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President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister
Fukuda of Japan
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 6, 2008

President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with Prime Minister
Fukuda of Japan Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa Toyako, Japan

ÿÿWhite House News
ÿÿPhotos

ÿÿÿÿÿ G8 Summit 2008

5:13 P.M. (Local)

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: (As translated.) We had a very substantive meeting
with President Bush for about an hour. In the meeting, we first shared the
view that peace and stability in this region in the past decades have been
maintained, thanks to the Japan-U.S. alliance. We then reaffirmed that in
the seven and a half years or so since the inauguration of the Bush
administration in January of 2001, the alliance has deepened by leaps and
bounds in security, economic, people-to-people exchanges, and other areas.
And we agreed to further strengthen this alliance.

In the security area, cooperation between Japan and the United States grew
more concrete, substantive and broader in nature, as exemplified by the
cooperation in the fight against terrorism and assistance for Iraqi
reconstruction following 9/11, the agreement on and steady implementation
of a road map for U.S. forces realignment, and the joint development of
ballistic missile and successful intercept tests.

On North Korean issues, I told President Bush that the verification of
their declaration is extremely important to realize complete nuclear
abandonment by North Korea; that simultaneous settlement of
denuclearization and the abduction issue will be important; and that to
that end, Japan wishes to continue to cooperate closely with the United
States. And President Bush concurred with me and told me that he will never
forget the abduction issue.

I was encouraged to hear from him that the U.S. position on the abduction
issue -- that is to say a clear-cut support for Japanese position --
remains unchanged, and that the United States will remain in close
coordination with Japan on the issue. As agreed between us on the nuclear
and abduction issues, we shall continue to deal with the issue, maintaining
close coordination between our two countries.

On the economic aspects, the interdependence between Japan and the United
States has grown closer than before. Since 2000, Japanese direct investment
to the United States has increased approximately 30 percent; Japanese
businesses in the United States have about 610,000 people on their
payrolls. And U.S. direct investment in Japan also has increased
approximately 60 percent.

I wish to also point out that mutual understanding between our countries
has reached a high level at the grassroots level. I shall make sure to
follow up the initiative I announced during my visit to the United States
last year to step up Japan-U.S. exchanges so that the foundation for our
alliance will become unshakeable.

In order to further deepen this alliance, I explained to President Bush my
belief that it will be important to further step up policy coordination in
Asia and bilateral cooperation in addressing global challenges, such as
climate change, African development, and disaster reduction. And President
Bush expressed his agreement on this.

On African development, we agreed that we should further step up our
bilateral cooperation to increase the production of major crops in Africa,
including doubling of rice production, and to promote their trade and
distribution. On disaster reduction, following the recent spate of several
natural -- severe natural disasters in Asia in recent years, I wish to step
up cooperation between our two countries to build up cooperation in Asia on
disaster prevention.

On climate change, we also had discussions and we have a common
understanding that is our common responsibility to leave the beautiful
Earth to our posterity since this -- climate change is one of the most
severe challenges that humankind faces today, and that we shall continue to
cooperate with the G8. And with regard to soaring food and oil prices,
which are having negative impact on the world economy, we agreed there's a
need for expeditious efforts on these fronts.

President Bush, please.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your hospitality, and
thank you for inviting us to this beautiful place. Laura and I are really
looking forward to dinner with you and Mrs. Fukuda tonight. And I agree
with your assessment that we had very important and fruitful discussions.

We discussed a variety of subjects, starting with the -- our work together
to make sure the Korean Peninsula, all the Korean Peninsula, is free of
nuclear weapons. I am fully aware of the sensitivity of the issue here in
your country. I am aware that people want to make sure that the abduction
issue is not ignored, and that there are suspicions about whether or not
the North Koreans will be fully forthcoming. I view this process as a
multi-step process that requires strong verification.

One thing is for certain, is that North Korea did provide a declaration of
its plutonium-related activities and did blow up the cooling tower of its
reactor at Yongbyon. That's been verified, and that also is a positive
step. But there are more steps to be taken. We are concerned about enriched
uranium, and proliferation, and human rights abuses, ballistic missile
programs. I view this process as a multi-step process where there will be
action for action.

