Japan-Jordan Summit Meeting
Foreign Affairs, Friday, July 14, 2017
Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office
On July 14, commencing at 6:25 p.m. for approximately 50 minutes, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Dr. Hani Al-Mulki, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, who is making a working visit to Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Following the summit meeting, Prime Minister Abe hosted a dinner.
1 Opening Remarks
Prime Minister Abe welcomed Prime Minister Al-Mulki's visit, expressed his respect for Jordan's generous acceptance of Syrian refugees and its all-out effort to counterterrorism and violent extremism, and explained that he hopes to further develop the extremely good relationship of friendship and cooperation between Japan and Jordan.
Prime Minister Al-Mulki stated that he felt honored by this invitation to visit Japan, and hoped to use this visit to follow up last year's visit to Japan by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and strengthen Jordan's partnership with Japan in all fields.
2 Bilateral relations
(1) Prime Minister Abe conveyed his understanding for the difficult circumstances Jordan is facing as a result of issues such as the long-running Syrian crisis and the refugee problem, along with explaining that Japan will continue to provide all possible assistance in order to ensure Jordan's social and economic stability and its development, and to that end, Japan will newly implement approximately 1.4 billion Japanese yen of cooperation toward upgrading the water networks in Balqa Governorate.
(2) Prime Minister Al-Mulki conveyed deep gratitude for Japan's support for Jordan. Prime Minister Al-Mulki explained the refugee problem and the economic burden that it is placing on Jordan, and the enormous efforts being made to overcome it, such as the economic reforms Jordan is undertaking.
(3) The two leaders also welcomed the start of official negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement between Japan and Jordan.
(4) Furthermore, the two leaders shared the view that the two countries will also cooperate in such areas as counterterrorism, with regard to a memorandum on defense cooperation and exchange that was signed in October last year.
3 Regional affairs
In addition, the two leaders exchanged views on North Korea and the situation in the Middle East. In this context, Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan intends to continue to contribute to regional peace and stability while cooperating with Jordan through the "Corridor for Peace and Prosperity" initiative. Prime Minister Al-Mulki appreciated Japan's efforts, and stated that Jordan will continue to cooperate with Japan.
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Abe Hand-over of Recommendation by the EU Japan Business Round Table (BRT) Co Chairmen
Foreign Affairs, Wednesday, July 19, 2017
On Wednesday, July 19, for approximately 15 minutes from 2:10 p.m., Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call from the EU-Japan Business Round Table (BRT) Co-Chairman Kazuo Tsukuda (Senior Executive Adviser of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.) and the Representative of the BRT Co-Chairman Danny Risberg (Chairman of the European Business Council in Japan (EBC)). The summary of the meeting is as follows.
At the beginning of the meeting, the representative for the BRT Co-Chairman Danny Risberg handed Prime Minister Abe a set of Joint Recommendations to the Governments of Japan and the EU, which was adopted at the BRT Annual Meeting of this year .
Subsequently, BRT Co-Chairman Tsukuda introduced the discussions at the BRT Annual Meeting of this year and mentioned that the industry welcomes achieving agreement in principle of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and producing the joint declaration on the cross-border transfer of personal data during the 24th Japan-EU Summit Meeting held on July 6.
The representative for the BRT Co-Chairman Risberg stated that BRT has been strongly supporting the Japan-EU EPA and expressed his expectation for the early finalization of the negotiations.
Finally, Prime Minister Abe stated that the agreement in principle of the Japan-EU EPA sent a strong message that Japan and the EU lead the world by keeping high the flag of free trade and that the Japanese government continues to made utmost efforts for the early signature and entry into force of the EPA Agreement. He also expressed his gratitude for consolidating the needs into the BRT Recommendation, and stated that he would like to bring about the growth of both Japan and the EU through the Japan-EU EPA, which is a main pillar for the growth strategy of the Abe administration.
Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties
Cabinet Secretariat, Thursday, July 20, 2017
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a Meeting of the Government and Ruling Parties at the Prime Minister's Office.
During the meeting, discussion was held on the FY2018 Guidelines for Budget Requests.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“The FY2018 budget is for the final fiscal year of the initial three-year period of the Plan for Economic and Fiscal Revitalization, namely the intensive reform period.
We will now further accelerate initiatives aimed at both economic and fiscal revitalization, under the basic policy of ‘there can be no fiscal soundness without economic revitalization.’
We will also establish the Framework for Promoting Priority Issues for a New Japan and identify priorities within the budget, in order to focus budget allocation in areas of priority for the Abe administration. These areas include investing in human resources to bring about a revolution in human resources development, as well as measures to improve the productivity of regional economies, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the service sector, among others.
