27 April 2004
Mueller Says U.S., Japan United Against Crime, Terrorism
FBI director welcomes Diet action on legal assistance treaty
In confronting the threats of terrorism and international organized crime, the United States benefits from a close working relationship with Japan, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert S. Mueller III.
Mueller, who was in Japan for meetings with law enforcement and justice ministry officials, answered questions at an April 23 press conference at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
"We're fortunate to have in our counterparts here in Japan exceptionally professional, expert policing agencies," he said. "[T]he purpose of my visit was to build on those relationships...understanding that our success in the FBI, and in law enforcement in general in the future, will be dependent upon those relationships."
The FBI director said he was "gratified" that the Upper House of the Diet, Japan's parliament, had just unanimously passed the bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. When ratified, the treaty, signed in August 2003, will require the two countries to provide mutual legal assistance in investigations, prosecutions, and other proceedings in criminal matters, and will establish direct lines of communication between designated central authorities on each side. It is currently under review by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate.
Mueller also expressed appreciation for Japan's commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq, acknowledging the difficulty that the Japanese government had faced in dealing with recent hostage crises.
"I cannot think of another country where we have a closer relationship," he said. "We have stood side by side together in addressing threats in the past, we are standing side by side together today...and I expect that we will be standing side by side as we address these threats in the future."
The FBI director answered reporters' questions on terrorist threats to Japan, human trafficking in Japan, maritime security, North Korea, and possible links between global terrorist networks and militia groups in Iraq.
Following is the transcript of his press conference, provided by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo:
(begin transcript)
U.S. Embassy-Tokyo Press Office
TRANSCRIPT
FBI Director Robert. S. Mueller III
Press Conference
23 April 2004
U.S. Embassy
Tokyo
DIRECTOR ROBERT MUELLER: Thank you and good afternoon everyone. It is a pleasure to be in Tokyo; it is a pleasure to be in Japan. I'm here visiting my counterparts in law enforcement as well as the Justice Ministry and other individuals in large part because we all know, in this day and age, that to address the threats that face each of our countries, whether it be terrorism, narcotics trafficking, trafficking of persons, cyber crime - it takes the full partnership of all of us working together. With the world growing smaller as a result of jet travel, wire transfers, the Internet, criminals and others who wish to do us harm can with ease cross borders, utilize electronic equipment to attack us. For us to be successful in addressing these threats of today, it requires all of us to work together.
We have been fortunate over the years to have a very close working relationship with our counterparts in Japan; whether it's addressing counterterrorism or organized crime, we have established relationships over the years where we share information, we share intelligence, we share techniques and we share expertise. We're fortunate to have in our counterparts here in Japan exceptionally professional, expert policing agencies. So the purpose of my visit was to build on those relationships, expand those relationships, understanding that our success in the FBI, and in law enforcement in general in the future, will be dependent upon those relationships.
Let me mention a couple of other things, developments that have occurred over the few months, over the last... actually, today. One of those areas in which we are fortunate to have the capacity and the framework to exchange information is the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which has been signed and today was unanimously passed through the Upper House of the Diet. We are gratified for that approval and look forward to that treaty going into existence.
Before I close, let me mention one other thing. We have been fortunate over the years to have our counterparts in Japan stand side by side with us in addressing organized crime, terrorism. We have indeed been fortunate to have Japan standing beside us in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Particularly over the last couple of weeks, when it has been difficult responding to the hostage situation, Japan has stood firmly by our side, and for that we and the American people are extremely thankful. I cannot think of another country where we have a closer relationship. We have stood side by side together in addressing threats in the past, we are standing side by side together today addressing threats to both of our countries, and I expect that we will be standing side by side as we address these threats in the future. With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Yes, Sir.
QUESTION: I'm Satoru Suzuki with TV Asahi of Japan. Mr. Mueller, given what happened to Madrid, Spain prior to the elections in March, and given Japan's support for the war in Iraq, is there any reason in your view why Japan should be worried about a possible terrorist attack prior to the House of Councilors election in July, and is there anything that the United States or the FBI is willing to do together with Japan to prevent such an attack?
