Press Conference, 18 December 2008

Second Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations in Tokyo
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenichiro Sasae visits Myanmar
Malawian Foreign Minister visits Japan
Questions concerning the Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations
Questions concerning Japanese diplomacy in 2008
Questions concerning Japan's foreign policy outlook for 2009
Questions concerning Japan's outlook for the incoming Obama Administration

I. Second Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations in Tokyo

Deputy Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura: Good afternoon. Welcome to the conference. I have a couple of announcements to start with.

First, this evening, Japan and Australia will hold the Second Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations in Tokyo. From the Japanese side, Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada will participate in the Consultations. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will represent the Australian side. In the Consultations, four Ministers will discuss the international situation and specific ways to enhance security cooperation between the two countries.

Prior to this consultation, actually right after this press conference, Foreign Minister Smith is scheduled to deliver a speech entitled "Japan and Australia: an Evolving Strategic Partnership" at the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

Related Information (Press Release)

II. Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Kenichiro Sasae visits Myanmar

Second, Mr. Kenichiro Sasae, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, is visiting Myanmar from today, Thursday, the 18th to Saturday, the 20th, to exchange views on the bilateral relations and other issues.

III. Malawian Foreign Minister visits Japan

The third and the last, as I mentioned at the previous press conference, Malawian Foreign Minister Joyce Banda is wrapping up her stay in Japan. Last Tuesday, the 16th, Foreign Minister Nakasone hosted a dinner to welcome his Malawian counterpart. At the dinner, Foreign Minister Nakasone told Foreign Minister Banda that despite the current global financial crisis, Japan remains committed to pledges announced at the TICAD IV.

I now invite your questions, please.

Related Information (Press Release)

IV. Questions concerning the Japan-Australia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations

Q: On Japan and Australia, since Japan only has two plus two talks with the US and Australia, what is the significance of this meeting this time, especially for the Asian region, the cooperation between Japan and Australia in security?

Mr. Kawamura: Australia is an important partner to Japan in the global and Pacific areas because the two countries share fundamental values of basic human rights and market economies. We share those basic interests and fundamental values in the area of security situations in Asia. The two countries issued a joint statement, a declaration of security cooperation, last year. This round of Japan-Australia two plus two meetings will be the follow-up of last year's security cooperation declaration. This is quite significant step ahead for the two countries and for the region as well.

Q: Is this kind of cooperation in any sense targeted to China or North Korea, by any chance?

Mr. Kawamura: Not in that way. China is quite an important partner to Japan and we are on the way for furtherance of the cooperation, not limited in the area of trade, but also in the other regional matters. Australia and Japan are discussing the global and Pacific areas' issues in general terms and we share fundamental security interests and values. So, from those global perspectives and regional aspects, we will discuss any items which come into our interests. We are not targeting any particular, single country or we are not ganging up for a specific country in the region.

Q: And for the foreign ministerial talks that will take place before the two plus two, is Minister Nakasone going to take up the whaling issue with Foreign Minister Smith, and if so, what kind of message is Japan...

Mr. Kawamura: I cannot prejudge the meeting, however, it will be no wonder if the two ministers refer to the issue of whaling because they discussed the whaling issue in Lima, Peru on the occasion of the APEC last month.

On the whaling issue, Japan thinks that the normalization of the IWC would be quite important and for that goal, Japan and Australia should cooperate. That is the basic stance, and I think if the issue comes out, we will reiterate and confirm this stance with the Australian counterpart. I believe the Australian side also thinks that the issue should be discussed in a calmer atmosphere and the discussions should be held at the IWC in normal conditions.

V. Questions concerning Japanese diplomacy in 2008

Q: Since I heard that this is likely going to be the last press conference for this year because next week will be Christmas, can I ask you for your opinion or your evaluation of the past year in Japanese diplomacy?

Mr. Kawamura: Okay. If I review the making of Japanese foreign policy in the year 2008, I could summarize that for Japanese diplomacy, the year 2008 was a year of global responsibility. Japan hosted a series of international gatherings, including the G8 Summit Meeting and the TICAD IV in Yokohama as well as a regional summit meeting, which took place just recently. Through those international gatherings, Japan is very pleased and honored that it could provide a very useful international forum which were successful in building a kind of foundation from where the rest of the international community can benefit and expect further development.

On the issue of African development and control of climate change, and also closer ties with the Asian neighbors, on those three fronts, in particular, Japan's leadership was proud to make crucial contributions to the meaningful achievements. I believe that we are confronting new issues coming out of the horizon, including the international financial crisis, intensified challenges from terrorists and piracy, and the denuclearization of North Korea.

So, we will be committed to making the best possible efforts in cooperation with the rest of the international community to see further steps forward in the coming new year, 2009.

VI. Questions concerning Japan's foreign policy outlook for 2009

Q: If I may ask, as you said, there are a lot of new issues that we are facing as we step into 2009. What do you think will be the most major challenges for Japan, especially in the Asian area?

Mr. Kawamura: I am quite certain they are not brand new challenges or they should be called continuous challenges, but for the new year that is coming, we will renew our commitments. In that sense, I say they are new challenges.

Coming down to the Asian context, first of all, we should do our best to maintain the close relationship between Japan and the rest of the Asian countries which has been very successful in 2008, in particular, in addressing the top leaders. Keeping good relations between those top leaders among the Asian countries will be a clue for addressing the issues. I think the first, primary target or challenge for Japan for 2009 is to keep good, high-level relationship with those Asian neighbors.

Secondly, we will continue to cooperate with the Asian neighbors to deal with the concrete details of the issues. One of the salient issues will be, of course, the North Korean situation. It is a regret that in the recent round of Six-Party Talks we could not reach an agreement on the verification package. My understanding is that the chair, China, will coordinate the requests and views of the other five parties to arrange the next round of Six-Party Talks. The issue will continue to be there, so we have to exert our best efforts continuously throughout the next year to reach the goal of denuclearization of North Korea and the advancement of the Japan-North Korea bilateral relationship, including the issue of abductions of Japanese citizens.

And third, the issue of climate change. At the Hokkaido Toyako Summit Meeting, G8 leaders successfully reached a long-term goal of reducing the CO2 emissions by 2050 by at least half. Based upon this agreement, we will need to make an advancement. The COP14 has just finished with the Asian partners we will need to make furtherance so that the post-Kyoto deadline is duly met.

VII. Questions concerning Japan's outlook for the incoming Obama Administration

Q: On the brighter side, how about the incoming Obama Administration? How is Japan looking forward to working with the US on the alliance?

Mr. Kawamura: First of all, we look very much forward to working closely with the new Obama Administration. Mr. Obama attaches much importance on the vitalization of the Japan-US Alliance. This point was already confirmed by the two leaders. On the issue of North Korea, Mr. Obama also takes a similar stance, in the sense that he sees importance on the resolution of the abduction issue, not only of Japanese citizens, but also of Korean citizens. Japan hopes to advance cooperation with the Obama Administration.

Q: Thank you.

Mr. Kawamura: Thank you very much. So, in the last, I wish all of you good luck, health and prosperity in the coming new year, 2009. Thank you very much for your understanding and support.

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