PRESS CONFERENCE
Hiroaki Nakanishi, Representative Executive Officer and President, Hitachi Ltd.

The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English Interpretation

The full text of this notice will be posted shortly.

Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.

Professional Activities Committee

PRESS CONFERENCE
Nobuaki Koga,
President, Japanese Trade Union Confederation,
Sharan Burrow,
General Secretary, The International Trade Union Confederation

The speech and Q & A in English and Japanese with English interpretation

Confronted with a protracted economic slowdown, labor unions in the Asia-Pacific region are joining forces to urge governments to facilitate economic recovery and create more jobs.

Nobuaki Koga, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo), Japan's largest labor organization, and Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union, will come to the club to explain the outcome of a two-day meeting of the ITUC Asia Pacific Labour Network in Tokyo.

The meeting will urge APEC leaders to initiate effective steps to respond to the global economic and financial crisis, endorse the establishment of an APEC Labour Forum, and tackle climate change and global warming in an ambitious and comprehensive manner ahead of the APEC summit in Yokohama on Nov. 13-14.

Koga became Rengo general secretary in 2005 after serving as chief of the labor union of Panasonic Corp., then called Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., and head of the Japanese Electrical Electronic & Information Union. He was appointed Rengo president last October for a two-year term. As a traditional supporter of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, Rengo is also closely watching the upcoming DPJ presidential election.

A former teacher, Burrow of Australia was vice president of Education International in 1995-2000 and became president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions in 2000. In 2006, she became the first President of the new ITUC founded in Vienna and was elected as general secretary of ITUC in June this year.

Please reserve in advance, still & TV cameras inclusive. Reservations and cancellations are not complete without confirmation.

Professional Activities Committee

PRESS CONFERENCE
Johnny Chi-chen Chiang
Minister, Government Information Office,Executive Yuan, Taiwan

The speech and Q & A will be in English

*The finishing time has been revised.

"What does the newly signed trade deal between Taiwan and China mean for Japan?"

Taiwan's parliament on Tuesday passed a landmark trade deal with China, removing the final hurdle to a historic accord and ushering in the first free-trade style agreement in Northern Asia. The agreement is also considered to be a catalyst for similar pacts with other countries - including Japan - with China's tacit consent.

Japan and other Asian countries have been closely monitoring the development of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed between these long-standing political foes and are weighing its potential impact on the region. Shortly after Taiwan signed the deal with China in late June, both Singapore and South Korea made their moves.

Singapore became the first of Taiwan's major trading partners to openly consider a trade agreement with Taiwan. And South Korea, a strong competitor in global trade with Taiwan, said it would start official FTA discussions with China in 2011.

Japan, Taiwan's second largest trading partner after China, has been carefully evaluating the impact of the ECFA and considering its own future strategies. Tokyo has said it would welcome closer economic relations with Taiwan, but it has also been cautious about the possible reaction from China.

Johnny Chi-chen Chiang, Minister of the Government Information Office, which is equivalent to Cabinet spokesman, will come to the FCCJ on August 30 to discuss the current situation between China and Taiwan and its implications for Japan. He is the most senior official to visit Tokyo since the ECFA was approved by Taiwan's parliament.

Born in 1972, Chiang has a doctoral degree in International Studies from the University of South Carolina and a Master's degree in Public and International affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. He took office on February 24, 2010. Before that, he served as Acting Director for the Department of International Affairs of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER), a leading think-tank in Taiwan.

Johnny Chi-chen Chiang Minister, Government Information Office,Executive Yuan, Taiwan