The year just ended was marked by many noteworthy events for Japan. The new emperor acceded to the throne, marking the start of the Reiwa era, and the Rugby World Cup proved to be an enormous success, following shortly after the G20 summit in Osaka, the first time the summit had been held in Japan. In the lead-up to the G20, Keidanren hosted the B20 Summit at the Keidanren Building in Tokyo. With political and economic instability affecting many countries around the world, the Japanese economy continues to enjoy stable growth, and this has led to calls that Japan should show more leadership on a global level.

As we see the year 2020 come around, we are renewing our determination to implement Society 5.0 as a cornerstone of this country's growth strategy. By using the strengths of digital technology to make happier, more human lifestyles a reality and resolve social problems, we can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. To make this a reality, it is not enough to separately address individual problems as we have done in the past. Instead, we will promote cross-sectoral discussions via our digital transformation meetings to draw up new rules and actively propose directions for institutional reforms. We will continue to make bold contributions to promoting reforms of our industrial structure and establishing a competitive environment to encourage new challenges.

We will tackle front-on the problem of a declining population caused by Japan's aging population and low birthrate, aiming to dispel people's anxieties about the future, as we work to achieve the economic structural reforms needed to build a bright and hopeful future in which people can feel secure. These efforts will combine growth strategy, fiscal consolidation, and reforms to establish sustainable social security for all generations.

In the face of the damage caused by recent typhoons, particularly the concentrated heavy rains and other freak weather conditions we have experienced, we must acknowledge that global warming is a worsening reality. Last April, Keidanren released a policy recommendation on "Rebuilding the Electric Power System to Support Japan" As we move to tackle the issues and implement of the policy measures raised in the proposal, the economic sector will combine its strengths and work together to accelerate Japan's move away from dependence on fossil fuels, and to provide a lead through Japanese innovation to this global problem.

The international situation is turbulent, and the speed of change is increasing, making it difficult to see ahead. In this context, we aim to use the political and economic stability of Japan as a strength, using private-sector diplomacy to maintain and strengthen a free and open international economic order, and thus contributing to the stability and growth of the global economic community.

This summer, Japan will host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Osaka Kansai Expo in 2025. These events will bring large numbers of people to Japan from countries around the world. I hope we can look forward to your continued support and cooperation as we work to ensure the success of these events.