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This year, there will be leadership changes in a variety of different countries and major shifts are expected. In times when the future is uncertain, the most important thing is to put ourselves on a firm footing and not waver from it.Japan will work together with the countries with which we share the fundamental values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.We will work hand-in-hand with countries such as the ASEAN members, Australia, and India to ensure peace and prosperity in Asia and the region stretching from the Pacific Rim to the Indian Ocean. We will, as the standard-bearers of free trade, build a 21st century economic system based on fair rules.The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement sets the standard for this, and will be a cornerstone of our future economic partnerships. In addition to aiming for the earliest possible conclusion of the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), we will take the lead in negotiations to see frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) become ambitious agreements and work to extend free and fair economic zones across the world.Persistence is the driving force. Five years have passed since I took office, and even amongst the leaders of the G7 countries my tenure is relatively long. Building on more than 500 high level meetings conducted so far, Japan will engage in dynamic peace diplomacy and economic diplomacy, and fulfil its responsibilities at the centre of the world stage, while taking a panoramic perspective of the world map.Honorary Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last year, making it the third straight year that a Japanese national had been awarded a Nobel Prize. His success on the world’s centre stage has offered significant confidence and courage to all in Japan, teaching us that you can do anything you set your mind to. ‘The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented.’ This is a quote from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dennis Gabor. In Japan, there were a myriad of baseless predictions about the future five years ago: ‘Japan cannot grow anymore because of population decline” or “Japan has reached its twilight.’ Japan was filled with pessimism that fanned uncertainty. Indeed, barriers stood in our way, namely, deflation sentiment and the sense of giving up. Criticism of our economic policies, suggesting that growth is not possible under Abenomics, was rampant after the change in government. Yet Japan is still capable of growing. The Abe Cabinet has steadily challenged barriers with its three policy arrows over the past four years in order to invent the future. Across-the-board pay scale hikes, something that had long been forgotten, were achieved for three straight years. The ratio of job offers to job seekers surpassed 1.0 in all 47 prefectures for the first time in history. A positive economic cycle is clearly being generated in all corners of the country. SHINZO ABE, PRIME MINISTER, JAPANBUILDING A COUNTRY THAT SUSTAINS ROBUST GROWTH“OUR REGULATORY REFORMS WILL SOON OPEN THE WAY TO A HYDROGEN SOCIETY OF THE FUTURE ”030 G7 MEMBER STATES