[Title] Press Conference by Prime Minister Ishiba

In today's special Diet session, I was appointed as the 103rd Prime Minister of Japan. I solemnly accept the significance of this appointment.

We, the Liberal Democratic Party, formulated a new party platform in 2010, when we were in the opposition. The platform states that we, the Liberal Democratic Party, pledged to "speak the truth freely and openly, discuss, and make decisions with courage," "to engage in dialogue and coordination with diverse organizations, steer the Diet fairly and ensure that the Government functions in a humble manner." This was the pledge we made as an opposition party.

With this pledge in mind, we returned to power. Twelve years have passed since then. I believe that now is the time when we must make a fresh start with this pledge. In light of the very severe results of the recent election, we, the Liberal Democratic Party, are convinced that we must now transform ourselves into a true people's party. I naturally believe that we must return to a party that can genuinely understand the struggles, sorrows and frustrations of each and every citizen by putting ourselves in their shoes.

In particular, we are keenly aware of the intense public scrutiny directed at political funds, which are exempt from taxation. We will return to the fundamental principle that politics belongs to the people and engage in reforms of both politics and the party.

Going forward, as we engage in discussions primarily in the Diet, we intend to provide a conclusion to the public as soon as possible regarding the disclosure of the use of the allowance covering research, public relations and accommodation expenses and the return of any remaining funds, including allowance based on the Act on Annual Payment, Travel Expenses, Allowances, etc. Payable to Members of the Diet.

Policy activity expenses, which political parties have paid to their members to support the expansion of party membership, have not so far been subject to disclosure requirements due to reasons such as protecting the privacy and trade secrets of individuals and corporations involved in political party activities. However, we believe that it has become difficult to gain public understanding with this practice in place.

Our party has also decided to initiate discussions from scratch, including the possibility of abolishing the payment. I will do my utmost to ensure that this matter is discussed among the parties and parliamentary groups, with a view to reaching a conclusion as soon as possible.

The so-called issue of politics and money amounts to the question of how to share the cost of democracy.

Over 30 years ago, we vigorously engaged in discussions on political reform. Since then, the introduction of so-called public subsidies for political parties has been a concern, as financing excessively large portions of party activities with public funds could lead to an excessive dependence of parties and politics on state power.

This is a longstanding issue that needs to be addressed as a current one. There has always been an argument stressing the need to increase the ratio of political party subsidies to finance party activities, but the question is whether it is really appropriate to make political parties dependent on the state.

That is why, to this day, we have considered corporate and organizational donations as donations from the public. A Supreme Court ruling in 1970 recognized that, under the Constitution, companies have the freedom to donate political funds to political parties. This leads to the argument for the need to ensure a high level of transparency regarding the amount of political funds, their sources and their use, allowing voters to make their judgments based on this.

Simply put, this is about making everything transparent. I believe that we need to make further efforts to dramatically improve and make political funds truly transparent.

I believe that it is an urgently needed reform to further promote the digitalization of political fund reports and establish a database where anyone can easily access the details of income and expenditure reports and related information. This is in line with Article 1 of the Political Funds Control Law, which stipulates that political funds should be under constant public oversight, and I believe that such efforts will contribute to this principle.

At the same time, it is also necessary to ensure that decision-making processes within a political party, including those regarding political funds, are more transparent and that compliance is strengthened. Our party introduced a governance code ahead of other parties, and it is precisely for this reason that we believe the LDP must achieve the most transparent party management.

On that basis, I believe it is also necessary to have a mechanism that would allow certain parts of political funds to be placed under the oversight of an independent third-party organization if it is determined that they should not be disclosed due to reasons such as protecting privacy and classified information. Discussion on these matters began last week at the LDP's Political Reform Headquarters. We will swiftly put together a proposal from the LDP and strive to obtain cooperation from many other parties to ensure that the necessary legislative action is taken before the end of this year.

Regarding the issue of non-disclosure of income from fundraising parties, we will encourage each party member to proactively utilize all available opportunities, including the Political Ethics Committee, to fulfill their responsibility to be fully accountable.

In order for my Cabinet to realize the well-being of as many Japanese people as possible, I would like to set three issues as our priorities.

The first issue, of course, is responding to Japan's increasingly severe security environment. The second is further enhancing public safety and disaster prevention. The third is restoring the vitality of Japan as a whole.

Regarding the response to the increasingly severe security environment, as has been widely reported in the media, China and Russia have continued to expand and intensify their military activities in areas surrounding Japan, including repeatedly violating Japan's airspace with military aircraft.

North Korea has also been launching ballistic missiles at a very high frequency, and the ICBM-class ballistic missile it launched the other day is believed to have a range of over 15,000 kilometers, which would place the entire mainland of the United States within its reach.

