Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: There are two points that I would like to talk about first. The first is about living assistance to people residing in the surrounding regions of where the nuclear power plant accident has occurred. We have done everything that we can to exercise measures to prevent the spread of damage while also implementing an emergency response to the situation, including setting up shelters for residents in surrounding areas. However, disaster victims are living under stringent circumstances and we particularly recognize the tremendously strong need to communicate information to those people that is accurate in a prompt manner. In the past we have worked to enrich living assistance and information provision activities for disaster victims, but in order to further evaluate this system, today we established a special team, a special task force dedicated to support the livelihood of those who were affected by nuclear power plant accident, under the umbrella of the Nuclear Power Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters. Trade Minister Banri Kaieda has been assigned Task Force, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama has been assigned Vice-Chief, and Senior Vice Trade Minister Tadahiro Matsushita has been designated Secretary General. Under this team, officials mainly from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and other relevant ministries will work in concert to comprehensively address the issue of enriching living assistance. This will include such areas as the receptive posture at shelters for disaster victims, securing a decontamination system, transport and replenishment of necessary supplies to disaster areas, securing medical care for radiation exposure, and environmental monitoring and information sharing.

The other point that I would like to talk about is in regards to a comment made this morning about there being information indicating that, due to the national government's criterion for disaster assessments, victims whose houses that have been partially destroyed are not being accepted at shelters. I would like to report that I have confirmed that the national government has not established standards that would prevent victims from entering shelters as a result of the disaster assessments.

Regardless of results from disaster assessments, I would like the local governments concerned to properly accommodate people in need of shelter. There are of course issues such as that of capacity, so I would like to further enhance collaboration with local governments through the Headquarter for Special Measure to Assist the Lives of Disaster Victims so that various kinds of assistance will be provided and that persons requiring rescue can enter shelters as necessary.

That is all from me.

Q&As

REPORTER: I am Sato from Asahi Shimbun. During the meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, Prime Minister Kan made a comment about making clean energies such as solar and bioenergy a major share of Japan's primary energy sources, in response to the accidents at Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. Will such energies become a pillar in the reconstruction vision that you will compile in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: My understanding is that the reconstruction vision will likely be compiled by the Prime Minister as the chief. We are currently in the preparatory stages and are making various different considerations, but there is no mistake in saying that we are considering making such energies a major pillar of the reconstruction vision in response to the current disaster.

REPORTER: Does that mean that review nuclear power policy will be a pillar in the vision?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Rather, we are focusing on strengthening clean energies, such as solar and bioenergy, as a pillar of our plan to overcome the current disaster. In creating a vision with hope for the future, considerations are being made to make the further enhancement of those clean energies one of the major pillars.

REPORTER: I am Kuribayashi from Yomiuri Shimbun. This is related to your last comment. In a post-Cabinet meeting press conference, Minister Koichiro Gemba indicated that the issue of revising the Basic Energy Plan would be unavoidable. Will it be the case that, while making fuller use of clean energies, nuclear power policies will ultimately not be changed and that clean energy will just become an addition to the plan? Do you believe that, in consideration of the feelings of national citizens, the nuclear power plan will have to be revised?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I commented on nuclear power plant plans and the basic thinking behind this policy in this morning's press conference. To reiterate, doing everything we can to resolve the current situation so that the damage does not expand any further than it already has is the biggest issue at the moment. Of course I believe that once we have resolved the situation we must conduct verifications on the incident, and then in light of those verifications thoroughly consider about a future path.

REPORTER: Today, the Governor of Miyagi Prefecture indicated that he hopes to complete the basic policy for the reconstruction plan for the prefecture by the end of April. Will it be possible to orchestrate the national vision with disaster areas?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We are still in the initial stages of planning for reconstruction, but one of the greatest characteristics of this earthquake disaster was the extremely wide-spanning scope of the disaster area. Damage spread from Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, to even Ibaraki and Chiba. There is even damage in Aomori Prefecture. Of course, in terms of casualties, there were even causalities in Tokyo. In terms of reconstruction, I believe that the regions that I just listed will be the target regions for reconstruction, and I think that the opinions and requests of each municipal government will have to be emphasized and heavily weighed in on when carrying out reconstruction activities. I may have already said this several times, but even within each of the prefectures, there are large ordinance-designated cities such as Sendai City, coastal regions of major cities, and small rural settlements, which are all affected by the disaster, and each of those have their own local circumstances, requests, and wishes, making this a tremendously diverse situation. So, in that light, a significant characteristic of this disaster has been its vast scope. The government will fully keep this in mind and move forward in consideration of these circumstances. The importance of this perspective was discussed in preparatory considerations in aim of reconstruction that were recently carried out.

REPORTER: I am Yoshida from NHK. In regards to the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, at today's meeting by the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Prime Minister Kan commented that it cannot be denied that there was a significant miscalculation of the impact of tsunamis. There are still many nuclear power plants in operation around Japan. In consideration of this, what is the government's consensus on the safety of all of those plants against tsunamis?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Of course, in response to the current accident, METI is conducting prompt considerations regarding the possible implementation of checks and necessary measures to ensure safety at Japan's nuclear power plants. I think that I will be able to present our initial thoughts on that in the not so distant future.

