Denver Summit Information

Press Conference by Spokesman for the Delegation of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto
Morning Session of the Leaders' Meeting

Date	:	June 21, 1997
Time	:	14:30-15:22
Location	:	Meeting Room C-201/205 Colorado Convention Center

Major Topics

Introduction of speaker and briefing status
Official of the International Press Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this on-the-record briefing by the Japanese delegation regarding the Morning Session of the Leaders' Meeting. The briefer is Mr. Hiroshi Hashimoto, Spokesman for the Prime Minister of Japan. After Mr. Hashimoto's briefing, there will be a question and answer session. When you have questions for him, please come to the nearest microphone and state your name and affiliation. Mr. Hashimoto, please.
Morning Session of the Leaders' Meeting
Spokesman for the Prime Minister Hiroshi Hashimoto: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am going to use one of the papers which has been distributed to you at my briefing session. That paper is titled, "The Denver Summit of the Eight: Japan's Initiatives." I am going to brief you on the Morning Session of the Denver Summit. The first topic in the morning was Africa. Would you please turn to page four and page five as far as the Japanese position is concerned? Prime Minister Hashimoto stated to his colleagues that Japan intends to hold the second Tokyo International Conference on African Development next year. He went on to say that the emerging economies in Asia are increasing their interests in Africa, and the African countries are increasing their hope to learn from the experiences of Asia. We, the developed countries, should extend appropriate cooperation to those emerging economies who are ready to extend their assistance to Africa. At the same time, Mr. Hashimoto said that Japan was going to hold the Okinawa Conference on New Development Strategies next month, which is written on page five. Many of the participants supported what Mr. Hashimoto said. The next subject of the morning session was global issues. Mr. Hashimoto contributed to the discussion on terrorism. Would you please turn to pages five and six, where our position is described? Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed the gratitude of the Japanese Government to the countries concerned for helping when we had the terrible hostage-taking at the Japanese Ambassador's Residence in Peru. He made several proposals to strengthen anti-terrorism measures. He touched upon our cooperation to enhance capacity to cope with hostage-taking, which is described on page five. He talked about promotion of information interchange, which is described on page five and page six. And he talked about promotion of regional cooperation, which is described on page six. At the same time, he proposed to hold a conference of experts on anti-terrorism, specifically emphasizing possible hostage-taking incidents in the future. When the Summiteers talked about transnational organized crime, Prime Minister Hashimoto expressed the need to strengthen cooperation among the experts, especially in relation to organized financial crime. Other participants supported what Prime Minister Hashimoto said. On the subject of the reform of the United Nations, Prime Minister Hashimoto said that we need not only the reform of the United Nations in the economic field, but also reform in the political field. He said that Japan should be treated at the United Nations in a manner commensurate with the responsibility Japan bears in the international society. On the subject of infectious diseases, Mr. Hashimoto said that 3.5 billion people in the world are suffering from parasite diseases, and he drew the attention of the Summiteers to this fact, and said that Japan would like to strengthen cooperation with the developing countries on this subject. At the same time, he pointed out the need to increase the health conditions of pregnant women or young mothers in line with health care for children. Japan has a system of mother-and-child health passports, and Japan would like to contribute to the expansion of this kind of system to the countries which are interested in it. On the global environmental issue, Mr. Hashimoto touched on several subjects. Firstly, on forestry, he stressed the need to strengthen international cooperation for sustainable forest management in the world. On the fresh water issue, he said that he would like to study how -- jointly, among the developed countries, the developing countries, international organizations and NGOs -- to tackle this issue. On marine pollution, recently Japan has experienced the incident in Miyagi in Japanese territorial waters. On the basis of this experience, we would like to take up effective measures against this. On the issue of climate change, the Prime Minister said that we should use our wisdom to formulate acceptable agreement by each country on the basis of the principles of fairness, flexibility and feasibility, simultaneously taking into account the situation of individual countries. He introduced briefly what the Japanese Government had been doing with the so-called "Green Initiatives," which are written on pages three and four. This is what the Prime Minister said at the Morning Session. In addition to this, I would like to discuss briefly the course of discussions on individual subjects. On Africa, the Summiteers made several proposals on how to deepen our relations with Africa, and how to help build their national economy, taking up as examples the following issues: education (especially education for women), establishing a regional trade entity across the existing borders, proposing the enlargement of preferential tariff treatment, enlarging ODA activities to Africa, enhancing or encouraging the African countries for further good governance. A particular Summiteer talked about the need to maintain a reliable peacekeeping force for Africa. On the other issues, the Summiteers talked about the following things: the need to conclude international agreements related to antiterrorism; an exchange of views on how to combat narcotic trafficking; how to deal with transnational organized crime; how to deal with organized financial crime; and an exchange of views on how to regulate the transaction of arms. They also talked about nuclear safety. On the issue of United Nations reform, a country specifically stated that the country would support Japan and Germany to be permanent members of the Security Council, and the Summiteers exchanged views on how to make the Secretariat more effective. The proposal by the Secretary-General for the reforms of the United Nations has been supported by the Summiteers and there was some exchange about the delay in payments about the obligatory contributions to the United Nations. Someone talked about the need to invest saved money from administrative reform for development purposes. In fact, this is what the Japanese Government stressed at the last Summit. On environment, they exchanged views about the possibility of signing a forest treaty, and they exchanged views on the upcoming Kyoto meeting on climate change in December. But, as far as the climate change conference is concerned, each member or each Summiteer expressed their well-known position about the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions. On the forest treaty issue, each Summiteer also expressed their well-known attitude. I think that is about all I can explain to you, and I would be delighted to respond to any questions which you may have.
Support for Japan's role on the Security Council
Q: The country that expressed support for Japan as a permanent member of the Security Council, was that country already a permanent member of the Security Council? Can you enlighten us a little bit more of whom we are speaking here?

