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Report
No.240302 |
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- Domestic - |
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Prime Minister Abe Talks of
Mr. Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan, made the first of his policy speech at respective plenary sessions of both houses of the parliament, on September 29. He sets out a policy to compile a long-term strategic guideline covering a period up to 2025 as a means to achieve high growth of economy through technological innovation and promotion of free trade. On the agriculture policy, he stated it his aim to raise the scale of exports of Japanese agriculture, forestry, and fishery products including foodstuffs to one trillion yen by 2013, and his willingness to push for the use of bio-ethanol. The policy speech highlights "Cabinet for the creation of a beautiful country," meaning to succeed the structure reform line of policy promoted by the cabinet of Junichiro Koizumi on the one hand, and underscores his posture to undertake to redress gaps resulting from the reform by promoting "Challenge Again Assistance Measures" on the other hand. In order to realize economic growth, prime minister Abe will compile and put into effect a long-term strategic guideline, 'Innovation 25,' which will have prospects up to 2025 in respective areas of medicine, engineering, information technology, and other fields. He will also set to 'Helping Striving Regions to Help Themselves Program' starting in FY2007, which will provide added assistance in the form of local allocation taxes to local governments that develop original regional projects. He made it clear, too, to strengthen efforts to promote Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and to work towards the resumption of the WTO Doha Round negotiations. Following up on the policy speech, the government announced on October 5 that it will set off a new PR program to propagate 'the taste of Japanese foods' by providing guests of Japanese embassies and governmental establishments abroad with Japanese cuisine made of ingredients in abundant seasonal supply as a part of its support to promote export of Japanese agricultural products. The program is given a name 'Try Japan's Good Food,' and will be implemented jointly by foreign and agriculture ministries. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) will launch 'Challenge Again Assistance Measures in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' from FY2007. With a view to getting people newly engaged in agriculture, it will make PR of agriculture as a good place to make 'challenge again', with an eye on the generation of post-WWII baby-boomers who will soon retire from employed jobs in large number, women retired due to marriage and having babies, and young people without job called either "NEETs" (people Not in Employment, Education or Training), or "freeters" (job-hopping part-timers). |
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1,000 Billion in Agricultural Exports in Policy Speech |
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