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 Topic: PoliticsThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 03:02 PM
Politics
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TOKYO, SEOUL _ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday dialogue is the only way to resolve the deepening dispute with South Korea over the ownership of Tokto (Dokdo) islets, dismissing calls for bringing the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). ``South Korea wouldn't accede (to bringing the issue to the ICJ),'' he said during a meeting with Korean correspondents to Tokyo. ``I am aware of voices within our party, but after all, it is dialogue (that can resolve the dispute).''
He added that he wants to meet with his South Korean counterpart, President Roh Moo-hyun, in a summit in the near future so that the two leaders could discuss pending issues between the countries, including the Tokto issue. In the meantime, the Japanese government sent its ambassador, who has been staying in Japan for ``consultations'' since March 13 after claiming that Tokto is part of Japan, back to Seoul later in the afternoon. Koizumi's comments come in response to Roh's strongly worded statement on Wednesday, when he launched a harsh criticism against Japan and labeled its claim to Tokto as a revival of the country's imperialist past. He even said Seoul was prepared to risk a ``diplomatic war'' with Tokyo to protect its territorial sovereignty.
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Read full article: 'Koizumi Wants to Meet Roh' (2670 bytes more)  
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Saturday, March 26, 2005 - 03:02 PM
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Japan fanned the blaze of a raging row with China on Friday, by saying the lifting of the EU arms embargo on China would be a big problem for Asian stability. Japan is wooing world leaders for a favorable consideration of its bid for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council. On Thursday, more than one million people, mostly Chinese, signed their names at the sina.com site to voice their opposition to Japan's eligibility. Chinese Government now faces daunting pressure to be tough with Japan, analysts said. On the eve of a visit by French President Jacques Chirac, Japanese Government Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said: "Considering stability in Asia, the United States and Japan share the awareness that resuming arms exports would be a big problem."
Hosoda said the issue of the arms embargo would likely be on the agenda when Chirac meets Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo Sunday. President Chirac said Wednesday he still expected an agreement to lift the ban by the end of June, despite signs the 25-member EU bloc could delay its decision. Washington has been pressuring Europe not to lift the ban. US lawmakers have even threatened to levy punitive trade sanctions on European companies if the embargo is lifted, which was imposed 16 years ago. China says the embargo is political discrimination and also a nuisance in better Sino-EU relations.
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Read full article: 'Japan, China row heats up over embargo, UN seat' (1233 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - 08:03 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Unification Minister Chung Dong Young said that South Korea would proceed with a "summit diplomacy" with Japan even though bilateral relations have been strained recently over Japanese claims to a South Korean-held island in the Sea of Japan, a Seoul daily reported Wednesday. In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, Chung said South Korea "will proceed as scheduled the bilateral summit diplomacy and various exchanges with Japan despite heightened tensions between (South) Korea and Japan due to the territorial rights over Tokto and Japan's distortion of school history textbooks."
The disputed island is called Tokto in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan. Chung's remarks were made at a time when speculation has arisen over a possible delay of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to South Korea scheduled for the first half of this year due to soured bilateral relations. President Roh Moo Hyun and Koizumi agreed in a summit in South Korea last July to hold a summit twice a year to promote friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
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Read full article: 'S. Korea to proceed with 'summit diplomacy' with Japan' (978 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 07:36 AM
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President Roh Moo-hyun called for a permanent government body yesterday to handle historical issues between Korea and Japan, including the Tokto islands dispute. "We will have to have a government body to formulate government-wide policies to cope with the issues," Mr. Roh said after he was briefed yesterday on the recent Tokto and history textbook disputes with Japan. "What Mr. Roh intends is to reorganize task forces and committees scattered around the administration so that they can become one, efficient organization," said Kim Man-soo, Blue House spokesman.
In a related development, the Defense Ministry said yesterday it would include the Tokto islands in its 2004 defense white paper. The ministry has been under criticism that its new white paper omitted the islands as part of sea territories in Korea's jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said yesterday he does not think it is desirable to legislate a Tokto protection act. After bickering with Japan over the island, some politicians have argued for the legislation.
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Read full article: 'Roh proposes Korea-Japan history group' (105 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 07:34 AM
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TOKYO - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed support on Tuesday for Australia's bid to participate in an East Asia summit, planned for the end of the year in Malaysia, during talks with visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, a Japanese government official said. It is "important for Australia, along with New Zealand and India, to be involved in the envisaged summit," Koizumi was quoted as telling Downer.
