Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

• The national memorial services for the passing of late Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa
• Countermeasures to inappropriate food labeling

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government of South Africa announced recently that the national memorial services for the passing of late Mr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa, would be held on December 10 in Johannesburg. Former President Mandela peacefully brought about the abolition of apartheid following long years of difficult activities, devoted himself to the pursuit of national unity, and strove to build a new South Africa. Furthermore, people placed upon him their hopes for the future and for the realization of a better society. Resonant with the universal value of his accomplishments and in honor of his accomplishments, Japan has decided to request His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince to attend the national memorial services. In addition to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, we have also decided to dispatch former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as an Ambassador on Special Mission to represent the Government of Japan. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Ambassador on Special Mission Fukuda are scheduled to depart Haneda Airport on the Government plane at 4:40 pm today, and after attending the national memorial services on the 10th, depart South Africa on the evening of the same day and return to Japan on the evening of the 11th.

The Government has been responding to fraudulent incidents, including the series of inappropriate food labeling at hotels, department stores, restaurants, and other places, which have come to light of late. We have compiled a package of necessary measures at the second liaison meeting among relevant ministries, agencies, and other offices on food labeling and other issues which was held this morning. Specifically, these are measures centered on fundamental responses, including the revision of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, such as rigorous measures against individual incidents, labeling rectification in relevant industries and thorough adherence to rules, the strengthening of the labeling management system of businesses, and the strengthening of the surveillance and guidance system of national and prefectural governments. The Government will make concerted efforts to execute these measures promptly and make every effort to restore consumer confidence inside and outside Japan in Japanese food, and by extension, the "Japan brand."

Q&As

• The issues related to the South Africa's national memorial services of for late Mr. Mandela, former President
• The issues related to the situation in North Korea
• The issues related to a public opinion poll
• The issues related to the Republic of Korea's expansion of the Air Defense Identification Zone

REPORTER: Regarding what you said earlier, does that mean His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is attending the national memorial services?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Yes.

REPORTER: You stated that former Prime Minister Fukuda is also attending as an Ambassador on Special Mission. As to the position of former Prime Minister Fukuda, will he be attending in accompaniment of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, with regard to your first question on the attendance of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, while there is no precedent for this, resonant with the universal value of the accomplishments achieved by the late Mr. Nelson Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa, and in honor of his accomplishments, the Government of Japan has decided to request His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince to attend the national memorial services. In addition to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, we will dispatch former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as an Ambassador on Special Mission to represent the Government of Japan.

REPORTER: Dispatch him in addition?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Yes.

REPORTER: Regarding this point, I believe you have just shared with us the reason for the attendance of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. May I then ask what the reason was for selecting former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as the Ambassador on Special Mission?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Given former President Mandela's considerable accomplishments, the Prime Minister himself naturally wished to attend, were his schedule to permit this. However, the Prime Minister's schedule could not be accommodated in any way due to the ASEAN summit meetings and various other meetings. In light of this, as someone with Prime Ministerial experience, we have requested the attendance of former Prime Minister Fukuda.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the situation in North Korea. Jang Sung-taek, an uncle and guardian of First Secretary Kim Jong-Un, has been allegedly dismissed from all duties and expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea. What is the Government's understanding of the situation?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government is aware that on the morning of the 9th, North Korea announced that Vice-Chairman of the National Defense Commission Jang Sung-taek was dismissed from all duties and expelled from the party. Since several days prior to this, this information had reached the Government from a variety of organizations. With regard to such movements by North Korea, Japan will continue to collect information while closely monitoring the situation in a calm manner. As for the specific details, I would like to refrain from commenting due to the nature of this matter.

REPORTER: With the dismissal of the guardian of First Secretary Kim Jong-Un, does the Government believe there will be any changes in North Korea's power structure or that the realignment of power is making headway?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government is reviewing this matter from a variety of perspectives. However, due to the nature of this matter, I would like to refrain from making comments.

REPORTER: I would like to ask about a public opinion poll. According to the JNN public opinion poll conducted over the weekend, the Cabinet approval rating has fallen by 13.9% from the previous month to 54.6%, the lowest since the inauguration of the second Abe administration. I suspect that similar trends will likely be seen in subsequent public opinion polls conducted by other media outlets as well. What is your reaction, and what do you attribute the results to?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I have stated to date, with public opinion polls, a higher approval rating is better than a lower one. Nevertheless, despite that, in the Government as well, we too have forecasted that the approval rating from this past weekend's public opinion poll would probably decline in the context of the media coverage of the Diet deliberations of the special intelligence protection bill. Based on these circumstances, the Government will accept such movements in public opinion poll results for what they are, and at the same time, will provide explanations to the people regarding any matters requiring thorough explanation. As a higher approval rating is better than a lower one, we will continue to strive for higher ratings.

