Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The abduction issue
• The Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V)
• The comfort women issue

REPORTER: It has been reported that in 2010, North Korea offered to hand over Ms. Kim Hye-gyong [, daughter of Ms. Megumi Yokota] to Japan in a third-country. This offer was made during the previous administration. Is the Abe administration aware of this? Also, has the Abe administration taken over this matter from the previous administration?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I have no knowledge of this. Also, this matter was not carried over from the previous administration.

REPORTER: The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) will kick off tomorrow. As China strengthens its influence in Africa, can you please share your views as to how Japan intends to catch up?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In the case of China, indeed the leaders have gone over to Africa a number of times. However, unfortunately, in the case of Japan, due to the circumstances of the Diet, well, for a variety of reasons, a Japanese Prime Minister has not visited Africa for some time and has not held meetings with African leaders in Africa. It is in this context that TICAD is being held. The Prime Minister will meet with the leaders of 41 nations, with all leaders, today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow. In this sense, Japan will effectively take advantage of this opportunity which only occurs once every five years. Japan will extend overseas assistance by taking a different approach from China, be it support for human resources development or cultural exchanges or other forms of support. Japan's assistance is not limited merely to assistance. Japan and African nations will also mutually strengthen their trust through Japanese assistance which meets the needs of the respective nations. While I believe China has its own approach, Japan will pursue its approach while obtaining the trust of African nations.

REPORTER: What kinds of implications do these meetings with African leaders have in relation to the growth strategy that the Abe administration is pushing forward?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Indeed, Africa is expected to undergo remarkable economic growth. These are still developing countries and there are countless areas in which Japan can extend assistance, including infrastructure development, which Japan excels at, as well as in the area of medicine. So Japan will make every effort to provide support in these areas.

REPORTER: I have a question regarding the "comfort women" issue. In the Government's written answer to questions from the Diet, which was made into a Cabinet decision during the first Abe Cabinet, the Prime Minister stated that there were no documents directly indicating that the "comfort women" were forcibly taken. The Prime Minister said that his was the first Cabinet in history to make a Cabinet decision of this kind. However, two things have been pointed out. The first is that a written answer, which was made into a Cabinet decision during the Hashimoto Cabinet, also states that there were no documents directly indicating that the "comfort women" were forcibly taken. The second is that the Hashimoto Cabinet stated that the Kono Statement and the Government's investigation findings were released based on a holistic analysis of the interviews conducted with "comfort women" and other materials. My impression is that these two points overlap with the first Abe Cabinet's written answer. What is the Government's view?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government's written answer during the Hashimoto Cabinet was a response to a question asked by House of Representatives member Ms. Takaichi from our party (the Liberal Democratic Party) concerning the description of the "comfort women" issue in textbooks. I believe it is a fact that a Cabinet decision was made regarding this matter. However, the Cabinet decision during the first Abe Cabinet was in response to a question concerning the Government's understanding of the "comfort women" issue. It was a written answer to the first question ever asked about the definition of coercion. Therefore, I do not believe there is validity to the claim that the Prime Minister's statement was erroneous.

REPORTER: Based on what you stated just now, are you saying that in the 2007 Cabinet decision, the Government was not stating a new view that was different from the 1997 Cabinet decision, but that it was essentially succeeding the understanding regarding coercion?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: That is not what I meant. During the Hashimoto Cabinet, the written answer was responding to a question concerning the description l of the "comfort women" issue in textbooks. During the first Abe Cabinet, the written question received concerned the definition of coercion. The respective written answers were in response to these questions, and the respective written answers were made into Cabinet decisions. Therefore, it does not hold up that the statement the Prime Minister made at the Diet was erroneous.

REPORTER: My question may not have been worded very clearly. I believe Ms. Takaichi's question was in relation to the credibility of the Government's investigations that were conducted ahead of the Kono Statement. Mr. Hashimoto's Cabinet decision, in response to this question, stated that no evidence was found indicating the "comfort women" were forcibly taken. The language appears to be virtually the same as that of the 2007 Cabinet decision. In regard to this, the Prime Minister recently stated in response to a question asked at the Diet that the 2007 Cabinet decision was the first of its kind, without touching at all on Mr. Hashimoto's Cabinet decision. This may be a little misleading. Listening to the Prime Minister's response, I believe the Prime Minister was implying that a new view had been presented in the 2007 Cabinet decision. Whatever the question posed to the Government may have been, what about the Government's view? Did it change?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: No, it did not change at all. The content of the Cabinet decisions is very similar. However, the gist of the questions was entirely different. In this sense, I believe there is no validity to the claim that the Prime Minister was erroneous in saying, in his response to questions asked at the Diet, that the 2007 Cabinet decision was the first of its kind.

(Abridged)