Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

I would like to make a statement regarding the disclosure of the records of the interviews conducted by the Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations. The Government has contacted the people who were interviewed by the Investigation Committee concerning the intention to disclose the records of the interviews. We have decided to disclose those records for which consent by the interviewees has been granted and for which preparations for disclosure have been completed, on the website of the Cabinet Secretariat today. In addition, records of interviews conducted with the late Masao Yoshida, former Plant Chief of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, have also been prepared for disclosure and will be released today together with the other records. We will continue with the work to gain consent for disclosure from interviewees and other such operations, and release the interview records in the order in which preparations are completed. For more details on this topic, please contact the Office for the Reforms of Nuclear Regulatory Administration of the Cabinet Secretariat.

Q&As

• Disclosure of the testimony of former Plant Chief of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

REPORTER: I have a question concerning the testimony of Mr. Yoshida. What are the reasons and the aims in releasing the testimony at this point?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, former Plant Chief Mr. Yoshida himself submitted a written statement to the effect that it was not advisable to disclose the records of his interviews. This was out of Mr. Yoshida’s concern that his comments in interviews may not be considered comprehensively in combination with other documents and interviews, and that the contents of his interviews may be unduly perceived to constitute the facts of the matter in their entirety, leading to a misunderstanding of the facts. It was for this reason that the Government has not disclosed the records of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony until now. However, the situation is now that the records of interviews with people other than Mr. Yoshida are to be disclosed as and when the consent of the interviewees has been acquired and when preparations are completed. The Government therefore believes that, first of all, it will become possible to consider Mr. Yoshida’s testimony in combination with other interview records. Furthermore, fragmentary excerpts from the records of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony have been published in numerous newspaper articles to date. This has already given rise to undue perceptions about the testimony, which was part of Mr. Yoshida’s initial concerns. The Government therefore believes that if the records remain undisclosed it is likely to create a situation that would go against the wishes of Mr. Yoshida. Given the change in the situation and also based on the wishes Mr. Yoshida expressed in his written statement, we have given serious consideration to the sections in which Mr. Yoshida expresses his opinion of other people and so forth, and believe that under the current circumstances, the release of the records of Mr. Yoshida’s interviews is acceptable. The Government also approached Mr. Yoshida’s family members with regard to this matter, after which we made the final decision to release the records.

REPORTER: I have a related question. You have just stated that the release of the records comes after a decision made by the Government. However, what were the wishes of Mr. Yoshida’s family members concerning disclosure?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Government approached the family members of Mr. Yoshida, after which a final decision was made by the Government. I would like to refrain from saying anything further.

REPORTER: I have a related question. You just stated that one of the reasons for releasing the records was that one of the concerns that Mr. Yoshida had noted in his written statement was already happening. If similar cases occur in the future, don’t you think that this case sets a precedent in which despite the fact that the person concerned has submitted a written statement requesting non-disclosure, the Government nonetheless makes a decision to disclose information?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: If the person concerned has clearly and unequivocally stated that he or she requires non-disclosure, then we would of course not disclose anything. I would like to make that point clear.

REPORTER: Although I have not yet checked the Cabinet Secretariat website, could you once again tell us the reasons and aims in releasing the testimony of Mr. Yoshida together with the records of interviews with Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) politicians?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Given that the testimony of Mr. Yoshida has been raised in the press so frequently and that it is also a matter of prime interest for the people of Japan, I have previously stated that if at all possible I would like to see the records released publically. That being said, as Mr. Yoshida had submitted a written statement indicating that disclosure would not be advisable, the Government refrained from taking such a step. However, for the reasons I have just noted, the Government made a decision to release the testimony of Mr. Yoshida. We will also disclose the records of the interviewees who have indicated their wish to have their interviews released, in the order that preparations are completed.

REPORTER: About how many people’s records do you plan to release and whose interview records are they?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The release of records today is for a total of 19 persons who have given their consent for disclosure. This figure includes the records of Mr. Yoshida. These people include 11 politicians, 5 administrative and public officials, and 2 scholars and researchers.

