Yoshihide Suga took office as prime minister after being appointed by the Diet on Wednesday afternoon. His Cabinet was inaugurated that evening.
"I will create a cabinet that will work for the people," Suga told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office. He addressed his administration's intention to prioritize COVID-19 countermeasures and economic recovery, while also working to change the government's vertically integrated structure and promote regulatory reform.
Suga stressed that his Cabinet will "break down bureaucratic sectionalism, vested interests and excessive adherence to precedents, and be committed to regulatory reform."
As part of such efforts, the government will set up a "sectionalism emergency line" that the public can use to report specific examples of such practices via phone calls and emails.
A digital agency will be established as a symbol of the "departure from sectionalism." The agency is expected to promote the cross-ministerial digitization of government services, the insufficient nature of which has been highlighted amid efforts to contain the novel coronavirus.
As for regulatory reform, Suga spoke about mobile phone bills, saying, "Japan's three [major] cell-phone carriers have maintained a 90% oligopoly for many years, aided by the provision of radio waves, a public asset, and have generated operating profits of 20% or so with some of the world's highest fees."
Takuya Hirai, the minister in charge of digital reform and who is well versed in information technology, will take the lead in tackling these issues, along with Taro Kono, the minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reform and who is skilled in disseminating messages.
As for COVID-19 countermeasures, Suga said the government "aims to secure an adequate amount of vaccine to inoculate all citizens by the first half of next year."
On the possibility of an early dissolution of the House of Representatives for a general election, Suga said, "There will be a dissolution of the lower house and a general election within a year, so we will consider the time constraints."
Suga became Japan's 63rd prime minister. He succeeded former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who served for a record seven years and nine months (2,822 days) from December 2012.
"My mission is to continue the efforts of the Abe administration and move forward," Suga told reporters, adding that he would carry on with the Abenomics economic policy package of the previous administration.
On the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago, Suga said, "The government will continue to work closely with the United States, and I will take the lead in the matter with unwavering resolve."
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