Press Conference by Minister Muto (Excerpt)

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

9:46 to 9:51 a.m.
Friday, December 20, 2024
In front of the Cabinet Room, 2nd floor, National Diet Building

Opening Remarks

Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Disaster-Resilient Nation

To begin, I would like to mention one point.
Today, the government held the first meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Promotion of Japan as a Disaster-Resilient Nation. At the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the ministers to enhance countermeasures against future disasters, to freshly dispatch government staff to the Noto region, where the full-fledged winter season has almost started, and listen to requests from people in the affected areas. METI has also already dispatched our staff, including high-level officials, to Wajima City today. We will continue to do our utmost to ensure the reconstruction of the affected areas and take countermeasures against future disasters.
I will end my remarks here.

Question-and-Answer Session

Business integration of Honda and Nissan

Q: Honda and Nissan announced that they will advance deliberations on their business integration. If this integration is realized, a new car manufacturer on par with Toyota will be inaugurated in Japan. Could you offer your view on this?
Also, some media coverage state that the background to the integration may be a move by an overseas company to acquire Nissan, which has poor business performance. Is there any possibility that the government will become involved in this matter, including from the perspective of economic security? In addition, could you offer your view on ideal approaches that the government may take to support Japanese companies when facing merger and acquisition by overseas companies in the future?

A: I am aware of the press coverage. Concerning the integration of Honda and Nissan, I would like to refrain from making comments because it relates to the business management of individual companies.
Having said that, generally speaking, I think that the government takes a positive view of the advancement of cooperation between companies to strengthen competitiveness.
Regarding business restructuring in general, too, it is an effective way to improve corporate value and generate innovation. METI has also been taking various measures to support related efforts.
I will end my remarks here.

Policy shift to a return to building nuclear power stations

Q: The draft version of the next Strategic Energy Plan, which was published on December 18, clearly states the maximum use of nuclear energy. However, the government has not made progress in some issues involving nuclear fuel, as seen in nuclear fuel cycles, including establishing final disposal sites for nuclear waste. Moreover, the outlook for the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) and the reconstruction of the surrounding areas remains unclear. Amid this situation, some are criticizing the decision to change the policy to return to building nuclear power stations. Could you offer your view on this?

A: In light of the fact that securing decarbonized power sources will determine Japan’s strength, we showed Japan’s future direction of making the maximum use of decarbonized power sources, including renewable energy and nuclear energy in the draft version of the next Strategic Energy Plan.
Still, the government’s intention to continue to sincerely reflect on the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s FDNPS and to take the initiative and make full efforts for decommissioning of the power station and the reconstruction of Fukushima has not changed.
In this process, concerning activities for enhancing public understanding of the establishment of nuclear fuel cycles and the realization of final disposal, as you have just mentioned, the government’s stance is that it should continue to take the initiative in steadily advancing related matters.
I am aware of the various concerns. We should proactively address respective challenges and make advancements so as to eliminate these concerns. Meanwhile, we also urgently need to address the challenges involving energy that Japan faces, and I believe that we should also make progress on addressing this matter at the same time.