Press Releases

　On Friday, September 9, commencing at around 6:20 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, held a Japan-United Kingdom(UK)-Australia Foreign Ministers’ telephone talk with the Rt Hon. Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK, and the Hon. Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, who is visiting the UK. The overview of the talk is as follows.

1. Minister Kishida stated that it is totally unacceptable that North Korea conducted a nuclear test, which constitutes a direct and serious threat to Japan’s security and seriously undermines the peace and security of the region and the international community, that Japan immediately lodged a serious protest to North Korea and condemned it in the strongest terms through the North Korean “Embassy” in Beijing, and that he would like to coordinate the responses, including those at the United Nations Security Council, closely with the UK and Australia.
2. Secretary Johnson mentioned that he totally agreed with Minister Kishida’s views. He stated that the nuclear test by North Korea is totally unacceptable and that he would like to strengthen cooperation with partners at the UN including the United Nations Security Council. Minister Bishop mentioned that Prime Minister Turnbull and herself had already expressed strong condemnation of North Korea’s provocation, and she was willing to provide full cooperation in response at the UN and other fora.
3. The three Foreign Ministers agreed that Japan-the UK-Australia will closely cooperate in the international community including at the United Nations Security Council in order to strengthen pressure on North Korea.