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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Gathering of "Discover the Treasures of Farming, Mountain and Fishing Villages" at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

“I would like to share a few remarks for the Gathering of ‘Discover the Treasures of Farming, Mountain and Fishing Villages.’”

The area where I was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture has since amalgamated with Nagato City, but it was once known as Otsugun Yuya Town. It is an extremely beautiful region facing the Japan Sea. Its vast terraced rice fields stretch to the sea. It is so beautiful it can take one’s breath away. It is truly such a gorgeous landscape that I sometimes get lost in it and even forget to say my name when I am campaigning there. I really feel that regions like this, the regions where you all live, are the real Japan.

With that in mind, I believe that many hidden treasures still exist in the regions. It is not that they are hidden away buried in the earth, but rather that there are many treasures that we simply do not notice. I believe we must identify and refine these treasures.

I also believe that it is important that we create new treasures in each region. There is also still the potential for many new treasures to be created that are unique to their own regions. In that sense, all of you who have gathered here today have discovered treasures, refined them, or created new treasures in your own regions.

There were 769 applications for this opportunity, and 30 were selected from among them. I want to again express my respect for the way that you have worked together in each of your regions, tapped into each other’s wisdom, exerted great efforts, and created each of your treasures.

I hope that in time those treasures will not end up as merely the treasures of your villages, but will become treasures of all of Japan, and the world.

I believe that the innovations you came up with to sell your beloved products, or to help foreign visitors experience your rural villages, or to make use of the capabilities of women, young people, the elderly, or people with disabilities, led to each of your certifications this time.

I also intend to devote efforts toward vitalizing local economies so that we can preserve our charming farming, mountain and fishing villages, and develop them further.

I hope that during this gathering, you will have in-depth exchanges with each other, share information on each of your innovations, and be able to use those ideas to develop your regions further.

I would like to conclude my remarks by expressing my hope for the continued development of your regions.”