Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the first meeting of the Headquarters for the Promotion of Administrative Reform at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Headquarters for the Promotion of Administrative Reform was established within the Cabinet with an aim to comprehensively and actively promote administrative reform as the government working as one, in order to realize rational and efficient administration that is in touch with the times, focused on the people.

At this meeting, the holding of the Administrative Reform Promotion Council was decided, and the handling of the review of administrative programs was discussed.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

"Administrative reform is a critical effort, which not only maximizes administrative functions and policy effectiveness, but also is necessary for winning the people's trust in the government.
In order to carry forward the creation of a "new Japan" led through true political leadership, which is the key, based on mutual trust between the government and bureaucrats, we will be actively working on administrative reform.
We will carry forth administrative reform with this Headquarters taking the lead, and at the same time establish the Administrative Reform Promotion Council under this Headquarters to make efforts under a broad range of themes including reconsideration of the separation of roles among the national and local governments and the private sector, and thorough implementation of the work review.
As for immediate terms, we will be working mainly on three areas, namely the reform of independent administrative agencies, the reform of the special account system, and the eradication of waste.
Because administrative reform is an important matter related to the entire government, I would like to ask each Cabinet member to cooperate, and I expect you to exert leadership in the reform in each of the areas the Cabinet members are responsible for."