[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the 18th Meeting amongst Main Ministers on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, a briefing was given regarding the results of the TPP Ministerial Meeting held in Hanoi.

Based on the briefing, the Prime Minister said,

"What are free and fair rules to develop the Asia-Pacific region? Twelve countries earnestly discussed this for several years, and finally agreed on the TPP. In my view, whether we can utilize this result or not will be a turning point that will determine the future of free trade systems.

At the TPP Ministerial Meeting held in Hanoi, each of the participating countries overcame various differences of positions, and they clearly showed their common will for the early realization of the TPP while maintaining unity among the 11 participating countries.

Full-fledged discussions on the measures to achieve this will begin at the senior officials' meeting to be hosted by Japan in July. Can the discussions be advanced with a sense of urgency or not? Our role as a host country is decisively important.

I would like the relevant ministers, led by Minister Ishihara, to work as one to exert leadership in the discussions among the 11 countries."