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, concerning the implementation of restrictions on the use of electricity. Based on a decision of the Review Meeting on Power Supply and Demand made on Friday, May 13, preparations have been ongoing towards the implementation of restrictions on the use of electricity in the service areas of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and Tohoku Electric Power Company. The required ordinances for this measure will be issued on June 1, and the restrictions on the use of electricity will be implemented from July 1 to September 22 in the service area of TEPCO, and from July 1 to September 9 in the service area of Tohoku Electric Power Co, from 9:00am to 8:00pm on weekdays. These restrictions will apply to large-scale commercial users, who will be requested to reduce power use by 15% over peak usage based on last year's figures. These restrictions will respect the independent efforts of the large-scale commercial users to reduce power consumption and already many users are making active efforts in this regard. However, as a means of ensuring fairness and to prevent a situation in which most users make efforts to reduce consumption but others choose to take advantage of the honest majority, these restrictions will be implemented as a supplementary measure. Naturally it will be the case that facilities such as hospitals that provide services relating to the lives and welfare of the public will be granted exemption from this measure. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will be making an announcement on this measure, so please direct your questions to METI for further details.

Q&As

REPORTER: I have a question relating to the successor of Mr. Strauss-Kahn, the former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In an interview with the Financial Times the Prime Minister is reported as expressing an opinion that although the post of managing director has traditionally been filled by Europeans, this is not necessarily an automatic right and there should be no particular emphasis on one region in particular. What is the Government's position on the next managing director of the IMF?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am not fully acquainted with the specific content and the way in which the Prime Minister responded to questions on this matter, but the stance of the Government is that the next managing director should be a person of knowledge and ability.

REPORTER: There have been critical voices among the BRICs, including China, pointing out that Europeans have dominated the top position at the IMF, and there have been formal approaches urging that the next managing director should be selected from a different region. As Japan is the second largest contributor to the IMF, does the Government not intend to put forward a Japanese candidate, or propose another candidate from Asia, such as China for example?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Government's stance is that the most appropriate person should be chosen, who is possessed with outstanding knowledge and abilities.

REPORTER: With regard to the issue of the injection of seawater at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, a number of press reports have claimed that TEPCO issued a prior report to the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency (NISA) concerning its intention to inject seawater at around 3:20am on March 12. Is the Government aware of such report?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: A number of press reports are suggesting that there are discrepancies among the various statements that have been made, but the fact is that there are no such discrepancies. In the meeting that took place at 6:00pm on March 12, TEPCO provided a report in which it was stated that preparations were being made to inject seawater, but the implementation of this operation would take some time. I have received a report that in advance of this meeting NISA received a report concerning the injection of seawater.

REPORTER: But does that not mean that there are discrepancies with the explanation provided to date, when you say that a report was received in advance?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At the meeting that took place at 6:00pm we received a report from TEPCO that preparations were being made for the injection of seawater but that it would take some time. This is not in conflict with the statement that there was a prior report in which TEPCO indicated its plan to inject seawater once preparations were complete, and therefore I do not think that there is any discrepancy.

REPORTER: The Prime Minister has stated that he did not know about the injection of seawater.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: He said that he did not know that the injection of seawater had actually been implemented. In other words, he had not received any report that the injection of seawater had actually begun.

REPORTER: With regard to the restrictions on electricity use from July 1, there have been reports that not only medical facilities will be exempt, but other facilities will also be given special consideration, including semiconductor factories, which require continuous power for their manufacturing processes. What are the facts of this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In the report that I read out to you previously, I stated that facilities such as hospitals that provide services relating to the lives and welfare of the public will be granted exemption, but I believe that a response will be made to other cases, based on various circumstances and situations. The details will be announced by the METI minister.

REPORTER: In the recent Cabinet Committee meeting in the Diet it was stated that in addition to the Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee, which has been established by the Government, it would be necessary to establish multiple investigation committees, not only in the Diet, but also in other bodies, in order to investigate the causes of the incident. What are your views on these comments?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I have already stated in my answers to Diet questions, I believe that it would be beneficial for investigations to be implemented by various bodies. Already a fact-finding mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in Japan engaging in investigative activities from an international perspective. As we wish to use the lessons gained from this incident, the Government will proceed with activities to disclose information that would contribute to utilizing these lessons as a first step.

REPORTER: Returning to the point about the injection of seawater and the fact that a report was received by NISA, why was no instruction given to wait concerning the decision on whether to inject seawater or not, when two reports were provided almost three hours earlier?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It was not a situation in which an order to wait should be given, because, as has already been reported, at 6:00pm the situation was one in which TEPCO was saying that preparations to inject seawater were being made, but that it would take some time. Given the fact that it was understood that it would take time to implement the injection of seawater, discussion therefore moved on to whether such an operation would incur the possibility of causing recriticality. These are the reports that I have received on this matter and there was no discussion at all about stopping the injection of seawater.

REPORTER: So you are saying that the situation at the Prime Minister's office was not one where the situation could be discussed by the time of the meeting at 6:00pm, following the receipt of the report?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I do not have the relevant documents to hand at the moment, so I am not sure of the exact timings on the day in question, but on that day it was the case that an explosion occurred at the power station, which was later confirmed to be a hydrogen explosion. There were also meetings among the political party leaders and I think that it is only natural that at the time of the meeting at 6:00pm that such discussion would have taken place. If the reverse was true and the injection of seawater should not have been implemented it would probably have been necessary to engage in urgent consultations concerning the report that had been submitted earlier. However, as all people concerned were of the same opinion that seawater should be injected, the fact that a report from TEPCO had been received stating that preparations were underway to implement injection operations but that it would take time, led the meeting to come to the decision to reconfirm whether the injection posed any risks or not. I think that is a natural progression for discussions, given the situation.

REPORTER: Earlier, during the Cabinet Committee meeting, you said that you are not necessarily asking financial institutions to waive TEPCO's debts as a precondition for TEPCO's assistance measures. I'm having a bit of trouble understanding you. You've been saying that the Government will not be able to obtain the public's understanding without a debt waiver, and without the public's understanding the Government cannot go forward with the compensation scheme. Doesn't that in fact mean that you are calling for a debt waiver? Since it's hard to understand, would you please explain one more time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe it is up to each company and organization to make their own decisions based on the various objective situations.

REPORTER: On the other hand, you have also said that you will not make the debt waiver a precondition for TEPCO's assistance. It's not clear to me whether or not in fact the Government is serious about asking financial institutions to waive the debts. Are you asking or not for a debt waiver?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At this point in time, TEPCO is in a situation where it cannot pay out the compensation without receiving Government assistance. However, at this point in time, it is a private company. Since this is a matter between a private company and private financial institutions, the Government has no intention of giving out direct instructions to do this or that. Nevertheless, for the Government to provide assistance, a variety of preconditions need to be cleared. TEPCO has promised us that it will appropriately seek the cooperation of their stakeholders. And on this issue, TEPCO has also promised us to give us a report. When we receive the report, we will of course let the people know. Based on that, I believe the people as well as the stakeholders will decide for themselves what they think should be done.

REPORTER: If based on the findings of the report it is eventually decided that there will be no debt waiver, the Government will then not ask for a debt waiver? Is that correct?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe I should not give a response to a hypothetical question.