The Prime Minister gave me the book of Ms. Yokota. I had the privilege of
meeting her in the Oval Office. I was deeply touched by her story about the
abduction of her little girl. As a father of little girls, I can't imagine
what it would be like to have my daughter just disappear. So, Mr. Prime
Minister, as I told you on the phone when I talked to you and in the past,
the United States will not abandon you on this issue.

We worked -- we talked about Japan's contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and I thank your government and I thank the people of Japan for helping
others realize the blessings of liberty. We talked about Iran and the
importance of Iran to listen to the demands, the just demands of the world
to verifiably suspend its enrichment programs.

We haven't had a chance to talk about Burma yet, but I intend to bring it
up with the Prime Minister. I'm deeply concerned about that country. Their
response to the recent natural disaster was unwarranted, at best. And we
urge the regime to free Aung Suu -- Aung San Suu Kyi.

We talked about the G8, and I believe this is going to be a successful G8,
Mr. Prime Minister. This is my eighth one. I've got a pretty good sense
about whether or not a G8 is going to be a success or maybe not such a
success. This one is going to be a success.

We've got a lot to talk about. I appreciate very much your strong belief in
the accountability aspect of this meeting. In other words, when people say
they're -- make a pledge to feed the hungry or provide for the ill, that we
ought to honor that pledge. And I thank you for understanding that. And I
also thank you for your concern about neglected tropical diseases, as well
as helping train health workers in Africa so that they can be compassionate
citizens of their respective countries.

We'll talk about food and energy, of course. And then I've got two other
subjects that I want to make sure we spend a fair amount of time on. One is
the Doha Round. It's an opportunity for us, Mr. Prime Minister, to promote
free and fair trade, and it's going to be an essential part of the
development agenda. And the truth of the matter is, we can give grants, but
the best way to help the impoverished around the world is through trade.
It's a proven fact. And this is an opportunity to set up a successful
ministerial in July -- I think it's July 21st for the Doha Round.

And then I'm going to spend some time, of course, sharing my views about
the environment and how we can advance our common agenda, and that --
remind people that the United States and Japan really do lead the world in
research when it comes to clean technologies.

I think I was sharing my views with some of the Japanese press when they
were in the United States, Mr. Prime Minister, about how Japan is going to
lead the world when it comes to battery technologies, and that I anticipate
our country will be able to be using battery technologies in automobiles
that look like cars, not golf carts, and which will save us a lot of -- a
lot of, you know, reliance upon oil. And this will be a great opportunity
to discuss that, as well as our common desire to move our common agenda.

And so I want to thank you very much for your hospitality and I appreciate
very much your candid discussion that we had.

Q Both of you have commented on global warming, and so I'd like to ask
about that to both of you. First, Prime Minister Fukuda, were you
successful in getting President Bush's agreement to cooperate -- to get a
G8 agreement on long-term target to have greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
globally?

So first that question. And second question for President Bush. Mr.
President, you've been saying that participation of China and India, among
others, will be essential for a long-term target. Do you think that -- are
going to cooperate on getting a G8 agreement on long-term target this time?
And also, as for assistance for African countries that are suffering from
negative impact of global warming, I wonder what thoughts you have,
President Bush.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Allow me to first respond. As I said earlier on the
global warming issue, including long-term targets, I agreed with President
Bush to continue to cooperate in the run-up to the G8. On whether G8 will
agree on long-term target or not, that is something that G8 is continuing
consultations. So at this stage what I wish to say is that we leaders will
get down to in-depth discussions on this day after tomorrow.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'll be constructive. I've always advocated that there
needs to be a common understanding, and that starts with a goal. And I also
am realistic enough to tell you that if China and India don't share that
same aspiration, that we're not going to solve the problem.

And so I appreciate the Prime Minister's leadership on this issue. And the
United States will -- we're working, working to see if we can come up with
a constructive -- constructive statement.

I didn't get your question on Africa. What was the question on Africa? Ask
it again, please.

Q Well, I wanted to ask for your thoughts, your views on support for
Africa, which will be negatively affected by global warming. Do you have
any plans for supporting Africa?

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- starts with understanding that babies are needlessly
dying because of mosquito bites, and therefore, wealthy nations ought to
step up and provide mosquito nets, DDT, as well as medicine. My concern for
Africa starts with knowing that too many people are dying of HIV/AIDS. And
that's why the United States Congress joined the administration in
supporting a $15 billion effort to help people get anti-retroviral drugs,
help orphans get help, and help put a effective prevention program in
place. The amount -- number of people who have gone on anti-retrovirals
today has grown from 50,000 to 1.7 million people.

