Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

If scheduling permits, Prime Minister Abe is planning a trip to India from January 25 to 27. Upon the invitation of Prime Minister Singh of India, Prime Minister Abe is planning to view the Republic Day Parade to be held on January 26 in India with Prime Minister Singh. Prime Minister Abe is the sole invitee from the international community and is the first Japanese Prime Minister to be asked to view the parade. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe intends to hold a Summit Meeting with Prime Minister Singh. The Prime Minister hopes to further strengthen relations between the two countries in a wide range of fields including politics, national security, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchange. The Prime Minister also hopes to further deepen the Strategic Global Partnership between Japan and India that Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Singh agreed to develop in 2006. To coincide with the Prime Minister's visit to India, individuals from a wide range of fields, including representatives from the business community, are also planning to visit India. I hope that the visit will contribute to further developing Japan-India relations in various fields.

Q&As

• The issues related to Takeshima

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Shimane Prefecture announced yesterday that it had confirmed that five maps from the late Edo period showing Takeshima as a territory of Japan. Shimane Prefecture said that the maps show and support the assertion that the Edo Shogunate of the era also recognized Takeshima as a territory of Japan, given that the maps were created by officials of the Edo Shogunate at the time. Could you share your thoughts with us?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Takeshima is an inherent territory of Japan, in light of historical facts and based upon international law. To date there exist many documents supporting Japan's assertion of sovereignty over Takeshima. In this context, I believe that the recent additional confirmation of maps from the Edo period showing that Takeshima is a territory of Japan reinforces Japan's existing assertion of sovereignty over Takeshima.

REPORTER: Please allow me to ask another question on this topic. On February 22, Shimane Prefecture will host the Takeshima Day ceremony. The Governor of Shimane Prefecture already expressed his intention to invite the Prime Minister and is asking him to attend the ceremony, as was the case last year. Will the Government consider accepting the invitation for the Prime Minister to attend the ceremony? I believe that last year, a Parliamentary Secretary was sent to attend the ceremony. Could you tell us if the Government will adopt the same approach as last year in the event that the Prime Minister does not attend?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government will make a final decision after considering all the various factors.

(Abridged)