Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

(Abridged)

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO I would like to report to you about a Cabinet decision on the draft bill for the establishment of an organization to support compensation for nuclear-related damages. In order to further crystallize the Government framework of assistance for compensation for nuclear-related damages, work to compile appropriate legislation has been implemented and today the draft bill and the framework itself were formally approved by the Cabinet. In order to smoothly expedite the appropriate payment of compensation to people who incurred damages arising from the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Government will request that the Diet deliberate and pass the draft bill as soon as possible. For details relating to this matter, please direct your questions to Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Banri Kaieda, who will be making an announcement later.

Q&As

REPORTER: I hear that today the Prime Minister gave instructions for the compilation of a so-called "supplementary budget 1.5." Could you tell us about the specific content of this supplementary budget?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO As I stated in the press conference yesterday, as we move to swiftly and appropriately implement the content of the first supplementary budget, the Prime Minister has given instructions that work should be implemented expeditiously under the supervision of the Minister of Finance for the various other urgent supplementary measures that have been highlighted as being required.

REPORTER: What does this specifically include, when will it be completed, and is this the basic concept for the budget compilation or merely a concept for the preparatory stages of compilation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO My understanding is that it provides concrete measures for which there is an urgent need to assist the livelihoods of the people who have been affected by the disaster.

REPORTER: Given the fact that there is an urgent need for such measures, I think this would have an influence on the extension of the current session of the Diet. Is the extension of the Diet being considered in combination with the passage of the supplementary budget?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO An extension of the Diet is something that must be considered by party members and the members of the Diet and such consultations have not yet been implemented.

REPORTER: So, is it likely that the current session will be concluded once and an extraordinary Diet session will be convened to continue the work on the various bills?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO That is something that will have to be decided in consultations from now on.

REPORTER: In the process of compiling the second supplementary budget, there are a number of issues relating to fiscal resources, such as the bill on special measures for government bonds, which has not yet been passed by the Diet. What are your views on the passage of the bill on special measures for government bonds?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO Given the fact that the Government is expediting measures to respond to the disaster on the basis of the regular budget and the first supplementary budget, unless the Diet approves the bill on special measures for government bonds as quickly as possible, it will clearly have an adverse impact on the disaster response.

REPORTER: With regard to the "supplementary budget 1.5," Minister Gemba stated after the Cabinet meeting that it is likely to be smaller in scale than the first supplementary budget. Could you tell us of the envisaged scale of the next supplementary budget and just how much budgetary allocation will be required for emergency measures?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO It is necessary to examine in detail just exactly what measures are required as a matter of urgency. However, it is not expected that the scope of the second supplementary budget will require large-scale fiscal measures that include the issuance of so-called reconstruction bonds.

REPORTER: With regard to the draft bill for the establishment of an organization to support compensation for nuclear-related damages, what kind of schedule are you currently considering for the passage of this bill?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO After being submitted to the Diet, the draft bill will be duly deliberated in the Diet. However, I believe that it would be preferable from the perspective of assistance to disaster-affected people to make a swift decision on the framework.

REPORTER: So is it fair to say that you are currently aiming for the bill to be passed by the current session of the Diet?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO The first priority is to ensure its passage through the Diet as soon as possible, and the Government is requesting swift deliberation on this bill.

REPORTER: The framework as it currently stands calls for a burden to be placed on operators of nuclear power stations. Ultimately, the people living in temporary accommodation in the disaster-affected areas will also be billed for electricity usage, and these people could therefore perceive that the framework places a burden on them. How do you intend to respond to the people currently residing in temporary accommodation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO This is a framework that seeks to make every effort to ensure that the disaster-affected people are not unduly burdened, be it by electricity charges or taxes or other measures. As there is currently no outlook for what the overall figure for damage compensation will be in total, there might be a time in the future when this figure will need to be discussed. For the time being, however, TEPCO is currently making various efforts and I expect that compensation payments will proceed without being converted into higher electricity tariffs.

REPORTER: I believe that there are strong-rooted local objections to the integrated reform of the taxation and social security systems. How does the Government intend to go about gaining understanding for these reforms from now?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO It has been pointed out that the proposal by the Council for Intensive Discussion on Social Security Reform that was discussed in the Final Draft Preparation Meeting did not sufficiently reflect local opinion, and at the stage when a final proposal was being compiled by the Final Draft Preparation Meeting it was decided that in the future, as well as being discussed by the Tax Commission, consultations with local communities would have to be advanced in parallel. The proposal by the Council for Intensive Discussion is now compiled and based on that policy the Government will seek to hear the opinions from local communities and work together with local governments to enhance the social security system in Japan.

REPORTER: With a schedule that aims at compiling the final draft of the bill by June 20, in concrete terms how do you propose establishing a forum for consultation between central and local governments in order to consider revisions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO What I was saying was that we seek to gain the understanding of local communities with a view to compiling the final draft by June 20.

REPORTER: Will there be no change to the deadline of June 20?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO At the current point, the Government wishes to gain the understanding and approval of local communities by June 20.

REPORTER: Returning to the matter of "supplementary budget 1.5," will this include provisions for double housing loans?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO The necessity and scale of specific budgetary measures is something that needs to be examined in detail from now and if it is the case that supplementary measures in order to respond to the double housing loan issue are necessary, then I imagine that they will be implemented as a matter of urgency.

REPORTER: On a different subject, there has recently been a referendum held in Italy on whether to accept the development of nuclear power stations and the referendum returned an overwhelming no vote, resulting in the Italian government abandoning its plans to develop nuclear power. How does the Japanese Government view this result?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO This result is part of a process of formulating political direction by means of a national referendum on matters pertaining to a sovereign state and I do not think it is appropriate for the Japanese Government to make a comment on this.

REPORTER: Following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, a number of countries have announced a move away from nuclear power, including Germany and Switzerland. What impact do you think these moves in the international community will have on the discussions over revisions to Japan's energy policy in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO I believe that various domestic policies, not just limited to nuclear policy, are influenced to a certain extent by the situations and trends in other countries. This is not something that is limited to nuclear policy alone.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have another question about the "supplementary budget 1.5." There seems to be a little confusion concerning the statements by the Prime Minister about whether the budget itself will be submitted by the beginning of July or whether the concept for the budget will be completed by mid-July. Could you give us an accurate idea of the Prime Minister's intentions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO I did not take any notes at the meeting in question, but if necessary I will confirm this and report back to you at the next press conference.