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On July 26, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting with chairpersons of prefectural assemblies at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
The Prime Minister said in his address,
 
“I would like to thank all of the chairpersons of prefectural assemblies for coming to the Prime Minister’s Office today despite your busy schedules. I appreciate this opportunity to directly listen to the voices of all of you, who are taking the lead and exerting yourself to promote your municipalities.
 
The earthquake centered in northern Osaka last month followed by the heavy rain event in July 2018 have caused tremendous damages. I would like to once again pray for peace for the souls of those who lost their lives and offer my sympathy to everyone who has been affected.
 
So far I have visited several areas affected by these disasters in Osaka, Okayama, Ehime, and Hiroshima. The Government will exert every effort towards implementing emergency response and recovery work in these areas, rebuilding the lives of those affected, and restoring ‘nariwai (occupations and livelihoods that sustain people’s daily lives)’ at the earliest day possible, with the intention of doing everything possible. In addition, we will swiftly respond to the issues that have come to light due to these disasters, including measures to protect the safety of children.
 
Coordinated efforts made between the national and local governments nationwide have been delivering results. For instance, with regard to Disaster Victim Certificates, the certificate issuance process has become more efficient and faster since improvements to allow damage assessments using aerial photos and other means were made in response to the proposal of local governments. Furthermore, under a system which started through the cooperation of the national and local governments nationwide this spring, local governments across Japan are dispatching disaster management coordination supporting personnel as well as over 500 personnel to support affected municipalities. I would like to express my gratitude for such efforts of local governments and ask for your continued engagement.
 
In the past five years, the Abe Cabinet has continued to take on the challenge of implementing the ‘three arrows’ of Abenomics, which has resulted in economic growth of 11%, a record high. National and local tax revenue also increased by more than 24 trillion yen. Meanwhile, Japan currently faces an unprecedented national crisis, namely, the rapidly declining birthrate and aging population. To overcome this difficulty and further enrich the lives of the people, I am determined to take on the revolutions in productivity and human resources development much like two wheels of a cart. It is precisely the local economies that will drive Japan’s growth. Exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery produce have broken the record in five consecutive years. The number of foreign visitors to Japan in the first half of this year is approaching 16 million, and we are now in an era of having 30 million visitors a year. We will also further accelerate the pace of regional revitalization by swiftly implementing the policy package compiled last month.
 
It is the basic policy of the Abe Cabinet to listen closely to the voices of local communities.
 
I look forward to hearing your frank opinions at today’s meeting. Thank you for your cooperation.”