Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
Following the Japan-North Korea Government-level consultations held in Beijing on July 1, a short while ago the four ministers’ meeting concerning the abduction issue was held with the Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishida and Minister in charge of the Abduction Issue Furuya in attendance. After this meeting the nine ministers’ meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) was held with the attendance of Minister of Justice Tanigaki and others.

As a result of these meetings it was decided that at the point when the Special Investigation Committee is established by North Korea on July 4, and when North Korea starts comprehensive and full-scale investigations on all Japanese nationals, measures implemented by Japan against North Korea will be partially lifted. The measures that will be lifted by Japan are in accordance with the agreement reached between Japan and North Korea in May. However, the measures will be formally announced again tomorrow, July 4, following a Cabinet decision.

The specific details concerning the Special Investigation Committee to be established by North Korea are set out in the documents that have been distributed to you. I would like to introduce to you the points that are considered to be important. Firstly, the Special Investigation Committee has been granted special authority to conduct investigations over all the institutions by the National Defense Commission, which is the supreme body of North Korea. In addition, the Chair of the Special Investigation Committee is also a senior official in the National Defense Commission and the State Security Department. The institutions that will be participating in the investigation include the State Security Department, the Ministry of People’s Security and the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces. Secondly, under the auspices of the committee, working groups will be established to deal with the various issues of the victims of abduction, missing persons, the issues of Japanese remains, and the Japanese nationals left in North Korea and “Japanese spouses.” As it proceeds, the investigation will not prioritize any specific area. Rather the investigation will in fact work on all areas in parallel. Thirdly, North Korea provided an explanation that the preparations have now been made to establish the committee and start investigations. With regard to the duration of the investigation, North Korea has also explained that the investigation will be advanced swiftly, taking into account my recent statement that the investigations should be completed within a year.

Taking into comprehensive account all of these elements, the Government has determined that at the current point North Korea has put in place a concrete structure in order to conduct effective investigations, which led to the decision that was made recently. Whatever the case, the most important thing is how things proceed from here. It is important that we steadily implement the agreement reached between Japan and North Korea and make progress towards the resolution of the various concerns of Japan and North Korea. Above all, the abduction issue is one of the highest priorities for the Abe administration and the Government will continue to make every effort towards its resolution at the earliest time.

Q&As

• The establishment of the Special Investigation Committee in North Korea
• The study of the background of the compilation of the Kono Statement

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question with regard to how the Government will respond. What sort of measures are you contemplating in order to ensure transparency once the investigations begin on the North Korean side? There could be various ways to ensure such transparency, including the dispatch of an investigation delegation, for example.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In the forum of the Japan-North Korea Government-level consultations, during questions regarding the establishment of the Special Investigation Committee, one of the important points that the Japanese side focused on was whether or not the committee would be granted appropriate authority to conduct investigations over all the institutions. As a result, while there are still naturally points that are unclear about the internal systems and structures of North Korea, the Government has determined that a concrete structure is in place that will enable effective investigation. This structure includes the committee being granted special authority to conduct investigations over all the institutions by the National Defense Commission, which is the supreme body of North Korea. In addition, the Chair of the Special Investigation Committee is also a senior official in the National Defense Commission and the State Security Department. The institutions that will be participating in the investigation include the State Security Department, the Ministry of People’s Security and the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces. In addition, as the investigations proceed, North Korea has agreed to accept the dispatch of an investigation delegation from Japan and other matters, which have also been included in the written agreement. I therefore think that Japanese officials will of course be able to visit North Korea and receive explanations. In addition, in line with the progress of the investigation, we assume that if necessary North Korea may request meetings with persons concerned on the Japanese side or request the cooperation of Japan for sharing related materials held by Japan. Whatever the case, we have agreed upon a structure that allows Japanese officials to stay in North Korea and ensures that all progress made by North Korea will be individually checked in the reports about meetings with persons concerned or actual visits to relevant locations and other such matters, as well as the sharing of related documents with Japan.

