Summary of the Press Conference by
Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda

(on the Incident at the Official Residence of the Japanese Ambassador
to the Republic of Peru)

Lima, Peru
22 December 1996
(unofficial Translation)

1. In my meeting today with President Fujimori, which began at 11:00 and lasted for about an hour and forty minutes, we discussed ways to resolve this incident. He explained to me what he intended to say in his radio and television announcement which was conducted this evening, and about how he intends to proceed in handling the overall situation. I believe that the proposal in his announcement will lead to the peaceful resolution of the situation and the safe release of all of the hostages; I feel President Fujimori's proposal is very reasonable.
2. The Government of Japan supports President Fujimori's announcement, and hopes that the Tupac-Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) will give serious consideration to accepting his proposal for resolving the situation. Given the sensitive nature of this incident, I must refrain from explaining what else President Fujimori and I discussed, but I have nonetheless explained the essence of what we talked about. Thank you very much.