The FY2018 Guidelines for Budget Requests are aligned with this policy, and I would like to ask for the extensive cooperation of the leadership of the ruling parties and relevant ministers. Thank you very much.”
Meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues
Cabinet Secretariat, Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended a meeting of the Ministerial Council on the Monthly Economic Report and Other Relative Issues at the Prime Minister's Office.
Meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
Cabinet Secretariat, Tuesday, July 18, 2017
[Provisional Translation]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 12th meeting in 2017 of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office.
At the meeting, there was discussion on the Economic and Fiscal Projections for Medium to Long Term Analysis, and on the overall scheme for the FY2018 budget and the FY2018 Guidelines for Budget Requests.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“Today we had a discussion on the economic and fiscal projections for medium- and long-term analysis, and the approach to the FY2018 budget.
We have confirmed that the steady implementation of expenditure reform and sustainable economic growth are essential to achieve fiscal soundness.
Furthermore, in order to sustain economic growth, our task is to increase potential growth. In this regard, our top priority is to implement supply-side reforms through work style reform as well as investments in human resources and productivity improvements.
Based on the overall scheme for the FY2018 budget that was compiled today, we will create a focused budget for FY2018 by eliminating wasteful budgets and ensuring priority-based budgeting that allocates funds to truly necessary measures, such as investments in human resources and productivity improvements. I ask for the cooperation of Minister Aso, Minister Ishihara, and other relevant ministers.”
Meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy
Cabinet Secretariat, Friday, July 14, 2017
[Provisional Translation]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the 11th meeting in 2017 of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office.
At the meeting, there was discussion on the overall scheme for the FY2018 budget.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“Today, we discussed the direction of the budget for FY2018. We received many opinions from private sector members on the promotion of expenditure and revenue reform and points to consider for the formulation of the budget. At our next meeting, I would like us to discuss the Guidelines for Budget Requests, among other matters.
Taking into consideration the proposals and opinions received today, I would like to ask the Ministry of Finance to prepare the draft Guidelines for Budget Requests for FY2018 based on the following basic policy. Firstly, in order to establish priorities within the budget, budget requests will be made for investments in human resources to bring about a human resources development revolution, as well as for measures contributing to productivity improvements in regional economies, small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the service sector, among other areas. Secondly, concerning items such as the approach to reforms to fundamentally enhance investments in human resources, including making early childhood education and child care free of charge at an early date, eliminating children on waiting lists, and promoting higher education, which were all identified for further discussion in the Basic Policies, a framework will be established allowing for separate discussions in the budget formulation process alongside discussions on financial resources.
We will work to formulate a robust budget, which will include expenditure reform to bring about a human resources development revolution, in order to realize a society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged in Japan.”
TPP Task Force
Cabinet Secretariat, Friday, July 14, 2017
[Provisional Translation]
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the third meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Task Force at the Prime Minister's Office.
At the meeting, the cabinet decision on July 11 to assign the TPP Task Force to develop comprehensive policy responses to the Japan-European Union Economic Partnership Agreement, an approval of basic guidelines on comprehensive policy responses based on the agreement in principle on the Japan-EU EPA, and a report on an overview of the outcomes of a senior officials’ meeting on the TPP were discussed.
Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
“Japan and the EU have reached an agreement in principle on the Japan-EU EPA amidst the current global trend towards protectionism, and have demonstrated strong political will to raise high the flag of free trade. The EPA covers a vast economic sphere accounting for over 600 million people and 30% of global GDP. This will start a new engine for Abenomics.
I want the Japan-EU EPA to truly and directly contribute to economic growth in Japan. The EU market will become tremendously attractive for mid-sized companies and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the regions. We will offer supports to help companies expand overseas and strengthen their competitiveness.
At the same time, we will give due consideration to the concerns of the people who will be affected by this EPA, and make maximum efforts to alleviate those concerns. We will explain to them the content of the agreement precisely and carefully.
As for the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries, we will transform the ‘defensive industries’ into ‘industries on the offensive.’ We will take steps to ensure that ambitious producers can feel secure about continuing their production activities, and to inspire young people to participate. We will take all possible measures to achieve this.
Full-fledged discussions started on measures for the early entry into force of the TPP this week at the meeting in Hakone. We will collaborate closely with other countries and continue to advance discussions with a sense of urgency toward the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November.
Both the Japan-EU EPA and the TPP are the keys to our growth strategy. The Government will work as one to establish comprehensive policies.
Based on the basic guidelines that were approved today, I would like Cabinet members to fully demonstrate leadership and consider effective and efficient measures. I intend to lead the way in undertaking efforts too.”
