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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Shimane and Tottori Prefectures.
The Prime Minister first observed an entrepreneurship and employment creation project run by the “Regional Economic Innovation Cycle” in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture. Following this, the Prime Minister held an exchange of opinions with “Regional Vitalization Cooperation Volunteers” at the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo.
Next, Prime Minister Abe travelled to Tottori Prefecture, where he visited a local sake brewer advancing the promotion of regional industry by offering gifts to “Hometown Tax” payers. Afterwards, the Prime Minister received an explanation on initiatives at the “Port Town Shopping Area” in Yumeminato Tower for a consumption tax exemption system for international visitors. He then visited the shopping area.
After the visit, the Prime Minister said,
“Regional vitalization and regional revitalization are important issues for the Abe Administration. It was very encouraging this time to visit Shimane Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture, and see the places that are working very seriously and with tremendous effort for regional vitalization and revitalization in each region.
From the first discussion with the young Regional Vitalization Cooperation Volunteers in Shimane Prefecture, I learned that they are truly pooling the wisdom within their region, working hard, and joining together with the locals to play a great role in the region’s vitalization. As such, I would like to issue the instruction to the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications that the 1,000-strong volunteer force be expanded within three years to three times its current size, up to 3,000.
In addition, in each region, there are many products known as hometown specialties. In terms of how well-known these hometown specialties are, since many of the people making them are doing so within small- and medium-sized businesses, I think it is difficult work for people to get to know more about those products. I would like to create support policies and laws in order to support that at the national level. 
Furthermore, today I also visited Sakaiminato, where there are efforts underway to sell the local specialties of each region not only within Japan, but also overseas. On that topic, up until now, eligibility for tax exemptions has been limited to only home electronics. However, I would like to extend those exemptions to every product, and I would like to have 10,000 duty-free shops established by 2020. I would also like to work to make the procedures for that simpler, including the paperwork.
In addition, thanks to everyone’s hard work, we are now seeing an increase in the number of tourists visiting Japan from abroad. By 2020, I aim to see that number reach 20 million visitors. We must increase our momentum toward that goal, and so I would like to exert effort toward relaxing visa requirements, among other initiatives. I hope to soon begin work on exempting visa requirements for visitors from Indonesia.
I also want to continue to exert every effort for revitalizing the regions. There are many policies, such as the visits I did today, where I take the lead and cut across different ministries and agencies. As such, I would like to establish a headquarters for progress on this issue, ‘The Regional Vitalization Headquarters,’ which I will head as chair. I want to play a leading role in revitalizing each region, and bringing together each ministry and agency to create policies. I want to uplift the initiatives.”
Additionally, Prime Minister also said the following about the right of collective self-defense.
“It is an extremely vital matter of life and death for Japan, which has few natural resources, to receive oil, food, and a variety of other resources from overseas. For that reason, I also think that Japan is confronted with an issue which it must act upon, and I believe that we must face that issue directly. In light of this, we will of course seriously consider this issue; and as we do so, I would like to have a discussion on it that includes a thorough consideration of the matter of minesweeping as well. I would also like for this to be discussed within the ruling parties.”