Press Conferences

Assistant Press Secretary Mr. Masaru Sato: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you very much for coming to today’s press conference.
I have just one announcement to make at the beginning and would just like to introduce to you the fact that on April 16, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, concerning the explosion that occurred at the Boston Marathon in the afternoon of April 15, sent a message to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States of America upon hearing of the explosion. In his message, Prime Minister Abe expressed condolences for the victims of the explosion and their families. And also on that same day, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida sent a message to the Honorable John Kerry, US Secretary of State, to the same effect. Soon after we learned that President Obama described the explosion as an act of terrorism. In addition to offering condolences to the victims, Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga remarked at a press conference on April 17 that as has been stated in the past, the acts of terrorism are intolerable, they cannot be justified for any reasons and that Japan strongly condemns these despicable acts that indiscriminately targeted innocent citizens. So this is the announcement I just wanted to make and I would like to open the floor to your questions.

Q: Thank you Sato-san, I just wanted to ask you about debates in reporting recently about the Australia-Japan FTA or EPA being close to finalization. Do you believe that is true and what, among the overall time span is Japan looking at?

Mr. Sato: Actually I am also aware of the report, and concerning the Japan-Australia EPA negotiations, I think we have already held them 16 times in the past and the negotiations are still underway. Because we have to think about our relationship of trust with our partner, I am not able to share with you the content of the current negotiations. But what I can share with you at this moment is that concerning the items of mutual concern for the two governments, we have been continuing discussions and the two sides have agreed to expedite our efforts to realize an early conclusion. That’s all I can say, if you have any follow-up questions?

Q: Sure. On the food side of things, I understand Japan has put an offer to the Australian side regarding beef and other food products. Is that a final offer as far as Japan is concerned?

Mr. Sato: Once again, unfortunately, concerning the details of whatever position Japan is taking during the negotiations, it’s inappropriate for me from this podium to share with you because that may adversely affect the negotiation process. But we have seen steady progress being made toward the conclusion of this bilateral EPA, but unfortunately we don’t have any certain date or certain deadline yet but we would like to make our utmost efforts to realize the early conclusion of the negotiation because the two leaders have agreed that we need to expedite the negotiation process.

Q: Just on a slightly related issue I suppose. Is there any prospect do you think of Mr. Abe, of visiting Australia in the next few months prior to the Australian election in September and if so would the intension be for him to sign the EPA in Australia?

Mr. Sato: No, not that I know of. There is no plan I can announce concerning Prime Minister Abe’s visit to Australia at the moment, but the important thing is to realize the early conclusion of the negotiations. We have been engaged on various fronts to have a high level economic partnership with our trading partners in the world, and Australia is one of them. The level of coverage of the existing 13 EPA agreements which Japan have – they only cover less than 20% of the total trade of Japan so we would like to broaden this field so that Japan will be able to tap into the potential that lies in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Australia.

Q: Sure, and just one final question. I understand Japan has requested Australia’s approval to join the TPP negotiations. Do you think that approval will be granted or are you concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the FTA process?

Mr. Sato: Concerning Japan’s participation in the TPP negotiations, thus far in addition to the conclusion of consultations with the United States last Friday, we have already secured basic approval from the following countries: Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, and Mexico. So for the rest of the negotiating countries, namely Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Peru, we are still conducting consultations with these countries. So, at what stage are we with these remaining four countries? Once again, it’s better for me not to touch upon the details of the consultations.

Q: My first question has to do with the new agreement that’s been signed between Japan and Taiwan over fisheries done in the East China Sea. First of all, just basic information - what is included in the agreement, and what significance do you see in this event?

Mr. Sato: Thank you for your interest in this subject. This Japan-Taiwan private sector fisheries arrangement was signed April 10, and negotiations had been held between private bodies of Japan and Taiwan. I should say that the two private authorities have been negotiating over the fisheries issue for many years since 1996, if I remember correctly. But it was postponed sometime in 2009, but after the situation concerning the Senkaku Islands intensified since last September, we resumed discussions. And this time the Fishery Arrangement was successfully made. Although we have not changed our policy in any way regarding the treatment of Taiwan vis-à-vis China, the Japanese Government welcomed the signing as the non-governmental working relations between Taiwan and Japan bearing fruit. So it is hoped this will have a positive impact even on the situation concerning the Senkaku Islands.

Basically this arrangement can be summarized in three points. First, it deals with what we call the exclusive economic zones. Second, under this arrangement, it is expected that the Taiwan and Japanese civilian authorities, will establish a kind of joint commission to manage the fisheries issues. Thirdly, under the arrangement, two categories of zones will be established. One is the area where both sides will exempt application of laws and regulations regarding fisheries. And there is also another zone which is termed as a special cooperation zone. Under this framework, we hope that the collaborations in fishery will be further promoted.

Q: And the second part of my question is that this morning before I came here I was at the Defense Ministry, and there was a delegation from Ishigaki City that seems to be upset about the conclusion of this treaty, or this agreement between private organizations. And the Governor of Okinawa has also made comments. Was there sort of a lack of communication between those who were negotiating this agreement and the authorities in Okinawa which is most directly affected?

Mr. Sato: Actually, I just want to ask for a clarification. So you saw a group of people from Ishigaki City visiting the Defense Ministry?

Mr. Penn: Yes, they were giving their statement to the Defense Minister.

Mr. Sato: Thank you very much for the clarification. We are aware that some people in Okinawa Prefecture, including those who are engaged in fishing, have been expressing concerns regarding the signing of this arrangement between Japanese and Taiwanese civilian authorities. We are taking them seriously. Secondly, at the joint commission between Japan and Taiwan to be established under the arrangement, we anticipate that the actual work to formulate the order of fishing activities in the affected area will be made. The Government of Japan sincerely hopes and expects that the discussions to be conducted at this joint commission will be able to incorporate and address the concerns expressed by people in Okinawa. And concerning the possible impact on the Japanese fishing people of the signing of this arrangement, we would like to strain our ears to their opinions and by seriously grasping their concerns, we would like to make an appropriate response.

Q: Thank you very much. That’s it for me.

Mr. Sato: Thank you. Thank you for coming.