Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO I apologize for keeping you waiting. My aim is to bring you the latest possible information at all times, and this situation is changing from moment to moment. At certain points I compile the information made available up until then and bring it to you; I hope for your understanding in this.

I have a few items to report to you at this stage.

First, as was just announced by Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry [Banri] Kaieda, the Tohoku - Pacific Ocean Earthquake has evidently caused major damage to power generation facilities operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. Minister Kaieda has instructed both companies to secure as much provision capacity as possible through such steps as quickly getting their facilities back on line and increasing the amount of power drawn from other companies. There appears to be little chance of restoring their facilities’ functions in a short timeframe, though, and it is likely that areas served by these power companies will see a considerable shortfall in electric power provision starting tomorrow.

To address this situation, the Government has established a Headquarters for Emergency Measures on Electricity Supply and Demand, which will hold its first meeting just after 17:00 today. The task of this Headquarters is to swiftly consider and decide on countermeasures based on the electricity supply and demand trends within the areas served by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co. In the light of the emergency situation we now face, we would like to ask the people of Japan to help by conserving as much power as possible, such as by refraining from use of nonessential electric devices.

We ask for the understanding and cooperation of the people of Japan. We have also designated Minister of State Renho to serve as Minister in Charge of Promotion of Energy Conservation. She will receive her formal appointment shortly.

In the context of providing assistance to people living in emergency evacuation areas and people rebuilding their homes, in addition to the role of the government, volunteers from the community will also have an extremely important part to play. In the light of this, and with a view to facilitating cooperation between volunteer groups and the government, a decision has been made to appoint House of Representatives Member Kiyomi Tsujimoto as a prime ministerial aide in charge of earthquake relief volunteer activities, effective from today. An official appointment will be made by the prime minster later today. For more details on these matters, I ask you to refer to the office of Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary.

Further, the recent earthquake is likely to have a substantial and wide-ranging impact on the economic activities of our nation. Accordingly, a second deliberation meeting on the economic situation will be held into the night starting this evening, in order to share awareness of the situation among relevant cabinet ministers and to take whatever measures may be necessary. The first meeting was held before the earthquake happened; a second deliberation meeting will be held using the framework from that meeting in order to take appropriate measures to deal with the impact of the earthquake and subsequent events on the economic situation.

One further matter was decided by cabinet order at a cabinet meeting today. This cabinet order designated “specific emergency disaster damage” arising from the 2011 Tohoku - Pacific Ocean Earthquake and a series of measures that will be applied to deal with this. In concrete terms, the cabinet order extended the expiry date of administrative rights and privileges, provided exemption from liability for administrative duties not fulfilled within the designated period, and approved an exception on decisions regarding the opening of bankruptcy procedures against corporations.

Also, in order to allow foreign nationals in Japan and people following events from overseas to gain an accurate understanding of the present situation, I have given instructions for the Prime Minister’s Office, relevant government ministries, and Japanese diplomatic missions overseas to take proactive steps to provide information internationally in English and other languages.