Jiji Press New Year Party

On January 6, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the Jiji Press New Year Party held in Tokyo and delivered an address.

The Prime Minister said in her address:

“Good evening, everyone. Happy New Year. This year marks 100 years since the start of the Showa era. The Showa era was truly a tumultuous time: Japan experienced war, and amidst the immense chaos of the post-war period, those who risked their lives worked with grit and determination to achieve a miraculous recovery in a remarkably short period of time, eventually leading to rapid economic growth. Today, Japan faces rapid changes, including a declining birthrate and soaring prices, combined with a volatile situation around the world. We also face various challenges in our local regions, some of which are unfortunately struggling to maintain vitality. Nevertheless, I have unwavering faith in the latent power of Japan and its people. The Takaichi Cabinet’s immediate priority is to restore a strong economy, as we strive to be an administration that turns people's unease and apprehension over their current lives and the future into hope. While there are many challenges, I believe that what motivates people is, ultimately, hope. In this context, you may have frequently heard the phrase ‘responsible and proactive public finances.’ Under this policy, we will promote bold and strategic investments to strengthen Japan’s supply structure, thereby increasing employment and income. This will improve consumer confidence and boost business profits. Those profits will then flow back into wages for employees, R&D, and capital investment. In short, we seek to create a situation where tax revenue increases without raising tax rates.

Among these investment initiatives, our particular focus is on strategic investments that enhance resilience against potential crises. People often ask what we mean by this. It encompasses economic security, food security, energy and resource security, and health and medical security, as well as measures for strengthening national resilience and enhancing cybersecurity. In addressing these various risks and social challenges, the public and private sectors will work hand in hand to respond proactively and in advance. It is with this intention that we wish to begin such strategic investments now.

The risks I have just mentioned are common to the entire world. Therefore, I am convinced that if Japan can firmly build and develop products, services, and infrastructure that contribute to solving these issues, and expand them into both domestic and international markets, we will be able to achieve further economic growth. Japan’s academic research institutions and private sector research institutes still hold many outstanding technologies that are untapped and yet to be implemented in society. I intend to turn on all such growth switches one after another.

The supplementary budget enacted at the end of last year was, by nature, intended to make up for areas where the initial budget fell short. First and foremost, we placed strong emphasis on measures to address rising prices. At the same time, even though it was a supplementary budget, we also included initial allocations for investments aimed at pressing the growth switches—amounting to approximately 6.4 trillion yen. This is because, even if the budget for fiscal 2026 is enacted in the upcoming Diet session, it would not begin to be implemented until April at the earliest, and in many cases not until June if public tenders are involved. For that reason, we included these measures in the supplementary budget, as we wanted to create this momentum as quickly as possible.

In the fiscal year 2026 tax reform as well, we have established bold tax incentives for promoting investment, including measures such as immediate depreciation, in a manner that gives maximum consideration to predictability for business operators. These measures apply across all industries and target high value-added capital investments above a certain scale. In recent years, countries in Europe and North America have also been strengthening policies to promote domestic investment. We have truly entered an era of competition over industrial policy. There was a time when industrial policy was said to be outdated, but today, countries are now competing through industrial policy itself. As the Takaichi Cabinet, we will take all possible measures to realize an internationally competitive business environment by advancing multi-year budget measures that enhance predictability for business operators, bold tax incentives for promoting investment, and the further deepening of research and development tax incentives.

The Takaichi Cabinet has only just begun. But we will surely make the Japanese archipelago strong and prosperous, and once again elevate Japan to new heights on the global stage. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this year becomes a year of hope for you all. In closing, I would like to extend my heartfelt wishes for the continued health and success of everyone gathered here today.

Thank you very much for having me.”