Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Confirmation has been received that three people lost their lives as a direct result of damage caused by the aftershock that occurred yesterday evening. There are also reports of other people who have perished in accidents thought to be related to the aftershock. I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences for those people who have lost their lives.

I would like to report on the Cabinet meeting that was held today. The meeting approved eight general and other matters, and also approved personnel decisions. The Prime Minister spoke on the subject of "a temporary acting minister during periods when the minister is on an overseas visit," and designated Minister Gemba as the temporary acting Finance Minister during that period.

In Cabinet discussions, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning the "thorough implementation of personnel management based on capabilities and performance."

I would also like to make a report in response to a question that I received in the press conference last Friday, concerning the status of those injured at the nuclear power plant and the management of exposure to radiation for workers at the power plant. Firstly, with regard to those persons who have perished or been injured at the power plant, as of April 10, there were three persons who lost their lives at the time of the initial disaster. Two of these persons were missing, but their bodies have since been found in the reactor building and it has been confirmed that they lost their lives in the tsunami. One person was trapped and died under the arm of a crane that toppled over in the earthquake at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant. These are the three people who have lost their lives at the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences for these three people who lost their lives. With regard to the people who have been injured at the power plants, as of April 10, there are a total of 29 persons. From Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) there are a total of 14 persons, 12 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and two at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant. Six of these people were injured in the initial earthquake and tsunami disaster. The remaining eight TEPCO employees have been injured in the course of operations to contain the situation at the power plant. A total of 11 persons working for cooperating companies at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have been injured, of whom one person was injured in the initial earthquake and tsunami disaster. The remaining 10 persons have been injured in the course of operations to contain the situation at the power plant. In addition, a total of four members of the Self-Defense Forces have been injured in the course of operations to respond to the accident. Finally, with regard to the status of management of exposure to radiation for workers at the power plant, as of April 10, there are a total of 21 people whose effective dose has exceeded 100mSv, 18 of whom are from TEPCO and three of whom are from cooperating companies. As of April 10 there are no workers who have been exposed to the currently designated maximum permissible effective dose of 250mSv.

Q&As

REPORTER: With regard to the international evaluation of the accident at the nuclear power plant, there are reports that the current International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) Level of 5 will be raised to Level 7. What are the facts surrounding this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) have been calculating the data and there is an announcement scheduled to be made by NISA and the NSC on this issue. Please direct your questions to those bodies.

REPORTER: If the accident is raised to Level 7, what sort of impact do you think it would have on the Japanese economy for example?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: After this press conference, a formal announcement will be made and after that the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry will be holding a press conference to address these issues. Please direct your questions to the minister at that time.

REPORTER: After the Cabinet meeting, you met with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and other ministers. Did you hear a report about this issue at that time or were you informed prior to your meeting with the minister? How did you come to know about this information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Please ask your question at the press conference tomorrow, following the formal announcement later today.

REPORTER: Yesterday, the power supply to the nuclear power plant was stopped temporarily due to the aftershock. As there are warnings of more aftershocks, do you think that measures to ensure an external power supply are sufficient at the power plant?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Yesterday evening and once again today, after the Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister issued instructions on two occasions to both Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kaieda, NISA and others, directing that the transmissions systems at the power plant are to be checked to ensure that even in the event of an aftershock or other event the mains power to the power plant can be maintained, including making efforts to ensure that even in the event of a power blackout due to an aftershock the mains power remains in place. In addition, the Prime Minister has instructed that in the event that main power cannot be transmitted to the power plant, all possible means should be expended to ensure that back-up systems function properly.

REPORTER: I think that you met with the Minister of Defense and the Minister for Foreign Affairs prior to the Cabinet meeting and I imagine it concerned the mooted visit of the Prime Minister to the United States. What was the content of your discussions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: No specific schedule has yet been announced concerning a visit to the United States by the Prime Minister, although there is no change to the tentative plan for a visit to be made during the first half of this year. The current status is that a specific schedule is being coordinated with a view to the Prime Minister making a visit to the United States in the first half of this year.

REPORTER: On a related note, there has been talk concerning the possibility of a meeting of the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, the so-called "Two-Plus-Two" meeting prior to the Prime Minister's visit to the United States. What is the current status of the "Two-Plus-Two" meeting?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It would be preferable for a "Two-Plus-Two" meeting to be realized prior to the Prime Minister's visit to the United States; however, the specific timing of such a meeting is still being coordinated.

