Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Saito

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SAITO: I would first like to give an overview of the Cabinet meeting. The meeting approved 23 general measures, and also the promulgation of draft bills and personnel decisions. With regard to statements by ministers, the Minister for Foreign Affairs made statements concerning Emergency Grant Aid for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons by the political instability in the Syrian Arab Republic and Emergency Grant Aid for the electric power crisis in the Republic of Palau. Prime Minister Noda made a statement concerning a temporary acting Minister while the Minister in charge is on an overseas visit, which will be Minister of Finance Azumi. In ministerial discussions following the Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Okada made a statement concerning a request for cooperation towards the compilation of regulatory and systemic reform measures in the energy sector. Minister Furukawa made a statement on the compilation of the results of the action plan for regulatory and systemic reform in the energy sector.

Prior to the Cabinet meeting, the Ministerial Meeting on Okinawa was convened. In this meeting various reports were given concerning the visit last week to Okinawa by the Minister of Defense, the Japan-United States consultations on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, and the upcoming visit by Prime Minister  Noda to Okinawa. The attending ministers also shared information and engaged in exchanges of opinions. The ministers also engaged in an exchange of views concerning the visit by Prime Minister Noda to Okinawa, which will be his first visit to the prefecture since being appointed Prime Minister.

At the Cabinet meeting today the Cabinet approved measures concerning "Expressions of Condolence on the Day of the Ceremony to Commemorate the First Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake." The purpose of this decision is to set out the actions to be taken by governmental administrative bodies in order to express heartfelt condolences on the day of the Ceremony to Commemorate the First Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and to seek the broad cooperation of the general public. The details of this decision have been distributed to you, and following the Cabinet decision the Chief Cabinet Secretary will be issuing instructions to the heads of each ministry and agency to notify the content of the decision to all departments, bureaus and local administrative bodies, thereby ensuring that an appropriate response is made. A statement to the people of Japan has also been issued by the Prime Minister, who is serving as the Chair of the Organizing Committee for the Commemoration Ceremony, which can also be found in the documents that have been distributed to you. For further details please direct your questions to the Preparation Office for the Ceremony to Commemorate the First Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake in the Cabinet Secretariat.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: You reported on the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the cabinet meeting. What specific response will the Japanese Government be making to the political instability in Syria?

(Abridged)

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SAITO: With regard to the support measures that will be provided to refugees and internally displaced persons caused by the political instability in Syria, the Government has decided to issue US$3 million in emergency grant aid for the purpose of assisting these persons. This aid will be distributed to Syria via international organizations in the form of food and sanitation products. Although you did not mention Palau in your question, I would like to add that the Government has decided to issue up to a maximum of 300 million yen in emergency grant aid to Palau, for the purpose of making an emergency response to the power supply situation in that country. This grant aid is being provided in response to a request from the Government of Palau and will be implemented in the form of assistance to the power generation and supply sectors, through the emergency provision of power generators.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Could you tell us a little about the content of the statement made by Deputy Prime Minister Okada, concerning cooperation towards the compilation of measures for regulatory reform in the energy sector?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SAITO: Deputy Prime Minister Okada's statement in ministerial discussions related to a request to Cabinet colleagues for cooperation in the compilation of measures for regulatory and systemic reforms in the energy sector. These regulatory and system reforms have been deliberated in a working group of the Government Revitalization Unit. A particular focus for reforms is the renewable energies sector, which includes such energies as wind, geo-thermal and solar, considerations on which have been implemented in collaboration with the Energy and Environment Council. Deputy Prime Minister Okada requested all ministries and agencies concerned to demonstrate leadership in deepening consideration of the specific content of issues and measures for reform of the energy sector. The aim is to complete compilation of specific measures for reform by the end of March. This was the content of the request made by Deputy Prime Minister Okada. The specific ministries involved are the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; and the Ministry of the Environment. Deputy Prime Minister Okada mentioned these ministries and their ministers by name and noted the Government's intention to realize reforms. In addition, Minister for National Policy Furukawa made a statement in which he talked about the compilation of the results of the action plan for regulatory and systemic reform in the energy sector.

(Abridged)