Following is the gist of remarks made by Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman, Nippon-Keidanren at a scheduled press conference on 16 September 2003. Translation is rush and tentative, and sequence of the gist does not necessarily coincide with words delivered.
(On series of explosion and fire from large-scale factories)
I called upon the member companies' top executives at today's Board of Directors meeting to redouble their efforts on safety inspections. It is regrettable that accidents happen frequently. Companies must work hard towards prevention of recurrence.
(On WTO Ministerial conference in Cancún )
It is regrettable to see the conference ended without concrete result. I sincerely hope that countries get together again soon to come to conclusions. On Japan's front, it should concurrently utilize both multilateral framework of WTO and bilateral framework of FTAs in achieving its goals.
(On the state of the U. S. economy)
I was surprised to find the level of strong confidence from the U. S. leaders and economists when I visited the country last week. Japan will also benefit if the U. S. would grow so much.
(On pension reform)
Most share views on the issue but differ on the end rate of the premium. The figure must be carefully calculated and compared. A reformed pension system must be sustainable.
(Measures to support reconstruction of Iraq)
Law is passed on how Self Defense Forces can cooperate in reconstruction of Iraq, and Japan should cooperate under the given law. It is not yet known that how much Japan should bear.
(On the value of Chinese Yuan)
The world, including Japan, must weigh the issue of Chinese Yuan from both issue of trade balance with China and issue of currency, as there are both positive and negative aspects in raising its value for foreign companies including Japan's.