Top > Announcement > Press Conference by the Press Secretary of MOFA > 29 September 2011

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 29 September 2011

  1. Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting
  2. Signing ceremony for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and various symposiums
  3. Participation of women in politics in Saudi Arabia
  4. Israeli decision regarding the construction of housing units in East Jerusalem
  5. Global Festa Japan 2011
  6. Questions concerning Foreign Minister Gemba’s tentative overseas trip
  7. Questions concerning delegation to South Sudan
  8. Question concerning North Korea defectors

  1. Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting

    2. Deputy Press Secretary Naoko Saiki: Good afternoon. Thank you for coming to join me. Today I have several announcements.

    Ms. Saiki: First, on the Japan-Philippines Summit Meeting. On 27 September Prime Minister Noda held a summit meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Republic of the Philippines.

    After the summit meeting, the two leaders signed the “Japan-Philippines Joint Statement on the Comprehensive Promotion of the ‘Strategic Partnership’ between Neighboring Countries Connected by Special Bonds of Friendship.” We have distributed the full text of the joint statement for your reference.

    With respect to the overview of the summit meeting between the two countries, at the outset of the meeting Prime Minister Noda expressed his gratitude for the assistance extended by the government of the Philippines and its people following the Great East Japan Earthquake, and for the visit by President Aquino to the disaster affected area (Ishinomaki City) on 26 September. In response, President Aquino expressed his condolences to the victims of the earthquake and their families. He also stated his confidence that Japan would recover soon.

    The two leaders discussed various issues with respect to the bilateral relations, starting with economic field, the political and security fields, and people to people exchange.

    Finally, regarding regional and international issues, Prime Minister Noda and President Aquino confirmed that they would actively contribute to regional cooperation frameworks, and confirmed that they would closely collaborate with each other especially in the run-up to the East Asia Summit in November.

  2. Signing ceremony for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and various symposiums

    3. Ms. Saiki: Second, on the signing ceremony for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA); on Saturday, 1 October the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold the signing ceremony for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) at the Iikura Guest House.

    The Agreement was inspired in significant part by Japan’s proposal at the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005 to create a new international framework against counterfeit and pirated products, in the context of the heightened awareness of the need for a higher degree of intellectual property protection. Its negotiation has been led by a strong initiative of Japan, the United States, and other key partners.

    The negotiation has been carried out among Australia, Canada, the European Union and its Member Sates, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States, and reached a general agreement at the negotiation meeting held in Japan in October 2010, followed by the completion of technical and translation work in April 2011.

    The signing ceremony will be attended by the representatives of all the participants in the ACTA negotiations, and those that have completed relevant domestic processes will sign the agreement. The agreement is open for signature until 1 May 2013.

    On the preceding day, Friday, 30 September an international symposium entitled, “Global Intellectual Property Strategy and the Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake: Eliminating Counterfeit and Pirated Products through ACTA,” will be held in Sendai City、Miyagi prefecture, as a side event of the signing ceremony.

    You can find in the distributed material the registration form to be filled out in order to participate in this symposium that will in fact take place tomorrow. If you are interested in going to Sendai City to attend this symposium, please contact the Intellectual Property Affairs division of this Ministry.

    And I would like to take the liberty of introducing to you another symposium to occur in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, quite soon, that is a special international symposium on the Revitalization of Japan’s Tourism Sector and Quake Affected Regions.

    This special symposium will be co-hosted by the Japan Tourism Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the World Tourism Organization on 5 October. Again, you can find a participation form attached to the program. If you are interested in going to Sendai City to attend this special international symposium, will you please fax this sheet to a relevant person of the organizing team? The fax number is provided.

  3. Participation of women in politics in Saudi Arabia

    4. Ms. Saiki: Third, the participation of women in politics in Saudi Arabia; we welcome the announcement made by custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, 25 September, about the participation of women in the Consultative Council of Saudi Arabia as full members, as well as the granting of rights to participate in future municipal elections to women.

    We support this announcement as an important step for the reform toward wider participation of the people in politics in Saudi Arabia, and expect its early implementation.

  4. Israeli decision regarding the construction of housing units in East Jerusalem

    5. Ms. Saiki: Fourth, on the Israeli decision regarding the construction of housing units in East Jerusalem; the government of Japan deeply deplores that, according to the news, the Israeli Government will announce the approval of the construction of 1,100 new housing units for Jewish people in Gilo of East Jerusalem on 27 September.

    The statement issued by the Middle East Quartet on 23 September calls on both sides to resume negotiations and to refrain from any provocative acts. Such an act goes against the ongoing efforts by the international community to resume the negotiations for peace.

    In this regard, I would like to call your attention to the statement made by Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on 24 September, he issued a statement on the recent situation in the Middle East peace process.

    And I quote:

    “On 23 September the Quartet Ministerial Meeting was held and released a statement which calls for the early resumption of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Japan wholeheartedly welcomes this development and strongly supports the statement. Japan pays respect for the vigorous diplomatic efforts by the members of the Quartet with a view to the resumption of negotiation.

    Japan has consistently addressed its view where Japan understands the Palestinian’s aspiration for the nation-building and has contributed to the nation-building efforts of a Palestinian state. Japan will continue to contribute to the efforts by the international community for the realization of a two-state solution whereby both parties coexist in peace and security. In addition, Japan would like to cooperate in assistance to the Palestinians’ nation-building, including the promotion of the ‘Corridor for Peace and Prosperity’ Initiative, and confidence-building between both parties.”

