Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

• Measures to secure the safety of Japanese nationals and companies operating overseas

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, I would like to read out the following: Prompted by the terrorist attack on Japanese nationals in Algeria, we have submitted a report to the Government Verification Committee and obtained practical recommendations from the ruling party project team and members of the experts' meeting in our effort to develop measures to secure the safety of Japanese nationals and companies operating overseas. We have recently developed a list of initiatives the Government will implement that were derived from these recommendations. The Government will swiftly implement the below initiatives to put into practice the measures that we can take at this time.

The first initiative will be the fundamental strengthening of the collaboration and cooperation of the Government and private sector. We will run practical and intensive seminars and joint drills involving both the Government and private sector in order to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation of the Government and private sector in times of crisis. The first of these seminars is scheduled to be held in July.

Furthermore, in order to enhance information sharing between the Government and companies operating in high-risk regions, we will ensure that information obtained by the companies is shared by the Government and ensure that the Government in turn provides information to the companies.

The second initiative is to increase the effectiveness of safety advisory services. We will commence operation of a safety confirmation system through improving the residence reporting system and the use of short messaging services (SMS) in order to increase the effectiveness of safety advisory services for Japanese nationals residing overseas.

The third initiative is to improve response times. In order to improve initial response in the field, we will strengthen the readiness of the Terrorism Response Team - Tactical Wing for Overseas, known as TRT-2, to enable swift collection of information by issuing multiple-exit passports and enhancing their training. We have also decided to send specialists with expertise in local affairs, and a special workforce for securing the safety of Japanese nationals that will be sent ahead of other parties. These people will form the Emergency Response Team (ERT). We will also steadily advance preparations to address mid to long-term issues in addition to the above, and I will commit to the responsibility of seeing results from these initiatives.

Officials of the Office will brief you at a later time on the overview and the details of the initiatives that the Government will implement.

Q&As

• The Nikkei Stock Average
• The recommendations that incorporate the lessons learned in Algeria
• The holidays of Prime Minister Abe
• The abduction issue

REPORTER: Stock prices dived across the board with the Nikkei Stock Average dropping more than 700 points, which is the second largest drop of the year. Fluctuations in the market persist, and although I did ask this question this morning, how do you view these movements?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I am aware that stock prices have dropped in the way that you just described. However, as I said this morning, I must refrain from commenting on every movement of the stock market, as doing so may cause unnecessary confusion in the market.

However, I can say that the Japanese economy is on the steady path to recovery and it is crucial that we remain calm. The Government will strive to break out of deflation as early as possible and achieve sustainable private demand-led growth by continually pursuing our three prongs of economic policy while we keep close tabs on developments in the market.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: You just stated that the Japanese economy is on a steady path to recovery and I understand that you have said this previously on a number of occasions. There is a saying, "If you want to know about the stock market, ask the stock market," and considering this, if the economy was truly recovering, you would think that ordinary people would not be willing to sell their shares. However, stock prices are going down, so is this not evidence that people do not have confidence in economic recovery?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I don't believe that this is at all true. More than 70% of listed companies saw their stock rise in a short period of time and the rise over the last month was particularly fast. I believe that it is normal for correction to occur as stock prices rise and I believe the recent rise in stock prices was really too quick. I understand that usually it takes around one month for stock prices to rise by 1,000 points, but last week alone we saw a rise of more than 1,000 points. In this sense, it was a correction that naturally occurred.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question concerning the recommendations that incorporate the lessons learned in Algeria. As the Government and the private sector together address security issues overseas, including in Africa, I understand that the Government will start with the things that it can do right now, but could you once again tell us the objectives of doing so?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The examination and assessment of the incident in Algeria revealed areas in which the Government could have been more effective. In light of this, although incidents such as the one that occurred in Algeria should have never been allowed to occur in the first place, I strongly feel that we must remain ready for a worst-case scenario. To this end the Government and private sector will together hold seminars and complete joint drills. Looking back at the incident in Algeria, the deployment of TRT-2 experienced a number of inefficiencies such as needing to obtain visas, which is why we would like to arrange multiple-exit passports. Ministries and agencies have within their organizations specialists with expertise in different fields. Therefore, we will designate in advance those personnel rather than attempting to arrange those specialists after an incident occurs so that we can deploy these personnel immediately after an incident occurs, although incidents like that should never be allowed to happen in the first place. We will also complete joint drills to prepare for such incidents. These all form part of our effort for the Government and private sector to prepare ourselves for incidents like the one in Algeria.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: This was reported in newspapers this morning but I would like to ask a question concerning the holidays of Prime Minister Abe. It has been 156 days since the inauguration, however there have only been three days in that time that the Prime Minister has had whole days off work. Could you share with us your thoughts on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: To be frank, as I work closely with Prime Minister Abe, I wish that he would take at least one day off each week. However, since Prime Minister Abe assumed his position, he has been working with determination to break out of deflation and yen appreciation. Furthermore, the Prime Minister has used his days off, or the time he has between Diet sessions to make overseas visits in order to drive strategic foreign diplomacy, in areas that include resources, which I believe is an area in which Japan had not been successful. I understand that the Prime Minister has been working single-mindedly, driven by his determination to serve his nation with a sense of crisis.

I believe still more diplomatic challenges lay on the road ahead. For instance, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) will be held soon, at which the leaders of 41 nations will meet. It is because of events like this that the Prime Minister cannot afford the time to rest for now, but I hope that when things slow down, he takes the opportunity to have a break.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question concerning the Dong-a Ilbo report on the North Korean refugees, which you were asked about this morning. You said you were confirming the information, but do you have as yet any new information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: We are currently confirming the information through diplomatic routes. However, due to the nature of the incident, I would like to refrain from commenting on the details of the matter. We are, however, addressing the issue through diplomatic routes.

REPORTER: Yonhap News Agency earlier reported that one of the mothers of the nine refugees was found to be Japanese. Have you confirmed this information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: No, we have not. We have not been able to confirm the report.

REPORTER: I would like to ask a question on a related topic. The day before yesterday, Japanese media reported that the investigation by Japan's Headquarters for the Abduction Issue of an ex-senior official of the Korean People's Army revealed that North Korea used to operate a force with the mission of abducting fishermen of the Republic of Korea and Japan. You said that the Government will examine this information, and I would like to know if you have received the results.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Due to the nature of the incident, I cannot comment on this matter.

(Abridged)