A soon-to-be-disbanded top government advisory panel issued a report Monday reflecting on its failure to quickly deal with major economic changes such as the information technology boom and the collapse of the asset-price bubble that depressed the economy through the 1990s.
The panel, formed in 1952, has been responsible for recommending some 14 key economic plans, including the income-doubling plan in 1960 and the five-year economic plan in 1992.
It will be transformed into a new panel, the Economic and Fiscal Policy Council, under the new Cabinet Office when the government restructures the administration on Jan. 6.
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who received the report Monday, vowed to "create a nation where people can feel at ease about their future."
"In order to do so, it's necessary to put the economy back on a firm, self-sustaining recovery path," Mori said.
The council hopes the next panel will actively urge the government to carry out structural reforms, map out timely policies for the IT revolution and come up with a clear-cut vision for the future, securing understanding and support from the public.
Looking back, the council praised its own role in guiding policy and cultivating Japan's economic potential in a manner that paved the way for its phenomenal economic growth in the 1960s.
As for the 1980s and 1990s, however, the council admitted it was unable to keep on top of such major changes as the rise and collapse of the bubble economy and the emergence of a new technology era.
The council also acknowledged that it fell short of specific policy recommendations for structural reforms.