Press Conference by Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru regarding the Virtual Leaders Meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine and Other Matters

(On Prime Minister Ishiba's objective during the Leaders Meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine held last night with European countries when he made the statement that sovereignty and territorial integrity issues should be discussed with Ukraine's involvement; on what kinds of discussions Prime Minister Ishiba hopes will take place during the meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy scheduled to be held in the near future; and on the potential impact on Asia of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine, given the issue of the deployment of North Korean troops as part of Russia's aggression against Ukraine)

Last night, I participated in the Virtual Leaders Meeting of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine hosted by the governments of France, the UK, and Germany. I underscored the point that it is extraordinarily important that discussions on topics such as sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are related to the very essence of a nation, progress in a format that involves Ukraine, as a nation directly impacted. This recognition was shared by all -- by every other country participating, as far as I know. In other words, I stated that it would be wrong to have any format other than one in which Ukraine was involved.

On August 18 U.S. time, which I imagine means August 19 Japan time, it is my understanding that the United States, Ukraine, and European countries -- specifically the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland – as well as the European Union and NATO will come together in the United States for talks. This meeting is of great interest to Japan, and we will be keeping a close eye on it.

I myself believe that this kind of proactive initiative by President Trump should be welcomed, and the leaders of European countries all coming together to have talks together with Ukraine is something to view in a positive light, with candid discussions being held there. I have very high expectations that a path forward will emerge for realizing a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

I articulated this during yesterday's online meeting as well, but Japan is deeply concerned about the development of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, including North Korean soldiers participating in combat against Ukraine and North Korea providing ammunition, artillery shells, and other munitions.

When bringing an end to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, it is essential that no lasting damage is done to global security as a whole, including that of the Indo-Pacific region, or the international order, with regard to this and other matters of concern. Japan is the only country participating in this meeting from Asia, so I underscored this point, saying that this is not an issue only for Ukraine.

Maintaining global peace and security is of the utmost importance, and Japan will be participating in these discussions actively in the future as well.

(On what kinds of responses the Government is considering with regard to assistance for areas that suffered damage from the heavy rains that began on August 6, as recovery efforts are now underway in those areas in blazing heat)

This will mirror what I said earlier, but as of 7:00 this morning, August 18, the torrential rains that began on August 6 have resulted in a human cost that includes eight persons losing their lives, one person losing their life still under investigation, and one person unaccounted for, and extensive damage being reported in 12 prefectures, spanning from Aomori Prefecture to Kagoshima Prefecture, including structural collapses and flooding. Those are the figures we had as of 7:00 AM today.

I extend my sincerest condolences to those who lost their lives, and I would also like to express my heartfelt sympathies to all those who are now facing extremely difficult circumstances.

Since immediately after the disaster occurred, the Government has been working to rescue victims, assist in evacuations, and swiftly apply the Disaster Relief Act. In addition, we are currently working together with the local authorities in the affected areas to provide assistance to the disaster victims and support the recovery of the locations affected. Although efforts to assess the scope of the damage are still underway at this time, the investigation is moving forward quickly thanks to the untiring efforts of the local government staff in the disaster areas.

This heavy rain damage is expected to be designated as a disaster of extreme severity. I can say that much right now, that there is strong likelihood that this will be designated as a disaster of extreme severity.

In concrete terms, as for disaster recovery projects for farmland and other such areas, we will move forward in the process of designating this a disaster of extreme severity having nation-wide impact. This designation will enable all locations affected by the disaster nationwide to uniformly have access to special measures that tap into national treasury subsidies.

We will continue to act in close cooperation with local governments and work to provide assistance for people's daily lives and for the recovery of the disaster-stricken areas so that people in the affected areas can resume their regular daily lives at the earliest possible time.

I hope that people are certain to take good care of themselves as they undertake these recovery efforts, because now in late summer the heat is extremely intense. I urge all the local civil servants, volunteers, and others connected to the recovery efforts to continue to take all possible precautions to avoid heatstroke.