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On July 5, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the first general meeting of the 32nd Local Government System Research Council at the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for accepting the nomination as members of this Council.

Japan will not have vitality unless its regions do; regional vitalization is one of the most important themes of the Abe Cabinet, and we will continue to listen closely to the voices of local communities and accelerate regional revitalization.

Meanwhile, Japan is also being faced with an unprecedented situation in history that the population of age 65 and older is expected to peak around 2040 due to rapidly declining birthrate and aging population, as well as serious population declines.

If this trend persists, for instance, the Tokyo area will see a rising supply-demand gap in nursing care services in the midst of the rapid advancement of aging. If the Tokyo area were to draw human resources to fill this gap, regions outside Tokyo would lose young people who were to play a major role in their local communities and economies.

Consequently, due to declining population densities in these regions, infrastructure no longer in use would also increase.

In particular, infrastructure developed during the period of rapid economic growth are deteriorating and approaching the date of renewal soon. As times passes, various domestic issues like these will become apparent.

I would like this Local Government System Research Council to broadly examine concreate solutions to various issues identified through analyzing backwards from around 2040. Beyond that, relevant ministries and agencies along with local governments will need to work together to implement measures thoroughly based on shared visions.

I will make an inquiry on the very important and challenging issues that will affect Japan’s socioeconomic system in the future to this council and would like to ask the council members to have broad discussions over it. Thank you very much.”