Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, I am going to report on a decision that was made concerning shipping restrictions, which I was asked about this morning.

Today, based on Paragraph (3), Article 20 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, I ordered the Miyagi Prefecture Governor to abstain from shipping any cattle being fed in Miyagi Prefecture to slaughterhouses. This order was in response to reports that radioactive cesium that exceeded the provisional regulation values of the Food Sanitation Act was detected in beef in three Miyagi Prefecture municipalities. After introductions are made to restrict shipments, in the event that Miyagi Prefecture files an application for the partial withdrawal of shipping restrictions, it will be approved under the premise that a rational safety control structure has been established that includes thorough and proper feed management as well as testing of beef. Specifically, for farmers with feed management problems, a testing will be performed on all of their livestock and shipments will only be permitted for livestock that have tested below the provisional regulation values. For other farmers, at least one head of cattle from all farmers' initial shipments will be tested, and a farmer's shipment will be permitted if levels fall below the provisional regulation values. Regular testings will also be carried out thereafter. We are now doing everything we can to ensure that livestock farmers impacted by these shipping restrictions receive adequate compensation. For more information please forward your inquiries to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: This question is regarding your opening statement on shipping restrictions. Continuing on Fukushima Prefecture, shipping restrictions have now been placed on Miyagi Prefecture. What do you think about the possibility of such restrictions spreading to other prefectures in the future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is a tremendous disappointment and I feel terribly sorry for everyone related to the livestock industry. We will continue to collect information and carry out thorough testing from the perspective of safety. If necessary we will of course implement a response to issues in order to ensure safety.

REPORTER: This afternoon you met with Mr. Hajime Ishii of the House of Councillors. He has said that you gave positive feedback on his so-called "vice-capital concept." Does the Government already have something in mind for how to progress with this concept?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I also received report today that a bipartisan parliamentary group is positively considering the "vice-capital concept." From my personal experience overseeing crisis management at the Crisis Management Center within the Prime Minister's Office since March 11, I can say that there is a need to better improve Japan's crisis management structure in consideration of the lessons learned during this incident. I commented that I am concerned whether the Crisis Management Centers of the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Defense (MOD) - there is also a backup center now in Tachikawa City as well - are ultimately sufficient. I would also like to pay considerations to the physical logistic aspects of crisis management of the Prime Minister's Office while taking into view the considerations being carried out by the parliamentary group - while at the same time working to ameliorate these functions in consideration of the lessons learned on this occasion. However, on a tangible level, we have only just entered the next phase of crisis management, so I think that more concrete considerations will be made from here on out while the crisis management departments conduct verifications on the several weeks following March 11.

REPORTER: Related to your meeting with Mr. Ishii, Vice President of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), he has commented that you both share the same idea about when the Prime Minister should resign. Again, do you believe that the Prime Minister will resign once the three conditions are achieved?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Please refer to the Prime Minister's past comments.

REPORTER: Today, in the board meeting of a DPJ subcommittee that deliberates on the Basic Policy on Reconstruction, consensus was met on opposing the inclusion of emergency tax increases in the Basic Policy. What is your response to this? Also, is the Basic Policy on Reconstruction scheduled to be decided on tomorrow?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: First, I have not yet received a specific report on the course of today's discussions by party members, so I would like to avoid directly commenting on this at this time.

REPORTER: Do you plan to decide on the Basic Policy on Reconstruction tomorrow?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: We are advancing discussion with the objective of making a decision during this month, but it has yet to be finalized.