REPORTER: In response to the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, there have been reports that the government of the Republic of Korea requested the Japanese government to carry out joint investigations on water quality. Could you tell us if this is true?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Generally speaking, foreign countries, including our neighboring countries, have shown great interest in such marine issues. I have said that the Government must provide detailed explanations at the earliest stage possible. As part of such efforts, and in particular with a view to helping them get a firm grasp of the situation and share information, we would generally like to take a positive attitude toward requests from other countries, as far as possible. With regard to the specifics, I would ask that you put the question to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) or the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

REPORTER: I have a question about Japan-US relations. April 12, today, marks 15 years after the conclusion of the Japan-US agreement on the return of Futenma. What are your thoughts on the lack of progress on this? At the same time, due to the US military's response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, I think that there are also emerging opinions regarding the re-evaluation and reconsideration of the importance of the Japan-US alliance. How do you think the recent activities on the part of the US military has impacted the Futenma issue? I would appreciate your response on these two points.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: On the first point, the 15 years that has passed is a very long time indeed. During these years, the Okinawan people have continued to hold strong expectations on the return of Futenma. In relation to that, issues such as the relocation site have caused them much heartbreak and trouble. I feel deeply regretful and apologetic that these problems have plagued them for such a long period of time. While we have to do our best in dealing with the fallout from the Great East Japan Earthquake, we must speed up the return of Futenma as quickly as possible and reduce the risks faced by Okinawa. At the same time, we have renewed our commitment to taking firm steps and moving forward on the long-standing, serious issues pertaining to the return of Futenma. With regard to the latter question, despite the tragic nature of the Great East Japan Earthquake, I do think that it is true that there has been a renewed affirmation of the importance of the Japan-US alliance as a consequence of the earthquake. The Japanese government is also very grateful for the assistance offered by the US military for this disaster. Of course, other than the US military, we have also received help from other countries, but the particularly strong show of support from the United States is very significant for us. I do not think that this relates directly to the Futenma issue.

REPORTER: The INES classification of the incident at the nuclear power plant was raised to seven. Although there has not been an official announcement, many media outlets are already reporting this, so I would like to hear from the Government about it. I think that there is a lot of international interest in this issue.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: There will be an official announcement about this at 11:00am.

REPORTER: I would like to confirm one thing about your announcement of planned evacuation zones yesterday. I believe that in the beginning when the Government issued evacuation orders and orders to evacuate indoors, you instructed and advised not to eat homegrown vegetables and other things like this. Am I correct in assuming that these instructions remain valid? Do instructions regarding points to watch out for in everyday life apply to planned evacuation zones? I think that people from NISA and the NSC gave such advice.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: While there are of course points in common between issues related to evacuation zones and those related to foodstuffs, they are separate topics.

REPORTER: A young boy in his early teens living in the Kanto Koshinetsu region was declared brain dead this morning in accordance with the Revised Organ Transplant Law. This is the first time any child under the age of 15 has been declared brain dead in Japan. Please tell us any information the Government has on this matter, and what the facts of the issue are.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: There may have been a report on this delivered to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), but the Prime Minister Office has not received any information on it

REPORTER: It seems to me that progress on the Okinawa Promotion and Development Plan has been halted while the Government proceeds with the disaster response effort. Is there the possibility that the work on the plan will be put off for a while?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, I can tell you that I have issued exact orders for preparations and discussions to proceed forward at the working level. I think that naturally, at some point we will need to have a political decision on this. The response to the Great East Japan Earthquake is of course extremely important, but the promotion policy for Okinawa is also a very important issue. I would like to have as much done on them as possible at the working level. Once there is a need for involvement on the political level, I will act to move this issue forward.

REPORTER: Related to the discussion a moment ago concerning the evacuation zones, some residing in the regions affected have called the Government's announcement half-baked and are questioning whether or not the Government has done a good job coordinating with local city, town, and village mayors. What are your current thoughts on this? In addition, about the way the announcement was made this time, previously in Iwaki City instructions were given to remain indoors; however, this time no instructions were given. I think this raises the question of whether the Government is really considering the way it makes announcements from the position of the people or not. What do you think?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, regarding the exact relationship we have with regional governments, we need a certain amount of time for operations and work that corresponds to the situation in each area. While I think it would be best; or rather, while I would like to announce matters after we have coordinated them with local government to a certain extent following conversations with regional mayors on what direction we will go in, yesterday the situation was such that matters were already being reported by various media outlets yesterday. I think that not making an announcement after certain situations have already been reported would only cause those living in each area to become further anxious and confused. If there was no reporting, I think it would be better to first completely work each plan out and then announce what we will do, but given the current situation, in order to avoid widespread panic, we made the decision yesterday to clearly announce the Government's policy. That was the situation we were in. Although we caused a lot of concern among the residents of the affected areas, based on the policy I announced yesterday, we will coordinate the exact actions to be carried out by the national government and local governments in consideration of each situation, and when there is need for further instructions to the people we will issue them. I would like everyone to understand our basic policy, pay attention to notifications or instructions from respective municipal governments, and comply with these instructions.