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[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the 2017 New Year Party Jointly Hosted by the Three Economic Associations held in Tokyo.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

 “I wish you all a very happy New Year. I am deeply pleased to see this year’s New Year Party hosted by the Three Economic Associations once again held with such grandeur.

For the New Year holiday, I stayed in a hotel from the end of last year and was treated to beautiful views of Mt. Fuji for the three days of January 1, 2, and 3. Also, yesterday I paid a visit to Ise Jingu and on the Shinkansen I was once again treated to magnificent views of Mt. Fuji.

This made me feel that 2017 has had an auspicious beginning.

On January 2, I played my first round of golf in the New Year together with Chairman Sakakibara, Mr. Watari, and Mr. Mitarai. I managed a really decent score and actually beat Mr. Sakakibara for the very first time. It seems like I played a great game, while Mr. Sakakibara was a bit off, even though the golf club shafts made by Toray were excellent. My first dream of the New Year is to next beat Mr. Mimura and then Mr. Kobayashi to achieve a ‘grand slam’ following my victory over the Chairman of Keidanren.

The year 2017 is the year of the rooster, which usually marks a year of great upheaval. I was elected to political office for the first time 24 years ago during a year of the rooster, but unfortunately this was also the same year when the Liberal Democratic Party fell to the status of opposition party.  The year of the rooster 12 years ago was the year when Mr. Koizumi called for a general election of the House of Representatives over the issue of  the privatization of Japan Post. Looking further in the past, 48 years ago is when the Sato Cabinet dissolved and called a general election following the return of Okinawa. This track record suggests that 2017 could very well see an election. However, there was no election 36 years ago, so this may not necessarily be the case.

In addition to being the year of the rooster, this year is also the 34th of the sexagenary cycle, which happens once every 60 years. This could very well mean that 2017 will be a year of explosive energy in terms of major reforms.

This particular type of year of the rooster also marked the end of the Onin War and the beginning of the Warring States period in Japanese history. It was also a year in which soldiers were sent to the Korean Peninsula for the second time ending the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The most recent 34th of the sexagenary cycle was 1957 when the Kishi Cabinet was formed. This was also a major milestone year for post-war Japan.

It was also the year when Mr. Shigeo Nagashima joined the Yomiuri Giants baseball team, and the year the Showa Base was constructed in the Antarctic, as well as the year of Japan’s first successful launch of an observation rocket produced in Japan.

I hope those of you in the business world will take this opportunity to usher in innovations that could start a new era. I look forward to paving the way for such a new era together with all of you.

The year 2017 will see a number of leadership transitions in other countries around the world.

As uncertainty rises, expectations are for Japan to continue to be a stable force in the international community, so I hope to live up to these expectations.

However, the political situation cannot remain stable unless there is a strong economy. I believe that a strong economy results in a stable political situation.

You have helped realize the highest ever level of wage increases since the start of this century for three years in succession. I would like to extend my appreciation once again, and at the same time, ask you to increase wages at a level at least the same as last year so that we can realize four consecutive years of base pay increases. I believe many of you in the audience nodded in approval. Increasing wages before the cost of living increases will enable us to firmly escape from deflation and advance upon a path that leads to continual and strong economic growth.

At the same time, I would like to ask all of you to use your leadership to improve the transaction conditions of not only your direct business partners, but also subcontractors and other parties. I am firmly committed to escaping this deflationary environment with the cooperation of all of you.

Once pay increases, people will be able to have families. They will have hope for the future, and this will also heighten work motivation. This holds true regardless if the worker is a regular or non-regular employee.

This year will be a year of decisive action for work style reform. We cannot accept the irrational gap in the treatment of regular workers and non-regular workers. At the end of last year, we presented a draft set of guidelines and we plan to submit a revised bill to the Diet so that the courts have legal force to compel this.

People will be able to balance work with childcare or nursing care without worry or concern. We will submit a proposal for revisions to the Labor Standards Act in order to implement a system that places an upper limit on overtime work.

‘When I was young, I received a low monthly base pay while working unfixed and unlimited hours.’ I believe many of you with us today were in this situation. The times have changed dramatically, however, so the past is the past. I believe many of you think the same way as the quote I just shared, but I have strong expectations for you to take the lead in changing this culture, which lies at the root of our work styles.

I hope to create a Japan where everyone living here can feel that this year was better than last, and next year will be better than this, and two years from now will be better than next year. The 1950s and 1960s during the Showa period of Japan marked a time when the country got better day after day. Although the living standard was much lower than today, every day saw positive improvement. This feeling always gets people excited. This year I hope to create a Japan that is truly exciting together with all of you. In this regard, I ask for your support and cooperation in 2017.

Congratulations once again on a great New Year party.”