Press Conference by the Press Secretary 7 December 1999
- Announcement of the 40th Anniversary Symposium on the Quest of Human Security co-hosted by the United Nations and the Japan Institute of International Affairs
- Announcement of the Donors' Meeting for East Timor
- Issues related to the recent World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting in Seattle
- Matters pertaining to the recent Murayama-Mission to North Korea
- Questions relating to the World Trade Organization Meeting in Seattle and other issues
- Questions regarding the significance of the recent visit to Japan of Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh of the Republic of India
- Other related issues
- Announcement of the 40th Anniversary Symposium on the Quest of Human Security co-hosted by the United Nations and the Japan Institute of International Affairs
Press Secretary Sadaaki Numata: Good afternoon. I have several comments to make at the beginning. Firstly, there will be a Symposium on Human Security co-sponsored by the United Nations University and the Japan Institute for International Affairs which will be taking place on 11-12 December. This is a commemorative symposium in the sense that it is taking place on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of the Japan Institute for International Affairs. This symposium is to take up the overall theme of the quest of human security and, under that general heading, such topics will be taken up as conflict prevention, promotion of sustainable development and the enhancement of human dignity. We will have some prominent guest speakers. The list is headed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and the former Secretary-General of the United Nations Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and Chairman Yasushi Akashi of the Japan Centre for Preventative Diplomacy, President Maurice Strong of the Earth Council and Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who is well known in the context of sustainable development and environment and President Hisashi Owada of the Japan Institute of International Affairs will also be speaking.
Related Information (Japan and the United Nations)
- Announcement of the Donors' Meeting for East Timor
Mr. Numata: The next comment is on the Donors' Meeting for East Timor which is to be co-chaired by the World Bank and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). It will be held from 16-17 December in Tokyo and will be attended by, among others, President Xana Gusmao of the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT), Special Representative Sergio Vieira de Mello of the United Nations Secretary-General and Transitional Administrator for East Timor and representatives from more than 30 countries and international organizations. From the Government of Japan, Senior State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Shozo Azuma and other officials will attend the meeting. In this meeting there will be discussions on assistance to East Timor for its rehabilitation and development and also on the future provision of assistance to UNAET.
- Issues related to the recent World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting in Seattle
Mr. Numata: My next comment is on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Seattle. As you know, the meeting was adjourned without coming to a conclusion in the form of a ministerial declaration. Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono, Minister for International Trade and Industry Takashi Fukaya and Minister for Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tokuichiro Tamazawa attended this meeting. We do feel that the issues confronting the contracting parties to the WTO are indeed very diverse and it proved difficult for these parties to reach a conclusion. We also feel that the time available in Seattle was not sufficient to resolve all the complex problems.
The Meeting was adjourned and as far as the launching of the new round of negotiations is concerned, it is on hold or temporarily frozen. Foreign Minister Kono in describing this situation used the expression, "Mizuiri," which means putting something on a temporary freeze as in a protracted Sumo wrestling match. We would like very much to unfreeze the situation. I talked about the difficulty of the subjects involved. One of the difficulties was that in trying to deal with very diverse and complex issues within a limited time frame, the question of the need for transparency, on the one hand, with respect to deliberations in the WTO and the need for efficient decision making, as it were, were found to be in conflict. In some ways, the traditional way of resolving issues in the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) inherited by the WTO may have shown its limitations and this is something that we will have to consider seriously. At the same time we feel that the efforts that have been expended should be something upon which we should be trying to build with a view to launching the new round of negotiations. In that context we feel that the WTO faces two major challenges. One is to ensure further active participation of developing countries and the other is to address the concerns on the part of many people, including ordinary citizens, about various issues related to trade liberalization, for example, in the field of environment or the question of trade and labor which concerns other people. We do feel that we need to learn from our experiences in Seattle so that the WTO can overcome the difficulties and break the freeze so as to be able to launch the next round of negotiations. We will be giving a great deal of serious thought to that on our end.