REPORTER: On a related matter, as you stated, already more than half of the respondents have said that they do not have a positive assessment of the passage of the special intelligence protection bill compared to those who say they do. Also, the percentage of respondents who considered Diet deliberations to be insufficient has risen to 85%. I suppose that, in the end, these factors influenced the public opinion poll results. Was the influence more than you had anticipated?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Based on common sense, we expected that the approval rating would decline by a certain degree. I think the results of the public opinion polls besides the one conducted by JNN were within the scope of our forecasts.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Similarly, according to Asahi's public opinion poll, as expected, only 11% of the respondents felt that the Diet deliberations were sufficient, whereas an overwhelming 76% responded that they felt that they were insufficient. What is your frank opinion about this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I felt that the length of the Diet deliberations and their content were not properly conveyed to the people. The Government humbly accepts this outcome. However, the Government believes there was no problem with the length of the deliberations. Nevertheless, we humbly accept these findings.

REPORTER: I have a related question. It has been one year since the inauguration of the administration, and it has thus far managed to not let its approval rating drop, for the most part. The background to this, as you often mention, is that, ultimately, the first Abe administration tried to address a range of issues while adopting an overly hurried approach, and this may have contributed to making it a short-lived administration. The second administration gave priority to obtaining the people's understanding through very careful procedures and processes, including, for example, the decision to increase the consumption tax, and I believe this contributed to the administration's stability over this past year. However, as a result of hurrying at this juncture, the approval rating has declined in this way. Does this mean there has been a shift in the administration's policy?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Our policy has not changed at all from before. As I have often stated, the administration has steadily enacted the necessary measures and continued to move forward, all while holding dialogues with the people. However, it is also a fact that the nature of this bill meant that it would be difficult to obtain the understanding of the people from the very beginning. Nonetheless, in view of the very security of the nation and the security and reassurance of the people, the Government considers it to be its role and responsibility to firmly enact the necessary measures amid the extremely severe security environment Japan is facing, rather than refraining from taking action simply for fear of our approval rating declining.

REPORTER: The Republic of Korea (ROK) has formally announced that it has set an expanded Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). What does the Japanese Government think of this, and how will it be responding?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan received a preemptive notification from the ROK Government. Japan believes it is important that this expansion of the ROK's ADIZ does not, like in the recent Chinese case, lead to the undue infringement of the freedom of flight in international airspace, which is a general principle of international law. Based on this viewpoint Japan and the ROK engaged in prior communications, and Japan has been conveying its view to the ROK. Under these circumstances, Japan does not think that the expanded ADIZ will cause any immediate problems in our bilateral relationship. For example, unlike China's measures, the ADIZ established by the ROK does not cover Japan's territorial land, sea, and airspace. Furthermore, the ROK's measures do not impose new obligations on private carriers. In addition, between the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and the ROK forces, a framework for prior notification has been established and is in operation for the prevention of accidental aircraft collisions. Moreover, the ADIZ established by ROK will enter into effect after a certain preparatory period of information dissemination. . Accordingly, Japan understands that the ROK's expanded ADIZ is completely different from China's measures.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have another question. As a result of these measures taken by the ROK, the ADIZs of the three countries of Japan, China, and the ROK are now overlapping. Some concerns have also been raised, including the view that this has led to heightened tension in East Asia. What is your opinion, Chief Cabinet Secretary?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan and the ROK have been working out each of the potential problems in advance, as I noted a short while ago. Therefore, I believe there are no problems with this. However, China's measures actually unduly infringe the freedom of flight in international airspace, which is a general principle of international law, and furthermore, include the airspace over the Senkaku islands, an inherent part of the territory of Japan. For this reason, Japan made strong protests and demands the revocation of such measures.

REPORTER: Chief Cabinet Secretary, I have a related question. In that case, although the ADIZs of the three countries are overlapping, will Japan strive to settle this problem between Japan and China rather than between Japan and the ROK?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: That is our intention.

REPORTER: Concerning this issue, the ROK's ADIZ also overlaps with Japan's ADIZ. What was the ROK's explanation to Japan regarding the expansion of the ADIZ, and what is the view of Japan?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I stated moments ago, I believe it is important that the establishment of the ADIZ does not lead to the undue infringement of the freedom of flight in international airspace, which is a general principle of international law. Japan conveyed its view to the ROK on this point by maintaining prior communications with the ROK, and the ROK has taken procedures in line with this.

REPORTER: Related to this, I understand what you are saying regarding the nature of the ADIZ. However, what explanation did Japan receive regarding why the recent expansion of the ROK's ADIZ coverage is necessary?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan conveyed our view regarding this to the ROK when we received prior notification from them. Our understanding is that the ROK made this decision to counter China's recent establishment of the East China Sea ADIZ.

REPORTER: Was it necessary for the ROK's ADIZ to overlap with Japan's ADIZ in order to counter China's establishment of its ADIZ? Does Japan have no problems at all with the implementation of the ADIZ?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan's position is that there are no problems with the implementation of the ROK's ADIZ.

REPORTER: I suspect from China's perspective, there are criticisms that Japan is applying double standards. Japan has protested China's ADIZ but are the ROK's measures not a problem because they do not cover Japan's territorial airspace?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Well, as I stated moments ago, it is important that the measures do not lead to the undue infringement of the freedom of flight in international airspace. That is not the case for China's measures.