[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the eighth meeting in 2017 of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, there was discussion on social security reform, the state of implementation of economic measures to realize investments for the future, and Basic Policies.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

"Today, we first discussed social security reform. To achieve the fundamental reform of the pharmaceutical price system, members of the private sector offered various proposals, including on the way frameworks should be set up to foster revolutionary new pharmaceuticals while keeping down the prices of other pharmaceuticals. Based on today's discussion, I want Minister Shiozaki to continue to deepen the debate in order to reach a conclusion on this topic within this year, with the goal of promoting innovation in drug development, while at the same time realizing a balance between reducing the cost burden on the public and improving the quality of medical care.

Secondly, we confirmed the state of implementation of economic measures. With the Olympic Games and other events approaching, demand for construction work is rising. Against this backdrop, there was discussion on the need to take active steps to secure workers and increase productivity in order to ensure that both public and private sector construction projects proceed smoothly. I want Minister Ishihara to continue to follow up on the state of implementation of economic measures. I would like Minister Ishii to steadily take responses based on today's discussion.

Thirdly, we discussed the draft outline of the Basic Policies. I would like the Council to accelerate work for the development of concrete measures based on today's discussion, in order to ensure that the Basic Policies can be compiled next month."