Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

From 6 pm today, July 7, the second meeting of the disaster warning meeting among the relevant ministries and agencies concerning Typhoon No. 8 will be held at the Prime Minister’s Office. I will also be attending the meeting. Given the possibility that an Emergency Warning will be issued for the Okinawa region as early as this evening, based on the latest reports from the Japan Meteorological Agency the meeting will reconfirm the response policy and readiness of relevant ministries and agencies so that the Government can take all measures possible to respond. Typhoon No. 8 is large and extremely strong. It is the strongest class ever seen in July and is expected to develop further, passing close to the Okinawa region from between tomorrow morning and early afternoon. A high degree of alert is required over a wide area of western Japan, in response to possible torrential rain, flooding and high winds. The ministries and agencies concerned will continue to coordinate closely and appropriately in responding to the situation. Minister of State for Disaster Management Furuya is scheduled to hold a press conference following the meeting, in which he will provide an explanation of what was discussed and issue requests to the public relating to early evacuation and other matters.

Q&As

• The speech made by the President “Xi Jinping of China”
• The establishment of the National Security Secretariat

(Abridged)

REPORTER: President Xi Jinping of China made a speech at the ceremony to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, at which he stated that a small minority of people has denied or even beautified the history of aggression, creating regional tension. Although he did not single out any specific country by name, this statement is considered to be a criticism of Prime Minister Abe for his visit to Yasukuni Shrine and other actions. What is the view of the Government of Japan with regard to this recent comment by the President of China?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, I believe that China’s attempts to raise matters relating to past history for no purpose other than to create an international issue does not contribute to the peace and cooperation in this region. There is no change to the Government’s stance regarding historical issues, including the Second World War, and our nation has followed a path as a peaceful nation throughout the postwar period, for which it has been highly evaluated by the international community. I believe that the common challenges currently facing the Asia-Pacific region and the international community require national leaders to demonstrate a posture that seeks to develop future-oriented cooperative relations. The Government will continue to monitor with interest the trends in China’s recent actions relating to historical issues, including this most recent case.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: Half a year has passed since the establishment of the National Security Secretariat, in which you had a great deal of involvement. How do you evaluate the work of the Secretariat over the last six months?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Since the establishment of the National Security Secretariat, Secretary General Yachi has taken the lead in reaching out, both in Japan and overseas, to create relations of mutual friendship. At the same time the Secretariat has played a central role in formulating swift response measures to situations such as missile launches by North Korea. It is my hope that the Secretariat will continue to work hard to accomplish the objectives that were set out at the time of its establishment.

REPORTER: I have the impression that in the consultations among ruling parties on the right of collective self-defense, members of the National Security Secretariat played something more than their initially anticipated role of analysis and information collection. What is your view of the activities of the Secretariat?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The role of the National Security Secretariat is extremely important when you consider it from the perspectives of the lives and peaceful existence of the people and the security of the nation. In that sense I would consider it to be only natural for the Government, including the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work together and make every endeavor in this regard.

REPORTER: I believe that the National Security Council (NSC) will take on a central role in the formulation of draft bills relating to the right of collective self-defense from now. Do you consider that the NSC will be able to take on this role at its present size? Will the scale of the NSC not be expanded? Some are of the opinion that the NSC should be enlarged.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The National Security Secretariat is comprised of officials from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others. I therefore expect that with these officials at the center, the defense, foreign affairs and other ministries concerned will be able to cooperate and work on this matter properly.

(Abridged)