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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the second meeting of the Public-Private Dialogue towards Investment for the Future at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the dialogue, discussion took place on investment trends and issues at individual companies, and on investment towards a fourth industrial revolution and related issues.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Investment is the key to a productivity revolution and it is through investment that we will lead the world in realizing a fourth industrial revolution. I believe that the challenge for a fourth industrial revolution is all about speed. Autonomous driving, drones, and the healthcare and medical fields are all promising fields in which safety and convenience can be achieved together. In the forum of this dialogue we will move quickly to determine specific measures in these fields.

Firstly, we will provide autonomous driving transfer services at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and make automated driving on expressways possible. Towards the achievement of this goal, by 2017 we will develop systems and infrastructure, including measures to enable the necessary verification tests.

Secondly, we will aim to make parcel delivery by drone a reality, as soon as three years from now. For this purpose the government will immediately establish the Public-Private Council, in which users and the relevant ministries and agencies will discuss the specific structural and systemic requirements.

Thirdly, we will make it possible for drones and construction machinery to be operated and for data to be sent and received remotely from more distant locations than before. To achieve this goal, by summer next year we will develop new telecommunications infrastructure, including the expansion of usable frequency bands and enhanced output capacity.

Fourthly, within three years we will enable the use in real-world medical environments of medical diagnosis support systems that utilize artificial intelligence. To this end, by spring next year we will publish new guidelines that will be used for the inspection and screening of medical diagnosis support-related software.

I would like all ministers concerned to begin work immediately on specific system designs that will secure safety and also take into account trends in international discussions in such fields.

The fourth industrial revolution will not be limited to these four fields alone. It has the power to bring about changes to society and industrial structures in a broad range of other fields, including manufacturing, finance and agriculture. I would like you to initiate considerations through such forums as the Industrial Competitiveness Council, so that initiatives can be reflected in the next Growth Strategy.

Today we heard from Toyota about efforts at the company to increase wages and give consideration to component pricing, among other measures. I would like to express my appreciation for the efforts that have been made to date and also note my expectation that this trend will spread throughout the industrial sector.

In addition to stepping up investment, unless wages are robustly increased for a third round, it will not be possible to realize a positive economic cycle.

I would like the industrial sector to continue to abide by the government-labor-management agreement that was reached last year and to engage in full-fledged measures, including with regard to raising wages and passing on purchasing price increases.

In the next meeting I would like to ask the industrial sector to set out its measures.

When we next meet I would also like to hear about the industry outlook and issues relating to concrete expansion in investment, in areas including capital, human resources and technology development that are aimed at improving productivity.”