 Prime Minister, I want you to know they've been sitting quietly like this the whole time. Well, that's not quite true. I would like to say a very, very hearty welcome to a very good friend. Asotaro has been with us here at CSIS many times in many roles. And he comes now as the finance minister at a time that's of remarkable significance in Japan. Everyone has heard about the so-called Abe economics. But there's no success to Abe economics without aso action. I mean, it's going to require this man who is going to put in place the structure to bring around this transformation. This is a very, very big deal. And it's important for Japan, obviously. It's very important for the United States. And we all need to learn and listen carefully. We were talking just as we were coming down about this metaphor that the Prime Minister has used about arrows. I don't know if you saw the FT this morning. The finance minister talked about bazookas. Now, that grows very naturally having been a marksman and represented Japan at the Olympics as a marksman. But he didn't use bazookas then, but he's using bazookas now. And it's a good thing for Japan. Would you please, with your applause, welcome Taro Aso. We're delighted to have him here with us today. Thank you, Dr. Hamle. Thank you, Dr. Green. And thank you all for coming to join me here. I'm Taro Aso, and I will say this. I am back, too. When you say that each Japanese Prime Minister spends only an ear in office, you are talking about me. When you say that in Japan politics is like a revolving door. You are talking about the Shinzo Abe and me. Again, thank you very much. But you can see something not so bad here. You are now looking at an administration that has two former prime ministers and three former party presidents. You must envious because you can't do anything like that under your presidential system. Bill Clinton as a vice president of Obama, very difficult to imagine, I think. Now I will start off by touching upon our alliance. My view is that something is wrong when you say that the U.S. is always on the giving end and Japan always on the receiving end about the provision of security under our alliance. The Japanese must stand tall as an equal and responsible ally to the U.S. The Japanese must work hard as a guardian of international common goods, peace, prosperity, and democracy. In fact, that was my grandfather's aspiration. When Shigeru Yoshida signed the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty on September 19, 1951 in San Francisco, he hoped that one day Japan could work with the U.S. as an equal partner to sustain the liberal international order. Sixty-two years later, that aspiration still holds. It is my belief that Japan has a noble responsibility to enhance peace, happiness, and democracy in the world. That's why, ladies and gentlemen, Japan must regain its economic power. That's why we are working hard to turn around our economy, pushing what you call abenomics. Make no mistake, we are pushing abenomics, not only for the sake of the economic growth. We are doing that precisely to make Japan your reliable ally and the responsible guardian of peace, prosperity, and democracy. That also applies to the TPP. In March, we said that we would be joined the TPP negotiations. Last week, Tokyo and Washington reached an agreement about some of the issues we needed to solve in advance. Now, I am very much glad that we are on the right track to enter the negotiation. Yes, the TPP is about the economic integration, but it is also much more than that. Remember that Japan is still the second biggest democratic economy in the world. If bound together under the TPP, the Americans and the Japanese can make the world a much better place. The U.S. and Japan bound together by the TPP can emerge as a mega-stabilizer across the Pacific. Think about our combined side, it is really mega. Once again, for the purpose as well, Japan must be stronger. Now, I will spend the next couple of minutes to tell you about so-called abenomics. The logic is plain, simple, and straightforward. First, the bank of Japan is money. Second, the government comes in with fiscal policies stimulating real demand. And third, the government introduces a gross package including TPP, massive deregulations, and other gross plans putting the gross on the sustainable orbit. That is it. That is what you call abenomics, and it's three arrows. Oh, by the way, Shinzo Abe-san was an archery player in his college days. To call abenomics a kind of combination of three arrows fits in most nicely. I was not an archery player. I was a skid shooter and represented Japan for the 1976 Olympic in Montreal. So instead of arrows, I called them bazookas. Anyhow, the yen has become cheaper as a result, but only as a by-product. To say that cheap yen is our goal would grossly miss the point. The big D, deflation is too much difficult and too much persistent to get rid of. We have to use every possible means. At the end of the day, shrinking Japan could do only harm to the world. Only a growing Japan could do good for the people in Japan, for the people in America, and for the people in the world. That is what we are aiming to bring about. If you are still in doubt about what I say, it is probably because you have never gone through deflation, deflation, economic deflation. Let me tell you a bit about what it is like. It all started when the asset price bubble collapsed in the early 1990s. Stock price index at the end of 1989 was about 300,000 yen. It fell down to as low as 7,000 yen. The land price in major cities hit its peak in 1991. It became lower by 87 percent, 110 to 13 yen. As a result, many banks had negative equity. Many companies also had negative equity. Banks were interested only in reducing their balance sheet. Companies were