Press Conferences

Kikuchi, Nippon Television: My question concerns Okinawa. I believe that coordination continues with the U.S. about the plan to return the land south of Kadena. Could you please tell us about the current state of progress on that?

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida: We continue to be right in the middle of diligent discussion and coordination. I hope to accelerate this work as much as possible. We are continuing the work.

Kikuchi, Nippon Television: Am I correct in understanding that something about it will be announced this weekend?

Minister Kishida: We are still moving forward with the work. We are not yet at a point where we can make any predictions about when a conclusion will be reached. Nothing has been decided at this moment in time either when a conclusion will be reached, or when it will be announced.

Kikuchi, Nippon Television: I believe that a discussion was held among the relevant Ministers prior to the Cabinet Meeting. Did you reach any agreement about the schedule or anything like that?

Minister Kishida: As I said before, there was a report on the current state of affairs that coordination and discussions are in progress. We confirmed that we are in the situation where further decisions hinge on the development of the current work.

Kikuchi, Nippon Television: There are reports suggesting that a time limit will be included in discussion on the return of Futenma. What sorts of arrangements are being made as to whether to set up a time limit?

Minister Kishida: Because the overall discussion is still ongoing, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to comment until the whole picture becomes clear and confirmed. In any case, the leaders of Japan and the U.S. have shared the view that this issue will be swiftly advanced at the Japan-U.S. Summit Meeting, and so we are now making efforts with the recognition that we must proceed with the work as soon as possible.

Ohtani, NHK: Tomorrow the Chief Cabinet Secretary will visit Okinawa. Am I correct in understanding that arrangements such as what the Chief Cabinet Secretary should say in Okinawa were made during the meeting of relevant Cabinet members this morning?

Minister Kishida: We did talk about the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s visit to Okinawa. However, we did not confirm the details of, nor have any exchanges on, such matters as what the Chief Cabinet Secretary should talk about. I have heard that the Chief Cabinet Secretary will meet the Governor of Okinawa. I think that it is necessary to make such efforts as this trip in order to work toward building robust relationships of trust.

Yamagishi, Asahi Shimbun: There is talk that you will visit Okinawa after an agreement is reached on the return of the land south of Kadena. Are you planning for that?

Minister Kishida: Nothing has been decided. Our priority is to work out details of our plans and announce them. Nothing is decided for the time after that.