Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I would like to give an overview of the Cabinet meeting. The meeting approved one general measure, cabinet orders, and personnel decisions.

With regard to statements by ministers, Minister Furuya made a statement concerning the White Paper on Police 2014; the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare made a statement concerning the Annual Health, Labour and Welfare Report 2013-2014; the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning the results of the labor force survey and the household budget survey; and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare made a statement concerning the effective ratio of job offers to applicants. I made a statement concerning a revision regarding the holding of a meeting of the Ministerial Meeting Relating to Remuneration of National Public Servants. The Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications made a statement concerning the results of a fact-finding survey on public assistance. As Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, I made a statement concerning emergency grant aid for assisting Palestinians affected by the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip. As Acting Prime Minister, I made a statement concerning acting Ministers while Ministers in charge are away on overseas visits, among other matters.

In recent days, the electricity demand has been increasing throughout the country. Last Friday, all service areas except for Hokkaido recorded the highest demand of this summer. In other years peak demand usually occurs around the mid-August holiday period and lasts for a week. We need to steadily continue and strengthen measures for saving power.

We would like to once again ask everyone for their cooperation in saving power. To this end, starting today we will take additional measures to further heighten people’s awareness about saving power. For more information on this matter, please ask the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.  

On August 5 and 6, the Prime Minister will be in Hiroshima Prefecture to attend the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony. Also, on August 9, the Prime Minister will visit Nagasaki Prefecture to attend the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony. For more information, please inquire with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.  

Q&As
・The telephone talk between U.S. Vice President and Prime Minister Abe
・The situation in Ukraine
・The situation in Palestine
・The issue of emergency grant aid

(Abridged)

REPORTER: The White House has announced that U.S. Vice President Biden held telephone talks with Prime Minister Abe. Is there anything you can explain to us? 

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Shortly after 6 a.m. today, U.S. Vice President Biden phoned Prime Minister Abe while he was aboard the government plane. I have yet to be briefed on the details. However, I understand that during the talks the two sides exchanged views regarding Ukraine, the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula, Latin America and the Caribbean, and other matters. The two sides agreed to continue to work closely together from a global perspective based on the Japan-U.S. Alliance.

REPORTER: I understand that you have not been briefed on the details yet, but is there any information you can share with us, regarding, for example, sanctions against Russia in the case of the situation in Ukraine?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I stated moments ago, I have not been briefed on the details. I expect that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be releasing more information on such matters at a later date.

REPORTER: I have a question in relation to Ukraine regarding Japan’s additional sanctions against Russia. At today’s Cabinet meeting, was a cabinet understanding not adopted for Japan’s three additional sets of sanctions against Russia, which include the asset freezes that the Government announced on July 28?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: No it was not. The Government is currently finalizing the arrangements, which will take a bit of time. We hope to adopt a cabinet understanding as soon as the preparations are complete, perhaps as early as next week. 

REPORTER: On this same matter, is there any chance that in addition to the three measures announced on the 28th, the Government’s measures would include the new sanctions that the European Union (EU) and the United States announced on the 29th?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan is currently preparing to implement the additional sanctions announced on the 28th, including the asset freeze. As I stated a short while ago, we hope to adopt a cabinet understanding as early as next week.

Japan will continue to deal with the situation in Ukraine in coordination with the G7.

REPORTER: My question is about the situation in Palestine you referred to earlier. The Palestinian death toll due to Israeli attacks has reached 1,400. Israeli attacks, including bombardment of a United Nations (U.N.) school, have been called into question from humanitarian and other viewpoints. What is the view of the Japanese Government regarding this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: First of all, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a joint statement on a humanitarian ceasefire that will last for 72 hours. Japan highly commends such efforts made by the United States, the U.N., and Egypt to achieve a ceasefire.

Japan strongly urges all parties concerned to comply with the humanitarian ceasefire and make efforts to achieve a sustainable ceasefire in order to prevent any more harrowing casualties of civilians. Japan will continue to make efforts to quickly calm the situation in coordination with the actions of the international community. Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kishi called strongly for a ceasefire during his previous visit to both Israel and the Gaza Strip.

REPORTER: You said that you spoke about the emergency grant aid today as Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs. What does the emergency grant aid consist of?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Japan has decided to extend emergency grant aid of a total of 530 million yen to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians affected by the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip. Japan’s assistance will include distribution of food and medicines and technical assistance in water and sanitation fields through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Japan’s assistance for Palestine since 1993 totals US$14.6 billion, the third largest amount after the United States and the EU. Japan will assist the affected Palestinians through this emergency grant aid, and continue to make efforts to achieve a ceasefire between the parties in coordination with the international community.

The Government of Japan deeply deplores the incident where a large number of wounded and casualties, including many children, were caused by attacks, which included an attack on a U.N.-run school. Japan strongly urges the parties to exercise restraint in order to prevent the reoccurrence of such an incident.   

REPORTER: According to some media reports, former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda visited Beijing around the 27th of last month, and held talks with President Xi Jinping and senior members of the Communist Party of China. Does the Japanese Government know if this is true or not? 

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government is aware of the media reports but has no knowledge of the subject matter.

REPORTER: So the Government is aware of the media reports. Will the Government be confirming the facts with former Prime Minister Fukuda?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government is aware of the media reports. The Government is not aware of the subject matter.

REPORTER: What I was trying to ask was whether or not the Government has any intention to confirm this matter with former Prime Minister Fukuda.

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government is of course aware that former Prime Minister Fukuda visits China from time to time for international conferences which he chairs and for other reasons.