interested only in paying back their debt. Rather than investing in new ideas or products for future growth, they chose to minimize the cost, cutting wages, and so on. Labour unions wanted no layoff, so they chose to accept the pay cut. Gradually, money gained value. Relative to goods grows slow because no one except for the government was willing to invest. Vicious circle took root. Deflation, hence, became very persistent. I must tell you, deflation is like slow motion deaths by losing temperature. It is early stage. It does not feel so painful. Your wage may not grow, but CPI consumption price is also flat. So your purchasing power does not decline that much. It is already too late when you have finally become aware that you are hostage and that you cannot escape the vicious cycle. Because it is a slow process, deflation could bring no alarm bell, unlike inflation. That's why deflation is much more harmful. So what ought to be done? Why amenomics necessary? Before the December general election, we thought that the most important thing would be to get rid of deflation mindset of Japanese at the outset of amenomics. We thought that the economic landscape should be redrawn dramatically so that people can get willing to take risks. It was at that time the idea of three arrows over three bazookas showed in our first group, Okara to us. We made it our campaign platform and pushed it hard during the campaign. And the result was we won the landslide victory. At long last, voters gave us mandate, political capital, strong enough to do bold things that were long time coming. We had done nothing then. Other than just voicing our policy package and our will to do it. Interestingly, the market started to respond. Tokyo Stoke English started to rise. It speaks volumes about how importantly it is to change people's perceptions, outlook and mindset. It is true that Japan is only a country that has gone through deflation. None of the nation had a deflation recession after a Second World War ended. That is about the post-war history. If you see pre-war examples, I must mention that Japan is among the few countries that have succeeded in containing a deflation. John Maynard King published his general theory in 1936. Prior to that, there was someone in Japan who did Keynesian policy in the early 1930s. His name is Korehiko Takahashi, who was six-time finance minister and one-time prime minister in the early 1920s, early 1930s, sorry. Takahashi saved Japan by doing exactly what we are doing now. His bold, monetary easing and fiscal spending stopped the deflationary spiral. Like us today, he also did it big and fast, or shock and awe. So much so if we are flanking in Roosevelt would say later that Takahashi had given him inspiration. It encouraged me to think that among our predecessor there was someone who made it. We wished to follow his footsteps. Now back to the real genesis of our dynamics. It started when Mr. Masaki Shirakawa, then head of the BAOJ, Bank of Japan, and I issued a joint statement for the first time in Japan's Monetary History, January this year, so-called joint statement with BAOJ. In that joint statement, the BAOJ essentially introduced the inflation target of 2%. We call it price stability target. On our part, the government pledged to run the kind of macroeconomics and fiscal policies that are flexible and responsive. It was also written that the government should encourage the competition and enhance Japan's gross potentials and establish sustainable fiscal structure. What we did thereafter or what we will do from now on is all based on this joint statement. Anyhow, the first Bazookas is both Monetary Policy. I will not say more about it. You may just want to open your newspaper or magazine. They are now telling a lot about so-called Kuroda comics. Haruhiko Kuroda, the new governor of the Bank of Japan, really did it big and fast, were shocked and all. We are all glad. First of all, he showed guts. Second of all, he is a good communicator. Third, he is well connected with and respected by the member of the central banking community. Now, let me go on to tell you more about the second Bazooka. That is a fiscal policy I am looking after. Please note at this point that we are not making a big government. American conservatism does not apply to the Japanese situation. Here in the US, conservatism is about small government and tax reduction. The situation in Japan is more complex. When the private sector cannot spend and only save under deflation, the government must be the spender of the last resort. Thinking that way, we put forth a large-scale supplementary budget for the fiscal year of 2012. Public works are also important. Not only important, they are vital. Unless we spend more and do it now on the bridge, load and tunnels that are all more than 50 years old, at any given time they may fall apart. I know in the state you have exactly the same problem in the 1980s. I would also like you to remember what people said about Golden Gate Bridge, Huber Dam and so on. When constructed in the 1930s during the Roosevelt period, many people called them simply lavish and extravagant. However, more than 70 years after its creation, Huber Dam continues to draw more than a million visitors a year. Without that dam, Las Vegas would have been a very different place, I say. Without Golden Gate Bridge, the tourist economy in San Francisco would have been much smaller, I'm sure. So we are investing into our future generation when we do public works. That is my definition for public works. I also believe that our tax policy should play a bigger role. In Japan, interest rates and land prices are still extremely low, and yet the companies don't invest. Their capital investment will remain below their depreciation cost, again as a result of