Opinion Paper for the 185th Diet Session (Extraordinary Session)

October 1, 2013

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The Abe Cabinet sees the autumn’s extraordinary Diet session as a forum to ensure implementation of measures envisaged under their growth strategy. The coming session will be the first full-fledged session of the Diet to be convened since the Abe government released the Japan Revitalization Strategy aimed at reviving the Japanese economy. In addition, the session will be convened at a time when two favorable conditions for implementing the growth strategy are ripening.

The first condition is the ending of the divided Diet following a landslide victory by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the New Komeito Party in a House of Councilors election in July. The ruling coalition secured a stable majority in the upper house, which made it easier to enact government-sponsored bills and implement the Abe government’s policy measures, covering a wide range of fields. The Abe government can no longer use the divided Diet or the Opposition’s resistance as an excuse for delaying implementation of its policy. Without yielding to “resistance forces” within the LDP, the Abe government should firmly commit to implementing reform. People will lose confidence in Abenomics if an old-fashioned LDP, a group less enthusiastic about reform, emerges.

The second condition is the brightening environment surrounding the domestic economy supported by Abenomics and Tokyo being named the host city for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Under such an environment, effects from economic policy measures tend to be felt more tangibly. Without doubt, Japan is facing its last big chance for economic revival. The Abe government should therefore carry out its policy measures as speedily as possible, unlike in the past.

The duration of the forthcoming extraordinary Diet session is short. Important bills were scrapped in the latest ordinary session because they failed to be enacted before the session expired. To avoid repeating this mistake, the Abe government should give the highest priority to the following measures.

1. Achieving the growth strategy
   
   1. Removing bedrock-like regulations
   2. Early implementation of economic stimulus measures not accompanied by fiscal spending and/or measures expected to produce immediate economic expansionary effects
   3. Steady implementation of Japan Revitalization Strategy
   4. Further challenges to be addressed and discuss of the new growth strategy
2. Fiscal, tax and social security reforms
   
   1. Tax reform
   2. The realization of fiscal soundness
   3. Reform toward establishing sustainable social security system
3. Enhanced efforts to promote reform
   
   1. Steady implementation of reform of National Public Service System
   2. Establishment of system to implement reform through unification of responsibility under one minister
   3. Monitoring of implementation process relating to growth strategy

Japanese version