I'm concerned about people going hungry. And so we'll be very constructive
in the dialogue when it comes to the environment. I care about the
environment. But today there's too much suffering on the continent of
Africa, and now is the time for the comfortable nations to step up and do
something about it.

Q Thank you. Mr. President, oil prices are up. The economy is in a serious
downturn. What can world leaders do? And would you approve of intervention
to strengthen the U.S. dollar, which many people say is contributing to the
rise in oil prices?

And, Mr. Prime Minister, do you believe that the U.S. is holding up moving
forward on climate change?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First of all, our economy is not growing as robustly as
we'd like. We had positive growth in the first quarter. We'll see what
happens here in the second quarter. But nevertheless, we're not as strong
as we have been during a lot of my presidency. And so, as you well know,
Toby, we passed a stimulus bill that is now in the process of passing money
back to consumers, which had a positive effect, and hopefully will continue
to have a positive effect.

We'll work with the Congress to get a housing bill out. We're -- we passed
uninsurance benefits -- unemployment benefits -- excuse me. And yet we got
a problem when it comes to reliance upon foreign sources of oil. For seven
years I've been trying to get the Congress to explore for oil domestically.
Now is the time, when they come back from their 4th of July vacations, to
open up ANWR and open up the Outer Continental Shelf, so that we can say to
the world that we will do our part in increasing supply, so that we can
transition from this period of reliance upon hydrocarbons to a new period
of advanced technologies.

In terms of the dollar, the United States strongly believes -- believes in
a strong dollar policy and believes that our -- the strength of our economy
will be reflected in the dollar.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: No, I just said the relative strength of our economy will
be reflected in currencies.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: With regard to global warming or climate change, the
question was how do I see U.S. response. Is that a correct understanding of
your question? Well, between Japan and the United States, discussions are
-- been going on at various levels. The U.S. I believe has not really lost
a sense of direction, generally, and that between our two countries we have
consultations going on. And through these consultations, I think our views
are gradually converging.

At the G8 this time, well, I'll be chairing the meeting, so I've asked the
President for his cooperation to this chair and he has shown his kind
understanding. What the results will be, well, we have to wait until the
conclusion comes out at the meeting the day after tomorrow.

Q On North Korea, I'd like to ask questions of the two leaders. First,
President Bush. North Korea recently submitted their declaration on nuclear
development programs, but that declaration did not include a declaration
regarding nuclear weapons. Are you satisfied with that sort of declaration,
Mr. President? And also in connection with this -- or in connection with
the declaration, Mr. President, you decided to notify Congress about
removing North Korea from the status of state sponsor of terrorism list.
There is rising concern about abduction in Japan. You said you will not
forget about abduction, but would there be -- after removal of North Korea
from the list, what sort of means will there remain for the United States
to press North Korea to resolve the abduction issue?

Now, Mr. Fukuda, I wonder in your discussions you asked the President to
rethink the President's decision to remove North Korea from the list. If
not, why didn't you ask? Now, following the removal of North Korea from the
list, what sort of specific cooperation would you seek from the United
States to advance the abduction issue?

PRESIDENT BUSH: North Korea is the most sanctioned nation in the world, and
will remain the most sanctioned nation in the world. And the way for them
to get off their sanctions is to honor their commitments in a verifiable
fashion.

Somehow there's this notion -- inherent in your question is the delisting
therefore took away their sanctions. That's just not an accurate statement
on your part -- if you think that -- I'm not assuming you do think that,
but -- they're a highly sanctioned regime. And as I said, they've got a lot
of obligations that they must fulfill in order for these sanctions to
leave.

And that's why I said it is action for action. And the first step was
taken. Now, one thing is for certain, I repeat -- I don't know if you saw
it on your -- on the TVs here, but the destruction of the cooling tower was
verifiable action. And that's a positive step. But as I mentioned in my
opening statement, we have other concerns, and one such concern, of course,
is the abduction issue.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, the North Korean declaration on their nuclear
programs -- well, when you think about the abduction issue, I think the
suggestion of your question, what you were suggesting is that we should
seek U.S. to rescind that decision. Well, as far as nuclear issue is
concerned, well, we have moved on to a new phase, and I think we need to
make sure this will be successful, because it will be in the interest of
Japan, as well. At the same time, in parallel, we need to bring the
abduction issue to successful conclusion, as well.

