Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Q&As

REPORTER: In the House of Representatives Special Committee on Reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake yesterday, you stated that the Government seeks to use reserve funds to respond to the issue concerning beef cows. There is a strong hope among local farmers that the Government will purchase all contaminated cattle. Is the Government making preparations to do this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This issue is one that naturally affects livestock farmers and it is also having various other impacts. As I stated in my responses to questions in the Diet, the response to this issue needs to be dealt with thoroughly and this includes funds from Government reserves. The specifics of how the response will be made are currently being considered mainly by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

REPORTER: When you say the "specifics of how the response will be made," are you talking about considerations as to how reserve funds will be used?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The use of reserve funds is something that will be considered in the final instance, and how they will be used or whether they should be used is something that primarily MAFF will consider. These considerations will require consultation with livestock farmers and this will help to clarify the scale of the funding required. Once the scale of the funding is clarified, consideration will be given to the use of reserve funds. This is the specific manner in which the process will be conducted, and the way in which compensation or assistance will be provided is something that has yet to be finalized.

REPORTER: With regard to the "Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation" in the vicinity of TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, local governments are currently coordinating the additional designation of such spots. What is the current status of considerations on these new designations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: These spots will be designated following various monitoring activities and after consultation with local governments. I am aware that in addition to the spots in Date City that have already been designated, coordination for other designations is in an advanced state and I expect that an announcement will be able to be made on these new designations in the next day or two.

REPORTER: Can you tell us about the content and outcomes of discussions in the ministerial roundtable discussions held at the Prime Minister's Office this morning?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Following on from the previous meeting, we engaged in further discussions on a wide range of issues, including the outlook for reconstruction and the scale of recovery and reconstruction projects, the redemption period for reconstruction bonds and their method of redemption, among others. In all of these discussions we referred to previous examples from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and also considered the expressed wishes and desires of the disaster-affected areas.

REPORTER: Farmers are pointing out that there are increasingly widespread reputational damages circulating about wagyu beef. What does the Government intend to do to respond to this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The most important thing first of all is to restore consumer confidence and peace of mind about the safety of beef as soon as possible, by expediting and engaging in extremely thorough investigations into the status of cows that have been fed with rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium and also examining the distribution processes. MAFF and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) are currently making every effort to consult with the various prefectures on this issue.

REPORTER: With regard to power demand and supply, the Prime Minister has stated that Japan has many forms of reserve power generation capacity. On the other hand, Government offices have said that this is not the case. Which of these views is the correct one?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is an issue that relates to actual recognition of the facts, on the basis of surveys and various considerations. I am aware that the Prime Minister has given instructions to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to ensure that maximum utilization of power sources can be achieved and METI is engaging in detailed surveys to this end. I believe that the results of these detailed surveys will be issued in the form of a report in the near future.

REPORTER: At yesterday's meeting of the Special Committee on Reconstruction, you were asked about your opinions regarding the Prime Minister's policy to reduce the dependence on nuclear power stations, and I believe you said something to the effect of "I will speak when I quit the post of Chief Cabinet Secretary." Does this mean there are slight differences between what the Prime Minister has in mind and what's really in your mind?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I also said yesterday, first, even if there are differences in opinions among the ministers, if anything it is desirable during these stages before a Cabinet decision is made, it is that these differences are made apparent to the public so that they can see how the discussions within the Cabinet led to a particular conclusion. Rather than simply announcing the conclusion to the people, which would seem as though we only have an agreement on the surface and the conclusion was reached through internal wrangling, I personally think this process of convergence of the various opinions of the ministers into one conclusion is extremely desirable. However, I believe this applies to the ministers in general. The Chief Cabinet Secretary has a staff-like role vis-à-vis the Prime Minister as well as the role of managing the overall coordination within the Cabinet. Indeed, the Chief Cabinet Secretary has the role of converging the various opinions and discussions within the Cabinet into a single conclusion. Therefore, if I state my personal opinions beforehand, I believe I will not be able to sufficiently fulfill my role. Thus, particularly with regards to these large themes, I simply believe that it is better if I state my opinions last.

REPORTER: To the extent that policy coordination will not be affected, is there anything you can say regarding your current views on nuclear power?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe this is also in line with what the Prime Minister has been saying, and I believe Minister Kaieda and Minister Hosono also share my belief. That is, having served in this responsible post of executing the response to the incident since March 11 and having stood on the frontlines of the work to stop the effects of the nuclear power station incident, which have been enormous and have caused concern to people in a wide area over a long period of time, I believe we cannot let this sort of incident happen ever again. In order to prevent such an incident, I believe infinitely reducing the dependence on nuclear power is the most effective way of doing that.

REPORTER: I have a question on the meeting of the ministerial council on fiscal resources for reconstruction which was discussed earlier. Regarding the size of the restoration and reconstruction programs, at today's meeting was a proposal presented and did the discussions lead to a conclusion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Today, no concrete conclusions were reached. Or rather, the purpose of today's meeting was not to arrive at a conclusion.

REPORTER: On a related topic, news reports are saying this amount will be over 20 trillion yen. Do you believe resources of this magnitude will be necessary?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: A variety of people are making a variety of calculations, and the Government has not come up with a specific and definite estimate at this point in time.

REPORTER: By around when do you intend to have an estimate?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We intend to compile a basic policy by the end of this month, so we will have it by the end of this month.