Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have one item to report to you, concerning the dispatch of an international expert fact-finding mission to Japan by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into the causes of the nuclear power station incident. Based upon an agreement between the IAEA and the Government of Japan it has been decided that an international expert fact-finding mission will visit Japan from May 24 to June 2, to conduct fact-finding activities at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. After having engaged in fact-finding activities, the mission will make a preliminary assessment of the incident and will present its report at the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety organized by the IAEA in Vienna from June 20-24. The Government has made thorough and ongoing efforts to ensure maximum transparency to the international community with regard to the incident, and the acceptance of this international fact-finding mission will be significant in that it is part of those efforts, aimed at sharing Japan's experiences with other countries. As a report containing a preliminary assessment and lessons learned from the incident is to be presented at the IAEA Ministerial Conference that is to be held from June 20, this will be similar in nature to an internal investigation and accordingly an IAEA Ministerial Conference Report Compilation Team has been established at the working level within the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters. This team will be under the coordination of Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Hosono with members from relevant ministries and agencies, who will also receive the cooperation and opinions of external experts in the course of their work. Their report is expected to be announced by mid-June.

Q&As

REPORTER: Today the Union of Kansai Governments has made a request and proposal for back-up capital city functions to be constructed in the Kansai region as a means of responding to disasters. Could you tell us whether the Government considers this to be necessary?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Today, the proposal to construct back-up capital city functions was one of a number of proposals that were received. In my position as Chief Cabinet Secretary I have been directly facing the issues posed by the recent disaster and this has underscored for me the importance of the Government continuing to function effectively in a large-scale emergency situation. In the Tokyo area back-up facilities in addition to the Prime Minister's Office are already in place in Tachikawa, and I am currently engaged in investigation and consideration as to whether these back-up facilities are sufficient. Accordingly, I have stated that it is necessary to engage in forward-looking consideration into capital city functions, but what form these would take and where back-up functions would be located is still being considered, in view of the fact that proposals from various regions have been submitted.

REPORTER: In your view, is the Kansai region one of the candidates for construction of back-up capital city functions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We are still not at the stage of deciding which regions would be candidates for such functions. Currently the back-up functions are located in Tachikawa in addition to the city center, and if time permits, I would like to go out there directly and reacquaint myself with the functions and consider whether they are sufficient, based on the premise that there is a high possibility the back-up functions in Tachikawa are not sufficient. If it is the case that further back-up functions are required, the next stage will be to consider the requirements and move forward from there.

REPORTER: So can we take it that one of the areas you would visit is the Kansai region?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We are still not at the stage where specific candidate locations have been decided.

REPORTER: But when you said, "go out to," to where were you referring?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: That I would go out to Tachikawa.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the dispatch of the IAEA mission and the acceptance of the mission. What is the relation between the Report Compilation Team led by Special Advisor Hosono under the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters and the governmental incident investigation committee that will be created in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As it is necessary to provide a prompt report at this stage to the IAEA, a report is being compiled internally at the working level. Meanwhile, the incident investigation committee that is widely mentioned recently could probably be termed an internal audit, but with the Cabinet taking responsibility, investigation will be seeking the opinions of third-party external experts and will be taking a certain amount of time. The purposes of these two reports are significantly different. The future investigation will also include study of the report to the IAEA and this report compilation process itself.

REPORTER: I believe that IAEA officials have already visited Japan, so what is the difference between the upcoming visit of the mission and the visits to Japan that have been implemented to date? Also, will the content of the fact-finding mission be based on information collected and provided predominantly by the Government and through interviews, or will it also entail actual monitoring of the areas affected?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The details of the mission are currently in the process of being coordinated and I hear that in addition to discussions with officials and related persons from Japan there will actually be a visit to Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. My understanding is that although IAEA officials have visited Japan previously, with a view to the upcoming ministerial meeting the IAEA seeks to compile a report to summarize the current situation.

REPORTER: I have a question about the involvement of the IAEA fact-finding mission in the investigation committee of the Government. When the fact-finding mission is over, will the mission simply leave Japan, or will it be involved in some way, as an observer, for example, in the incident investigation committee to be established by the Government? Also, if you have the details, could you let us know about the composition of the fact-finding mission and how many people it comprises?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: With regard to the composition of the fact-finding mission, I hear that it will comprise nearly 20 international and IAEA experts. It will be headed by Mr. Mike Weightman, HM Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations of the United Kingdom. With regard to the subsequent involvement of the IAEA fact-finding mission, I believe that it is important for the members of the incident investigation committee that will be established under the Cabinet to act and make decisions independently. As the IAEA is an internationally authorized body on nuclear power, I believe that the Cabinet will seek its involvement in the investigation in some form as it will be important to ensure international transparency. However, this will be subject to further consultation with the IAEA once the Government incident investigation committee has been launched.

REPORTER: Last week, I believe you requested the cooperation of financial institutions, including for a debt waiver for TEPCO. What about the need for the cooperation of shareholders and bondholders, including the possibility of a capital reduction?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, my comment was in response to a question on whether public understanding can be gained. From what I've been told, TEPCO will ask for the cooperation of all stakeholders, and the Government believes TEPCO will need to give a series of reports to the Government as well as to the people on what that cooperation will entail.

