Press Conferences

Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida: I would like to express my congratulations regarding the fact that on May 25, a presidential election took place in Ukraine-with the exception of a part of eastern Ukraine-in a free, fair, and peaceful manner, and the candidate Mr. Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko secured a victory. 

 

The Government of Japan believes that in order to achieve peace and stability in Ukraine, it is important to do three things: improve the economic situation, restore democracy, and promote domestic dialogues and integration, and I have made statements concerning Japan's contributions, including economic assistance to date of up to USD1.5 billion.

 

The establishment of a new, democratically elected government based on this recent presidential election will serve as a major step toward the realization of peace and stability in Ukraine.

 

The Government of Japan anticipates that under the new government, reforms will move forward with regard to urgent issues including economic restructuring and promotion of domestic dialogues and integration. Japan intends to continue to support the new administration in the promotion of such reforms.

Watanabe, NHK: In relation to the recent presidential election in Ukraine, there were some casualties in the eastern area of Lugansk and that region as the result of ongoing bombardment and attacks on an airport. Even now that the outcome of the presidential election has been decided, this type of battle activities has been continuing. How do you perceive the current situation, and how does Japan intend to work regarding such circumstances?

 

Minister Kishida: A pro-Russian armed group not only has interfered with the recent presidential election, but also has been making efforts to occupy public facilities including the Donetsk International Airport, and the Government of Japan condemns such actions. At the same time, Japan would like to call for the Ukrainian Government to continue to carry out actions for maintaining the peace in a cautious manner, and to demonstrate self-restraint and responsibility.

 

Ukraine has continued to make efforts for domestic dialogues and integration, including holding round-table meetings for three times, and Japan anticipates that such dialogues will be promoted in a peaceful way.

 

The Government of Japan also intends to continue supporting the promotion of these dialogues.

 

Watanabe, NHK: On the other hand, when it comes to Russia’s response to the presidential election, some say there might be various movements in Russia against the backdrop of the pro-Russian factions, or that even with regards to this election, Russia has expressed its some evaluation. Can you tell us what you think of the Russian response?

 

Minister Kishida: Regarding the current presidential election, for example, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that he respects the decision of the Ukraine people and that he is ready to talk with Mr. Poroshenko. I think we should pay attention to such statements.

 

I hope that this presidential election will provide an opportunity to progress a diplomatic dialogue, such as discussions between the two countries of Russia and Ukraine, which I hope will result in the normalization of the situation in Ukraine. 

Watanabe, NHK: I would like to ask about the current Japan-North Korea consultations. Although there is time difference, from this point going forward they will enter their second day. Including the consultations on the first day, what specific topics are being discussed at the moment? Has a report been made? Or, in conjunction with this question, what do you hope for the consultations going forward? I would like to ask about these two things.

 

Minister Kishida: The consultations on the 26th lasted for approximately over four hours and a wide range of opinions were exchanged about topics of interest to both parties. It was reported to me that the content of the exchanges were sincere and candid.

 

The consultations are scheduled for three days and we are still on the first day, but I hope that they will produce an outcome over the course of these three days, such as a positive attitude being shown by North Korea.

Fujimura, Chugoku Shimbun: The G8 summit is scheduled to be held in Japan in 2016, and yesterday the Mayor of Hiroshima city Kazumi Matsui stated at a press conference that they began their deliberation toward attracting the event to his city. Can I ask your opinion to this?

 

Minister Kishida: I understand that the summit will be held in Japan in 2016 and I thank the interest shown by Hiroshima city toward hosting the event. However, the process to determine which city within Japan will host it will begin from now on. While taking into consideration various factors, including the interest shown by Hiroshima city, I believe the task of deciding the host city will take place.

 

Fujimura, Chugoku Shimbun: The Hiroshima Declaration announced at the NPDI meeting in April, which you chaired, called on the world’s leaders to understand what really happens when people are exposed to radiation. If Hiroshima summit should realize, do you think this would accelerate the movement toward a world without nuclear weapons?

 

Minister Kishida: First, when aspiring to a world that is free of nuclear weapons, it would be extremely significant to have all the leaders of the world to see what really happens when people are exposed to radiation. I am aware of how deeply significant this would be. However, as I just stated, the task of deciding the city that will host the summit will take place in the future and at the current point in time, this investigation has not yet begun. We are at a stage where the selection process will begin in the near future. My understanding is that the host city will be determined based on a comprehensive evaluation of various viewpoints.

Yamamoto, Sankei Shimbun: Regarding the Japan-North Korea consultations, you mentioned your hopes for the outcome of the current round of consultations in your answer to the previous question, but can I ask what specific outcome you are thinking of ?

 

Minister Kishida: These are consultations which have the other party and so predicting the outcome is quite difficult. But as a country, Japan is working toward comprehensively solving the various problems it holds with North Korea. If a positive attitude can be drawn out of North Korea in these consultations, then I believe this would be a successful outcome.