REPORTER: So are you saying that they cannot be declared completely safe at this moment?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Some criticisms were heard at the Diet against officials and experts who said that the incident was beyond the scope of the assumption. As it turned out that existing countermeasures were not enough, the safety measures in place must be thoroughly reexamined, and I have asked people to move this process forward.

REPORTER: I am Oda from Sankei Shimbun. In relation to the tsunami, I recall that the project to build a super-embankment was abolished during the review of government programs in the past when you were involved as one of the members of the Government Revitalization Unit. Regardless of its connection with this incident, what are your thoughts on the importance of embankments and enforcement thereof in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Given the magnitude of tsunami and the extent of damage caused by it, I think a thorough examination is needed concerning the effectiveness of various measures taken for disaster prevention. Based on that examination, and upon a thorough investigation of the damage caused by this disaster, we must work out how to enhance our disaster prevention measures against tsunami and other natural threats.

REPORTER: I am Kageyama from Mainichi Shimbun. In connection to the previous question about tsunami, you said that METI is conducting urgent reviews concerning the safety of nuclear power plants. Among the nuclear plants, on the one hand, TEPCO's Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant was designed to withstand tsunami up to 9.1 meters high and was not damaged by this disaster, whereas on the other hand some nuclear plants operated by Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) were designed to only withstand tsunami around 1 meter high. Are there plans for the national government to establish a certain standard with regard to the resilience against tsunami?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Specific countermeasures to be taken to prevent any contingencies from leading into a disaster, I think, depend on what situation and conditions each nuclear power plant is in. While giving consideration to this point, METI is currently moving on to reconfirm the situation of the nuclear plants across the country and consider necessary measures to be taken in the light of this disaster.

REPORTER: I am Nanao from Nico Nico Douga. Mr. Kazuma Yokota of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said in the press conference yesterday that people working at the forefront of repairing the Fukushima nuclear plants are working under extremely harsh conditions without adequate food and sleep, notwithstanding the danger of high levels of radioactivity. Although this is principally a matter for TEPCO, we would like to hear your opinions as Chief Cabinet Secretary.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have nothing but profound respect and admiration for those who have been engaged in various works and countermeasures at the nuclear power plants, as they are working under extremely dangerous and harsh conditions.

In the meantime, the Government has been doing what it can in backing up their efforts through TEPCO, giving instruction to the company to take actions to this effect, but our efforts have not been wholly sufficient in this regard. That was due to the fact that we had to prioritize the measures to prevent the incident from having a larger effect, but as the situation is becoming prolonged, I would like to enhance the backup structure for these workers.

On the part of the national government in particular, we have made sure that people at the site are rotated whenever or wherever possible and dispatched vessels from either the Japan Coast Guard or the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to let in these people so that they can refresh themselves, although we were only able to do this partially. I would like to reinforce this structure moving forward, to allow as many people as possible to take time off in turn. We will also naturally respond to the requests for necessary supplies, etc.

REPORTER: I am Fukushima from Kyodo News. The draft budget for FY2011 is expected to pass the Diet although it was rejected in the House of Councillors. What are your comments on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As the budget that the Government has submitted to the Diet has been formulated in the best interest of the people, I would like to take its passage in a positive manner, even if it was passed in this way.

At the same time, we are facing an unprecedented disaster in the midst of the Diet session. Ahead of the enactment of the budget, we have a more profound task of responding to the disaster, to which we would like to devote our efforts from tomorrow.

REPORTER: In relation to this, the Prime Minister said that he is eager to gather both ruling and opposition parties to discuss what must be prioritized in formulating a supplementary budget for reconstruction and allocating financial resources. What is the government's plan for this discussion, which may involve the revision of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)'s manifesto?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I completely agree with the Prime Minister. Our top priority is reconstruction and rehabilitation of the disaster-stricken areas, which will require a considerable amount of resources. Under this basic conception, I think that financing and allocation of funds and other resources will inevitably take shape in the course of the discussion.

REPORTER: What kind of occasions do you have in mind for having discussions with the opposition parties?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think this must be figured out in consultation with the DPJ, which will be contacting the opposition parties for discussion. In the meantime, we have been receiving useful opinions and information from both ruling and opposition parties concerning rescue and relief operations and nuclear disaster response, which were of great help to the Government. By extension, I would like to discuss with the ruling parties as to what can be done to establish various opportunities to fully utilize the wisdom and knowledge possessed by the opposition parties.

REPORTER: I recall there were talks with the opposition parties about creating new Cabinet posts and inviting opposition party politicians to take these posts. What is the current status of this discussion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: My understanding is that this issue is pending for now after going through various developments.

It will be welcoming for the Government if discussion for this can be resumed moving forward, but I think we must start with what can be agreed between the ruling and opposition parties.

