Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have one item to report. Many in the fisheries industry and those in other countries, especially neighboring countries, have expressed great concern about the release of water from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It has been pointed out to me by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as well as those from other countries that the reports and explanations we made about this were not sufficient. The release of water this time was an unavoidable measure intended to help deal with the amount of highly contaminated water collecting in the turbine building in Unit 2, which was flowing from there into the sea. In order to prevent such leakage and avoid a situation in which we would be forced to discharge this water into ocean, a step was taken to let out water from another place far less contaminated than Unit 2. The water that went into the sea this time had a radiation level 1/200,000 that of the highly irradiated water suspected to have flowed into the sea before; thus, this was a measure to ensure that water coming out of the plant cause as little environmental damage as possible to the sea. However, it has been pointed out that this was not explained in a detailed and complete manner to each government ministry and agency and the other countries in our region prior to the operation. I think we must acknowledge this sincerely. We will continue to work to improve communication with neighboring countries in particular, and to instruct closer collaboration to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Q&As

REPORTER: According to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the release of the contaminated water that came out of Unit 2 of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant halted before it reached the sea. What is the understanding in the Prime Minister's Office about the truth of this statement?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At 5:38 this morning I have heard that an electricity cable was laid around the water intake port of Unit 2, an area that has been a problem before. In doing so, some water leaked out of the Unit. I have received a report that the water was stopped, but as for whether or not they prevented all of the water from flowing into the sea or whether that means that there weren't problems at other locations, all I have heard is that they are investigating the situation. I do not think we can currently say with confidence that the flow of water is halted.

REPORTER: Many from the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives JFZengyoren are protesting this incident, calling it a reckless action and demanding that the Government and TEPCO take responsibility for the direct and indirect harm it has caused. How do you view such protest? Also, could you talk about the possibilities of releasing more water in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I said earlier, highly radioactive water from around the turbine, and similar water from other areas, was flowing into the sea. In order to stop this, we needed a place to transfer and store the water, preventing it from spilling into the sea. The operation this time was undertaken in order to prevent the release of water over 200,000 times more radioactive then that released this time. I think that there needed to be prior and complete explanations to those concerned about this matter as to the situation at the nuclear power plant, and the fact that these measures were intended to prevent more serious contamination of the seawater. I also think that this is something for which it is very difficult to receive the approval of those in the fisheries industry. I have to think that this is only natural. In addition to offering more complete explanations in the future, for those affected by any harm caused to marine industries, I think we will naturally offer them compensation in the future. Furthermore, before the final decision on subsidies, I think that these people will of course be made eligible to receive a temporary advance, as is the case with those in agricultural industries.

REPORTER: Related to that, shipping restrictions have been placed on certain marine products or being implemented voluntarily in some cases. I have the impression that, despite the safety limit for vegetables being only provisional, once high levels of radiation were found in sand lance this provisional standard value was simply applied to marine products as is. Some are saying that the provisional values are set too low. Is the Government considering reexamining these values?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: For vegetables, we had groups such as the Food Safety Commission examine the values set and they reported that they were acceptable and appropriate. I think that we will need to confer with the Food Safety Commission on marine products as well.

REPORTER: What reason was there for you not providing sufficient reports or explanations to those in the fisheries industries and neighboring countries?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I do think that there may not have been sufficient communication on the details of why we needed to release water this time, or in a sense, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that these steps were taken to prevent more serious polluting of the sea, or other detailed points. We must thoroughly communicate, in detail, why this was necessary, and why it was a mandatory measure considering the other possibilities. We need a certain amount of time to communicate these things. I do not think that enough preparation was made for this.

REPORTER: There have been some media reports saying that the scale of the first-round supplementary budget proposal will exceed 3 trillion yen. Regarding the financial resources for that, these reports have also said that the issuing of additional government bonds will be avoided and that financial resources will be drawn out of the state contribution to basic pensions and reallocated for the supplementary budget. What are the facts at this time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, regarding necessary budget expenditures, we have identified the necessary items for responding to this disaster, and what we must do has been made clear. By tallying up all of the items that require financing, we have developed an outlook for the future to a certain degree. However, nothing has been decided at this time concerning financing.

REPORTER: The scale of the budget is said to have been put at 3 trillion yen.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We are currently tallying up the figures, so with regard to how much the final sum will be, we believe that all items that might be included in the initial supplementary budget should be included, down to the very last. The scale of the budget has not been decided at this time. Regarding funding, nothing is decided at this point.

