Press Conference by the Assistant Press Secretary, 24 June 2010

Upcoming G8 and G20 Summits in Canada
Visit to Japan by H.E. Mr. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Extension of the Dispatch of Self-Defense Forces Personnel to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Decision of Israel regarding the easing of the blockade on the Gaza Strip
Visit to Japan by Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Exchange of Notes for Japanese ODA Loan to the Republic of Indonesia (Climate Change Program Loan (III))
Questions concerning the Dispatch of Self-Defense Forces Personnel to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
Questions concerning the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Japan
Question concerning the visit to Japan by Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Questions concerning Japan's ODA Loan to the Republic of Indonesia
Question concerning the resignation announcement of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Questions concerning investigation of the confrontation between the Israeli defense forces and boats carrying supplies to the Gaza Strip
Question concerning the upcoming G8 and G20 Summits in Canada
Question concerning Japan's position on the sinking of the Korean naval vessel, Cheonan
Question concerning the outcome of the IWC meeting in Agadir

Upcoming G8 and G20 Summits in Canada

Assistant Press Secretary Takeshi Akamatsu: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for coming.

Before I invite you to ask questions I have several points to share with you today. First of all, as you all know, that the G8 and G20 Summits are going to take place starting this weekend, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan will be leaving for Toronto this evening to attend these meetings. For this occasion our minister, Minister Okada, is also accompanying him to attend several meetings.

Of course, Japan would like to play a very important role in addressing those issues taken up by both the G8 and G20, namely global challenges including the financial crisis and so forth. If you have any questions I will come back to this topic later.

Visit to Japan by H.E. Mr. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Mr. Akamatsu: The second topic I would like to mention today is about Afghanistan. Perhaps you have already read about the visit by President Karzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan on 17 June, last Thursday, so it is a week ago, but let me remind you that this was the first time that Prime Minister Kan has received a foreign dignitary in Tokyo, and they held a bilateral meeting. In the meeting President Karzai mentioned that this visit coincided with the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Afghanistan, and he stressed that for stability and peace in Afghanistan it is important to realize the reintegration of those who renounce violence and join in the peace process. Of course, President Karzai shared the latest situations in Afghanistan, and also expressed his deep gratitude for Japan's decision to provide assistance up to an amount of five billion USD over five years starting from 2009.

Prime Minister Kan expressed Japan's readiness to actively support the implementation of a reintegration program utilizing these achievements and the commitments to Afghanistan, mainly in the area of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), as well as Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG).

Extension of the Dispatch of Self-Defense Forces Personnel to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)

Mr. Akamatsu: Perhaps you do recall that we had made an announcement yesterday that we are going to extend the dispatch of the two personnel of the Self-Defense Forces members to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) for another year. Japan is going to contribute to the Sudanese peace process and to further strengthening of bilateral relations by deploying members of the Self-Defense Forces. There have already been people dispatched, but we decided to extend the participation in the UNMIS mission.

Related Information (Press Release)

Decision of Israel regarding the easing of the blockade on the Gaza Strip

Mr. Akamatsu: Still on the Middle East, a couple of days ago the Israeli Government announced its decision to allow civilian goods to enter into the Gaza Strip and we welcome this measure by the Israeli Government in that this is a measure in the right direction and we will pay close attention to how this decision will be implemented in detail. Japan has repeatedly urged Israel to allow the inflow of goods and materials in the context of Japan’s assistance for the Gaza Strip. We sincerely hope that Israel’s decision will be implemented promptly and the implementation of the Japanese projects will be resumed. We think that it is very important that the blockade will be further eased while the prevention of the inflow of weapons into the Gaza Strip will be ensured. We will continue to cooperate with Israel and the international community on this issue.

Related Information (Press Release)

Visit to Japan by Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Mr. Akamatsu: Still related to the Middle East, the last announcement from me is that the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Mr. Filippo Grandi, will be visiting Japan from 29 June, next Tuesday, to 5 July. We hope that during his visit, Commissioner-General Grandi will have many occasions to see and discuss the refugee problem in the Palestine with many government officials.

