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On May 21, 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,
 
“Recently, an unforgivable incident occurred in which a seven-year-old girl was victimized on her way home from school in Niigata City. I am at a loss for words when considering the feelings of her family.
 
Efforts to secure the safety of children are pivotal for a safe and secure society. The Government will strengthen measures to protect children’s safety throughout society to ensure that this sort of incident never happens again.
 
At the beginning of this month, we held a Japan-China-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Summit Meeting for the first time in two and a half years. Together with Premier Li Keqiang of China and President Moon Jae-in of the ROK, we agreed to regularly hold the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meetings and on completely implementing the  United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions related to the North Korea issues. For the first time ever, we also included the abduction issue in our Joint Statement.
 
During the Trilateral Summit Meeting, I also held both Japan-ROK, and Japan-China Summit Meetings. In particular, the Japan-China relationship, which has marked a new start, has been gaining momentum of improvement such that Premier Li and I agreed on the launch of the Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism, which had been an issue for over 10 years. We also both attended a commemorative reception for the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China, visited Hokkaido together, and had an earnest discussion on the future of Japan and China. I will work hard to realize a visit to China at the invitation of Premier Li before the end of this year, followed by a visit to Japan by President Xi Jinping of China.
 
Last weekend, we held the Eighth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8) in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. We agreed with the Pacific island countries to strengthen cooperation, including for promoting human resources development in fields such as climate change and maritime security. We also shared the view that we will accelerate efforts in line with the Security Council resolutions on North Korea issues.
 
In order to make the historic U.S.-North Korea summit meeting an opportunity to make progress towards the comprehensive resolutions for the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abduction issue, which is our top priority, we will advance preparations for the summit meeting together with the United States, while thoroughly communicating the position of Japan to President Donald Trump of the United States, firstly using the opportunity of the G7 Summit Meeting in Canada in June.   
 
In addition, I will visit Russia from May 24-27. I am scheduled to hold a summit meeting with President Putin of Russia, which will be our 21st summit meeting to date. I hope that the two of us can have an earnest discussion at length toward the conclusion of a peace treaty, and that I will confirm the collaboration between Japan and Russia on the joint economic activities on the Four Northern Islands and humanitarian measures for the former island residents, including special grave visits as well as the North Korea issue, which is the urgent matter for us.
 
Regarding the various problems surrounding the Government, we face issues that have shaken the confidence of the public in the Government as a whole. I feel deeply responsible as the head of the Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Self-Defense Force (SDF). I will uncover the whole truth of these issues as soon as possible, and fulfill accountability on this matter to the public. I will also exert every possible effort to prevent this from happening again, and to rebuild our organization toward regaining the public’s trust. I will fulfill those responsibilities as Prime Minister.
 
There is just one month left until the end of the Diet session. The Government and ruling parties must work in unity for the Diet deliberations in order to advance policy measures and meet the expectations of the public. In particular, this week a bill to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the work style reform bill are reaching a turning point in the House of Representatives. The Government will work on these deliberations with a sense of urgency, so I would like to request the continued cooperation of everyone in the ruling parties.
 
Furthermore, the Government has held continuous discussions toward the compilation of the Basic Policy, which set the direction of Economic and Fiscal Management and the Growth Strategy. Toward their formulation in June, I would like to accelerate our efforts, while listening to the ruling parties. There is much to be done in regard to various policy issues. Through the robust coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito, I would like to sincerely listen to the voice of the public and deliver results on internal and external issues. I ask for the continued cooperation of all the members of the ruling parties for this.”