Press Conference, 27 June 2006

Announcements
Follow-up questions concerning the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue
Follow-up questions concerning the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement
Question concerning potential Japanese response to developments in the North Korean abduction issue
Question concerning the latest developments regarding the potential test-launch of a missile by North Korea
Questions concerning the provision of patrol boats to the Indonesian Government by the Japanese Government
Question concerning developments in the Takeshima issue

I. Announcements

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon, sorry to be late. Thank you very much for waiting for me. I will be brief in making announcements.

Mr. Taro Aso, Minister for Foreign Affairs, is now on his way to the Russian Federation to join the Group of Eight (G8) Ministerial Meeting. His Russian visit is going to be followed by a visit to the Ukraine.

From the Dominican Republic there is going to be a visit by President Leonel Fernandez soon.

There is going to be emergency grant assistance given to Afghanistan to the Counter Narcotics Trust Fund.

There is going to be the sixth meeting of the UK-Japan Joint Committee on Cooperation in Science and Technology. From the UK side Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to HM Government and Head of Office of Science and Innovation, is going to be attending.

Also, the fourth round of negotiations on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement are going to be held from 28 (Wed) to 29 (Thu) June in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia.

There is also going to be the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue due to take place on 28 (Wed) and 29 (Thu) June in Tokyo.

There are a couple of other items about economic assistance but I will stop here and take questions from you. Any questions please?

II. Follow-up questions concerning the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue

Q: My question is on the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue. Do you have any gist of the discussions? What is going to be the focus? What kind of counter-terrorism measures are they going to talk about? The level of the talks; whether they are ministerial-, senior official-level talks or so on?

Mr. Taniguchi: As I said, it is going to be taking place on 28 and 29 June in Tokyo. You should keep in mind that the commerce channel that links the ASEAN nations and Japan with other parts of the world has been threatened by maritime pirate activities. The area has also been providing international organized crime groups with a venue to trade drugs, engage in human trafficking, and so on. So it has been part of our vital concerns-by 'our' I mean Japan and the ASEAN nations-to counter those illegal activities.

You may recall that Japan of late has decided to give aid to the Indonesian Government so that Indonesia will be able to build three new patrol boats to provide enhanced security to the region. Taking this opportunity to hold the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue, they may be talking not only about terrorism as such but also threats of that kind that range from pirate activities to drug trafficking. To this dialogue Mr. Tadamichi Yamamoto, Ambassador in Charge of International Counter-Terrorism from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is going to be joining to co-chair. It will also be co-chaired by Mr. Hussin Nayan, Ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia. To this meeting other officials from the ASEAN nations, plus Japan, will be attending, and it is going to be held in a hotel in Tokyo. So that is about the ASEAN-Japan Counter-Terrorism Dialogue, if I may get another question about this I would be happy to answer that.

Q: Sorry, before you leave that, we talked about the Straights of Malacca before. Apart from providing these three patrol boats, is there any other logistical support that Japan is considering, such as a possible dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF)?

Mr. Taniguchi: No. No project or program of that kind has been discussed yet. There may be an opportunity in the future but I have heard nothing about it so far.

Q: The ASEAN representatives, they are all ambassadors, or will there be people from the different countries?

Mr. Taniguchi: I would have to check about that. I know that the ambassador that I introduced from Malaysia is going to co-chair the meeting, but I am not so sure whether or not there are going to be other ambassadors coming to this meeting, sorry.

Q: Is Japan also coming to this thinking about providing any new monetary assistance in relation to the counter-terrorism dialogues?

Mr. Taniguchi: I cannot deny the possibility given the fact that the Government of Japan has been providing financial aid or official development assistance (ODA) to the governments of the region. But I am not so sure if those programs will be directly linked to the heightened intent to provide counter-terrorism capabilities. Apart from that you should also remember that monetary cooperation as such has been going on for some time involving Japan and ASEAN nations, but that is a separate issue.

Q: Piracy is quite common in this region, but you mentioned drug trading and human trafficking. I am not so familiar with them, what are the areas in which that is taking place?

Mr. Taniguchi: I should not have talked about things that I am not so familiar with. I wanted to stress trafficking involving drugs and illegal activities. If I may be honest, I am not so sure whether human trafficking has been observed to such an extent as would provoke interest by the relevant governments.

Q: Is this going to be an exchange of views only or will it lead to some implementation of specific plans?

Mr. Taniguchi: I do not know, I should come back to you later on after this dialogue has finished

Q: On the counter-terrorism issue again, is this open to the media to some extent or is it going to be closed?

Mr. Taniguchi: There has been a consultation between the Japanese Government and the ASEAN side to create a photo opportunity and press opportunity in the first part of the dialogue. It is not decided yet, but there is the hope that there will be something.

Q: We will be notified if there is a press event?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, we will notify you.

Related Information (Press Release)

III. Follow-up questions concerning the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement

Q: It is the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement that I am most interested in. Can you tell me anymore about where the progress is on that lies? I have rather lost track of it, what specific areas are they going to be discussing this time?

Mr. Taniguchi: Yes, about your question, I must say in general that we are all aspiring to get a region-wide partnership agreement involving ASEAN nations. The Japanese Government is in the process of forming an agreement about the possible AJCEP. But that said, forging a tie such as that with any single nation is a daunting task and very time consuming. If that is so with a single country it is even more so when it involves multilateral institutions such as ASEAN.

