Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

• An overview of the first Cabinet meeting of the year
• The first meeting of the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization
• Announcement of the eminent persons from the private sector who will serve as the members of the Industrial Competitiveness Council
• The incident in which Chinese Government vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands on January 7

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I would like to report three items. I would first like to give an overview of the first Cabinet meeting of the year. The meeting approved three personnel decisions. With regard to statements by ministers, Minister Mori and Minister Furuya made statements concerning the promotion of traffic accident prevention measures, and Prime Minister Abe made a statement concerning acting Ministers while Ministers in charge are away on overseas visits.

Next, I would like to speak about the outcomes of the meeting of the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization. Today, the first meeting of the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization was convened following the Cabinet meeting. The first agenda item was the establishment of the operational guidelines of the Headquarters. This was followed by the second agenda item, in which a decision was made to establish the Industrial Competitiveness Council, an investigation and deliberation forum, to work out and advance the growth strategy designed to elicit private investment. In the following third agenda item, a discussion took place on the outline of economic measures. Based on Prime Minister Abe's instructions, including that economic measures are compiled by Friday, January 11, and that the supplementary budget is formulated at an early date, the second meeting of the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization is scheduled to be held on January 11.

Next, I would like to announce the eminent persons from the private sector who will serve as the members of the Industrial Competitiveness Council. As shown in the material in front of you, the following nine people have been informally appointed as eminent person members of the Industrial Competitiveness Council. They are: Sakie Akiyama; Sadayuki Sakakibara; Masahiro Sakane; Yasuhiro Sato; Heizo Takenaka; Takeshi Niinami; Kazuhito Hashimoto; Yasuchika Hasegawa; and Hiroshi Mikitani. In addition to scholars, those who have brilliant insight from the business community at large, ranging from the manufacturing to the service industries, were asked to serve as members. Following the necessary procedures, they will be formally approved and installed as members of the Headquarters. For details, please direct your questions to Minister Amari.

I have one more announcement, which is about the incident yesterday in which Chinese Government vessels entered Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands. Yesterday, after 11 am, four Chinese "Haijian" maritime surveillance vessels entered Japanese territorial waters from the northwest of Uotsuri Island. The vessels stayed in territorial waters for a long time - more than 13 hours - and exited territorial waters after 12:30 am early this morning. Japan, through diplomatic channels, repeatedly lodged protests and demanded their withdrawal from territorial waters. It is extremely abnormal and regrettable that nevertheless Chinese vessels navigated Japanese territorial waters for such a long time and roamed the waters, reversing their course a number of times. First, I would like to explain about the measures that the Government took yesterday. Yesterday, from around 11:02 am to around 11:43 am, Chinese vessels entered one by one into Japanese territorial waters near Uotsuri Island, and all vessels exited territorial waters by 12:32 am today, January 8. In response, the Information Liaison Office established within the Crisis Management Center at the Prime Minister's Office was reorganized into the Response Office at the Prime Minister's Office at 11:02 am yesterday, and the Government's information collection structures were strengthened. In the sea area, Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol vessels demanded by radio and other means that the Chinese vessels immediately withdraw from territorial waters. In addition, by way of diplomatic channels, Japan lodged a protest to China regarding the intrusion into Japanese territorial waters and demanded immediate withdrawal from territorial waters. In light of the fact that the Chinese vessels stayed in territorial waters for a long time, Japan lodged an even stronger protest than ever before. I understand that following yesterday's incident of the intrusion into territorial waters, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs (Akitaka) Saiki is expected to summon Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and once again lodge a stern protest from 11 am today, based on the instructions of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In any case, the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of the territory of Japan, and it is extremely regrettable and unacceptable that Chinese Government vessels have entered Japanese territorial waters. As of 9 am today, no Chinese vessels, etc., have been confirmed navigating the sea area near the Senkaku Islands. Regarding the patrolling of areas around the Senkaku Islands, the relevant ministries and agencies will continue to coordinate with a sense of urgency in collecting information and taking every possible measure for monitoring and surveillance.

