Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

JAPANESE

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: I have one item to report, relating to the appointment of a Parliamentary Secretary. Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office Yukihiko Akutsu, who was called upon to engage in disaster response measures following Typhoon No. 12, has requested that he be relieved of this position as of today, and in a recent round-robin Cabinet meeting it was decided to appoint House of Representatives Member Kazuko Koori as Mr. Akutsu's successor.

In addition, it was decided to appoint Ms. Koori to the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Reconstruction in Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and also as Head of Miyagi Prefecture Response Office.

Parliamentary Secretary Koori is scheduled to receive her letter of appointment at 6:15pm today from the Prime Minister.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Today discussions are scheduled to begin within the Tax Commission. However, within the ruling parties and particularly within the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), there are a number of strong opinions that are urging for a cautious approach to increasing taxes for reconstruction purposes. Given this situation, how do you think discussions in the Tax Commission should proceed?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: The Tax Commission will begin its deliberations this evening and this will be the eighth such meeting of the Commission. For the immediate future, discussions will continue to take place on the various options available for taxation measures to raise fiscal resources for reconstruction. I believe that discussions will also be advanced on fiscal resources for measures to tackle hepatitis B.

(Abridged)