Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

(Abridged)

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Next, I will report on issues related to reputational damages. In order to implement countermeasures against international reputational damages being spread internationally as a result of the incident at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and to rebuilt Japan brand, on the occasion of the passing of the second supplementary budget, we have newly established the "Liaison Meeting of the Japanese Government and Related Organizations on Countermeasures Against International Reputational Damages and on Rebuilding of Japan Brand " to allow various ministries and agencies to work together to address this issue in a unified manner. The first meeting will be hosted after this press conference by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Fukuyama and Cabinet Office Senior Vice-Minister Yamaguchi with the membership of director general-level staff from various related ministries and agencies. The Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Relations will be holding a press briefing later, so please forward your questions concerning the details of the meeting to that forum.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: There is a report that the Turkish Government has made the decision to discontinue Japan's priority negotiation rights for the construction plan of a nuclear power station in Turkey at the end of July. How will the Government of Japan respond to this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First and foremost, Japan intends to utilize the lessons that it has learned from the incident and make international contributions in terms of realizing a high level of nuclear power safety. Regarding the advancement of nuclear power cooperation, and I have said this several times before in these press conferences, I believe that a premise for such cooperation is how partner countries assess Japan's posture on the issue. In the event that a partner country desires nuclear power cooperation with Japan, Japan should respond in view of the course of negotiations and the partner country's expectations. Concerning negotiations with Turkey, please understand that I cannot discuss the specifics of the course of those negotiations. However, it is my understanding that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has dispatched staff to Turkey to discuss the modality of this cooperation.

REPORTER: On a related note, because of the confusion within the Japanese Government in the aftermath of the nuclear power station incident, the Turkish Government has - it seems that they feel a sense of danger in continuing negotiations while Japan's future policy on nuclear power remains undecided. What are your thoughts about this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Your question really touches on the specific course of negotiations - the process - so please understand that there is nothing that I can comment on at this stage.

REPORTER: The Food Safety Commission has compiled expertise indicating that the amount of radiation that will cause negative health effects to a person is an accumulated amount of 100mSv over the course of their life. The Commission was originally called on to advise about the health impacts of food products that contain radioactive materials, but they have yet to release a conclusion about this. It appears that it is going to be difficult to determine regulated limits for food products moving forward. What are your thoughts on this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I honestly do not think that it is appropriate for someone such as myself to directly comment on truly expert, technical analyses and deliberations. However, it is my understanding that the head of the working group has indicated that the current regulations are rather strict and that there is likely to exist no need to drastically change them. I would like to ask for the cooperation of experts at other related agencies, in addition to the Food Safety Commission including the Nuclear Safety Commission, in carrying out further expert analyses.

(Abridged)