Press Conferences

Arita, Nippon TV: My question concerns the 72-hour deadline. The deadline of 72 hours is today. Could you once again explain the types of measures the Government is currently taking, whether or not it will be taking any new measures, and whether or not there were instructions of some sort issued by the Prime Minister at this morning’s Cabinet meeting?

Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs: The Government continues to work as one to try to gather information, and is exerting every effort to promptly free these two Japanese nationals. We continue to request the cooperation of countries, including the Japan-U.K. Summit Telephone Talk I had last night.

Furthermore, we are also receiving reports on an as-needed basis from Mr. Yasuhide Nakayama, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is head of the local response headquarters. The Government of Japan is continuing to communicate its message through every means to ensure that it is conveyed to ISIL, including the Government’s intention of support and request the prompt release of the Japanese nationals. We intend to continue to make an all-out effort.

In your question you also asked whether instructions were issued at the Cabinet meeting. Where the content of the Cabinet meeting and comments made at the meeting are concerned, I understand that the minutes and other proceedings from the meeting will be released publicly, and I would like you to direct your question to the Chief Cabinet Secretary. As Minister I would like to refrain from disclosing specific comments from the Cabinet meeting here.

Arita, Nippon TV: The Government is endeavoring to gather information, but has there been any definite information regarding the well-being of the two Japanese citizens?

Minister Kishida: We are receiving cooperation from various countries to gather information. The Government continues to analyze that information, but under the present circumstances I would like to refrain from discussing specific information.

Arita, Nippon TV: With the 72-hour deadline approaching, it will in any event be necessary to make contact with the group responsible for the abductions. Could you inform us the current situation whether the contact been made?

Minister Kishida: The Government of Japan continues to communicate its message through various routes to ensure that it is conveyed to ISIL, including the Government’s intention of support and request the prompt release of the Japanese nationals. We have been making these efforts up to now and intend to firmly continue to do so, but I would like to refrain from commenting on the specific content and exchanges.

Arita, Nippon TV: The Government is calling on the abductors by transmitting a range of information and is doing its utmost, but is there anything to suggest that the message is actually being conveyed to ISIL, either directly or indirectly?

Minister Kishida: Various exchanges are taking place but I would like to refrain from discussing the specifics.

Arita, Nippon TV: In this context, we have learned that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has passed away. He was considered to have tremendous influence in the Middle East and in the Islamic world, and participated in the U.S. airstrikes on ISIL. Can I ask for your reaction to the news?

Minister Kishida: Today, the 23rd, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that King Abdullah had passed away. The Government of Japan would like to express its condolences to the members of the Saudi royal family, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and to the Saudi people. I believe that the late king played an extremely important role over many years not just for peace and security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also widely in Islamic society and moreover across the world.

In terms of his contribution to relations with Japan, he came to Japan on an official visit in 1998 when he was the Crown Prince and from then contributed to further strengthening the already friendly relationship between Japan and Saudi Arabia. Japan would like to further develop this friendly relationship between our two countries on the foundations built by King Abdullah. I would like to pray that the soul of His Majesty King Abdullah rests in peace.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: My question also relates to ISIL. You have mentioned previously that exchanges are made, however, am I correct to assume that there has been some sort of response from the other party to the message sent by Japan?

Minister Kishida: Regarding exchanges, I have mentioned that communication was taking place between the various related parties. I will not be saying anymore at the current time.

Muramatsu, Asahi Shimbun: Russia responded negatively to the remarks that you made during you recent trip about the Northern Territories and “changing the status quo by coercion or intimidation.” Can I ask for your reaction to this criticism?

Minister Kishida: My remarks were made from an awareness based on historical facts, but the main point of those remarks was to stress the importance of political dialogue with Russia. Of course, I want us to continue to discuss this issue calmly. The Government of Japan has in no way changed its policy of wanting to conclude a peace treaty that clarifies the attribution of the Northern Territories. I want to clearly explain Japan’s thinking on and the significance of this matter.

Ohki, Yomiuri Shimbun: I would like to return to the incident involving the captured Japanese. I understand an emergency response headquarters was set up, but could you please explain once again what sort of structure is in place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, what sort of staff are involved and how they are organized, and what sort of information-gathering is taking place?

Minister Kishida: To begin with, MOFA’s emergency response headquarters was set up on January 20. As of January 20 I was not in Japan and so Vice-Minister was serving as the head of the response headquarters, but I returned to Japan on January 22 and so as Foreign Minister I am personally continuing to lead the response as head of the response headquarters.

The members of the response headquarters are Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Takashi Uto, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vice-Minister and the director-generals of the relevant MOFA departments, and an operation room has been set up to support the headquarters. The operation room has 30 or more people attached to it at any given time and is active. We are approaching the issue with this structure, and under this structure we are carrying out the initiatives I mentioned earlier, 24 hours a day. This is the headquarters’ response situation.

Yamaguchi, Nikkei Shimbun: In connection with this, could you also explain the structure of the local response headquarters that is headed by State Minister Nakayama?

Minister Kishida: I am sorry, but at present I do not have information at hand on the local response headquarters, such as the number of personnel. However, I understand that the local response headquarters has a full structure that includes of course local staff from Jordan as well as backup personnel from the vicinity and from this country.

Matsumoto, Jiji Press: I understand that the ISIL side is demanding a ransom in this case. The Government of Japan has expressed a stance of not yielding to terrorism, but am I correct in understanding that the Government will not respond in any way to this demand?

Minister Kishida: In regards to that question, as the Government has always stated, Japan will not yield to terrorism, and will continue to engage in fighting against terrorism while cooperating with the relevant countries. This policy has not changed in any way.