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On November 5, Prime Minister Naoto Kan spoke to reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office. He was asked to clarify the government’s stance on the management of information following the leaking of video footage showing a Chinese fishing vessel colliding with a Japanese coastguard patrol boat off the Senkakus. He answered, “In the informal meeting of Cabinet members following the Cabinet meeting this morning I stated that we must carry out thorough investigations to clearly determine why such a thing should have occurred.” Kan stressed that the first thing to be done was to establish the cause of the leak, and said that the government was making every effort to carry this out.
A reporter pointed out that the leaked video made it clear that the Chinese fishing vessel’s actions were deliberate, and asked what impact this might have on strategies for dealing with China and domestic opinion. Kan replied, “I believe that it is vital that both countries continue to response in a calm manner.”
Following this, Kan was asked what kind of discussions would be held within the government, in response to the proposal on the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) that had been finalized by the DPJ Project Team dealing with the issue the previous day. Kan said, “After considerable debate the party has succeeded in coming up with a single proposal. I would like us to consider the proposal seriously, and to finalise a basic direction for the administration.”
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