Press Conferences

Ms. ONO Hikariko, Press Secretary:I have one announcement at the outset.

Some reports from last year suggest that ships provided by Japan to Myanmar may have been used for military purposes.

Last September, it was reported in Myanmar that the ships provided to the country by Japan under a grant aid project in FY2016 may have been used by Myanmar for military purposes. In response to these reports, we repeatedly conducted fact-checking with the Myanmar side through the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar.

Based on the responses we received from Myanmar, the Government of Japan has determined that Rakhine State officials used ships provided by Japan to transport soldiers and weapons for a period of time last autumn.

The Government of Japan has lodged a protest with Myanmar regarding its inappropriate use of the ships and has urged Myanmar to use the ships properly and take thorough measures to prevent recurrence. In response, the Myanmar side has expressed regret that this situation occurred and responded that it will take thorough measures to prevent any recurrence.

The Government of Japan will continue to monitor the situation and urge proper use of the ships to ensure thorough measures are taken to prevent any recurrence.

That is all from me.

Yomiuri Shimbun, Yokobori:I have a question related to Sudan. Some information circulating suggest that another Japanese citizen has evacuated Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Is this true? If so, please tell us how the evacuation operation was carried out.

Press Secretary Ono:We are aware that another Japanese citizen evacuated Sudan on April 25. I will refrain from providing further details for safety reasons.

The Government of Japan will continue to do its utmost to support Japanese citizens in Sudan, taking into consideration the possibility that there may be new evacuation requests with the relevant countries through our temporary office set up in Djibouti

Mainichi Shimbun, Aoki:I would like to return to the Myanmar issue as explained in your opening remarks. You said the Government has determined that the ships were used to transport weapons and soldiers. Could you tell us when the ships were used for such purposes, and whether Japan obtained any evidence to make this determination aside from Myanmar’s responses?

Press Secretary Ono:Originally, the project provided two second-hand and one newly-built passenger ships to Inland Water Transport in Myanmar to enhance its water transportation capabilities.

The Governments of Japan and Myanmar concluded an Exchange of Notes (E/N) in 2016, and two second-hand ships and one newly-built ship were handed over to Myanmar in 2017 and 2019 respectively. The Myanmar side used these ships for transportation purposes including commuting.

In response to last September’s local reports that the ships were used to transport soldiers and weapons of the Myanmar military, Japan conducted fact-checking with Myanmar several times through the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar.

As a result, we received responses from the Myanmar side, and based on this response, we have reached the decision I mentioned earlier.

Mainichi Shimbun, Aoki:Can you tell us when, or rather, since when the ships have been used for such purposes? Are you saying that the ships are currently not in use?

Press Secretary Ono: As I stated earlier, the reports came out last September. Since then, all three ships that we provided remained anchored at Sittwe Port in Rakhine State. The Myanmar side has informed us that two of those ships resumed commercial operations from April 5.

We determined what the ships were being used for based on our repeated communications with the Myanmar side as I mentioned earlier.

As it was reported in last September, we determined based on our communication with Myanmar that the ships were likely being used for these purposes at that time.

TBS, Nakajima:Regarding Myanmar, will Japan be reviewing the way exports are made to Myanmar or taking any other measures in response to this incident? In addition, the ruling parties have begun to discuss the system for arms exports again. What is the impact of this incident on those discussions?

Press Secretary Ono:In light of the recent situation in Myanmar, Japan is currently not providing any new official development assistance (ODA) to the regime led by the Myanmar military. Meanwhile, we intend to actively provide humanitarian assistance through international organizations, NGOs, and other entities that directly benefit the people of Myanmar.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a highly regrettable case. We have lodged a protest with this to Myanmar and urged them to use the ships properly and take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence.

Japan will continue to monitor the situation and urge the proper use of the ships to ensure thorough measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of cases like this.

Discussions are underway on ODA architecture and new assistance etc., including the aspects you noted. At this point in time, I would like to refrain from making any remarks based on speculation about the impact of this incident on those discussions.

Sankei Shimbun, Hiroike:Regarding the Myanmar issue, when did the Government lodge a protest with Myanmar regarding this incident?

Press Secretary Ono:Based on last September’s reports, we repeatedly conducted fact-checking with the Myanmar side and reached the conclusion I mentioned earlier.

As for our communication with the Myanmar side, I would like to refrain from providing details as it is diplomatic communication.

In any case, through the Embassy of Japan in Myanmar, we have been communicating with high-level officials and others, including those from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Based on their responses, we determined that there was, regrettably, inappropriate use by the Myanmar side as I mentioned earlier.

Asahi Shimbun, Nagasaki:Changing topics, I would like to ask about the conversational AI, ChatGPT. There has been a noticeable trend in Kasumigaseki, including at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, toward utilizing ChatGPT to improve the efficiency of their operations. Please tell us about the situation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and if it is considering utilization of ChatGPT.

Press Secretary Ono:We recognize that ChatGPT and other high-precision language AI tools have the potential to fundamentally transform jobs that involve the use of language, including consulting and search services, by further improving performance.

To use these tools in government work, responding to copyright protection and ensuring security also become key issues. Whether to use these tools must be determined based on unified standards for cybersecurity measures within government organizations, fully taking into account the need for the tools for operation purposes and the related risks.

For its part, MOFA will be exploring the possibility of utilizing these tools to reduce the workload of our staff in coordination with the relevant ministries and agencies.