Press Conferences

Kyodo News, SAKAGUCHI: At yesterday’s press briefing, you mentioned you had a brief conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov during the dinner on July 21. Japan, together with the U.S. and Europe, continues to impose sanctions against Russia in response to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, I believe there are a number of outstanding issues between Japan and Russia, including the issues of the Northern Territories, fishery rights, and visits to graves in the Northern Territories. I would like to ask whether you expect that your recent conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov will lead to efforts for improving Japan-Russia relations. Could you also tell us whether there are any plans for a formal in-person meeting or a telephone call going forward, and whether you intend to maintain communication between the two Foreign Ministers?

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: On July 21, the first day of my visit to Manila, there was a welcome Gala Dinner, and since Foreign Minister Lavrov, my longtime acquaintance, was also attending, I had an opportunity to briefly exchange greetings with him. We talked about bilateral relations and regional affairs.

That being said, Japan’s policy toward Russia remains unchanged, including imposing sanctions against Russia in coordination with the international community, particularly the G7.

At the same time, it is important to properly manage bilateral relations with Russia, our neighboring country. To this end, I believe that communication between the two governments is necessary.

Japan’s position is as I have explained before. Based on this position, we will continue to take appropriate actions from the perspective of what is in Japan’s national interests.

Hokkaido Shimbun, MURAKAMI: I would like to ask a question related to the previous one. During your press briefing yesterday, you stated that Russia is a neighboring country of Japan, and that, precisely for this reason, it is necessary to properly manage bilateral relations. Given that holding dialogues continues to be difficult, could you once again share your views on how Japan intends to address challenges specific to neighboring countries, such as the issues of Northern Territories and the fisheries?

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: As for the challenges specific to neighboring countries, in the case of Russia, there are, of course, the territories issue, as well as the fisheries matter and the issue of visits to graves in the Northern Territories by former residents of the islands.

The Government’s approach to addressing these issues is as I stated earlier.

TV Asahi, IIDA: Concerning Russia, I have a separate question regarding the dispatch of Japanese students. I understand that, following the program’s suspention in 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will resume the short-term dispatch of university students and others to Russia starting in August. However, attacks by Ukraine on Russian territory have recently intensified. Could you confirm whether this program is safe? Could you please also tell us the purpose of resuming people-to-people exchanges at this particular time?

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: Despite ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, the security situation in Russia has been relatively stable, with the exception of some areas, and Japan’s overall assessment of the situation has not changed.

As I mentioned earlier, Japan-Russia relations currently face a difficult situation. Nevertheless, Japan believes that it is important to continue people-to-people exchanges and, in particular, to create opportunities for young people to learn the Japanese and Russian languages and interact with one another. We revised the Travel Advisory level for Russia last September. With that in mind, we made this decision considering the students’ wishes to visit or study in Russia.

In any case, the Japan-Russia Youth Exchange Center, the organizer of the program, and the Consulate-General of Japan in Saint-Petersburg will be in close contact to ensure that safety measure are thoroughly implemented.

Pan Orient News, Azhari: The war in the Gulf appears to be escalating despite all the persistent diplomatic efforts made by Japan and various other countries. So, the potential for a broader regional war is growing, and this threatens global stability and energy security. With the impact of the war on Japan’s energy security and economy expected to increase significantly, the question is: do you think Japan, which maintains historically good relations with all the parties involved in the war and holds a unique position of neutrality, should take a more assertive lead in mediation efforts?

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: Your question seems essentially the same as the one you asked previously. As for Japan’s role, since February 28, I have held close to 80 meetings, including telephone calls, with the directly involved parties—the U.S., Iran, and Israel—as well as with mediating countries, such as Pakistan, Türkiye, and Qatar, and with the Gulf states. Japan has repeatedly emphasized the importance of de-escalating the situation and of swiftly restoring free and safe navigation without any additional cost through the Strait of Hormuz, an international strait.

Also, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ meetings held in the Philippines through yesterday, I exchanged views separately with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio and Türkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister, representing Foreign Minister Fidan, who was unable to attend due to the situation on the ground. I explained Japan’s position once again and confirmed with many countries that we will work closely together.

Peace and stability in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, are of paramount importance to the security and economy of Japan and the broader world. Japan will continue to make every diplomatic effort by fully leveraging its channels of dialogue with each country.

In the Philippines, I also held talks with newly appointed U.K Foreign Secretary Miliband, among others. It is my impression that the international community fully understands the range of efforts Japan is making independently of the mediating countries.

Asian News International, ITAGAKI: I understand that discussions regarding Quad also took place at the ASEAN and other meetings. Could you please tell us about those discussions?

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: A Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in India in May, and within two months, another such meeting was held on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ meetings. I believe it provided a good opportunity to demonstrate that the Quad is a framework to promote cooperation that benefits the regions through its support for ASEAN centrality and unity, as well as for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and that we are committed to doing so.

At the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, we reaffirmed our commitment to promoting a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)” and agreed to continue advancing concrete cooperation. We confirmed that, instead of simply talking about it, we would identify concrete cooperation projects and cooperate in ways that make the most of each other’s strengths.

Of course, since the Quad ministers were gathered, we also exchanged views on the situations in the Indo-Pacific region and the Middle East.

Asahi Shimbun, OGAWA: Going back to the first topic on Russia, the Japanese and Russian Foreign Ministers had a conversation for the first time in five years, a period during which high-level political dialogue had been interrupted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. I would appreciate it if you could share any thoughts on the significance or meaning of this contact.

Foreign Minister MOTEGI: I believe I visited Russia in late 2019 and held eight hours of talks with Foreign Minister Lavrov. To my knowledge, this recent conversation was the first contact at the foreign-minister level since the talks during my first term as Foreign Minister. As I stated earlier, there are various concerns precisely because we are neighboring countries. To address these concerns, Japan believes it is necessary to maintain communication and that such contacts are meaningful in themselves. However, this does not imply any changes in Japan’s existing policy.