[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the awards ceremony for the Second Japan Venture Grand Prize, held at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

“I am overjoyed that this Awards Ceremony for the Second Japan Venture Grand Prize received entries from so many intriguing ventures, and that this ceremony is being held with such grandeur.

Abenomics has produced major results over the past three years. We have increased the nominal GDP by 28 trillion yen and have seen the highest corporate profits in history. Over 1.1 million more people have found employment, and there has also been a turn toward an increase in full-time employees. Last year, we realized the highest level of wages in 17 years. Through positive economic cycles, we have created conditions in which we can say, “Japan is no longer in deflation.”

Next, we will aim for the largest GDP in postwar history of 600 trillion yen.

In order to restore earning power to Japanese companies and prevail against fierce international competition, we must shift investments and employment toward growth fields. And it is start-up companies which will take charge of such industrial reform.

The company selected for the grand prize this time has driven a revolution in the way we fight cancer and infectious diseases. I’ve heard that when it was founded, its office had a garage-like atmosphere and was full of used laboratory testing benches and desks. This company has realized technology that can pinpoint and attack cancer cells, and achieved market capitalization of 200 million yen in just 10 years.

The revitalization of the economy is a top priority for the Abe administration. If Japan can achieve the founding of more and more start-ups, and the creation of new industries that can act as leaders in the world, it will strongly push us toward positive economic cycles that incorporate existing companies and regions as well.

I would like to close my remarks by expressing my hope that the winners will become a new force for Japan, and that many other entrepreneurs will follow them, such that Japan can become an ‘entrepreneurship nation.’”