Press Conferences

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida: If circumstances allow, I will be visiting the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Cameroon, and France from Tuesday, April 29 to Thursday, May 8.
This will be the first time a Japanese foreign minister has visited Denmark in 29 years. I hope to strengthen Japan’s strategic partnership with Denmark, a maritime nation. In Cameroon the First TICAD V Ministerial Meeting will take place as a follow-up to the significant outcomes of last year’s TICAD V and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Africa in January. This will be the third time I have personally attended a TICAD-related meeting, and I hope to further enhance Japan’s partnership with Africa. Additionally, in France I am going to serve as the Chair for the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, on the 50th anniversary of Japan’s accession to the OECD. I intend to present the revitalization of the Japanese economy to the international community and promote stronger relations with Asia as well. I am also scheduled to meet with France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova and other officials.

Minister Kishida: At the Cabinet meeting now, a decision was made to provide 800,000 euro of emergency grant aid in connection with Ukraine. A total of 800,000 euro in aid will be provided as a cooperation, consisting of 500,000 euro to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and 300,000 euro to the Council of Europe’s support for the Ukrainian presidential election.
I expect that this aid will contribute to restoring and stabilizing Ukraine’s democracy.

Hoga, TBS: This question is regarding President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan. The state guest affairs ended yesterday, the summit meeting has also ended, and President Obama will soon be leaving Japan. What do you feel were the outcomes of this visit in terms of diplomacy, and also are there any issues that have resurfaced? What is your assessment of these points?

Minister Kishida: President Obama is the first US President to visit Japan as a state guest in 18 years. During this visit, Japan and the United States successfully affirmed that the diplomatic polices of our two countries—Japan’s proactive contributions to peace, the policy of the United States placing great importance on the Asia-Pacific region,— significantly contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and our countries will play leading roles related to peace and prosperity in this region.
I believe that the leaders of Japan and the United States were also able to exchange frank opinions concerning bilateral relations, regional situations, global issues, and so on. Therefore, they were able to substantially demonstrate—both inside and outside of Japan—that the Japan-U.S. alliance is robust and firmly established. I think that this was a major outcome of the visit.
Furthermore, in the field of economics, the two sides were able to continue with vigorous discussions concerning TPP negotiations. My assessment is that we succeeded in uncovering a path on major issuesand I recognize that we were also able to deliver concrete outcomes in a variety of fields. We will continue to strengthen the valuable Japan-U.S. alliance, and will move ahead with concrete cooperation going forward, and I believe that we must continue to carry out a variety of efforts in the future.

Hoga, TBS: You mentioned TPP. I have heard that in continuing the relevant discussions, the announcement of a joint statement was somewhat delayed, and that ministerial level discussions had been planned for late at night and early in the morning but were cancelled. In light of such circumstances, do you feel that perhaps the negotiations are not going exactly according to plan?

Minister Kishida: During the summit meeting yesterday, the two leaders stated that our countries would continue with serious negotiations centering on the ministers in charge. Since then, the relevant parties—including ministers and working-level officials—have continued to make efforts. I have heard the assessment that a path has been affirmed regarding the important issues between Japan and the United States. Serious efforts such as these have been carried out, and outcomes have been delivered in the discussions, and I believe that this is worthy of praise. As for a joint statement, I have heard that this is currently being finalized. I hope to issue a firm joint statement which has gone through final coordination.

Hoga, TBS: What types of expressions do you expect will be included in this joint statement that is currently being finalized?

Minister Kishida: As I stated regarding TPP, it appears that a path have successfully been uncovered concerning important issues, and the wordings might be of such content, but I have not affirmed them.

Hoga, TBS: From the perspective of security, President Obama made a specific statement regarding the Senkaku Islands for the first time. What do you consider as a meaning attached to the fact thatthe United States side made this type of statement at this time?

Minister Kishida: Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security applies to regions under the administration of Japan, and applies to the region including the Senkaku Islands. The Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and other relevant officials of the United States have repeatedly commented on this up to now.
During this visit, the President, who is the chief executive of the United States, himself affirmed this point, so it seems that this may be the difference. As I mentioned earlier, it appears that during this visit our two sides were able to demonstrate—both inside and outside of Japan—the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance, which is valuable for the region and for our two countries. I think that the comment regarding the Senkaku Islands is a reflection of this.

Nakanishi, Nishinippon Shimbun: President Obama mentioned the duty to defend the Senkaku Islands on the one hand, while suggesting to Prime Minister Abe that confidence-building between Japan and China is required. How will you proceed with improving relations between Japan and China in the future?

Minister Kishida: I think the importance of Japan-China relations to the Government of Japan goes without saying. A stable relationship between the world’s second and third largest economic powers also has a significant influence on the regional and international communities, so both countries bear responsibilities.
In order to ensure the stability of this important bilateral relationship, the Government of Japan has been working consistently on stable relations between the two countries, including keeping the door for dialogue open from a broad perspective.
As I just mentioned, this bilateral relationship has a major influence on the regional and international communities as well, and this was also referred to in the meeting between the leaders of Japan and the U.S. I believe there was a confirmation that efforts should be made to ensure stability.

Watanabe, NHK: My question concerns the emergency grant aid to Ukraine that you announced earlier. Within Ukraine there are currently fatalities occurring in the course of the Kiev administration forcibly removing occupations by pro-Russian citizens, and I would like to ask how you view this current situation, and what the Government of Japan’s aims and intentions are with regard to how this aid from Japan will be utilized.

Minister Kishida: Where the Ukraine situation is concerned, various interested parties must act responsibly and with self-restraint, and I hope strongly that the circumstances will be resolved peacefully.
Regarding the Government of Japan’s support for Ukraine that I mentioned earlier, one expected outcome is that it will promote the democratization of Ukraine and the other is that progress will be made with dialogue and integration in Ukraine.
In terms of promoting democratization, Ukraine’s presidential election is scheduled for May 25 and 300,000 euro of aid has been allocated to support the presidential election. And from the standpoint of encouraging dialogue and integration, 500,000 euro of aid has been allocated to the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission.
I by all means hope that this aid will contribute to these two outcomes of restoring democracy and promoting dialogue and integration within Ukraine.

Yamasaki, Fuji Television: Regarding the impoundment of the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ (MOL) ship, I understand MOL had paid a deposit of 4 billion yen and it has been noted that this payment of a deposit may result in the same incident occurring in the future in China. What do you think about this?

Minister Kishida: The issue of MOL has developed as you mentioned. Going forward, while continuing to cooperate with MOL, I believe that we must provide it with firm support as the government for its response. I am concerned that these series of events may cause a chilling effect on economic activities of Japanese companies in China.