Press Conference, 29 May 2007

Visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other European countries
Recent bilateral foreign ministerial talks
International meetings to be hosted by the Japanese Government in 2008
Latest Official Development Aid (ODA) project in the People's Republic of China

I. Visit by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and other European countries

Deputy Press Secretary Tomohiko Taniguchi: Good afternoon, and thanks for joining me for today's conference.

Firstly Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan are about to complete their packed European tour. They are now in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and scheduled for them later today in the UK is the royal dinner hosted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Their Majesties will be coming back to Tokyo tomorrow, Wednesday, 30 May. I hope they will have a safe journey back home.

Related Information (Itinerary)

II. Recent bilateral foreign ministerial talks

Mr. Taniguchi: Minister for Foreign Affairs Taro Aso had bilateral talks, Monday, 28 May, with his Chinese, Pakistani, Myanmar, and V4 counterparts, as I announced he would at my last conference.

With Mr. Yang Jiechi, the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, the two of them reaffirmed that the strategic win-win relationship should be further enhanced. They agreed on accelerating the consultations on the East China Sea development. The issues discussed in a very much cordial fashion included such topics as how to fight against climate change, the promotion of youth exchanges between the two countries, and some issues of their mutual concern, like North Korea.

With Minister of Foreign Affairs Khurshid M. Kasuri of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr. Aso recognized that Pakistan's development as a moderate and modern Muslim nation will hold importance for the region and beyond. Mr. Kasuri apparently looked inspired by the initiative Mr. Aso introduced, namely to create the Corridor for Peace and Prosperity; that is, to grow an agro-industrial complex in the West Bank area and to connect it with the State of Israel, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Gulf-area nations.

There has been issued a press statement after the V4 plus Japan Foreign Ministers' meeting, and you can have a full look at it on the website of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

III. International meetings to be hosted by the Japanese Government in 2008

Mr. Taniguchi: On a different note let me say that next year, in the year 2008, the Japanese Government will host the G8 ministerial meeting for developmental issues in early April in Tokyo, the TICADIV, or the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, between 28 and 30 May in Yokohama, and the G8 Foreign Ministerial Meeting on 26 and 27 June, in Kyoto.

IV. Latest Official Development Aid (ODA) project in the People's Republic of China

Mr. Taniguchi: The last point I wanted to make for my opening statement concerns the latest project of Official Development Assistance Japan is extending to China, of which the Exchange of Notes already took place yesterday, 28 May, in Beijing. The amount of money is up to 585 million Japanese yen. It is grant aid, and it is to help fund the PRC Human Resources Development Scholarship Project, aimed at sending Chinese Government officials for overseas studies. The assistance money Japan is providing is earmarked to cover the cost for the 48 officials who will come to Japan for post graduate works. Let me add as a footnote that that is actually a continued assistance with which as many as 265 Chinese officials have already come to Japan and obtained post graduate degrees. Among them, just for your information, 45 went to Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, 41 studied at Waseda University, 25 spent their years at the Niigata-based International University of Japan, and 12 went to Nagoya University.

Related Information (Press Release)

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