Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I would like to start with an overview of today's Cabinet meeting. In addition to the nine answers in response to the written questions submitted to the Cabinet, we made decisions related to the promulgation of laws, government orders, and personnel matters.

During the Cabinet meeting we undertook procedures related to the promulgation of laws in connection to the recently established supplementary budget. At the gathering of ministers that followed, we were instructed to do everything available to us with regard to the implementation of the budget in order to support those affected by the disaster. At the Reconstruction Design Council, the grand vision for reconstruction is now being discussed. The Prime Minister said that we must not relax our efforts with the passage of the first supplementary budget, and that each of us should consider what we can or should do in terms of recovery and reconstruction in order to further assist disaster victims even before the Council makes any decisions. He instructed us to proceed resolutely with each project.

Next, I would like to report on the visit of the Prime Minister to an evacuation shelter. The Prime Minister will make a day trip by car to Saitama Prefecture, arriving at the shelter in the afternoon of Wednesday, May 4. He will visit the shelter housed in the former building of Kisai High School in Kazo City. In addition to offering his condolences to those from Futaba Town in Fukushima Prefecture who have fled to the shelter, the Prime Minister plans to hold an exchange of opinions with the Futaba Town Mayor, Saitama Governor and Kazo City Mayor.

Next, at 12:35 Japan time today, President of the United States Barack Obama held a press conference in which he announced that Osama bin Laden, the ring leader of terrorism activities such as the September 11 attacks, has been killed. The Prime Minister issued a statement about this, which I will report on here.

(Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano read the Prime Minister's statement)

As soon as we received the information that bin Laden had been killed, we established an information liaison office within the Prime Minister's Office. This office was headed by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management, who gathered high-level officials from each relevant ministry and agency to hold an Executive Meeting on International Terrorism Countermeasures. This meeting was held to share relevant information and discuss the strengthening of terrorism countermeasures in the future. Moving forward we will continue to pay close attention to the international situation and do everything in our power to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens both at home and abroad.

Q&As

REPORTER: Did the White House contact Japan before or after the killing of bin Laden?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At around the same time that President Obama announced the news, the United States contacted our foreign office. I have heard that at that time they thanked the Japanese Government for all the cooperation we have extended up until now.

REPORTER: Will there be any changes to the Government's policy on Afghanistan or war against terrorism in the wake of this killing?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As was stated in the statement issued by the Prime Minister, this is not something that will change our basic thinking on the matter.

REPORTER: I know that you said you were contacted at around the same time that President Obama made the announcement, and I realize this seems quite nitpicky, but I want to ask which office of the United States contacted the Government around 12:35.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Communication occurred between our respective foreign affairs offices.

REPORTER: Did you receive a report from the United States on how bin Laden was killed, or the state of the killing?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have not received any report on this in particular.

REPORTER: I believe that you also must have received a report on domestic anti-terrorism measures. To the extent that answering this question won't interfere with anti-terror operations, how are you currently thinking to strengthen these operations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We recognize that terrorism continues to be a serious threat. Something to this affect was also said in the statement issued by the Prime Minister. We want to take every possible precaution to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens residing in Japan and abroad by undertaking information gathering, border control measures, and precautionary measures. As I presented earlier, we set up an information liaison office within the Prime Minister's Office under the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management and held a meeting in order to share information and make sure that the heads of each relevant ministry and agency are thoroughly following through with the countermeasures in place.

REPORTER: I would like to ask, specifically and concretely, about what you know regarding how the Japanese Government evaluates the military action or use of force by which bin Laden was killed, from a legal and political perspective.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: That was covered in the statement from the Prime Minister. We welcome this development as a significant step forward in the fight against terrorism.

REPORTER: I believe that some are expressing the view in the wake of this killing that it will actually help to spread terrorism further, that it will complicate the situations more, and that bin Laden's death will just make this problem worse. What is the Japanese Government's perspective on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think there is no doubt that this is a significant step forward in the fight against terrorism. However, we recognize that we must pay close attention to the effect this will have. In particular, we have to watch the activities of Al-Qaeda very closely.

REPORTER: I would like to confirm this one more time. Were you contacted at exactly 12:35?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I haven't confirmed the exact time. I received the report that it was at the same time as President Obama's announcement.

REPORTER: With the killing of bin Laden I think we have seen the furthering of the so-called "depreciation of the yen, appreciation of stock prices" effect...

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Do you mean "depreciation of the yen, appreciation of the dollar"?

REPORTER: I think that this is occurring concurrently with the rise of Japan's stock prices. How do you analyze this situation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Other than matters pertaining to particularly major trends, I think it would be better for me to refrain from directly commenting on the daily going-ons in the market.

REPORTER: What do you think the possibility is of the killing leading to acts of retaliatory terrorism?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: No matter what happens, this incident does not mean that the threat of terrorism has disappeared. We need to continue to watch the situation closely and with a sense of urgency, for reasons including the possibility that you just pointed out. This is why we established the information liaison office in the Prime Minister's Office and are sharing information among each relevant ministry and agency.

