August 3, 2016

JAMA Comment on Formation of New Abe Cabinet
Hiroto Saikawa, Chairman, Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.

JAMA welcomes today’s announcement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new Cabinet lineup. We have very high hopes that, on the basis of political stability and in support of the prime minister’s strong leadership, this revamped team will act to accelerate the policies of “Abenomics” promoting economic growth, to achieve Abe’s 600-trillion-yen GDP target, regional revitalization, and a society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged.

Amid global economic uncertainty spurred by the outcome of the recent referendum in the United Kingdom, the slowdown in emerging economies, and rapid fluctuations in the foreign exchange market, JAMA requests not only that the new Cabinet take the initiatives necessary to prevent those risks from negatively impacting Japan’s economy, but also that it implement the economic measures which it has determined will facilitate investments in Japan’s future, in order to definitively reverse the deflationary trends in the national economy.

Meanwhile, with domestic vehicle demand remaining sluggish, JAMA will continue to lobby the government for reductions in the heavy burden imposed by automobile-related taxes on vehicle owners in Japan.

At the international level, in view of our industry’s deep commitment to global-scale business development and the essential role that an improved business environment, as enabled by free trade agreements, plays in increasing competitiveness, we would like to see the earliest possible implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership accord and firm progress in Japan’s ongoing negotiations on economic partnership agreements, including the conclusion within this year of the deliberations on an EU-Japan EPA.

Going forward, the Japanese automobile industry will be making every effort both to invigorate Japan’s vehicle market and strengthen its international competitiveness, while continuing to contribute to the national economy and employment on the basis of optimized government policy in the automotive sector.