Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The issue of the disparity of the weight of one vote standing
• The announcement of downgrade of the major Japanese banks by Moody’s
• The crisis management structure in place at the Prime Minister’s Office
• The issue of the abductions
• The issue regarding the Air Defense Identification Zone established by China

REPORTER: The campaign period for the House of Representatives election has begun and yesterday the number of voters was announced as being 104,250,000 people, with the disparity of the weight of one vote standing at a maximum value of 2.14. This figure represents an improvement of 0.29 points over the election two years ago. What are your views with regard to this matter?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: In principle, at the time of the draft bill to reduce the number of seats in the House of Representatives by five seats with no increase in numbers, the so-called "0 increase, 5 reduction" bill, the number of seats in the House of Representatives was determined by stipulating that the disparity between constituencies should be less than 2.0, based on the results of the 2010 census. This is the most recent census information available and last year, efforts were made to revise the boundaries of electoral constituencies based on this information, resulting in a maximum disparity of 1.998. The Government’s understanding is that in the ruling handed down by the Supreme Court on November 20, 2013, the revision of electoral constituency boundaries according to the “0 increase, 5 reduction” formula was given a measure of approval. My understanding is that the recent ruling by the Supreme Court concerning the unconstitutionality of the disparity in the weight of one vote will be addressed and resolved through the redrawing of constituency boundaries on this occasion in accordance with the “0 increase, 5 reduction” concept.

REPORTER: Yesterday Moody’s announced that it had cut Japan’s sovereign debt rating, following which it announced that the major Japanese banks were also being downgraded. I would imagine that if the borrowing costs of financial institutions were to increase, this would have an impact on Abenomics. What are your views on this point?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: I would like to refrain from commenting specifically about market trends and the ratings assigned by individual agencies. However, speaking in general terms, the Financial Services Agency is naturally engaged in efforts to acquire appropriate information that would enable financial institutions to fully control risk. The risk weight of the proportion of Japanese Government Bonds held by Japanese financial institutions is zero percent, regardless of ratings. This is the same as the situation in the United States and therefore I do not believe that a downgraded ranking will have any impact on financial institutions.

REPORTER: The election campaign kicked off yesterday, and the Prime Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary are traveling around the country making campaign speeches. Could you tell us once again about the crisis management structure in place at the Prime Minister’s Office?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: There have been several occasions to date when the Prime Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary have both been away from the Prime Minister’s Office. In such situations, in preparation for any emergency situation that may arise one of the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries is designated by the Chief Cabinet Secretary. On this occasion in particular, it is I who have been designated in my position as Parliamentary Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. This is a structure that has been implemented to date, whereby the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary remains in Tokyo in order to be response ready. I do not think that there are any gaps in chain of command structure at the Prime Minister’s Office. In particular, although the Prime Minister and the Chief Cabinet Secretary may be away visiting the regions of Japan, structures are in place to ensure means of contact and transportation should an emergency arise. Arrangements are also in place to ensure that whether at night, or in the case of transport and communication systems being cut off, there is always a way for the Prime Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary to maintain contact with the Prime Minister’s Office and return immediately. I am here to deal with any situation and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sugita is also here at the Prime Minister’s Office or nearby. This crisis management supervisory structure is constantly functioning and we are working with a sense of vigilance to ensure that there are no lapses in crisis management.

REPORTER: The Special Investigation Committee concerning the abductions by North Korea has begun to interview suspects related to the “Yodo-go” hijacking incident who are residing in North Korea. Could you tell us if the Government is aware of the situation and also what impact the Government considers it may have on Japan-North Korea negotiations overall?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: As this is something that has only been reported by press outlets I would like to refrain from making any comments. In any event, the Government’s basic stance is that it will exert its best efforts toward ensuring the safety and the immediate return to Japan of all the abductees, obtaining a full account concerning the abductions, and realizing the handover of the perpetrators of the abductions. This stance has been repeatedly conveyed to North Korea. The Government will continue to demand strongly that North Korea conducts investigations speedily and notifies the results in a timely manner. I would like to refrain from commenting on the details of exchanges between the Government and North Korea concerning interviews conducted with the perpetrators of the abductions, including the members of the “Yodo-go” group. Whatever the case, in the recent consultations in Pyongyang, North Korea indicated that it would deepen its investigations from various new angles without being tied down to previous investigation results. The Government will continue to demand that thorough investigations are conducted.

REPORTER: I have a related question. Your comments would suggest that the Government has requested that the North Korean side interview the “Yodo-go” suspects. Do you have any comments on this point?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: I would like to refrain from commenting about the details of interactions with the North Korean side.

REPORTER: Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., the nominee to become the next commander of U.S. Pacific Command has stated in a Senate hearing that in his view the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) established by China over the East China Sea is illegal. The Governments of Japan and the United States have previously issued a joint statement expressing strong concerns about the ADIZ, however this comment by the next commander of U.S. Pacific Command takes these concerns a step further by referring to the ADIZ as illegal. What are your views with regard to this matter?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: This is the first time for me to hear about this matter, so I would like to make a comment after having examined the details more closely. However, it goes without saying that it is important for Japan and the United States to cooperate closely on matters relating to regional stability.

REPORTER: Returning to the matter of the Moody’s rating downgrade, you stated that you thought that this would not have any impact on financial institutions. Were you referring to the downgrade of Japan’s sovereign debt or to the downgrade of the credit rating of major Japanese banks?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SEKO: I was referring to both. At the current point the Government does not believe there to be any problem whatsoever with regard to the soundness of Japanese financial institutions, nor is the downgrade of Japan’s sovereign debt likely to have any major impact on such soundness.