At an April 17 meeting of the government's Industrial Competitiveness Council, professor Heizo Takenaka of Keio University and some other members representing the private sector proposed 23 concrete schemes as the initial step toward making Japan a nation with "the world's most business-friendly environment."
They specifically called for introducing bold deregulation in areas to be designated as "Abenomics special strategic zones," named after economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Such deregulation is to be carried out on an experimental basis with a view to improving Japan's industrial competitiveness.
It is said the idea stemmed from opinions exchanged among the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Aichi prefectural government and the governments of Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City. I would like to express my personal views on some of the proposed projects.