Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First I have a report about the designation of spots outside of the Planned Evacuation Zones where an integral radiation dose is expected to reach more than 20mSv annually.

On June 3, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) released the results of a study it conducted to estimate the amount of integral radiation dose received by residents in each area around the nuclear power station. According to the MEXT estimate, radiation levels in certain spots around Date City and Minamisoma City outside of the Planned Evacuation Zones are high enough that residents could potentially receive an integral dose of over 20mSv over one year period after the accident. Additional, detailed monitoring operations have been carried out a number of times since these results were released. The additional operations show radiation levels to be low in areas slightly farther away from these spots. The range of areas showing radiation readings higher than 20mSV is limited, and it is not believed that radiation has spread across the entire area of these cities.

The current annual integral dose limit in Japan is set at 20mSV, the lowest part of the 20-100mSv limit range recommended by international organizations. As higher radiation levels are not detected throughout the entirety of the two cities, it has been judged that there is little concern that the residents around these spots will actually receive more than 20mSv of integral dose per year as long as they live their lives normally, leaving their houses as usual for work or errands. The Government believes the situation in these cities is different from that of the Planned Evacuation Zones, in which radiation levels are high throughout residential areas. Thus, the safety situation is not one for which the Government will be instructing the entire region to evacuate or for which we shall be imposing restrictions on production activities.

On the other hand, we recognize that those living in these areas might feel naturally uneasy about this. Furthermore, it cannot be denied that there is the possibility of residents receiving an integral dose of more than 20mSv per year if they do not spend much time out of the areas showing higher radiation levels. Therefore, after listening to the opinion of the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC),we have decided to establish "Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation" around these locations. We will warn those living in these areas about the risks they face, provide them with information, and support and encourage any residents who wish to evacuate.

In terms of concrete measures, for each area identified by the detailed monitoring operations of MEXT to potentially expose residents to radiation levels higher than 20mSv over a one year period after the accidents, the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters will cooperate with Fukushima Prefecture and local municipalities to designate which spots we will recommend for evacuation.

We will not be designating mere portions of areas around residences such as rain gutters and ditches as such spots, but will be focusing on those areas with radiation levels higher than 20mSv per year that are difficult to deal with through decontamination measures or by asking residents not to go near them. We will designate such spots residence by residence. We have instructed that further analysis be done of the results of the detailed additional monitoring operations, and that the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters coordinate their actions with Fukushima Prefecture and relevant local municipalities to quickly designate these spots. Affected residences shall be contacted on an individual basis by the municipalities.

Furthermore, as the Disaster Relief Act has been applied to the entirety of Fukushima Prefecture, we shall be cooperating with local municipalities to offer support to members of the public who evacuate their homes as a result of the establishment of the Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation. We will be consulting each municipality to encourage the evacuation of households with children or pregnant women in particular. We shall provide additional and more detailed information to those who do not evacuate about the effects of radiation and points to keep in mind during their daily life.

Compensation for those who evacuate from the Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation shall be discussed by the Review Panel on Conflicts over Compensation for Damages by Nuclear Power. We hope to have this Panel issue an interim judgment within July. The Government recommendation regarding compensation shall be based on this judgment. As this is a matter of a third-party committee, I should perhaps refrain from commenting on the prospects for their debate. Nevertheless, I think the direction we will be taking is clear, asany evacuations will be carried out as a result of Government recommendations.

As estimated values for air dose rates often change, we will periodically carry out new monitoring operations, and continue to thoroughly communicate information to affected municipalities and their residents. Should radiation levels fall, we will discuss the matter with the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, Fukushima Prefecture and each municipality, and rescind or relax the established designations.

For further details, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), which acts as the secretariat of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, will be announcing and explaining some materials related to this later on.

I understand that the announcement of Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation may cause some concern to the residents of the affected areas. I ask that everyone first listen well to the explanations offered by the Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters and each municipal government, and then decide what to do given your own lifestyle and family situation.

Q&As

REPORTER: I understand if you do not know the answer to this, but I would like to know how many households will be affected currently by the establishment of Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation. I would also like to know if you will be issuing notifications about this in writing, and when that will be. For instance, will it be today or as early as tomorrow even? I would like to hear about any goals you have related to the timeframe for this.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I will read to you the exact individual locations identified by the detailed additional monitoring operations. They are portions of Ohara in Haramachi Ward of Minamisoma City, Ishida in Ryozen Town of Date City, and Kamioguni of Ryozen Town in Date City. With regard to the number of households that will be affected, according to the detailed monitoring results, the number of affected areas may possibly be lowered by undertaking decontamination operations and through other means. The Local Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters has been discussing this with Fukushima Prefecture and each municipality, and undertaking the needed work. At the current moment, we haven't gone so far as to identify specific households in these areas. Once designations have been set, each affected household will be contacted individually by their local municipal government.

REPORTER: I have a question about the nature of the establishment of Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation. While up until now you have "instructed" evacuation, this time you are "recommending" it. What exactly does this mean? Are you going to simply tell locals to evacuate or does this have the stronger meaning of "encouragement"? Please tell us about the meaning of "recommendation" here in greater detail.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: With the Planned Evacuation Zones and other designated areas up until now, we have judged that there is a need to request uniform evacuations as radiation levels were shown to be high across entire areas. We have thus instructed municipalities to evacuate based on the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness. This time we judged that the situation was not dangerous enough to warrant a uniform evacuation. On the other hand, there is a need to warn locals about the situation. And at the same time, the Government is of the opinion that we should support those who wish to evacuate, if not from the perspective of safety but from the perspective of securing peace of mind. Unlike the instructions thus far based on the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, the designations this time are administrative measures. We will continue to designate specific areas moving forward.

