Press Conferences

Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Concerning the spread of MERS in the ROK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has thus far been providing a range of information and raising awareness on preventing infection.

Based on the further expansion recently, on June 5 an on-site response headquarters headed by Mr. Koro Bessho, Ambassador of Japan to the ROK, was set up at the Embassy of Japan in Korea. Yesterday, June 8, an on-site response headquarters headed by Mr. Sadao Matsui, Consul General of Japan in Busan, was also set up at the Consulate-Generalin Busan where the first case of MERS was confirmed in Busan.

MOFA will continue to watch the situation closely, and along with conveying information to Japanese nationals living abroad in a timely and appropriate manner, we also intend to coordinate with the other agencies and ministries concerned in order to prevent a MERS outbreak in Japan.

Toba, Nippon TV: My question concerns the G7. To continute to put pressure on China and Russia has been agreed.. What are your views on that, and how do you evaluate it?

Minister Kishida: To begin with, discussions on a variety of topics took place between the leaders at the G7 Elmau Summit. Regarding the economy, there was an explanation of Japan’s Abenomics from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and with regard to infrastructure development as well, he presented Japan’s initiatives for promoting “quality infrastructure investment”.

Aside from this, a variety of discussions also took place on topics including energy and terrorism. Within that, in the session on foreign policy, views were exchanged on the Ukraine issue and the situation in East Asia, which are urgent challenges relating to international affairs. I understand that this was the circumstances of this summit.

And within that, regarding the situation in East Asia, Prime Minister Abe led the discussion in this topic in particular, and I understand that it was achieved to issue a unified and powerful message on the East China Sea and South China Sea.

We intend to continue to make every effort for regional peace, stability and prosperity while firmly sharing such awareness of the situation.

Toba, Nippon TV: The Prime Minister mentioned bringing about a visit to Japan by Russian President Vladimir Putin within this year.

Minister Kishida: To begin with, I heard that based on Prime Minister Abe’s own visit to Ukraine just prior to the summit, he had an exchange of views on the importance of making an effort to resolve the Ukraine issue diplomatically and peacefully, and the importance of firmly emphasizing the Minsk agreement.

I understand that the comment you pointed out also took place in the course of that, based on the recognition that dialogue with Russia is important. I certainly believe that we need to emphasize political dialogue with Russia.

With regard to President Putin’s visit to Japan, the leaders of the two countries have already agreed on the visit, but at present nothing has been decided in terms of the specific schedule.

Kurihara, NHK: My question concerns MERS that you mentioned in your opening remarks. There has been quite an increase in the number of infected individuals within the ROK. Are there plans to change the information, such as on travel to the ROK, or to raise the warning level?

Minister Kishida: As I previously mentioned, we have established on-site response headquarters and we are collecting and disseminating information to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals overseas. We are doing our utmost for these measures; that is the current situation.

With regards to the points you asked about, I have not heard any specific information. As I just stated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must firmly implement measures from the perspective of ensuring the safety of Japanese nationals. So I consider that we must work hard to collect and disseminate information from the perspective of the safety of Japanese national overseas. But at the same time, we need to coordinate closely with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and other relevant parties to prevent the spread of the infection in Japan.

Nakagawa, Yomiuri Shimbun: My question is related to the visit of President Putin to Japan that was mentioned earlier. May I ask what is the situation regarding the coordination of a visit by you, Minister Kishida, to Russia?

Minister Kishida: The leaders of Japan and Russia agreed that they hope to realize a visit to Japan by President Putin at an appropriate time during this year. As the stage prior to that, as the preparatory stage, a visit to Russia by Japan’s Foreign Minister is mentioned. But whatever the situation, at the present time nothing specific has been decided. I consider that it is a matter that should be contemplated while comprehensively considering a variety of information.

Fujikawa, TV Asahi: You were just asked whether you yourself, Minister Kishida, would visit Russia. However, you rephrased it as a visit to Russia by Japan’s Foreign Minister. Is there any meaning behind this?

Minister Kishida: There is no meaning to it. It would be correct to mention my visit to Russia so far. Currently I am the Minister for Foreign Affairs, so the meaning is the same.