(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Today, I have two announcements at the outset. I have been re-entrusted to serve as Minister of Defense. I am deeply honored to be appointed Minister of Defense again at a critical time when we face the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II and we are moving toward revision of the Three Strategic Documents by the end of the year; at the same time, I assume this position with a renewed sense of heavy responsibility. During my first year as Minister of Defense, I have worked to implement all of my policies such as the fundamental reinforcement of our defense capabilities and the improvement of the treatment of Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) personnel and their families without being bound by precedent. I have boldly challenged conventional wisdom and driven policy implementation with a sense of urgency, changing what needed to be changed. Building on that foundation, and strongly recognizing that little time remains before the deadline for revision of the Three Strategic Documents by the end of the year, I am filled with the sense of urgency that we must push forward all of our efforts with even greater speed and intensity than in the past year. The revision of the Three Strategic Documents is a matter of immense importance to Japan’s security and the entire region, so the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the JSDF will mobilize their full capabilities to address this task with a sense of urgency. Moreover, I take seriously the instructions I received yesterday from Prime Minister Takaichi, and—as I stated earlier in my address to the JSDF personnel—I am determined to fulfill my mission as Minister of Defense to the best of my ability. Note that a Nippon Television program broadcast this morning implied that I had earnestly filled out a questionnaire; this is completely baseless, and Nippon Television neither interviewed me about this nor confirmed it with me directly. This concludes my first announcement.
My second announcement is about reducing Okinawa’s military base burden. Even now, when 80 years have passed since the war, many United States (U.S.) military facilities and areas are still concentrated in Okinawa Prefecture, and I take very seriously the fact that the people of the prefecture continue to bear a large burden regarding these bases. In April this year, I reached an agreement on return of part of the Kishaba Housing area, and yesterday the U.S. and Japan reached a new agreement on the return of a part of the land of Camp Zukeran. The important thing in reducing the burden of military bases is to steadily produce results one at a time. We will continue to exert our utmost efforts—while also soliciting the views of the new governor—to realize tangible reductions in Okinawa’s military base burden, including the full return of Futenma Air Station at the earliest possible date. This concludes my two announcements at the outset today.