Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have two items to report to you. First, today marks the passing of two months since the Great East Japan Earthquake. I would like to take this opportunity to express once again my sympathies and apologies to those people who are still enduring the inconvenience of living in evacuation centers, and to all the people affected by the disaster, including those who have been forced to evacuate due to the accident at the nuclear power station. I would also like to reiterate my appreciation for the combined efforts of the Self-Defense Forces, police and fire services, and local governments, as well as the efforts of the many volunteers who have engaged in voluntary activities in the disaster-hit areas, and the numerous members of the public who, without travelling to the affected areas, have nonetheless come together to provide assistance in various forms.

The second point I would like to report is that I was called to attend the meeting of the chairs of the Diet Affairs Committees. On May 13, the Government is planning to seek Cabinet approval for the Basic Act on Reconstruction and the draft revised Cabinet Law and submit these to the Diet. With regard to the revision of the Cabinet Law, in order to respond to the recent disaster, the current revision contains stipulations concerning a temporary increase in the number of ministers of state and senior vice-ministers. However, the content of this revision includes some sections that are different in purpose but overlap with the draft revisions to the Cabinet Law and other laws that had previously been submitted to the Diet for deliberation as part of the Government's efforts to establish political leadership. It is for this reason that the Government is seeking to withdraw these earlier revisions and I was called to the meeting of the chairs of the Diet Affairs Committees to explain the reason for withdrawing these earlier revisions and request their withdrawal. This will be the third draft bill submitted by the Government to be withdrawn during the current Diet session, and the development of legislation to establish political leadership was one of the major pillars of this administration. In fact, we had sought to achieve the passage of these revisions by this time, although this has regrettably proved not to be possible. In addition, in the current situation in which we must concentrate all our efforts on the response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Government has decided to temporarily shelve the revisions to the Cabinet Law that had been submitted to the Diet pertaining to systemic revisions. The Government hopes for the understanding of the Diet with regard to the revision to temporarily increase the number of ministers in response to the disaster and also seeks the understanding and support of the public.

Q&As

REPORTER: With regard to the Basic Act on Reconstruction, I would like to ask about the reason for including consideration on the establishment of an Agency for Reconstruction in the supplementary provisions and also ask who is the minister responsible for this draft revision?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, with regard to the content of the draft bill, it will be finalized by the Cabinet on Friday. Considerations are currently still ongoing, including the matter you mentioned. Naturally, the body that will take on the work of disaster reconstruction will be a body that did not exist prior to the disaster and it will have to be sufficiently staffed to deal with a wide range of issues relating to actual administrative procedures. When you consider that such a body will have to be of such a size and be vested with sufficient administrative power to engage in operations for a period of several years rather than months, it can be seen that it would be easier to understand if such a body were termed as an "agency." However, if we wished to launch such a body in a fully-formed state, it would take a considerable amount of time to organize. Therefore, the content of the draft bill for consideration proposes the creation of a structure that would be able to launch operations immediately. The "minister responsible" that you mentioned in your question has two meanings. Firstly, with regard to what to do about the minister who will actually be responsible for overseeing reconstruction efforts, this is a matter that will be deliberated in conjunction with the draft revisions to the Cabinet Law and ministerial personnel decisions are ultimately for the Prime Minister to decide. Secondly, with regard to which minister will be responsible for ensuring the deliberation and passage of the draft bill in the Diet, we would like to decide by the time the draft revision is submitted.

REPORTER: If that is so, is it the case that the position of a minister for reconstruction is conditional on the passage of the draft revisions to the Cabinet Law?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Firstly, it will be necessary to carefully watch the passage of the draft bill through the Diet. We would like to receive the understanding of the Diet promptly as we believe that a minister is necessary who would be dedicated to efforts relating to reconstruction. It is for this reason that it will be necessary to carefully watch the passage of the draft bill. Another point relates to the legislation for the body to be launched that will be responsible for actual operations relating to reconstruction, and the stage at which this body will be launched. The legislation relating to the launch of the body for reconstruction can, however, be discussed separately from discussions on the appointment of a minister in charge of reconstruction.

REPORTER: I would like to ask for confirmation concerning the number of ministers to be added under the revisions to the Cabinet Law and what their responsibilities will be.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Our request is to increase the number by three ministers, as a means of responding to the disaster. This is specifically a personnel matter and ultimately the authority to appoint ministers to any given role or portfolio lies with the Prime Minister, who will decide on the division of such roles, which will include a general response to disaster-related matters and also a response specifically to the nuclear power station accident. Furthermore, it is currently the case that many of the current 17 ministers hold multiple posts and the draft revisions were compiled with a view to reassess and reconfigure these posts as a means of enhancing the structures for responding to recovery and reconstruction.

