Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga
(There were statements on the overview of the Cabinet meeting and others.)

It has been decided that the Hon. Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States of America, and his spouse will pay a visit to Japan from February 6 to 8. Amid the increasingly severe regional security environment including the North Korean situation, Vice President Pence’s visit to Japan will provide an excellent opportunity for our two countries to exchange views regarding regional and global issues and coordinate our policies, as well to appeal the strong bond of the Japan-U.S. Alliance domestically and internationally. The Government of Japan thus sincerely welcomes the visit to Japan by the Vice President and his spouse. During their stay in Japan, Vice President Pence is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Abe on the afternoon of February 7, and Prime Minister Abe and Mrs. Abe are scheduled to host a dinner.

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I have a question regarding the test launch of an interceptor missile conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense off the coast of Hawaii. During this morning’s press conference, Minister of Defense Onodera stated he had been informed that an intercept was not confirmed, indicating that the test had failed. Will this have any impact on the plans for acquiring the missile system or the budget request?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, the U.S. Government is currently conducting a detailed review of the test results, and therefore, we will first wait for that report to come out. At this time we have not been informed of any major changes. In any event, the U.S. Government is currently analyzing the details, and we would like to wait for the results.

REPORTER: I have a question concerning Vice President Pence’s visit to Japan. Is an economic dialogue with Deputy Prime Minister Aso scheduled to take place at this time?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Currently, there are no such plans.

REPORTER: As regards Vice President Pence’s itinerary in Japan, is there anything scheduled or being arranged aside from the courtesy call with the Prime Minister and the dinner?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: That is currently being coordinated.