REPORTER: You just mentioned that there are still matters that are unclear. What specifically are these?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: What I said was that there are of course points that are unclear regarding the internal systems and structures of North Korea. As these relate to matters that are beyond Japan’s borders, in all honesty it is not possible to clarify them. However, in the Japan-North Korea Government-level consultations, the Japanese delegation focused their questions on the point of whether or not the Special Investigation Committee would, at the very least, be granted appropriate authority to conduct investigations over all the institutions. As a result, and as I just mentioned, the Government determined that in actual fact a structure is in place that will enable investigations to be conducted.

REPORTER: With regard to the process of confirmation of points that are unclear, I believe that the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States would have significant knowledge about various aspects of the internal situation of North Korea. Has the Government approached the ROK or the United States with requests for cooperation on such issues?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: If necessary the Government would obviously consider such a course of action. However, at this point in time Japan has a large quantity of materials of its own and we will therefore proceed by checking the facts with these materials.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the content of the partial lifting of restrictions. You mentioned that you would announce the details of the lifting of restrictions following tomorrow’s Cabinet decision. However, could you tell us whether the lifting of the restrictions will apply to the three points that were part of the agreement reached in May or just a part of these three points?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The restrictions will be lifted for all points that were detailed in the agreement. These are the restrictions on visits of persons, measures of restriction on North Korea regarding the amount of money requiring notification of the export of means of payments and report on the money transfer, and the embargo on the entry of North Korea flagged ships with humanitarian purpose into Japanese ports. The lifting of these restrictions requires a Cabinet decision and I will therefore make an announcement following the Cabinet decision.

REPORTER: In addition to the Government’s determination that a concrete structure is in place for the Special Investigation Committee, were there any other factors that influenced the Government’s decision?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, the Government sought to find out specifically what form the Special Investigation Committee would take and in the previous negotiations the Japanese side asked whether the committee would possess authority to conduct investigations over all the institutions. In the recent negotiations the North Korean side provided a full explanation including the names of the people concerned, the Chair, and the organization of the committee. For example, the Chair of the committee will be the Vice Minister for State Security of the National Defense Commission. I hear that according to the explanation provided by the North Korean side a vice-ministerial-level position has been established in order that the special authority can be executed and the person who has been assigned is responsible for state security issues. In addition, North Korea has also provided the specific names of the persons who will serve as the two vice-chairs, who are the Vice Minister of the State Security Department and the Director General of the Ministry of People’s Security. In that sense, the members of the committee are therefore recognized to have definite powers such as those that we had envisaged, and we therefore determined that a structure had been set in place for the committee.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: With regard to the lifting of the restrictions on the embargo on the entry of North Korea flagged ships into Japanese ports, are we to understand that the Man Gyong Bong vessel will not be included in restrictions that are to be lifted?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: That is correct. The Man Gyong Bong vessel is not included.

REPORTER: I have a related question. If the Man Gyong Bong vessel is not included in the lifting of restrictions, there are some people who point out that there is little meaning in lifting the restrictions on the embargo on the entry of North Korea flagged ships with humanitarian purpose into Japanese ports. What are your views on this point?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As the restrictions will be lifted on the embargo on the entry of North Korea flagged ships with humanitarian purpose, it is anticipated that this would allow for the loading of cargo such as medical supplies, for example.

REPORTER: There is a strong sense that as China and the ROK have shared closer relations recently, North Korea has found itself increasingly isolated, which has led to its attempts to engage diplomatically with Japan. Given that Japan is supposedly cooperating with the ROK and the United States, how will the Government address concerns by some that Japan is acting on its own diplomatically? Furthermore, what has the Government judged North Korea’s intentions to be?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: There is absolutely no change to the Government’s basic stance of seeking to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the abduction, nuclear and missile issues. However, the abduction issue is a humanitarian issue of the utmost importance, and one that is unique to Japan. The measures that are being lifted on this occasion are not those that have been imposed by other countries, but those that were formulated more than ten years ago by the Prime Minister and myself as legislation tabled by Diet members, focusing on the abduction issue. They have been lifted after due thought. Of course it is the case that the Government is liaising with the United States and the ROK about this matter.

