Press Conferences

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida: From Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, October 27, the Second PALM (Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting) Ministerial Interim Meeting will be held in Tokyo and Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. I will co-chair the meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Phillip Muller.

In the upcoming meeting, we are scheduled to confirm the follow-up process of the outcome of the PALM 6 held last year, and hold discussions toward the PALM 7 scheduled to be held in 2015. Specifically, we will exchange views on matters such as the various challenges concerning the ocean, the promotion of trade, investment and tourism, and regional affairs among others. As island countries surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Japan and Pacific island countries are “co-working peers.” The meeting will aim to generate measures for resolving the common challenges faced by the region such as natural disasters and climate change, and to jointly contribute to the development of the Pacific islands region and the enhancement of regional cooperation.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida: I will have a meeting with Baroness Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union, on Monday, October 28. As part of preparations toward the regular-basis Japan-EU Summit scheduled for November, we will exchange views broadly, including Japan-EU cooperation toward realizing the stability and prosperity of the international community, and the situation in the Middle East, including Syria, Iran, etc.

Imoto, TBS: Ahead of the PALM, the Prime Minister has also been stating that he would like a venue in the disaster-affected area. What venues are you considering as candidates at the moment?

Minister Kishida: As for the venue, we have received requests from each of the potential venues, and the Government has considered them from various perspectives. We are now at the stage of final adjustments. On this basis, I hope to make an official announcement at the Ministerial Interim Meeting.

Imoto, TBS: An unusual situation is occurring in which protests are being lodged over alleged wiretapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s telephone by the U.S. What are your views on this matter as the Foreign Minister? Also, this issue will reportedly be handled as a key agenda item at the EU Summit. Will you discuss these matters during your meeting with Ms. Ashton next week?

Minister Kishida: With regard to information gathering, we have various contacts with numerous countries under normal circumstances. I would like to refrain from revealing the details of that content, but speaking in general terms, information gathering activities targeting premises of the mission etc. pose problems from the standpoint of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which guarantees the freedom and confidentiality of communication by the mission and so forth. That is how I view it. Speaking in completely general terms, that is my understanding of it.

Tokuhashi, NHK: The cabinet meeting approved the special intelligence protection bill today. Will you explain how you recognize the importance of the bill, particularly from the diplomatic perspective?

Minister Kishida: I think the diplomatic environment surrounding Japan is extremely severe. When we consider the strategic environment of the Asia-Pacific region, we keenly feel such a severe situation. Amid such an environment, information sharing is very important. We are strongly aware of the significance of sharing more information with relevant countries and handling solid information. Further, when sharing such information, the relations of trust must be the secure basis between each country. I believe this bill is meaningful in information sharing based on such relations of trust.

Nakane, Tokyo Shimbun: While you assert that there is an advantage in a diplomatic or confidential sense that the Government can share information with other countries, there are also concerns that information inconvenient for the Government that should be publicly known can be arbitrarily designated as special intelligence and will be kept undisclosed. What is your opinion on such concerns?

Minister Kishida: I recognize people’s right to know and freedom of press as extremely important rights. My recognition is that the bill is also very important because of the advantages I just referred to, but at the same time, as to balancing the important rights of our citizens with the bill, we must handle the bill carefully, including its enforcement.

Takei, Kyodo News: My question is concerning the video regarding Takeshima Island posted on the website of MOFA. The video shows the stance of the Government of Japan that Takeshima Island is being illegally occupied by the Republic of Korea. I would like to ask if you also believe that Takeshima Island is illegally occupied, and, as the Government of the ROK demanded its removal, do you plan to respond in anyway?

Minister Kishida: In terms of the content of the video, I think it explains the stance of the Government of Japan well. There have been a variety of responses to the video from various countries, but I believe it comes down to continuing to thoroughly and carefully explaining the stance of the Government of Japan shown in the video.

Nakamura, Nippon TV: Are there any plans to post a video concerning the Northern Territories?

Minister Kishida: We are scheduled to increase the languages used in the currently posted videos. Moreover, themes of the videos are not particularly limited. We will further consider the diversification of the themes and the enhancement of the content necessary for the thorough explanation of the stance of the Government of Japan to the international society going forward.