Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 21 October 2010

Statement by the Press Secretary on the attack on UN Envoy in Iraq
Draft resolution by Japan at the United Nations General Assembly for the total elimination of nuclear weapons
Niigata Declaration on APEC Food Security
Chair's Summary of the Ministerial Interim Meeting of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM)
Japan-Botswana Summit Meeting
VIP Visits
Question concerning the Japan-India Summit Meeting
Question concerning Defense budget requests
Questions concerning Japan's position on the expanding of Israeli settlements in the West Bank
Question concerning prospects for tackling climate change issues
Questions concerning agricultural assistance and trade with Africa
Questions concerning anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden
Question concerning Japanese investment in Africa
Questions concerning support for Japan's draft resolution for the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Statement by the Press Secretary on the attack on UN Envoy in Iraq

Deputy Press Secretary Hidenobu Sobashima: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Today I have several topics that I would like to present to you before inviting your questions.

First the statement by the Press Secretary on the attack on UN Envoy in Iraq. Japan deeply regrets that the attack has occurred in Najaf, Iraq, which is assumed to have targeted Mr. Ad Melkert, UN Special Representative for Iraq. Japan reiterates its firm condemnation of this atrocious act in Iraq.

Japan appreciates the activity of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and Japan expects that Iraqi people maintain mutual respect for different ethnic and religious groups and continue making efforts toward nation-building. Japan will keep its proactive support towards such efforts by the Iraqi people.

Realted Information ( Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the attack on UN Envoy in Iraq )

Draft resolution by Japan at the United Nations General Assembly for the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Mr. Sobashima: Secondly, last week Japan distributed in the United Nations a draft resolution entitled "United action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons". Since 1994, every year, we have proposed the draft resolution, and it has been adopted, and this year also, last week we tabled the draft resolution. We expect the adoption at the First Committee level of the UN General Assembly toward the end of this month or early next month. We have already around 50 co-sponsors, including the United States. This year we changed the title – last year's title was "Renewed determination towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons". This year it is "United action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons".

Of course the resolution envisages eventual elimination of nuclear weapons and this year, in the preamble, we referred to the UN Secretary General's visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in the operative parts we have such paragraphs as a reaffirmation of an unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) are committed under its Article VI. I would like to refrain from going into the detail, but we hope for the adoption of this resolution by a large majority, or if possible by consensus, without a vote.

Niigata Declaration on APEC Food Security

Mr. Sobashima: Next we have distributed the Niigata Declaration on APEC Food Security. This is the outcome of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security. The APEC Ministers responsible for food security gathered in Niigata on 16 and 17 October, under the chairmanship of Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Michihiko Kano.

Please have a look at Paragraph 7, on the third page. It says, "We agreed that APEC economies would collectively pursue the shared goals of (i) sustainable development of the agricultural sector, and (ii) facilitation of investment, trade and markets". It goes on to say, "We also endorsed an APEC Action Plan on Food Security, which identifies specific activities to be implemented by APEC economies to strengthen regional food security." Then we have "Shared Goal 1", that is "Sustainable Development of the Agricultural Sector", immediately before Paragraph 8. And immediately before Paragraph 13 there is "Shared Goal 2: Facilitation of Investment, Trade and Markets". Then the final paragraph, that is "The Way Forward", says "We instructed APEC Senior Officials to monitor the implementation of the Action Plan on Food Security, to report progress on its implementation to APEC Ministers on an annual basis, and to compile an assessment report on overall achievements following the completion of the Action Plan". And you have the Action Plan there, with 62 action plan items. These were endorsed by the APEC Ministers responsible for food security.

Realted Information ( APEC JAPAN 2010 Official Site )

Chair's Summary of the Ministerial Interim Meeting of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM)

Mr. Sobashima: Then we have the Chair's Summary of the Ministerial Interim Meeting of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM). This interim meeting was held on 16 October in Tokyo, to follow up the outcomes of the Fifth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM 5) as well as to prepare for PALM 6. PALM 5 was held last year, in 2009, and PALM 6 will be held in 2012.

Please have a look at Paragraph 4. It says that the Japanese side reported that Japan has already provided assistance in the area of environment, climate change and human security such as health and education amounting to approximately 32.3 billion yen out of 50 billion yen pledged at PALM 5 in May 2009. Pacific island countries appreciated the fact that Japan's assistance has been steadily implemented.

And please have a look at Paragraph 7. It says that the Japanese side expressed its continued commitment to assisting the efforts of Pacific island countries in the spirit of equal partnership.

