Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the seventh meeting of the Headquarters for Promoting Decentralization Reform at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, discussion took place on response policies concerning proposals from regions in 2014.

The Prime Minister stated the following in his opening remarks.

“Decentralization reform forms the foundation for the creation of regions overflowing with appeal as a result of the regions themselves coming up with ideas and exercising ingenuity, and it is an extremely important theme of regional vitalization.
The Abe Cabinet has been enthusiastically engaging in decentralization reform since the first Cabinet.
This fiscal year, when we called on local public bodies to come up with local, specific ideas based on the regions’ specific examples, we received a large number of proposals.
As a result of these proposals undergoing sincere and extensive discussions and being carefully considered individually by the Government and the regions, it has been possible to resolve a large number of locally-based, detailed challenges, including realizing over 80% of the items positioned as important items, such as regional vitalization, and obtain solid results.
In particular, in relation to the diversion of agricultural land, which the six regional organizations were strongly hoping to achieve, it has been decided to transfer the authority to approve diversions to local public bodies while ensuring that the total quantity of agricultural land is preserved.
Regional enthusiasm has achieved breakthroughs in issues that had been outstanding for years, and has opened a new page in decentralization reform. They have a can-do approach. The Abe Cabinet’s decentralization reform and regional vitalization encourages motivated regions.
I want the relevant ministers to pursue initiatives based on the response policies decided today, and I want you to continue to display leadership so reform that is rooted in regional ideas is further promoted going forward.”