- Matters pertaining to the recent Murayama-Mission to North Korea
Mr. Numata: My next comment is on the suprapartisan mission headed by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama which went to North Korea. We feel that this mission, which went to North Korea for the purpose of fostering the environment in which the normalization negotiations between Japan and North Korea can be facilitated, did achieve something significant and we welcome that. We are grateful to the members of the mission, which comprised the representatives of all the major political parties, for their efforts. We do feel that the Joint Statement issued as a result of their visit contains some significant suggestions. We feel that it is desirable that the authorities of Japan and North Korea sit down at the same table to engage in dialogue. It is our intention to work toward the early realization of such dialogue. We are now in the process of hearing in detail about the exchanges of the mission and the people on the North Korean side and we will be analyzing these discussions in detail and will be considering what specific steps to take.
- Questions relating to the World Trade Organization Meeting in Seattle and other issues
Q: I have two questions. One on Mr. Murayama's visit to North Korea and the other on the WTO. The first is regarding the sanctions that Japan still has on North Korea. Does Japan intend to lift the remaining sanctions? And if so, when?
The other issue regards Mr. Aoki who was quoted in the Japanese media as saying that he would like to resume preliminary talks with North Korea within the year, but I believe Foreign Minister Kono disagreed with this statement. I would like to know exactly what the situation is?
Mr. Numata: I am not quite sure whether your characterization of Foreign Minister Kono's statement, whichever statement you might be referring to, is indeed correct or not. We do feel that the Joint Statement issued by the Murayama-Mission and their North Korean counterparts contains significant suggestions. We are examining the content of their deliberations in Pyongyang in detail and in that process we are considering the possibility of having preliminary dialogue between the authorities of the two countries at the earliest possible date. This is not something that we can decide on now and alone, so the exact timing is yet to be decided.
The lifting of the remaining steps, which we instituted in the wake of the missiles launches made by North Korea last year, and the question of both sides sitting down at the same table are intertwined and, as I said before, we are in the process of seriously mapping out a sort of scenario for dealing with these issues on the basis of the detailed report from the Murayama-Mission. In that sense, I think it is a bit premature to say exactly what will be done and when.
Q: I would like to refer to your comments on the WTO meeting. I would like to know the stance of your government regarding the agenda of developing countries, protectionism and the market access to rich countries.
Mr. Numata: We have consistently taken the position that the legitimate concerns of the developing countries should be respected and for that reason we have taken the position that such matters of concern to developing countries, for example, greater discipline on anti-dumping measures, should be taken up as a subject of negotiation in the new round. We have also taken the position that market access by developing countries to the markets of developed countries is an important issue, especially the question of market access by the least developed countries and also the question of capacity building on the part of the least developed countries. In Seattle we worked closely with other like-minded countries, including the European Union and Canada, to make a proposal on the question of removal of tariffs on products from the least developed countries and also on the enhancement of technical assistance and cooperation to these countries for the purpose of capacity building. We wanted to make this proposal jointly with the European Union, Canada and the United States of America, but before we would reach a successful outcome in terms of formulating a joint proposal, the meeting was adjourned. But, we certainly have a very strong interest in it. I might also add in that context, that as far as capacity building is concerned, our own technical cooperation agency, The Japan International Cooperation Agency, will be actively involved and we have in mind a plan to invite about 2500 people from developing countries in the course of the next five years to help capacity building in terms of implementing WTO related agreements.
Q: Regarding the WTO. I believe the United States is eager to start the talks again, but I do not think that Japan is very much for this idea.
Mr. Numata: I am not quite sure whether I agree with your characterization of our position. I did say that we do continue to attach importance to the launching of the new round of negotiations. We do feel that it is important for the new round to be comprehensive in its coverage to address issues of concern not just to the developed countries, but also to the developing countries. There is a whole variety of diverse topics to be addressed and I do not think that we should give up the effort to address the wide range of issues to meet the various concerns of the contracting parties. In doing so there are certain challenges that we will have to work on. I did mention the problem which has to do with the conflict between the requirements for transparency and the requirements for efficiency and that is something that we all have to look at. It is quite clear that the WTO, or the global open trade system underpinned by the WTO, continues to be of vital importance, not only to Japan, but to other countries. It is with that in mind that we will be seriously exploring ways of breaking the freeze and launching the new round of negotiations. We expect to be in close contact, not only with the United States, but with other countries concerned with that aim in mind.
