Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

(Abridged)

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I would like to change the subject. This morning, Prime Minister Abe left Japan to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and ASEAN-related summit meetings. Can you tell us the status of the arrangements for the Prime Minister’s bilateral summit meetings? In addition, can you tell us what kind of summit diplomacy you expect to see in connection with the South China Sea issues and in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: First of all, as of now, Prime Minister Abe is expected to hold a summit meeting with President Barack Obama on the 19th. This will be their first meeting since Prime Minister Abe visited the United States in April. I anticipate that at the meeting, the Japanese and U.S. leaders will hold a candid exchange of views aimed at further strengthening the Japan-U.S. Alliance, through which the two countries will work together to address issues concerning the Asia-Pacific region and global issues. The rest of the bilateral summit meetings are currently being coordinated. In any case, at these meetings, I expect that the Prime Minister will emphasize the need for respective countries to collaborate to prevent the kinds of terrorist attacks that recently occurred. I believe that this will naturally be an important point of discussion.

REPORTER: I have one more related question. Some parts of the media have reported that at an ASEAN-related meeting, the Prime Minister will announce that Japan intends to fundamentally reform its ODA loan system, including removing the recipient government’s guarantee from the loan conditions. The reports also state that the Prime Minister will announce his intention to provide US$110 billion over five years for infrastructure development in Asia. What is the status of the considerations?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: In May of this year, the Prime Minister unveiled that through the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure,” Japan, in collaboration with the strengthened Asian Development Bank, would provide approximately US$110 billion for quality infrastructure investment in Asia over the next five years. The Government has been further studying the details of the “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure,” which consists of four pillars, with the intention of announcing it when the time is appropriate. The timing of the announcement is not yet decided.

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