Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 12th meeting of the Industrial Competitiveness Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on the draft Growth Strategy.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said in his address,

"Today, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Council for compiling the Growth Strategy, the third prong or 'arrow' as I call it.
Based on today's draft, I hope to have the Growth Strategy approved by a Cabinet decision on June 14.
I believe what is most required with regard to the Growth Strategy is speed of execution. We will translate the policies into action with speed that is unprecedented and of another dimension.
Today's draft is the first set of policies of the Growth Strategy.
As we begin to see movement in consumption following the first and second arrows, I would next like to unleash investment. In order to develop an environment that allows the management of private companies to make decisions, the Government will work swiftly to implement taxation and legal measures to promote capital investment, business restructuring, and so on.
Therefore, with the cooperation of the ruling parties, the discussions on taxation system reform normally conducted at the end of the year will be brought forward to autumn. Furthermore, autumn's extraordinary Diet session will be positioned as the 'Growth Strategy implementation Diet.' During the session, we will aim to enact the relevant bills for implementing the Growth Strategy, including the bill for strengthening industrial competitiveness.
Additionally, in order to be certain that the targets set forth in the Growth Strategy are achieved, it is critical that we thoroughly verify the progress based on key performance indicators (KPIs). As a result of the verifications, we may need to consider reviewing the measures or adding new measures.
And then there are also remaining issues. A moment ago, Council members Mr. Sato and Prof. Takenaka noted, for example, the measures for the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). Careful examinations of global standards as well as Japan's economic growth itself will contribute to strengthening the financial bases of these programs. It was proposed that reforms of this nature are also taken up.
Including these issues, this Growth Strategy is a strategy for reform. Reform is never-ending. Unlike previous growth strategies, my growth strategy is a 'continuously-evolving growth strategy' and will aim for still greater heights. I believe this Growth Strategy can be thought of as the start line to the next step.
I would like the Industrial Competitiveness Council to continue to fulfill an important role in managing the implementation of and evolving the Growth Strategy. I would like to express my profound gratitude to all Council members for putting in many hours and work to formulate this Growth Strategy since January. Once again, I would like to ask for your continued support."