[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the seventh 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,

“Many people affected by the recent earthquake are still forced to lead restricted lives as evacuees. We need to stand in solidarity with the affected people who are feeling anxious, and further speed up the provision of support for the lives of the affected people through all-Japan efforts. I have decided to formulate a FY2016 supplementary budget to press forward with support for the affected people and recovery measures in a flexible manner.

Our pressing tasks are not only rebuilding the lives of the affected people but also restoring industries. We will find out the level of damage sustained by plants and other facilities and take prompt responses. The Government is committed to doing everything it can to minimize the impacts on the businesses of small- and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale business operators, as well as on local economies, supply chains, and visitors from within and outside of Japan. In this effort, I would like to ask for the further cooperation of the business community.

Incidentally, with regard to the restoration of infrastructure, power outages have already been resolved. It is expected that 60% of the gas service will be restored by the end of this month and 100% by the 8th of next month. Water service has resumed in over 90% of the areas. However, there are water leakages, and we will make every effort toward restoration. With regard to rail service, railway lines in Hakata, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima resumed one week after the earthquake. The Kyushu Shinkansen restored service between Hakata and Kumamoto two days ago, and all routes are expected to be in service in the coming days. As for roads, all sections of the Kyushu Expressway are expected to resume service by the end of this month. Currently, we are working to secure places where people can live with greater peace of mind. We have secured and have begun utilizing temporary resting places at ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) and hotels that accommodate 800 people and hotel ferries that accommodate 200 people. We have also secured 3,400 public houses in all of Kyushu and 9,000 public houses in total. With regard to temporary housing, we have already secured building materials for 3,000 houses, and we will further accelerate our work to build public housing.

Today, ‘Efforts toward the Achievement of a 600 Trillion Yen Economy’ were compiled. I ask that Minister Ishihara collaborate with relevant ministers, including Minister Kato, in incorporating the necessary institutional and regulatory reforms into the ‘Plan to Realize the Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens and the Basic Policies,’ with a view to building a stronger ‘positive cycle of growth and distribution.’

We received proposals from private sector members for promoting the Plan for Economic and Fiscal Revitalization. Bearing these proposals in mind, it is important to integrate and eliminate social infrastructure of local governments and expand the coverage of public services in accordance with the population decline, and furthermore, make the effects of subsidies and grants to local governments more visible and develop a system for their comprehensive evaluation.

I ask that relevant ministers incorporate concrete measures into the Basic Policies.”