A: The reason why I told you a "country" is that there is a Summit rule not to mention specifically who said what. I assure you that this support was expressed by a member of the permanent five.
Japan-U.S. trade surplus issues
Q: What are you expecting to hear on the Japan-U.S. trade surplus, and how do you think the tone of those talks will go?

A: This morning, the trade surplus was not touched upon. At the G-7 meeting, I am not sure if they will talk about this subject. But, in the late afternoon, at 18:30, I will hold another briefing including the G-7 meetings, so at that time I will explain to you what was really discussed among the G-7 countries.
Issues regarding infectious diseases
Q: Could you describe a little more about what might have been said among all the leaders regarding infectious diseases, and whether you expect to see any specific initiatives adopted in the communique tomorrow?

A: On infectious diseases, apart from what Prime Minister Hashimoto said, a country stressed the importance of developing an HIV vaccination, and infectious diseases will be one of the biggest issues in the 21st century. However, I was not debriefed about what this Summiteer talked about in detail on this subject, or what sort of reaction was given by other Summiteers.

Q: Did you discuss any currency issues or any other economic issues?

A: In the morning, no.
Issues regarding sending an envoy to Cambodia
Q: I wonder if you could explain to us the Japanese proposal to send an envoy to Cambodia? Is that envoy only to represent Japan?

A: Last night, the Prime Minister proposed to his colleagues that if the fellow Summiteers give him a mandate, the Prime Minister is ready to send his special envoy to Cambodia to meet urgently both First Prime Minister H.R.H. Samdech Krom Preah Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen. He said that he has one particular person in mind who has been establishing a very good relationship with those people and he went on to say that the gentleman has a good relationship with King Norodom Sihanouk as well. Since last night, the political directors and the related officials have been talking about how to deal with this issue and what sort of document we will publish and whether we will include this one into the communique or not. The Chair has not yet decided about the documentation, but we hope that, in due course, this will be made public to you. But, we have impressions that the Summiteers are supporting this idea. Incidentally, I would like to inform you that the person whom Prime Minister Hashimoto has in mind is the former Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia, who has already retired from the foreign services, Mr. Yukio Imagawa. He is, in fact, a friend of the Cambodian Government, and a friend to the Cambodian people. He will be in a position to be heard sincerely by the two Prime Ministers over there, so we hope that the Summiteers will give the Prime Minister of Japan a mandate, and Mr. Imagawa will go there and convey a message of the G-7 countries to Cambodia.
Issues regarding the environment
Q: I have two environment-related questions. First, was there a discussion of the American proposal to harmonize the environmental standards of export credit agencies?

A: As far as I was debriefed by my colleagues, that one was not mentioned. I would recommend checking with the American Delegation.

