Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

• The Japan-China relations

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question regarding Japan-China relations. The secretary generals of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito will visit China on March 23. It has been announced that as part of their schedule they will meet with key members of the Chinese Communist Party, among others. Could you share with us any expectations the Government may have regarding the role of this visit in enhancing bilateral relations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: This was also discussed during the meeting among the ruling parties held around noon. The two secretary generals will visit China. Starting with the summit meeting in November last year, the Government considers it important to continuously hold bilateral exchange at a variety of levels, including between parliamentarians or political parties. During the recent UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, for the first time, an active minister from China was in attendance. That being the case, we will at any rate continue to promote Japan-China relations from a broad perspective, while building on such exchanges.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question about China. Research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute on international arms transfers from 2010 to 2014 clearly shows that China has overtaken Germany to become the number three exporter in the world after the United States and Russia. In the previous study, China ranked ninth by export volume, and this rapid increase in China’s arms production capacity has been closely watched around the world. Could I please ask for your views on the matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: First of all, Japan will continue to monitor China’s defense expenditure and military capacity, which lack adequate transparency. Furthermore, through dialogue and exchange on security matters, we will urge China to increase the transparency of its defense policies.