In the recent House of Councillors election, the first national election since the curtain rose on the era of Reiwa, this government received a strong mandate from the public. Upon this stable political foundation this Cabinet must bring to fruition, one and then another, the policies we pledged during the election campaign and resolutely advance our new nation-building efforts in the Reiwa era.
 
By squarely facing the declining birth rate and aging population, our greatest challenge, and advancing strong diplomacy that secures our national interests, we will carve out an era of Reiwa, and a Japan, in which we take pride and which are brimming with hope. It is through that strong determination that the Cabinet, united in its efforts, will advance the following policies.


1.  Promoting reconstruction and enhanced resiliency in the nation's infrastructure

First and foremost, we will further accelerate reconstruction from the Kumamoto earthquakes and the Great East Japan Earthquake and the revival of Fukushima. All Cabinet ministers should share a common awareness that they are all ministers for reconstruction. In response to the series of natural disasters that have struck all around Japan, we will make every possible effort towards the recovery and reconstruction of affected areas.
 
To address the torrential rains, higher temperatures, and other sudden changes in weather conditions in recent years, over three years we will carry out intensive, nationwide emergency response measures for disaster prevention and mitigation as well as building national resilience, including river improvements, flood control projects, erosion countermeasures, reservoir improvements, and measures to prevent heatstroke.
 
2.  Economic growth that rewards those who work hard

We will make use of the “three arrows” to completely overcome deflation. We will aim to raise GDP to 600 trillion yen, the largest in the post-war era, bring about a productivity revolution through state-of-the-art innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the like, and create an economy in which all people are able to work hard towards their dreams through a human resources development revolution. 
 
We will be the first in the world to achieve the fourth industrial revolution and we will carve out a new horizon for the Japanese economy.
 
3.  Reforms to make the social security system one in which all generations can enjoy peace of mind

We will boldly invest in children and in families with children, make early childhood education and daycare free of charge, and make higher education free of charge for those children truly in need. In order to lighten the burden borne by the working generation, we will make use of a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution to aim to raise the birthrate to 1.8 children per woman, which is the level the people has indicated as desirable, and reduce to zero the number of people leaving employment to provide nursing care for family members. We will advance reforms to the work system and other elements of the social security system as a whole in order to realize a society in which people can play an active role and be dynamically engaged throughout their entire lives as well as study or work as long as they have the desire to do so no matter their age.
 
We will squarely address our declining birthrate and aging population and build a society in which opportunities are given to all as many times as they require, diversity is flourishing and all citizens, including women, are dynamically engaged.
 
4.  Preserving and passing on to the next generation Japan’s beautiful hometowns full of traditions

By reforming the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries comprehensively in ways that support the taking on of new challenges, achieving a productivity revolution among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises, and attaining 40 million foreign tourists annually, we will enhance all throughout the nation regional vitalization that is overflowing with opportunities. We will reinforce the support we provide to areas where the population is declining rapidly, hilly and mountainous areas, and areas with terraced rice paddies. As for how local governments should respond to the declining birth rate and aging of society, we will examine public administration, financial affairs, and taxation systems in a comprehensive manner.
 
All throughout the country we will create resilient local communities filled with opportunities for young people while utilizing each local area’s particular characteristics and pass down to the next generation our beautiful hometowns full of traditions.
 
5.  Laying a cornerstone for the peace and prosperity of Asia and the Pacific in the new era

Taking the Japan-U.S. alliance as the cornerstone, we will strengthen our cooperation with Australia, India, the UK, France, and other countries with which we share common values in order to bring about a free and open Indo-Pacific. Japan will lead and advance global rule-making in the new era, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), our Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe, and the Osaka Track on digital data.
 
We will resolve the North Korean abductions, nuclear, and missile issues and we will seek to normalize relations with North Korea through the settling of the unfortunate past. We will undertake a summing up of Japan’s postwar diplomacy by settling the territorial issues with Russia and concluding a Japan-Russia peace treaty and by elevating Japan-China relations to a new stage.
 
We will overcome the rough seas of the rapidly changing international situation and lay a cornerstone for the peace and prosperity of Northeast Asia in the new era.


Finally, this Cabinet has great expectations of the public servants at each ministry and agency. New nation-building in the era of Reiwa will require their ability to think in innovative ways and their ability to take bold actions. We want national public servants to demonstrate their abilities in these areas to the greatest extent possible, taking pride in themselves as professionals in government administration. We want them to make proposals proactively when formulating policies and take bold actions in the workplace, never forgetting the viewpoint of the general public and always staying close to their heart.