MUELLER: Well, I wouldn't specify any particular country as particularly more susceptible than another to attack. Certainly in the wake of the Madrid bombings, or the bombings in Iraq a couple of days ago in which a number of children were killed, or the bombings in Riyadh a couple of days ago, all of us have to be vigilant, to be aware and alert to the possibility of terrorist attacks. Certainly we in the United States, I understand that for the foreseeable future we have to be alert to the possibility that Al-Qaeda wishes to attack within the United States. We in the FBI, along with other agencies in the United States, whether it be Homeland Security or CIA, are alert, vigilant and are looking for individuals who may be in our country or entering our country with the intent to do us harm. We have dramatically improved our capability of identifying those who are supporters of Al-Qaeda or terrorist groups within the United States, and should they venture in the United States we will be following them, we will be on top of them, and will be ensuring that they do not undertake another terrorist attack such as we saw on September 11th. As I said, you are fortunate in Japan to have very professional policing departments. The MPA, the intelligence agencies, are very professional and we have worked closely and cooperatively with them to address the terrorist threat on Japan, as we have in the United States addressed that threat. It is the swift exchange of intelligence that will protect all of us against terrorist attacks, and we have established the mechanisms of sharing that intelligence swiftly to prevent additional attacks.
Yes, sir.
MODERATOR: The Director will point out - go ahead, please.
MUELLER: And I did.
MODERATOR: And he did.
MUELLER: You in the red tie.
MODERATOR: Thanks.
QUESTION: (Jake Adelstein, Yomiuri Shimbun) Thanks. My wife gave me this tie. Thank you, Mr. Mueller, for coming today and speaking with us.
MUELLER: Your wife liked the tie?
QUESTION: My daughter liked the tie too. I guess I like the tie. I should say I like the tie. All right. I am with the Yomiuri Shimbun, a police reporter at the Metropolitan Police Department. I had a question on trafficking, which you mentioned earlier in this. Last year in the State Department report on trafficking of persons, Japan was, well, criticized fairly, well, fairly criticized in response to its dealing with trafficking in that it did not actively pursue traffickers, it did not protect the victims and it did not severely punish people involved in the trafficking problem. Has there been any improvement in Japan's human trafficking law enforcement, and have you discussed improving the prosecution of human trafficking with your Japan counterparts?
MUELLER: Yes, there has been improvement in terms of addressing trafficking in persons. The law enforcement authorities in Japan understand that it is a problem, it is an issue, as does law enforcement around the world. It's not unique to Japan. The fact of the matter is that Japan and Tokyo are at the hub of Asia, whether it be the economic flow of monies, goods, services, but also in the transiting of persons. Understanding its role in the area, Japan has moved to address trafficking in persons. We have in the past had discussions on that. We'll have further discussions in the future. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Richard Lloyd Parry of The Times. A question on maritime terrorism. This is a subject which Admiral Fargo addressed recently in remarks in Washington. He was speaking of the potential for maritime terrorism, particularly in some of the strategic seaways in Southeast Asia. I was wondering if from your position you could comment on the potential danger which this represents, and how concrete are the threats which you have detected in that regard?
MUELLER: It is certainly a threat in the wake of the Cole bombing, other bombings, the Limburg. The possibility of an attack on a ship is certainly a threat that we are concerned about. The key to preventing such attacks is intelligence. We are working, not only with Japan but with other countries who have a substantial maritime economy to address that possibility. Periodically we get specific threats against shipping. Very rarely have we gotten a specific threat against a particular tanker, particular ship, and almost all of the threats do not pan out and are luckily... since those attacks we have not had attacks on shipping. We cannot preclude the possibility, but we along with law enforcement and intelligence components around the world are seeking to address that particular threat. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Joel Legendre from France of RTL and Valmond. Do you have any idea, you and your colleagues, of what is happening now in North Korea? In the way you are monitoring the regions, about terrorism and so on, do you have any idea what is happening right now, in the--this accident that we are talking about?
MUELLER: Well, it's a fairly general question about what's happening in North Korea, and it would be difficult for me to give you a comprehensive answer. Yes we, the United States, the Japanese government, other governments in the region, are looking at North Korea with a skeptical eye, with some concern about proliferation, quite obviously. That's a subject we all discuss. We look at North Korea for the potential of participation in criminal activities such as narcotics trafficking, and together we address the threat that currently is North Korea in a number of areas - proliferation, narcotics trafficking and money laundering. So yes we do look at, yes we do gather intelligence information, yes we do perceive it as being a threat in a number of areas to the safety and security of the countries that surround North Korea.
