ニュース 2011/02/18 First general meeting of New Growth Strategy Realisation Headquarters held On February 18, the first general meeting of the DPJ’s New Growth Strategy Realisation Headquarters (provisional translation) was held inside the Diet building. The assembled Diet members confirmed the Headquarters activity plan as being to carry out inspection visits to various regions of Japan, hold discussions directly with the people involved in various activities, and support growth industries. The Chair of the Headquarters, Masayuki Naoshima gave a progress report, explaining that the DPJ New Growth Strategy and Economic Revitalisation Project Team, which he chairs, had drafted an outline proposal regarding the growth strategy, and was currently engaged in drafting policy content. He added, “We will need to obtain broad support from the public in order to fully implement the proposal, and there is also the issue that it may not have been correctly perceived by the Diet. With these issues in mind, we have established this Headquarters inside the DPJ, and will engage in widespread promotion activities.” Naoshima commented on the basic reasoning behind the growth strategy, saying, “Considering Japan’s economic and social conditions and our situation as a nation with a declining birthrate and an aging population, when supporting the growth of nations, particularly in Asia, we should ensure that the fruits of such efforts also feed back to Japan.” He cited the examples of environmental, welfare, agricultural and tourism policy, stressing, “By utilizing Japan’s outstanding technology we will create new markets and industries, and there is also the possibility that this will lead to an increase in employment.” Following this, the Deputy Chair of the Headquarters, Acting President Yoshito Sengoku pointed out that the question of how to implement the new growth strategy was a crucial issue for Japan. ＊Naoshima will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of ‘Café Democrats’, the briefing for the diplomatic community organized by the DPJ, which will be held on February 25 from 16:00~17:15 at party headquarters.