Press Conference

1. Announcements

None

2. Questions and Answers

Question:
Today, you made a report on dispatching a facilities unit to the South Sudan PKO mission. However, there have been on-site reports of a military clash in the northern areas, and concerns for security are rising there. In view of instructing the dispatchment of the unit, what kind of safety measures are you envisioning to ensure the safety of the personnel?

Minister:
I have twice dispatched an investigative team to the site, and they have basically conducted an investigation with an emphasis on the security conditions in South Sudan. With regard to said incident that occurred in the northern areas, since it is quite far away in terms of distance, and we have received various situation reports regarding the security situation around an area in our assumptions, Juba, and the degree of cooperation given by the regions in South Sudan toward the various activities conducted by the U.N. and so on, we have judged that this particular incident will have no direct effect on the issue of security in the region where we will be conducting the dispatch.

Question:
Could you give us a brief summary of what was reported at the cabinet meeting?

Minister:
I think that will be officially announced by the Chief Cabinet Secretary. I have reported that since we have made the investigation, we will go into full preparation once the dispatch has been officially decided.

Question:
Is it correct that the Chief Cabinet Secretary has officially announced the facilities unit in the cabinet meeting?

Minister:
There will be an announcement on that later.

Question:
It has been a little vague as to how much discussions have been made within the party concerning the dispatching of the facilities unit. Can we assume that enough discussions have been conducted on this?

Minister:
There are some members within the party that have a very strong interest in these matters, so in the process of getting this done, we have conducted explanations in various department meetings and such at the point where we decided on the PKO dispatch. Therefore, I feel that coordination with the party has been adequately conducted.

Question:
Was there any explanation from the Prime Minister regarding the direction of the dispatch?

Minister:
There was none for today. I already gave an explanation of the situation to the Prime Minister yesterday.

Question:
Although the official decision may be some time in the future, what is the significance of dispatching the PKO facilities unit to South Sudan?

Minister:
The significance it will have for our country is basically something that the Foreign Ministry should flesh out. However, I personally felt from the beginning that the significance of dispatching personnel to a country like South Sudan, which has just achieved independence, is that the Self-Defense Force (SDF) facilities unit should play a role where they will leave their mark on the nation-building process of South Sudan. On the other hand, in international terms, I think other countries have a strong interest in the independence of South Sudan and how they are going to go about their nation-building, and in achieving peace and stability. Therefore, when Prime Minister Noda expressed his interest at the U.N. General Assembly in September, we conducted two thorough on-site investigations, and we have suggested to the investigative teams that a simple on-site investigation will not be enough, and to firmly assess the specifics of what area we are going to be in and what we will be doing once we go into South Sudan, beginning with safety issues. Since we are starting out on a new mission, it is important to appeal that Japan is doing its part in the international community, and basically, we should contribute our efforts in the initial stages of the nation-building of South Sudan.

Question:
For this time, is there any particular feature with regard to safety of the personnel to stress how much effort is being put into ensuring their safety?

Minister:
We have had many prior achievements in PKO activities, so what we should check on in advance in that region would probably come down to hygiene issues. Since it is located far away from Japan, this is one reason why we conducted a detailed confirmation on various logistical support measures. Health management is also important, too.

Question:
The Prime Minister mentioned this yesterday, as well, that the standards for weapon use and the five principles of PKO will be conducted within the framework of the current laws. However, there seems to be an argument to revise the PKO laws in the division meeting. Do you perceive the need for such things?

Minister:
In the case of South Sudan, I don't feel there is a need to revise the five principles. One of the major duties of the investigative team that was sent on-site was to give a detailed explanation of our requirement to our counterparts, and to gain their understanding. We are still studying the various issues over the revising of the five principles, but it is important to make a thorough check on each individual case. It will certainly not be right to say that if it is to be revised, it can be done as we please, so the philosophy of the existing five principles will be observed. On the other hand, we are still studying various elements on this issue.

Question:
Regarding the dispatching of the primary unit, can we assume that this will be done within the year?

Minister:
For this year, there will be a need for preparations, so it's not going to be that easy, since we need to conduct various preparations such as precautionary measures for the personnel and tending various materials. When considering such things, I feel that it's going to be difficult to do this within the year.

Question:
In that case, early next year?

Minister:
Yes.

Question:
How should we understand the overall size of the dispatching unit?

Minister:
For that, the advance team will go in first, and then gradually build up its size while observing the developments, since there are issues such as preparations of accommodation facilities by the receiving side and the actual activities that the facilities unit will be undertaking. I think that we will observe these developments, and then gradually increase the number of personnel there.

Question:
What's the final size that you're envisioning?

Minister:
The overall size is still not defined at the moment, since this will depend on how much support we will be providing.

(End)