REPORTER: I am not sure, but I think it was Secretary General Okada who stated in consultations between ruling and opposition parties that in addition to creating a ministerial post for reconstruction, there was a plan to seek to separate the roles of Minister of Environment and also the Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. Is that the intention of the Government?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe that Secretary General Okada gave a couple of easy-to-understand examples, namely that currently the Minister of Environment concurrently serves as the Minister of State for Disaster Management and I serve as Chief Cabinet Secretary and also as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. Given that the Government seeks to make a full response to the disaster, I think that what Secretary General Okada was saying was that it would be necessary to consider how these concurrent posts should be handled and in what ways response to recovery and reconstruction and the power station accident should be covered and make personnel decisions accordingly. In that sense, what I have stated and the examples raised by Secretary General Okada are one and the same thing.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the disposal of top soil from school grounds in Fukushima Prefecture. Yesterday I believe that Fukushima Prefecture issued a request to the Government for specific assistance concerning the disposal of the soil that has been removed. What is the current status of Government considerations on this matter and are there any plans to provide assistance measures to Fukushima Prefecture?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I have stated on a number of previous occasions, the Government is working to ensure that the annual exposure does not reach 20mSv and is making every effort to reach a level as close as possible to annual exposure of 1mSv. It has been necessary to request that the actual operations pertaining to this matter are carried out by the prefectural and municipal boards of education and other bodies concerned, and an effective means of reducing radioactive materials to the greatest extent possible is improvement of the soil. In this regard, the Government will make maximum efforts to cooperate with the prefecture and municipalities on this measure and various consultations and coordination are being implemented. I have not received any reports at this stage concerning any specific decisions on this matter.

REPORTER: I believe that work is underway to replace the upper and lower levels of soil, but another issue is how to dispose of the soil that has been removed. This is an issue that has been continuously discussed and Fukushima Prefecture has requested assistance for both the removal and disposal of the soil. Does the Government intend to issue specific measures in the near future in response to these requests?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think that rather than issuing instructions it is better to engage in consultation with the organizations concerned.

REPORTER: On a related note, Fukushima Prefecture has asked that the Government shoulder the entire costs relating to the soil removal in schoolyards. What are the Government's current intentions with regard to this request?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At the moment various consultations are underway concerning the requests received from Fukushima Prefecture as well as in what ways the operations are actually being carried out and to what effect.

REPORTER: With regard to the request to increase the number of ministers, you have just stated that you would like to request a temporary increase of three ministers to deal with disaster response issues. When you say "temporary", does this imply that once disaster response is firmly in place the number of ministers will be returned to the original number of 17? Or will the number of minister be subject to further deliberation at such a time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The draft bill that we will be requesting the Diet to deliberate stipulates that once the necessity to respond to post-March 11 disaster related matters has been resolved, the number of ministers will be reduced back to the original 17. With regard to the draft bill that is being withdrawn, a decision on how to take that forward will be considered separately.

REPORTER: With regard to the draft bill that will be withdrawn, is it the case at the current time that it will be resubmitted at some point following the response to the disaster?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As the request to withdraw the draft revised bill is an exceptional one, at the very least we aim to concentrate all our efforts into responding to the disaster until we reach a point where certain results are achieved.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the scheme for damage compensation relating to the nuclear power station accident. Are there any plans, prior to a decision concerning the Government's policy, to provide explanations to the electric power companies other than Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) that will be asked to provide funds for a so-called compensation organization, and seek their understanding?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: There have been a number of press reports on this issue, but the fact of the matter is that the Government has not yet made a decision. Once the Government has decided on a stance then it will be necessary to engage in discussions with the parties involved. Even when the Government reaches a decision, it is not the case that the scheme will be launched immediately, and I believe that once such a decision is made, it is necessary to work on seeking the understanding of the parties involved.

REPORTER: With regard to the withdrawal of the draft bill to establish political leadership, can we take it that this will be decided in the round robin Cabinet meeting today?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Whether the withdrawal of the draft bill will be decided by the Cabinet together with a decision to submit the new draft revisions, or whether procedures will first be implemented to withdraw the draft bill alone is a working-level matter and is not one I am privy to. At the very latest I believe they would be decided on simultaneously.

REPORTER: Yesterday the Prime Minister stated in his press conference that he would be returning a portion of his salary. What do you intend to do? Are you considering doing something similar yourself?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Emotionally I have various personal thoughts on this matter, but in the case of the Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Kaieda, I believe their decisions were made based on the fact that their positions are directly related to Japan's nuclear energy policy and also to the circumstances regarding the recent accident and the situation is one over which they have direct authority. Their actions at this time are a reflection of their direct involvement, and putting aside my own personal emotions, I would like to respect the decision of the Prime Minister and Minister Kaieda to draw a clear line concerning this matter.

REPORTER: In the points for confirmation which Minister Kaieda sent to TEPCO yesterday is a sentence reading something along the lines of "(TEPCO should ) seek cooperation from all stakeholders." I understand that TEPCO has responsibility toward its stockholders, but what kind of exact cooperation do you imagine will be sought from them?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think this is something we will need to be careful about. The Government is not in a position to directly ask TEPCO stakeholders for cooperation. I think that as the one responsible for the incident, TEPCO, through its managerial board, will be making an independent decision about what they want to do and ask for cooperation regarding their decision from relevant stakeholders. And I think that they will report on this to the Government and the people. I believe that is what the sentence means.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question about a separate topic, specifically Futenma Air Station. You said yesterday that work was being done to decide on the schedule for the next 2+2 meeting. In the Japan-U.S. Agreement there is a clause that states that the position and method of transfer for a facility to replace Futenma Air Station will be decided at the next 2+2 meeting. However, when Minister of Defense Kitazawa recently visited Okinawa, he was again requested by locals to have the facility moved out of the Prefecture. So I want to know which the Government will prioritize - the wishes of the people to move the facility out of Okinawa or the Japan-U.S. Agreement which says that in any case a decision must be reached at the next 2+2 meeting.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We want to balance the wants of both sides and continue to put effort into this issue until the very end.