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Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine No.16 (January 31, 2008)
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"Talking things over carefully and steadfastly. This is Yasuo Fukuda."
-- Message from the Prime Minister (Provisional Translation)
Talking things over carefully and steadfastly. This is Yasuo Fukuda.
Last weekend, I joined prominent global leaders from such fields
as politics and the economy gathered at the Davos Meeting.
I gave a special address focusing on issues such as the global
economy and climate change, and exchanged views with President
of the Republic of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade and Mr. Tony Blair,
former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as well as with rock
musician Bono. We shared our views on development issues relating
to developing countries, especially African ones, and I keenly
sensed the weight of the world's expectations of Japan.
This year, Japan will host the G8 Summit and the Fourth Tokyo
International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV).
On these occasions, I intend to make use of my experiences in Davos
and proactively lead the way as the international community tackles
various issues that we must address.
Regarding the budget and budget-related bills for the next fiscal
year, the ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement
yesterday to "conduct thorough deliberations and come to a certain
conclusion before the end of the fiscal year."
I had been concerned that a conclusion to discussions on the budget
and budget-related bills might have been postponed until after
the end of this fiscal year, which would have caused confusion
in the people's lives and the Japanese economy, but with this
agreement we will be able to avoid such a situation.
I would like to acknowledge the role of Speaker of the House
of Representatives Yohei Kono, President of the House
of Councillors Satsuki Eda, and everyone else in both the ruling
and opposition parties whose great efforts made it possible for us
to reach this agreement.
In the current Diet, in which the ruling coalition commands
a majority in the House of Representatives while the opposition
parties have control of the House of Councillors, nothing can
be accomplished by either the ruling or the opposition parties
if they stubbornly insist on advancing only their own ideas.
That is why it is more important than anything else that we talk
things out. In fact, precisely because this is the current
political situation, talking things over means it will be possible
for us to produce an even better outcome.
There may be some differences in the views expressed by members
of the ruling and opposition parties during the budget
deliberations, but as long as we discuss things carefully and
steadfastly, I am certain that we will be able to reach the best
conclusion, in the same manner as we have just done.
Yesterday, I learned that some people who ate frozen dumplings made
in China have fallen ill and that some have had to be hospitalized.
I would like to first and foremost express my heartfelt concern
for those who have taken ill and my hopes that they make a speedy
and full recovery.
Mealtimes symbolize a pleasant and relaxing family time, and we
must absolutely prevent any situations from occurring that might
endanger the food safety. The safety and security of foods is
a fundamental underpinning of our daily lives and must be
considered a top priority.
The Government will, first of all, take all measures that need to
be taken immediately, including a recall of the products
in question, to make sure that nobody else falls ill from them.
We will conduct a thorough investigation of the facts and consider
whether or not more can be done to ensure the safety of imported
food products.
* Profile of the Prime Minister
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/hukudaprofile/index_e.html
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[What's New in Government Internet TV]
- Prime Minister's Week in Review (January 14 to 20, 2008)
https://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/prg/prg1611.html
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[What's up around the Prime Minister]
- Prime Minister Attends the Annual Meeting of the World Economic
Forum (the Davos Meeting) (January 26, 2008) and others
https://japan.kantei.go.jp/hukudaphoto/index_e.html
* Please click below to open the online magazine
"Highlighting JAPAN," which introduces the main policies of
the Japanese Government, as well as Japan's arts, culture,
science and technology, among other topics.
http://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/
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[Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine]
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General Editor | : | Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda |
Chief Editor | : | Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Matushige Oono |
Publication | : | Cabinet Public Relations Office 1-6-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968, Japan |