Lyon Summit Information

Press Conference by Spokesman for the Delegation of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto
P-8 Discussions

Date : 28 June 1996 Time : 20:02 -- 20:19 Location: Japanese Press Briefing Tent Lyon, France

MAJOR TOPICS

1. Introduction of the spokesman and briefing status
2. Spokesman's announcements to the Press regarding P-8 discussions at the G-7 Summit in Lyon
3. Discussion of Bosnia-Herzegovina issues
4. Matters relating to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Russian Federation
5. Japanese proposal for a new global partnership for development
6. Japanese aid to Bosnia-Herzegovina
7. Middle East issues

1. Introduction of the spokesman and briefing status

   Moderator: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this on-the-record briefing by the Japanese delegation. Before we begin, I would just like to remind you of the ground rules for this press conference. Today's speaker will be Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Hiroshi Hashimoto. Mr. Hashimoto is the official spokesman for the Japanese delegation to the G-7 Summit. As this is an on-the-record briefing, you may quote Mr. Hashimoto by name and title or as the spokesman for the Japanese Government. Mr. Hashimoto will begin with a brief statement. Following this statement, he will open the floor to questions. If you have a question, please raise your hand and wait to be recognized by the spokesman. Once you are called on, please proceed to the microphone. Please state your name and affiliation before proceeding with your question. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Let me now introduce Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto, Spokesman for the Japanese Delegation.

2. Spokesman's announcements to the Press regarding P-8 discussions at the G-7 Summit in Lyon

   Spokesman for the Delegation of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this press briefing. First of all, I would like to brief you on the G-7 Foreign Minister's Meeting which took place this afternoon. They talked about the Middle East and Bosnia-Herzegovina issue. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yukihiko Ikeda of Japan contributed to the discussions on Bosnia-Herzegovina. He said that it was very important to have upcoming elections in September to be conducted freely and fairly. It is necessary to have the elections conducted with a full consensus of the parties concerned. We have got to ask the people concerned to further improve the facilities, etc. In this regard, Foreign Minister Ikeda said that Japan is studying the possibility of extending aid for the extension of a television network in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Foreign Minister Ikeda touched on the need to accelerate the return of refugees to their homeland, and Japan expressed its readiness to further cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on this regard. He said to his colleagues that, after the end of the Lyon Summit, he will go to Sarajevo to look at the situation on his own. This is what Foreign Minister Ikeda told his colleagues at the G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting. I am now going to debrief you on the G-8 on global issues; I am talking about the Summiteers Meeting. They talked together with Prime Minister Biktor S. Chernomyrddiu of the Russian Federation on United Nations reform and environment, etc. On United Nations reform, Prime Minister Hashimoto said that we should distinguish the issue related to the shortage of funds and the need to reform the institution. At the Halifax Summit, the Summiteers talked about the need to reform the United Nations organization, and even this meeting at Lyon should keep the momentum of the reform of the United Nations. In order to conduct United Nations reform, it is indispensable to get support from the developing countries, which are members of the United Nations. Therefore, we should not simply aim to cut the budget of the United Nations, instead, we should stress the need to reinvest the saved money from the reform into another appropriate area. Prime Minister Hashimoto said that, as far as concrete proposals are concerned, we should ask the United Nations Secretary-General to study the details of this. On the environment, Prime Minister Hashimoto, in detail, explained to his colleagues about the experiences of Japan on the environment. At the beginning of the 70s, environment problems became a big issue in Japan. Still, there are some problems that are left over to the present day. Through this period, Japan has experienced a lot concerning environmental issue. Some of them have been a very good experience for Japan, and some of them have been a bad experience for Japan. On the basis of those experiences, Japan has started to transfer the knowledge and experiences to the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and Australia. Probably, these experiences can be, if we like, to some extent, be applied to the issue related to the environment in the Caspian Sea. Japan has been extending external assistance with regard to environmental issues with Asian Countries. Lastly, Prime Minister Hashimoto said to his colleagues that Japan has formerly asked to host the Third Conference of Parties on United Nations Conventions on Climatic Change. He reiterated the cooperation from the other G-7 countries on this candidacy. That is what the Prime Minister said to his colleagues. We understand that during the nighttime session, they will talk about Russia, the Middle East and the other remaining global issues including AIDS. Having said so, if you are interested in raising some questions, I will be delighted to answer them for you.

