Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I have one item to report concerning the establishment of the TEPCO Operations and Finances Task Force. The Government decided to establish the TEPCO Operations and Finances Task Force under the leadership of Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sengoku as the Secretariat of the Investigation Committee into the Operations and Finances of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) (TEPCO Financial Investigation Committee). The senior figures of the Task Force Secretariat have now been selected. The head of the Secretariat will be Mr. Keita Nishiyama, Executive Managing Director of the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. His deputies will be Mr. Takeshi Hachimura, Associate Director General of the International Department of the Bank of Japan, and Mr. Shoichiro Onishi, an attorney. These people have been appointed as of today. Appointments for remaining staff members will be made from now and it is planned that the Task Force Secretariat will ultimately comprise approximately 30 members.

As the Secretariat of the TEPCO Financial Investigation Committee, the Task Force will engage in investigation into the operations and finances of TEPCO in order to conduct a stringent evaluation of assets and a thorough expenses review. The TEPCO Financial Investigation Committee will hold its first meeting next week and is expected to compile a report by around September this year. For further details, please direct your inquiries to the Team in Charge of Responding to the Economic Impact caused by the Nuclear Power Station Incident within the Cabinet Secretariat.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: This morning the yen-dollar exchange rate returned to the 79-yen range, with the appreciation of the yen continuing. Do you think that the appreciation of the yen will have an impact on the Japanese economy, particularly at this time of post-disaster reconstruction?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I would like to refrain from making direct comments about the exchange rate. This is something that the Government is monitoring very closely.

REPORTER: With regard to the extension of the current Diet session, in a previous press conference you have stated that given the response to the disaster it is preferable for the Diet to be able to respond to any situation, even in the case that the Prime Minister tenders his resignation. Currently there are opinions, even within the ruling parties, that the current regular session of the Diet should be concluded on schedule on June 22 and that an extraordinary Diet session should be convened to continue the response to the disaster. What is your current recognition relating to this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe I stated previously that this is ultimately something to be decided by the Diet and my opinions on what would be preferable have not changed. However, after making comprehensive considerations, the matter will be ultimately decided by the Diet.

REPORTER: The Prime Minister has indicated that the second supplementary budget will be formulated in mid-July. I would like to confirm that this second supplementary budget will take into account the conclusions of the Reconstruction Design Council.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Directly following the formulation and passage of the first supplementary budget, a number of people provided various opinions on the second supplementary budget. Since then, in addition to steadily implementing the first supplementary budget, the Government has continued to collect information, including opinions from various people in the disaster-affected areas, to ensure that recovery and reconstruction efforts are not delayed due to deficiencies in the supplementary budget. In addition to the Government efforts, the Reconstruction Design Council and also the prefectural and municipal governments, for example, are engaged in the creation of specific plans for reconstruction and as these are starting to come to completion, the Government will make a comprehensive decision on the second supplementary budget in light of these various plans.

REPORTER: Based on the position of the Reconstruction Design Council, I think that the schedule as it currently stands would make it difficult to incorporate proposals into the second supplementary budget. Do you intend to engage in advance consultations with the opposition parties and seek their cooperation prior to the formulation of the second supplementary budget?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Whether the conclusions of the Reconstruction Design Council will be incorporated into the second supplementary budget is as yet undecided. However, as the various situations surrounding reconstruction are changing on a daily basis, what is most important is to ensure that recovery and reconstruction are not delayed due to deficiencies in the supplementary budget and that the Government will make an appropriate decision. Regardless of the current political situation, considering the current situation facing the disaster-affected regions, I believe that all political parties and indeed all politicians will prioritize recovery and reconstruction over their own opinions, given the necessity of ensuring that recovery and reconstruction are not delayed.

REPORTER: You have just stated that it is undecided whether the conclusions of the Reconstruction Design Council will be reflected in the second supplementary budget. Does that mean that there is a possibility that a full-fledged supplementary budget based on the proposals from the Council could be dealt with by the next administration?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As the Government has not yet received any report from the Reconstruction Design Council and therefore a decision on what budgetary measures will be required, including their scale, format and timing, will be made when such a report is received.

REPORTER: I have a question about the resumption of nuclear power stations. The report does not include any insight into the emergency safety measures to be taken in response to the incident - does the Government have any intention to establish emergency power sources or set forth new safety standards?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: If I may repeat myself, the report which the Government submitted to the IAEA yesterday is a compilation of the assessments we have conducted to date. In light of the recent incident, a number of guidelines are now being drawn up with a view to preventing this sort of incident from happening at other nuclear power stations. Based on these guidelines, the Government will take thorough safety measures. That is to say, I believe by thoroughly confirming the safety measures which are in place against earthquakes and tsunamis, for example, the Government will decide what to do with the other nuclear power stations that are currently shut down.

REPORTER: For instance, if emergency power sources are to be established, I believe a lot of time will be needed to do this. These delays in restarting nuclear power stations may in turn lead to electricity shortages. Has the Government made any decisions as to what sort of instructions it would give in response to such concerns?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe all of our partners have been working very quickly with regards to the variety of safety measures, including emergency power sources. Naturally, the construction of coastal levees will take some time. Nevertheless, within a certain period of time, I believe the Government will be able to take thorough measures for each of the nuclear power stations. This will prevent a similar incident from happening, even if a similar situation were to happen where a nuclear power station loses its power supply due to a similar tsunami.