Press Conference by Prime Minister Kishida regarding His Meeting with the Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture and the Mayor of Nagasaki City, His Upcoming Visit to the United States of America, and Other Matters

[Opening statement by Prime Minister Kishida]
I met with the Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture and the Mayor of Nagasaki City online the other day, the 18th, but afterwards I received a request to also meet face to face. Honoring that request, today I met with the Governor and the Mayor here at my official residence. As progress beyond our previous online meeting, I presented the concrete response measures that emerged from the coordination I pledged to undertake when I met on August 9 with people who experienced the atomic bombings.

That is to say, on August 9, people who experienced the atomic bombings told me directly about their struggles to date, and since that time, I have done my utmost to examine and coordinate possible responses. Now, as a concrete response to this matter, we will fundamentally review our current program directed at people who experienced the atomic bombings, and we will provide to them medical expense subsidies equivalent to those given to atomic bomb survivors.

Specifically, we will establish a program covering a wide range of general diseases that provides medical expense subsidies equivalent to those given to atomic bomb survivors. These subsidies will go to all those who have until now identified themselves as people who experienced the atomic bombings, regardless of whether or not they were plaintiffs in this lawsuit. They will be provided without requiring the onset of mental illness and will not be restricted to a limited array of diseases related to mental illnesses.

In this kind of dramatic expansion of subsidies for medical expenses through the establishment of a new program, rather than the current format of the Research Project on Mental Health Impacts, we will instead make this a straightforward program for subsidizing medical expenses with greater convenience, such as not requiring psychiatric consultations. We will apply subsidies to medical expenses at the earliest possible time within 2024. Proceeding in this way, we will act together with Nagasaki Prefecture and Nagasaki City to work out a detailed plan for this new program. I conveyed these concrete response measures to the Governor and the Mayor, and they reacted with appreciation, noting it was a significant step forward. 

I will end my opening statement here.

[Questions and answers]
(On the results Prime Minister Kishida expects from his upcoming visit to the United States of America; on the status of coordinating bilateral meetings with President Biden, President Zelenskyy, and others; on how Prime Minister Kishida evaluates his diplomacy over these three years as he looks back on it in the lead up to his upcoming visit to the U.S., his final overseas trip as the Kishida administration; on which candidate Prime Minister Kishida will support in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, with voting and ballot counting on the 27th）

First of all, from today I will visit the U.S., where I will attend the Japan-Australia-India-U.S. (Quad) Leaders' Meeting and also the UN General Assembly. At the Quad Leaders' Meeting, we will further deepen cooperation among Japan, Australia, India, and the U.S. to bring about a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, aiming also to ensure regional stability, security, and prosperity. 

Then, at the United Nations General Assembly, I will attend the Summit of the Future and present Japan's approach to cultivating a global future that is peaceful, free, and prosperous. Moreover, taking that opportunity, I will host the Friends of FMCT (The Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty) High-Level Meeting, where I will advance realistic measures that also include nuclear-weapon states as we work towards a world without nuclear weapons.

You also asked about bilateral meetings. I am scheduled to have summit meetings with President Biden of the United States and with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, as well as with the leaders of Australia, Palau, and Mongolia. Meetings with the UN Secretary-General and others are also on my agenda. Through these meetings, I will deepen our discussions on regional affairs and on strengthening the functions of the United Nations, including the reform of the Security Council.

There was also the question regarding looking back on the past three years. The international community has been facing an increasingly tense situation over these three years. Against that backdrop, I set fully defending the lives and assets of Japanese nationals as my highest priority, and I have been actively engaged in summit-level diplomacy, working to uphold and reinforce the international order based on the rule of law in order to lead the international community to cooperation, not division or confrontation.

During my official visit to the United States of America in April, we reaffirmed the global partnership between Japan and the U.S., and at last year's G7 Hiroshima Summit, not only the G7 member countries but also countries in the Global South confirmed our unity in working to bring about an international community characterized by cooperation, not division and confrontation. 

As for the Republic of Korea (ROK), on a foundation of a relationship of trust with President Yoon, I expanded and deepened our cooperation across a wide range of fields. I have also advanced the trilateral strategic partnership of Japan, the U.S., and the ROK. 

And with China, President Xi and I reconfirmed our mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests, and our countries have maintained close communication at various levels as we work to establish constructive, stable Japan-China relations.

I take pride in the fact that, on a great many diplomatic occasions over the past three years beyond what I just mentioned, I succeeded in advancing vigorous and proactive summit-level diplomacy, with an eye towards fostering Japan's national interests and also the peace and stability of the international community.

And then, as for your other question, regarding the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, there are six days remaining in the campaign period for the party president election.
I will listen carefully to the policies and ways of thinking of the various candidates right up to the end and then take a decision on how to respond. After listening earnestly to their policies and approaches, I will make a decision on whom I will cast my ballot for.  
I will end my remarks here.