3. Discussion of Bosnia-Herzegovina issues

   Q: Did the foreign ministers or the others in discussing Bosnia, debate the possibility of setting a deadline for the delivery of Radovan Karadzic from Bosnia to the international tribunal at The Hague, or would Japan consider setting a deadline, such as the 1 July as I understand Mr. Bildt has proposed for doing this?

   A: We understand that the foreign ministers talked about Mr. Radovan Karadzic and Mr. Murodzic. But, basically, the foreign ministers stated that those two gentlemen should not engage in official activities over there. Beyond that, it seems they didn't talk specifically about their future. In this relationship, I would just like to quickly tell you that they exchanged views on new Yugoslavia, and in order to let the people concerned observe the peace agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina, the G-7 countries should give a certain pressure on the Serbian Republic. If the general elections take place as scheduled, they suggested whether they will hold another London-type of conference, which took place last year, sometime by the end of this year. This is what I know about the discussion.

   Q: Would this include the possibility of reimposing sanctions?

   A: I am not aware whether they had talked about these further sanctions.

4. Matters relating to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Russian Federation

   Q: I am an Italian journalists and I work for the official radio, Radio Capodistria. I would like to know whether or not the Japanese Government is in favor of NATO's enlargement in Eastern Europe without Russia. I would also be grateful if you would explain to me whether the Japanese Government would like the United Nations to play a peace-keeping role in Europe in the future.

   A: On your first question, Japan is not a European country, so I do not know whether Japan is in a position to make a specific comment on that. But in any case, we would like to establish a constructive relationship with the Russian Federation, and in this sense, we sincerely hope that both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) side and the Russian side can amicably solve this question. We understand that this is a very delicate issue, but again, after the presidential elections in Russia, we understand that the European countries will start to think seriously on this subject. On your second question regarding the United Nations involvement in the peace-keeping role, only a couple of years ago the Government of Japan introduced new legislation dispatching our contingent for United Nations peace-keeping operations. We highly appreciate the traditional peace-keeping operations under the United Nations. If you talk about that, United Nations activities, rather than peace-making operations, I think Japan basically supports the activities of the United Nations, but we have got to address the individual cases. Now Japan's contingent is located in the Golan Heights. By doing so, we are ready to cooperate with the United Nations in this regard.

5. Japanese proposal for a new global partnership for development

   Q: May I ask you how the reaction has been to Japan's proposals concerning foreign aid?

   A: We proposed to the Lyon Summit to establish a new concept -- a new global partnership between developed and developing countries. And, we proposed to establish common goals that both developed and developing countries can achieve. These two issues are included in the Economic Statement, so we are satisfied with this. But, we have to further pursue the subject. We have to consult with the relevant international organizations to really realize this.

6. Japanese aid to Bosnia-Herzegovina

   Q: I understand that, I think it was in the Foreign Ministers Meeting -- forgive me if you mentioned it earlier in this presentation -- that Japan has agreed to join some reconstruction organization for Lebanon, and I wondered if there was any kind of monetary pledge with that, and if you could give any other details?

   A: At the Foreign Ministers Meeting, Foreign Minister Ikeda said to his colleagues that Japan is now studying the possibility of extending aid to the project of a television network in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Currently, Carl Bildt's office is now preparing a nation-wide project, and Japan is now studying the possibility of being a part of the project.

7. Middle East issues

   Q: What I heard was concerning Lebanon. I am sorry if I was not speaking clearly. Was there any aspect of that in the Foreign Ministers Meeting?

   A: As far as we understand, when the foreign ministers talked about the Middle East issue, Foreign Minister Ikeda did not specifically contribute to specific projects. So, I am not sure whether at the Foreign Ministers Meeting they are proposing to implement that project in Lebanon. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.