On September 11, 2017, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the 20th meeting of the Regulatory Reform Promotion Council at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, there was discussion regarding the regulatory reform hotline and urgent issues of importance.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“For the first time in 11 years, the Japanese economy has grown for six consecutive fiscal quarters. In order to cement this growth path for the future, Abenomics will continue to seek out challenges.

We will face the rigid regulations and systems that stand in our path head on as we seek out new challenges, and continue to advance reforms with a sense of urgency. The Abe Cabinet’s resolve is unwavering.

This time, Council members raised a number of issues of importance that we should focus on over the short term and urgently produce results for.

We will quickly bring an end to childcare waiting lists. The revision of the childcare system is indispensable for steadily implementing the Plan for Raising Children with Peace of Mind.

The next greatest challenge in the Growth Strategy is the realization of “Society 5.0.” Frequency bands are truly important infrastructure in this endeavor, and, of course, have always been the property of the public. I believe that even when some frequency bands were to be assigned to the private sector, we would of course have to make full use of them. For that reason, we must urgently reform the allocation system so as to make the dynamic use of frequency bands possible. There are very rigid obstacles set before us, but I hope to tackle this issue together with you all.

Structural reforms are the lifeblood of Abenomics. I would like the Council members to advance reforms at full speed and develop a solid draft proposal for reforms policies.”