Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

(Abridged)

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: At the roundtable ministerial discussions following the Cabinet meeting, Minister Gemba and Prime Minister Kan spoke about the proposals of the Council on the Promotion of "New Public Commons" and the Government's response.

Next, as the Minister of State for Government Revitalization, I would like to report on the Additional Policy Concerning the Reforms of Regulations and Systems, which was approved by the Cabinet today. These reforms of regulations and systems have undergone a series of adjustments made by government departments, based on the deliberations and the review of regulations conducted by a subcommittee of the Government Revitalization Unit. The 135 items, for which the adjustments with the government offices and ministries had generally been completed prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake, were approved by the Cabinet in April of this year. Today, the Cabinet approved an additional 56 items that have since completed the adjustment process with the government offices and ministries. They include items to promote the reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the use of renewable energies - for example, the review of license requirements and standards pertaining to national forests and forest reserves for the installation of renewable energy systems; and the review of regulations on the handling of lithium-ion batteries - items for tackling our urgent and vital policy challenges. Moving forward, each government office and ministry will be implementing initiatives in line with this policy. There is no question about that. My hope is that we can start studying and implementing the items ahead of schedule as much as possible, especially the items directly related to the measures for preventing the hollowing-out of industries or electricity shortages, beginning with the two I mentioned a moment ago, and I made a request to this effect at today's Cabinet meeting. In addition, preparations are already underway for the third round of the reforms of regulations and systems, and moving forward I would like to get the discussions going on the new reforms.

For details, please direct your questions to the Office of Regulation and System Reform of the Cabinet Office.

Q&As

REPORTER: Yesterday, Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Katsuya Okada apologized during his press conference, saying the party was too optimistic about the outlook of the 2009 manifesto. In addition, I believe today Prime Minister Kan also apologized during the meeting of the Budget Committee. First of all, what are your thoughts on the apologies made by the senior members of the administration for the manifesto's optimistic outlook?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: While there are a number of measures we promised to the people in the 2009 manifesto which have been achieved more or less, unfortunately there is no denying that there are also measures which have yet to be realized. Although of course some of this is due to changes in the circumstances since then, I believe we must admit, quite frankly, that in the process of creating the manifesto we did not give sufficient considerations to the policy's need or to the outlook regarding its realization. I believe it was our enthusiasm to instantly achieve major policy changes in a short amount of time, driven by the change in government, which ultimately led to this outcome. I, too, would like to express my candid apology to the people for our optimistic outlook. On the other hand, I do not believe there were any problems with what we were aiming to do, the policy vision. Therefore, in order to proceed along this path, the Government will make further efforts to actually transform and realize a variety of policies.

REPORTER: Right now, discussions are taking place between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the bill on special measures for government bonds. What impact do you think the review of the manifesto and the apologies over the manifesto will have on the future consultations between the ruling and opposition parties? Also, based on that, what sort of cooperation are you seeking from the opposition parties for the passage of the bill?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Regarding the legislation on special measures for government bonds, we indeed hope to have the understanding of the opposition parties from the standpoint of peoples' livelihood. I would be grateful if Secretary-General Okada's comment at his press conference will help to deepen their understanding to this end.

REPORTER: The opposition parties are saying that an apology is not enough. They are asking for specific cutbacks and numerical targets and more. In other words, some have said that yesterday's comments are insufficient. In your opinion, do you believe the party should conduct a more detailed review and come back with a firm vision?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Already, we have explained to the people and others that at least for the immediate future we will not be able to do as we promised in our manifesto. In addition, I understand the party is also carrying out further verifications. Frankly, I believe the party must present a thorough and more specific explanation not only for the sake of its relationships with those of the opposition parties, but also to the people, as to what we achieved, what we can expect to achieve moving forward, as well as what will be difficult to achieve in the immediate future unfortunately due to the reasons I have just given or due to various changes in the circumstances. I believe there are things that the party needs to do as well as things that the Cabinet ought to identify. Therefore, I hope the party makes efforts, and at the same time, the Cabinet will firmly do what it needs to do.

REPORTER: Regarding this subject, I believe in general if the manifesto is reviewed, another option is to create a new manifesto and appeal to the people. What are your thoughts on this option?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe the manifesto was the basis for people choosing this administration. When its term expires, the people will judge how much of the manifesto was achieved during the term, or regarding those items which were not achieved, for what reasons they were not achieved. On this basis, the people will select the next administration. I believe this is how administrations are chosen on the basis of the manifesto.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: This question is regarding the lack of progress in the disposal of rubble. Funds from the first supplementary budget have yet to be put to full use, and some people have pointed out that the problem is in the way the budget was allocated to begin with. What problem is hindering the disposal of rubble? Also, how do you intend to advance operations to dispose of this rubble in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: It is tremendously unfortunate that the lack of progress in disposing of rubble is causing such a major impact on the lives of everyone in the disaster area. I intend to expedite this process as much as possible. More than it being a problem of budget allocation, in a broader sense the reality that we are facing is the extremely large gap that exists between the immense amount of rubble generated by the disaster and our small capacity, including that of local governments and related administrative agencies. The Government has exerted every effort to overcoming that gap, and each municipality with direct jurisdiction is also making efforts and working hard to solve this problem. However, I have to honestly say that these efforts are not entirely sufficient. The Government will do everything in its power to expand that capacity, and to push forward operations to dispose of rubble as quickly as possible, and particularly that which directly impacts the lives of citizens.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: This afternoon the Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) is to request approval from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) to extend the operations of Unit 2 of Mihama Nuclear Power Station in Fukui Prefecture by 10 years, which will put it into its fifth decade of service. This nuclear power facility in particular has been pointed out as an aging facility. Please tell us what the Kan administration's thoughts are about how to respond to such a nuclear power station in light of the Prime Minister's policy for reducing dependence on nuclear power generation.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As you know, after 30 years in service the law requires all nuclear power stations to undergo safety checks every ten years. I have yet to receive a report about KEPCO's request, but the Government will implement a solid response to such a request once it is received, of course in consideration of ensuring safety, the need to reassure surrounding residents, and in light of the nuclear power station incident in Fukushima Prefecture.