It was in the first Abe administration that we started the mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests between Japan and China.
My opinion is that politicians should be humble in the face of history. And whenever history is a matter of debate, it should be left in the hands of historians and experts.
On the question of comfort women, when my thought goes to these people, who have been victimized by human trafficking and gone through immeasurable pain and suffering beyond description, my heart aches. And on this point, my thought has not changed at all from previous prime ministers.
The United Nations was founded 70 years ago, at the end of World War II. Since that time, Japan has steadfastly walked the path of peace and rebuilt a nation. And, since the mid-1950s onward, we have actively worked to share our experience of development with other nations, especially in Asia.
Thinking ahead, in 2013, the Japanese government, together with pharmaceutical companies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established a fund for promoting research and development of medical products for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The importance of planning for disease outbreaks was made clear with the Ebola virus.
We welcome the Obama administration's policy called the 'pivot to Asia' because it is a contributing factor to the safety and peace of the region. I think this pivot policy is playing an indispensable role in enhancing the deterrence of the U.S.-Japan alliance as well as ensuring peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
When I served as prime minister last time, I failed to prioritize my agenda. I was eager to complete everything at once, and ended my administration in failure. After resigning, for six years I traveled across the nation simply to listen.
When President Obama visited Japan, we were able to confirm that our alliance is playing a leading role in ensuring a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific.
The dolphin fishing that takes place in Taiji town is an ancient fishing practice deeply rooted in their culture and their practices and supports their livelihoods.
Japan will help vulnerable developing nations make progress on emissions. In fact, we pledged assistance of about $16 billion over three years from 2013 and met this goal in about a year and a half.
My hope is that the 21st century will be the first century where there will be no violation of human rights, and to that end, Japan would like to do our outmost.
Innovation and corporate governance are extremely important to improve the profitability of Japanese companies and encourage them to increase wages, capital spending, and dividends.
In every country and region, there are practices and ways of living and culture that have been handed down from ancestors. Naturally, I feel that these should be respected.
In 1957, which is now 57 years ago, my grandfather and then-Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi welcomed Prime Minister Menzies as the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Japan after World War II and drove the conclusion of the Japan-Australia Agreement on Commerce.
I have no idea who first coined the word 'Abenomics.' It was not my original term for the set of anti-deflation, growth-promotion policies I am now pursuing.
I have learned that being a politician is not an easy job. My father was trying to make progress in the peace treaty with the Soviet Union. At that time, he was suffering from last-stage cancer, but he visited Moscow in the bitter cold. I learned from my father that you may have to risk your own life to make such a historic accomplishment.
I am a patriot. I would think there are no politicians who are not patriots. Since I am a politician, I often get criticized as I try to exercise what I believe to be right. However, if you mind such criticism, I think you can't protect people's lives.
Human security recognizes the importance of individuals and that the key to ensuring growth in developing countries is to foster individual talent and abilities, build self-reliance, and put people in a position to make a broader contribution to society. Growth must be inclusive, and no one must be left behind.
China, as a nation, is a country under the one-party rule of the Communist Party, but it has introduced the market economy. As a country that is under the one-party rule of the Communist Party, normally what they should be seeking is equality of results.
As a country with experience of coping with earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters, Japan believes in emphasizing the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction. We therefore prioritize investment in disaster prevention and post-disaster improvements under a policy of Build Back Better (BBB).
