PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI:
I heartily welcome Prime Minister Howard's visit to Japan. [tape break] other international meetings like the APEC summit. Our bilateral relations are in a very good state and on the occasion of Prime Minister Howard's visit to Japan this time, we should like to further promote our friendly ties with Australia.
In today's summit meeting we engaged in a very candid exchange of views and built on our relationship of mutual trust. Japan and Australia in many respects share values and positions and in the future in the economic area or in the security domain, I hope to further promote closer ties between our two countries, bearing in mind the importance of our bilateral relations. In the economic area, we agreed on Japan/Australia trade and economic framework and I believe this is an epoch making document that is built around joint studies and trade facilitation measures, and we should like to further promote close economic ties on the basis of this document.
Prime Minister Howard conveyed to me Australia's decision to participate in the Expo 2005 and I expressed my gratitude, and also like to extend our warmest welcome. Also we agreed to conduct various exchange programs towards the year 2006, which will be the 30th anniversary of the basic treaty of friendship and cooperation between Japan and Australia. We discussed not just Japan/Australia relations, but also global issues and we adopted a joint statement on counter-terrorism. The fight against terrorism will continue to be prolonged and very tough and our two countries will cooperate in that fight, and we shall carry on firmly in our fight against terrorism through our bilateral cooperation as well.
On weapons of mass destruction, we reaffirmed our positive stance towards the proliferation and security initiative. We also agreed to cooperate on the international coordination for Iraq's reconstruction and the establishment of a Government by the Iraqi people themselves... I should say reconstruction of Iraq, of the Iraqi people by the Iraqi people for the Iraqi people.
Our two countries, that share interests in the Asia Pacific region, reaffirmed their close cooperation in dealing with the North Korean issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile uses. Prime Minister Howard expressed his support for Japan's North Korea policy, including our policy vis-a-vis the resolution of the abduction issue.
Turning to the situation in the Solomon Islands, I expressed my support for the assistance that Pacific Island states will provide under the leadership of Australia. Japan shall extend its assistance as much as possible for the Solomon Islands as well. Certainly numerous issues will arise in the future and on the basis of mutual trust and friendship, I look forward to maintaining close cooperation with Prime Minister Howard. I believe we had a very good meeting.
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD:
Ladies and gentlemen, I again expressed my pleasure at being in Tokyo to have once again an opportunity of talking in a very open and direct manner to Mr Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan. The relationship between our two countries is very deep. It is built on a great deal of mutual respect and a very closely shared exchange in so many fields over the last 40 to 50 years. It is not only an economic relationship. It has increasingly become a people to people relationship. And as our discussion this afternoon indicated, it is a relationship which increasingly is concerned with the strategic challenges of our region.
We spent a great deal of time talking about the challenge of North Korea. I share the resentment and vigorous reaction of the Japanese Government and the Japanese people regarding the abduction of the citizens of this country in North Korea. And the Prime Minister is totally justified in pursuing that matter as a central element of the resolution of the North Korean issue. It is an issue that does need to be resolved with the involvement of all of the major players, meaning in particular of course the two Koreas, Japan, China, the United States and of course perhaps the Russian Federation. It is an issue though that is of concern to all countries in the region and I was very grateful that our views on it were so similar because it is important that close friends such as Japan and Australia cooperate as closely as possible on an issue as difficult as this.
I took the opportunity of our discussion to thank the Prime Minister for the forthright support that he extended to the coalition of the willing in the campaign in Iraq. It was not an easy decision for him domestically and I respect very much the leadership that he has shown on that matter. I also was very grateful for what he had to say about our role in relation to the Solomons and indicating that he would give consideration to what assistance Japan might be able to afford in that area.
I welcome very warmly the signature of the new economic and trade framework, and also the joint declaration on counter-terrorism. The world for all of us has changed a great deal since I was last in Japan in a bilateral meeting. It was in fact in August of 2001. And one of the major discussions inevitably at that time surrounded economic matters. And whilst economic and trade matters remain very important, it is a metaphor for the changed world in which we live that so much of our discussion this afternoon should have quite properly surrounded strategic and security issues, because they are of very great importance.
Japan and Australia are very close friends. We value very deeply the economic relationship. We value even more deeply the people to people relationship and the fact that more than 700,000 people from your country choose to visit Australia every year, and I hope that this visit in a very tangible way will further strengthen that relationship. And can I say how much I appreciate the opportunity on a personal level of seeing the Prime Minister again. It is our third meeting in a bilateral context, but we of course have the opportunity of seeing each other frequently also at APEC and other meetings.
JOURNALIST:
Hakamada, TV Tokyo. A question with regard to North Korea Prime Minister Koizumi. For the resolution of the nuclear issue and the abduction issue which is in a stalemate, I wonder how you wish to establish coordination with Australia which has diplomatic relations with North Korea. And at this stage, is there any specific measure Japan has for the resolution of these problems?
PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI:
On the North Korean issue in my meeting with Prime Minister Howard today, we did exchange views very candidly. Australia and North Korea indeed do have diplomatic relations but these are not really deep relations as you can understand from what Prime Minister Howard has said just now. The abduction issue, the nuclear issue - all these and others need to be resolved in a comprehensive manner. That is Japan's policy. On the 17th of September last year we issued a Japan/North Korea Pyongyang declaration and we seek the resolution of all these problems in accordance with that declaration. That is what I conveyed to Prime Minister Howard. Now behind closed doors, we today - Japan, North Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, China - these countries are conducting an exchange of information and also are trying to figure out other's true intents. And also you see a lot of information flying around surrounding these circumstances. Now as far as Japan is concerned, we believe that North Korea should strive for normalisation talks with Japan in accordance with the Pyongyang declaration. In many respects, the North Koreans have been making rather provocative statements and behaviour. I believe such provocative statements will not be in the interests of North Korea itself and certainly would be meaningless for them.
Japan shall not succumb to intimidations and threats, and I believe that is the same for other countries as well. We shall deal with the situation calmly and also shall encourage North Korea to show a genuine attitude towards the international community and that it shall try to become a responsible member of the international community instead of seeking isolation. We should like to communicate this point to the North Koreans that such a response would be in the interests of North Korea, and also we have in my meetings with President Bush, have been communicating to the United States that the response to Iraq and North Korea should be different. And I also have spoken that I am confident that we shall attain at the end of the day a diplomatic and peaceful resolution of these problems. Now certainly it is a difficult party to deal with, so I'm sure there will be various difficulties in our negotiations, but we shall try to overcome all these difficulties through close coordination with Korea and the United States, and also in keeping with the policy we have had, shall try to lead North Korea to the table for negotiations through dialogue and pressures, so that at the end of the day we shall be able to normalise relations with North Korea. And Prime Minister Howard has shown very strong words of understanding and also support.
JOURNALIST:
Mark Riley, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. Prime Minister Koizumi, you said that Japan has adopted a positive stance on the proliferation security initiative. Does that extend to support for a proposed multinational interdiction force to block North Korean vessels? And how real do you see the risk of a regional arms race as countries move to match North Korea's arsenal as a defence mechanism?
PRIME MINISTER KOIZUMI:
As far as Japan is concerned, inspections of North Korean vessels and other measures with regard to such measures, we should like to first of all see what sort of specific measures Australia or the United States have for such interdiction. We do not know as yet what concrete plans they have, so upon seeing what sort of measures they are planning, we should like to consider what sort of response would be appropriate for Japan. Now, the North Koreans have been making various statements that relate to missiles and nuclear weapons development that cause concerns in the mind of the international community. As for Japan, its response and its defence posture, Japan has this posture that is excessively defensive and in cooperation with the United States and also on the basis of Japan/US security arrangements, we shall respond to that problem. So there is no change in that respect. And Japan shall... we shall not engage in direct preparations to respond to North Korea's provocations, but at all times we should like to always think of how we could respond to that by considering what is the appropriate defence posture for Japan. And we shall respond with calm, but we are constantly aware of the Japan/US alliance. It is important that the Japan alliance be functional on the basis of mutual trust. Of course, when it comes to the defence of Japan, Japan itself must take responsibility and we should like to in our daily life consider what sort of defence posture would be appropriate.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Ukai with the Asahi Newspaper. A question for Prime Minister Howard with regard to the Iraq war. Japan together with Australia supported the US response, but the weapons of mass destruction have not been found yet. As a leader of a country that has sent soldiers, I wonder what thoughts you have with regard to this problem of weapons of mass destruction?
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD:
Our view is that the involvement in the war against Iraq was justified on the basis of international law. The legal justification was the failure of Iraq to comply with quite a number of Security Council resolutions. The intelligence available to those who assess intelligence for the Government presented a strong case in relation to WMD capability. Those who are suggesting that none will be found, I think are reaching premature conclusions. I remain of the view that it will be found.
JOURNALIST:
Glenn Milne, the Channel 7 television network in Australia. To you, Mr Howard. Your counterpart there in reference to the interdiction of North Korean vessels said he would be interested to know what the US and Australia's plans were in that regard. Can you enlighten us on that, and would we be prepared to go ahead with the United States unilaterally if other countries were not involved? And a second one if I may - in Australia this morning our Foreign Minister suggested that we believe North Korea has up to three nuclear devices but they cannot yet be delivered to Australia. Do we have any assessment about how soon they will be able to develop that capability?
PRIME MINISTER HOWARD:
Well Glenn in relation to the second question, I can't provide any more information than the Foreign Minister provided. In relation to the first question, you will be aware that there has been no decision taken by the Australian Government to be involved in interdiction. What we have agreed is that we will take part in some exercises, and we have in mind that those exercises will be some extension of already arranged Coral Sea exercises between the American and the Australian naval forces. Beyond that, we haven't planned any. And it is literally not the case that we have committed ourselves. I know some people are saying that and writing that and reporting that, but that is not true. Obviously though, if you engage in exercises and you later decide to be involved in something, you are better prepared for that involvement. So far as enlightening people, there will need to be further discussions, and at this stage I think everybody is running ahead of themselves and I can understand why you want to know, but at this stage all we have agreed to do is to further discuss the matter. Arising out of the Brisbane meeting, all of the participants in effect took the matter on an ad referendum basis of going back and talking about it and thinking about it, and we have agreed to have these exercises with the Americans, but it oughtn't to automatically be construed from that we've definitely decided on interdiction or indeed that we've decided precisely on what form it will take.
[ends]