And Paragraph 8 says that Ministers shared their views that firm establishment of democracy and rule of law as well as political stability are important for the development of this region. To this end, the Ministers expressed that they would pay the closest attention to the steps that Fiji was taking and planned to take. We have free and fair elections to be held in Fiji in mind, although it is not explicit here. Pacific island countries also appreciated the fact that Japan dispatched election observers and made a financial contribution to the general elections held in August this year in the Solomon Islands.

And in Paragraph 14, it is rather a long sentence, longer than others comparatively speaking, but I will read this. In order to tackle climate change issues, the Japanese side emphasized the necessity of early adoption of a new, comprehensive legal document that establishes a fair and effective international framework in which all major economies participate. The Japanese side expressed that it would like to work closely with Pacific island countries in this regard. The Japanese side also explained that it has been steadily implementing fast-start financing, and that it will host the Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting of the REDD+ Partnership - REDD+ means reforestation in a wider sense - co-chaired by Japan and Papua New Guinea on 26 October. Pacific island countries expressed their support for Japan's efforts in this regard, and also emphasized the necessity for further assistance to those countries which are vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

I would like to refer also to Paragraph 15, which says that the Japanese side highlighted the importance of the reform of the Security Council of the United Nations, as an issue of global governance. Pacific island countries reiterated their support for Japan for permanent membership in the Council.

As I already mentioned, the next Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting, PALM 6, will be held in Nago, Okinawa, on 25 and 26 May 2012. So this is about the Pacific Islands Meeting.

Japan-Botswana Summit Meeting

Mr. Sobashima: And then we have distributed the paper on the visit of the President of Botswana. Please have a look at the paper "Japan-Botswana Summit Meeting". The President of Botswana had a meeting with Prime Minister Kan on 18 October. Please have a look at Paragraph 1. Prime Minister Kan stated that Japan would like to continue to support Botswana, and he would like to proactively consider the provision of ODA loans for a regional infrastructure project in Botswana. In addition, the Prime Minister expressed his expectations for the furthering of cooperation on the development of natural resources in Botswana through Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC).

In response, President Khama expressed his gratitude for Japanese assistance and welcomed the Japanese proposal for ODA loans and the joint-development of natural resources. The President also stated his expectations for the expansion of direct investment of Japan in Botswana.

The two leaders also discussed United Nations Security Council reform, and President Khama announced his renewed support for Japan’s bid for a permanent seat in the Security Council.

Those points are reflected in the Joint Press Statement between Japan and the Republic of Botswana, so I will skip reading the joint statement.

VIP Visits

Mr. Sobashima: Then I have the announcements of foreign dignitaries' visits to Japan.

The first is Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), who is in Tokyo now. Yesterday he had meetings with Prime Minister Kan and also had a meeting and a dinner with Foreign Minister Maehara. Dr. Surin and the Japanese Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister reaffirmed the importance of cooperation between Japan and ASEAN.

Then the visit of President of the Republic of Guatemala, H.E. Mr. Alvaro Colom Caballeros. He is paying a working visit to Japan, from yesterday, 20 October, until this Saturday, 23 October. He is expected to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, and also to have a meeting with the Prime Minister.

Then we have the visit of the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, from 24 October, that is the coming Sunday, until 26 October, next Tuesday. He will be accompanied by Mrs. Singh. The Prime Minister and Mrs. Singh are expected to have an audience with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, and Dr. Singh will have a summit meeting with Prime Minister Kan.

I have a little further explanation about the importance of the Indian Minister's visit to Japan. The two countries have a strategic and global partnership and therefore the two leaders will review the developments so far, and perhaps discuss the direction in the future. Of course the two countries have agreed in principle on the EPA between the two countries, and some sort of affirmation or confirmation by the two leaders will be made during the visit of the Prime Minister. And of course the other issues like civil nuclear cooperation, the negotiations are still underway, and other issues of cooperation should be discussed. And after the meeting of course we will have the announcement of the result of the meeting.

Then we have the President of the Gabonese Republic, H.E. Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba. His visit is expected from 26 until 29 October, Tuesday next week until Friday next week. Again, the President will be accompanied by his spouse. President and Mrs. Bongo will have an audience with Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress, and the President will have a summit meeting with the Prime Minister. The President of Gabon will also be participating in the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10), now underway in Nagoya. The high-level segment is toward the latter part of next week and the President will be participating in COP10, and we welcome this.

These are the topics and information I would like to share today. I welcome your questions.

Question concerning the Japan-India Summit Meeting

Q: Can you confirm on what day the Kan-Singh Summit Meeting will take place?

