[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 13th meeting of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, discussion was held on the “state of discussions on the Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan ” and “the second allocation in FY2015 of Coordination Funds for Medical Research and Development.” There was also a briefing and report on “recent science and technology trends: the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) and automated vehicles systems.”

Based on the discussion in the meeting, the Prime Minister said,

“In order to achieve a GDP of 600 trillion yen, we must expand our ‘investment for the future.’ We will establish Japan as the ‘country that is best suited for innovation in the world.’

Based on today's discussion, we will thoroughly compile ‘the Fifth Science and Technology Basic Plan,’ establishing clear investment targets. I would like Minister Shimajiri to advance concrete consideration of these investment targets, in coordination with the relevant ministers.

I have just received an extremely interesting report on ‘automated vehicle systems,’ a strategic innovation creation program.

When I received my driver’s license, the aspect of driving that I felt the most nervous about was the timing of merging into traffic on expressways. I was truly surprised to learn that this is precisely what can be done through this ‘automated vehicle system.’ I believe that it will prove a perfect theme for Japan to showcase its excellent innovation to the world, as we head towards the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. By 2017, we will develop systems and infrastructure, and enable the verification of driverless automated vehicles and automated driving on expressways.”