[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Liaison Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

"Over the past few days, mountain fires have occurred in several places, and even now, in Kamaishi, the local government and also the Japan Self-Defense Forces are engaged in fire-fighting activities. We will continue to exert every effort to tackle the fires.
I visited Fukushima Prefecture on April 8, Kumamoto Prefecture on April 14, and Miyagi Prefecture on May 2, and listened to the views of people in the disaster-affected areas. I saw for myself the steady progress made in reconstruction but at the same time I also felt that our work is only half complete. With many people still facing great difficulties, we cannot afford even a single day's delay. The Government and the ruling parties will work as one to further accelerate reconstruction.

North Korea is continuing to carry out acts of provocation, including conducting three ballistic missile launches in April, ignoring the strong warnings of the international community. In response to these actions of North Korea, we will collaborate closely with the relevant countries, including the United States, the Republic of Korea (ROK), China, and Russia, and continue to strongly urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint. We have been collaborating especially closely with the United States, including the three telephone talks I held with President Trump in April. Moreover, we are continuing to further strengthen the bonds of the Japan-U.S. Alliance, which has already been reinforced by the Legislation for Peace and Security, such as by conducting joint exercises among a U.S. carrier strike group, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Since further acts of provocation are a conceivable possibility, we will continue to maintain a high level of vigilance and make all necessary preparations.

Today, Mr. Moon Jae-In will be inaugurated as President of the ROK. The ROK is Japan's most important neighboring country with whom we share many strategic interests. We intend to continue to work together with the ROK in responding to the issue of North Korea and to develop future-oriented Japan-ROK relations.

At the end of last month, I visited Moscow and had in-depth discussions with President Putin on the issue of concluding a peace treaty. We agreed to realize the first ever grave visits by former residents of the Northern Territories by airplane in June. We also agreed to dispatch a joint public and private research team on the joint economic activities this month.
I also held a frank and productive exchange of views with Prime Minister May of the United Kingdom in regard to major issues being faced by the international community, in preparation for the G7 Summit.

At the end of this month, I will attend the G7 Taormina Summit to be held on the island of Sicily in Italy. We intend to hold frank and open discussions on matters such as how to drive global economic growth and how to respond to urgent issues such as North Korea among leaders including those who are newly participating in the Summit. The G7 is a champion of universal values, and we intend to send out a clear message expressing the solidarity of the G7 in addressing the various issues of the international community. 

Discussion on important legislation is ongoing in the Diet. The Government will continue to make every effort to provide careful explanations. In regard to the draft legislation to enable the abdication of His Majesty the Emperor, we will continue to diligently carry out the necessary work for presenting it to the Diet. We will make every effort to have this legislation passed during the current session of the Diet and I would appreciate your kind cooperation to that end. Also, I would like to compile the Growth Strategy and Basic Policies for this year in June. While listening to the views of the ruling parties, we intend to accelerate the work to compile them.

On May 3, we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the entry into effect of the Constitution of Japan. Taking the opportunity presented by this occasion, I publicly expressed my views on constitutional amendment, as President of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP), including by sending a video message to a forum on the amendment of the Constitution. I hope there will be active discussions in the Diet and a deepening of public debate on this matter. I would also greatly like to deepen discussions among the political parties, in the Diet, and in the Commission on the Constitution of both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. I ask for your cooperation in this regard.
There is much to be done in regard to policy issues. Based on the foundation of the strong coalition between the LDP and Komeito, we will sincerely listen to the views of the people and advance our policies with a sense of urgency, in order to meet the responsibilities placed on us by the public.
I request the continued cooperation of everyone in the ruling parties. Thank you."