Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Fujimura

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: I have a report concerning the publication of the fourth editions of the Handbook on the Reconstruction of Livelihood in Disaster-Affected Areas and the Handbook on the Reconstruction of Businesses in Disaster-Affected Areas. The Government has engaged in measures to provide information to people affected by the disaster that will prove useful in reconstructing their lives and businesses, and a number of handbooks have been issued to date, offering easy-to-understand explanations about the support measures included in the first and second supplementary budgets. Given that the third supplementary budget has been approved, the fourth editions of the Handbook on the Reconstruction of Livelihood in Disaster-Affected Areas and the Handbook on the Reconstruction of Businesses in Disaster-Affected Areas have been published today, incorporating information about the new support measures provided under the third supplementary budget. A total of 400,000 copies have been printed. They will be distributed in sequence to temporary accommodations in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, as well as to local governments, and in supermarkets and convenience stores. For further details please refer your questions to the Cabinet Public Affairs Office.

Q&As

REPORTER: On a related note, the bill to secure financial resources for reconstruction passed the Diet today. Could you tell us about your view about this bill that backs up the financial resources of the third supplementary budget?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: Thankfully the third supplementary budget and the bill to secure financial resources for reconstruction have now been approved with the significant cooperation of the opposition parties. Issues that are still being deliberated include the matter of special zones for reconstruction and the bill to establish the Reconstruction Agency. These outstanding matters can be viewed as one set and towards the implementation of the third supplementary budget and future reconstruction we must continue our unwavering efforts to conclude deliberations.

REPORTER: On a different subject, I believe that today the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee is meeting to deliberate four agreements on nuclear energy, with Jordan, Vietnam, Russia and the Republic of Korea. I believe that some people have raised questions about the approval of such agreements while it is still the case that the causes of the nuclear accident remain unclear and the situation has not yet been brought to a conclusion. Could you tell us the Government's view on this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: These are all bilateral agreements that have been signed and in that sense the Diet is property requested to engage in the procedures relating to these agreements. I do not believe that these agreements are directly related to the issues of the nuclear accident in Japan.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: On the subject of the nuclear energy agreements, there is a prospect of concluding procedures for the current agreements, but what is the Government's position on  other new agreements in the future? What will be the policy and stance with regard to the promotion of nuclear energy technology and the export of such technologies under agreements that are newly concluded?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY FUJIMURA: I believe that with regard to this point the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry will probably be responding to questions at such occasions as the Foreign Affairs Committee. However, I believe that if another country requires the high-level technologies that Japan possesses and if deliberations leading to a bilateral agreement are sought, then such negotiations would be carried out, naturally on the basis of Japan's experience with the nuclear accident. There may not be  specific consultations currently on the table for new negotiations, but this does not necessarily mean that they have been ruled out entirely.

(Abridged)