Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Regarding a different matter, I believe before lunchtime today, Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office Tadahiro Matsushita came here to report on the contents of his meeting yesterday with Governor of Fukui Prefecture Issei Nishikawa. Can you discuss the contents of this and your thoughts and the Prime Minister's thoughts in light of this report?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: Yes. Senior Vice Minister Matsushita met with Governor Nishikawa of Fukui Prefecture yesterday and came to report on the message that Governor Nishikawa wanted the Minister to convey to the Prime Minister. In the message, the Governor asked that the Government carry out the following, based on a firm stance or readiness, and resolve, under Prime Minister Noda's leadership: 1) Ensure that the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) take thorough initiatives for some time to come; 2) Make efforts to set up the Nuclear Regulatory Agency as swiftly as possible; 3) Proceed with the implementation of the safety measures necessary for restarting operations of Reactors No. 3 and 4 of Oi Nuclear Power Station with further clarity; 4) Sort out the safety measures in a clear manner and provide explanations that shed light on the short-term and mid-term issues; and 5) Continue to draw on additional information that becomes known from the knowledge of Fukushima. We received a report on these statements that Governor Nishikawa made yesterday. Today, we only received a report and did not discuss this.

(Abridged)