REPORTER: In connection with your opening statement, I have a question on Japan's authorization system. In yesterday's press conference, Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) Chair Haruki Madarame strongly criticized the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). He said that for one thing, NISA has still not submitted its opinion on TEPCO's announcement about the meltdown of Unit 1 to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC). Furthermore, he said that NISA has been submitting reports to JAEC containing information that could not possibly be correct in consideration of the fundamentals of physics. In general, the slowness of NISA's reports to JAEC, among other issues, have been pointed out since shortly after the incident first began. What is your view on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Regarding NSC Chair Madarame's remarks, I do not directly know in what context and for what purpose he made those statements. However, the NSC is in a position to conduct various checks related to the safety of nuclear power, including checks of NISA, and naturally Mr. Madarame's views must be taken seriously. At the same time, unfortunately the information possessed by the respective agencies, or the analysis findings for that information, were not necessarily circulated smoothly from the relevant agencies, and I say with regret that I believe this applies not just to NISA. On these matters, I believe the Investigation Commission to be set up, among other entities, will need to carry out a careful investigation and analyze the causes of what happened and other matters. We will then need to develop a system to ensure this does not happen again. In addition, even before these fundamental discussions get started, I believe the Cabinet, including my office, must make further efforts for information exchange and disclosure as swiftly as possible.

REPORTER: With Moody's having downgraded TEPCO by two grades, their share value today fell to less than 400 yen. As one of the reasons for the downgrade, Moody's explains that although the Government unveiled the compensation scheme for TEPCO, the specific details of how the Government will aid the company remain unclear. What does the Government think about the fact that a ratings company, which has real influence over the market as has been demonstrated, has this opinion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, as I have stated on various occasions, the assessments and decisions of private ratings companies are not matters which the Government should directly comment on. Moreover, as I also stated either this morning or definitely yesterday, the specific details of Government assistance for TEPCO are subject to thorough information disclosure procedures on the part of TEPCO, including information about TEPCO's finances, assets, and expenditure breakdown, as well as TEPCO's thorough countermeasures, and for example, plans for a disposal of assets or cost-cutting plans. If we cannot see specific measures being taken, we, who are responsible for the money of the taxpayers, cannot put forward more concrete details. I believe it all depends on the efforts of TEPCO.

REPORTER: It has been said that during the current session of the Diet a small-scale supplementary budget is under consideration which will complement the first supplementary budget. This was even reported in this morning's news. Could you give us the facts on this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I have been saying for some time, several supplementary budgets will be needed in stages in order to aid with the recent earthquake. The first supplementary budget, having been established through the cooperation of all parties, has just been enacted, and accordingly, our first objective is to ensure that it is executed effectively. In terms of the near future, we are currently engaged in a range of day-to-day efforts, and as such, we intend to remain consistent in our handling of the situation, acting when necessary, and without delay.

REPORTER: Secretary General of the DPJ Caucus, House of Councillors, Kenji Hirata referred to this issue during a press conference. According to him, the sum proposed for the next supplemental budget is "1.5 trillion yen." He noted that there is a strong desire locally for the removal of debris from the sea, and said that the money would be allocated to work like this. Is this correct?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The point is that if there is a concrete and clear need that requires an urgent response which cannot be met by the first supplementary budget, then an additional supplementary budget will be formulated accordingly. I will request that the Diet put it to debate. Right now, we are not at the point of discussing what the money will be allocated to. In terms of necessity, requests are coming from various quarters every day. These are being collected by the Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters in a broad sense, and in particular to the Team in Charge of Assisting the Lives of Disaster Victims. Can we respond to this with the current main and supplementary budgets? Are budgetary measures required, or not? If they are, then what is the level of urgency? At present, each individual aspect is being investigated on a day-to-day basis.

REPORTER: After the discussion earlier between Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii and the Prime Minister, there was a press conference by Chairman Shii at which he revealed that the Prime Minister had said during their conversation that he wanted to build a natural and renewable energy hub in Fukushima. I would like to ask you about the specifics of this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The party leaders have met directly and discussed this, so I do not necessarily feel qualified to provide any further information on the subject. In any case, the situation at present is that the Cabinet intends to advance concrete considerations aimed at promoting natural energy, and will discuss the issue at various meetings including those on the growth strategy that we decided to resume at this morning's cabinet meeting. However, this must be based on the desires and opinions of the people living in the areas in question. Taking into account the recent trouble inflicted on these regions by the incident at the nuclear power station, if their hopes and demands accord with needs in terms of local circumstances, then in my opinion, there is little doubt that Fukushima Prefecture would be a candidate for some kind of hub promoting such an initiative. I think the announcement in question was likely premised on these thoughts. To reiterate, this does not mean that I have consulted with Fukushima Prefecture and that we will proceed with this course of action. Going forward, the most important thing for Fukushima is that we bring the situation at the nuclear power station under control and provide aid and support for those affected by the disaster. The prefectural and municipal governments are fully engaged in this task at present. Therefore, it seems to me that for the time being we are still some way from being able to consult with each concerned party about the kinds of desires they have, and their needs post-nuclear incident.

REPORTER: Let us talk a little about the second supplementary budget. I did not understand your point just now - do you mean that the Government is not considering the submission of a small-scale, second supplementary budget to the current Diet session at the present time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Since the establishment of the first supplementary budget, our assumption has been that a second one will be necessary in some form or another. Regarding the timing for this though, we are watching the situation on a daily basis and will be formulating such a budget for submission and debate once we have confirmed that it is needed.