So against this backdrop of progress in the nuclear front, we need to also
strive for progress on the abduction front, as well. And to that end, we
need to have good-faith discussions with North Korea. So far we have not
seen any progress, but we need to engage in negotiations so that progress
will be produced. Because abduction is not progressing, on the nuclear
front we should not make progress -- that is something we should not -- we
should avoid, and I believe we need to make progress on both fronts,
because that will be important for Japan, and I think that will be
necessary for North Korea, as well.

Time is pressing now. Last question from the U.S. side, please.

Q Good afternoon. Mr. President, I'd like to ask you a question about
China. I was wondering if you could, first of all, explain a little bit
about your thinking behind your decision to attend the Opening Ceremonies
of the Olympics next month. And more generally, I'm wondering what you
would say to the -- your friends and allies in the United States who are
very concerned about religious freedom and human rights in China, the
situation in Sudan and Burma -- what would you say to them of what has come
from your approach to dealing with President Hu over the last seven years.

And I'd also like to ask the Japanese Prime Minister whether you're paying
close attention to the American election? And in particular, I'm curious if
you can discern any differences right now between the two candidates as it
relates to Japan, in particular, and more broadly in terms of how they
would approach Asia.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I view the Olympics as a opportunity for me to cheer on our
athletes. It's an athletic event. I had the honor of dealing with the
Chinese -- two Chinese Presidents during my term, and every time I have
visited with them I have talked about religious freedom and human rights.
And so, therefore, my decision to go was -- I guess I don't need the
Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so.

I also believe that the Chinese people are watching very carefully about
the decisions by world leaders, and that this -- I happen to believe not
going to the opening games would be -- the Opening Ceremony for the Games
would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult
to have a -- to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership.
That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. And I'm looking forward to cheering
the athletes. I think it will be -- I think it would be good for these
athletes who have worked hard to see their President waving that flag.

Q -- (inaudible) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, in some areas we've made progress on a common
agenda; other areas we haven't. But nevertheless, I have been very clear in
my view that, for example, a whole society is one that honors religion, and
that people shouldn't fear religious people. After all, truly religious
people love their neighbor, and that China benefits from people being able
to worship freely.

It looks like there's some progress, at least in the talks with the Dalai
Lama. And by the way, as you know, I'm the first President ever to have
stood up publicly with the Dalai Lama, and told President Hu Jintao I was
going to. And he wasn't that pleased about it, but nevertheless, I said I
believe in a religious freedom, Mr. President.

And so it's -- and I hope I have a bilateral -- I might have a bilateral
with him here, and I bet I do when I'm in Beijing, as well, and, of course,
the subject will come up.

PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: Well, your question for me, was it along the same
line, as well? Well, and if that is the case -- well, I -- whether I'll
attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games or not, I have not made
any official announcement on this because the day after the Opening
Ceremony of the Olympics, there is an important event in Japan and I have
to attend that important ceremony, and therefore -- or event -- therefore,
I really have to make sure I would have time to get back for that. Now I
know that I'll able to get back in time. So here for the first time, I will
announce that I -- announce officially that I will attend the Opening
Ceremony of the Olympics.

Now -- and, in fact, the President said something to the same effect, that
Olympics are a sport events and we want people to really live up to the
spirit of the sports, sportsmanship. And I certainly encourage that. And
there are many aspiring athletes that will be going to Beijing, and I would
like to cheer them on, too, which I think is only natural. I don't think
you really have to link Olympics to politics.

Now, there certainly may be problems with China, but even so, they are
striving to improve things. They're on the way to improve things, and we'd
like to closely watch how they do. In the past, Japan has come through
various experiences, and the U.S. and others criticized Japan for certain
behaviors. So we have had experience in that reality, and we are now here
today. So we really have to be -- have humility in asking ourselves, do we
have the right to make those points to China and others.

Now, I would not hope that there will be chaos in China. I would not want
Chinese to become unhappy. We are neighbors, after all, and it will good
for Japan if our neighbors are in a sound state, as well. So with that in
mind, as well, I shall attend the Opening Ceremony.

MODERATOR: It's time, so we'd like to conclude the press conference at this
time.

END 5:43 P.M. (Local)

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