Top > Announcement > Press Conference by the Press Secretary of MOFA > 14 July 2011

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 14 July 2011

  1. The Preparation for the Hague Convention
  2. The Second Meeting of the Transitional Committee for the Design of the "Green Climate Fund"
  3. On the Independence of the Republic of South Sudan
  4. Visit of a U.K. Minister to Japan
  5. Japan-New Zealand Partnership Forum
  6. The Medical Assistance Team from the Philippines
  7. Visit of a French Minister to Japan
  8. Meetings of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis
  9. VIP Visits
  10. Questions concerning the Japanese Preparation for the Hague Convention
  11. Question concerning Japan's Response to Terrorism and Continuance of Aid to Pakistan
  12. Questions concerning the Takeshima Islands
  13. Question concerning the IWC Annual Meeting

  1. The Preparation for the Hague Convention

    2. Deputy Press Secretary Hidenobu Sobashima: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.


    Mr. Sobashima: We have distributed several papers. First is a provisional translation of the cabinet approval, entitled "Preparations for concluding the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction" on 20 May. I already explained this immediately after this cabinet approval was made, and the reason why we redistributed this paper is because I just would like to remind you that the government decided to prepare for concluding the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, in the recognition of the need to protect the best interests of children affected by breakups of international marriages.

    As you may be aware, yesterday, there was a meeting of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice, with the participation of experts and officials, including experts of civil law, civil procedural law, and conflict of laws, and lawyers, that is, attorneys, and officials of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Cabinet Office, among other participants. And it was decided that the chairperson of this Legislative Council on the Hague Convention should be Professor Takashi of Chuo University. Yesterday, there were various issues discussed pertaining to the Hague Convention. And we presume that the Ministry of Justice would upload the contents of discussions and the list of participants, among others, and perhaps also of reference materials, on the Ministry's website.

    It was agreed that, at some point when some sort of the directions are found, then perhaps the outline of legislation should be made available to the Japanese people for the public comment process. And it was decided to have a second meeting of the Legislative Council on the Hague Convention on Monday, 25 July.

    So this was the development yesterday. As you may be aware, in the distributed paper, particularly in the attachment part, there was a section on the Central Authority. I am looking at the "Functions of the Central Authority" in the attachment. It says, "The Central Authority shall be established in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs". With respect to this, if there is some sort of development, we will make an announcement. Our understanding is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be responsible for the Central Authority part. On the other hand, certainly, the Ministry of Justice should be responsible for the legal procedures. There should be some sort of division of labor between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, and, of course, the two ministries and other ministries and agencies concerned should coordinate with each another to make preparations for the draft law to be submitted to the Diet.

    Certainly, we want to move as speedily as possible. However, there were some concerns voiced with respect to the Hague Convention, so we should carefully consider various aspects in a comprehensive manner. Therefore, we intend to move speedily, but, at the same time, we want to consider matters comprehensively. This is the current state of our preparation for the Hague Convention.

  2. The Second Meeting of the Transitional Committee for the Design of the "Green Climate Fund"

    3. Mr. Sobashima: The second topic I would like to explain about is the second meeting of the Transitional Committee for the design of the "Green Climate Fund". As found in the distributed paper – again, this is a redistribution of one that I think we distributed last week – this meeting is held in Tokyo yesterday and today. I think the meeting started today from 9 AM and we expect conclusion of the meeting around 6:30 PM. So, at that time, we will be able to find out what their actual conclusions are. According to a Japanese participant in this meeting, various issues have been discussed in an orderly manner, so the meeting is progressing. As written in the fourth paragraph, Japan aims for the discussions at this meeting to contribute to reaching a consensus on the institutional design of the "Green Climate Fund" at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) to be held in Durban, South Africa at the end of this year. But, after this second meeting, the third meeting is planned, perhaps around September in some European country. We also have the fourth meeting in South Africa before COP17. I am afraid that I am not able to share with you the conclusions of the meeting now, but by the end of today, the results will be known. So this is about the second meeting of the Transitional Committee for the design of the "Green Climate Fund".

  3. On the Independence of the Republic of South Sudan

    4. Mr. Sobashima: Next, I would like to explain about South Sudan. We have distributed the Statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan on the Independence of the Republic of South Sudan. This was issued on the day of the independence of the Republic of South Sudan. Minister Matsumoto extended his congratulations. He said, in the second paragraph, "Japan recognized the Republic of South Sudan as a new state as of today". That was on 9 July. He says, "Japan expects that the Government and people of South Sudan make concerted and united efforts under the leadership of President Salva Kiir in order to build the new nation toward self-sustainability. Japan will cooperate with South Sudan in order to build up close and friendly bilateral relations, and will provide its utmost possible support for the nation-building efforts in South Sudan in cooperation with the international community". This is the statement by the Minister.

