[Title] Press Conference by Prime Minister Ishiba regarding His Upcoming Visit to the United States of America and Other Matters

(On how Prime Minister Ishiba intends to link his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Trump, their very first meeting, to the future of Japan-U.S. diplomacy, and on the outcomes Prime Minister Ishiba hopes to achieve through his visit to the U.S.)

As this will be my first time to meet President Trump in person, I will work particularly hard to establish a relationship of mutual trust. Whether it be economic issues or security issues we discuss, I want to confirm with President Trump that Japan and the United States will act in cooperation, working together to realize what is known as a Free and Open Indo-Pacific in order to advance the development of both the Indo-Pacific region and the entire world and foster peace both regionally and globally.

(Regarding the falsification of administrative documents from the Ministry of Finance related to the Moritomo Gakuen issue, on the reasons leading to the decision to abandon an appeal of the Osaka High Court ruling that canceled the Government's decision not to disclose related documents, and on Prime Minister Ishiba's own thoughts regarding whether or not the related documents should be disclosed)

I have heard from various people that Mr. Akagi performed his work with a truly solid sense of mission and strong sense of responsibility. The fact that such a person would take his own life is something I feel we must take extremely seriously. Considering the feelings of Mr. Akagi himself and the feelings of his bereaved family, I believe we should regard this ruling with great solemnity, and from that line of thinking we have taken the decision not to appeal this case. As for what will happen going forward, from the standpoint of being properly accountable to the Japanese people and grounded in the law, we intend to engage with this matter sincerely and in good faith.

(Regarding the plan not to appeal this case now that a careful examination of the ruling has been concluded, on what specific parts of the text of the ruling formed the grounds for the decision not to appeal)

The text of the court's ruling has to be examined quite closely. I read the ruling through several times myself, and I think that it was extremely sophisticated and it was appropriate for making such a decision [not to appeal the case]. It would take an enormous amount of time if here I were to delve into the legal logic behind that, so I would instead like to offer that kind of explanation on a different occasion, should the opportunity arise.