Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I would like to make a few announcements regarding the relevant personnel appointments which were made, including ministers of state, which are associated with the entry into force of the Basic Act on Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. First, today, Minister of State Ryu Matsumoto was appointed to the post of Minister for Reconstruction In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. The post of Minister of the Environment currently assumed by Minister Matsumoto will be assumed concurrently by Minister of Justice Eda. Next, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Goshi Hosono will be appointed to the posts of Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Minister for Electricity Conservation Promotion, and Minister for Conclusion of the Nuclear Incident and Prevention of Reoccurrence. Next, Minister of State Renho will be appointed to the post of Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and will be in charge of consumer affairs and food safety, and government revitalization. Accordingly, I will concurrently serve as Minister of State for Government Revitalization. Next, President of the People's New Party Shizuka Kamei will be appointed to the post of Special Advisor to the Prime Minister and will be in charge of advising important policies of the Cabinet as a whole. Next, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Sumio Mabuchi will be excused from his post according to his wishes. Next, Senior Vice Minister of the Cabinet Office Tatsuo Hirano and Parliamentary Secretary of Cabinet Office Yukihiko Akutsu will be appointed to support Minister Matsumoto and the Head of the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, respectively, as Senior Vice Minister for Reconstruction and Parliamentary Secretary for Reconstruction. Next, as heads of Response Offices of the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Parliamentary Secretary of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Shogo Tsugawa will be appointed to the post of Head of Iwate Response Office, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office Yoshinori Suematsu to the post of Head of Miyagi Response Office, and Parliamentary Secretary of Finance Izumi Yoshida to the post of Head of the Fukushima Response Office. Next, member of the House of Councillors Kazuyuki Hamada will be appointed to the post of Parliamentary Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications and will be a member of the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. Parliamentary Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications Uchiyama will be excused from his post according to his wishes. In addition, Mr. Yukiyoshi Minehisa, the former Vice President of the Japan Housing Finance Agency, will be appointed to the post of Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Reconstruction Headquarters in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake. The attestation ceremony of the ministers of state at the Imperial Palace will be held today from 8:00pm, and the Prime Minister's press conference is scheduled to be held at 10:00pm.

Q&As

REPORTER: Do the series of personnel appointments mark a Cabinet reshuffle? What do they represent exactly?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Regarding whether it is a reshuffle or not a reshuffle, I understand there is no specific definition for reshuffle which is clearly established. However, generally in the case of a reshuffle, my understanding is that the new Cabinet holds its first Cabinet meeting and so on. However, no special Cabinet meetings have been called this time.

REPORTER: A related question, is the first meeting of the Reconstruction Headquarters not being held today?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The personnel adjustments took until this evening, and because we would like Chair Iokibe of the Reconstruction Design Council to be present at the first meeting to report on the recommendations of the Reconstruction Design Council, we are now coordinating the schedule with Chair Iokibe and making the final adjustments to hold the first meeting of the Reconstruction Headquarters tomorrow at 2:00pm.

(Abridged)