North Korea and Russia are also expanding their military cooperation, and as reported, North Korean soldiers have been dispatched to Russia to fight against Ukrainian forces.

Under such circumstances, it goes without saying that we need to fundamentally strengthen our defense capabilities as a deterrent. However, no matter what equipment we introduce, the foundation of our defense capabilities lies in our human resources--the SDF personnel.

As I always say, the SDF is staffed at only 90% of the prescribed manpower needed, which is an extremely worrying situation.

Regarding strengthening the human base of our defense capabilities, we have already held two meetings of relevant Cabinet ministers, chaired by myself, where vigorous discussions have taken place. As for the economic package to be compiled in the near future, we will include measures that can be implemented as soon as possible. By the end of the year, we will set the direction for measures that ministries and agencies should work together on, to be included in the FY2025 budget. And further, we will strive to realize them.

Cyber attacks are an imminent threat. We will accelerate our efforts to formulate a bill to further enhance our response capabilities on the cyber security front so that we can submit it to the Diet as soon as possible.

Needless to say, in addition to strengthening our defense and deterrence capabilities, we must also strengthen our diplomatic capabilities.

We will work to realize our shared values and common national interests, such as the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and the upholding of an international order based on the rule of law. We will also strengthen cooperation with our allies and like-minded countries in a synergistic manner.

As a measure to be taken should circumstances permit, I plan to visit South America starting Thursday, November 14, to attend the APEC and G20 meetings. I would like to use this opportunity to further strengthen cooperation with countries in the Global South and Asia-Pacific. During this trip, I also hope to meet with President Biden, President Yoon and other world leaders to engage in candid discussions about the current international situation.

Last week, I spoke by phone with Mr. Trump, the president-elect of the United States, our ally, and congratulated him on his election. To maintain and elevate the current exceptionally positive Japan-U.S. relations, I hope to meet with him in person as soon as possible.

I would like to mention the abduction issue. Recently, I met with the families of the victims and heard their thoughts in person. The abduction issue is not merely a case of kidnapping. I strongly believe it is a grave infringement of our sovereignty. I am fully committed to addressing this issue with firm determination to take all necessary measures to ensure the earliest possible return of all abductees.

Secondly, we will make further responses to enhance public safety and disaster prevention.

Given a series of robberies and frauds committed as part of the so-called "illegal part-time jobs," it is urgent to ensure the safety and security of the people. We will further promote crime prevention measures, such as installing security cameras and highly secure doors, as well as supporting volunteer patrol activities by blue patrols. We will also further promote efforts to completely arrest so-called anonymous and mobile crime groups.

Japan is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. It is said that nearly 20% of earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher worldwide have occurred in Japan. There are also concerns that an earthquake may hit Tokyo directly or a Nankai Trough earthquake could occur in the near future.

Record-breaking heavy rains have hit Amami and Okinawa since last weekend. In recent years, wind and flood damage has also become more frequent and severe.

Immediately after taking office, I visited the disaster-stricken areas of Noto, where I saw firsthand the victims still enduring harsh conditions and listened to their voices. Even in areas with challenging geographical conditions or limited financial resources, I believe the Government must not leave victims unattended in such hardships. No matter where in the country a disaster occurs, it is the responsibility of the Government to provide an environment in evacuation centers that ensure people can feel safe and secure in the same manner.

From this perspective, I have given instructions that the Sphere Standards, which set the standards that evacuation centers must meet, be applied to all evacuation centers in Noto. I asked the then-Prime Minister Kishida about this at the Budget Committee earlier this year; you can find the discussion in the minutes of the session.

With a strong desire to ensure that the voices of the victims are reflected in our policies, we launched the Preparation Office of Establishing the Disaster Management Agency on November 1.

Immediately after the onset of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, we sent water, food, blankets, cardboard beds, portable toilets, container-type toilets and other supplies to evacuation centers. To provide hot meals for disaster victims, we also collaborated with private suppliers to dispatch food trucks. We aimed to respond as swiftly as possible to the urgent concerns and needs of those affected by the disaster.

We will accumulate and pass on this experience into the future to improve the living environment of disaster evacuees, establish a system for the rapid deployment of facilities such as toilet cars and food trucks and achieve dramatic progress in disaster prevention digitalization to consolidate disaster information. To this end, we will steadily work on preparations toward establishing a Disaster Prevention Agency in fiscal year 2026.

Now, let me explain the third issue.

We must restore the vitality of the entire country of Japan. Our Cabinet is focusing on the potential that lies dormant in the regions. The role of the catalyst to stimulate Japan's stagnant economy is not only of the central government. I have long said that the potential of the industries of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, manufacturing and services, which have been left dormant in the regions, can also serve as a catalyst.

