Press Conferences

NHK, Igarashi: I have a question on the U.S. military Osprey aircraft. According to Ministry of Defense (MOD) officials, they have information indicating that a U.S. military Osprey transport aircraft crashed near Yakushima, Kagoshima Prefecture, this afternoon. What information is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) aware of and how will it respond?

Ms. KOBAYASHI Maki, Press Secretary: MOFA is also gathering the relevant information. For details, please inquire with the MOD.

Kyodo News, Hayashi: It has been announced that the Prime Minister will attend the COP28. Please share the perspective of the Government of Japan, including what it will emphasize in its messages at COP28 and what outcomes it expects.

Press Secretary Kobayashi: Regarding Prime Minister Kishida’s attendance at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit, the Prime Minister has received an invitation from the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the host of COP28, and intends to attend, if various circumstances permit.

At COP28, concerning climate change, a common challenge to all humankind, Japan will communicate its initiatives for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and demonstrate its proactive stance on measures to combat climate change.

Furthermore, the COP28 negotiations will mark a critical turning point by completing the first global stocktake, which evaluates the progress of the world’s climate change measures toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016. It is hoped that well-balanced and ambitious outcome will be achieved in each area, including mitigation, adaptation, and finance. Japan also believes that all state parties to the Convention must ambitiously enhance their mitigation measures by setting their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for 2030 to align with the 1.5 degree Celsius goal.

Under these circumstances, Japan will continue to actively contribute to the discussion toward achieving ambitious outcomes in close cooperation with the UAE, as the COP28 Presidency, and other state parties to the Convention.