• 
• 

 
On November 13, 2019, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 11th meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy in 2019 at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, discussions were held on the progress of the response to the consumption tax increase, as well as local public administration and finance and education, science and technology, which are the thematic topics of accelerating economic revitalization and fiscal consolidation in a holistic manner.
 
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
“Today, we first received a report on the implementation status of the response measures to the consumption tax increase. We introduced these measures to more than overcome the impact of the consumption tax increase on the economy. I would like Minister Nishimura, working with the relevant ministers, to continue implementing these measures steadily, including PR activities, so that the public further understands the benefits of these measures.
 
Next, we held a discussion on the reform of local public administration and finance.
 
An important agenda item for the Government is to secure sustainable and convenient local government services for residents despite the situation where many local governments are facing population decline.  To that end, as the expert members proposed today, the digitization and utilization of private-sector services as well as collaboration and consolidation in public services are indispensable.  I would like Minister Takaichi to work with the relevant ministers and advance such efforts proactively.
 
At the same time, it has been pointed out that there are differences in efforts among local governments. While our focus is on raising standards on the national level, I also ask you to provide support for the efforts of local governments that are working hard.
 
Furthermore, we also discussed education and science and technology policies. In order to materialize Society 5.0, it is of the utmost importance for society as a whole to cultivate human resources, who are familiar with information and communications technology (ICT) from school age and able to adapt to digitization. I would like Minister Hagiuda to advance boldly these efforts in cooperation with Minister Takemoto and other relevant ministers. ”