But we are on track and this is going to be the fourth such meeting, as I mentioned. On 27 June there is going to be something called a workshop meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat Office, followed by two days of discussions that will be the fourth round of the AJCEP Agreement discussions. To these discussions from the Japanese side representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and also from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will be attending. From the ASEAN side representatives of the member countries and others will be attending. It is said that at the negotiations the participants will discuss issues such as the structure of the AJCEP Agreement and its draft.

Q: You say on track, on track for what? Is there a time frame for this agreement?

Mr. Taniguchi: No, there is not a time frame, we can only say that we would like to have it complete as soon as possible. Minister for Foreign Affairs Aso gave a speech on Japan's economic policy earlier this year in January. In it he mentioned and stressed that the process has to be accelerated, simply because it is a time consuming job, but that is not a good enough excuse for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs or anyone else to delay the process.

Q: What are the main sticking points to progress that make you say that it has to be accelerated? Is it on the tariff side, or on their agricultural access side, or where?

Mr. Taniguchi: I do not know how I can specify a single area or two. It involves our legal framework, it involves the mutual recognition of some of the standard procedures, and it involves many other issues such as mutually recognizing what we would call the product authorization process and so on. It involves many other issues, so they have to deal with these issues piece by piece. The fact that representatives from four ministries are attending is testimony to the fact that they are looking at many aspects ranging from financial affairs, agricultural and fishery affairs, to industrial policies, with tariffs most certainly included.

Q: So this is the fourth round, when did things get started? I do not remember when things actually got under way.

Mr. Taniguchi: I do not remember when it started, I would have to check the record.

Q: But was it envisaged at that time that there would be five, six, seven rounds? What was the anticipation?

Mr. Taniguchi: Well, it takes many rounds, actually many months and years, sometimes two or three years. I should come back to you with more details about when this process actually started.

Q: I thought there was a timetable for completion, actually. I cannot remember when it was because I get it confused with other agreements. But anyway, you say there is not a target date for completion?

Mr. Taniguchi: No, there is not a target date for completion.

Related Information (Press Release)

IV. Question concerning potential Japanese response to developments in the North Korean abduction issue

Q: Tomorrow, I think in North Korea, members of the Republic of Korea (ROK) family related to Ms. Megumi Yokota are going to meet their son for the first time in 20 years. There are reports that his daughter, who is probably Ms. Yokota's daughter, will be there. Will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs be monitoring this event carefully? According to Japanese media reports the husband will probably say that Ms. Yokota is dead, how will they deal with this 'manipulated information,' if you will?

Mr. Taniguchi: Well, to monitor may not be an appropriate word because there is no hidden camera that we can use in the meeting room. But certainly we have been in close touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the ROK Government. So one would expect that what is going to happen is going to be reported to us through diplomatic channels, including the channels of the ROK Government. Other than that I do not know what I should add. It is going to be interesting to see who really comes out and what the North Korean Government is going to say about this. But the bottom line, of course, is that the Japanese Government does continue to want North Korea to come out as clean as possible with solid evidence and facts related to the abduction issue.

V. Question concerning the latest developments regarding the potential test-launch of a missile by North Korea

Q: I have another question on North Korea, since we are talking about it. It was thought that the launch of a missile was imminent a short time ago; it was suggested that the fuel had been loaded and a launch was about to take place within 48 hours. Well, obviously that has not happened, so what is the latest information available to Japan on the status of that missile launch now?

Mr. Taniguchi: If I knew more, I could tell you more. But intelligence of that sort is something that we are not allowed to discuss, and it is better for us not to discuss. The bottom line, again, is that I would hope that the unified front that was created by the United States (US) and Japan has worked to the extent that would send a powerful signal to North Korea that any attempt to test or launch a ballistic missile would run counter to everyone's interests, including those of North Korea. So we are still watching very carefully what North Korea is trying to do or will attempt to do, but other than that I have nothing else to add. Are there any other questions?

VI. Questions concerning the provision of patrol boats to the Indonesian Government by the Japanese Government

Q: A deputy to the Prime Minister of Singapore came to Tokyo about a year ago and made quite a strong representation to the Japanese Government for more tangible assistance regarding policing the straights. That is why I asked a question about these three patrol boats, I am assuming that at this point in time the Japanese Government has not responded to that request for more tangible assistance in policing the straights?

Mr. Taniguchi: The granting of assistance to the Indonesian Government which is especially geared toward building three patrol vessels, boats rather, may be part of that tangible effort on the side of the Japanese Government to provide more security to the region, which certainly includes the vital choking point of the Straights of Malacca.

Q: These vessels are to be built in Japan, correct?

Mr. Taniguchi: They are going to be built in Japan through an open bidding process. Who will be the shipbuilder has not been decided yet, but the three new ships are going to be provided to the Indonesian Government. Although they are small vessels, one would hope that it will give an important addition to the patrolling capacity of the Indonesian Government that is very concerned with the pirating activities in the region.

Q: They will be crewed by Indonesian or international crews?

Mr. Taniguchi: They will be crewed by Indonesian coast guard crew members and, by the way, armored by the Indonesian Government as well.

Related Information (Press Release)

VII. Question concerning developments in the Takeshima issue

Q: On a totally different topic, it is believed that next week around 3 July the ROK is planning to conduct a survey to study the currents of the water near the disputed island of Takeshima. I was wondering if the ROK has yet told the Japanese Government or Ministry of Foreign Affairs through official channels that it will be going ahead with its survey. And if it does go ahead with its survey, do you foresee any tensions like the ones now?

Mr. Taniguchi: If I may say so, your question has many 'ifs,' so I should refrain from answering such a question directly. But that said, as a general principle, good channels of communication have to be made viable between the two nations, so long as this remains a contentious issue.

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