Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Today the first meeting of the Investigation Committee for the Incident at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee) was held. I would like to ask you what your expectations of the committee are, and also, given that there is a high possibility that the political administration will change before the committee compiles an interim or final report, whether the committee's authority and thorough investigations will continue in the event that the political administration does change?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: In a certain sense, I myself am one of the subjects for investigation of the Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee and I believe that the public have a number of concerns with regard to the incident. Even though I may be one of the people directly involved in the Government response to the incident, there are a number of points about which I would like to know why instructions from the Government were not fully implemented and why the necessary information did not reach the required recipients, among other matters. I expect that the members of the committee will engage in investigations and verification that will respond to these widespread public concerns. In addition, this is a committee that has not been appointed personally by the Prime Minister, but which has been requested to engage in work on the basis of a Cabinet decision by the Government. Therefore, unless this Cabinet decision is reversed, the committee is composed in such a way so as to engage in thorough and careful verification of the incident on the basis of that decision.

REPORTER: The head of the Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee, Professor Yotaro Hatamura, has stated his opinion that "as the committee cannot seek to both engage in assigning accountability as well as clarifying the causes of the incident, it will not engage in investigations that seek to assign accountability". It seems that this has been confirmed as the overall policy of the committee. However, if it is the case that a problem with the response of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is identified, I imagine the supervisory agencies of the Government would seek to impose an administrative penalty on TEPCO, and if there is a problem with government-related personnel, the committee would therefore become a forum for assigning accountability in terms of the treatment of such personnel. Therefore, if the committee does identify problems or illegal actions of such a nature, what will the Government's response be?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee is provided with full independence to engage in investigations in any way it so chooses and it is engaged in its work without any consultation with the Government. I am aware that since the time of the former Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission (ARAIC), there have been difficult problems in how to proceed with and divide roles between investigation of large-scale accidents and assignment of responsibility in a broad sense. However, the Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee is engaging in its investigations, with full independence and on the basis of its own stance and viewpoint. Within the Government, if such an issue as you have just mentioned comes to light through various scenes and origins of the incident, in addition to the efforts of the committee, such an issue will be properly addressed. Even though such an issue in a sense may not have a direct connection to the nuclear incident, it could be one of the clues and therefore, the Government will strictly respond to the finding.

REPORTER: At the very least I believe that national public servants have an obligation to bring an accusation if a violation of the criminal code, or a matter that is related to the criminal code is identified. In that sense, does the Government intend to read or use the documents that will be gathered by the Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The committee is being requested to engage in its work from the perspectives of independence and openness or transparency and setting aside the statement made by the head of the committee today, the basic premise for the investigations is that the committee ensures openness.

REPORTER: Under ARAIC it was the case that actual aviation experts took part in the commission's investigations. However, in the current Nuclear Incident Investigation Committee there are no experts in nuclear engineering among the members. What is your view on this situation? Are there any doubts about whether the members can engage in investigations properly?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I am aware that given the importance of ensuring independence from the existing nuclear power administration and ways in which nuclear power has been developed in the past while also engaging in a thorough investigation, the head of the committee has exercised his right to seek opinions and advice from technical advisors or specialists. In addition, with regard to the required technical expertise, by hearing opinions from such technical advisors I believe that the expertise of the investigation will be assured.

REPORTER: A report concerning investigation into the analysis conducted by TEPCO of reactor units 1 to 3 at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was submitted yesterday by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) to the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC). What are your views concerning the fact that this report has only now been submitted, roughly three months after the incident, and also about the fact that without waiting for the Government report to be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), NISA has accepted that a "melt-through" has occurred?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Frankly speaking, it was the case with this incident that a response was made in the initial stages in the midst of a situation where sufficient data could not be acquired, particularly about the reactors. For approximately the first two weeks in particular, the Government's response was based on how to take measures that would ensure safety, while being in a position of not having sufficient information. As time progressed and the situation at the power station stabilized to a certain degree, it became possible to acquire definite data and information from the initial period, which was then analyzed. However, there are a range of views concerning the analysis that was recently announced by TEPCO. Even when the various probable data and information from that time are acquired and expertly analyzed, there will still be a certain range of views. What was of the highest priority, however, was to ensure that once such information and subsequent analysis were acquired, and that they were then conveyed promptly to the public, given that the timing of such provision was already delayed. The report to the IAEA provides clear information on what has emerged about the incident.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: The secretary-generals of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito met this afternoon to discuss the draft bill for the Basic Act on Reconstruction and it appears that the opposition parties are insisting that without the Prime Minister first announcing his resignation they would not be prepared to cooperate. The broad cooperation in the Diet that you have referred to in the past would therefore appear to be difficult to achieve. Given this situation, do you think that the Prime Minister will acquiesce to the opposition parties' request and offer his resignation in the near term?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I think that Diet members of all political parties are making decisions about each political action on the basis of whether the actions in question would benefit the disaster-affected regions and people. With regard to the Basic Act on Reconstruction, the Government welcomes the fact that ruling and opposition parties are engaged in a certain degree of consultation in the Diet. At the same time, with regard to the various challenges that are still being faced, given that the situation is changing on a daily basis and we must make a robust response and come to a conclusion, which I believe that ultimately the opposition parties will provide the benefit of their understanding.