Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Prime Minister Attends Meeting of the Nation's Prefectural Governors

Prime Minister Taro Aso attended a Meeting of the Nation's Prefectural Governors held at the Prime Minister's Office, as an assembly by the governors of all 47 prefectures.

In his opening address, Prime Minister Aso said, "I toured 161 locations around the country before assuming the post of Prime Minister. During my travels around the regions I felt a decline in business activities. On October 30, I announced a new set of economic countermeasures focused on measures to counter difficulties in people's daily lives. I ask for your cooperation in implementing these measures." Furthermore, the Prime Minister spoke about decentralization, saying, "For the regions to thrive on uniqueness, prefectural governors must act as managers of their respective local areas. The fundamental objective of decentralization, I believe, is to ensure that they have the requisite authority and responsibility to do so. It is essential that the central and local governments join hands in pursuing the reform."

In response, Mr. Wataru Aso, President of the National Governors' Association and Governor of Fukuoka Prefecture, said, "We understand that the Prime Minister has established regional revitalization and decentralization as important policy pillars and has hammered out policy to promote concrete measures to that end. It is our particular wish that, in the realization of policies, this region-oriented approach will continue to be taken."