Top �� What's up around the Prime Minister �� January, 2004

Kantei Economic Policy Conference Wednesday, January 14, 2004 The Kantei Economic Policy Conference "Renaissance of the Japanese Economy - Economic Revival and Challenges" was held at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. This conference was held with the purpose of listening to the opinions of both domestic and overseas experts on the issues and direction to be taken for the further implementation of the structural reform under the basic policies of the Koizumi Cabinet: "Without reform, there will be no growth". At the beginning of the conference, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed his intention to continue with the reforms by saying, "We are finally seeing bright signs in the Japanese economy, but it is not yet at its full state. It is the responsibility of my Cabinet to make this real." Prime Minister Koizumi further addressed the participants by saying, "Implementing reforms on financial and tax systems, regulations and expenditures as defined in the policy is the way to recover Japanese economy. I would like to receive opinions on how to bring out the latent potentials of Japan." Both domestic and overseas experts were invited to the conference and held discussions with the members of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. The overseas experts included Mr. Glenn Hubbard (the former Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors), Mr. Laurence Lindsey (the former Assistant to the President of the United States of America), Mr. Hun-Jai Lee (the former Minister of Finance and Economy of the Republic of Korea), Mr. Noordin Sopiee (the Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies of Malaysia) and Mr. Min Tang (Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank PRC Resident Mission in China), and the domestic experts included Mr. Kakutaro Kitashiro (Chairman of Keizai Dokyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives)), Mr. Motoshige Ito (Professor at Graduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo) and Mr. Naohiro Yashiro (President of the Japan Center for Economic Research). The discussion lasted for five hours with a lunch break in between and the meeting was broadcast live nationwide over the Internet.

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A Broadcast of the Kantei Economic Policy Conference (Economic and Social Research Institute)