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Read full article: 'Japan backs Australia's bid to join East Asia summit' (100 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 07:34 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Japan on Tuesday welcomed Sunday's report by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan that emphasized the Security Council should be expanded to make it more representative. "We generally welcome and support Mr. Annan's report," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a press conference after Japan's long weekend through Monday. "Our country has a strong will to become a permanent member and would like to build up further diplomatic efforts to that end."
In the report, Annan said that the Security Council should be expanded but did not identify any of the countries hoping to gain permanent membership. At a press conference Monday, however, Annan said the council would be more democratic and representative by having new permanent members even without veto rights and mentioned Japan as a potential candidate. Regarding the issue of veto power, Hosoda said, "International negotiations will be held on such things from now on."
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Read full article: 'Japan welcomes Annan's call for larger Security Council' (100 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 08:39 AM
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The government is likely to drop two controversial requirements, which were to be referred to the Food Safety Commission in judging the safety of beef, in a compromise aimed at lifting the ban on U.S. beef imports as soon as possible, government sources said Friday. The requirements that were to be referred to the commission include a system of verifying the age of cattle by examining the condition of their meat and a measure to prevent specific body parts, such as brains and spinal cords, from being included in the imports. These have been the most divisive issues in the negotiations on resuming U.S. beef imports. The sources were speaking hours before
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Tokyo on Friday evening. The beef issue is high on the agenda for her two-day visit. The government reportedly decided to seek the early resumption of the imports by shortening the deliberation period, while the commission was strongly criticized for moving too slowly in examining the conditions for importing beef.
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Read full article: 'Govt to offer compromise on beef issue' (2116 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Monday, March 21, 2005 - 08:36 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday in an address to new graduates at the National Defense Academy that Japan will introduce a missile defense system and deploy antiterrorism troops to better respond to new threats. "With the great challenges posed by new threats such as terrorism and ballistic missiles, we must improve our defense capabilities to respond efficiently to situations," Koizumi told the cadets at the academy's graduation ceremony in his hometown Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
The premier also emphasized the importance of civilian control, saying, "Senior officials in charge of defense matters in a democratic country must uphold the spirit to defend democracy and have high morals." Meanwhile, Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono emphasized the significance of the Self-Defense Forces' contributions overseas, citing the humanitarian aid mission to war-ravaged Iraq and emergency disaster relief in tsunami-affected nations around the Indian Ocean. "The SDF's activities inside and outside Japan are welcomed (by the public) and are giving a positive impression. The 'soft power' arouses empathy from the local people of the various countries," Ono said.
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Read full article: 'Koizumi tells defense grads of need to boost response to new threats' (441 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 08:44 AM
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(Kyodo) _ A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official has proposed ending the six-way negotiations on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and taking the issue to the U.N. Security Council if Pyongyang does not return to the talks before June, sources close to the talks said Saturday. Akitaka Saiki, deputy director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, made the proposal at a conference Thursday in Shanghai on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Saiki has headed Japan's delegation to the talks, which have been stalled since last summer.
The comments mark the first time for a government official to publicly mention a specific deadline for ending the talks and referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council. They are expected to draw a strong response from North Korea. However, the proposal may not have been put forward as the official stance of the Japanese government, but instead to gauge the reaction of other parties to the talks, the sources said.
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Read full article: 'Japanese official set deadline for N. Korea's return to talks' (1316 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 08:43 AM
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(Kyodo) _ U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a strongly worded call on Japan Saturday to follow up on its promised resumption of U.S. beef imports during talks with Japanese leaders, Japanese government officials said. Rice warned that if Japan fails to wake up to U.S. frustration over the issue, bilateral ties could worsen to a level similar to those in the 1980s, when the two countries experienced serious trade friction, mainly over motor vehicles, semiconductors and agricultural products.
Rice issued the warning in both meetings with her Japanese counterpart Nobutaka Machimura and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, according to the officials. Rice voiced concern during talks with Machimura that the ban on imports of U.S. beef has already begun to adversely affect overall bilateral relations. Rice was quoted as telling Machimura that people in the United States talked about what they called unfair practices in the Japanese market in the 1980s.
