Press Conferences

Foreign Minister Kishida: I will attend the 69th Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, which will be held in my constituency, Hiroshima, on August 6. Additionally, the Commissioning Ceremony for the “Youth Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons” is scheduled to be held on the same day. As a foreign minister from the city, which was bombed, I intend to renew my commitment toward “a World without Nuclear Weapons.”

Minister Kishida: If circumstances allow, I will visit Myanmar from August 8 to 11 and attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings.

In the series of meetings, discussions will take place on strengthening cooperation between Japan and ASEAN, as well as regional and international affairs, including the South China Sea and North Korea. I intend to proactively express Japan’s thoughts as well as confirm cooperation with the participating countries.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: I have a question regarding ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meetings. As for bilateral foreign ministers’ meetings, what is the situation regarding coordinating a Japan-Republic Korea meeting, for example, or a Japan-North Korea meeting?

Minister Kishida: As I said earlier, if circumstances allow I intend to attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers' Meetings, but at present nothing has been decided with regard to bilateral meetings to be held at that time. Therefore I would like to refrain from commenting on specific circumstances, such as what sorts of meetings will be held with which specific countries.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: Does that mean that at the present point in time no bilateral meetings have been firmly decided?

Minister Kishida: None have been decided.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: I have a question regarding Japan-China relations. Last week former Prime Minister Fukuda met with Xi Jinping, President of China, but how are the preparations for the Japan-China Summit Meeting at the time of APEC in November proceeding?

Minister Kishida: I understand that former Prime Minister Fukuda visited China for duties relating to the Boao Forum for Asia, of which he is Chairman of the Board of Directors. However, I am not aware of the details of the specific itinerary of the visit to China. Furthermore, regarding the Japan-China Summit Meeting at the time of APEC in November, at the present point in time no specific adjustments are taking place.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: On the other hand, there is a talk that a framework for Japan-China discussions regarding food safety will be set in motion as early as this month. Could you comment on that?

Minister Kishida: Concerning the issue of food, last week a problem came to light involving the use of chicken meat that was past its expiry date by a food processing company in Shanghai.
Regarding this, to begin with, the Government of Japan has been seeking to confirm the facts and to clarify the truth immediately with the Chinese side, via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and others.
And in addition to that, Japan is asking the Chinese side to hold discussions based on the Japan-China Food Safety Promotion Initiative, which is a framework for promoting exchanges and cooperation on the safety for foods and others that are imported and exported between Japan and China. At present this is at the stage of coordination.
I by all means hope to hold discussions based on this initiative promptly, and continue to firmly ask the Chinese side to clarify the truth. The Government of Japan also by all means hopes to respond appropriately while coordinating among the ministries and agencies concerned.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: Has the Chinese side conveyed that it will respond to discussions?

Minister Kishida: The report I have received is that things are being coordinated at present. Nothing more than that has been decided yet.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: I would like to ask about Japan-North Korea relations. Regarding the reinvestigation of the abductees and related matters, there have been some reports that the findings will be released at the beginning of next month and coordination toward this is underway. Can I ask you what are the facts regarding this matter?

Minister Kishida: Japan and North Korea have already agreed and launched an investigation concerning all of the problems relating to Japanese people. But with regards to the reporting by this investigation team, while Japan and North Korea have agreed that its first report will be made sometime between the end of the summer and the start of the fall, no specific details other than this have been decided.
The Government of Japan has not changed its policy on this matter that it has explained in the past; namely, that we want the safety of all the abductees to be confirmed and their immediate return to Japan, and also a full account of the abductions be provided and those responsible be extradited.

Miyasaka, Nikkei Shimbun: After former Prime Minister Fukuda’s visit to China, at the present time, you said no specific coordination is taking place for talks between the Prime Minister and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but prior to such talks there have been calls for a Japan-China dialogue in the form of talks between the foreign ministers. Can I ask your thoughts on this?

Minister Kishida: There exist various issues between Japan and China, but it is precisely because such issues exist that a dialogue between our two countries is important. Both the Prime Minister and I have stated this on many occasions.
The Prime Minister expressed his hopes the other day about summit-level talks between Japan and China, such as at the time of APEC summit meeting. We have constantly stated that the door for dialogue is always open. I took his comments to express this approach.
I believe that as for Japan, we must continue with this policy I have just described, that precisely because issues exist we must maintain a dialogue without conditions with China. I believe that we should continue to clearly explain this policy toward the future, and it is my strong hope that the Chinese side will respond to us. As we have been doing, we would like to continue to implement our policy of maintaining a dialogue with China on a variety of levels.

Miyazawa, Jiji Press: This is the final press conference before the Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead and I would like to ask if you intend to visit the Yasukuni Shine on the 15th?

Minister Kishida: You are asking about me (the Minister), correct? As I have stated in the past, I believe it is very important for politicians to pay their respects to those people who have sacrificed their lives for their country. In terms of the specific ways of expressing this respect, I consider this to be something that each individual politician needs to think about and decide for themselves. I (the Minister) also intend to express this respect in the same way as I have done in the past. So with regard to your question about visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, my answer has not changed from the one in the past.