    And, after that, we have a press release about the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of South Sudan. As announced earlier, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Makiko Kikuta participated, representing the government of Japan in the ceremony of independence of South Sudan on 9 July. She met officials of the new state, including the president, and she expressed Japan's intention to cooperate with the new state, as I explained earlier.

    On 10 July, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kikuta went to Khartoum, in the Republic of the Sudan, and met the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Cooperation of the Sudan. They discussed their bilateral relationship, the peace process, the relation of South Sudan and Sudan, and also the issue of Darfur. Ms. Kikuta expressed concern about the humanitarian issues that Sudan has. She urged efforts to improve the situation. This is about South Sudan and Sudan.

  4. Visit of a U.K. Minister to Japan

    5. Mr. Sobashima: We have distributed the press release announcing the visit of Mr. Jeremy Browne, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the U.K. He visited Miyagi Prefecture last weekend. Last Monday, he had a meeting with State Secretary Banno and also with Minister Matsumoto in this ministry. Certainly, they discussed our relationship and also cooperation in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    The Japanese side also explained the current state of preparation for concluding the Hague Convention to the British visitor.

  5. Japan-New Zealand Partnership Forum

    6. Mr. Sobashima: Next, I have distributed the program of the Japan-New Zealand Partnership Forum that was held last Monday with the participation of the Honorable Tim Groser, Minister of Trade of New Zealand. This is the third meeting of the Japan-New Zealand Partnership Forum. The first meeting was held 2008 and the second meeting in 2009. The third meeting was held according to the program distributed, with the participation of opinion leaders, business leaders, and officials of the two countries. I am afraid that I do not have much information to explain to you, but it seems that the meeting went smoothly and was fruitful.

  6. The Medical Assistance Team from the Philippines

    7. Mr. Sobashima: Next, we have a paper entitled, "Courtesy Call on Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs by A Medical Assistance Team from the Philippines". As explained here, earlier, a medical team from the Philippines visited Miyagi Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture. For your information, both prefectures have about 900 Filipino residents.
    From 1 July until 11 July, which was last Monday, the medical team met approximately 200 people of Filipino families that were Filipina mothers, their Japanese husbands and their children. Certainly, we appreciate the cooperation by the Philippines in this, among others, and, as found in the third paragraph, Ambassador of the Philippines to Japan said that such support activities should be continued if necessary and that the Government of the Philippines would dispatch similar medical teams again in response to future requests, if they would be coming from Japan. We are grateful to the Philippines.

  7. Visit of a French Minister to Japan

    8. Mr. Sobashima: Although we do not have a paper in English, we have already made an announcement in Japanese in a Japanese press release that, from France, His Excellency Mr. Frederic Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, is in Japan from today, 14 July, to 16 July, this coming Saturday. Minister Mitterrand will be participating in the National Day Reception of France to be held in Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture. Tomorrow, he is expected to visit Miyagi Prefecture, after Fukushima Prefecture, and he is expected to give a speech at Tohoku University. He intends to express solidarity of France to Japan. Certainly, we appreciate these sorts of activities by the French Minister, among other support and assistance from France.

  8. Meetings of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis

    9. Mr. Sobashima: Next, we have distributed a paper on the ISTH, which stands for the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. This is about blood and heart diseases, I understand. The meetings of the ISTH 2011 will be held in Kyoto from 23 July to 28 July. According to the organizers, about 5,000 people from about 80 countries are expected to participate. And they will not only have meetings, but also they will have exhibitions in Kyoto. If you are interested in covering the meetings and events, please inform us (the International Press Division). Then we will introduce you to the organizers.

    In the middle column of the paper, immediately after the title and portion that reads "Chapel Hill, April 18th", it says, "After carefully considering all aspects of the issue, ISTH Council has unanimously decided that the Society's XXIII Congress and 57th Annual SSC meeting will proceed as planned in Kyoto, July 23 – 28, 2011".

