Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, I have two items to report. The first is about shipping restrictions. Today, in accordance with the provisions of Article 20, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, it was decided that shipping restrictions will be imposed on tea produced in Tochigi City, Tochigi Prefecture. Instructions to this effect have just been communicated to the Governor of Tochigi Prefecture. For further details, please direct your questions to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

(Abridged)

Q&As

REPORTER: What is the status of the Government's consensus building effort surrounding the stress tests and other measures?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, as I have repeatedly said, the matter in question is response measures, which will take into account the stress tests being carried out in Europe, and these measures are intended to offer an additional sense of assurance. The Government is working earnestly to consolidate the opinions.

REPORTER: Does it now seem unlikely that a consensus opinion will be announced within this week?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As to the timing at which an announcement will be made, we have not yet made a decision. At this present time, I believe the relevant ministers at the very least firmly share the same intentions. I believe what's left to do is to really strive to communicate these intentions in a way that will be easy to understand. In the meantime, we are causing great concern and inconvenience to the people in areas which have nuclear power stations. I believe it is, therefore, incumbent on us to act with all due care with regards to how the announcement is made.

REPORTER: Regarding the measures which are based on the stress tests and are intended to offer an additional sense of assurance, what are the points of contention among the three ministers which are preventing the achievement of a consensus?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe the three ministers share the same understanding. I believe that the reasons why we have caused various inconveniences lie in the fact that the explanation and announcement were made in a manner and way which were not necessarily appropriate, and the fact that sufficient explanations had not been provided regarding the relevance, etc. of the measures with how the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry had so far dealt with Genkai in particular. Although the three ministers share the same view on the contents of the measures in my opinion, bearing in mind these reflections, we are in the process of making adjustments to ensure that our explanations will be easy to understand and will not lead to any misunderstanding or confusion.

REPORTER: Excuse me, regarding this consensus opinion which is being worked out, can you tell us what and to what extent you are planning to announce in the near future? For example, do you intend to announce only the mechanisms of this scheme which is based on stress tests? Or do you also plan to announce other information, such as the schedule for implementing the mechanisms and their relevance with the restart of the nuclear power stations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Those things are among the items which are being worked out to make sure that explanations are given in a way which best ensures that the people understand without any misunderstanding.

REPORTER: There are growing concerns that depending on how long the stress tests will take, all 54 nuclear reactors in Japan may be shut down by May of next year. What are your thoughts on this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Let me repeat, the matter in question is not stress tests but measures which are based on stress tests and are intended to offer an additional sense of safety and assurance. We fully realize that naturally the measures will have an impact on and relevance with electricity supply. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is leading the studies on this matter, and a variety of discussions are taking place in view of this issue. However, as I have repeatedly said and as I have always been saying, while it is important to secure electricity supply, our view going forward is that for doing so, safety and assurance cannot be compromised whatsoever.

REPORTER: Does that mean that for the sake of ensuring safety, it is possible that the Government will not prevent the shutdown , while this may be only temporary, of all nuclear power stations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe what you just said is a little extreme. I believe making thorough efforts to supply electricity is also an important responsibility of the Government. At the same time, I believe safety and assurance cannot be sacrificed for the purpose of supplying electricity.

REPORTER: I have a question on the subject of electricity shortages in relation to the measures which are based on stress tests to offer an additional sense of assurance. If I may confirm, is it possible that these measures will also have an impact on this summer's electricity-saving measures which the Government is now compiling?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First of all, with regards to Genkai, for example, I too understand that the mayor had at one time indicated his understanding or that the governor had made quite a number of forward-looking efforts. However, a decision had not been made anywhere as to at what stage the Genkai nuclear power station can be restarted. Including all of these items, we are now in the process of studying the issue of the electricity supply for this summer.

REPORTER: On a related note, while that may be your understanding of matters concerning this summer, people are voicing their concern over power shortages for the long-term, especially in the winter. What countermeasures does the Government have in place for power shortages in the winter? Also, what kind of concerns does the Government have about this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I just mentioned, we cannot sacrifice safety and security in exchange for a power supply. That said, I believe it is the responsibility of the Government to ensure a stable power supply. Of course, we have been considering and responding to various possibilities while taking into account the diverse opinions of the public, and particularly local residents, regarding nuclear power stations following the incident in Fukushima. We would naturally have more leeway if the majority of nuclear power stations were confirmed to be safe and could be reopened in the near future without worry. However, it is the responsibility of the Government to consider all possibilities, rather than always hoping for an optimistic scenario, and respond to issues accordingly.

