Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the tenth meeting of the Administrative Reform Promotion Council at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on "the review of administrative programs," "procurement improvements," and the "Advisory Panel on the Modalities of Government and Administration."

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

"I am pleased to say that we have completed the first-year cycle of the review of administrative programs under the Abe Cabinet, which included new initiatives such as the 'Autumn Review,' thanks to the autonomous efforts made by all the ministries.
We must continue to work hard to ensure that the review of administrative programs, which will shortly enter its second-year cycle, will be even more effective.
Based on the improvement measures that were compiled today, there are primarily three items I would like to work on this year.
First, I would like to further strengthen “third-party reviews” by external experts.
Secondly, I would like to carry out a rigorous follow-up of last year's initiatives.
Furthermore, it is vital that efforts are made to raise the motivation of all personnel and to enhance their capacities to design and plan policies. This Council will select outstanding cases of improvements made and enrich the training programs for junior personnel.
Through these efforts, we will make further improvements to the quality of administrative programs.
Moving onto the next item, earlier we heard a report on the current status of the meetings of the Advisory Panel on the Modalities of Government and Administration, which are held under the leadership of Minister Inada. I would like to ask the Panel to carry out further lively discussion with an eye on Japan's future, particularly with regard to women and junior personnel.  
I would like to ask the members of the Council for your continued cooperation."