Press Conferences

Mr. Mizushima: Good afternoon and happy New Year. Welcome to my first press conference this year. I would like to work closely with you as I did last year. Today, I have one item at the top. It is about the issuance of multiple entry visas for nationals of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
In celebration of the 40th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation last year, the Government of Japan has decided to begin issuing multiple entry visas for short-term stays to nationals of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, who reside in their home country, from January 15. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Myanmar. It is expected that the issuance of multiple entry visas from the beginning of this year will further enhance Japan-Myanmar exchange, including boosting the number of tourists visiting Japan from Myanmar and improving convenience on the business front.
That is it. If you have questions, I would be happy to answer.

Q: I would like to ask the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s view on the recent remarks made by China’s Ambassador to the African Union. The Ambassador to the African Union Xie Xiaoyan said, according to our report from Ethiopia, referring to Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Africa. He says, “Abe has become the biggest troublemaker. He has worked hard to portray China as a threat, aiming to sow discord, raising regional tensions and so creating a convenient excuse for the resurrection of Japanese militarism.”
And he said, “The world will have to be on the alert that this prime minister is leading the country onto a very dangerous road, and the international community should do everything to prevent Japan from going down even further along the road.” It is a kind of very provocative remarks and we would like to share the Japanese Government’s or Foreign Ministry’s view on that kind of remark.

Mr. Mizushima: Thank you for your question. As a matter of fact, we are not aware of that news report and the statement by the Chinese Ambassador to the AU, so I cannot make any comment on his statement. But. Prime Minister Abe is Prime Minister of Japan and Japan has been contributing to the peace and stability of the region as well as of the world for 68 years after World War II. Japan has been a country which contributes to that effect. And, Prime Minister Abe is taking the leadership in order to further proactively contribute to the peace of the world. Japan is going to make a great effort to continue to contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity of the world as well as of the region.

Q: Sorry, I forgot to add another quote by the same person. He says about Prime Minister Abe’s recent visit to Africa, describing it as a “China containment policy” and he also made comments about his recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying, “Think how provocative it would be if Germany were to pay homage to a shrine honoring, say, Hitler.” So could you comment on the two – one on the China containment policy and the other on the...

Mr. Mizushima: Okay. As for the visit of the Yasukuni Shrine by Prime Minister Abe, the purpose of the visit was clearly explained by his statement. The purpose of the visit is not to worship the war criminals at all. He visited the Yasukuni Shrine in order to pledge that Japan will never wage a war again. And so even if the Chinese Ambassador criticized by saying what you just described, it is not accurate and we have been continuing to explain the reason and purpose of the visit to the relevant countries and we will continue to do so if necessary. And again, as I mentioned in answering your previous question, Japan has been consistently contributing to peace, stability and prosperity of the world. Japan respects the freedom, democracy, the rule of law which are the fundamental values shared by many countries of the world. Peace, democracy and human rights are now a part of the Japanese people’s identity and Japan will continue to be a country that contributes to peace, stability and prosperity of the world.