QUESTION: (Yosuke Watanabe, Kyodo News) There were reports of a huge explosion in a North Korean train station yesterday. Do you have any information on that, and is there any possibility that might be an act of terrorism?
MUELLER: I do not. I have not heard myself at this time what may have caused that explosion. I've heard that there was an explosion. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Kamal Gaballa. I am Al-Ahram correspondent in Tokyo. My question is there are a lot of reports, especially coming from the Middle East, saying that terrorist attacks have increased, especially since the United States led the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. How do you evaluate the result of the war against the terrorist? How do you see the war now after the war in Afghanistan and in Iraq? Thank you.
MUELLER: I think there have been terrorist attacks continuously, certainly before September 11th and starting in 1993 in the United States with the World Trade Center bombing. We had the East Africa bombings. We had, certainly, September 11th. There have been a number of terrorist attacks every few months, and it's not just the United States, but it's in other countries, whether it be Saudi Arabia, in Morocco, in Bali. So there have been a number of terrorist attacks over the years, certainly since September 11th, and I do not believe you can tie those terrorist attacks to a particular initiation of hostilities, whether it be in Afghanistan or in Iraq. What is tremendously troubling is the willingness of certain people to take innocent lives in furtherance of their agenda. One of the points I always make in the United States, and we have a substantial Muslim community in the United States, and the Muslim community in the United States is every bit as supportive of America as any one of our citizens, and the issue that the United States has is not with Muslims, it is not with persons who pursue their faith, it is with those persons who are willing to kill women and children indiscriminately in furtherance of their ideals. So I do not believe it is tied to a particular action that the United States has taken, and indeed within the United States we are lucky to have such a strong and vibrant Muslim community that is part of our country. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Sunohara with Nikkei newspaper. Concerning three Japanese kidnapping cases in Iraq, there are reports from Tokyo and from Washington that US agencies helped the Japanese government, including of course FBI. I would like to ask you whether you could confirm that the FBI helped the Japanese government, and if your answer is yes, what kind of help did you provide to the Japanese government, for example from sharing information to the giving special advice how to evacuate those hostages. Thank you.
MUELLER: When I really have, again, terrorists are acting, taking hostages, we work together. I'm not going to provide any of the details, but to the extent that any of our agencies in the United States could assist, we did assist. Luckily, the situation was resolved fairly quickly, and we're lucky that that occurred. But had it gone on longer, we in the United States would have taken any assets we had to help the government of Japan to free those hostages. As I say, we were lucky that it was resolved fairly quickly. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: My name is Richard (Susilo) from Kompas Indonesia Newspaper. Just following the previous question regarding the strength of the ship tanker, specifically on the Malacca Straits. So how do you feel, specifically on the Malacca Straits, the hijacking, the threat of the ship tanker there? Have you also had good cooperation with the Indonesian authorities on the security of the Malacca Straits? Thank you.
MUELLER: The security of the Straits is difficult. I mean, all of us know that there are acts of piracy, random acts of piracy that occur upon occasion in the Straits. We try to exchange intelligence information and give what support we can to protect the maritime shipping through the Straits. It is an issue, will continue to be an issue as terrorists, I don't want to say pirates, be good to use that word because I think it is applicable in certain circumstances, prey on tankers or other shipping through the Straits. So it's a problem that we are all dealing with. We understand that there is a problem there, and again, we'll be successful by working together, sharing intelligence information and supporting each other in addressing the threats, whether the threat be from terrorists or from others who are seeking a quick profit from taking over a vessel and selling the cargo and selling the vessel. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: I'm Ishiguro from Yomiuri Shimbun. My question is about Mr. Okamoto, that is the researcher who was charged in the United States of economic espionage, and U.S. authorities were requesting the extradition of him to the U.S. But Japan recently refused his extradition in accordance with the court decision. Of course, I believe you are not at all happy with this decision. How this episode, overall, affects the U.S.-Japan relation in the field of judicial cooperation?
