Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Q&As

REPORTER: The Chief Representative of the New Komeito Party (NKP) has said that it is still too early to begin legislative debate on the Basic Act on Reconstruction. Does the Government still intend to submit this bill within the month?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We, of course, understand that in addition to the many areas affected by the nuclear incident there are also many places that suffered damage due to the earthquake and tsunami which are not yet of a condition to allow for reconstruction work to begin. On the other hand, we very much want for the people who reside in these areas to look toward the future and have the hope that they can move on from evacuation toward recovery and reconstruction. I believe that helping them to feel this way is of the utmost importance. In order to do this and move toward reconstruction, we probably need to begin actual work, or start preparing to do so. I want to begin doing this soon, and I would like for the Diet to understand that and provide us with a legal framework for that purpose. As for how exactly we will submit a bill, I have heard that members of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) are consulting with members of other parties right now. We are watching the situation and preparing to submit a bill within the month in the event that it must come from the Government.

REPORTER: I understand that you are preparing to submit the bill within this month if it seems that it will be expected to come from the Government, but what if it were to be introduced by a Diet member? Don't you think it would be strange for a piece of basic legislation like this, one that concerns Government organizations, to be introduced by a member of the Diet?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In any case, if it is introduced by a Diet member, we will need to gain the understanding and cooperation of each party involved. Considering the situation we are in, as long as we can obtain the understanding and cooperation of each party, I don't really think it is necessary to stick to precedent.

REPORTER: Today, when I visited the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), they told me that they would be checking the progress of each and every item of the roadmap released by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). However, yesterday an employee of TEPCO told me that the method for reporting progress on the roadmap was still under discussion. As daily presentations of data made by both parties are basically intended for the news media, what efforts do you think will be made to publicize the state of progress on the roadmap for those interested in seeing a conclusion to this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: So not information for the media or general public, but announcements for those who have evacuated their homes you mean?

REPORTER: And the general public.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: For the general public, we will continue to conduct regular press announcements as we have up until now. We are currently discussing how we can organize these announcements to make them even more useful. At the same time, I believe that we need to enhance the way information is communicated by TEPCO and NISA through their websites and other means. I think what is really important right now is to actually inform individual residents and communities, especially those that have evacuated. It has been pointed out that in the past we have not done enough to contact the mayors of the region's cities, towns and villages, particularly when we made the announcement about evacuation. We accept this criticism, and I think we are continuously working toward improvement. The situation is changing, and so I hope to continue to communicate information to the people effectively. I think we should be able to do so. The residents of the areas affected by this disaster have been split up and evacuated to different areas, and I think that the question of exactly how to communicate information to these people - who have the greatest interest in it - is not actually very easy to answer. Nevertheless, as we are dealing with a time period of another three to six months, I hope to discuss what improvements we can make.

REPORTER: Concerning the planned evacuation areas around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, have you decided in your discussions with the affected municipalities when exactly you will be announcing instructions about these areas?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: From the perspective of safety, it is best that we do so as soon as possible. On the other hand, I think that this is something for which it will not be so easy to gain the understanding of those in the affected areas. They are sure to have a lot of anxiety about the matter. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuo Fukuyama has spoken directly to residents of these areas about this, and I have met with regional city, town and village mayors to discuss the matter as well. We are exerting every possible effort to answer and respond to their concerns, and will be making our decisions moving forward in consideration of safety. While at the current moment in time, we have not yet reached a stage in which we can announce concrete instructions, I believe that we should not wait too long before doing so.