Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The disclosure of monitoring activities of the U.S. Government
• Japan-China relations
• Japan-ROK relations
• Newspaper's surveys regarding the upcoming House of Councillors election
• The Bank of Japan's Tankan Survey

REPORTER: In relation to the issue involving the revelations that a U.S. intelligence agency was covertly collecting personal information, a UK newspaper reported that the Japanese Embassy in the U.S. was one of the targets of wiretapping. Is the Government aware of this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I am aware of the media report but we are not certain of the authenticity of the details of the report. However, naturally we are very concerned about this matter and therefore will seek confirmation of the necessary points.

REPORTER: Please allow me to ask another question on this topic. Am I right to understand that when you say, "seek confirmation of the necessary points" does this mean you will ask the U.S. if this actually occurred?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Yes, that is correct. We will request clarification on this matter via diplomatic routes.

REPORTER: Please allow me to ask another question. You said that you will request clarification via diplomatic routes, but given the nature of this matter, I am not certain that the U.S. will be forthcoming in providing all the details. Does the Japanese Government have any intention of taking its own actions such as checking communications or other equipment at the embassy?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, we will firmly ask the U.S. via diplomatic routes to confirm the authenticity of the information.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have another question on the same topic. There have been reports, or accusations, that information was collected from internet services used by ordinary people, from companies like Facebook, Google and Microsoft. Does the Japanese Government intend to make any inquiries regarding this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: We will first firmly ask the U.S. for an explanation over the aforementioned matter. After that the Government will seek to gain further details on the situation.

REPORTER: I believe that yesterday during your talk you said that Japan and China have, on various occasions, engaged in negotiations and that the distance between the two nations has become closer. Could you once again share with us what you meant by this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I often say that our door is always open for dialogue. At the same time, we have been addressing the issue of the Senkaku Islands with the strong stance that the islands are unquestionably an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law. However, it is also true that we have been engaged in negotiations on various occasions, from a broad perspective, in order to build a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests. Therefore, I made these comments in light of the overall situation.

REPORTER: Am I right to interpret your comments to mean that a summit meeting will be held sometime in the near future?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: No, that is not what I meant.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: The Japan-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting will be held in Brunei. What are the Government's expectations for the meeting?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan and the Republic of Korea are extremely important neighboring countries, and therefore I believe that today's meeting will be extremely beneficial for both countries.

REPORTER: President Park Geun-hye has said something to the effect that historical issues exist in Asia and Northeast Asia, referencing the Abe Cabinet's understanding of history. Do you believe that today's meeting will be able to move beyond these issues to some degree?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I am not certain how today's meeting will proceed. However, we have made the stance of Japan clear and therefore we believe that this will not pose a problem.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Surveys conducted by newspapers on the proportional representation of the House of Councillors election revealed that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has support of around 45%. It appears that the LDP has maintained its dominance, as was seen in the results of the most recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election. Could you share with us your views on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: We truly appreciate the support. In order to maintain and increase this support, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abe we will give our all leading up to the election to have the public fully understand the policies of our party, which are the revitalization of the Japanese economy, reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuring thorough risk management. We will put in every effort throughout the election campaign to ensure that we have even better results.

REPORTER: I believe that recently Prime Minister Abe criticized China for having set conditions for holding a Japan-China summit meeting. Am I right to understand that the Japanese Government cannot comply with all the conditions China has presented?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, I can say that various communications at a working-level are currently taking place. I believe that it is only natural that we maintain a firm stance in areas on which we cannot compromise. There has been no change on this. However, we always have our door open to dialogue with China in order to advance our mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests from a broad perspective. In this context I said that I feel that the distance between Japan and China has been narrowing. Japan and China both agree that our mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests is extremely important.

REPORTER: You just shared with us your determination to do your best leading up to the House of Councillors election in order to achieve the revitalization of the Japanese economy. The main indicators in the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) Tankan Survey (Short-term Economic Survey of Enterprises in Japan) that was announced today indicated significant improvements. Could you share with us your thoughts on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: According to the BOJ's survey of business conditions, business sentiment for large enterprises and the manufacturing sector was positive for the first time since September 2011. I understand that the business sentiment of enterprises, including SMEs, are recovering due to a recovery in manufacturing and exporting, and steady domestic consumption, which have been helped by steady economic performance overseas and the depreciation of the yen. As for the economic outlook, the figures announced today forecast further improvement. I understand that corporate earnings, capital investment and capital investment plans have all improved since the last survey and I believe that this is a sign that the three "arrows" of Abenomics are now beginning to take effect and that the economy expects these policies to continue to be beneficial. The Government will do everything possible to break the nation out of deflation as early as possible and achieve sustainable private-led economic growth by continually and comprehensively pursuing our three "arrows" of economic policy.

(Abridged)