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Read full article: 'Rice calls on Japan to keep promise to resume U.S. beef imports' (1796 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Saturday, March 19, 2005 - 08:37 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told U.S. President George W. Bush last year Japan plans to beef up the duties and roles of its Self-Defense Forces to make up for the anticipated scaling down of the U.S. military presence in Japan, diplomatic sources said Friday. In talks last November in Chile, Koizumi also asked Bush to reduce Okinawa's burden of hosting the U.S. forces, assuring him the Japanese government will be responsible for compensating landowners for economic losses incurred in connection with the return of land used by the U.S. military, the sources said.
The prime minister's remarks that the SDF would "cover" for the departure of U.S. military units suggests new problems could arise involving the expansion of the SDF's functions and bases centering on Okinawa if the United States were to move ahead with its military realignment plans. Okinawa Prefecture hosts the bulk of the U.S. military bases and facilities in Japan. The revelation about Koizumi's comments comes as Tokyo and Washington began full-fledged senior official-level negotiations this week to discuss the details of the U.S. military transformation in Japan.
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Read full article: 'Koizumi told Bush Japan to beef up SDF over realignment' (1934 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 07:31 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda indicated Friday that Japan is fed up with the repeated U.S. pressure on it to lift its 15-month-old ban on American beef imports. "We are aware of political moves on the U.S. side but the United States has also been banning imports of Japanese beef due to BSE in Japan for more than three years," the top government spokesman told a press conference. "It is not that easy to make progress on the issue of food safety in this way."
Hosoda reiterated that Japan has no plans to set a timetable for resuming beef imports despite mounting U.S. political pressure ahead of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Japan on Friday and Saturday. Japan began testing all slaughtered cattle for mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, after finding its first case in September 2001. It has tested all slaughtered animals for the disease since then. It also stopped importing U.S. beef after a case was found there in December 2003.
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Read full article: 'Hosoda fed up with U.S. pressures for beef imports' (673 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 12:19 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Japanese and North Korean officials exchanged jabs over the stalled six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions during Thursday's session of the Geneva Conference on Disarmament. Itsunori Onodera, Japan's parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, said in a speech at the session that Tokyo will continue to urge Pyongyang to unconditionally return to the six-party talks also involving the United States, China, South Korea and Russia.
In response, North Korea's representative to the Conference on Disarmament said the North agreed to have Japan take part in the multilateral meeting even though it was not qualified to be involved in discussions on the nuclear issue. However, Japan is not seeking a resolution of the nuclear issue but rather attempting to revive its militarism, the representative said. Yoshiki Mine, Japan's disarmament ambassador, retaliated by saying North Korea is trying to link the six-way talks with irrelevant issues and that the North Korean nuclear issue has a direct bearing on Japan's security.
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Read full article: 'Japan, N. Korea exchange jabs at Geneva disarmament forum' (502 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Friday, March 18, 2005 - 12:18 AM
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(Kyodo) _ The government will punish Social Insurance Agency officials who have accessed other people's personal pension records out of curiosity, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday. "It is quite regrettable...We will strictly punish the officials involved and will take measures to prevent a recurrence," Hosoda told a news conference.
The top government spokesman made the comments in reference to an agency in-house investigation report which revealed at least 1,500 agency officials nationwide have accessed pension records, including those of politicians such as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The number, equivalent to 8.5 percent of the agency's full-time workers, could increase because about 1,400 workers have refused to cooperate in the investigation, agency officials said. Hosoda said the misconduct reflects agency officials' lack of awareness about the importance of protecting personal data.
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Read full article: 'Gov't to punish officials who accessed pension data out of curiosity' (929 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 07:50 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Japan and China have basically agreed that Japan will end provision of new yen loans to China by the time of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Thursday. "I have basically agreed with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing that Japan will finish fresh yen loans by the Beijing Olympics," Machimura told the House of Councillors Budget Committee. Earlier in the day, a panel of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on foreign affairs endorsed the outline of the bilateral agreement.
Machimura told the panel Japan's yen loans has helped improve bilateral ties by focusing on projects related to development of the coastal area, the environment, and human resources. "But it is hard to continue in a similar way" when China itself, a growing economic giant, has become a donor of foreign aid to third countries, Machimura said.
