Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Good morning. I have a few things to report today.

First of all, I would like to report on the proceedings of the Cabinet meeting that was held today. The meeting approved five general and other measures, and also approved the promulgation of laws, the issuance of Cabinet orders, and personnel decisions. There were a number of statements by ministers. The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a report based on the stipulations of Article 106 Paragraph 25.1 of the National Public Service Act. The Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism each made statements about personnel decisions relating to the heads of incorporated administrative agencies. The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology made a statement about personnel decisions relating to the heads of incorporated administrative agencies and national university corporations.

Next I would like to report on personnel decisions relating to the Cabinet Office approved in the Cabinet meeting today. On March 31, Mr. Hideaki Kobayashi will retire from his position as head of the State Guest House, and it has been approved that his successor will be Mr. Minoru Shibuya, former Ambassador of Japan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who will assume the position on April 1.

In another personnel-related matter, it has been approved that from today, Professor Hiroshi Tasaka of the Tama Graduate School of Business will be appointed as a special advisor to the Cabinet, to provide information and advice to the Prime Minister concerning the response to the nuclear power plant accident. He has just received his commission from the Prime Minister. Professor Tasaka has great experience in the area of nuclear engineering and he will provide advice relating to safety and other measures.

That is all from me at this time.

Q&As

REPORTER: I am Kuribayashi of the Yomiuri Shimbun. I have a question about Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. It has been reported that small traces of plutonium have been detected in the grounds of the power plant. What is your understanding about the danger this plutonium presents and the possibility that it may have spread outside the power plant due to the previous fire and steam explosion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: According to a report from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) five soil samples were taken in five locations and the presence of plutonium was confirmed. The concentration of the plutonium detected is at a level consistent with plutonium that is generally found in the environment, due to the effects of radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons tests conducted in the atmosphere. However the types of plutonium detected included some that are different from the type associated with radioactive fallout. As the plutonium concentration ratio contained these different types it is thought to be a result of the accident.

Given this result, if high concentrations of plutonium that are a result of the accident are detected, measures will need to be taken, so we are continuing monitoring activities.

REPORTER: I believe that radioactive iodine has been detected in a wide area to date, so will you be strengthening monitoring for plutonium in a similar wide area?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is an issue which we must implement with the advice of experts. I have received explanations that plutonium is a relatively heavy substance and by continuing with stringent monitoring in the vicinity of the plant it will be possible to make a decision on the necessary for monitoring in a wider area. The current concentrations of plutonium that have been detected are not high, but as it is thought that some of the plutonium detected originated from the nuclear power plant, we will continue to check the situation and receive further advice from experts on which areas should be subject to monitoring.

REPORTER: I am Sato of the Asahi Shimbun. With regard to the contaminated water found outside the reactor building of the Unit 2 reactor, isn’t it the case that the more water is injected the more water will become contaminated? Yesterday, Dr. Haruki Madarame of the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) stated that he did not know how to dispose of this water. Does this mean that the current situation has reached an impasse?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The members of the NSC are all experts in the nuclear field, but there are various expertise for the nuclear field. This particular issue is not necessarily the expert field of NSC Chairman Dr. Madarame, and so I think he was stating his personal opinion, not as NSC Chairman. With the advice of the NSC, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and TEPCO are focusing their attention on how to remove safely the water that has leaked out. Currently various means of how to conduct this operation and contain the water are being considered. At this point it is not possible to report with certainty on the specific method that will be used, but detailed investigations are underway on the various possibilities.

REPORTER: I am Hiramoto of Nippon Television. You have just said that you are at the stage of investigating various methods for removing the water, and as was mentioned in the previous question the question of how to balance the injection and removal of water is a very difficult one. Do you have any idea at the current point about how long the water injection will continue and when you will begin operations to remove the water?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, with regard to the injection of water, it is essential that this operation be prioritized, in order to cool the reactor and nuclear fuel, which are at a high temperature and prevent the reactor from boiling dry. At the same time, it is important to remove the contaminated water as soon as possible and both investigations and the operations are underway. The current recognition is that this must really be done as quickly as possible.

REPORTER: This doesn’t mean that the injection of water will stop because it is necessary to remove the contaminated water?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We will continue to look at both situations, including the injection of water, and if it is necessary, it may become unavoidable.

REPORTER: What do you mean by “unavoidable”?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In other words, we will look at the situation as a whole, and if stopping the injection of water would cause the fuel rods to heat up and the reactor to boil dry, we would put priority on avoiding such a situation.

However, at the moment operations are aimed at maintaining a situation in which the injection of the minimum amount of water is able to prevent the temperature of the fuel rods from increasing. It is also true, however, that fundamental efforts aimed at removing the water need to be advanced as soon as possible. That is the situation as it currently stands.

REPORTER: Returning to the point about plutonium, based as the fact that it has been detected, some experts point out that the damage to the nuclear fuel is in an advanced stage. What is the government’s view of such analysis?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I mentioned before, as the concentration ratio contains plutonium that is thought to have originated from nuclear fuel, there is a high possibility, almost a certainty, that it is from the fuel rods. Given the fact that the water collected in the buildings contains very high concentrations of radioactive materials, this substantiates the theory that at some point the fuel rods went into temporary partial melting. This is a very serious issue and we are making every effort to find ways to prevent further impacts on the surrounding areas and to contain the situation.