deflation. So my ministry introduced a new arrangement. Another new arrangement, if you buy a new machine and equipment for your domestic business expansion, you can get tax deduction or special depreciation. If you invest more in research and development, you can also get your tax reduced. Furthermore, if you hire more or pay more to your employees, you can get a tax benefit as well. Please also note that we do what we do in order to generate domestic demand, not to increase our export. Japanese economy exports only 11% to 13% of GDP. The number is bigger than that of US or Brazil, maybe. But smaller than all the rest is 192 nations all over the world. We are number three nations from below. Lower than Japan is US and Brazil, I think. The German and maybe 40% of its GDP out of the export, while China about 25%, for instance. There is another power we can use to invite more growth, that is the power of Sweden. Here Shinzo Abe and I are lucky as both of us are ex-Prior Ministers. He and I have met a whole bunch of CEOs and requested that they should remember their patriotism and hire more or pay more to their employees. It is working. For the first time in many years, an increasing number of companies are willing to pay more. However, getting rid of deflation mindset alone cannot warrant long-lasting recovery. We must lead people's expectations to sustainable economic growth. And for the purpose, we must address two downside risks. One, inflation without growth. Two, interest rate hike without growth. Let me address them one by one. Let's assume that you now have rising CPI, but you have no pay rise because your economy is not growing. That's a bad inflation. People should suffer then. It is right here. The sad bazooka should come into play. The sad bazooka, if you recall, is a package of growth enhancement policies. I know that it's hard to come by. I am not saying we can grow very easily. Still, it takes us only to look into Miller to see who we are. Then you realize you can do more. I know I sound like an optimist. I even believe that to lead your nation, you had better be an optimist rather than cynic or pessimist. One thing in common between Shinzo Abe and I is both of us are true believers in Japan's untapped resources. In that regard, call us an optimistic duo. See, for example, what Japan can offer. High-speed train, bullet train. The bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka runs with average delay time of 30 seconds, not a minute. Since its launch in 1964, the service has caused absolutely no human injury, not to mention the fighter accident. They are actually offering you magnetic levitation technology which could connect New York and Washington D.C. in 40 minutes, not 40 seconds, 40 minutes. Next, good for products. In my part of the world, from Singapore, Hong Kong, Grandon, China, Japanese rice, Japanese apple or Japanese sake and spirits are on high demand. I have said all the time to the farmers in Japan that they can make another Toyota, a giant export industry. Also, content industry. Manga, I hope you know this. This manga has become a French now, you know. Not English, French. Manga and animation, pop music and so on. Some of you may recall that as a foreign minister, I introduced Manga Award to be given to non-Japanese manga creators. Furthermore, some of the small companies in Japan are amazing. My favorite one, Okano in Tokyo, boasts a total monopoly in the market of injection needles. Why? It is only company that produces injection needles as sharp as the mouth of mosquito. In other words, you don't feel any pain. How many employees are there? Only six, including the president and his wife. Amazing. Few other countries have such unknown yet world-class craftsmen companies. Only in Japan you have family businesses whose roots date back to southern years ago. So the real challenge for government is this. To let go. We should simply let the companies shine themselves. That must be at the cost of our third bazooka. For further details, bear with me a couple of months more. We have set up an expert group. They will give us their proposal about the deregulation, innovation and other gross strategies. I am looking forward to the proposals. They are likely to be bold, something that could dramatically change the problems that were at the root of the inflation. In sum, to prevent bad inflation from taking shape, pursuit of gross policies is most important. What about the bad interest rate like hike, which is a second downside risk? It is evident that if we pursue only bold monetary easing, without putting our fiscal house in order, we would lose your confidence and trust. After all, in Japan, gross government debt exceeds 200% relative to GDP. Unless we pursue fiscal prudence, very much hard, there may be a sudden rise in the interest rate. No one will benefit from that, needless to say. However, you should not overly anxious. The truth is, there are only a handful of countries that can fund their entire government debt in their own currencies. Most of the countries must issue bonds denominated in currencies other than their own. Japan can finance its debt by issuing bonds in its own currency. Other such countries include Britain, Switzerland, and of course the US, United States of America. Only four countries in the whole world, I think. For them, what is most important is first of all to lay out the credible roadmap for reducing the debt and second of all to stick to the roadmap and win confidence from the market. In that regard, I am proud of the government agreement. Both ruling and opposition parties achieved last year. The agreement has become a bill. The bill enables the government to raise the rate of the consumption tax from 5% to 8% and then 8% to 10%. The first increase should take place in a year