REPORTER: Changing the topic, today the first supplementary budget was established, and I think that you will soon start work on formulating the second supplementary budget toward all-out reconstruction work. There are those in opposition parties that are calling for this formulation to be done quickly so that the budget bill can be submitted to the Diet soon. What is the feeling in the Government regarding the schedule for this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Before discussing when to submit the second supplementary budget bill, the Government must do a lot of work with regard to recovery and support for the day-to-day lives of those residing in the affected region. You might call this the prologue or preparation period for reconstruction; nevertheless, we need to meet these needs. We have been working on these issues every day continuously since before the establishment of the budget, and just because the budget is now in place does not mean that we will be able to take a rest. If it seems, over the course of the work we are undertaking, that we will need to have the Diet make a judgment on a certain portion of measures to be included in a second supplementary budget, then we will submit the bill with all possible haste. We are not currently at a stage in which I can say when that will be.

REPORTER: Conversely, the Prime Minister has said something to the effect of wanting to put together a budget based on the proposals of the Reconstruction Design Council. Is there a possibility that you will formulate another supplementary budget before the one mentioned by the Prime Minister is materialized?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We have asked the Reconstruction Design Council to debate the grand vision for reconstruction, and the Government will be announcing its own vision based on this debate. Naturally, it is likely that this is going to require a number of large projects that will need funding from a supplementary budget. This is our assumption. On the other hand, work for recovery, work to prepare for such a grand reconstruction and support for those living in the affected regions have not been entirely completed - actually, they are still extremely important. We must continue to carry out the work in front of us each day. We will continue to accumulate results, and when we reach the point where we need to supplement the budget we have for this work, or when we reach the point where we need to supplement the budget we have in order to move forward with the grand vision for reconstruction based on the discussion in the Reconstruction Design Council, we will pursue a new supplementary budget. We are not currently at a point in which I can say which of these two occurrences will come first.

REPORTER: Related to that, if it is decided that you need to submit a second supplementary budget bill to the Diet quickly, would you consider extending the period the Diet is in session?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: That question is based on a hypothetical situation. We will make a judgment on that if it comes time to do so.

REPORTER: In preparation for the second supplementary budget, when are you planning to submit the Basic Act on Reconstruction to the Diet? You are at the center of work on this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Cabinet is prepared to submit the Act any day now. People's New Party President Shizuka Kamei and Secretary-General of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Okada are currently undertaking final efforts to obtain cooperation from each party on this. I have heard they are in the final stage of work. Based on the result of their efforts, I hope to make a final judgment on this Act.

REPORTER: How long will the Government wait for them to finish up?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In terms of the Government's position, we would like to submit this bill today if it were possible. But this depends on the consultations being conducted among the members of ruling and opposition parties.

REPORTER: On a different note, when the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors met today, the Prime Minister said something to the effect of "this is my forecast" regarding the entry of evacuees into temporary housing. Please again provide an update on the situation within the Government regarding this issue.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: For detailed information I would like to ask you to refer that question to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). However, temporary housing is of course the greatest wish and request of the disaster victims, and it is the job of the Government to respond to that request. Therefore, at present MLIT is doing everything they can based on the strong determination and forecast of the Prime Minister - they are making efforts to realize the forecast.

REPORTER: On the same topic, is it correct to say that the Government has not decided on the relocation of evacuees? I mean, is it true that the Government cannot make a clear statement as of yet? Also, as the supplementary budget was passed today, do you have some forecast or schedule in mind regarding the removal of rubble?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: To answer your first question, in order to achieve the target laid out by the Prime Minister, concrete work and deliberations about how to achieve that target are currently being carried out mainly by MLIT. However, this is not something that the national government can achieve alone, and that is why we will need the cooperation of the prefectural governments in particular. We are conducting work and discussions under these conditions. Concerning the removal of rubble, we aim to remove it as quickly as possible. This is also a tremendously diverse problem, however, which is affected by many separate issues. It depends on the situation of each municipal government, and not just in terms of administration, but also in terms of physical issues related to where to transfer the rubble and how to dispense of it. We want to remove the rubble as soon as possible, and are thus making efforts to overcome the various constraints that I just mentioned.

REPORTER: Many people have pointed out that there is a disarray of Government meetings in response to the disaster and reconstruction, and I have heard that the Government, including yourself, is thus considering carefully the consolidation of those meetings. Have you made any progress in this area?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, to be accurate, the meetings are not in disarray. If you actually look at the number of days that these meetings were held, for instance, the headquarters meetings, you will see that conversely there have not been very many. Rather, we have taken great care in forming teams, gathering top-class staff and experts from each ministry and agency, and are having them work in those teams in an efficient manner. In conducting that work, in terms of who within the Government is responsible for leading each division, several politicians in various capacities - whether they be the chief of a headquarters or team - are in charge of promoting the work done by the staff members gathered from each ministry and agency. So, in that sense, most of these teams are working teams. That is the major premise of this system. I believe that I will be able to release information that makes this system easier to understand during the Golden Week holiday.