REPORTER: I have a point of confirmation, although it may be similar to a previous question. I believe that this case could set a precedent. For example, if people are interviewed by a government body similar to the Investigation Committee in the future, even if they have submitted written statements requesting that these testimonies not be disclosed, their interview records could nevertheless be disclosed in a situation where, for whatever reason, they are unable to make a decision themselves on whether to disclose information or not. Furthermore, if the current decision sets a precedent there is a concern that people may be hesitant to come forward for interviews in the future. Does the Government not consider this to be a potential problem?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I do not believe that is the case at all. As I noted earlier, Mr. Yoshida’s prime concern that he described in his written statement was that his testimony would become the focus of undue attention and out of control. As this concern has actually become a reality, the Government approached the family members of Mr. Yoshida and as a result made a decision to release the records.

REPORTER: I have a point of confirmation. You stated that the Government wanted to release the records of the testimony initially, but were faced by Mr. Yoshida’s written statement requesting non-disclosure. Are we to understand, therefore, that the Government decided to disclose the records because one of the preconditions of the non-disclosure had already been broken by the recent press coverage?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I said before, given that records of testimonies of other people are also going to be disclosed, and that Mr. Yoshida’s concerns about his testimony becoming the undue focus of attention and out of control have already come true, the circumstances have changed. In light of this, the Government approached the family members of Mr. Yoshida, before making a decision to release the testimony.

REPORTER: So if the circumstances had not changed it would have been difficult to release the records of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As I said at the beginning, the testimony of Mr. Yoshida contains sections that are of intense interest to the public. It is also of extreme importance from the perspective of learning lessons from the accident and ensuring there is no reoccurrence. That is why the Government has been approaching Mr. Yoshida’s family.

REPORTER: You stated a short while ago that there were numerous fragmentary excerpts of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony in some newspapers. Which newspapers were you referring to specifically?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I believe that you are aware of the ones I am referring to. The members of the press have issued various reports about this matter and I think it is a fact that such reports have raised tremendous doubts among the public.

REPORTER: On a related note, I believe that Mr. Yoshida felt it would not be good for his testimony to become the undue focus of attention and out of control. Did the Government also feel the same way?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, the current reality is that the existence of many people who have the opinion that the testimony of Mr. Yoshida should be disclosed. It was against that backdrop that the Government approached Mr. Yoshida’s family and made a decision to disclose the records.

REPORTER: I imagine it will be the case that the release of Mr. Yoshida’s testimony will provide vivid details that describe the work done on site at the scene of the accident. What are your thoughts on how the disclosure of the testimony might impact the Government’s energy policy that it is seeking to advance, including the restarting of operations at nuclear power stations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Following the receipt of the report from the Investigation Committee the Government formulated safety standards that are said to be the strictest in the world. There is no change to the Government’s policy of restarting those power stations that are deemed to be safe based on those standards.

REPORTER: You have just spoken about the need to learn lessons from the accident. However, one of the lessons it provided us was that if such an accident occurs it is difficult to control and the damage is widespread. Even faced with such a lesson is there no change in the Government’s policy of restarting the nuclear power stations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Following the accident the report of the Investigation Committee was published based on the lessons learned. It was based on this report that safety standards were reformulated. There is no change to the Government’s policy of restarting operations in accordance with these safety standards, which are said to be the strictest in the world.

REPORTER: I have a point of confirmation about the breakdown of the persons whose records are to be released. Could you tell us the background to the selection of these people and why no employees of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) are included, as well as the future schedule for disclosure of further records?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: I have stated previously that the aim is to disclose all records by the end of the year. The Government has since engaged in approaching all the people concerned one by one to acquire their consent. The disclosure will follow a procedure whereby records will be released in the order in which consent was granted by the interviewees concerned.

REPORTER: While the details of the records will be available on the Cabinet Secretariat website, in press reports to date it has been suggested that Mr. Yoshida envisioned the devastation of eastern Japan. He has been reported as imagining at one point that the damage would probably be on a scale that would result in the devastation of eastern Japan. My question relates to a previous one, but what are your thoughts on Mr. Yoshida’s view that, if a nuclear power station accident were to occur, such widespread and devastating damage may result?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: As we plan to publish the records from today, I ask that you please read the content of the records and make a judgment by yourself.

(Abridged)