Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Today the Prime Minister is scheduled to give a press conference, although it will probably be a little late in the evening. Before that, I have some working-level items to report to you.

Firstly, today an extraordinary Cabinet meeting was held in which the Prime Minister made a statement. The Prime Minister noted that he wanted the Cabinet to continue to respond robustly to the disaster from the perspective of those people who have been directly affected.

The second item I have to report concerns over the imposition of shipping restrictions relating to the accident at the nuclear power station. Firstly, with regard to the method of managing radioactive cesium in tea leaves, the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters has decided to apply a provisional regulatory value of 500Bq/kg not only to fresh tea leaves, but also to dried and processed tea leaves. In conjunction with this decision, today, June 2, in accordance with Article 20, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, it was decided to impose shipping restrictions on tea leaves produced in the entirety of Ibaraki Prefecture, six municipalities in Kanagawa Prefecture, six municipalities in Chiba Prefecture, and two cities in Tochigi Prefecture. Instructions to this effect have been issued to the governors of Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Chiba and Tochigi Prefectures.

In addition, based on the fact that yesterday radioactive materials were detected in food products, it has been decided to impose restrictions on the shipment of plum products in three municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture, namely the cities of Fukushima and Date, and the town of Koori. Instructions to this effect have been issued to the governor of Fukushima Prefecture. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) will be making announcements concerning these restrictions after this press conference, and so you are requested to direct your questions to MHLW and MAFF.