are very much disciplined, and that discipline, I believe, is very much well-received by the local community. This point has been conveyed to Prime Minister Koizumi and Foreign Minister Aso repeatedly by three cabinet members of Iraq, and so we are very much proud of their conducting a very important role in Iraq. Until the dust has settled down and Iraq has a functioning, democratically-elected regime, and for as long as deemed necessary by our own judgment, I really hope that the SDF personnel would continue to do the kind of things that they have always thought they needed to do.
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