Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Prime Minister Abe will visit Okinawa Prefecture tomorrow, June 23, to attend the Memorial Ceremony to Commemorate the Fallen on the 72nd Anniversary of the End of the Battle of Okinawa. The Prime Minister will then visit Hyogo Prefecture and exchange views with President Matsumoto of RIKEN and others on June 24.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: The Special Mission Committee on IT Strategy of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan has compiled a proposal calling for the deregulation of virtual currency used in smartphone and other games. The proposal calls for the abolishment of deposit money when the virtual currency can only be used for a particular company. Can you please share your views?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: The Payment Services Act stipulates that if the currency issuer went bankrupt and thus coins and other virtual currencies used in games as you mentioned can no longer be utilized to make payments, then the issuer shall preserve assets equivalent to half or more of the unused balance of such virtual currencies so that users would not incur losses. There have been cases in the past where refunds were provided from assets that were preserved due to bankruptcy of the issuers of coin and other currencies. Accordingly, at this time we consider that a cautious approach is needed to review the regulations pertaining to the preservation of assets in connection with coins and other currencies.

REPORTER: I would like to ask for your comments regarding the statements made by U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer. At a Senate Finance Committee hearing, he stated that Japan has no interest in bilateral trade negotiations, and that Japan should make unilateral concessions on U.S. imports such as beef. Can you share your thoughts on this matter?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: First of all, I am aware of these news reports. In the course of our series of meetings, including the recent Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue, the U.S. Government did not specifically request improvements in market access and so on. In any case, in the context of the Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue, we would like to engage in constructive discussions with the United States, including on what bilateral frameworks would be best for the Japan-U.S. economic relationship.

(Abridged)