Related Information (Press Release)

Exchange of Notes for Japanese ODA Loan to the Republic of Indonesia (Climate Change Program Loan (III))

Mr. Akamatsu: If I may add just one more announcement. This is related to ODA loan to Indonesia. A Japanese ODA loan of around 27.195 billion JPY regarding a Climate Change Program Loan (phase III) to the Republic of Indonesia was decided, and notes were exchanged yesterday, 23 June. Perhaps you know that the Indonesian greenhouse gas emissions are the fourth largest after the United States, China, and Brazil, so we think that this is very important to help the Indonesian people to tackle Indonesia's climate change countermeasures. Of course we are in constant contact with the Indonesian Government, and by providing this program loan we hope that the formation and the implementation of climate change policies will be enhanced. This is part of Japan's support for developing countries which Japan announced with regard to climate change last December.

These are the topics I have to share today. Now if you have any questions I would be most happy to answer them.

Related Information (Press Release)

Questions concerning the Dispatch of Self-Defense Forces Personnel to the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)

Q: In regard to the Sudan mission, you say that there will be an extension of two members in Khartoum for another year. According to the Japanese newspapers, there is apparently a plan or investigation to make a much larger mission, involving transport helicopters in the southern part of the country, and according at least to the newspaper reports, the Foreign Ministry is supporting this plan, but the Defense Ministry is not in support of the plan. What is the current state of the plan? Is it dead, or is it still possibly going forward?

Mr. Akamatsu: Thank you very much for the question. We know that there is some press coverage regarding the difference of the opinions between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. I think the discussion is still going on, and whether we will dispatch the Self-Defense Forces troops to the UNMIS mission has not been decided as of this moment. So whether we are going to send troops or we are supplying helicopters, well we are really looking into the possibility taking into account the various aspects of this matter. Some people argue that there are some limits from a logistical point of view; some argue that it is very important to cooperate with many other countries and further strengthen the international cooperation. So we are underway on the discussion, and we are looking into the matter. But the short answer to your question is that nothing has been decided but the discussion is going on.

Related Information (Press Release)

Questions concerning the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Japan

Q: You mentioned that it is the 80th anniversary of Afghanistan-Japan diplomatic relations.

Mr. Akamatsu: Yes, the 80th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations. Japan has had diplomatic relations with Afghanistan for a very long time.

Question concerning the visit to Japan by Mr. Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

Q: It is not a question, but you mentioned the visit of a Commissioner-General. What is the name of this agency?

Mr. Akamatsu: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Commissioner-General is coming for nearly a week.

Related Information (Press Release)

Questions concerning Japan's ODA Loan to the Republic of Indonesia

Q: And Indonesia is getting 27 billion yen?

Mr. Akamatsu: Yes, up to about 27 billion JPY. This is a loan, so we just give a maximum ceiling for the loan, so when they go to tender, and if they can purchase what they need through a procurement process, this is the maximum we are going to provide for this program loan.

Q: This is for climate change?

Mr. Akamatsu: Yes.

Related Information (Press Release)

Question concerning the resignation announcement of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Q: I have a question about the announcement of the resignation by the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Does the Japanese government have any reaction?

Mr. Akamatsu: For the moment, I don't think we have made a specific announcement. But what we want to stress here is that whoever is charge of Australia, Japan and Australia are friends. So we hope that we will sustain the good relationship we have with Australia. That is all I can say at the moment.

Questions concerning investigation of the confrontation between the Israeli defense forces and boats carrying supplies to the Gaza Strip

Q: You spoke about the Palestinian issue and Japan has recently made two statements from the Foreign Ministry, one about easing the blockade on Gaza and then more recently about the Jerusalem issue. I was wondering what is Japan's position at this point on whether or not there should be an official outside investigation of the Israeli attack on the ship which ran the blockade. Is Japan's position that no investigation is necessary, that an Israeli investigation is acceptable, or that a full international investigation is required.

Mr. Akamatsu: We acknowledge that Israel is now conducting an investigation, but the whole point we want to make here is that this kind of investigation, whoever carries it out, should be carried out in an honest, fair, rapid, and neutral manner, and lead to reliable results, with transparency, and such investigation should be carried out in line with the statement by the chairman of the UN Security Council. We would not comment on whether we request a third-party investigation to take place at this moment, but as I said, now we would like to see this investigation carried out by Israel be done in the most honest and rapid and neutral manner, and come up with reliable results, and we will be keeping a very sharp eye on the process and outcome of this investigation by Israel.

