Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the second meeting of the Council on National Strategic Special Zones at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, debate took place on the basic policies of the National Strategic Special Zones.

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

"The National Strategic Special Zones will be a breakthrough for regulatory reform, which is fundamental to the Abe administration's growth strategy. First, we will aim to decide on the specific zones in March and we must also swiftly realize the results of reform in a tangible manner.
As the first step for that, today we finalized the 'basic policies,' which set out the standards and other points for deciding the zones. We will refer to these standards as we accelerate individual and concrete discussions.
In addition, during the recent Davos Meeting, I made remarks that 'in the National Strategic Special Zones, over the next two years, no vested interests will remain immune from my drill.' The concept behind those remarks is clearly incorporated in today's 'basic policies.'
There is limited time left. I request that in this Council the next two years be a period of intensive reform of so-called 'vested interests.' Within that, I would like you to swiftly begin discussions on the priorities for that reform and the specific process by which it will be advanced, including the reform schedule."