Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Q&As

REPORTER: According to an announcement by Chiba Prefecture, some spinach that was subject to shipping restrictions has found its way into the consumer marker. What are your views on this incident, given that the Government has explained that produce on the market is safe, and are you contemplating measures to prevent such an occurrence in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It is truly regrettable that some producers and consumer market-related persons have chosen to ignore the request for self-restraint in shipment and ignore actual shipment restrictions. Currently Chiba Prefecture has issued a request for the collection of the products in question and is conducting surveys of the municipalities where the shipment restrictions are in place. Although I am keenly aware of the extremely difficult position the producers are in, after having reared their produce diligently by hand, their acts have resulted in a loss of confidence among consumers with regard to food safety and as a result will cause great inconvenience and trouble for other agricultural producers. Given that this incident has occurred, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has reissued a strong request to the prefectures concerned to ensure that shipment restrictions are fully implemented and complied with.

REPORTER: So the Government will not be taking any special measures in this case?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The shipment restrictions are being issued based on law, and I would request all persons concerned to comply with these legal requirements. The systems for implementing the legal requirements are left to the prefectures themselves and I hear that Chiba Prefecture is responding urgently to the current situation. All related prefectures will continue to act with a sense of urgency as the actions that have been seen in Chiba Prefecture ultimately benefit no one in the agriculture industry. The Government will also continue to make efforts to ensure that restrictions are implemented thoroughly and that a reoccurrence of this current incident does not take place.

REPORTER: In the forecast issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for cumulative annual radiation volumes, it appears that the city of Date in Fukushima could exceed an annual cumulative total of 20mSv. The Government has announced that the benchmark for Planned Evacuation Zones is set at 20mSv annual exposure to radiation and now the forecast for the city of Date envisages that the levels there will exceed 20mSv. Does the Government plan on designating the city of Date as a Planned Evacuation Zone? If not, what responses are you considering, particularly in view of the fact that some residents are already moving out of the area?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am aware that on a localized basis, there are areas that were forecast to exceed an annual exposure of 20mSv. These forecasts were combined with the overall outlook for radiation volumes as calculated by the System for Prediction of Environment Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI), and based on the overall outlook that the areas concerned were not expected to exceed 20mSv, the areas to be designated as Planned Evacuation Zones were decided accordingly. Naturally, monitoring will be further enhanced and the situation will continue to be observed, but at the current point, there is no specific consideration being given to revising the current instructions on the Planned Evacuation Zones.

REPORTER: According to the same radiation forecast map announced by MEXT, in the converse situation, it seems that if we compare the reference data that was announced as the basis for planned evacuations in Katsurao village, the areas that are expected to exceed 20mSv are limited to the east of the village, accounting for just less than half of the total area. From now on, the map will be updated twice a month and looking at the current radiation trends on the map, does the Government intend to change the designation of Planned Evacuation Zones during the process of evacuation, or is it possible that a flexible response can be made to the application and implementation of zones? Also, as you mentioned before, is it likely that a revision to the plan could be made at a time when step two is completed?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: With regard to the application and implementation of the zones, the Government is already in consultation with the municipalities concerned and various considerations are being given to making as flexible a response as possible, while continuing to prioritize health and safety concerns. In that sense, the results of monitoring from now could have a bearing on such a flexible response. In the meantime, the current designations for planned evacuations are the basic standard on which we are working, although I am not saying that there will be no changes, as it is possible that the outlook could alter significantly. Naturally if there are significant changes to the areas that are forecast to exceed exposure of 20mSv, the Government will consider the impact of those changes at that time. However, at the current point it is regrettably the case that on the basis of data gathered so far it is unlikely that there will be any significant change in the situation.

REPORTER: So the flexible response you are referring to will still not alter the plan for the residents of Katsurao village, for example, to move out of the village?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I have just stated, if the situation changes significantly, then, there may be a different response, but at the current point, it is thought unlikely that there will be any significant changes to the situation.

REPORTER: Recently the ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the outlook for Japan's government bonds to "negative" in response to the disaster and the accident at the nuclear power station. How does the Government view this downgrading, and will it have an impact on future fiscal policy?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is an evaluation by one private sector ratings agency and therefore I would like to avoid comment. The response to the disaster and the impact of the accident at the nuclear power station require a number of different approaches, including fiscal measures. Since the outbreak of the disaster and the accident, the Government has maintained its basic line of continuing to ensure confidence in Japanese government bonds and will continue to make efforts to ensure that such confidence remains in place.