Mr. Sobashima: In the afternoon of Monday, 25 October.

Question concerning Defense budget requests

Q: I have a couple of questions. The first has to do with the changes that seem to be happening in the Japanese budget; in particular that there seems to be requests coming from the Ministry of Defense to expand the size of the Ground Self-Defense Force, and today there is a new report that the submarine fleet may be expanded from 16 to 22. My first question is, do you expect any diplomatic or foreign policy effect from the potential expansion of the Self-Defense Forces that seems to be requested by the Ministry of Defense?

Mr. Sobashima: My answer is, at least as far as negative effects are concerned, we hope there will be no negative effect. In any event, I would like to refrain from commenting further, because the Cabinet as a whole will discuss the mid-term defense policy, and by the end of this year there may be a conclusion on the mid-term defense policy, and perhaps the next fiscal year's budget request may be related to the defense policy. So including the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as a Cabinet we will have the conclusion of the mid-term defense policy, and in any event for the next year we have the process for budget formation, and we hope that there will be the decision of the government as a whole what to do as for the policy and also for the budget. Defense is of course one of the important elements of Japanese external relations, and we, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are responsible for example, for Official Development Assistance (ODA) and others. We hope that the decision will be made by the Cabinet for the purpose of promoting the national interest of Japan as well as for the purpose of contribution to the international community. So my answer is that, as far as the budget items and the amounts that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is requesting, we hope that we will be successful in this process of achieving what we would like to achieve. So my answer to your question is no.

Questions concerning Japan's position on the expanding of Israeli settlements in the West Bank

Q: Thank you. My other question is on a very different topic. Recently there has been some movement toward expanding of Israeli settlements in the West Bank- My question is a very specific one. Is Japan's position that the expansion of settlements is illegal, or is Japan's position that it is unclear whether it is illegal, or is Japan's position that the expansion of settlements is not illegal? So in other words, what is the official position of Japan on the legality of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank?

Mr. Sobashima: I am sorry, I don't have the answer to your question. However, we have a position that we welcome the direct negotiation between the parties, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and as for the recent resumption of what you called expansion, or the building activities, we feel that is not conducive for the peace process, and in fact a couple of days ago we issued a statement by the Press Secretary expressing the disappointment for what the Israelis have done. Regardless of our legal position, we are disappointed at the current actions by the Israeli side.

Q: Thank you, but if possible if you could clarify if Japan has taken a position on this issue, I would be interested to know about the legality issue in particular. Thank you.

Question concerning prospects for tackling climate change issues

Q: Good afternoon. I just wanted to find out from you what your stance would be as Senior Government Officials as Heads of State will meet in Mexico I think sometime next month on the climate change, considering that I think the last meeting in Denmark failed.

Mr. Sobashima: Thank you for the question. I have already read the relevant part, but please have a look at the "Chair's Summary of the PALM Ministerial Interim Meeting", Paragraph 14, which says that in order to tackle climate change issues, the Japanese side emphasized the necessity of early adoption of a new, comprehensive legal document that establishes a fair and effective international framework in which all major economies participate. All major economies, that is all countries which emit a large volume of the global warming gases, should participate. For example, in the Kyoto Protocol, the United States chose not to participate, and China and India, for example, those countries were exempt from the obligation under the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time we are aware that there is this principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, but in any event in order to tackle this very important issue of climate change, we think that all major emitters' participation is necessary. This is our position. Therefore, we would like to try to achieve this, explaining our position to the other countries. And also for the purpose of assisting the developing countries to tackle the climate change issues we have the Hatoyama Initiative, and we have already been giving assistance. So we have a commitment of assistance to developing countries.

Related Information ( Climate Change )

Questions concerning agricultural assistance and trade with Africa

Q: On the food security issue, I don't know if Japan has any program maybe of buying from African countries that have recorded perhaps a surplus in food production, considering that Japan has a program of assisting some African countries in need.

Mr. Sobashima: I don't know a lot about the importation of food from Africa. There may be some, but I don't have the information at hand. I would like to check. However, we have been assisting African countries for agricultural production. One example is rice called Nerica rice, which is a hybrid rice of Asian and African rice species, which yields large harvests, and is strong, and perhaps has a good taste. But this is just one example. We assist agriculture projects in many countries. I don't have the information of the link of food security between Africa and Japan in terms of trade. There may be some, I don't have the data. But we are committed to assist African countries for agriculture development.

