Press Conferences

Reporter: The Ise-Shima Summit is approaching. Where would you like to meet Mr. Barack H. Obama, President of the United States, in your hometown of Hiroshima and with what feelings?

Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs: Recently, there was an announcement that President Obama will be visiting Hiroshima on May 27th. I believe we have to prepare for the visit very rapidly, including specific logistics, schedules, and other points in a limited amount of time, and nothing appears to have been finalized yet. Therefore, nothing has been decided about where and what might take place.

In regard to my feelings, since this is President Obama’s first visit to an atomic bombing site, I hope he will see and feel the reality of the atomic bombings with his own eyes and heart.

Reporter: This is related to President Obama’s Hiroshima visit. What is the current situation of the preparations, including local security? Is any preparation going on for his visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, in order to encourage him to understand the reality of the atomic bombing? How would you like to work on preparations?

Minister Kishida: As just mentioned, I think decisions still need to be made on the logistics and schedule. I anticipate that coordination will continue up to the last moment because preparations are taking place in a short amount of time. In any case, nothing has been decided yet.

Reporter: As a National Diet member from the region, are you interested in having an opportunity for President Obama to directly speak with people from Hiroshima city?

Minister Kishida: I think President Obama has various thoughts about the visit, and we intend to carefully confirm and prepare for the visit.

Reporter: Would you like for this type of meeting to occur?

Minister Kishida: President Obama decided on his own to make a visit to Hiroshima. We aim to sufficiently prepare for the visit in light of this intent.

Reporter: Will you be in Hiroshima to welcome President Obama and then also accompany him to various sites on May 27th?

Minister Kishida: Specifics, including this point, have not been decided yet. I think I should be there to welcome President Obama as someone from the area since he is visiting my hometown, but the specific format has not been determined.

Reporter: The spokesman for the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Minister of Foreign Affairs commented at a press conference on May 10th that the ROK aims to establish a foundation in the first half of this year based on the agreement between Japan and the ROK and that a preparatory committee will be formed around the end of this month. How is the Government of Japan sharing this type of information with the ROK side? Also, could you explain your view or opinion on this outlook?

Minister Kishida: I believe it is very important for the advancement of future Japan-ROK relations to faithfully implement the contents of the agreement based on the Japan and the ROK agreement at the end of last year. Japan must sincerely implement contents of the agreement; however, I am not aware of any specific decision regarding the schedule or other points related to the establishment of the fund that you mentioned. We intend to implement the contents of the agreement while closely communicating with the ROK side.

Reporter: Measures for impeachment have been proposed against Ms. Dilma Vana Rousseff, President of Brazil. What impacts, including on Security Council reforms, do you expect?

Minister Kishida: This is an internal matter for Brazil so I would like to refrain from commenting on developments from my position. Regarding Security Council reforms, the United Nations is now holding its 70th Session of the General Assembly this year and I hope to see constructive actions during this session. Japan intends to put efforts into this area.