[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the fifth meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy in 2016 at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, there was a discussion on efforts toward the achievement of a 600 trillion yen economy and comprehensive economic and fiscal reform.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“On my recent visit to the United States, I reaffirmed that it is precisely the G7 that must foster sustainable and robust growth, in the face of increasing uncertainty in the global economy. At the same time, I felt that the leaders of various countries and others have high expectations for the leadership of Japan. I intend to send a clear message to the world during the Ise-Shima Summit.

Strong commitments and policy coordination are required of the G7, and it is therefore extremely important that Japan set out a firm path toward the achievement of a 600 trillion yen economy.

In order to incorporate bold and convincing measures into the Basic Policies, I would like Minister Ishihara to select measures that should be prioritized and demonstrate concretely how they will contribute to achieving a GDP of 600 trillion yen.

We will also incorporate effective expenditure reform into the Basic Policies.

We need to ensure that requests for national treasury disbursements and mandatory expenses are made based on evidence.

I would like the relevant ministers to swiftly hold concrete discussions on dramatically increasing the quality of budgets and thoroughly eliminating waste, and incorporate such measures into the Basic Policies.”