Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori opened a 13-day extraordinary Diet session Friday by renewing pledges to exert leadership to put the economy on a self-sustained recovery track. He also pledged to work on structural reforms by promoting the development of information technology.

In his first policy speech since the June general election, Mori also emphasized the positive outcomes — such as the adoption of an IT charter — of the July 21-23 Group of Eight summit in Okinawa.

In deciding to host the G8 summit outside Tokyo, Mori's predecessor, the late Keizo Obuchi, had hoped the high-profile conference would turn the world's attention to Okinawa.

"We successfully sent a strong message of peace from Okinawa. . . . I am sure the late Prime Minister Obuchi's wish was fulfilled with the support of the people in Okinawa. I hope (the attention from the summit) will lead to the further development of Okinawa," Mori said.

Bringing together the policies of his new administration under a banner he has dubbed the "Rebirth of Japan," the prime minister emphasized that such policies would eventually realize a "Japanese frontier" in the international community.

Among the policy areas he will focus on to achieve the rebirth of Japan are the economy, social security and education, Mori said.

In the economic realm, the prime minister promised to continue working on drastic economic structural reforms by promoting the IT revolution as well as retaining an emphasis on current stimulus-oriented fiscal and monetary policies.

The government last month announced that the economy hit bottom in April 1999. The nation achieved gross domestic product growth of 0.5 percent in fiscal 1999 — the first annual growth in three years.

The growth, short of the stated target of 0.6 percent, came on the back of massive public works expenditures that have left the country deep in debt.

Mori admitted that statistics have shown consumer spending and employment have yet to improve and underlined that the government is striving to put the recovery on a secure footing.

Mentioning the new special task forces he set up earlier this month to transform Japan into an advanced-technology society, the prime minister expressed high hopes for the effects the IT revolution could have on the Japanese economy.

"I will take the lead to turn Japan into a society with advanced information technology, in which all generations can reap its benefits," he pledged.

The government will pursue deregulation policies to further promote electronic commerce and will advance the use of electronic information transmissions for government registrations and applications, Mori said.

On education, Mori expressed a desire to review the nation's education system so that it focuses more on nurturing people to be mentally, physically and intellectually well-balanced.

He said it is important to introduce extracurricular programs, such as volunteer activities, in schools. He added that he believes the 50-year-old Fundamental Law of Education should be reviewed.

He suggested that the academic year at Japanese universities and colleges, which usually begins in April, be shifted to start in September. He also said that the merger of the junior high and high school education systems into a single six-year secondary education system should be discussed.

Touching on the recent bribery scandal involving former Construction Minister Eiichi Nakao, Mori said Nakao's arrest on suspicion of accepting an estimated 60 million yen in bribes in connection with the ministry's selection of designated bidding companies was "very regrettable."

"Each politician must have his or her own clear idea of ethics. But I would like lawmakers to fully discuss at the Diet some legal measures to ensure high ethical standards in the political world," Mori said.

Opposition parties are expected to shower Mori's Liberal Democratic Party-led coalition with questions and criticism over the scandal during the upcoming Diet session. Mori, head of the LDP, apparently attempted to clarify his government's position again in his speech.

Mori also said the government takes seriously the problems revolving around the collapse of the major department store chain Sogo Co. — another issue the opposition is likely to target.

Although the controversial bailout plan for Sogo and its group firms was scrapped as the group filed for court-mandated rehabilitation, the original plan to use public funds to make up for the mistakes of the management of a private enterprise met with strong criticism.

"In principle, private enterprises should reconstruct management on their own. Then, the government should take proper measures to help ease possible effects on employment and small and medium-size companies with links to the troubled firms."

Mori pledged that the government will take the appropriate measures when tackling similar cases in the future, adding that the state should not approve the purchase and forgiveness of such loans easily.

Opposition on attack

Although Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has described his Cabinet as a "newborn" administration, his policy speech lacked anything new or original, Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, said after the Lower House plenary session.

"All he said in the speech was that he will wait for his advisory panel to come to a conclusion," Hatoyama said, referring to Mori's "newborn plan" on social welfare.

Hatoyama also criticized Mori for avoiding important issues during the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, which ended Sunday, such as the National Missile Defense program and diplomatic relations between China and Taiwan.

Mori plans Asia trips

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will go on state visits to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and India between Aug. 19 and Aug. 26, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa announced Friday.

Mori's visits are designed to help deepen Japan's relations with the four countries in the fields of politics, economics and culture, Nakagawa told a press conference.

Mori will be the first Japanese prime minister to visit Nepal, Nakagawa said, and the first in 10 years to visit the three other countries.

Although Nakagawa did not provide detailed plans of Mori's trip, he said that with India, Japan plans to work on building a cooperative relationship in the development of information technology.