REPORTER: I have a related question. I believe the Government will be drawing up a supplementary budget to secure the funds for reconstruction. In any case, it does not appear that the deficit bond bill to fund spending in the annual budget will be passed anytime soon. What are your thoughts on the passage of the deficit bond bill?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In the coming days and weeks, we will need to consult on a number of issues, beginning with the supplementary budget for the reconstruction. Since the deficit bond bill is a bill that was submitted to the Diet, I believe the Prime Minister will be leading the talks with the various members of the opposition parties.

REPORTER: I am Yamazaki from TV Asahi. Plutonium was found at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. At this morning's press conference, you said monitoring will be increased. It seemed the Government is exploring a number of measures, and it does not appear that the Government intends to leave it up to the TEPCO to take effective, drastic, or prompt measures. Is this correct?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Government has been and is taking all possible steps to deal with the nuclear power plant. It is very regrettable that the situation is still such that we cannot let our guards down. In no way are we leaving the situation up to TEPCO. In terms of the way the system is set up, TEPCO is the prime operator, among serving a variety of other roles. From the Government, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Goshi Hosono, or in some cases, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Banri Kaieda has been going to TEPCO to establish clear communication with the organization as much as possible, as well as conveying the views of the Government to TEPCO.

While there are some who criticize our approach, the way we have proceeded is by turning to not only the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) and NISA, but also drawing on the wisdom of those people with a variety of specialized expertise in making clear the position and policies of the Government. Meanwhile, regarding the items which the Government cannot directly do on its own, clear instructions are given to TEPCO.

REPORTER: Regarding the response to the nuclear issue, I have a question about the cooperation between the Governments of Japan and the U.S. I understand the two governments have established a joint coordination council, under which working groups for each issue have been set up to handle their respective topics. Can you clarify?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The U.S. forces, the NRC, and other relevant U.S. organizations have extended in kind assistance as well as all kinds of cooperation, including various knowhow and information. Nearly every day, members of the Japanese Government and members of the U.S. Government set aside opportunities for discussion involving experts. From the Japanese side, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama, Special Advisor Hosono, and others attend the discussions. The two sides have been in close communication.

It's not necessarily that (working) groups have been established which are doing this or the other. Under the sort of arrangement I just spoke about, we have been able to hold discussions on wide-ranging topics. The Japanese Government bears these discussions in mind in exploring our response. These discussion forums have also led to a variety of assistance offers from the U.S.

REPORTER: What type of support would you like to receive from the U.S. in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe the U.S. has knowhow and experience as well as some capabilities Japan does not. We would like to make utmost use of any kind of U.S. knowhow, experience, and capabilities if they contribute to getting the situation under control and ensuring the safety of the people. We are very grateful that the U.S. has demonstrated this willingness the other day and very much appreciate the U.S. support.

REPORTER: I am Koketsu of JIJI Press. This is a question relating to affairs in the Diet. Today in the Budget Committee Meeting of the House of Councillors, Prime Minister Kan stated his intention to reexamine the schedule for comprehensive reform. However, Minister Yosano has stated that the present schedule should be maintained. It seems therefore that opinions within the Cabinet are not necessarily in alignment. In your coordinating and evaluation role what are your views of this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I do not think that there is a contradiction in their views. However, with regard to comprehensive reform, as I have said on a number of occasions before, even though we are facing this current disaster, there are a number of issues that cannot wait, including the aging society and the declining birthrate. It is for this reason that where at all possible it would be preferable to continue in accordance with the original schedule. It is natural that Minister Yosano, as the minister responsible, is engaging in various work to proceed with reforms based on the originally planned schedule.

However, the government is currently facing the earthquake and tsunami disasters and the nuclear power plant accident, which require concerted and comprehensive efforts by the government. Therefore, while we may wish to proceed with reforms according to the schedule, in order to ensure that the response to the disaster and power plant accident are not compromised or delayed, we are setting out priorities and proceeding accordingly. I think that this is what Prime Minister was referring to in his statement.

REPORTER: In realistic terms, with the response to the disaster expected to go on for the long term, do you think that the stated schedule of June is feasible?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Of course it will not be easy to maintain this schedule. However, at the same time, we have initial targets for the parts of the reform package that have not been impacted by the responses to the earthquake and tsunami disaster and the power plant accident, so I think that we should proceed to the greatest degree possible in these areas.

REPORTER: I am Oda of the Sankei Shimbun. I have a question about employment for disaster victims. A meeting was held on this issue at the Cabinet Office just recently and it has been reported that support measures will be compiled next week. What are your views on employment for disaster victims?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We must consider and respond robustly to this issue in both short-term and long-term aspects.

First of all, with regard to short-term issues, there are many areas at the moment where it is not possible to engage in business. In this situation there are areas in which it may be necessary for people who have lost their jobs in the disaster to engage in disaster response-related work in some form, including for example the construction of temporary housing. There are many people who have lost their jobs due to the disaster and it will of course be necessary to implement employment support that considers their needs.

At the same time, it will be necessary to consider mid and long-term recovery and reconstruction assistance for the areas that have been greatly damaged in the disaster and to ensure future employment opportunities for people living there. The formulation of a reconstruction and recovery plan will be a major part of such an effort and we must give it the greatest consideration. Thank you.