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2010/05/28
Hirano holds press conference, discusses Futenma, North Korean sanctions
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On May 28, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano held a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office, in which he revealed that Prime Minister Hatoyama had had a phone conversation with US President Obama for around 20 minutes at just after 8 am that morning.
According to Hirano, during their conversation, in addition to the Japan-US relationship, the two had discussed the recent sinking of the Korean naval vessel, and the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.
With regard to US-Japan relations, Hirano said Hatoyama had referred to the Joint Statement issued by the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee (two-plus-two), and said that he wished to further deepen and develop the Japan-US alliance, and that, for this purpose as well, while continuing to work to obtain the understanding of the people of Okinawa regarding the relocation of Futenma base, he would like cooperate with the United States in working toward the construction of the facility and the reduction of the burden placed on Okinawa. Obama showed his appreciation for the efforts made by Hatoyama, and expressed his agreement for his statement, as well as saying that he hoped both Japan and the US would continue to make more efforts.
With regard to the sinking of the Republic of Korea’s naval vessel, the two leaders were in agreement in strongly condemning North Korea’s actions as unforgiveable, and for the need to cooperate with the Republic of Korea and to strengthen cooperation between Japan and the United States, including in the response to this matter in the UN Security Council.
Hatoyama expressed his concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear development program, and it was confirmed that Japan and the US would liaise closely on this issue, including their response in the UN Security Council.
Hirano also revealed that he himself had announced additional sanctions on North Korea in the Cabinet meeting. (1) reduction of the lower limit for declaring cash carried to North Korea from amounts of 300 thousand yen and over to amounts of 100 thousand yen and over, and (2) reduction of the lower limit for declaring remittances to persons having an address in North Korea from amounts of 10 million yen or over to amounts of 1 million yen and over. Furthermore, in response to instructions from the Prime Minister regarding sanctions already implemented to “prohibit the import of all products from North Korea” and to “prohibit the export of all products destined for North Korea”, Hirano said that the government will step up liaison efforts between the government ministries and agencies concerned and take stricter stance in order to prevent imports and exports via third countries.
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