(Provisional Translation)

This is my first press conference since my appointment as Prime Minister and I must admit that I have been feeling the pressures and burdens of the position of Prime Minister more than I thought prior to my appointment.

The Chinese philosopher Mencius made an apt statement in this regard, noting that when about to place a great responsibility on a person, heaven may test one with hardship and frustrated efforts in order to toughen one's nature and shore up deficiencies.

Just as the philosopher suggested, in my new position as Prime Minister I have indeed been granted a great responsibility, and my first experiences have been to undergo tremendous hardship, torment and pressures in forming a new Cabinet. As I mentioned during the election campaign for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party, I kept in mind and put all my efforts into choosing the right persons for the right posts in the Cabinet, regardless of factional affiliation, gender, and age from both the private sector and members of the Diet after due deliberation.

I believe I have created a structure that will hold fast to basic policies and cooperate to the fullest extent. In particular, I would like to mention my most sincere appreciation to the New Komeito and New Conservative Parties for their agreement to form a ruling coalition through which we can cooperate in the future with relations of mutual trust.

I believe that during the post-war period, in order for Japan to develop peacefully, the most important thing has been to reflect first on the Second World War, from which has come the realization that Japan must never again wage war. A policy for the future of Japan of the utmost importance is how to encourage the creation of a peaceful and respectable nation, through endeavors of the people of Japan.

If the question were to be directly asked as to why Japan plunged itself into war, I believe that the most appropriate answer would be to say that Japan isolated itself from the international community. In order to see to it that never again does Japan wage war, it is of the utmost importance that the country never again isolates itself from international cooperation and the international community. From this perspective, I consider the basis for the future of Japan's diplomacy to be the friendly functioning of the Japan-United States relationship, which to date has been the most important foundation from which Japan operates. While never forgetting this foundation of Japan's diplomacy, I am convinced that through friendly and close cooperation between Japan and the United States, we can create a cooperative structure with the other countries of the world. In particular, it is of the greatest importance to maintain close and warm relations with other countries in the region, including the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. Founded on sound relations with these countries and the foundation provided by the Japan-U.S. relationship, I believe we can further improve and develop Japan's international relations, a point that should underpin Japan's diplomacy.

On the domestic front, we are currently faced with the enormous challenge of economic recovery and rebirth. During the election campaign I stated that without structural reforms there can be no economic recovery. I believe there are many structures and systems that while once effective must now be revised and reformed in order to function successfully in the 21st century. In the process of structural reforms I want to take a leap forward and adopt a system that befits the realities of a new age. For such reforms I believe that it will be necessary to return to the drawing board, and start from zero, even with such examples as administrative reforms that have enjoyed some success to date. We should also see to it that of the various activities that the state has performed in the past, all that can be accomplished by the private sector should be left in its hands, and all that can be delegated to local governments should be delegated to them. We should conduct exhaustive study into the rationalization of what duties the bureaucracy and central government is charged to perform, and whether all its functions are necessary. It is from this perspective that I wish to undertake structural reforms that will entrust to the private sector what the private sector is able to do and devolve to local governments the functions and duties they are able to take on.

However, in the implementation of these various weighty policies, the most important point is that the people of Japan trust and have confidence in politics. It is accordingly of the greatest importance that the people feel that they can trust the Prime Minister. The prerequisite for the implementation of all government policies is trust in politics, trust in the Cabinet and trust in the Prime Minister. From this standpoint, I will exert myself to the fullest extent in order to ensure that I am able to achieve as much as possible of what I announced during the LDP presidential election campaign.