Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The leakage of contaminated water from TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

REPORTER: Today the Government announced its response concerning nuclear power, which includes addressing the issue of contaminated water. I understand that there will be an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session on September 8 and that the Prime Minister will be leaving for Buenos Aires on September 4. Some believe that the announcement was made in a rushed manner with the IOC Session in mind. Could you share with us the view of the Government on how much the issue of contaminated water will affect the Olympic bid?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY KATO: Firstly, I must say that while the Tokyo Electric Power Company has already made a number of announcements, the public, particularly those from Fukushima Prefecture and the fishing community, have a number of great concerns and this is something that we must address irrespective of any IOC meetings. Today's announcement came about after the Government decided to stand at the forefront in addressing this issue and developed a policy package based on a range of discussions. I hope you understand that this has nothing to do with any IOC meetings. Having said that, this issue naturally holds great concern overseas as well as within Japan and therefore we will continue to appropriately communicate the facts regarding the situation and our intentions, both domestically and internationally.