Press Conferences

Yomiuri Shimbun, Yokobori:President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan is scheduled to meet with Speaker of the United States House of Representatives McCarthy on April 5. In response, China, which had previously declared that it would implement measures, has intensified its objections and announced that it will conduct special naval operations in the Taiwan Strait. What is the government’s response to these developments?

Ms. ONO Hikariko, Press Secretary:I am aware of the points you raised. Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are important not only for Japan's security, but also for the stability of the international community as a whole. Japan's consistent position has always been that we hope the issues surrounding Taiwan will be resolved peacefully through dialogue. From this perspective, we continue to keep a close watch on the situation in Taiwan with great interest.
Furthermore, Japan has been directly and firmly conveying to China the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, while working closely with allies and like-minded countries, including the United States, to clearly express that this is the common position of many countries, and we intend to continue to make these diplomatic efforts.

Asahi Shimbun, Suzuki:I understand that the decision on Official Security Assistance (OSA) and the guidelines for implementing Official Development Assistance (ODA) policy, will be announced soon. I would like to know more about the significance and purpose of the government making these decisions at this time.

Press Secretary Ono:As Japan is finding itself in the midst of the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II, Official Security Assistance, so-called OSA, is intended to help strengthen security cooperation ties with Japan, create a favorable security environment for Japan, and maintain and strengthen international peace and security, through contribution to strengthening the security and deterrence capabilities of like-minded countries. As such, today we have settled on the implementation policy.
In addition, we are in the process of revising the Development Cooperation Charter so that we can use ODA more effectively and strategically as the world faces multiple crises, including challenges to a free and open international order and the escalation of global issues. We will issue a press release later, but today, we have decided to submit the government's proposal for public comment.
As for the timing of these two decisions, the government has no particular intention. Furthermore, the OSA you just mentioned, which is aimed to strengthen the security and deterrence capabilities of like-minded countries, and ODA, whose main objective is to develop the economy and society of developing countries, are entirely different frameworks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to publicly explain these points.