Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• Japan-China relations (the attack on the vehicle carrying Japanese Ambassador to China in Beijing)
• Japan-North Korea relations

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Regarding the incident in which a Japanese flag on the official vehicle carrying Japanese Ambassador to China Niwa was stolen, some news agencies reported that Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau authorities caught the man who committed this act and that this man is now being questioned. Has China contacted the Japanese Government at all through any diplomatic channels?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: We have not been contacted through diplomatic channels, in other words, at the government level.

REPORTER: Have you obtained any other information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: I am aware of the news reports.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Today, the Japan-North Korea consultation is being held in Beijing. Can you once again explain what progress you are expecting from the consultation, including on the abduction issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: My response to this question is similar each time. I understand that the consultation has been in progress since this afternoon. This is still a preliminary consultation, in other words, I understand that the two sides are discussing the agenda or the themes to be taken up in the official consultations, the members who will be taking part in the official consultations, among other matters. As I have said each time to date, while there is of course the issue of the retrieval of remains (of Japanese people left in North Korea after the war) between the Japanese and North Korean Red Cross societies, the Japanese Government intends to resolve a variety of outstanding issues of concern between the two countries, while holding consultations also at the government level. The Japanese Government, of course, considers the abduction issue to be included in these issues.