Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 20th meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office.
At the meeting, “the agenda for the new Cabinet,” “the prioritization and streamlining of expenditure in local finance and regional revitalization,” and “the draft of the Basic Principles of FY2015 Budget Formulation” were discussed.
Based on the discussions, the Prime Minister said,
“In the recent election, I declared that in order to exit deflation, promote the robust growth of the economy, and enrich the lives of the people, the only path forward is economic recovery. Although not everyone has been able to fully experience the effects firsthand yet, I nevertheless believe this is the only path forward. I believe that the people have told us to spread the warm winds of economic recovery to everyone throughout the country as quickly as possible, by thoroughly advancing policies and realizing a positive cycle of the economy.
Today, the private-sector members have submitted the important agenda items for this Council. We must thoroughly advance policies and ensure that the people feel the effects firsthand, and with that determination in mind, I intend to work together with you all to promote these policies.
Regarding local finance and regional revitalization, building upon today’s discussion and with Minister Ishiba taking the lead, I would like this Council to actively support initiatives formulated by the regions themselves toward the creation of local communities. I ask that Minister Takaichi work toward striking a balance between regional vitalization and local finance. Concerning the primary deficit of the national and regional governments in FY2015, the Government will make the maximum possible effort to steadily achieve the target of halving this deficit as a percentage of GDP. In order to do that, I believe that it is crucial that we undertake reforms in the FY2015 budget, treating no area as sacred or off-limits, including the ‘natural increase’ in social security expenses. Furthermore we must work to thoroughly prioritize and streamline expenditures. I ask that you please compile the ‘Basic Principles of FY2015 Budget Formulation’ based on the discussions in the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy to date.
I plan to inaugurate the new Cabinet the day after tomorrow. I request the continued support in the coming year from the private-sector members of this Council, and would like all of us to continue to hold discussions at this Council on the various vital policy issues related to economic and fiscal policy.”