Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seko

• An overview of the Cabinet meeting
• The Ministerial Council on Tokyo's Bid to Host the 32nd Olympic and 16th Paralympic Games
• The formulation of the "National Security Strategy"

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

The meeting approved five general measures, cabinet orders and personnel decisions.

With regard to statements by ministers, the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning the report pursuant to the provisions of Article 106-25, Paragraph 1, etc. of the National Public Service Act; Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga made a statement concerning the publication of the status of reemployment of national public servants based on the stipulations of Article 106-25, Paragraph 2 of the National Public Service Act; the Minister of Justice made a statement concerning the ruling by the Supreme Court on the special appeal for the dismissal of the appeal following the ruling on division of inheritances; the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare made a statement concerning the 2013 Annual Health, Labour and Welfare Report; the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning the allocation of fiscal 2013 special tax grants for reconstruction for September; Minister Mori made a statement concerning the implementation of Suicide Prevention Week for fiscal 2013; the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology made a statement concerning the successful bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and Prime Minister Abe made a statement concerning acting Ministers while Ministers in charge are away on an overseas visit.

In ministerial discussions, Minister Furuya made a statement concerning preparatory measures for tornadoes and other strong winds and Prime Minister Abe made statements concerning the formulation of the National Security Strategy and the finalization of the economic policy package. As for the Prime Minister's comments in relation to the economic policy package, he asked that economic policies, including the growth strategy, be finalized and formed into a package under the leadership of Minister Amari and Minister Aso by the end of this month to deliver the fruits of economic growth to every corner of the nation.

The Prime Minister also stated that when raising consumption tax, as it will have an impact on the economy, sufficient measures must be in place to ensure that it does not adversely affect the economy. He also stated that the decision on the consumption tax increase will be made in early October. The Prime Minister also said that he will determine if a rise in consumption tax will provide a clear path to achieving each of the goals of breaking out of deflation, revitalizing the economy and achieving fiscal rehabilitation prior to making the decision.

Today, following the Cabinet Meeting, the second meeting of the Ministerial Council on Tokyo's Bid to Host the 32nd Olympic and 16th Paralympic Games was held. At the beginning of the meeting, Prime Minister Abe addressed the attendees and then Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shimomura stated that Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and also provided a schedule for the lead up to the games.

These ministerial meetings were meetings for the bid so today's meeting was its last. However, we agreed that from now on, all relevant ministries and agencies will work together and provide support to ensure the success of the games. For more details on this topic, please contact the relevant ministries and agencies.

Now I would like to speak on the formulation of the National Security Strategy, which I mentioned earlier. The security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly severe. Japan must identify its national interests from a long-term perspective and establish national security. During ministerial discussions held earlier today, Prime Minister Abe instructed that the National Security Strategy, with focus on foreign diplomatic and defense policies, be formulated to serve as a basic policy to achieve this goal of national security.

This National Security Strategy will be the first to be created for Japan and is designed to allow the nation's national security policies, centered on diplomatic and defense policies, to be more strategic and structured. We believe that it will also be beneficial in that it will facilitate better understanding by foreign nations, particularly our neighbors, and Japanese citizens of our vision for national security.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, who also serves as the Minister in charge of Strengthening National Security, will lead the formulation of the strategy in cooperation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense and other relevant ministers. This task will be carried out in parallel with the revision of the National Defense Program Guidelines.

Furthermore, it has been decided that an advisory panel headed by Prime Minister Abe on national security and defense will be formed to allow experts to discuss and advise the Government as we attempt to carry out these tasks. The first advisory panel meeting will be held on September 12. We have selected individuals with insight into diplomatic defense policies and with ample public administrative experience to sit on the advisory panel. The details of the panel are as per the distributed document.

That is all from me.

Q&As

• The formulation of the "National Security Strategy"
• Preparations for hosting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games
• The incident involving two Japanese nationals in Turkey
• The Senkaku Islands

REPORTER: Could you share with us more details of the Prime Minister's instructions in relation to the National Security Strategy?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: As I just said, the Prime Minister asked that the National Security Strategy be formulated but please allow me to elaborate further. The security environment surrounding Japan has become increasingly severe. In order to continue the development of a prosperous and peaceful society, it is imperative that we determine our national interests from a long-term perspective and strive to establish national security. Led by this belief, Japan will formulate the National Security Strategy with a focus on foreign diplomatic and defense policies, which will serve as our basic policy for national security. The Prime Minister asked Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, the Minister in charge of Strengthening National Security, to proceed with the formulation of the National Security Strategy. The Prime Minister also asked all relevant ministers, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defense, to cooperate with this work.

