Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in his first policy speech before the Diet on Sept. 13 refrained from talking about eye-catching slogans. Instead he concentrated on listing issues his Cabinet will tackle in earnest — reconstruction from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, putting the Fukushima nuclear crisis under control and overcoming the economic crisis Japan is now facing, among others. This is a reasonable agenda, although it contains almost nothing inspirational.

In his speech, Mr. Noda expressed his determination to tackle the "national crisis" brought by the March 11 disasters with a "sincere spirit and just intent" and with his whole energy. Now that he has made clear his determination, producing effective results without fail is all that counts.

He called the reconstruction from the March 11 disasters the biggest issue to which his Cabinet must give priority and mentioned such things as construction of fabricated houses, removal of debris and support for sufferers from the disasters.