REPORTER: Changing the subject, I would like to ask about TEPCO's scheduled power outages. Again, the scheduled power outages will not be carried out tomorrow, making it the 10th day in a row that there have not been power outages. There have also been media reports that the scheduled powered outages will be abolished within the month of April in principle. What is the current thinking regarding the outlook for scheduled power outages?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The scheduled power outages were adopted as an emergency measure to deal with the gap between supply and demand resulting from the disaster. It is necessary to, as soon as possible, make it so that the scheduled power outages do not need to be carried out by encouraging power saving efforts and by restarting thermal power plants to increase the available supply. Furthermore, we are moving forward with preparations to deal with the summer months when demand will increase. On top of that, we are making very careful considerations for what will happen to the system for scheduled power outages itself, in light of its importance as a safety net to prepare for any extraordinary events, and despite current conditions in which outages are not being carried out. I believe that if we reach a point where it seems there will not be a large-scale and unexpected outage in the future due to power saving efforts, we may be able to do away with the system to implement scheduled outages. However, we need to be careful that we don't accidentally cause an unforeseen large-scale outage due to a lack of foresight. We are considering this very carefully.

REPORTER: I would like to ask about the issue of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). There were some reports this morning that considerations have begun in the direction of splitting away NISA from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and combining it with the Nuclear Safety Commission under the Cabinet office to form a new regulatory agency. Is this correct?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Government has not officially begun making any such considerations. This is because conditions are such that the only option is for everyone to exercise their maximum capability under the current framework and put all their energy into bringing the current situation under control. Making considerations for reorganization or actually carrying it out will obviously require a great deal of effort. The current conditions are such that bringing the nuclear power plant situation under control is our highest priority. Each organization is putting all of its energy into this. We will only begin considering reorganization when we have brought the current problem under control to a certain degree. The Government is therefore making no official considerations of any kind.

REPORTER: I have a question regarding the shipment restrictions on agricultural products. In your press conference on the April 4, you announced the policy to designate and lift the restrictions on a town basis, and said that the agricultural products which have not been designated are safe. However, on April 4, for example, it has come to light that while shipments of some produce from the city of Asahi in Chiba Prefecture were restricted as a result of the municipality's own inspections revealing higher than permissible radiation levels, there were municipalities in neighboring towns which did not conduct any inspections. No restrictions are imposed on these municipalities. Therefore, on what grounds did you claim that the non-designated agricultural products were safe?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We take into account a number of factors, such as where the inspections are currently being conducted and on what grounds. Furthermore, since the radiation level derives from radioactive materials which have been diffused in the air, we make our decision based on observations of to what degree the radioactive materials have spread on a regional basis and their distribution situation. Therefore, even if there are municipalities which do not conduct inspections, based on the radiation readings monitored in the towns across the region, we decide the size of the area in which shipment restrictions are necessary. Thus, the more municipalities conduct the inspections, the higher the chances that the area will not be subject to restrictions, and naturally, the Government's decision will be on the conservative side. These are the factors we bear in mind in making our decision.

REPORTER: Regarding this topic, some have pointed out that from the perspective of the municipalities which have conducted self-inspections, it is unfair that only those municipalities are subject to the shipment restrictions. Are you saying that is not the case?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I actually think the opposite is true. If an area has not notified its inspection results, we have no choice but to estimate the radiation level based the neighboring areas' levels. In coming up with estimates this way, naturally the emphasis will be on safety.

REPORTER: Yesterday, the Chairman of the NSC said that it is considering raising the limit of radiation that a person may be exposed to in one year, in light of the evacuation possibly being prolonged. Was this instructed by the Government?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have seen those reports, and I have spoken with relevant experts, including the NSC, on a number of occasions. The present standards are intended to ensure safety in the case of exposure to large amounts of radiation in a short period of time. Of course, while we must continue to keep a close eye on the nuclear power plant situation, over the next week or two, or rather, from a long-term perspective, the radiation level will be relatively low compared with when we had moments when the radiation level was high. We must now carefully manage the health risks of long-term exposure to radioactive materials and ensure safety. From a separate dimension of ensuring safety, we are examining what level of criteria is appropriate, for instance, for asking residents to evacuate, etc.

REPORTER: The Japan Meteorological Agency has been disclosing its radiation predictions upon your instructions. However, regarding the SPEEDI of MEXT, the Nuclear Safety Commission has so far only disclosed it once. Could you tell us how the Government intends to disclose it in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Basically, I believe various information and data should be made public, and based on this principle, I would like information and data on a variety of issues to be disclosed. Regarding SPEEDI, I understand that it is a system that analyzes and predicts the effects of radiation, such as which areas will have what level of radiation, based on the data like emitted radiation and amounts of controlled substances. I have been informed that there has been no change to the materials needed to make those predictions about emitted radioactive materials. I've been told that if the input data does not change, then the output data basically does not change or change significantly.