REPORTER: I am Nanao from Nico Nico Douga. The people of Japan were able to see Prime Minister Kan and hear his words on a daily basis before the earthquake, but he has only been seen a few times in the 18 days since the earthquake. Many people find this odd. What message will the Prime Minister have for the people each day and how will he demonstrate leadership as the state of emergency become prolonged and become part of daily life?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As the highest authority in charge of the handling of the earthquake and the nuclear incident, I believe that the highest priority for the Prime Minister is to ensure the complete handling of those situations. At the same time, there is no doubt that as the Prime Minister, his next most important role is to deliver a solid message to the people of Japan.

At the moment, I myself and related Ministers are communicating to the people where it is possible for us to do so in his place, in order to allow the Prime Minister to concentrate on his primary tasks as the leader. However, as the state of emergency becomes prolonged, as you point out, the question of how to secure the time or energy for him to deliver a message to the people as the Prime Minister is becoming an issue, and it is what we have been deliberating for past few days. I acknowledge that the necessity for the Prime Minister to direct a certain amount of time and energy to communicating to the citizens is heightening, while balancing this with decision making and commanding as the leader.

REPORTER: I believe that we are receiving a great deal of support and messages from overseas, so I believe that it is necessary for the Prime Minister to deliver a message to the international community. What can you say in that regard?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Regarding that, the Prime Minister is communicating through telephone conferences, etc., with several heads of state, including recently U.S. President Obama, in order to extend gratitude for the direct support. I believe it is necessary for him to share the burden with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to communicate responsibly with the international community.

DIRECTOR OF PRESS OFFICE: Excuse me. Please be considerate toward Diet proceedings.

REPORTER: I am Hayashi from the Wall Street Journal. There was some reporting this morning that the Government was considering the temporary nationalization of TEPCO. Is that a possibility, and if so, how far have those considerations progressed?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It is my understanding that at the current moment no such considerations have been made by the Government. First, TEPCO must put all of their capability into bringing the accident to a conclusion. Then, they must sincerely respond to those who have been affected by the accident. I believe that we are still at the stage where the Government must responsibly guide them do their absolute best at those tasks.

REPORTER: I am Koketsu of Jiji Press. Regarding Prof. Hiroshi Tasaka who was appointed to be Special Advisor to the Cabinet, I believe that actually his major in University was not nuclear physics. Why was Prof. Tasaka appointed, and who selects Special Advisors to the Cabinet in general and by what criteria?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I was told that his appointment was based on an overall evaluation that he has a great deal of knowledge regarding this kind of risk management in addition to having insight into the area of nuclear engineering.

Nuclear physics is a very wide discipline and is divided into highly specialized fields. There are specialists of various individual fields, such as reactor specialists and radiation specialists, and there are those who have a certain degree of interdisciplinary knowledge. I think both are necessary.

It is difficult to give a simple answer regarding the criteria of how and who to ask. Recently, we have been soliciting opinions and counsel from numerous individuals, including private citizens. Taking up a government position entails numerous responsibilities and there are also certain things that only civil servants can do. If conditions are such that it would be helpful for these individuals to assume such positions, we would like them to take the Special Advisor position and others. We are also receiving a great deal of counsel from people in other positions including from private citizens. That is where the difference is.

REPORTER: I would like to ask about the criterion for recognizing the damage suffered by the disaster victims. In the disaster-stricken areas, we see cases right now in which people whose houses were “partially destroyed,” if not “totally destroyed,” are turned away from evacuation centers and forced to stay in their home without gas and running water. Even when municipal governments try to give aid to them, they are hindered by the national standard that strictly distinguishes the “totally destroyed” and “partially destroyed.” What kind of action do you think should be taken for those who are forced to live in a severe environment in half-destroyed homes? Also, although the criterion for recognizing the damage is decided by the Cabinet Office, what do you think about its flexible application?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I don’t recognize the criterion for recognizing the damage as directly having to do with whether or not these people should or could be accepted into the evacuation centers and given support.

As far as the compensation for damage to houses is concerned, for example, there has been a system since before to draw a line between “totally destroyed” and “partially destroyed.” I said yesterday that the Government will be extremely flexible about the criterion for declaring houses “totally destroyed.”

Although my understanding is that the distinction between “totally destroyed” and “partially destroyed” should not directly affect the decision about accepting people into evacuation centers, if that point is misunderstood or not thoroughly communicated within municipalities, etc., in these areas, or if a certain bureau has given incorrect instructions amidst this situation due to some confusion, this must be corrected. I must make confirmations on this point, and if necessary give instructions to make sure that those who cannot live in their house are accepted into evacuation centers regardless of whether the house is “totally destroyed” or not.

REPORTER: I hear some evacuation centers are interviewing each person about the status of damage to accept those who suffered heavier damage in a prioritized manner.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think this kind of response is possible depending on the capacity of the evacuation center in each affected region, based on the judgment of the people at the site. Concerning the capacity of evacuation centers, however, I think the national government should redouble its efforts in assisting them to be able to accommodate more people.

DIRECTOR OF PRESS OFFICE: Excuse me. Please keep your question short as the Chief Cabinet Secretary should be attending the Diet session.

REPORTER: I am Kageyama of Mainichi Shimbun. Concerning the outlook of the nuclear incident, Mr. Motohisa Ikeda, Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, yesterday stated, “For my part, I am preparing for the worst situation conceivable, but beyond that, only God knows.” Although he retracted his statement, I would like to hear your opinions on this statement.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In any event, I think the responsibility of the Government is to do its utmost to not let the situation worsen any further, under the leadership of Prime Minister Kan.

DIRECTOR OF PRESS OFFICE: Any more questions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Thank you for your attention.