Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama assembled permanent vice-ministers of the Cabinet Office and ministries to the Prime Minister's Office and gave them instructions.

Prime Minister Hatoyama sought their understanding of guiding principles and gave them instructions, saying, "I convened this meeting today to give my instructions. Essentially, politicians are elected through public elections, which makes it all the more important for them to keep the people's will firmly in mind and encapsulate their will into politics.

"I do not want you to consider the abolition of permanent vice-ministers' meetings as attempting to bring down bureaucrats. What we are doing is nothing special but requisite for politicians to gain independence and conduct politics in accordance with the people's will, and I want you to understand that the abolition of the meetings was the first step in such actions.

"Take any private company for example. It is only natural for the top management to make decisions responsibly and announce them to the public. That said, the top management may not necessarily be well-versed in technical matters; therefore, we expect you to actively voice your opinions in order to protect the lives and property of the people. I also consider it absolutely normal for permanent vice-ministers to present their respective ministers with various kinds of data and their opinions as necessary."