from now and the second in October 2015. No one wants to see tax rate becoming higher. Tax hike is the most unpopular thing to do for the politicians. I think it is the maturity of Japanese democracy that has made it possible for the parliament to pass that bill and I am proud of it. What is also remembering here is the fact that Governor Kuroda's massive easing was made possible on one condition. The government must pursue the fiscal prudence really hard. That is what we promised in the joint statement I mentioned earlier. Within the next two years, the BOJ will buy a huge amount of government bonds in a scale unthinkable so far. The market must become more nervous to see whether or not the government is committed is improving its fiscal situation. So far, the fiscal prudence is not a task for the future. It is a clear and present one that we ought to start tackling now rather than later. I am determined to facilitate the economic environment and raise the consumption tax rate as scheduled based on the provision on the Comprehensive Tax Reform Act. We must also address Japan's own entitlement reform to put the growth of the government expenditure in check. Previously, at the Toronto G20 meetings, Japan pledged fiscal consolidation together with other member nations. We stick to it. We aim at halving the primary balance deficit ratio to GDP by fiscal year 2015 from there in 2010. We also aim at achieving primary balance surplus by 2020. We are going to publish a medium term fiscal consolidation plan around the middle of this year. The second down the list of interest rate hike is avoidable. Abelomics should take a deep root again in order for the economy to seek sustainable growth. Finally, before the conclusion, let me say only a few words about what kind of country Japan ought to be. Japan must be a place where reward meets effort. Japan must be a place where risk takers can be given opportunities not just once but many times. Both of the former ministers represent that there is a chance for a second coming in Japan. Japan must be a place where animal spirit in the sense of John Maynard's cane used invites successes. Japan must be a place for innovation. Japan is now on cutting the edge of new medical technologies. To cite what Shinya Yamanaka, Nobel Prize winner, said, Japan is a country that is closest to bringing the stem cell technology to the bedside. That is about it, ladies and gentlemen. Once again, we are doing all that not only for the sake of the Japanese, but also to make our allies stronger. At the end of the day, the U.S. is the biggest democratic economy in Japan still the second. Together, we could do a lot. For us, the sky is the limit. Thank you very much for your patience. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm Michael Green from CSIS, and we're now going to take some questions. Twenty-five years ago, about this month, I went to work in the Japanese diet, and my then boss asked a young rising star named Aso Taro to make sure I didn't get in any trouble. He failed, but I was correctly informed that he was a rising star, and I was not told he would be Japan's Takahashi Kurekyo, let alone a skeet-shooting bazooka-wielding Takahashi Kurekyo. But it's a good thing for Japan, and for the world economy, he's on the job. Let me ask the first question about the third bazooka. I know you're waiting a few months. Is something happening in Japan in July? I know you're probably waiting until after the election and also gathering the views of experts. But could you say more about your personal philosophy or principles that would guide the third bazooka, long-term growth strategy? Prime Minister Aso mentioned women's empowerment when he was here, which could add considerable sustained economic growth, or deregulation of other things. What are some of the principles that you think about for that third bazooka? The third bazooka I'm talking about right now is a question I've been asking myself for a few months. I think it's more appropriate to ask the people who are making the bazooka directly. But I hope you can answer my question as far as I know. Regarding the third bazooka, perhaps this question might be better addressed to someone else than myself. I hope you can wait for another few months and hear directly from the people who are responsible for building the ideas right now, and you will be able to get the most accurate answer from them. But as far as I know, allow me to also try to answer the question. Well, at this moment, a large number of people are coming up with wonderful ideas in large numbers. And each of them has a number of ideas. I think it's more appropriate to ask the people who are making the bazooka to get the most accurate answer from them. I think it's more appropriate to ask the people who are making the bazooka with wonderful ideas in large numbers. And it mainly has to do with deregulation or regulatory form. Particularly, let me focus on the medical care area for the moment. For example, in Japan, there is already a production going on for producing nursing care robots. Because we already have the technology which enable people to just think something in their mindset, then it would drive the robot's arm in whatever direction that we would like to see them move. And already that type of technology has been developed in Japan. So the idea is to apply this fully to the use for the nursing care robots. But unfortunately, at this moment, we have a ministry called MAGLW, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, who knows nothing about the robot development system. Of course, they are good at developing drugs and pharmaceuticals. So what they are trying to do is to just apply directly the pharmaceutical oriented development system to the development of the nursing care robots. So