Press Conference by Minister Muto (Excerpt)

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

9:27 to 9:38 a.m.
Monday, November 11, 2024
Press Conference Room, METI Main Building

Opening Remarks

Thoughts on the resignation of the Cabinet en masse

To begin, I would like to mention two points.
First, at the Cabinet Meeting today, the resignation of the Cabinet en masse was decided. Although I was only in the position of Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry for a little over one month, I visited various sites to meet people working at those locations from the perspective of a field-oriented approach.
Soon after taking office, I visited the Fukushima Prefectural Government, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town, which was my first visit in six years. I also visited Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and confirmed the recent status of Fukushima's reconstruction and the progress made in the plant’s decommissioning as well as in the discharge of ALPS treated water into the sea. Through this visit, I recognized again that the Government of Japan should execute leadership in addressing these efforts.
I also visited the disaster-affected areas of the Noto Peninsula. By directly hearing the opinions from municipalities and people affected by the disaster, I renewed my determination to support the rebuilding of the livelihoods and the traditional craft industries.
Moreover, I visited the venue for the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and the plant for the Rapidus project in Hokkaido Prefecture, and confirmed the progress made in these projects. I would like to provide the necessary support to ensure that both of these projects continue to steadily advance going forward.
Furthermore, I participated in the Asia Zero-Emission Community (AZEC) Leaders Meeting held in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and I found first-hand that Asian countries have high expectations for AZEC.
Aiming to reflect the opinions that I heard and the actions sought at these places in economic measures, we have also advanced deliberations on specific policies. In particular, we are working out, right now, the specifics of certain measures for stimulating domestic investment in Digital Transformation (DX), Green Transformation (GX), and startups, including the semiconductor sector, promoting price pass-through, and supporting disaster-affected areas in recovery and reconstruction.
If I am reappointed as a minister, I will continue to do my best to ensure the realization of these measures.
This is the first point I would like to mention.

Japan-China Energy Conservation and Environment Forum

Last week, on Saturday, November 9, the 17th Japan-China Energy Conservation and Environment Forum was held in Tokyo. The forum was held in person for the first time in five years since 2019, and it brought together about 650 stakeholders from the public and private sectors in both Japan and China. At the forum, 27 new Memorandums of Cooperation were exchanged for Japan-China cooperation projects in the fields of energy conservation and the environment. With these exchanges, the number of such projects has come to 457 since the inauguration of the forum in 2006.
As neighboring countries, there is some friction and misunderstanding between Japan and China. However, I believe that the important thing to do is to continue communicating with each other despite these problems, enrich mutual understanding, and then proceed with cooperation after identifying areas in which both countries can work together.
Japan will continue to communicate with China under the policy of promoting a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests and establishing a constructive and stable relationship.
I will end my remarks here.

Question-and-Answer Session

Efforts to be made if Minister Muto is reappointed

Q: I would like to ask you two questions that may somewhat overlap the opening remarks.
First, the resignation of the Cabinet en masse was decided today. I believe that you have dealt with various official duties and matters as METI Minister. I would like to ask you anew about your thoughts on the resignation.
Second, as a topic related to the first one, the Second Ishiba Cabinet is expected to be inaugurated, and I think that you are expected to be reappointed. If the Second Ishiba Cabinet is inaugurated, it will be somewhat difficult to run the administration due to the fact that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito party will no longer maintain a majority in the House of Representatives, as some point out. METI has important matters ahead, such as the budget and the compilation of a Strategic Energy Plan. Amid this, could you comment on the possible impact on running the administration as of today? Also, in terms of the continuity of policies from those in the LDP-Komeito administration, could you tell us the points that should be adhered to, if any?

A: Your question concerns a scenario assuming my reappointment as a minister. I believe that it is the minister’s responsibility to make sure to keep the economic and industrial policies, which have been in place up until now, continuing and advancing without interruption.
METI has been working on introducing specific measures for realizing a growth-oriented economy driven by wage increases and investment into the economic policies now under formulation. In addition, as you already know, METI is scheduled to compile its policy Strategic Energy Plan and a draft version of the GX2040 Vision by the end of this year, and I believe that these are urgent issues. We need to focus on these issues for the time being. The Japanese economy has achieved a high level of domestic investment and wage increases for the first time in 30 years. As efforts to lead this sign of a sea change to secure growth, I believe that METI needs to put in place specific measures to stimulate domestic investment and measures to promote price pass-through.
Moreover, as the demand for electricity is expected to increase due to the development of DX, securing decarbonized power sources will determine the strength of our country, and this is a significant fact, I believe. When formulating the Strategic Energy Plan and the GX2040 Vision, METI should be sure to establish solutions to achieving a stable supply, economic growth, and decarbonization at the same time and should show these solutions to the public.
Right now, various discussions are underway, including deliberations with the Democratic Party for the People and the ongoing discussions between the LDP and Komeito. We need to pay close attention to these discussions. In any case, METI should make sure to present the measures necessary to solve the various issues faced by Japan. This is my appreciation of the situation.