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At the first meeting of the reshuffled Cabinet, Prime Minister Abe requested the cabinet members to perform their duties in accordance with the following Basic Policies.
"To achieve 'a beautiful country, Japan,' I will boldly review various systems that have been maintained for many years since the end of the war. I will put the foremost priority on dialogue with the people, while working to shed light thoroughly on those areas that have not yet seen the light of reform."
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| 1. Priority for Dialogue with the People |
| Cabinet members, for their part, should listen to the voices of both the elderly and youth across the country as well as those of people at work places such as small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in order to reflect their views in finely-tuned policies. |
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| 2. Reconstructing a Trustworthy Pension System |
| We will solve the problems surrounding the nation's pension records and promote a comprehensive reform of the social security system. |
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| 3. Turning the Fruits of Reform into a Reality Felt by the Regions |
| We will work on both decentralization reform and local tax, financial and administration reforms. We will also accelerate our deliberations toward realizing the system of a broader regional government (doshu-sei). With these efforts we will promote "Nation Building Initiated by the Local Governments." |
| For the regions willing to work on revitalization, we will remove the vertical divisions among ministries and agencies and instead implement assistance that meets the actual situations prevailing in the regions. |
| Based on the idea of "aggressive agricultural administration," we will assist hard-working agricultural leaders, while offering attentive assistance to senior and small-scale farming households. |
| We will seek to improve the income and living standards of working people. We will also work on raising the productivity of SMEs and assisting their revitalization. |
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| 4. Rebuilding Education |
| We will involve the whole of our society to achieve the rebuilding of education. In particular, we will rebuild public education so that it can command high quality with little financial burden. |
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| 5. Realizing a Healthy and Safe Society |
| We will thoroughly respond to concerns felt by the people in their daily life by such means as ensuring food safety. |
| We will work with all our strength to resolve the shortage of doctors in the local regions. |
| By promoting security and disaster-prevention measures, we will build a safe and secure country that can be a role model to the world. |
| We will strongly promote measures against the decreasing birthrate. |
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| 6. Realizing a Sustainable Economic Growth and Administrative and Financial Reforms |
| The Government will bring together all its forces to enhance the potential for growth from the viewpoints of openness and innovation in order to achieve sustainable economic growth even during this phase of declining population. |
| We will definitely achieve a surplus in the primary balance of the central and local governments in FY2011, thereby realizing the integrated reform of expenditures and revenue. |
| We will push through the administrative and financial reforms aimed at "zero waste." |
| We will work on the reform of the civil servant system to present a new image of civil servants toward which all those who will uphold the administration of the country in the 21st century may strive.
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| For the increase in burden caused by social security services and the declining birthrate, we will endeavor to realize a drastic reform of the taxation system, including the consumption tax, in order to secure a stable supply of revenue. |
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| 7. Leading the World Toward the Resolution of Global Environmental Issues |
| Leading up to the hosting of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, we will take initiative in the international efforts to solve issues related to global warming. |
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| 8. Proactive Diplomacy |
| Based on the "Japan-U.S. Alliance for Asia and the World" and international coordination, we will carry forward proactive diplomacy that can truly contribute to the peace of Asia and the world. |
| With regard to the realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan, we will exert our best efforts to firmly promote the revitalization of the local communities. |
| We will strengthen our partnership with the international community to solve North Korea's abduction, nuclear and missile issues. |
| With our neighboring countries such as China (People's Republic of China), South Korea (Republic of Korea) and Russia, we will strengthen future-oriented relationships allowing for frank discussions.
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| Together with the international community, we will make every effort to assist the reconstruction of Iraq and to prevent and eliminate terrorism. |
| We will work on the reconstruction of our national security system by means such as enhancing the headquarters function of the Prime Minister's Office. |
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