REPORTER: I have a question relating to one that was asked yesterday about the timing for the completion of temporary housing and the entry of disaster victims into such housing. The Government has stated a target of providing all persons displaced by the disaster who wish to use temporary housing with a roof over their heads by the Obon holiday period. This means that the process will still take four months from now. Has the Prime Minister's Office not given instructions, for example, to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to consider renting private land and thereby speeding up the process?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: With regard to the construction of temporary housing, from the start and up to the present, it has been the case that instructions have repeatedly been given to make maximum efforts to procure land for building, including state-owned land as a matter of course and also making requests for the use of private sector-owned land, not to mention the procurement of materials, manpower and all other resources required to speed up the process as a whole. The outlook that has been stated will result in many people having to wait for a long period of time in shelters such as gymnasiums and other locations, and this is something I feel truly sorry for, but I ask for understanding that maximum efforts are being made to construct temporary houses. At the same time, since directly after the disaster, the Government has also issued instructions for other possibilities and options to gymnasiums and current evacuation facilities to be considered that would offer a better environment for secondary evacuation. Many local governments are engaged in this task and we are requesting them to continue to respond to the situation.

REPORTER: In the recent Cabinet committee meeting, you stated that the temporary entry into the no-entry zone would be started at the earliest during the national holiday period next week. Could you tell us if this is a measure for the evacuated residents in particular rather than for public purposes, etc., in the areas concerned and what is the status of considerations and progress on the timing and the areas where people will be able to return home temporarily next week?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, with regard to temporary entry for the public purposes, these operations have already begun. For example, I hear that the summary courts have already begun the processing of necessary and important documentation and various operations have already begun. Next, with regard to specific locations and timings for visits, the local governments are being asked to cooperate despite their extremely busy schedules and we are proceeding with coordination and consultation as fast as possible. As we are still in the coordination phase, the Government cannot announce at this point what specific areas will be subject to temporary entry operations first and when these operations will take place, without first completing coordination with local governments.

REPORTER: Sony Entertainment, which operates under the umbrella of Sony Corporation, announced that personal information of as many as 77 million people is likely to have leaked from their servers. I assume the impact of this to be significant, as it is the largest-scale personal information leakage in history by a major Japanese corporation. What are your thoughts regarding this matter at this point?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am aware of this news. As a general opinion, it is vital that each private corporation do its utmost to fully protect people's personal information it has in its possession. I hope that the company will exercise its maximum capacity to resolve this issue to protect the relevant individuals' personal information. In addition, I would like to see all entities, including the Government and affiliated private companies, exert their efforts to properly manage personal information.

REPORTER: This is with regard to the topic that was touched upon yesterday, about the President of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) getting on a plane of the Self-Defense Force (SDF) on the day of the disaster, but then making turning around. You said yesterday something to the effect of "he should have returned by car," but when I checked the road conditions of that time, the Tomei Expressway - it would be the Shimizu Interchange - was closed. The Chuo Expressway was also closed within the Yamanashi Prefecture. Therefore, it can be assumed that it would have been quite difficult to return by car. Please share your thoughts regarding this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I do not believe I stated yesterday that "he should have returned by car." I was talking about what I recalled happening at the time, which was that, when the decision was made to not go by a plane, I said, "cars are running, aren't they?" or something to that effect. In response to this, your company (The Sankei Shimbun) asked, "Did you not instruct them to go by car?" and I answered, "I did not give any instructions." I was simply explaining what specifically took place at the time. It was not my intention to convey that I had given any instructions based on some sort of decision I had made, such as "you should be able to go by car if you cannot go by plane."

REPORTER: With regard to compensation by TEPCO, the chairman of Keidanren has said that "a request will be made to apply the escape clause based on the law." Have there been no changes in your thinking regarding this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: While I believe that the court will ultimately decide based on the law, as a lawyer, I cannot imagine the escape clause being applicable in his case.

REPORTER: On the other hand, with regard to the point that TEPCO's legal responsibilities could possibly end up being limitless, various government offices and private companies have called for the setting of an upper limit on reparations. How do you feel about this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I don't think this is something that can be considered when thinking about the victims. In other words, I feel that to say "we will not offer any more compensation because we have reached our upper limit" is unthinkable and unacceptable. If I were to go further, I believe that the Government and TEPCO will ultimately have to enter into a "solidary obligation" on this, pursuant to the general act of tort, or Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damages. As such, I expect there to be deliberations on what the ratio of burden allocation should be between the Government and TEPCO. But first, with regard to its relationship with the disaster victims, I believe it is a matter of course - given the matter of the relationships among the Government, TEPCO and tax-payers - that primarily, TEPCO should compensate for damages within the scope of legally sufficient cause.

REPORTER: One more question. By when will the Government's scheme regarding the said compensation become concrete?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Though it may be called a scheme, I see it as involving various events and steps. Certain developments are already taking place with regard to provisional payments, and without regard to such a scheme or results of the review board, those who have suffered damages already have been given the right to demand compensation based on the law. So with regard to this, it is my view that if there are such demands, they must be met as a legal matter. In addition, with regard to a scheme of a broader spectrum - a temporary one which ensures that compensations be made and that TEPCO carries out its responsibilities - we hope to hammer it out as soon as possible.