many times over clinical trial and clinical experiments have to be performed so that by the time approval is given, the said robot will become highly outdated. So this is not the way to go. So we are going to introduce a new system to overcome this type of issue, for example. This robot is one example. For example, in Japan now, the water supply system, in almost all countries in the world, the private companies are running the water supply system, but in Japan, other than the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we cannot use this water supply system. However, there are 99.99% of the water supply system in Japan, except for the Japanese water supply companies. But all of these water supply systems are made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and all of these systems are made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So this robot is one example. Another example can be found in the water supply system. I think in the world, countries apart from Japan, having the private companies to run those systems, but in Japan, the whole preview belongs to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So this robot is one example. But in Japan, the whole preview belongs to the MIC, Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs and Communication. That is the exclusive area that they will influence on. But Japan is a country which is known for being successful in recovering 99.99% of the water charges. So almost most of them is revenue water, as opposed to non-revenue water. And those systems are run by either the state or the municipalities. So we hope that we can privatize these areas as well. It's just like a schooling facility. The public sector can construct the structures like schools, but we can let the private sector to run the facility. Thank you. Matthew? We have microphones and Matthew set an example by identifying himself. I'm Matthew Goodman here at CSIS. Thank you, Mr. Minister, for those compelling remarks. I have a question about the first arrow, Bazooka, but first I want to comment on your answer to Mike's question, because I think it was very helpful that you're specific in your answer to the question about the growth strategy. And I appreciate that. You like manga, and if I may cite the most famous American manga, Peanuts, there is a regular installment in Peanuts in which Charlie Brown faces his friend Lucy, and she's holding a football and encouraging him to come down and kick the football. And he wants to kick the football, but he doubts that she will hold it. He thinks she will take it away, because every year she takes it away and he lies on his back. He ends up on his back, flat on his back. And so I think a lot of us in Washington are like Charlie Brown. We want to believe, but there have been experiences in the past where the growth strategy has not been specific or has not been carried through. And so I think everyone is looking forward very much to this growth strategy and to the specific elements that are credible and that get carried through on. So that's my comment. The question is about the first arrow. Can you give us a little bit more flavor of the discussion today in the G20 about monetary stimulus, not just in Japan but in other advanced economies and the impact of that on global markets and whether there was a significant concern about that issue and any agreement to address monetary stimulus. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. With regard to this issue, in fact yesterday and today, G20 meetings have been held to which the finance ministers as well as central bank governors have attended. And the previous one was held in Moscow in February and the second one of which has been held just now in Washington. And as was asked in the question, of course, everyone wanted to know about the impact of the monetary easing policy for the banks in Japan because right now the interest rate on the JGB solo, it's at 0.5%, not 5% but 0.5%. So people were worried that it might induce a situation whereby a massive flow of the funds might end up in the emerging market economy. As for us, the three values of this meeting are basically the gap between Japan's inflation and the inflation. This is the target for us. Priority number one. The fact that the money will be cheap is simply a buy-product. So when we are talking about the three basic hours, the primary aim of which is to lift the Japanese economy out from the deflationary recession. That is precisely the priority number one for us. So if the yen might depreciate, then this is only a mere buy-product of the works that we are attempting to make. So these are the storylines that we've been saying to people who want to know more about our measures. And I think more or less understanding has been gained. May I just read out the paragraph 4 of the joint communique and perhaps I can gain your understanding on this. May I read them out? We have agreed that while progress has been made, fire reactions are required to make growth strong, sustainable and balanced. Some countries have taken steps to stimulate activity since we last met. Last met means Moscow. Last met. In particular, Japan's recent policy actions are intended to stop deflation and support domestic demand. I think the portion that I have just read out to you corresponds to the answer, which might be due to answer your question, which might have contained some doubts about our measures. Arthur? I'm Arthur Alexander. I teach Japan Economy at Georgetown, and you're making the subject interesting again. One of the interesting problems that you face, and I do not envy you, is you said the fiscal consolidations that you have made in the past are very different from what you've done in the past. And I think that's a good point. One of the interesting