Subjects: Industrial action; Mitsubishi; meeting with PM Koizumi
E&OE................................
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard what has the industrial action in Australia done to your visit to Japan?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, nothing so far, but I hope it doesn't. I hope, for the sake of the workers, it ends quickly. It is always unfortunate if signals are sent at sensitive times. My purpose in coming here is to talk to the Prime Minister and I will take the opportunity of seeing the Mitsubishi people tomorrow. I think everybody in Australia, the workers in particular who work for Mitsubishi want a continuing commitment from that company and I will be explaining to the company why it ought to make a strong commitment to Australia years into the future. It's a very beckoning economic climate, Australia, and we haven't had a lot of industrial strikes, in fact, we've had virtually none over the last few years. So it is just unfortunate that this has come when it has and I hope that commonsense prevails and that it is resolved so that no negative signals are sent.
JOURNALIST:
You'll be talking to the Prime Minister about reform of Japan's economy. How high are the stakes on that issue?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well they are obviously very important but I don't think it is for me, having just arrived in Japan, to start presuming to give public advice to the Prime Minister of the host country. I'm looking forward to meeting him. He's obviously got a big challenge ahead of him but I'm particularly looking forward to seeing him and perhaps exchanging some experiences that we've had.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have anything else to put on the table for Mitsubishi?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh look, I'm not going to talk about things on the table. We'll see what the company's got to say tomorrow. Thank you.