MUELLER: The question on Mr. Okamoto - certainly we were disappointed in the ruling of the court, but by the same token, we also understand that we operate under different judicial systems. We have to learn to operate and understand the different judicial systems, legal systems, under which our countries operate. There are occasions when our courts have denied extradition to another country, much to the disappointment of the other country. What I am particularly grateful for is the work of the law enforcement and the Ministry of Justice in fighting hard before the courts to have that extradition ordered. They fought hard, they fought very well and the judges decided against them, but that does not detract from the fact of the great work that they did in furtherance of that extradition. As technology and research grows, our differing judicial systems have to grow to align themselves with the new technology. Unfortunately in some case, whether it be in the cyber arena or in the money-laundering arena or in the protection of intellectual property, the laws in our countries have not adapted fast enough to the growth in technology. What we in both of our countries have to do is push hard for our legislatures to pass the legislation that'll enable us to address criminals who want to take advantage of the fact that laws are somewhat antiquated and don't address the new technologies that are springing up every day, particularly in countries such as Japan that are so technologically advanced. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Thank you. My name is Khaldon Azhari, Petra News Agency Middle East. I just would like to follow up the question of my colleague. The general view in the Arab countries is that the war against terrorism should be done by agencies like your agency or CIA or similar intelligence agencies, not the regular armies, and many commentators think that the military war on terrorism is producing more terrorists and sometimes hatred against the United States, and that was reflected by the statement by President of Egypt Mr. Mubarak. So do you think that the current policy of the United States should lean less on making military operations and depend more on intelligence and fighting terrorists by security arrangements? It's like somebody described it like, in order to get rid of a mosquito, they launched a missile attack on a mosquito. Do you sense the same feeling like that? Thank you.
MUELLER: I would have to disagree with that perspective. I understand the concerns, but I have to disagree with the perspective. We treated terrorism prior to September 11th as a law enforcement issue. We investigated the 1993 bombings of the World Trade Center. We returned indictments. We were successful in bringing a number of individuals before our courts and convicting them and incarcerating them. We did so also with the 1998 East Africa bombings. But the fact of the matter is, terrorists have launched a war. It is a war. We cannot fight the war with one arm behind our backs. Prior to September 11th and Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda had free reign to run camps, to plan, to recruit. The plot against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was hatched, put together, in the camps of Afghanistan, and consequently one of the successes, I believe, against the war on terror for all civilized nations, was to remove the sanctuary in Afghanistan, so that Al-Qaeda can no longer plot, plan, recruit, disrupt communications. Consequently, in the war on terrorism we have to take every step we can, understanding that it is a war, and understanding that we cannot just leave it up to the law enforcement agencies to be successful in that war. Similarly, in Iraq, the incidents that occurred in the last few days are purely terrorist incidents. The bombing in Basra of the police stations and the killing of tens of children can only be described as a terrorist act. We cannot fight terrorists with one hand behind our back - we have to bring them to justice. And with that...One more question?
MODERATOR: One more question.
MUELLER: Yes, sir.
QUESTION: I'm Ichiro Kabasawa with NHK. You have just mentioned that there have been terrorist attacks all over the world. So how do you see the current activities of global terrorist network, and how do you see the linkage between these global terrorist networks and militia attacks in Iraq?
MUELLER: Let me talk generally about, first of all, in the response in the war on terrorism I think we have had tremendous, substantial success around the world, thanks to, in large part, the work of our counterparts in other countries, but also our ability to go in and take the Al-Qaeda sanctuary in Afghanistan away from Al-Qaeda. The plus is that they no longer have that sanctuary. The downside is that now Al-Qaeda is fragmented around the world. But nonetheless, taking away the sanctuary in Afghanistan makes it much harder for them to communicate, makes it much harder to recruit, makes it much harder for them to plan and organize attacks. That is not to say they are not able to do it, because we have seen it in Morocco, we have seen it in Bali, we've seen it around the world. The second area in which have successfully addressed Al-Qaeda is its leadership. With the assistance of our counterparts in other countries, we have detained Khalid Sheik Mohammad, the architect of September 11th; Abu Zubayda; Al Khalid, the architect of the U.S. Cole bombing; Himbali. A number of the major leaders of Al-Qaeda are no longer walking around the face of the Earth able to undertake and plan terrorist attacks. What we have to continue to do is to identify persons who are associated with Al-Qaeda, cells in cities and countries around the world, and together detain those persons who have the capability and the desire to undertake terrorist attacks in which women and children are killed indiscriminately. It is a huge challenge, but we can be successful only if we realize that it is a war. It is a war that has to be conducted with the United States standing side by side with Japan and France and Germany, the U.K., Pakistan, Saudi Arabia. Only by working together we will address the scourge of terrorism and make our countries safe from future attacks.
Thank you very much for your time this afternoon.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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