Q: So you can conceive of the possibility that Israel can investigate its own actions in a reliable way and in a manner that would be expected by the international community?

Mr. Akamatsu: Well, yes, of course we know that the UN Secretary-General has proposed to carry out the international investigation of the matter. We know and we will of course keep in touch with the UN, but for the time being, yes, so long as Israel's investigation board is continuing with the business we will closely watch what outcome could come up from this investigation. We know at the same time that this Israeli investigation board includes two non-Israeli members in the board.

Question concerning the upcoming G8 and G20 Summits in Canada

Q: One final question from me about the summit meetings. Are you announcing in advance any specific goals that you have in terms of what you want to get out of the summit meetings and what are the priorities of Japan going into the meetings?

Mr. Akamatsu: There are many topics which are going to be covered by the summit meetings, and this is the first occasion where we have the G8 coming back to back with the G20. So we expect development and other security issues, including North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East, etc., will be taken up in the G8 session. In the G20 the international global economy, the financial crisis, trade, and financial regulations and so forth. What we expect from this summit is that this is for one, the very first occasion for our Prime Minister to be introduced in an international forum. Of course he has been the Finance Minister for the past nine months, and we have announced the financial packages strategy for Japan, and we would like to share these kinds of commitments towards the global economy.

On the G8 side of course the North Korea issue is quite important for us. Also, as we have just been discussing we would like to make good input into the discussion regarding Afghanistan, as Prime Minister Kan has just met with President Karzai, and of course we hope and we expect kind of that Prime Minister Kan will be talking about how we should help out Afghanistan, Pakistan and other members of the region.

I think that for each agenda we would have something at least. For North Korea it is obvious that we will be looking into how this incident of the Korean naval vessel was sunk, and how the G8 could cooperate in the process with the ongoing debate with the UN Security Council, and these kind of things. So there are many things for Japan to achieve in both the G8 and G20, and we would like to see Japan taking a lead in helping others and cooperating with other members of the G8 or G20 to come up with a balanced message out of these two meetings. There are some aspects that we would like to take the lead on, but I think it is not for us bureaucrats to say, because it is up to Prime Minister Kan as well as Foreign Minister Okada to present in their own words, so please watch carefully what happens in Toronto.

Question concerning Japan's position on the sinking of the Korean naval vessel, Cheonan

Q: On the North Korean issue, is it the position of Japan right now that the North Korea responsibility for the sinking of the South Korean battleship is an established fact, or is it still under investigation? Is there still some doubt on this question in terms of the Japanese Government's position?

Mr. Akamatsu: What I would like to stress here is that repeatedly we have been saying that we will support the argument made by the Republic of Korea. I am not really thoroughly familiar with what kind of information was presented from the Republic of Korea to the Japanese Government but what I can say is that we have been continuously saying that we will support the position by the Republic of Korea, and we will seek the international cooperation with regard to this issue, including the United States and so forth, and that position is maintained, that is the bottom line of the Japanese position and we will of course pursue that position in the G8 meeting as well.

Press Release (Japan-Republic of Korea Relations)

Question concerning the outcome of the IWC meeting in Agadir

Q: Can I ask about the results of the IWC meeting? What is the Japanese Government's official stance about this?

Mr. Akamatsu: Our position is quite well known I think. We are not coming to the final conclusion at this round of IWC deliberations, that is one thing, but as far as we hear from our delegation, at this stage we believe that to reach a consensus is rather difficult. We have been actively participating in the deliberations in the IWC, so we regret that we could not reach a conclusion this time. What we are going to do next is of course we want to hear from our delegation that is in Agadir now, and we will examine the positions of various countries and various stakeholders, and we have to make an analysis and see what position we should be taking at the next meeting. At this meeting of the IWC there was no conclusion, but we understand that many participants were of the opinion that we need to have some kind of cooling period, then the discussion is going to continue. So we will make the coordination and we will try to put the Japanese positions through these negotiations.

If there are no further questions, thank you very much for coming.

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