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Japan’s Abe Pledges to Boost Provincial Economies, Relations With China: Reports

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressed the opening day of the special session of the Japanese Diet on Monday in a speech promising to boost declining provincial economies and improve relations with China, The Japan Times reported Monday.

MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe addressed the opening day of the special session of the Japanese Diet on Monday in a speech promising to boost declining provincial economies and improve relations with China, The Japan Times reported Monday.

"Problems facing provincial areas are serious, such as depopulation and a largely elderly population," Abe was quoted by the newspaper as telling lawmakers.

"We will promote the creation of towns, people and jobs that are attractive to young people," the prime minister added.

Foreign tourism is one step in aiding rural areas. Abe's Administration will ease visa regulations, build more duty-free shops, and allow local governments to train tourist guides, the newspaper reported.

Abe also pledged to build up more social infrastructure in addition to evacuation plans and surveys to prevent natural disasters in countryside communities.

Even though Abe did not devote much time to China-Japan relations, the very mention of the issue by the Japanese prime minister who previously avoided the phrase "friendly relationship" while speaking about China, is in itself a step forward.

"Japan and China share an inseparable relationship. China's peaceful development offers a big opportunity for Japan. For Japan and China to build up a friendly and stable relationship, I'd like to realize a summit meeting soon, and further develop the mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests through dialogue," Abe said, The Japan Times reported.

Another topic on agenda for Abe's speech was the status of women.

Following the speech, critics accused the prime minister of avoiding the country's urgent problems, including the economy, employment issues, the right to collective self-defense, and the poverty of single mothers in Japan.

The special Diet session is set to last 63 days concluding on November 30. The Diet brings together Japanese representatives in discussions that could lead to enacting legislation improving Abenomics, a term coined for Abe's economic policies. Abenomics is based on "three arrows" of fiscal stimulus, monetary easing, and structural reforms geared towards jolting the country's stalled economy.

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