Meeting Between Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi
and Secretary of Defense of the United States Donald Rumsfeld
(Summary)

Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Washington, D.C. on September 16. The following is a summary of their talks.

1. Japan-U.S. Security Arrangements

(1) Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that she had been watching with interest what kind of impact the United States' review of its defense strategy had on the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding missile defense, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that she expected to further strengthen information exchange and policy dialogue between Japan and the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that the United States was engaged in a review of its national defense strategy and had recently reported the Quadrennial Defense Review, which concluded Asia's increasing importance. He extended that the forward deployment of the U.S. forces was an enormous advantage for the United States and at the same time it contributed to the peace and stability of the world and also guaranteed the security of allied nations and the stability of the region. Regarding missile defense, he said, under the instructions of President George W. Bush, the United States had revised the concept and dropped the terms "national missile defense" and "theater missile defense", integrating them into the term "missile defense." The United States' recent withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty made possible various tests that were banned under the treaty, and now the United States is conducting such tests. He said that the United States intended to hold close consultations with Japan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the results of these tests and other matters.

Also, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that the Security Consultative Committee "2 + 2" Meeting should be convened as early as possible, and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld consented.

(2) Foreign Minister Kawaguchi took up Okinawa issues and requested to continue to make the utmost efforts on various Okinawa-related issues the Japanese side has been raising with a view to reducing the burden on the people of Okinawa. Regarding polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that she herself and the people of Japan had strong interest in this issue and requested to do his utmost to secure the full implementation of the Department of Defense's plan of shipping PCB-containing materials to the United States quickly.

Defense Minister Rumsfeld stated that the United States would continue to make efforts on issues related Okinawa. Also, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chief's of Staff Pace commented that environmental assessment on PCB had already been finished and the specification of places storing PCB had also been completed. He said that the U.S. Department of Defense intended to take the PCB back to the United States.

2. Fight Against Terrorism

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stated that the fight against terrorism was a global issue and expressed deep gratitude for Japan's support to date. He said that the fight would still continue. He further stated that an extremely large number of countries had offered cooperation and that the sharing of information was especially important and effective. The number of U.S. military forces engaged in the fight against terrorism was also increasing, and the strength of operations and activities remain unchanged, he said. As for the content of activities, he said, the weight is gradually shifting, especially in Afghanistan, from military activities to humanitarian activities.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi noted that the deadline for the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces would come in November of this year. If the further continuation of support is necessary, she said, the Japanese government would like to receive information, at an appropriate time, on the state of the operation to repel the Taliban and of the activities of U.S. ships since it is necessary for the Japanese government to understand the necessity and then to explain it to the Japanese people. Japan recognizes this as not only a matter of the United States but also Japan's own, she said. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi stated that Japan hosted the international conference on reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo, and Japan regarded the aspect of the establishment of peace important.

3. Iraq Problem

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stated that President Bush had delivered a speech at the United Nations and that from now on the U.S. government would seek support both from the U.S. Congress and from the international community. He also said that U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was now preparing for a new U.N. Security Council resolution and that it would be helpful if Japan would lend a hand in building international cooperation and support.

Foreign Minister Kawaguchi welcomed President Bush's speech. The problem, she said, is that so far Iraq has not carried out the Security Council resolutions which it had already accepted and the engagements that it had made to the United Nations. This is not a problem between the United States and Iraq, she said, but between the international community and Iraq. Foreign Minister Kawaguchi highly evaluated President Bush's speech which expressed cooperation with the Security Council and efforts to settle the problem through the adoption of a Security Council resolution. She commented that international cooperation was important and that she herself had taken up the issue in talks with the Foreign Minister of Iraq on September 14 and the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia on September 15.

Finally, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stated that President Bush had not made any decisions at all on military matters.

4. Situation Concerning North Korea

Regarding North Korea, at the very end of the meeting, Foreign Minister Kawaguchi said that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would be visiting North Korea and that the contents of the talk would be relayed to the U.S. side quickly after the visit.