REPORTER: I believe that the Government is aiming to submit and enact the NSC bill during the Extraordinary Diet Session in autumn. I understand that the formation of the four ministers' meeting is one of the main objectives of the NSC bill. What is the relationship between this four minister's meeting, the NSC, and the formulation of the National Security Strategy?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: At this stage, the NSC bill is still awaiting deliberation by Diet. In this ever increasingly challenging situation, waiting for the NSC bill to be enacted before formulating the National Security Strategy risks delaying the nation's response to the issues it faces. Therefore, we believe that our systematic national security strategy must be formulated as soon as possible, and for this reason, we will proceed with this task independently. If the NSC is launched in the future, although I am aware that this is dependent on the length of time required for Diet deliberations on the bill, I would think that naturally the task will be taken over by the NSC, as the NSC would by nature be the venue to discuss such things.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Could you tell us in what way the strategy will be different from the National Defense Program Guidelines?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: I believe that while the National Defense Program Guidelines focus on defense, the strategy will also cover foreign diplomacy and present our views on other areas.

REPORTER: The National Defense Program Guidelines are usually applicable for a period of 10 years, so could you tell us what the effective period will be for the new National Security Strategy?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: For now, we do not have any period in mind. However, given that the National Defense Program Guidelines will be developed based on the strategy, I believe that it is possible that the strategy will cover a similar period. However, I do not believe that the effective period for the guidelines will place restrictions on the strategy.

REPORTER: Could you tell us what opinions were voiced concerning the establishment of a sports agency during the Olympic and Paralympic meeting earlier today?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: The public pledge of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) mentions a number of times the establishment of a sports agency, but this topic was not raised during today's meeting. The LDP has always mentioned the establishment of a sports agency in its public pledge and I have been informed that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has appealed for the establishment of a sports agency sometime in FY 2014. Although the Ministry did not specifically mention the sports agency, I understand that the ministry included their desire to establish an organization capable of leading sport related matters in their FY 2014 budgetary request.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Returning to the topic of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, did the meeting discuss the specifics of the schedule in the lead up to the games?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: Frankly, we are yet to decide anything specific. What we know for sure at this stage is that the current bid committee will be dissolved and transferred to the Organizing Committee for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I understand that this transfer has to be made within five months as per the regulations, so the first thing we will do is complete this procedure. Following that, as we prepare for the Games, we will develop the structure required to coordinate that which is related to the national Government's policies.

For your information, looking at past examples, leading up to the previous Tokyo Olympics, a Ministerial committee was formed and when hosting major events, for instance when hosting past Olympics, Olympic Games Committee was launched and we also saw the introduction of special measures. I believe that we will determine how we are going to be involved as a Government in the 2020 Olympics while reviewing these past examples. Today's meeting did not finalize any specific course of action.

REPORTER: In relation to the incident in which two female university students were attacked in Turkey, could you tell us if the Government has obtained any updates from the embassy? Have you obtained any further information as to why Japanese nationals were attacked?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: Firstly, the body of the deceased woman has already been transported to Ankara and the Embassy of Japan in Turkey is currently preparing to meet with her family and is organizing the repatriation of the body. As for the injured woman, an official from the Embassy of Japan is staying with her at the hospital and I have been informed that as for now she is in a stable condition.

We are yet to hear that the perpetrator has been arrested. I believe that local police are continuing their investigation.

REPORTER: When will the body be repatriated?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: It is being prepared at the moment. We would first like to have the family see the body as soon as possible and do our best so that the body can return to Japan soon.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: During the visit of the Director of the LDP's Youth Division, Shinjiro Koizumi, and other LDP officials to Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou during his speech said that Japan and Taiwan shelved its 40 year dispute and achieved a peaceful solution in relation to the Senkaku Islands, praising the act. I believe that Japan's stance is that there are no territorial issues, so what is the Government's view regarding the consistency of the statement on this issue and Japan's stance?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: The Government's stance is that the Senkaku Islands are clearly an inherent territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based upon international law, and we have not changed our position in any way.

REPORTER: What are the Government's thoughts on the President of Taiwan's understanding and comments?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: I heard about this for the first time just now, so I cannot be sure exactly what the President of Taiwan's thoughts actually are. However, this does not have any influence on the views of the Japanese Government.

REPORTER: I understand that Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado attended the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session and performed various tasks. Could you tell us if the earlier meeting touched on this and could you share with us your thoughts on the opinion that this may be political exploitation of the royal family?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: During the meeting earlier today, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Shimomura reported that the tasks performed by Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado in Buenos Aires, particularly her sincere expression of gratitude for the support the IOC provided during the aftermath of the earthquake, were highly regarded by the IOC.

REPORTER: What are the Government's views on the opinion that it was political exploitation?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: We did not at all discuss that during the ministerial meeting. Our understanding is that Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado was there to express her gratitude and respect for the IOC members, leveraging her position as an honorary president of a sports related organization. We understand that this did not have direct relevance to the bidding process, and in this sense cannot be considered political exploitation.