Q: Second, you said that the Summiteers reiterated their positions on a forest convention. What is Japan's position, and what do you believe was the consensus of the group?

A: Japan is not opposed to signing a forest treaty eventually, but what sort of forest treaty should be signed remains to be seen. In general, we think that we should ask experts what should be the content of the forest treaty. If the experts can present something substantial and something valuable, I think, not only Japan, but also other countries would support that idea. But, without talking about the content of that treaty, just saying the need to sign a forest treaty is not very practical. Therefore, it may need some time, but our fundamental position is to ask experts, if necessary, to the desirability of signing a forestry treaty.

Q: Japan's main focus, this year, is the environment, and I am wondering what you hope to accomplish with regard to Japan's environmental issues?

A: Regarding Japan's environmental issues, would you once again refer to the paper which has been distributed to you. Especially, this paper, entitled "Initiatives for Sustainable Development Toward the 21st Century," is what we basically are going to achieve, not only at the Denver Summit, but also at the upcoming United Nations Special Session on the Environment. There are many points to be discussed. There are many issues under the global environment. In any case, I would like to, once again, stress the need to get an agreement on the carbon dioxide emissions because Japan will host a very important international conference in Kyoto this December. Still, there is a difference of opinion among the countries concerned -- even among the members of the Summit of the Eight -- but we hope that we can make a consensus on the basis of the principles which I explained to you and make the upcoming December conference successful so that we can set concrete goals with concrete figures on the level of emissions after 2001.

Q: From your description of the Summiteers discussion on global climate change, it seems as if nothing has moved so far. Have you seen any indications coming out of these meetings that the United States will develop or accept a proposal that Japan will find acceptable before the Kyoto meeting?

A: It is true that the Summiteers did not make a consensus in the morning. I am not sure if the Summiteers will have a chance to talk on the same subject at the Denver Summit or not. But, if they fail to make a relevant standing on this issue, Japan, together with other countries, will endeavor to make a consensus before the actual convening of the conference in December. There are no exceptions -- Japan also has a serious or difficult problem on this. So, we would like to deepen our exchange of views with the United States. But, at the same time, we think that what the European Union is arguing is too strict. And, to some extent, we think that they lack fairness. Therefore, we have to ask our European friends to modify their position; at the same time, we would like to get support from the American side. The American colleagues often say that the developing countries should be more involved in restricting the emissions by themselves. While we understand what our American colleagues are talking about, the developed countries should show them their lead on this question. At the same time, there are several countries which could cooperate with the developed countries; at the same time, they still lack know-how -- how to do that and so on. In that case, the developed countries should extend appropriate cooperation such as technical assistance and so on. As far as that aspect is concerned, I would again like to draw your attention to the paper submitted to you.
Issues regarding the United Nations
Q: I have a question about the United Nations. Did any Summiteers urge the United States to pay back its back dues to the United Nations it owes?

A: We understand that they picked up this idea, but I am sorry, I was not debriefed on the content of that discussion in the morning session. We understand that the U.S. Congress has decided to allow the Clinton Administration to pay a portion of the obligatory contribution to the United Nations. But, Japan is of the view that any country of the United Nations should fulfill its duty to pay the obligatory contributions. Therefore, it is not satisfactory only to pay partially. So, we would like to continue to encourage the American Government to pay all of its dues to the United Nations.
United States as a role model in economic growth
Q: The United States has made the argument that our economy can be held up as a model to the rest of the world. Did that subject come up and what would be the Japanese view of that?

A: That subject was not taken up at the morning session; we will have to wait until the evening session of whether the G-7 meeting touched on the subject.
Issues regarding Russia's participation in the G-7/G-8
Q: Was there any discussion this morning on Russia's future status in the G-7 or Group of Eight -- whatever you want to call it -- and given that there has not been any progress on the Northern Territories issue, would Japan be happy to see this Summit end with a statement saying that in the future Russia is to be a completely equal member with future meetings in Moscow?

A: That matter was already discussed last night. Prime Minister Hashimoto welcomed President Yeltsin's participation in the Denver Summit. He disclosed one story about how President Clinton gave a telephone call to Prime Minister Hashimoto prior to the U.S.-Russia Summit in Helsinki and asked about Mr. Hashimoto's opinion on President Yeltsin's participation in the Denver Summit. Mr. Hashimoto, without hesitation, said yes, although there is an unsolved issue between the two countries. He went on to explain to his colleagues last night that he had a very fruitful talk with President Yeltsin over breakfast yesterday and both Prime Minister Hashimoto and President Yeltsin decided to endeavor to solve the Northern Territorial issue among themselves. But, Prime Minister Hashimoto asked his colleagues at the table for extending appropriate cooperation in this regard and this morning, I do not think that the question you raised was touched upon.