Q&As

• The disclosure of the Cabinet meeting to the press for the first time in 11 years
• The Prime Minister's overseas visits
• Issues related to Okinawa
• Japan-China relations (the Senkaku Islands)
• Appointment of Mr. Heizo Takenaka as a member of the Industrial Competitiveness Council

REPORTER: Today, the Cabinet meeting was open to the press. What was the aim of making the meeting open today at this timing?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: For the Abe Cabinet, this was the first Cabinet meeting of the new year following the launch of the new administration. The disclosure of the meeting stemmed from our desire to disclose as much information as possible to the public at this time. We hope it will facilitate the deepening of the public's understanding regarding the operation of Cabinet meetings or the Cabinet system.

REPORTER: I have a related question. This was the first time in 11 years that the Cabinet meeting was disclosed. Who came up with this idea?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: It was the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister himself hoped that by making the Cabinet meeting open, this would help, even if only slightly, obtain the understanding of the public and close the gap between the Government and the public. This is not limited to the videotaping of Cabinet meetings. This was part of the Abe administration's efforts to close the gap with the public regarding the understanding of all sorts of policies.

REPORTER: Regarding this topic, in today's case, only video cameras were authorized to enter the room. In the future, do you have any plans to authorize the entry of reporters into the room?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Today was the first time that we, the Cabinet, did this. Moving forward, we would like to study such ideas bearing this in mind.

REPORTER: Regarding this, while today the Cabinet meeting room was open to the press, at this point in time do you have any intention or plans to take further measures to ensure transparency from the perspective of disseminating or disclosing information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Today, for the first time in 11 years, what took place at the Cabinet meeting was disseminated, which until now had been considered a taboo in a sense. We hope you understand that the policy of the Abe Cabinet is to manage the administration with this intention of disclosing as much information as possible.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question regarding the overseas visits of the Prime Minister. I believe the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs is currently visiting the United States (U.S.) and conducting negotiations. Can you please brief us on this if there is anything noteworthy? Also, regarding the arrangements of the Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. and the rumors that the Prime Minister will visit Southeast Asia as early as next week, what is the status of the arrangements?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: To be honest, nothing has been decided yet. We would like to make a decision after Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kawai returns to Japan and reports the situation.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Today, I believe three ministers concerned with issues related to Okinawa visited you before the Cabinet meeting. What did you discuss or talk about?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Okinawa for us is an extremely important and key issue. Therefore, a meeting among four ministers, including myself, was convened for the first time today to first share our awareness of the issue. Moving forward, we intend to continue to hold meetings as needed. Furthermore, we hope to set out a direction in the context of mutually discussing the feelings of the people of Okinawa and the views of us, the Government.

REPORTER: You said just now that the ministers wished to share their opinions on Okinawa. Does Prime Minister Abe have any plans to visit Okinawa?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Today, we, the four ministers, discussed for the first time the issues concerning Okinawa, including measures for its promotion and development. Naturally, in this context the four ministers intend to consider the Prime Minister's visit to Okinawa, the timing of which is still undecided.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question regarding the Senkaku incident. These types of incidents took place repeatedly during the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), and I believe the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) criticized this as the failure of the foreign policy of the DPJ. Looking at today's incident, it seems that China's responses have escalated since the birth of the new Abe administration. Is Japan's intention to increase the level of its responses?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Our stance is to take thorough measures based on the fundamental position that the Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of the territory of Japan and call on China to exercise self-restraint.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I believe under the leadership of the Prime Minister's Office, through the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization and the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, the Government will move forward with the growth strategy and budget formulation. In this context, what was the aim of once again appointing Mr. Heizo Takenaka, who was a symbolic figure of the Prime Minister's Office-led initiatives during the Koizumi era?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: We believe that Mr. Takenaka has a highly international perspective and a definitive understanding of Japan's economic situation and analyses, and we hope he will lend us this insight and expertise.

REPORTER: Did the Prime Minister wish to appoint Mr. Takenaka?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: There was also strong support from the Prime Minister.

(Abridged)