Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO I have a few announcements to make.

Firstly, an update on the situation regarding the incidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. I understand that further details will be provided by the various organizations involved. The situation is that under the initiative of Prime Minister Kan, the Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the Self-Defense Forces, police, fire departments, and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) are continuing to work together, with both the public and private sectors doing everything in their power to avoid any deterioration in the situation and to bring about a resolution as quickly as possible.

Our view is that the situation is improving step by step, but conditions are something that we still cannot prejudge.

Conditions in the nuclear reactors Units 1 through 3 are stable for the time being, following work to inject sea water to these reactors, and we are working to continue these cooling operations.

One issue of immediate concern is cooling the spent fuel pools in the reactors. As you are aware, on the 17th the Self-Defense Forces dropped water from the air by helicopter, and riot police sprayed water from the ground. Yesterday, water was sprayed to the reactor again by the Self-Defense Forces, TEPCO, and "Hyper-rescue" teams from the Tokyo Fire Department.

Today, the Tokyo Fire Department again sprayed water from the ground. So far, this work has been carried out on Unit 3; planning and preparations are now underway for the Self-Defense Forces to spray water to the spent fuel pool in Unit 4.

Work is still at an intermediary stage, and I am not able to say anything definite at the present time. But it seems that today's operations had a certain degree of success in supplying water to the spent fuel pool in Unit 3, and we believe that conditions are stable at the present time. However, we still cannot prejudge the situation. We will continue a steady supply of water to Unit 3 and Unit 4 as well in order to improve conditions in these reactors.

In addition, in order to bring about a more fundamental solution, work is proceeding steadily to restore an external electrical power supply. Restoring the external electrical supply would make it possible to provide more stable conditions for monitoring and cooling the reactors, and the people on the scene are working hard to bring this about.

I have also received reports that other methods which enabled a more stable supply of water to the spent fuel pools are being considered, and that various kinds of equipment are being prepared.

The second point I have to report concerns spinach and milk. We have received reports that levels of radiation exceeding the provisional standard values established by the Food Sanitation Act have been detected in samples of milk collected from Fukushima Prefecture and in samples of spinach collected from Ibaraki Prefecture.

Firstly, around 17:30 yesterday, during emergency monitoring carried out by the Fukushima branch of the Environmental Radioactivity Monitoring Center of Fukushima Prefecture, levels exceeding the provisional standard values established by the Food Sanitation Act were detected in raw milk collected from one farm in Fukushima Prefecture.

We have also received information that in tests conducted around 11am today by the Ibaraki Prefectural Environmental Radiation Monitoring Center, levels exceeding the provisional values established by the Food Sanitation Act were detected in six samples of spinach collected from farms in Ibaraki Prefecture.

As a result, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued instructions in the early hours of this morning in the case of Fukushima Prefecture and around noon in the case of Ibaraki Prefecture, for investigations to be carried out into the sources of these samples and the distribution destinations of food from the same lots, and for all necessary measures to be taken in accordance with the Food Sanitation Act, including a ban on sales.

Assuming that these results are connected with events at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the national government will carry out further investigations under the framework of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. Following a thorough analysis and evaluation of the results, we will move swiftly to consider whether it is necessary to take steps to limit consumption or shipments of produce from certain areas and, if so, what the extent of such restrictions should be.

However, I should make clear that according to the reports I have received, even if a person continued to consume milk containing the levels of radioactive materials detected in these tests for a year at the average Japanese consumption rates, the amount of radiation received would be equivalent to that received in a single CT Scan.

The same is true of the spinach. A person who continued to consume this spinach for a year at the average Japanese rates of consumption would be exposed to just one fifth of the amount of radiation received in the course of a single CT Scan.

Also, the provisional standard values created for these tests were based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. However, these figures establish the levels at which there is a risk to human health on the basis of continuous consumption over the course of a lifetime. Now that a report has been issued based on these figures, we need to carry out a wider investigation, and analyze and evaluate the data. I would ask you please to understand that these figures do not represent any immediate risk to health, and to remain calm.

Now that these samples have been detected, the national government will make the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare responsible for assimilating and consolidating the relevant data under the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will assimilate and consolidate the various data collected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Local Emergency Response Headquarters, relevant local government agencies, private sector groups and organizations. The Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters will then evaluate this data based on the recommendations and advice of the Nuclear Safety Commission and, if a response should be necessary, issue the necessary instructions on that response. This is the structure we have put together to deal with the situation.

That is all from me for now.