[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 26th meeting of the Council on National Strategic Special Zones at the Prime Minister's Office.

During the meeting, debate took place on certifying the special zone plan, additional items for regulatory reform related to priority fields and issues, and other matters.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“During today’s meeting, we approved the additions of the employment of foreign personnel in agriculture and the acceptance of children up to the age of five at small-scale daycares, to the Special Zones policy list.

Mr. Yuji Kuroiwa, Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, has realized many projects up to this point based on the list of new policies. Today, he proposed a new, concrete policy to alleviate the shortage of children’s nurses.

This Council will continue to listen to the opinions of passionate people from municipalities and businesses, and we will continue to incorporate many regulatory reforms into bills planned to be submitted during the next ordinary Diet session.
From Ms. Tomoko Namba, Chairman of the Board and Founder of DeNA Co., Ltd., we heard about initiatives and issues toward the realization of fully autonomous driving in the Special Zones.

This again confirmed that Japanese innovation can help to reduce the burdens placed on drivers, alleviate the shortage of personnel in the regions, and reduce the number of road accidents involving elderly drivers.

We will further develop the National Strategic Special Zones, and immediately consider initiatives to dramatically simplify procedures for verification tests of near-future technology such as autonomous cars and drones, such that tests can be conducted in smoother and speedier ways while also maintaining safety.”