Q: Before this Summit, Mr. Hashimoto made it clear that you did not want Russia to become a full member of this Summit. Is that still the Japanese position?

A: What timing are you talking about? In the past -- I am not sure if I still remember clearly or not -- at the time of the Lyon Summit, Japan showed reservations about the so-called G-8 Summit. But, when President Clinton made a telephone call to him, Prime Minister Hashimoto said in line with what I have described to you. But, at the same time, I should hasten to add that the Prime Minister on the telephone said that there are still several subjects such as macroeconomic coordination and international financial issues where the Russian Federation is not yet in a position to participate in. Those subjects will continue to be discussed among the G-7 countries. We are very happy to talk with Russia on other subjects, but at the same time, we would like to see Russia taking concrete steps on the subjects which the G-7 countries have been traditionally tackling such as global issues, political issues, etc.
Issues regarding China's participation in the G-7
Q: What is the position of Japan on the future participation of China in the G-7?

A: That is still not on the agenda. The People's Republic of China has not expressed its desire to participate in the Summit of the Eight. However, we have got to recognize that China is the other country which is very important but still not a member of the Summit of the Eight. We should give a good signal to the Chinese leaders that we would like to strengthen our ties with China. We would like to see China continuously go in the direction of open-door and reform policies.

Q: What do you think about the possibility of China's future participation in this event?

A: As long as this is not on the agenda, it is difficult for us to make a comment. In any case, the Summit of the Eight, all in all, should endeavor to develop better relations with China; while Japan, for example, strongly supports the early participation of China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in this sense, we hope that China will give us good offers for market access in order to wind up the bilateral negotiations on the entry of China into the WTO.

Q: You seem to describe a change of policy between the Lyon Summit and the time when President Clinton called Prime Minister Hashimoto. In Lyon, of course, you said that you were hesitant to have the Russians participate as fully as they are here. Then, you said that the Prime Minister changed that position when President Clinton called him. I am wondering what changes you saw take place in Russian behavior in the time period since the last Lyon Summit that led to Prime Minister Hashimoto's reversal of opinion on this issue?

A: We would like to solve, of course, the long-standing territorial issue. What we are endeavoring to achieve is to make progress on the territorial issue, on the one hand, and to expand our relations in many fields, both bilaterally and in international fora such as the Denver Summit. Through these efforts, we would like to eventually solve these questions, especially now that Russia is a member of the Summit of the Eight. It is just abnormal to see that still both countries cannot normalize our overall bilateral relations. The most important thing is how to better address this very difficult territorial issue. For example, in comparison with several years ago -- if I may say so -- when the Japan-Russia relations were cool, not only President Yeltsin but also his fellows, such as Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevgeniy Primakov, First Deputy Minister Nemtsov, the Prime Minister himself, have shown more positive attitudes towards Japan. That kind of change of attitude on the side of the Russian Federation began to be noticed for the last year or so. In a sense, it is natural for us, Japan, to respond to this call. Especially this time, we agreed to establish a hotline between the two leaders. We agreed to hold an annual bilateral summit. The leaders agreed to meet more informally, and so on. That kind of exchange at the highest level is improving the atmosphere of the bilateral relationship. So, under better circumstances, what is most important is to produce something tangible so that we can tell our fellow people that we are producing something fruitful for the two countries. Therefore, we hope that this better atmosphere or situation will lead to actual improvement of relations with tangible results on several outstanding issues, including the issue of the Northern Territories.

Q: Was there anything in Mr. Yeltsin's remarks this morning about the Russian economy that encouraged you?

A: He explained to the Summiteers last night. This morning, because of the set agenda, President Yeltsin did not talk about the internal situation in Russia or about international trade matters. Thank you very much.

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Press Conference by Spokesman for the Delegation of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto Morning Session of the Leaders' Meeting

Major Topics

Press Conference by Spokesman for the Delegation of Japan Hiroshi Hashimoto
Morning Session of the Leaders' Meeting