[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the ninth meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy in 2016 at the Prime Minister's Office.

At the meeting, there was a discussion on preparation for the Basic Policies.

Taking into account the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Today we have held a discussion on the outline of the Basic Policies. Through a positive cycle of growth and distribution, we will push up the latent growth rate. By doing so, we will realize economic growth that exceeds a real increase of approximately 2% and a nominal increase of approximately 3%, and strive to realize the largest GDP in postwar history of 600 trillion yen. These are the Basic Policies of the new socioeconomic system proposed by the Abe Cabinet. To that end, we will mobilize all manner of measures. The Basic Policies discussed today are the compass for all of these.

At the same time, we will firmly maintain our basic policy of ‘there can be no fiscal soundness without economic revitalization,’ and also strive to meet the goal of achieving fiscal soundness by FY2020. To this end, we will steadily implement the reform menu of the Plan for Economic and Fiscal Revitalization. Moreover, in regard to expenditure reform, it is important to stimulate the on-site creative initiatives of municipalities and other bodies. I would like Minister Ishihara to report on the state of progress of reforms related to the horizontal rollouts of leading practices and their greater visibility, to the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy.

Today the interim report on the GDP for the period from January to March was announced. It showed positive growth that had not been seen for two periods, and also positive growth for the full fiscal year. Under no circumstances can we allow a return to deflation. We will aim for the complete escape from deflation by paying close attention to economic trends and implementing flexible response measures as necessary.

I request that Minister Ishihara, taking into consideration discussions up to this point, advances discussions with the ruling parties, and extends efforts to formulate the Basic Policies.”