Press Conference by Minister Hagiuda (Excerpt)

*Note: This is a provisional translation for reference purposes only.

10:55-11:02 a.m.
Friday, July 15, 2022
Press Conference Room, METI

Opening Remarks

Web 3.0 Policy Office

I would like to begin by mentioning one thing.
METI has established an office named the Web 3.0 Policy Office in the Minister's Secretariat. Web 3.0 is a distributed digital environment based on blockchains. The idea behind establishing the office is to contribute the deliberations by the whole government on Web 3.0 as a new direction of economic and industrial policy. It will examine issues such as funding, taxation, and the nature of business entities, with a view toward the creation of business based on Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 has the potential to create a new consumer society and a more flexible startup environment by, for example, giving rise to a wide range of businesses based on crypto-assets, NFTs, and other tokens. First, we want to accurately assess the associated potential and risks, and quickly develop the business environment accordingly.
Please contact the administrative staff for more information.

Question-and-Answer Session

Securing Power Supply Capacity

Q: My question is about the power supply and demand measures for winter.
At a briefing yesterday, Prime Minister Kishida said that he had instructed you to restart nine nuclear and ten thermal power plants. I would like to ask you for an overall picture regarding specific additional supply capacity, and about your commitment toward securing supply capacity.

A: First, with tough conditions predicted for power supply and demand this summer, the government has conducted a public call and secured an additional supply capacity of about 1.36 million kilowatts, and has secured a reserve margin of at least 3% nationwide for July. Based on measures such as these, we will be able to secure a stable power supply. Looking ahead to this winter, when the supply and demand situation is expected to be even tougher, based on the Prime Minister's instructions, we will steadily proceed with restarting nuclear power plants on the premise of ensuring safety. We will make every effort to secure the maximum supply capacity, including encouraging the reactivation of other non-operational power sources through public calls.
There is no detailed outlook for the total supply capacity for the winter at present. However, by reviewing the time required for construction work and inspection for the nuclear power plants, we intend to work steadily in cooperation with the operators to increase the number in operation from the current five to up to nine, and to secure additional supply capacity from about ten thermal power plants.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station

Q: I would like to ask about the TEPCO Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority approved a draft review of the anti-terrorism facilities at its meeting on the 13th and decided to seek your opinions on the matter. How are you going to respond to that? Additionally, the Prime Minister said that nine nuclear power plants would be restarted, but due to inadequate anti-terrorism measures, there is little prospect of being able to do so. I would like to ask about the government's position on the matter.

A: In relation to the review of permission to install facilities to guard against specific serious accidents and other incidents at Units 6 and 7 of TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station, I received a report from the administrative staff that the Nuclear Regulation Authority sent me an inquiry for my opinions the day before yesterday. I have just returned from the Quad visit this morning, so I first need to thoroughly check the inquiry before responding to it accordingly.
The government prioritizes safety above everything else for all nuclear power plants, and if the Nuclear Regulation Authority deems that a plant complies with the new regulatory standards, then the government's policy is to respect that decision, and proceed with restarting it, while gaining the understanding of the local community.
Reactivating nuclear power plants will be vital to securing a stable power supply, and in order to ensure smooth progress, I intend to encourage operators in the industry to cooperate with each other to address the safety reviews properly. The government will also stand at the forefront, making tenacious efforts to obtain the understanding and cooperation of all stakeholders including local concerned municipalities.