Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

• An overview of the Cabinet meeting
• Prime Minister's plan to visit Bahrain, Kuwait, Djibouti and Qatar

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly I would like to give an overview of the Cabinet Meeting.

The meeting approved 6 general measures as well as Cabinet orders and personnel decisions.

With regard to statements by ministers, Prime Minister Abe, the Minister of Finance and Minister Mori made a statement concerning the outline of legal measures based on the stipulations of Article 4 of the Act to Promote Social Security Reform; the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare made a statement concerning future initiatives based on the outline of legal measures; Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a supplemental statement concerning the outline of legal measures based on the stipulations of Article 4 of the Act to Promote Social Security Reform. Prime Minister Abe also made a statement concerning acting Ministers while Ministers in charge are away on an overseas visit.

If scheduling permits, Prime Minister Abe is planning to visit Bahrain, Kuwait, Djibouti and Qatar between August 24 and 29 in order to hold meetings with the leaders of those countries. It will be the first time that a Japanese Prime Minister has visited Bahrain and Djibouti while the visits to Kuwait and Qatar will be the first in six years since Prime Minister Abe visited in May 2007.

The objectives of the visits to these Gulf nations are to further strengthen and enhance the comprehensive partnership towards stability and prosperity with Middle Eastern nations, which the Prime Minister announced upon his visit to the region in April and May this year. Furthermore, to coincide with the Prime Minister's visit, representatives of the private sector will also visit those countries. I anticipate that this trip will further strengthen our economic and cultural ties with these nations.

While the Prime Minister is in Djibouti he is planning to provide encouragement to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, who are currently engaged in counter-piracy operations in an extremely testing environment. Another objective of the visit to Djibouti is to strengthen the cooperative relationship with Djibouti, which Japan has strategic importance concerning counter-piracy and other interests.

Q&As

• The leakage of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
• The TPP negotiations
• The issue of the right to collective self-defense
• Japan-Russia relations
• The ROK's court ruling regarding payments for forced wartime labour

REPORTER: More than 300 tons of highly contaminated water has leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, revealing once again the challenges we face in post-accident management. Could you share with us how the Government is planning to address this issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As you have just mentioned, on August 19, a puddle of contaminated water was discovered at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. After checking tank water levels and observing their lowered state, it was calculated that approximately 300 cubic meters of water had leaked. I have been informed that as of now there have not been any significant changes to the analysis results of the seawater closest to the general discharge outlet or changes in data at monitoring posts near the power station.

In response, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has given instructions to identify the scope of the contamination, determine the origin of the leak as soon as possible, strengthen the monitoring of areas near the tanks, recover contaminated soil, and investigate the state of the leak into the ocean. Furthermore, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy has instructed that all tanks of the same type as the one in which the leak occurred are to be inspected. An occurrence of a leakage such as this is extremely regrettable and the whole Government will make every effort to stop the leak as soon as possible.

REPORTER: I understand that volume of radioactive material leaked will add up to a sizable amount. Consequently the severity level on the international scale will be upgraded by two levels, from level 1 to level 3. I understand that this will be determined by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Could you share with us the Government's thoughts on this development?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, I have been informed that today's meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority raised some concerns that it may not be appropriate to use the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) in an unmodified form for a facility that was built as a stopgap following the nuclear accident when the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station had not been completely contained. I have been informed that in light of this it has been proposed that it is first necessary to confirm the application of INES with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Therefore I understand that this incident will be assessed as appropriate after confirming with the IAEA.

REPORTER: Japan's second round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations will commence tomorrow. Could you share with us your expectations for negotiations and how the Government would like them to proceed?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I must refrain from discussing the details of negotiations. However, Japan's stance on the negotiations is to protect those areas that should be protected and seek to gain what should be gained with strong bargaining power in order to pursue the path that best serves national interests and achieves the best possible outcome.

REPORTER: You met with Mr. Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative, the other day. I understand that in the meeting Mr. Froman expressed a very strong desire to reach an agreement before the end of the year. Could you share with us the feasibility of this and also where Japan stands?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: It is true that Mr. Froman said this. In a sense Japan joined the negotiations somewhat behind other nations; however there is still sufficient room for negotiations. Building upon the preliminary discussions between Japan and the U.S., we are willing to consider reaching an agreement before the end of the year if possible by moving in step with the U.S. and engaging in negotiations.

REPORTER: The former Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, Mr. Yamamoto, commented during a press conference on August 20 that a revision of the interpretation of the Constitution in relation to the right to collective self-defense is difficult. Could you share with us the Government's thoughts on this and could you also tell us what the Government believes will be the impact of this comment on future Government discussions on the issue?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, concerning the interpretation of the Constitution in relation to the right to collective self-defense, the Abe Cabinet has been discussing how to approach this issue in order to maintain the peace and safety of the country while also considering the changes in national security since the Abe Cabinet's first report on the issue. These discussions have taken place at the meetings of the Advisory Panel on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security, which was relaunched after the inauguration of the second Abe Cabinet.

The Government will commence full-fledged discussions on this issue after taking into consideration the discussions that took place at meetings of the Advisory Panel. As for the comments made by the former Director-General, I believe that a final decision as to constitutional interpretation is made as per the Supreme Court precedent of the actual incident. However, if the Government is required to carry out Constitutional interpretation before confirmation by the Supreme Court, it is primarily the Cabinet's responsibility to interpret the Constitution using the legal expertise of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, which serves to assist the Cabinet.

As for the comments by the former Director-General, to be frank, given that he served as the head of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and is now the Supreme Court Justice, who will be making the final decision on constitutionality it bothers me very much that he made public comments on the need for constitutional revision.

REPORTER: You just said that the comments bother you very much, and as you said Justice Yamamoto once served as the head of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and is now the Supreme Court justice. What is the Government's thoughts on the fact that someone such as Justice Yamamoto clearly denied, or said that it is difficult to make changes through merely changes of interpretation in relation to the right to collective self-defense, which is the very issue that the Abe Cabinet is about to discuss at the advisory panel.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I just said, the Supreme Court Justice is the person who makes the final decision on constitutionality and therefore it bothers me very much that such as Justice Yamamoto made public comments on the need for constitutional revision.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I understand that Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Sugiyama visited the Prime Minister's Office this morning. I believe that he made the visit to report on the talks involving Japanese and Russian Vice-Ministers. Could you tell us the details of the report you were given regarding this? Also, I understand that two Japan-Russia summit meetings have been held with the first one having taken place in May and the third to be held in September. Working-level territorial negotiations have commenced so could you share with us how the Government views these developments?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As you just said, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Sugiyama reported on the recent talks involving Japanese and Russian Vice-Ministers. I will not go into the details of the report but since the first Japan-Russia Summit meeting there have been a number of talks between Japan and Russia including those involving the respective heads of administration as well as the Prime Minister and President. Furthermore, we are currently making future oriented arrangements for the Summit Meeting at the Saint Petersburg G20 Summit and I understand that holding multiple talks will shorten the distance between the two countries.

REPORTER: As a result of the court case in Korea, Japanese company Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation was ordered to pay compensation for forced labor. It has been reported that if the verdict is upheld the company intends to pay compensation. Does the Government have any knowledge of this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government believes that it is not true that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation made the decision as reported by the media. The case is currently in litigation and the Government must therefore refrain from commenting on the details. However, the Government will continue to work in cooperation with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which are currently on trial, to appropriately address the issue based on our consistent stance that this issue of property claim between Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was resolved with the signing of the Agreement Between Japan and the Republic of Korea Concerning the Settlement of Problems in Regard to Property and Claims and Economic Cooperation.