Q: Just to follow up. The reason I asked that question is there are sub-Saharan African countries which have during the last season recorded a surplus. I can give you an example. Zambia, where I come from, has recorded a surplus of maize since 1989, so there is too much maize. So the question was, because there are restrictions especially in developed countries, where for instance if African countries have to sell their maize there are restrictions, so I was to find out from you if Japan is also restricted in some way if I try to sell my maize to your country. Are there restrictions, or can it be done?

Mr. Sobashima: I need to check the detailed regulations. Of course we have the WTO rules and we have bilateral agreements like EPAs and others, and we have to check the products as well as the countries whether we have tariffs or other restrictions, so I am sorry I am not able to answer your question. There may be some needs for maize, but perhaps we are more familiar with rice and also wheat, but in any event I am sorry I don't have the materials to respond to you, but generally speaking in accordance with the rules we have vis-à-vis the particular country, Zambia or other countries, we have the trade relationship.

Questions concerning anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden

Q: Japan recently deployed a vessel in the Gulf of Aden to combat piracy coming from Somalia. I was just wondering what have been the recent developments on that mission.

Mr. Sobashima: Over the recent years we have sent Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to the region, and earlier those vessels only escorted Japanese vessels, however, at the request of the other foreign countries we decided to consider escorting also foreign vessels and we have also aerial monitoring aircraft to monitor the situation. Therefore with those we are contributing to the safe navigation of the vessels in the region. These activities are continuing, with the purpose of coping with the piracy.

Q: Which countries are you assisting?

Mr. Sobashima: The main purpose is to assist or escort Japanese vessels, but when there is a request, then to the extent possible Japan's Self-Defense Force is also assisting, but I am afraid that I don't have the list of the countries.

Q: Just a quick follow-up to that. You recently signed an agreement with the Djibouti Government to build a facility in Djibouti to house those two reconnaissance aircraft. People are confusing this with a military base, and people are saying that Japan is building a naval base in Djibouti. Are there any plans to build a base there?

Mr. Sobashima: As you rightly pointed out we had an agreement with Djibouti for the place for the operation, because it is not possible for our aircraft to fly from Japan. We need some place for operation. So Djibouti is the place, and we have the authorization of the Djibouti side for the use, and because those aircraft units need the place to land and take off. We have the bilateral agreement. You are quite right.

Related Information ( Piracy )

Question concerning Japanese investment in Africa

Q: Japan has enjoyed good political relations with Africa for a long time, however the economic relations remain poor. What is Japan doing to improve investment in Africa?

Mr. Sobashima: Regarding the trade and investment relationship with Africa, recently we have sent a government-private sector joint mission to Southern African countries, for example. Later, perhaps bilaterally, we may be able to provide the more precise information, but we dispatched Japanese government-private sector joint missions to various places in Africa, and there we had discussions with the host governments, as well as the business representatives there, and discussed the opportunities for investment and trade, and we intend to keep doing this in other parts of Africa. Of course, ODA is one of the tools for having a cooperative relationship but also investment and trade are also important, therefore we dispatched missions to several African countries, I don't remember exactly which countries, but recently, it was a couple of Southern African countries (note, South Africa, Angola, and Namibia), so we are attaching importance to the trade and investment relationship as well.

I am afraid that we have another meeting following this here, so a short last question if you have any please.

Questions concerning support for Japan's draft resolution for the total elimination of nuclear weapons

Q: My question is about the draft resolution on nuclear weapons. How supportive have African countries been toward the elimination of nuclear weapons?

Mr. Sobashima: The overall majority of countries voted in favor of the Japanese draft resolution in the past, and some of the nuclear weapons states either abstained or voted against. Some of the countries who have special positions refrained from voting in favor. Just explaining last year's result without analyzing why they voted against or abstained, the countries opposed were India and North Korea, and the countries who abstained were China, France, Iran, Israel, Myanmar, Pakistan, Cuba, and Bhutan. And so perhaps all African countries voted in favor of the draft resolution.

Q: Just a quick follow up. The Indian Prime Minister is going to visit Japan, so will you have a discussion on this issue, and maybe try to get their vote this time around?

Mr. Sobashima: Yes. The nuclear disarmament issue, or nuclear non-proliferation, should be discussed in some manner. I don't know whether I referred to it, one of the pending issues between the two countries is civil nuclear cooperation, the cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. We are requesting India to keep honoring commitments of non-proliferation, and hope that India will not repeat nuclear tests. This is our hope, and we made our position clear that if India has another nuclear test we are not able to cooperate in the field of nuclear, even if it is for peaceful purposes. So certainly the nuclear issue, for energy or disarmament, should be discussed.

Thank you for your attendance, I am afraid I have to conclude this meeting now.

Back to Index