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On November 27, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 24th meeting of the Headquarters on Creating Dynamism in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industries and Local Communities at the Prime Minister's Office.
 
During the meeting, discussions were held on the results of deliberation on the agriculture, forestry and fishery policy reforms, and the draft amendment to the Plan for Creating Dynamism in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industries and Local Communities.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“We will restore the vitality of the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries. With this resolve, the Abe Cabinet has exerted every effort to implement reforms aimed at transforming these industries into a growth sector. Our efforts are steadily beginning to bear fruit, and we will continue to advance further reforms.
 
To that end, we updated the Plan for Creating Dynamism in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Industries and Local Communities today.
 
With regard to the fishery industry, alongside the first fundamental revision of the Fishery Act in 70 years, which is currently under deliberation in the Diet, we will also put in place adequate budgetary measures, thereby swiftly getting the reforms on track.
 
Regarding the agricultural industry, we will strengthen the functions of farmland banks (intermediary organizations for farmland management), and accelerate the consolidation of farmland for those who are active in the industry. Advanced technologies that have become a familiar part of our lives, such as robots, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, can also be harnessed to a great extent in the agricultural industry; by next summer, we will formulate a program for realizing the world’s most advanced “smart agriculture,” aiming to dramatically improve the productivity of the industry.
 
In addition, for the forestry industry, we will also introduce a mechanism to enable private-sector operators to utilize state-owned forests in a stable manner over the long-term, and support further reform.
 
We will also not let up on our efforts to expand exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, as well as food products, in order to ensure that we achieve the target export figure of 1 trillion yen next year.   
 
The Abe Cabinet will continue to raise the banner of reform high, and to put all our efforts into building a new era of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in which young people can place their dreams and hopes. I ask for the continued efforts of all relevant parties toward achieving this goal.”