Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has been meeting with private-sector experts and businessmen, regardless of the day of the week. It has been an important practice for Suga since he was chief cabinet secretary in the previous administration. As prime minister, Suga has met with 14 people within 10 or so days to incorporate their opinions and swiftly move the administration’s main agenda forward. Those include digitalization of the government, regulatory reform, and coronavirus countermeasures.
On Sept. 20, Suga met with Keio University professor Jun Murai, who is called “the father of the internet in Japan.” On Sept. 21, he met with the President of Suntory HD, Takeshi Niinami (member of the Council on Fiscal and Economic Policy) and the Chairman and President of Future, Yasufumi Kanameru (former deputy chairman of the Regulatory Reform Promotion Council).
On Sept. 25, Suga breakfasted with David Atkinson, an expert on “inbound” tourism, which Suga had promoted under the previous Abe administration. Atkinson is also an advocate for increasing productivity though restructuring of small- and medium-sized businesses. Suga promoted a similar policy during the party presidential campaign.
PM Suga’s meetings with private-sector experts
(based on the prime minister’s schedule column in Nikkei Shimbun)
|
Date |
Name |
Title |
Main expertise |
|
Sept. 17 |
Hiroshi Miura |
Political strategist |
Election strategy |
|
Sept. 18 |
Heizo Takenaka |
Professor emeritus, Keio University |
Economic policy, regulatory reform |
|
Sept. 20 |
Jun Murai |
Professor, Keio University |
Digital policy |
|
Soichiro Tahara |
Journalist |
Politics in general |
|
|
Yoichi Takahashi |
Professor, Kaetsu University |
Economic policy |
|
|
Sept. 21 |
Seiichi Hattori |
Economic journalist |
Economic policy |
|
Mitsumaru Kumagai |
Chief economist, Daiwa Institute of Research |
Macroeconomic policy |
|
|
Yasufumi Kanemaru |
Chairman and President, Future |
Regulatory reform |
|
|
Takeshi Niinami |
President, Suntory HD |
Regulatory reform |
|
|
Rikiichi Sugiyama |
Managing director, Sugiyama Clinic (OBGYN) |
Infertility treatment |
|
|
Shunpei Takemori |
Professor, Keio University |
Economic policy |
|
|
Sept. 22 |
Nobuhiko Okabe |
Director-general, Kawasaki City Institute for Public Health |
Novel coronavirus countermeasures |
|
Sept. 24 |
Riki Nishioka |
Visiting professor at Reitaku University |
Abduction issue |
|
Sept. 25 |
David Atkinson |
CEO, Konishi Decorative Arts and Crafts Co. |
Tourism policy, small- and medium-size business |
One reason for these meetings is that Suga wants to avoid exclusively relying on information provided by government bureaucrats. During a press conference on Sept. 23, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that “the prime minister has always heard from a variety of sources and reflects the information in his policies.”
Suga has instructed bureaucrats to address issues after talking to experts. On Sept. 23, a couple of days after meeting with Rikiichi Sugiyama (managing director of Sugiyama Clinic), Suga summoned Tetsushi Sakamoto, Minister in charge of Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens, who is in charge of combating the declining birth rate in Japan. Suga encouraged the minister to cooperate effectively with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare so that the cost of infertility treatment would be eligible for coverage by national insurance. (Abridged)
Suga gives instructions after meetings with experts
|
Date |
Main recipient of instruction |
Instruction |
|
Sept. 17 |
Taro Kono, Minister in charge of Administrative Reform |
Setting up a red tape complaint hotline |
|
|
Takuya Hirai, Minister for Digital Transformation |
Establishing Digital Agency |
|
|
Norihisa Tamura, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare |
Novel coronavirus countermeasure National insurance coverage for infertility treatment |
|
Sept. 18 and Sept. 24 |
Ryota Takeda, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications |
Cutting mobile phone fees Decentralization of economy |
|
Sept. 18 |
Koichi Hagiuda, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology |
Digitalization in education |
|
Sept. 23 |
Tetsushi Sakamoto, Minister in charge of Promoting Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens |
National insurance coverage for infertility treatment |
|
Nobuo Kishi, Minister of Defense |
An alternative to Aegis Ashore plan |
