Home > News > Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary > July 2013 > Wednesday, July 17, 2013 (AM)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 (AM)
Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)
[Provisional Translation]
Q&As
- Prime Minister's visit to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture
- The abduction issue
(Abridged)
REPORTER: Today Prime Minister Abe is visiting Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture. Is this his first visit to the island in his capacity as Prime Minister?
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I believe that it probably is his first visit as Prime Minister. Whatever the case, I think that it is only natural for the Prime Minister to visit various locations within Japan.
REPORTER: The Prime Minister has apparently also visited a patrol vessel of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) today. What kind of words did the Prime Minister offer to the personnel? There are some who point out that such actions by the Prime Minister could stimulate a response from China, so was the aim of the visit to the vessel to contain China?
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I do not believe that such an observation is a valid one at all. I believe that it is only natural for the nation's Prime Minister to pay a visit to a location in Okinawa that is one of the battlegrounds in the election campaign, and also to offer his encouragement and appreciation to JCG personnel for their ongoing hard work.
(Abridged)
REPORTER: An agent of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has suggested that one of the abduction victims, Ms. Kyoko Matsumoto, is currently residing in Pyongyang. Could you tell us whether the Government of Japan has confirmed this claim?
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I am aware of the press reports concerning this matter. As has been the case until now, the Government continues to make every effort to gather information concerning the status of the abduction victims, and I would like to refrain from making any specific comment about the details of the case. In whatever event the Government continues to engage in information gathering, analysis and other operations, based on the assumption that all the abduction victims are still alive. We continue to exert every effort and to seek out all possibilities in order to achieve the return home to Japan of all abduction victims without delay. That is the current status.
