Press Conferences

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: State Minister Yasuhide Nakayama will return to Japan. What sort of on-site structure will there be from here on?

Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs: The local response headquarters remained active continuously from August last year. We will consider how long to keep it in place after I have received a report from State Minister Nakayama.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: Will you receive the report from State Minister Nakayama today?

Minister Kishida: I would like to receive the report as soon as possible after he returns to Japan.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: Changing the subject, there have been some reports that a Japan-China-Republic of Korea Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is scheduled for late March. What stage is the coordination at?

Minister Kishida: I am not aware that official schedule for a Japan-China-Republic of Korea Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting has been set yet. It has not been decided. Japan has always emphasized that Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are important from the perspective of advancing the Japan-China-ROK trilateral relationship in a future-oriented manner. I strongly hope the schedule coordination will move ahead, centering on the chair country ROK.

Kusakabe, TBS: My question concerns Islamic law scholar Mr. Ko Nakata. Since the video of Mr. Haruna Yukawa and Mr. Kenji Goto was released on January 20, Mr. Nakata stated publicly at a press conference that he personally has renewed contact with the ISIL side. Are you aware of the content of that contact?

Minister Kishida: We made every effort to gather all the relevant information and then analyze it. However, I would like to refrain from discussing specifics such as which information we obtained or did not obtain.

Kusakabe, TBS: Why is it necessary to refrain from discussing it?

Minister Kishida: Doing so would make it possible to predict the content of the engagements.

Kusakabe, TBS: Subsequently also, it appears that Mr. Nakata has been in quite close contact with the ISIL side, and Mr. Nakata is saying that he is passing on the content of that contact to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Are you aware of that?

Minister Kishida: As I said just now, we have obtained various information, and I would like to refrain from commenting on specific information or specific responses.

Umekawa, Reuters: There have been reports that Turkey’s intelligence agency has determined the location where Mr. Goto was being held, and has passed this information on to the Government of Japan. Can you verify the fact?

Minister Kishida: We have obtained various information, but I would like to refrain from commenting on the content such as what sort of information we are receiving.