- Questions regarding the significance of the recent visit to Japan of Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh of the Republic of India
Q: Can you tell us what importance you attach to Indian Defense Minister's visit to Japan next month? As you know, no Indian Defense Minister has come to Japan before. What are you going to discuss with him and what is the importance of former Prime Minister Hashimoto's visit to India in February? How important are these visits and in what context?
Mr. Numata: We have been very much interested in promoting dialogue at various levels with the Republic of India. The most recent example was the visit to Japan toward the end of November of the Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh of India. It was in that context that the two governments reaffirmed the importance of promoting dialogue. Including the visit to Japan of the Minister for Defence George Fernandes, and the visit to India by former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Those are very important dialogues at the political level. When we talk about political dialogue it will include further dialogue on security, defense and non-proliferation issues. It is in that general context that we view the two visits that you just mentioned. We also look forward to furthering our contacts with India through other channels, for example, the dispatching of an economic mission to India next year, and also through expanding people-to-people exchange through exchange students. It is in that general context that we see these visits. I think the visit to Japan by an Indian Defense Minister for the first time is an indication that there are in fact a number of issues in the global security arena that the two countries share an interest in. It is a bit early to start talking about the agenda item for his visit.
- Other related issues
Q: I have two short questions. One is regarding the Yeltsin visit. Has the Japanese government received a formal letter from the Russian government saying that he will not come?
Mr. Numata: We have not received a letter of the kind you mentioned, but there was the vice-ministerial level consultation in the context of the negotiation for the conclusion of the Peace Treaty which took place yesterday. In that consultation, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin of the Russian Federation said that because of the internal political situation in Russia, President Boris Yeltsin does face a very tight schedule for the remainder of the year and that it would therefore be difficult for President Yeltsin to make an official visit to Japan in the course of this year. Deputy Foreign Minister Karasin said that President Yeltsin has instructed officials in the Russian government very clearly and strongly to make preparations for his visit to Japan and that the Government of Russia is in the process of making the preparation for this visit with a view to realizing it sometime next Spring. He further said that President Yeltsin does indeed wish to come to Japan and attaches importance to that visit.
I might add that Deputy Foreign Minister Karasin said yesterday also that as a part of the preparation for President Yeltsin's visit to Japan, Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov would like to come to Japan in late January. We do look at this favorably and will be working closely with the Russian side to prepare firstly for Foreign Minister Ivanov's visit and then for the visit of President Yeltsin sometime next Spring.
Q: The Foreign Minister is due to meet the Foreign Minister of Singapore in the afternoon. Do you know what time?
Mr. Numata: He will be meeting him at 3:45pm.
Q: Could you give us some more information of the visit of President Lee of Taiwan? What is the government's position regarding the announcements made recently?
Mr. Numata: At this point we are not aware of specific plans concerning the visit by President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan to Japan and our position on the subject is that on the basis of the Joint Communiqué between Japan and the People's Republic of China issued in 1972 we have consistently maintained non-governmental working relations with Taiwan as non-governmental exchanges and also regional exchanges and it continues to be our intention to maintain that basic framework. That is all I can say at this moment.
Q: You just mentioned the relationship with Taiwan. If President Lee visits Japan, he will be visiting no longer as the President of Taiwan. What will be Japan's position on that?
Mr. Numata: At this point, our position with respect to our relationship with Taiwan has consistently be based on the Joint Communique of 1972 and the basic framework there is that we view our relations with Taiwan as non-governmental regional or working exchanges. It is in that framework that we will be looking at whatever matters may arise.
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