The Regional Revitalization 2.0 is not just a measure to revitalize regions; it is an economic policy for the entire nation and is defined as a social policy aimed at realizing the diverse wellbeing of the people in this age of diversification.

To achieve this, uniform guidance from the central government will not be effective. A total of 1,718 local governments must take the lead, working with stakeholders in each region to seriously reconsider how to improve productivity, with the goal of creating unique regions that fit diverse values.

Last week, on November 8, we held the first meeting of the new Regional Revitalization Headquarters. In addition to this, we will be launching a panel of experts, inviting many women and people in their 30s, who I expect will thoroughly consider and reach a conclusion on what kind of regions and municipalities would best serve the needs of women and young people.

It is important for the experts to visit various sites together with relevant ministers and launch a major movement with local people involved to change the way this country is, its culture, education and society. In order to break with the widespread sense of stagnation and gather the knowledge of people of all ages, we will establish a basic principle by the end of the year.

In order to support ideas created locally on a bottom-up basis, we will double the regional revitalization subsidies on an initial budget basis. We will also provide such funding ahead of schedule in the supplementary budget and deliver them to the local people and governments wishing to work on their plans and create their desired communities as soon as possible.

We will boldly advance regulatory and system reforms based on the utilization of digital technology and addressing regional issues. Additionally, we will implement detailed measures one by one to revitalize the economy as a whole.

We must formulate economic measures and the supplementary budget to realize an economy in which wage increases stably exceed price increases, while also working seamlessly toward the FY2025 budget. The high wage increase level, achieved for the first time in about 30 years, should be made sustainable and this positive sentiment should be spread to regions and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Issues such as the "1.03-million-yen barrier" have also been highlighted. We will support an environment in which medium-sized and small enterprises can secure profits, such as by supporting investments to improve productivity in response to labor shortages and rising energy prices.

In order to thoroughly pass on labor costs to prices, we will take strict measures against inappropriate cases in accordance with the Antimonopoly Act and the Subcontractor Payment Act, while also aiming to quickly realize the amendment of the Subcontractor Payment Act.

Additionally, we will hold a session to exchange opinions among the Government, labor and management this month to accelerate discussions on wage increases in the upcoming spring labor-management negotiations and future medium-term policies for raising the minimum wage.

Along with these measures, we must create an environment in which the public will be convinced that they can consume without anxieties. By transforming social security in general, such as medical care and pensions, into one that fits the current era, we will reduce future anxieties for all generations.

Regarding the "My Number" insurance card system, we are promoting its use while promptly issuing certificates of eligibility to those without the card to ensure that they can continue receiving medical treatment as before. We will also work to raise public awareness of this initiative, promptly addressing and carefully responding to any public concerns.

We must aim to create a Japanese economy that attracts investment from the world. We will introduce all kinds of measures to promote investment in people, such as by supporting innovation and startups and improving skills, and to create an environment in which new business seeds can easily grow.

We will also seek to increase best practices of regional revitalization across the country, such as the invitation of TSMC to construct a plant in Kumamoto. We will provide more than 10 trillion yen in public support for the AI and semiconductor industries by fiscal year 2030, and will formulate a new support framework to attract more than 50 trillion yen in public and private investment over the next 10 years.

By simultaneously pursuing the revitalization of both the regions and the economy, as I have just mentioned, we aim to restore Japan's vitality and create unique regional communities that can realize diverse well-being, as well as cities fully equipped with international competitiveness. This is our vision for the near future.

The ideal form of democracy is one in which various political parties, reflecting the diverse voices of the people, carefully discuss policies and reach better final plans. In steering the Government going forward, we will continue to base our administration on cooperation between the LDP and the Komeito, and, with the understanding of as many parties as possible, we will work carefully and humbly to protect the safety and security of the people.

Today, in the presence of Komeito Policy Research Council Chairman Okamoto, I instructed his LDP counterpart, Mr. Onodera, to carefully listen to the opinions of other parties and reach as broad a consensus as possible when putting together future policies, such as when submitting bills and budgets to the Diet, based on the voices of the people expressed in the recent election.

With mounting issues both at home and abroad, we need the wisdom and strength of many more people. Without being constrained by conventional ways of thinking, and with the belief that everything should be for the wellbeing of the people, I would like to once again ask for the wisdom and strength of the people.

On both the foreign and domestic fronts, there is no greater power than support based on the understanding of the people. We are committed to working even more sincerely toward the future to earn the trust of the people.

Once again, I respectfully ask for the opportunity and your support so that, together, we can make the future of this country brighter. With that, I conclude my remarks.

That's all from me.