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On December 11, 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,
 
“The extraordinary session of the Diet was closed yesterday. In this Diet session, all the new bills and treaties submitted by the Government were enacted, including the supplementary budget which is aimed at advancing reconstruction and recovery efforts regarding the series of disasters, the bill to amend the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act to create a new category of residence status so as to accept foreign personnel, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), and the first fundamental revision of the Fishery Act in 70 years. Once again, I express my deep gratitude for the cooperation of all members of the ruling parties. Going forward, we will steadily make the necessary preparations for their implementation, based on ample discussions within the ruling parties and within the Diet. In particular, in view of the nationwide labor shortage, the expanded acceptance of foreign human resources is a system which is necessary to provide more opportunities for talented foreign personnel to play an even more active role in Japan. We will exert every effort to build and implement this system, including a technical training scheme, based on various discussions made in the Diet.
 
Japan has been selected to host the 2025 World Exposition. I would like to express once again my gratitude as this is the fruit of dedicated activities, including the efforts of the local communities in your hometowns. When Japan hosted the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and the Osaka Expo in 1970, I was only a child, but I still remember that these events made me feel that Japan’s future was very bright. We must ensure that the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2025 World Exposition serve as powerful forces for carving out a new era for Japan. These major events are still to come, so with support and assistance from all of you, we will continue to exert all-out efforts in an all-Japan manner.
 
With the recent conclusion of the G20 Summit in Argentina, Japan has assumed the presidency of G20 for the first time. The G20 Osaka Summit will be held on June 28 and 29 next year. The Osaka Summit will be the biggest summit meeting that Japan has ever hosted. In addition to driving the growth of the global economy through the promotion of free trade and innovation, we will promote various initiatives, setting the goal of realizing an inclusive, sustainable and human-centered future society, by contributing to global issues including climate change, plastic waste in the oceans, and human security.
 
In addition to the Summit, a series of ministerial meetings covering various fields will be held in eight cities across Japan. Making the most of this opportunity, whereby many delegations and journalists from all over the world will gather in Japan, I intend to promote the unique charms of each city and Japan’s ‘omotenashi (hospitality)’ spirit, with the cooperation of the ruling parties.
 
Japan’s July-September GDP (gross domestic product), which was announced yesterday, showed negative growth as a result of the impact of the natural disasters. There is, however, no change to our recognition that Japan’s economy is making a moderate recovery, as seen in steady improvements in the employment and income environments, as well as other factors. At the same time, expecting the increase of the consumption tax next year, we must surely sustain the recovery trend of our economy, closely paying attention to the future prospects, including the trend of the world economy. To that end, I instructed the Government to compile the second supplementary budget last month. We also plan to incorporate a full set of countermeasures in response to the consumption tax increase into the initial budget for the next fiscal year. In addition, we need to thoroughly address the issues in each sector, including making early childhood education free; disaster prevention and mitigation; building national resilience; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and support measures for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. We are reaching the final stage of this year’s tax reform. None of these can be achieved without discussions and deliberations within the ruling parties. I would like to ask your utmost understanding and cooperation toward the compilation of the budget, in order to dispel concerns about the economy and create a new growth trajectory. 
 
Next year will be a historic one for Japan, with the succession to the Imperial Throne and other events. The Government and ruling parties will work in unity to open up a glorious future for Japan. That is what I hope we can achieve next year, and I ask for your continued cooperation to that end.”