Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano

(Abridged)

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: The 18th meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters has just been held, and decided on a policy concerning reassessment of the evacuation zones. First, as a precondition for reassessing the evacuation zones, we confirmed the result of assessments conducted by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) concerning the current state of nuclear reactor facilities of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, for which Step 1 has just been completed. Specifically, we received reports that it has been confirmed that the possibility of hydrogen explosions or failure to maintain the cooling of the nuclear reactors has decreased, and that even in the event that the cooling operations were suspended for a prolonged time, the effect on radiation in places more than 20 kilometers away from the station would be sufficiently small compared to the limits stipulated in the nuclear emergency guidelines.

In consideration of these reports, we have decided on a policy concerning reassessment of the evacuation zones. There are two points of this policy. First, the emergency evacuation preparation zones will be lifted en masse based on the formulation of restoration plans by the targeted municipalities and also in close consultation with relevant municipal authorities. Second, although revision of the no-entry zone and planned evacuation zone will be considered only upon the completion of Step 2, efforts for decontamination and restoring living infrastructure will be initiated prior to this. In particular, decontamination will be the key to restoring and reconstructing the nuclear disaster area. In order to promptly start intensive decontamination work, the Government will formulate a basic policy on decontamination by around the end of August, and carry out thorough and continued decontamination through the collaboration of related ministries and agencies. In addition to these, we have decided to start the temporary access to the area within 3 kilometers from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as early as this month upon close consultation with local municipalities and after sufficiently ensuring safety of residents. Minister [for the Restoration from and Prevention of Nuclear Accident] Goshi Hosono and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Banri Kaieda will be making announcements later, so please inquire with them for further details.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: On a slightly different note, the Mayor of Nagasaki City said in his Peace Declaration that it is necessary to promote the development of renewable energy sources to replace nuclear energy, and made a statement to the effect that he will seek to create a society without nuclear power station in the future. How do you perceive the mayor of the city that experienced nuclear bombing making a statement about peaceful use of nuclear energy, which is assumed to influence future debates concerning nuclear power?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Although I don't think I'm in a position to say exactly how it will influence these debates, I may venture to say that I think it was a very weighty statement in a general sense.

REPORTER: In this connection, the Prime Minister said in a press conference held in Nagasaki today, concerning the elimination of nuclear weapons, that it is an issue of great importance that must be addressed as a national policy. Is this the Prime Minister's personal feeling, or can we take this as the Government's position?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I personally witnessed the Prime Minister delivering an address at the ceremony, in which I think he said "the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons." At least as far as this is concerned, that is, the ultimate goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from the face of the Earth in the future, I think this is a goal shared not only within Japan but also by our ally the United States.

REPORTER: My question relates to Tomari Nuclear Power Station. In a press conference Governor of Hokkaido Harumi Takahashi said, "I wanted to make the judgment taking into consideration the reply from the national government, but there was no time for us to do that." Essentially, the Hokkaido government had no time to study the matter because the national government gave direct instructions to Hokkaido Electric Power Company (HEPCO) to apply for the final checks, so the Governor is objecting that the national government is "being disrespectful to the regions." What are your thoughts about this, and please tell us the reason why the national government today told HEPCO to "re-apply."

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: Answering your last question first, I would like you to ask the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for the details, but the meaning of our instruction that "it is ok to submit the application" is that we were originally asked whether it is ok to submit the application, and in response to that we said "please go ahead," so I understand that we did not actively say "please submit the application." In any case, the detailed procedures are being carried out within NISA and METI so I would like you to ask them about this. In a general sense, of course I think that proper procedures to give sufficient explanations to the local governments and gain their understanding are necessary, so, although I do not know the details this time, I think we have to make even greater efforts to explain as carefully as possible and seek the understanding of the community.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Regarding an article in my newspaper (the New York Times), an article we have published today states that because the Government was slow to publish the SPEEDI data, the people of the Namie Town in Fukushima Prefecture were exposed to the risk of high levels of radiation exposure. Can I ask how the Government will take responsibility for these people going forward?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: About the disclosure of the SPEEDI data, or rather of information in general, I think that our response was insufficient in a variety of senses. The fact that one simulation was performed based on provisional figures was not sufficiently reported. It was not reported, so neither the Government nor the Prime Minister's Office nor the Crisis Management Center published the data, and I think this is extremely regrettable. Precisely because that data and information was missing, the Crisis Management Center which were analyzing the direction in which the radioactive materials were most likely to disperse based on information about the wind direction and the wind speed received from Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and took steps based on that information, would have faced less difficulty if that information had arrived at the Center at an early stage, as those calculations and estimates would have been easier to do, so I think it is very unfortunate. I believe that the Investigation Committee is carrying out sufficient examinations from a third-party perspective of what kind of impact these circumstances had, if any, on the levels of radiation exposure of the residents living in the nearby areas. In any case, whether or not that has been the case, TEPCO is taking full responsibility for everyone in the vicinity of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station who is affected by radiation exposure and other problems due to the current incident, including the payment of compensation, and given the position of the Government, which has promoted nuclear policy and borne the responsibility for nuclear safety, I think we are not exempt from responsibility either.

REPORTER: My question is in relation to the Tomari Nuclear Power Station mentioned earlier. I think the stance of Hokkaido was "consider what to do" upon receiving a written answer from the national government, while on the other hand the demand for final checks from METI included the statement "please submit the application," and HEPCO has been taking the stance all along of applying immediately. That said, did you from your side give any instruction to METI to "pause for a moment" or "explain to the local residents"?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: This is a procedure carried out by METI, although the Prime Minister is also strongly interested in nuclear safety in particular since the nuclear incident and furthermore appointed Mr. Goshi Hosono as Minister for the Restoration from and Prevention of Nuclear Accident, and that coordination has therefore been carried out to align the intentions of the Prime Minister, METI/NISA, and Minister Hosono. So please ask METI about the procedures.

REPORTER: If that is the case, are we to understand that, for example, concerning the current procedures about which Hokkaido is objecting that the approach of the national government is "extremely regrettable," METI responded without properly understanding what the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office were thinking about that approach in that manner?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I believe that during this period METI has also been responding with a sufficient awareness of the fact that we must proceed while gaining sufficient understanding from the people in the local region.