    In the fourth paragraph, it says, "Our overriding consideration is the safety of all congress participants, and based on all available objective evidence we have firmly concluded that holding the congress in Kyoto does not present a health or transportation safety hazard. We have based our decision on official assessment of international authorities, including a joint report by six United Nations agencies, and an independent analysis that ISTH commissioned with a professional risk assessment company". Although Kyoto is, as it says, 500 kilometers away from Fukushima, after reconsideration of the venue for their conference, the international organization decided to have the conference in Japan as originally planned. We appreciate this; in particular, the decision after reconsideration was based on available scientific, objective evidence, and we urge other foreigners to also calmly consider what they would like to do based on the scientific data.

  9. VIP Visits

    10. Mr. Sobashima: These are about the topics. As for visits, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Tokunaga will be visiting Turkey and Qatar. Tomorrow, on Friday, he will be participating in the fourth meeting of the Contact Group on Libya to be held in Istanbul. On 17 July, Mr. Tokunaga will be traveling to Doha, Qatar, and he will have meetings with the government officials of that country. Certainly, he is expected to discuss our bilateral relationship and he will extend his appreciation to the support and assistance given by Qatar after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

    Mr. Sobashima: As for the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers' Meetings, as soon as we have a decision, we will make an announcement. That is for next week, but, at this stage, we are not able to make an announcement because we need to go through the procedures before arriving at a conclusion.

    Mr. Sobashima: As for visitors in Japan, we have the Economic Minister from Latvia in Japan from 10 July to 17 July. Minister Manuel of South Africa, the National Planning Minister in the President's Office, is visiting Japan from 11 July to 16 July. His visit is in conjunction with the "Green Climate Fund" meeting, I explained earlier, of which he is co-chair. I have already explained Minister Mitterrand's visit from France.

    These have been the topics and the information I wanted to share with you. Now I would like to invite your questions, please.

  10. Questions concerning the Japanese Preparation for the Hague Convention

    11. Q: I have a question regarding the Hague Convention. I understand the Japanese government decided to proceed with the preparations, but if you have any time schedule for legislation to be ready or to finally join this Hague Convention, I would appreciate it.

    Mr. Sobashima: Thank you. I am afraid to say, no, as I am not in a position to give you the dates, the months, year, or day. But, as I explained in my presentation already, we would like to move as speedily as possible, but at the same time we need to consider all aspects very carefully. Therefore, we intend to move as speedily as possible, but we do not intend to make a sort-of bold haste. Therefore, I am not able to give you the timetable as you wondered. But, as I already explained, the date of the next meeting of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice was already announced. As for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs who is responsible for the Central Authority, we hope that we will make some announcement in the near future. We would like to proceed as quickly as possible, but at this stage, we do not have the timetable for what you asked.

    Q: Sorry, I might have missed your information. So, when is the next meeting for the Legislative Council?

    Mr. Sobashima: Monday, 25 July.

    Q: Thank you.

    Mr. Sobashima: You are welcome.

  11. Question concerning Japan's Response to Terrorism and Continuance of Aid to Pakistan

    12. Q: Thank you. My question is about if the international community is contained against terrorism. As everyone knows, Pakistan is playing a central role so far as anti-terrorism in that part of the world. Now, recently, the United States has stopped aid to Pakistan. It is a big blow to the activities and campaign the Pakistan army is doing in that part. So, what I would ask is about whether there will be an abolition of Japanese involvement and what will be the effects of stopping that aid at this moment to Pakistan.

    Mr. Sobashima: Thank you for the question. I do not have the information about what the U.S. has decided, particularly in reference to what you said. We normally refrain from commenting on the relationship between other countries, so my comment is confined to the Japanese position. Yes, we strongly condemn any form or any kind of terrorism, and, certainly, we condemn the terrorist activities that occurred recently in Afghanistan and Pakistan. So, we condemn these and intend to fight the terrorists.

    On the other hand, as for the aid, I think it is up to the donors to decide what sort of aid in what circumstances is given. Japan is committed to continue providing aid to Pakistan, and we believe the stabilization of Pakistan is very important not only for Pakistan, itself, but also for the stabilization of Afghanistan, as well. Therefore, as far as we are concerned, there is no change about our aid to Pakistan.

  12. Questions concerning the Takeshima Islands

    13. Q: I have a question regarding news reports about the Foreign Ministry's policy of not flying Korean Air over the Takeshima dispute. Is it true that the Foreign Minister has instructed Ministry officials not to use or not to fly on Korean Air in protest at the airline's demonstration flight over the islands? Can I just confirm that fact?