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Read full article: 'Japan, China agree on ending new loans by Beijing Olympics' (1194 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 07:50 AM
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(Kyodo) _ The Japanese economy is unlikely to suffer any major impact from the record-high crude oil prices logged Wednesday in New York, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday. The top government spokesman attributed his view to prospects that the current price spike will not continue for long, as well as Japan's long-running efforts to lessen the economy's reliance on crude oil as an energy source. "We don't think the current prices reflect the supply-demand conditions and such high prices are unlikely to continue in the future," Hosoda said. "This situation comes in part from speculative moves."
He also said that under the current structure of the economy, a surge in crude prices has little effect in slashing gross domestic product or boosting commodity prices in Japan. In New York on Wednesday, the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April delivery hit a record high of $56.69 per barrel in after-hours trading. Analysts said the market disregarded a decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at a meeting in Isfahan, Iran to boost daily crude oil production by members to a maximum 28 million barrels.
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Read full article: 'Gov't downplays impact of record-high crude oil prices on economy' (100 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Thursday, March 17, 2005 - 12:13 AM
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(Kyodo) _ U.S. President George W. Bush called Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning the selection of the next World Bank chief, Japanese government sources said. It was only a week ago that the two leaders last held talks over the phone and Bush urged Koizumi then to lift Japan's 15-month-old ban on U.S. beef imports. This time, they discussed no other topics during a five-minute conversation, the sources said.
U.S. and European media recently reported that U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and ousted Hewlett-Packard Co. Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina had emerged as leading candidates to succeed James Wolfensohn as president of the World Bank. During a 15-minute conversation last Wednesday, Bush addressed the beef import issue prior to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Japan from Friday to Saturday, but Koizumi responded that he cannot specify a time frame for lifting the ban.
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Read full article: 'Bush calls Koizumi for talks on World Bank issues' (381 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 07:31 AM
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(Kyodo) _ Visiting Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine warned Tuesday that the overall Japan-U.S. security alliance may crumble if there are problems involving the U.S. military in the prefecture, stressing the need for the two nations to move U.S. Marines out of Okinawa and address local concerns. "Okinawa plays an important role for maintaining the Japan-U.S. security arrangements...so any problems that occur may shake the pillar of the alliance," Inamine said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
Inamine also said he sees the planned realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan as a "big chance" to consolidate and reduce U.S. forces in Okinawa. "The base issues in Okinawa had been considered only in the context of resolving them within the framework of Okinawa in the past," Inamine said. "But now, the realignment is being discussed beyond that framework in terms of a bigger framework involving outside the prefecture," he said.
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Read full article: 'Inamine warns Okinawa problems may shake Japan-U.S. security ties' (744 bytes more)
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Posted by: Billy Bob Joe on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 07:30 AM
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(Kyodo) _ The following is a list of key events related to the Shimane Prefectural Assembly's move to designate Feb. 22 as "Takeshima Day."
March 4, 2004 -- A Shimane prefectural assembly members' caucus presents a position statement urging the state to designate "Takeshima Day" to the assembly.
March 15, 2004 -- The Shimane Prefectural Assembly endorses the statement by majority vote.
Feb. 9, 2005 -- The South Korean province of North Kyongsang, which has a friendship arrangement with Shimane Prefecture, is found to have filed a protest with Shimane over the prefecture's TV ad asserting Japanese sovereignty over Takeshima.
Feb. 21 -- A conservative group comprising former members of South Korean special service troops launches a protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.
Feb. 23 -- A Shimane prefectural assembly members' caucus presents a bill to the assembly to designate Feb. 22 as "Takeshima Day."
Feb. 23 -- South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon expresses regret about the bill, while North Kyongsang announces the suspension of all exchanges with Shimane.
Feb. 23 -- Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Toshiyuki Takano tells a news conference for foreign media, "Takeshima is historically and legally part of Japanese territory."
Feb. 24 -- The South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry summons Toshinao Urabe, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to file protest over the ambassador's remark.
March 4 -- South Korea shelves a visit to Japan by South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon.
March 10 -- The bill to designate "Takeshima Day" approved at assembly committee.
March 16 -- The assembly passes the bill in a plenary session.
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Read full article: 'Chronology of events related to 'Takeshima Day'' (100 bytes more)
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