Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Nagahama

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: I have one announcement. It is about Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Based on approval by the Diet, as well as Cabinet meeting and other procedures, the Prime Minister will be visiting the United States (U.S.) from April 29 to May 2. A Japan-U.S. summit meeting is expected to take place, among other activities.

Q&As

• Prime Minister's visit to the U.S.
• News reports on the stationing of the SDF in the U.S. territory of Tinian
• The Senkaku Islands (relating to the comments by the Governor of Tokyo)

REPORTER: Regarding the announcement just now about the Prime Minister's visit to the U.S., will the Prime Minister be visiting only Washington DC?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: Yes, that is the itinerary.

REPORTER: More specifically, can you tell us the date of the summit meeting and the Prime Minister's itinerary during his visit to the U.S. if anything has been set?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: The timing of the Japan-U.S. summit meeting is still being arranged, though tentatively April 30 (local time) is being considered.

REPORTER: Is anything else scheduled aside from the bilateral meeting?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: The itinerary has not yet been finalized.

REPORTER: Today, some news reports have reported that the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) will be establishing a base for drills and training in the U.S. territory of Tinian. Can you confirm the facts and discuss the status of the arrangements being made?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: I am aware that this was reported in some news reports. However, it is not true that specific coordinations are being made to station the SDF in Tinian.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Yesterday, Governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara stated that Tokyo will purchase the Senkaku Islands. On this, the Chief Cabinet Secretary made a statement which seemed to imply that the Government will make considerations, including about this possibility. In response, Governor Ishihara stated something to the effect of "Then, the Government should quickly do this." How quickly does the Government intend to make these considerations? What kind of schedule do you have in mind?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: This matter has also been raised at the question and answer session in the Diet and reported by various media. In principle, however, there is no doubt that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based on international law. Indeed, the Senkaku Islands are under the valid control of Japan. Therefore, if Governor Ishihara is commenting that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government must do something over the issue of territorial rights and so on, then the Government's position is that there exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands. Since Governor Ishihara is abroad, I, too, have been looking at your reports, and I believe I saw a comment by the Governor about there being developments while the Governor has been away. However, it seems that is not really the case. Therefore, I believe considerations will be made after the Governor returns, while reviewing the developments and so on. At any event, if the Governor is concerned about the issue of territorial rights, then the Government's stance is that there is no issue of territorial sovereignty to begin with.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Regarding the Prime Minister's visit to the U.S., what is specifically on the agenda of the summit meeting?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY NAGAHAMA: As with the itinerary, while the summit meeting is being arranged for April 30 as I mentioned earlier, the format and contents have not yet been finalized. In principle, I believe the Prime Minister will hold comprehensive discussions with President Barack Obama on primarily the issues of security and the economy or cultural and people-to-people exchanges for further deepening and enhancing the Japan-U.S. alliance. However, at this stage, individual, specific items for discussion have not yet been finalized.

(Abridged)