    Mr. Sobashima: Yes, we can confirm that the Ministry has decided so. However, this is a decision of the Ministry, so, of course, it includes the Minister and the officials of the Ministry. As for the process, or how this decision was made, we would like to refrain from going into the details, as it is an internal process. But, yes, we confirm that we decided so. Because on 16 June, while Korean Air is scheduled to fly between Narita and Incheon, it made a demonstration flight over the Takeshima Islands. In response, Japan made a protest through the diplomatic channel to the headquarters of Korean Air. We have decided that from 18 July, for one month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not invite the members of Korean Air to the events that we will host or co-host, and the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will refrain from boarding flights of Korean Air in principle. This is the decision that we made, effective from 18 July for one month.

    As for Takeshima, the position of Japan is consistent, and we have on various occasions explained this to the Korean side. And our government intends to continue persistent diplomatic efforts for peaceful resolution of the issue. So this is the comment that I would like to make in response to your question.

    Q: Can I make a follow up question? You said that you can't comment on how this decision was made internally, but I wonder why this decision was made one month after the demonstration flight took place. Also, you said that Korean Air officials or members will not be invited to events hosted by MOFA, so you mean even events to be hosted in Korea by the Japanese Embassy or Japanese Consulate? Korean Air officials are not invited to any of the events?

    Mr. Sobashima: I am afraid that to the latter half of your question what I say is the same thing, that we will not invite the members of Korean Air to the events hosted or co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am not able to give you more detailed clarification about that. What I can respond to you at this stage is what I already said. I am repeating this. And as for why it took such time, yes, you are quite right that there is a time gap, and the decision was made only recently, and that will be effective from 18 July. As I already said that in the process we made a protest to the headquarters of Korean Air, so this decision was based on various things which took place since 16, including our protest to the headquarters of Korean Air.

    Q: Sorry, just to confirm, when was the protest made to the headquarters of Korean Air, and did you receive any response from the airline? And also, I wonder, maybe Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials quite often use JAL or ANA or Japanese airlines, and I wonder how much is the actual impact of this policy.

    Mr. Sobashima: Well, the second half I am not able to respond to, the effect of this decision, but as I said this is for one month, this is not indefinite, and therefore in that regard it is different from the measures taken indefinitely. That is one point. As for our response to the demonstration flight which took place on 16 June, of course there was confirmation of what happened, a confirmation exercise. After the confirmation, as I explained, there was a protest made through diplomatic channels. After the confirmation of the demonstration flight, we made a protest to the Government of the Republic of Korea on 21 June.

    Q: On the same day, you made a protest to the Korean Air headquarters?

    Mr. Sobashima: I'm sorry, I don't have the information at hand so I'm not in a position to respond to that question.

    Q: Lastly, I think that the South Korean government immediately responded to these news reports, and according to reports, South Korea already sought the withdrawal of this measure through diplomatic channels. What is the Japanese government position on such protest from Seoul on this matter?

    Mr. Sobashima: I would like to repeat what I already said that the first is our position on the Takeshima Islands is consistent. We have been explaining to the Korean side on various occasions. The government intends to continue persistent diplomatic efforts for the peaceful resolution of this issue. So even to that question of yours, I would like to repeat what I already said, this basic position. We would continue persistent diplomatic efforts.

  13. Question concerning the IWC Annual Meeting

    14. Q: I understand that there is an IWC Annual Meeting going on at the moment in the British Jersey Islands. I would like to hear MOFA's stance, what you aim to achieve in that meeting this time. It seems that Australia is again not cooperating for Japanese aims. If you have any comments or any information, I'd appreciate it.

    Mr. Sobashima: Thank you. Because the IWC Annual Meeting is underway from last Monday, 11 July until today, 14 July, as you mentioned in Jersey, we do not have the conclusions of the meeting yet. Certainly our position is that, again, discussion should be based on scientific data that is our position. Based on that position we would like to participate in discussions about research whaling, among others. However, about violence in the seas, particularly in open seas, we are concerned about the obstructive activities by Sea Shepherd. We raised this issue and requested participating members to cooperate with us, I mean, cooperate for the purpose of preventing violence in the seas. We would like to continue to seek understanding on this issue. Of course, the whaling issue is the main issue, but we raised this issue of violence in the seas, so we hope that there will be deeper understanding for the prevention of violence. But further than that, I'm not in a position to give you a comment because the meeting is still underway.

    Q: Thank you very much.

    Mr. Sobashima: If you don't have further questions, thank you very much for coming.

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