REPORTER: In regards to the new rules based on the stress tests, I understand that the details of the rules have been determined, but it is difficult to understand why ministers have been discussing how to explain those rules for several days. Is there a risk that there are still issues left unresolved between the three ministers? Also, is their understanding of this issue in accord with that of the Prime Minister?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The three of us are not experts on what kind of check needs to be done. We will naturally have experts make considerations regarding such issues. So, we are not discussing anything about that. Generally speaking, what you just pointed out about the rules is true. However, it must be noted though that we have caused a great deal of trouble to the residents living around Genkai Nuclear Power Station in particular, and there is some confusion over the stress tests and the ideas of the Government taking into account the stress tests- this is apparent from the questions posed in this press conference today. So we are now making efforts to figure out a way to dispel the misunderstandings and confusion created by this situation. Regarding the relationship with the Prime Minister, he ordered that Minister Kaieda and Minister Hosono consider concrete policies for boosting reassurance, while I was instructed to coordinate those considerations. Therefore, it has been left up to the three of us, and I believe that if an accord is met between us there will be no problem.

REPORTER: A moment ago you commented that you want to be very cautious about how you present an announcement. In his press conference this morning, Minister Kaieda commented that he would like to set a date to invite the relevant local governments and explain the key points of the tests as early as possible, indicating his intentions to hold a briefing session. Does this mean that you are considering the idea of explaining things to locals and related municipal governments before making any announcement?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Our discussions have yet to make it that far. We are now considering various factors and working to come up with a range of creative solutions, not only concerning ways of expression, so that the announcement is made in a way that all related and worried parties can easily understand, and in a way that does not cause misunderstanding.

REPORTER: Will the unified stance and new policy of the Government that is soon to be announced include considerations for consistency between policy for securing future power supply , including during this summer, and policy for securing new energy sources? Or, will you be separately considering the issue of power supply, which is likely to be impacted by the new rules on nuclear power stations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: These issues have yet to be finalized, but due to their nature I think they are easier to understand if explained separately.

REPORTER: This question is about Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation. Today was the deadline for the residents of Date City, Fukushima Prefecture living around these spots to respond regarding whether or not they would evacuate. However, local residents are saying that they lacked the information necessary to decide whether or not they should evacuate, as specifics regarding what type of compensation and livelihood assistance would be provided had yet to be made clear to them. Please tell us why the Government was unable to deliver a concrete policy more quickly?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It was my understanding that our policies regarding specifics including compensation had been thoroughly communicated. However, if that information has not sufficiently reached individual residents, despite today being the deadline, we must work harder to ensure that an easy-to-understand, proper explanation is provided to individual residents.

REPORTER: Some of those residents have also voiced their concern about those decisions being requested at the household level and not the village, or community, level. What are your thoughts about this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Before designating those spots, we met with local residents and municipalities and consulted with them on various issues. It is my understanding that there were of course a diverse range of opinions from that point in time. In past evacuations, there were residents that voiced their opinion that it would have been better if the Government had called for evacuation toward specific individuals. On the other hand, sometimes, like now, there are people that request such evacuations be conducted in a more unified, community-based manner, even if the issue does not impact each individual's home. We coordinated these evacuations under these circumstances, arriving at a specific decision about requesting people to evacuate at this stage in time. Of course, it is not good to change policy frequently, but we intend to consult with related parties in the future as well on necessary issues in consideration of diverse regional circumstances and situations.

REPORTER: I have a question in regards to energy supply. The abrupt emergence of discussion on new standards has caused financial circles to worry about whether the energy supply structure will hold. It is my understanding that the Government's energy plan is to be rewritten from scratch. In response to newly growing concerns over the national energy supply, at what stage will the Government present a mid- to long-term forecast? Any comments?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It is the responsibility of the Government to present an energy supply forecast, but I believe that safety and reassurance concerning nuclear power is a higher priority issue than the reassurance of energy supply. As such, as I just mentioned, we will present forecasts once the issues that we are currently working to address, including the stable supply of energy, have been worked out, and of course those forecasts will take that progress into consideration.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Again, in regards to the nuclear power station issue, and this was briefly touched upon by the Saga Prefecture Governor yesterday as well, but it appears that one of the reasons that locals are showing opposition now is that they are confused about whether Prime Minister Kan intends to restart operations at nuclear power stations that have been confirmed to be safe, or whether his policy is actually working toward a reduction on our dependence on nuclear power stations in general. What is the Prime Minister's policy?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It may be better for me to organize my thoughts before speaking so as not to leave people with any misunderstandings. At the very least, I can say that the discussions underway now completely differ in nature from dialogue about reducing nuclear power stations or anything like that. The issue at hand ultimately concerns safety and reassurance.

(Abridged)