Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday in his first Diet policy speech that the government will step up structural reforms, promote technological innovation to foster growth in the economy, and instill a nationalist mind-set.
Abe, 52, the youngest prime minister in postwar history, also said in his 30-minute speech that the government plans to study how it can participate in collective defense, currently considered prohibited under the Constitution, and nurture trust with China and South Korea, and closer ties with the U.S.
"I will continue to carry the torch of reform without holding back, with the belief that our future will be open to us," Abe told the House of Representatives on the first day of the 81-day extraordinary Diet session.