REPORTER: So does this merely mean that you will be providing support to those in designated areas that wish to evacuate? Or, concerning those groups that you mentioned earlier, such as the pregnant or those with children - or even those without children - does this mean that you believe it is necessary for them to evacuate and that you will be strongly encouraging this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: No, we will only ask locals to be careful in their daily lives. We do want those who feel uneasy about this, and of course those with children or those who are pregnant, to evacuate. I think it is obvious that the most effective measure here is to offer the same thorough assistance to those that wish to evacuate this time as that received by those who have evacuated following the Government instructions up until now.

REPORTER: The document you handed out uses the term "response headquarters." Does this mean that decisions are being handled by the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters then?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Yes. The text makes clear that decisions on the policy for this fall within the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters.

REPORTER: I want to confirm something - a moment ago when speaking about compensation you said that the direction for this was "clear." Am I correct in understanding that this means a certain amount of compensation will be paid to those who evacuate as a result of the recommendations this time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: On that point, to put it concretely, we will have standards for compensation created by the Review Panel on Conflicts over Compensation for Damages by Nuclear Power. In a general sense, as those who choose to evacuate will be doing so based on recommendations made by the central government, I think it is hard to see how it might be judged that they do not deserve suitable compensation.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Returning to a previous topic, concerning the hot spot issue, is it correct to understand that the decision to "recommend" evacuation was made basically out of respect for local opinions?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: For some time now, the Government has been working to understand the actual situation in places outside of the Planned Evacuation Zones that were estimated to show higher levels of integral radiation dose. We have also been working to respond to the situation in these places from the perspective of securing public safety. That is why we have moved forward with our investigations and discussions related to this. At the same time, we have also been consulting with Fukushima Prefecture and local municipalities about the situations and opinions of those living in the concerned areas. On top of that, we sought out the opinion of the NSC. The recommendations this time are being issued based on all the opinions we have received and in order to fulfill our responsibility to balance public safety, public peace of mind, and the need to maintain normal lifestyles.

REPORTER: Changing the subject, I understand that under the present circumstances it's not very easy to restart the nuclear power stations which have completed routine inspections. Looking ahead at the electricity supply and demand for the summer through the winter, I am wondering if you could explain - and I believe a similar question was asked before - about how the Government currently intends to cope with this situation, in which nuclear power stations cannot be restarted?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Bearing in mind the incident at Fukushima, we are in the process of conducting a series of confirmations to check the safety of the nuclear power stations based on a very rigorous set of standards. As part of this process, safety measures are now being taken that take into account the verifications which were presented in our report to the IAEA recently. Once the safety of the nuclear power stations is confirmed, the Government will provide sufficient explanations to the local leaders and residents accordingly and seek their understanding. As for the nuclear power stations which have been confirmed to be safe, we are making efforts to restart them.

REPORTER: I have a question, which is not directly related to the previous question, about Monju, the fast breeder reactor that is currently shut down. Although the Monju incident was due to human error, from the standpoint of safety what do you think about restarting Monju? Also, what are the Government's thoughts on the nuclear fuel cycle plan which is focused around Monju?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, with regard to the nuclear power stations which are in service, that is, those that are generating power - assuming that their safety is thoroughly confirmed - I believe, from the perspective of ensuring electricity supply, that their safety needs to be confirmed as quickly as possible and that these nuclear power stations need to be restarted in the order of when we understand that they are safe. Regarding the overall cycling issue, including as it pertains to Monju, a variety of situations have led to its suspension. Bearing in mind the causes of its suspension as well as the recent incident, I believe the Government will reach a conclusion in the context of a careful verification and review of nuclear energy schemes and policies.

REPORTER: At today's meeting of the Cabinet Committee at the House of Councillors, you said that an evacuation plan needs to be considered as a readiness measure for the remote chance that an even larger nuclear incident occurs. If a nuclear incident were to occur which exceeded the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, what sort of evacuation scheme does the Government have in mind? Or if the Government has not yet begun considering this issue and will be doing so moving forward, by when does the Government expect to begin?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The nuclear power station incident at Fukushima is indeed forcing us to ask people to carry out evacuations of a scale which goes beyond the scope of at least the conventional evacuation training that was undertaken with the cooperation of everyone in these communities prior to the incident. In that sense, with no advance preparations and plans, each and every day we are striving to ensure public safety while causing a lot of inconveniences and hardships, especially to those who are evacuating. Moreover, since this is precisely going on right now, we are in the midst of doing everything we can and making our utmost efforts to address the issues of the people evacuating due to the incident at Fukushima. We are trying to bring the incident under control, and to enable as many people as possible to return to their homes as quickly as possible. At the same time, bearing in mind, as I just mentioned, that this incident is forcing us to ask people to carry out evacuations which go beyond what we had been prepared for, one of the lessons learned from this incident is indeed that we need to think about what to do in the remote event that an incident occurs which impacts an even wider region. What I said was that even greater safety assurances need to be made. I also noted that since we must also consider verifications of this incident, this issue needs to be explored over some length of time. In that sense, I believe we need to take some time for this.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: The IAEA ministerial conference will be held from next week. Who will attend this meeting?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The ministerial conference meeting is being convened by the IAEA, an international organization, in response to the nuclear incident which occurred in Japan. Therefore, naturally, I believe Japan's national interests will be greatly harmed if the Minister in charge does not go to the forum on behalf of Japan.

REPORTER: So Minister Kaieda then...

(Abridged)