REPORTER: Regarding the possible suspension of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, during today's Budget Committee meeting the Prime Minister said that the matter "will be under review". The safety myth has been shattered, and the Government has yet to put forth particular policies for restoration. In this context, by when does the Government intend to reach a conclusion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has given instructions to review the safety of not only the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station but all nuclear power stations in Japan, and to take steps to reinforce their safety. Additionally, the electric power companies have been submitting reports, respectively. On this basis, we will carefully conduct further verifications and checks and take measures to fully ensure safety. Should it become clear that there are concerns about safety, we will of course stop the nuclear power station. If the nuclear power stations are confirmed to be safe, they will stay in operation. Indeed, it will depend on how the work goes in terms of confirming their safety. I believe if this is done as early as possible, the better it will be.

REPORTER: You previously said that concerning the restart of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station, the wishes of the municipalities also need to be taken into account. Do you still feel the same, i.e., about the importance of the will of the municipalities and the public with regards to suspending the nuclear power station?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Unless at the very least we have the approval and consent of the local municipalities, we cannot move forward with the restart of the nuclear power station from the social point of view. Regarding the nuclear power stations which are in operation, I believe the largest decisive factor is indeed whether their safety can be fully ensured and confirmed.

REPORTER: Tomorrow is May 3, Constitution Memorial Day. A bipartisan group of Diet members seeking to establish a new Constitution has, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, pointed out that provisions on emergency situations be included in the Constitution. Can you share your thoughts on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: If you read the transcripts of my remarks at Diet deliberations before the present Deliberative Council on the Constitution was established, I believe my answer will be clear. In order to have constructive discussions on the Constitution, the discussions should indeed take place at the Diet. I believe nothing good will come from government offices and the Cabinet making careless remarks on the Constitution if we want to have constructive discussions on the Constitution.

REPORTER: So the Deliberative Council on the Constitution has not made any progress. Although there are signs in the Diet that the Council may be beginning to get into gear, the Council has yet to make any moves. What are your thoughts on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: My response is the same as before.

REPORTER: I would like to ask about the compensation scheme for the nuclear power station incident. Even today, there has been discussion about it by the ministers concerned - how are deliberations progressing? What is the current outlook in terms of time? Is there a timetable for when a conclusion can be expected?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am not aware that this is at the deliberation stage yet. The situation at present is that the data required for consideration are currently being collected and organized; we are carefully scrutinizing these data that are being gathered and analyzed at the working level.

REPORTER: On a related topic, today, at the Budget Committee meeting, I believe you said that there will be no upper limit to compensation payments by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Would it be correct to assume that this is something about which there is a consensus in the Government?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is a question of legal interpretation. Therefore, rather than whether or not there is a consensus of opinion, I was asked about the interpretation of the current law, and I described that interpretation.

REPORTER: At present, there is a team of 100,000 SDF members active in the disaster-stricken areas, but I think the stance which has been expressed is toward a future reduction in these numbers. Apparently, the Prime Minister met with Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa today and that this was among the topics discussed. Did some kind of schedule come out of this discussion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have not received any direct reports on this, so I would recommend that you ask the Ministry of Defense.

REPORTER: I would like to ask about the news concerning the Hepatitis B lawsuit. Earlier, the claimants decided to accept a settlement proposal. Could I ask for a comment from you regarding the view that a consensus of agreement is expected as early as June?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I imagine that there must be a variety of feelings about this among the patients in question. However, the fact that a settlement looks likely, I think, should be largely welcomed. I believe that this is an issue for which collaboration between all parties in the Diet is necessary in order to make progress toward a settlement scheme. Therefore, I intend to work hard to ensure that we get that cooperation in the coming months.

REPORTER: Returning to an earlier subject briefly, the first supplementary budget bill was passed in the Diet today. Please give your comments on this. Also, some in the Diet are criticizing the Government, saying that the process to realize this budget took too long. Please give your opinion on the reasons for the delay.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The fact that an all-party agreement has been obtained on this supplementary budget, which is focused in particular on recovery, is something for which I am extremely grateful. I think we, as the Government, would like to make substantial progress in the area of recovery through the careful execution of this supplementary budget. Regarding its timing, I am well aware that some have expressed the criticism that work was slow. Of course, there is weight to the opinion that something like this should have been realized as quickly as possible. However, in reality, I believe that on this occasion, there was nothing in terms of measures aimed at rescue, life-saving or recovery that was not done due to the supplementary budget not being passed, including the use of reserve funds, and that it was submitted at the appropriate time according to the circumstances surrounding our work. The impression the disaster victims have of this, given the seriousness of the circumstances they are in, is also of great importance. In that sense, I think it would have been better if we could have done this quicker. Therefore, I hope to proceed with the execution of the budget in a prompt manner.