At a press conference after the Cabinet meeting on November 15, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Murakami was asked about his relationship with the governors of the country and said, "I exchange opinions with the National Governors Association on a daily basis." The relationship between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the National Governors Association is currently attracting attention. This was triggered by the fact that on the 13th, when Representative Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People appeared on TOKYO MX's "Hori Jun Live Junction," he revealed the actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the National Governors Association regarding the "annual salary wall." Representative Tamaki said on the program, "Right now, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is working hard to manipulate the National Governors Association and the heads of each local government. By manipulation, I mean Minister Murakami himself contacting the chairpersons of the Governors Association and telling them, 'Please make this statement,' 'Please stop because there will be this reduction in income,' and even creating a statement outline. I don't think it's right to do such things. I want the national government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to stop manipulating so hard." Was there any request from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications to each governor, as Representative Tamaki mentioned? A reporter from TOKYO MX asked the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications at the press conference that day. When asked by a reporter, "Democratic Party for the People leader Tamaki said, 'The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is currently briefing governors across the country. They are manipulating the government.' Is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications doing anything like that?" Minister Murakami replied, "No, I don't think we are doing anything like that. We regularly exchange opinions with the National Association of Governors on local tax systems and other issues. As part of that, I heard that the administrative staff explained the outline of the basic deduction system." When a reporter asked, "In general terms, does the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications lobby local governments in opposition to political party policies?" Minister Murakami replied, "As I said at the first press conference, we are currently watching discussions between political parties. We are not considering or doing anything like that at all." When asked, "Are you not aware of this as a minister, or is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications as a whole not lobbying?" Minister Murakami said, "I am not aware of this either, and I trust the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, so I don't think so." When asked again, "During the program, Representative Tamaki said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications was manipulating the matter," Minister Murakami replied, "The fact is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications secretariat prepares a statement guide for each prefectural governor and requests them to make statements. I have never seen this statement guide, and have never requested them, so unfortunately I do not understand why Mr. Tamaki said this." Minister Murakami also denied information obtained by Hori Jun that he had approached Chairman Murai of the National Governors' Association, asking him to "express his opposition as the Governors' Association" regarding the review of the "annual salary barrier." When a TOKYO MX reporter asked, "Did the Minister actually approach him in this way?" Minister Murakami replied, "There is absolutely no fact that I requested Chairman Murai to make a statement," denying that he had requested a statement at all. However, he explained that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the National Governors' Association regularly exchange opinions on issues such as local tax systems. When the program asked a representative from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, he replied, "We have the opportunity to talk about the local tax system. I think it was last week, but we provided information such as, 'There is a system called the basic deduction,' 'There is a system called the salary income deduction,' and 'There is currently a discussion about raising the basic deduction, and if that is implemented, what kind of revenue loss will occur?'" When asked if he had lobbied to oppose it, he said, "I am not aware of the fact that such lobbying has been done, and I think that each local government is making statements as an issue for them. I do not think that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is in a position to say, 'Please make this statement.'" Meanwhile, when a TOKYO MX reporter asked Tokyo Governor Koike, who is also a member of the standing committee of the National Governors' Association, at the regular press conference that day whether the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications had lobbied her, Governor Koike said, "I was away (on a business trip overseas) during this time. I think that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications often issues such notices. I think that local government needs to think carefully about its autonomy."