Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the second meeting of the Advisory Council on Vitalizing Towns, People and Jobs at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, the expert members of the Council introduced examples of specific measures related to vitalizing towns, people and jobs, and exchanged views on the measures the Government must take.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

“As a result of the economic policies that the Government has advanced since it came to power, the ratio of job offers to job seekers has continually improved, and we now can see certain results with regard to summer bonuses and wage increases in April. However, unfortunately, it is not the case that those warm winds of the recovering economy have been experienced by everyone throughout the country.
We are joined today by Mr. Masuda. He has recently made recommendations concerning the declining population; that every region in Japan is fraught with the looming consequences of it. It is the plain truth that this is the biggest issue faced by every region. Japan needs to thoroughly address the issue of the largest structural problems, such as the declining population and the extreme aging of society. Human resources are rapidly moving from local regions to urban areas. This will naturally lead to weakened economies. We must somehow manage to change the current state of affairs.
Even if we tell young people to live in the local regions, that does not mean they will stay for our behalf. I believe we must create local regions that make young people think that living there can lead to fuller lifestyles, or at the very least, that their lives will be fulfilling in the near future. That is the kind of vision that we would like to put forth.
I believe that it is our job to create a situation and environment which will better allow them to reach their full potential through their own passion and efforts in local regions. We should create jobs in the local regions, and generate the flow of new people into these regions. We must resolve the issues faced by local regions while taking into account each of their individual characteristics.
I believe that we must use these measures to halt the trend of extreme population concentration in Tokyo, and develop appealing home towns, each with their own unique characteristics. I believe that this will make Japan into a country that is easy to live in, and also a country that each person’s dreams and goals will come true.
I look forward to hearing your frank opinions today from a broad perspective and wide points of view. Thank you.”