Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Q&As

REPORTER: A while ago when the Prime Minister met with Special Advisor to the Cabinet Kenichi Matsumoto, he expressed the acknowledgement that the area around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant may be uninhabitable for 10 or 20 years. Is the Government of the belief that the area will be uninhabitable for decades?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have not heard about what the Prime Minister and Special Advisor Matsumoto discussed, nor have I heard about what was said to the press. The area 20km around the power plant is an evacuation zone, and while it can be said that the radiation levels there are higher than places further away, we do not have detailed information on the amount of radiation present throughout the zone, nor do we have details about how that radiation - in particular, any irradiated soil in the area - will affect inhabitants over the long-term. The Government is exerting every effort to bring the situation at the power plant to a close as soon as possible, and is conducting in-depth monitoring operations not just within the 20km zone, but in other areas as well in order to return life in the region to normal as soon as possible. As of right now, monitoring results have not yet been finalized, and thus the Government can make no predictions about the future. I am aware that those who reside in the area have the strong desire that we propose an outlook of the situation and let them know as soon as possible when they can return. However, as long as the situation at the plant remains unresolved, we will not be able to fully investigate the area, and thus we are currently doing our best toward concluding that situation.

REPORTER: Related to that, I understand what you are saying, but let's pretend that the Prime Minister did make such a remark. If that were the case, wouldn't that be a pretty big problem in terms of the extent to which he has considered the feelings of area residents?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: To be honest, I do not really know what kind of exchange there was between the Prime Minister and Special Advisor Matsumoto or what was reported to the press about this exchange. I believe that the recognition I just spoke of is shared by the Prime Minister.

REPORTER: Although farmers in Chiba Prefecture were supposedly refraining from shipping a leaf vegetable, sanchu, as an act of self-restraint, red leaf lettuce from the region has been found in a supermarket in Shinagawa in Tokyo. I know that you said that it was alright to consume any vegetables placed on store shelves, but I would like to know what the meaning of this is. Please tell us any facts you know about this situation.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: That has nothing to do with shipping restrictions - that lettuce was from Asahi City in Chiba Prefecture and the city was requested to be self-restraint on shipment. The Prefecture requested restraint regarding shipping on March 20. On March 28, Asahi City began to independently investigate their produce, and determined that all of it contained radiation below the provisional value. I have heard that they thus made the decision to ship the lettuce. I think that there is a contradiction between this shipment and the report that they were implementing voluntary shipping restrictions, and I would like the people involved to be more careful in terms of the way they manage information. We have requested that the Prefecture manage this situation appropriately. The items that were shipped out of Chiba are not subject to shipping restrictions and contained levels of radiation below the legal limits.

REPORTER: This was brought up in the Cabinet meeting and I would like to reconfirm your understanding of the matter - concerning the relationship between the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), I would like to ask about the hiring of former Agency Director-General Toru Ishida as advisor to TEPCO. I wonder if the custom of amakudari in which high ranked Government officials take high paying jobs in private companies after retirement didn't contribute to lack of sufficient safety checks at the nuclear power plant which led to the problem this time. I would like to reconfirm your opinion on this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I cannot say readily about whether that had any affect on the system to check the safety of the plant or not, but I will say that I think it is natural for those who question this to feel that way, and accordingly I think we need to work to make sure that this practice is not repeated in the future. Although it is actually quite difficult to regulate this legally, given the magnitude of the incident, regardless of whether or not Mr. Ishida being hired by TEPCO directly affected the situation, I believe that we must not allow any action that raises suspicion to continue.

REPORTER: Do you think that Mr. Ishida's case is one of amakudari?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: According to the laws on this that were in place before the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) came to power, this case is not subject to regulations as an instance of amakudari. However, as I said, I believe that many feel that this case may have led to lax enforcement of the system in place to check the safety of the plant, and in consideration of the great trouble that this has caused the public, regardless of whether this was amakudari or not in the legal sense, I think it is socially unacceptable. And so regardless of whether we can do something about this legally or not, I want the current administration to make use of its power and work to ensure that this kind of behavior does not occur on our watch. I want to do as much as we possibly can on this.

REPORTER: During the Committee meeting, you described the posts of advisors in TEPCO as "reserved posts" I would like to know exactly what you mean by this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Since back when we were the opposition party, this has been a real problem. There were many cases in which ex-bureaucrats were moved in to the same post after retirement for four or five consecutive terms. We cannot allow such things to happen. Although these occurrences have fallen dramatically since the change in political leadership, there are also cases, like the one this time, for which if you look only at one designated post you cannot tell that it is being filled by people with similar backgrounds, but if you look at a range of executive posts, you will see that it is the same people swapping between jobs. I believe that we must naturally view such a practice as being equivalent to the same people occupying the same posts over and over again.

REPORTER: Also, with regard to Mr. Ishida's move to TEPCO, this took place during the administration of the DPJ government. Do you not think that there have been problems regarding the response of the DPJ administration to this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Under the current system, there are no structures in place that provide for advance notification, nor are there preemptive regulations. Therefore it is not a matter of approving or denying any cases of reemployment, but rather that these instances of reemployment are reported after they have been implemented. In legal terms, there is no problem and as Japan is a country ruled by law, this was the stated position of the Government. However, considering that this serious and large-scale accident took place in a facility operated by TEPCO and that it has wide-ranging social consequences, I think that the fact that this appointment was made cannot be condoned. However, I repeat that in legal terms, it is not easy to determine how to regulate such appointments and practices. Also, in terms of the exercise of administrative power, I intend to respond by studying what is the maximum scope for exerting administrative power to ensure that such appointments are not made, including at other power companies.

