Top > Announcement > Press Conference by the Press Secretary of MOFA > 4 October 2012

Press Conference by the Deputy Press Secretary, 4 October 2012

  1. Visit by Prime Minister Noda and Foreign Minister Gemba to New York
  2. First Annual Japan-UK Nuclear Dialogue
  3. Visit by President of the Republic of Liberia to Japan
  4. Question concerning Japan’s PR campaign regarding the Senkaku Islands

1. Visit by Prime Minister Noda and Foreign Minister Gemba to New York

Deputy Press Secretary Ms. Naoko Saiki: Good afternoon. Last week I was in New York with Prime Minister Noda and Foreign Minister Gemba; therefore, I was not able to hold a press conference here in Tokyo. I am very pleased to see you here this week. Let me begin by touching upon a few topics.

Ms. Saiki: First, on a visit by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba to New York. The purposes of their visit were twofold. The first was to participate in the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), where Prime Minister Noda made an address during the General Debate, and other related events. The second was to hold a number of bilateral meetings in the margins of the opening of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly with a view to promoting synergy effects of multilateral and bilateral contacts.

The Prime Minister has had five bilateral meetings with his counterparts, respectively, of Colombia, Australia, Indonesia, Mongolia, and Egypt. Moreover, Prime Minister Noda held meetings with President of the UN General Assembly Jeremic and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, respectively.

As I stated at the outset, Prime Minister Noda made an address to the General Assembly. Throughout his speech, Prime Minister Noda made a point that human beings will continue adapting to this complex society, become wiser, give adequate consideration to future generations, and solve disputes calmly, reasonably, and under rules, from the perspective of looking at the earth from the outside.

In his remarks Prime Minister Noda talked about three pearls of wisdom. The first pearl is the power to give adequate thought to not only the “now,” but also the “future” - in other words, the power to think about the benefits for future generations. The second pearl he mentioned in his speech was the perspective of looking down at the earth where we live - to put it another way, the perspective going beyond national boundaries or borders, and advancing concrete measures to protect the global environment. The third pearl of wisdom is the manner in which human beings settle disputes reasonably, under rules. This is about the rule of law and the resolution of problems by peaceful means: the very theme of the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly this year. Prime Minister Noda’s speech was warmly received and highly appreciated.

With respect to the visit by Minister for Foreign Affairs Koichiro Gemba to New York, he held quite a few meetings and participated in a variety of events very energetically and actively. Those meetings and events on a multilateral front include: a High-Level Meeting on the Rule of Law; its side event, a post-MDG side event; a ministerial meeting of the G4 countries on the UN Security Council reform; a high level event on peace building entitled “Peacebuilding – Way towards Sustainable Peace and Security”; the Fifth Ministerial Meeting on the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative; the Mini-Summit on Somalia; the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Friends of Yemen; the Sixth Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Ministerial Meeting; a high-level side event entitled “Our Commitment to the Next Generation – the Legacy of a Polio Free World”; and a G-8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting on the Deauville Partnership. You see, he hosted or participated in about a dozen meetings and events.

On a bilateral front, Minister Gemba was able to hold eight foreign ministers’ meetings with his counterparts: namely, with Mr. Lavrov of the Russian Federation; Mr. Yang Jiechi of the People’s Republic of China; Dr. Salehi of Iran; the representatives of the Alliance of the Pacific, consisting of four Latin American countries, namely, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru; Mr. Hague of the United Kingdom; Mr. Gryshchenko of Ukraine; Mr. Kim Sung-hwan of the Republic of Korea; and Mrs. Clinton of the United States.

Immediately before his departure for Tokyo, he participated in a trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting amongst Japan, the United States, and the ROK.

Those meetings and events have produced very substantive and fruitful outcomes. This is the first announcement I wanted to make today.

2. First Annual Japan-UK Nuclear Dialogue

Ms. Saiki: Second, on the first Annual Japan-UK Nuclear Dialogue. Today and tomorrow, on 4 and 5 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the first Annual Japan-UK Nuclear Dialogue. This dialogue will discuss a range of subjects relevant to nuclear policy, including nuclear safety and regulation, decommissioning, decontamination, and nuclear research and development.

3. Visit by President of the Republic of Liberia to Japan

Ms. Saiki: Third and last, on a visit by Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, to Japan. From 10-16 October, the President of the Republic of Liberia will visit Japan. During her stay she is scheduled to attend 2012 annual meeting events of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. Also, she will make a state-call to His Majesty the Emperor. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will meet President Sirleaf in order to exchange views and opinions on bilateral, as well as regional and international, issues.

With these initial announcements, I would be happy to take your questions.

4. Question concerning Japan’s PR campaign regarding the Senkaku Islands

Q: I have heard that Japan has done what you might call a PR campaign to appeal to the international community Japan’s position on the Senkaku Islands. I am wondering what concrete measures you have implemented so far, for example, visits or briefings given to diplomatic missions in Japan and abroad, and that kind of thing. Could you comment on that?

Ms. Saiki: Thank you for the question. First of all, let me state that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of the territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based on international law. Therefore, in principle, it is not necessary for the Government of Japan to appeal to the international community as to what the Japanese Government’s position is with respect to these islands and why. However, given the fact that the Chinese Government and the Taiwanese authorities are making their own assertions, and furthermore, given the fact that recently there have been acts of violence – anti-Japanese protests and riots - which have caused severe damages to Japanese nationals, Japanese companies, embassies and consulates in numerous cities in China, and furthermore, given the fact that China and Taiwan have actively made in-roads into the ocean and have taken provocative and risky actions around the Senkaku Islands – given all these facts, the Japanese Government has decided to make the utmost effort to let the international community understand the situation correctly, as well as the basic position of the Japanese Government with respect to the Senkaku Islands. That is what I would like to state at the outset.

On your specific question, namely what the Japanese Government has done so far, for instance, here in Tokyo, we have already explained the basic position of the Japanese Government on the Senkaku Islands to the diplomatic corps., as well as members of the press, both Japanese and foreign. Also, we have reached out to academics, experts, and specialists so that they will be in a good position to understand the situation.

Overseas, for instance, I took advantage of my stay in New York with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to hold press conferences and briefings, and was interviewed by foreign correspondents. On those occasions, I explained, fully and in detail, the position of the Japanese Government on the Senkaku Islands. Naturally, not only I, but all the embassies, consulates general, permanent missions - these overseas establishments of the Japanese Government - under the instruction by the headquarters in Tokyo, have been actively reaching out to experts, specialists, and of course government officials, respectively, in capitals and other big cities, in order to have them properly understand the situation and the position of the Japanese Government on the matter.

Are there any other questions? Okay, so this concludes today’s conference. Thank you for coming.

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