  5. Global Festa Japan 2011

    6. Ms. Saiki: Fifth, and last, on Global Festa Japan 2011. Last week I announced that Global Festa Japan 2011 would be held on 1-2 October in Hibiya Park in Tokyo, so this is just a reminder of the holding of Global Festa Japan 2011 over this coming weekend. The theme this year is “Kizuna: the bonds that tie us together—Japan and the world join hands”, which aims to allow festivalgoers to look back over the assistance received from countries around the world following the Great East Japan Earthquake and to create a place where people can again feel the deep bonds that tie Japan and the world together.

    With respect to the planned events and visits, in addition to what I have already announced and introduced to you, there is only one thing I shall like to make a notification, namely, on 22-26 October, a meeting of the New Japan-China Friendship Committee for the 21st Century will be held in Changsha, Hunan Province, and Beijing, China.

    Now I would like to take your questions.

  6. Questions concerning Foreign Minister Gemba’s tentative overseas trip

    7. Q: My name is Seo Euidong, and I work for Kyung Hyang, a Korean newspaper. We have heard on the news about the Foreign Minister’s meeting with his South Korean counterpart at the UN Summit, but when will Mr. Gemba go to Seoul?

    Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question.

    With respect to Foreign Minister Gemba’s visit to Seoul, we have been preparing to realize his visit as early as possible; however, the concrete dates have not been fixed yet. We are in the process of arranging his visit to Seoul.

    Q: With respect to that question, is Mr. Gemba going to places other than Seoul, after his visit to Seoul, such as to China?

    Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question.

    As far as I am aware, we are not planning to make Foreign Minister Gemba’s visit this time extensive or a wider one as you have indicated.

    Q: Mr. Gemba is not going on an extensive overseas trip? So Mr. Gemba’s trip to Seoul for talks with his counterpart is being arranged right now, but will this be his first trip? Is he considering going to China or somewhere else before Seoul? Because you just said the one in Seoul is being arranged right now.

    Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question.

    I am not in a position to provide you with details of Foreign Minister’s visit this time. As far as I understand, in accordance with the agreement reached between the two Ministers, namely Foreign Minister Gemba and his counterpart of the Republic of Korea, in New York, Mr. Gemba is thinking of visiting Seoul. To go to, for instance, China or other countries is another matter. I do not think these two are related. What I can say today is that we are in the process of preparing Foreign Minister’s trip to the Republic of Korea, but the dates have not been fixed yet.

  7. Questions concerning delegation to South Sudan

    8. Q: About the peacekeeping efforts in South Sudan, there are reports of sending Vice Minister Yamane to assess where exactly the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will be working on; can you confirm that and why do you think it is necessary for Japan to access Sudanese peacekeeping?

    Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question.

    On your first point, with respect to the visit by Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister Yamane to South Sudan, in fact, Mr. Yamane is thinking of visiting Sudan, South Sudan, and Kenya at the beginning of October. However, his visit to those countries has nothing to do with the peacekeeping operations or our contributions to the peacekeeping operations on the ground. His purpose of visiting those countries in Africa is to head the delegation of the Joint Mission for Promoting Trade and Investment to Africa, consisting of government officials, business leaders, and, of course, other senior officials of the government-related agencies concerned. This visit by Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister Yamane, has not been decided; we are in the process of planning his visit and dispatching this team to those countries in Africa.

    Again, as I explained to you about the purpose and objective of this team, this mission will, if circumstances allow, go to South Sudan not to collect information or do some survey and research with a view to deciding if Japan is going to dispatch ground forces to the Sudan peacekeeping operations, but to promote trade and investment between Japan and Africa.

    On the second point, as Prime Minister Noda explained his intention to the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, during their meeting, we, the Japanese Government, have already started to prepare for sending two senior officers to the peacekeeping operations headquarters in Juba in South Sudan. On the possibility of dispatching an engineering unit to construct roads or other infrastructure in South Sudan, as we know, the team consisting of about thirty officials has been conducting surveys on the ground since the end of last week. So we are waiting for the results of the survey, which I just referred to.

    Q: Just one small question. Do you have any idea how big this delegation to be headed by Mr. Yamane is going to be?

    Ms. Saiki: To my knowledge, about sixty people. So this is a fairly huge delegation.

    Q: And how long are they going to stay in South Sudan?

    Ms. Saiki: About a week.

    Just to avoid any misunderstanding, let me reiterate what I have said. This visit has not been finalized yet. We are in the process of planning it.

  8. Question concerning North Korea defectors

    9. Q: Last question, about the defectors from North Korea; they have been in your custody for more than two weeks, how long do you think it will take for the government to transfer them to South Korea?

    Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question.

    Frankly speaking, I have no idea as to how long it will take before another concrete step will take place. The Japanese government has been conducting an investigation, including interviews and other measures, to look into the matter. And we are still making efforts to clarify the situation, the reason behind it, and the background. What I can provide you with on this so-called defectors issue is rather limited, and I think I shall refrain from making any detailed comments.

    Do you have more questions?

    I see none, so this concludes today’s conference.

    Thank you very much for coming. I will be seeing you next week.

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