Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet began work Thursday on the twin goals of boosting the economy and developing legislation to strengthen national security.

"We are determined to give continuous top priority to the economy and to implement economic policies more boldly and speedily," Abe told a meeting of Keidanren, the nation's main business lobby.

"We will carefully carry out our measures step by step, based on the revitalization of the Japanese economy and other basic policies indicated by the prime minister," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.