REPORTER: I have a point of confirmation. Is the Special Investigation Committee an organization under the direct jurisdiction of First Secretary Kim Jong-Un?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I noted earlier, Japan is not in a position to explain the details of the decision-making process of North Korea. However, we have received an explanation that the committee is to engage in its work while receiving instructions from the National Defense Commission, which is the supreme body of North Korea, and I would imagine that the explanations are not mistaken.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I expect that there will be continual updates concerning the progress of the committee’s work. By what specific route will these updates be made?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: At this time nothing specific has been decided about the timing of updates from North Korea. However, we share the same recognition with North Korea that the initial update would ideally be around the end of summer or early autumn this year. The specific timing and status of the reports will be arranged from now through the embassy channel in Beijing.

REPORTER: With regard to the updates from North Korea, as all matters will be investigated in parallel, will updates from all working groups be received at the same time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Basically, at this stage, as the investigation has just been launched, we cannot say how long investigations will take. As I just noted, we have a shared recognition with the North Korean side that a first update would ideally be made around the end of summer or early autumn. I have received a report that this is the understanding reached at the recent negotiations.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the Government’s response. While restrictions will be partially lifted on this occasion, I believe that depending on the activities of the committee there is scope for future responses to include the lifting of further restrictions or the provision of humanitarian assistance. What are the Government’s thoughts with regard to such matters?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Whatever the case, as the Special Investigation Committee will be launched from tomorrow, we can say that right now we are standing at the starting line for investigations. What is important is the progress that we make going forward, and I would like to refrain from making any presumptuous comments at this current stage.

REPORTER: Having viewed the structure for the Special Investigation Committee, could you once again tell us whether the Government believes that it will lead to the total and comprehensive clarification of the abduction issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In answer to your question, the committee possesses unprecedentedly far-reaching authority, and the persons responsible for leading the committee and those under their supervision have been granted real power. As such, the Government believes that the structure of the committee is completely different from any such body in the past. In addition, I have received a report that the North Korean side explained that the committee has been granted special authority by the National Defense Commission to conduct investigations over all the institutions, including special agencies, which are said to be closely related to the abduction issue, and I have been informed that the Chair of the committee has been invested with sufficient authority.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Over the last few days North Korea has launched missiles on several occasions. This is naturally a concern for the United States and the ROK. Is the Government of Japan not concerned about such activities by North Korea?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, the measures that are to be lifted on this occasion are unilateral measures that Japan itself initiated following missile launches and nuclear tests by North Korea. One of the biggest factors for the implementation of such measures was that North Korea had not taken specific actions with regard to the abduction issue. The measures that are to be lifted on this occasion are legislation that the Prime Minister and I formulated for the purpose of the abduction issue. They were implemented as additional measures in view of the various circumstances surrounding North Korea, including the unconstructive response by North Korea to the nuclear and missile issues. With regard to the recent missile launches, Japan issued a severe protest to North Korea about these in the forum of the Japan-North Korea Government-level consultations, calling strongly on North Korea to respond earnestly to the demands of the international community. However, the abduction issue is of humanitarian importance. The investigation structure that North Korea has established in order to make progress towards the resolution of this issue was thoroughly specified in the previous consultations. The Government of Japan therefore made a decision to lift the measures that are currently in place.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: President Park Geun-hye of the ROK has criticized the study of the background of the compilation of the Kono Statement. She noted that while these efforts are said to be for the purpose of studying the background to the statement, the implementation of such an investigation is damaging to the Statement. This is the first comment made by President Park with regard to the study. Can I ask for your thoughts on this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly I would say that the reaction of President Park to the study of the background of the compilation of the Kono Statement is extremely regrettable. The study efforts were based on a request from the Diet. The situation would be the same in the ROK, whereby if a request were received from parliament it would be necessary for the Government to act on such a request. The work to study the background of the compilation of the Kono Statement was implemented objectively, in accordance with the instructions of experts from various fields in order to clarify the facts of the matter. I would like the Government of the ROK to view the results of the study in a cool-headed manner.

(Abridged)