REPORTER: I would like to confirm a point made this morning about the raising of the seriousness of the accident to Level 7. With regard to the administration's thinking on this matter, upon receiving the results of the monitoring data, who was it or which body was it within the Government that made the final decision that the level should be raised?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Naturally, it is the Cabinet that exercises administrative power over matters of government and so in this sense you could say that the Cabinet made the final decision; however, in terms of the structures of government, it would be correct to say that the decision lay with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). Given the seriousness of the accident, however, the third-party opinions of the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) were also sought and as this is not a matter in which political discretion should be exerted, the final announcement of the judgment was also made by NISA.

REPORTER: At the end of last month, there were reports on the possibility that the accident could correspond to Level 7. Was it also NISA at that time which made a decision that it was not necessary to make an announcement on the basis of provisional data?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The data was not even provisional. It was the case that according to preliminary calculations, there was a possibility that the level should be raised. However, as these calculations were all preliminary estimates, a report was received that no explanation could be made on the accuracy of these estimates until proper data had been gathered. Therefore instructions were issued for data and documentation to be gathered as quickly as possible that would enable estimates to be made that could be used for the purposes of making a public explanation.

REPORTER: I would like to confirm a point made by the Prime Minister in his press conference about his request to the opposition parties to cooperate in the creation of a blueprint for reconstruction from the initial stages. What sort of cooperation does the Government envisage from the opposition parties? Are they to be involved in some specific system for the creation of a blueprint and will their views be reflected in such a system? Or is it simply the case that the Government wishes to hear their opinions in the forum of a joint committee?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Prime Minister responded to this question yesterday, but it is the case that the opposition parties are our counterparts and therefore before the Government makes a pronouncement on what form of cooperation should be adopted, it is important for our counterparts to state their intentions about the cooperation they will provide. The Government's stated position is that it seeks to adopt a structure in which a broad range of opinions will be utilized, including from the private sector and also from the opposition parties.

REPORTER: So what is the Government's position on the method of cooperation to be employed?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I have just said, our counterparts in opposition will have their own opinions about the method of cooperation and therefore the method of cooperation can only be talked about once their intentions are clear.

REPORTER: In a Cabinet Committee today, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Mr. Tadayoshi Nagashima asked for a target to be given for when people can move in temporary housing, to which you replied that instructions have been given for a target to be set in a week or so. In what format will this target be set out and what is the Government's thinking on the shortest and longest timeframe for of the building temporary housing?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is a matter that must be finalized at the working level at the earliest possible juncture. Mr. Nagashima pointed out in his question that "the latest target would be too late" but he also noted the importance of issuing a schedule or outlook for the building of temporary housing. I think it is unavoidable that the schedule will have to be of a certain length. However, as Mr. Nagashima has personal experience of evacuation from disaster in the village of Yamakoshi, I take his point that a schedule should be set out with the utmost seriousness. That is the response I gave to his question and from the perspective of supporting people's daily lives, I will be giving instructions to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to promptly devise a schedule for building temporary housing.

REPORTER: It has been three months since you took office as Chief Cabinet Secretary. There was a period at the start, when you considered yourself a kind of guardian angel, likening yourself to a goalkeeper. The earthquake then struck and it seems the situation has changed somewhat. When you look back now, how have your assumptions changed over the past month, regarding the format of your initial work? Please tell us if you feel there are some areas wherein you have failed to adequately fulfill your role as a conventional Chief Cabinet Secretary, as a result of the earthquake.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I do not feel there has been much change compared to before the earthquake, in terms of my image of the post of Chief Cabinet Secretary. In the Government, the consistent fulfillment of the roles given to individuals working in the various departments, including both the ministers respective ministry officials, is basically the thing which enables the Government to perform effectively. However, even if each ministry or department tries to do the best it can, if you drop the ball at some point, then a passing around of incidents may arise, or coordination between the various ministries can potentially deteriorate. My central role as Chief Cabinet Secretary, in that regard, is surely to prevent such things from occurring by backing up the work of everyone else. Figuratively speaking, I described this as a kind of goalkeeping role. I do not really feel that this has changed before and after the earthquake. However, as I stated during this morning's press conference, the role the Government has to play has grown suddenly and to a substantial degree since the earthquake. Thus, in terms of the role of the Chief Cabinet Secretary under conventional circumstances, I am fully aware of the need to play, to a certain extent, the role described earlier with regard to the Government's relationship with the ruling parties and with the Diet. However, with the understanding of all the members of the ruling parties, and in wider terms, those of the Diet, I have been devoting myself to coordination within the Government, leaving the matters of the parties to other party members.

REPORTER: In reports made by foreign media, and in particular on the Internet, you have recently been presented as the current face of the Japanese Government. The other day, this was even the case in the New York Times. How do you perceive the great showering of attention that you have received since the earthquake?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I would say that this is because it may be hard for reporters, or indeed for the public, to see the work being done by everyone else, although they are also working hard. For example, as the minister with jurisdiction over nuclear power plants, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kaieda dealt with this situation in the first week a great deal more than I did, and lost much more sleep. Or take State Minister for Disaster Management Matsumoto; he almost never left the Emergency Response Center in the underground floor of the Prime Minister's Office while working to respond to the tsunami. The staff at the various ministries have all been working hard in their respective jobs. As it so happens, one of the functions I perform in my work, and in my duties, is to pass on information on a range of subjects to the Japanese public. From that perspective, in a certain sense, I am the focus of much attention, but I think this is my role. On the other hand, I think that many people also recognize the work that has been performed, from the outset, by many cabinet ministers, including their office staff, as well as the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), fire department, police, Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and others working inside the disaster-affected region. I hope it is understood that even now, everyone is doing their best.