Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The naming of the remote islands by Government

REPORTER: The Government named 158 islands that previously had no name and announced those names online at 2 pm today. Could you share with us the objectives of this action?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In keeping with the Basic Policy concerning Preservation and Management of Islands for Management of the Ocean the Government has long worked on naming the remote islands that define the boundaries of Japan's territorial waters. We have now completed that work and announced the names on the website of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy today.

REPORTER: Could you please elaborate on the Government's objectives in taking this action?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I just said, there were islands defining the boundaries of Japan's territorial waters that did not have names. The Government has always had a policy of naming those islands as part of efforts to establish clearer boundaries overall. We are simply working according to our policy.

REPORTER: Please allow me to ask another question on the same topic. In the past, when the Japanese Government gave names to some of the uninhabited islands surrounding the Senkaku Islands, it led to a straining of Japan's relationship with China. It is expected that China will once again react negatively to today's announcement. Could you share with us your thoughts on this?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: China is making claims motivated by its own unilateral assertions and Japan is responding appropriately to those claims in line with our basic stance toward the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese Government is reviewing all remote islands that do not have names. This is not at all limited to those islands surrounding the Senkaku Islands.

(Abridged)