ON SECOND DAY IN JAPAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS OFFICIALS OF RULING, OPPOSITION PARTIES, DISCUSSES JAPAN'S SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS

Press Release
SG/T/2021

ON SECOND DAY IN JAPAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL MEETS OFFICIALS OF RULING, OPPOSITION PARTIES, DISCUSSES JAPAN'S SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS

(Received from the Spokesman travelling with the Secretary-General.)

TOKYO, 4 April -- The Secretary-General spent the second day of his official visit to Japan meeting political leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties. He also met parliamentarians and addressed the United Nations Association of Japan.

During the course of the day the Secretary-General spoke by telephone with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who descried the serious deterioration of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, following the Israeli Government's closure of the territories. The Secretary-General has submitted Mr. Arafat's recent letter to him on the subject to both the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Secretary-General had also written last week to Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres urging him to consider lifting, at least gradually, the closure of Gaza and the West Bank. A prolonged closure, he said, may create a climate of frustration in the territories in which the ability of the Palestinian Authority to combat terrorism and to work constructively with the Government of Israel to that end could be seriously hampered.

The Secretary-General met individually with Ichiro Ozawa, President of the Shinshin-to (New Frontier Party); Masayoshi Takemura, President of the Sakigake Party; Tomiichi Murayama, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, and a former Prime Minister of Japan; Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime Minister and a current member of the Liberal Democratic Party, and Susumu Nikaido, President of the Japan Parliamentarians' League for the Promotion of United Nations activities.

During those meetings, the Secretary-General discussed Japan's support for United Nations peace-keeping operations, preventive diplomacy, and the subject of disarmament, including mine clearance. He reviewed the various problems confronting the United Nations and efforts to resolve the financial crisis and reform the Organization. Other topics ranged from the situation in the East Asia region to the former Yugoslavia, and the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

- 2 - Press Release SG/T/2021 4 April 1996

The Secretary-General was the guest of honour at a luncheon hosted by the President of the United Nations Association of Japan, former Prime Minister Zentaro Kosaka.

Addressing the group of United Nations-watchers, including senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corps, the Secretary- General said that "as long as the financial crisis persists, other efforts to reform, cut back and restructure cannot succeed, and the future of the Organization itself is in danger".

Tomorrow, Friday, will be the Secretary-General's last full day in Japan. He will give a press conference at the Japan National Press Club and, together with Mrs. Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary-General will be received by Their Imperial Highnesses the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Japan. The Secretary-General will visit the Tsukuba University and the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention.

The Secretary-General is scheduled to return to New York on Saturday, 6 April.

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