Press Conferences

Minister Kishida: I have received a report from Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Director-General Junichi Ihara, who came back to Japan this afternoon, on the outcome of the meeting between Japanese and North Korean authorities that were held in Shenyang, and from here on I would like to talk about that report.

Firstly, at the meeting we received an explanation from the North Korean side regarding the fulfillment of the agreement reached in May between Japan and North Korea and the investigation by the Special Investigation Committee.

The Japanese side asked detailed questions regarding the current status of the investigation, what the “initial stage” means, the information that has been obtained as a result of the investigation thus far, and the outlook going forward and others.

The North Korean side stated that the objective of this meeting was not to report the findings of the investigation by the Special Investigation Committee, and explained the following.

Firstly, they said the Special Investigation Committee commenced its activities immediately after its establishment, and is steadily engaging in a scientific and objective investigation. Secondly, they said at the present stage it is not possible to report concrete investigative findings regarding each and every Japanese national, but with regard to the current status of the investigation as the Japanese side asked, they said the Japanese side would be able to ask questions more clearly by visiting Pyongyang and speaking to the members of the Special Investigation Committee.

That is an outline of the report on the outcome of this meeting, and it is regrettable that it was not possible to obtain a sufficient explanation of the present state of the investigation from the North Korean side at this meeting. The Government of Japan continues to place the highest priority on the abductions issue, and strongly expect that the North Korean side will undertake a comprehensive and thorough investigation into all the Japanese people concerned, including victims of abduction, and will report those findings quickly.

Based on this explanation by the North Korean side, the Government of Japan intends to continue to do its best to understand the current status of the investigation and those findings, and promptly examine the specific policies the Government as a whole will adopt from now. That is all from me.

Kurihara, NHK: There was a suggestion for the Japanese side to go to Pyongyang and speak to the members of the Special Investigation Committee. How will the Government of Japan respond from here on, including whether to go to Pyongyang or not? What sort of process do you think will be used in considering the issues?

Minister Kishida: Based on this report by the North Korean side the Government of Japan intends to do its utmost to move the investigation forward, and consequently the Government as a whole intends to urgently explore specific policies. I believe those specific policies will be determined based on such consideration.

Kurihara, NHK: Regarding the way the Government of Japan will undertake that consideration specifically, does it plan to hold a meeting of the ministers concerned?

Minister Kishida: Naturally the Government overall, including the ministers concerned, will pursue communication seriously, and the policies will have to be decided once the actual circumstances have been confirmed, I believe.

Kurihara, NHK: Do you have an idea of the schedule in terms of when those policies will be presented? Is there a schedule of some kind?

Minister Kishida: No, at present nothing has been decided, but in any event, policies will have to be decided based on the best way to move this investigation forward. The Government overall by all means intends to urgently consider the issues from such perspective.

Matsui, Asahi Shimbun: I would like to confirm one point. When the North Korean side raised the possibility of the Japanese side traveling to Pyongyang, did it mean that the members of the delegation would go, for example working-level personnel such as Director-General Ihara? I assume it was not suggesting it would like politicians such as the Prime Minister or you, Minister Kishida, to go.

Minister Kishida: The wording I used in my report earlier genuinely reflected the North Korean side’s remarks just as they were. From here on the Government will consider how to respond specifically based on that explanation by the North Korean side.

Matsui, Asahi Shimbun: The wording you used earlier was that the North Korean side referred to the Japanese side, but am I correct in understanding that nothing more specific than that was said in particular?

Minister Kishida: Yes, that’s right. The comment from the North Korean side was that the Japanese side would be able to ask more definite questions by visiting Pyongyang and speaking to the members of the Special Investigation Committee. That was the explanation given. However, along with that the North Korean side also stated that at the present stage it is not possible to report concrete investigative findings regarding each and every Japanese national.

Matsui, Asahi: I believe that it is probably a good thing that the officers from the Investigation Committee in North Korea came to Shenyang to give their explanation, but did they give any explanation on the fact that such event did not realize?

Minister Kishida: At this meeting, it was explained that the members of the Special Investigation Committee were not attending; however, I would like to refrain from commenting on what was said and on the process of events and exchanges that took place at this meeting. In any case, given that this was the kind of explanation we received, Japan must seriously consider what we should do in the future.

Fukuoka, Mainichi Shimbun: With regard to the notion of the investigation team going to Pyongyang, is there any possibility that doing so could result in issuing the first report or first notice, depending on the circumstances?

Minister Kishida: Whatever the case, they have stated that at the present stage they are unable to issue a notification on any specific outcomes of the investigation pertaining to each and every Japanese national. Having received this explanation, Japan must consider how it will respond. Whatever the case, the Government as a whole must make a decision in the wake of this explanation. We intend to consider this as soon as possible.

Nakagawa, Yomiuri Shimbun: I think the general meaning of what you said just now was that the Government as a whole would be responding to this, in order to bring about the best possible results.

Minister Kishida: Yes. We will make our utmost efforts to move the investigation forward.

Nakagawa, Yomiuri Shimbun: So what you mean is that Prime Minister Abe or yourself will consider going to Pyongyang as a possibility, if doing so would help you to do this—that is, in order to elicit the best possible results?

Minister Kishida: Nothing whatsoever has been decided in that regard. In terms of how we, the Government, will consider our response in the wake of this explanation, we hope to consider it as soon as possible. Nothing has been decided in specific terms.

Fujita, Fuji Television: With regard to the question which was just asked, I believe that there has been some discussion that it would be better to ask questions directly to the Special Investigation Committee.

Minister Kishida: With regard to the current status of the investigations about which the Japan side have been asking questions, there has been a statement from the North Korean side suggesting that if the Japanese were to visit Pyongyang and interview the Special Investigation Committee, this would enable them to get a clearer picture of the situation.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: You said just now that it is a shame that Japan was unable to get a full explanation about the current status of the investigations. However, has North Korea given a satisfactory explanation as to why the first notice has been delayed?

Minister Kishida: Whatever the case, as things currently stand the explanation that we have received from North Korea is to the effect that they cannot issue a notification on any specific outcomes of the investigation pertaining to each and every Japanese national. At this meeting, North Korea expressed its intention to issue a notification on whatever they are able to talk about as of mid-September. They also stated that the Japanese side will probably be able to get a clearer picture of the current status of the investigation after visiting Pyongyang and interviewing the members of the Special Investigation Committee. The North Korean side has nevertheless commented that it is not yet at the stage of being able to issue a notification on any specific outcomes of the investigation pertaining to each and every Japanese national.

Matsui, Asahi: Why have they not submitted this notice yet, even though they have expressed an intention to issue a notification on the situation in mid-September?

Minister Kishida: No, what they mean is that in the current situation they cannot give an explanation. This is where we are now. This is what the current situation is.