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On January 5, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Liaison Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties at the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,

“I would like to once again wish everyone a happy New Year. It has been five years since the change in government. The coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP) and Komeito will press forward with our policies each day in order to respond to the mandate given to us by the people of Japan.

Nominal GDP has reached a new record, and the employment rate among those who graduated from high school and university is also at its highest level. Even with the decrease in the working-age population by 3.9 million people, the number of people with jobs has increased by 1.85 million. The Japanese economy is now advancing steadily down the path toward an exit from deflation.

The next ordinary session of the Diet will be a ‘Work Style Reform Diet.’ We will attempt a historical major reform of Japan’s labor laws and regulations. We will allow for a variety of work styles suited to individual circumstances, including for people engaged in child rearing and nursing care. I ask for the continued cooperation of the members of the ruling parties so that we can pass the supplementary budget, next fiscal year’s budget and related bills as soon as possible, in order to further cement the growth path for our economy and create a society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged.

In spring of next year, His Majesty the Emperor will abdicate, and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince will accede to the Imperial Throne. I would like to ask for everyone’s cooperation as we move forward with each step of the necessary preparations from the beginning of this year, so that the process can take place without incident amidst the good wishes of the Japanese people.

From next week, I will visit the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, becoming the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit these countries. In addition to expanding the frontiers of Japan’s diplomacy, I hope to have frank exchanges of views with the leaders of each country, including Bulgaria, which holds the Presidency of the European Union (EU) for the first half of the year, and confirm our close cooperation on the urgent issues facing the international community, such as the North Korean issues.

This year, we will start full-fledged discussions toward the revision of the National Defense Program Guidelines. While maintaining our exclusively defense-oriented policy as a given, I intend to address head on the harsh realities surrounding our country and identify what defense capabilities we truly need to protect the people, rather than simply an extension of existing capabilities.

With regard to the 4,000 hectares of the Northern Training Area of the U.S. Forces in Okinawa, at the end of last year, we finished studies on issues such as soil pollution and completed the handover to landowners. This was the largest return of lands since Okinawa was returned to Japan. This will mark a step toward the incorporation of the area into Yambaru National Park and its inscription as a World Natural Heritage site, which significantly contribute to the further promotion of tourism in Okinawa. The Government and ruling parties will continue to work as one in exerting every effort to reduce the impact of bases.

Today it was decided that the People’s Honor Award will be awarded to Mr. Yoshiharu Habu and Mr. Yuta Iyama. These two individuals are respectively the first in the history of Shogi to hold seven lifetime titles, and the first in the history of Go to hold all seven major titles simultaneously two times. By achieving historic feats, they have inspired dreams and moved the public, and given bright hope and courage to our society. I look forward to their continued success.

This will be a year of action. We will carry out each of the policies we promised during the general election campaign last year. I would like to move forward boldly with reforms atop the stable political foundation set by the LDP and Komeito. I ask for your continued support throughout this year.”