problems that you face, and I do not envy you, is you said the fiscal consolidation, the consumption tax will go up next year in the following year. And you're certainly aware that we'll take a big hit on consumption on income that will have a negative impact on the economy. And I'm wondering how you're balancing these two different issues of fiscal consolidation and demand. The question is, why do we think that we need to raise the unemployment rate to the highest level? That's one of the most important things that we can do to raise the unemployment rate. The question is, why do we think that we need to raise the unemployment rate to the highest level? I think you have hit on the most important points, because whenever we may try to increase the taxes, It does not necessarily result in increasing the tax revenue. We have known the actual examples which had happened in the past in many numbers. As a result, the increase in the tax revenue was reduced. As a result, the economy in Japan became worse. The tax revenue, tax revenue, tax revenue, and tax revenue increased to 41 trillion yen in the next year. In the next year, it was reduced to 37 trillion yen. 5 trillion yen should have been reduced to 4 trillion yen. That is our history. What we want to say now is that we have already paid enough attention. Back in 1997, when the consumption tax rate was raised from 3% to 5%, we initially thought that by doing this, we will receive the increase in the tax revenue by 5 trillion yen. However, it turned out to be that as a result of the tax increase, it had dampened the consumption by individuals. As a result of that, the economy had gotten worse. It used to be back in 1997 that the total tax revenue raised from the corporate tax, income tax, and consumption tax was 41 trillion yen. But in the following year, it was reduced down to 37 trillion yen. So we hoped that it would add on another 5 trillion yen to our tax revenue, but it didn't. Instead, we ended up losing 4 trillion yen. In the following year, last year, when the government, the local government, the government, the government, the government, the local government, and the local government signed an agreement with the government to increase the tax revenue by 18 trillion yen. In other words, it is said that if the economy is not good, it is said that if the economy is not good, it is said that it will not increase. It will be decided by October this year. If there is no good result until October this year, it is said that it will increase from April next year. The current situation is that we are thinking about such things. And last year, then the ruling party, DPJ, as well as LDP and Komei, were able to strike an agreement, have signed the agreement. And there was number 18th provision included in that document. And the government, the government, the local government, the local government, the local government, the other provision included in that document. And put it simply, what it meant was that we have to see, first of all, the pickup in the economy, otherwise no raise in the consumption tax would take place. And whether to do it or not will be decided by coming October. So by October, if we end up having a picked up economy, then we can raise the tax, but if it doesn't work out that well, then the timing of the raising of the said tax will be deferred to a later date. So as shown in these kind of responses, we have been seriously considering the implications of the tax increase. So if you ask me if we can make a decision right now to say definitely that taxation will be raised at this stage of March, we cannot say that definitely. We have to allow some more time to make sure that the economy would really get better, and then the judgment will be made, definitely. We have time for a very short question. Mr. Griggs in the middle here. Wait for the mic. I'm Chandler Griggs, student at Georgetown University. Thank you for speaking to us today. You mentioned the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a means for economic growth for Japan. I was just wondering about the agricultural sector, specifically rice, soy, wheat, beef, and milk, and how these domestic political pressures will influence the negotiations going forward. In what we have just said, the idea of making all of the imperfections zero is what we call TPP. I know that TPP initially started with an ideal that all the tariff has to be eliminated entirely. But for example, in the case of the United States, if we look at sugarcane, if it is liberalized 100 percent, then the sugarcane produces in the southern part of the United States will go down completely due to Mexico. Likewise, if the beef is liberalized 100 percent, then Australia's OG beef will be completely destroyed, and the US will lose its face. I don't think that will happen. Likewise, look at beef. If beef is liberalized 100 percent, then OG beef will take over for sure. So there is going to be no more cowboys left in the United States. That situation is totally, utterly inconceivable. And I know that any country has a sensitive issue to themselves. For example, the United States has been requesting Japan to do something about the automotive area because already Japanese tariff on the automobile is zero. But the United States would like to maintain the 25 percent tariff rate on the trucks and the 2.5 percent on the passenger cars. And this is a condition that the US has asked us to keep. For the agricultural industry, we are not sure how much we will be able to produce or how much we will be able to produce. But we are not sure how much we will be able to produce or how much we will be able to supply. Also, as a Japanese agricultural leader, for example, the first language of Japan is the same as the first language. The first language is 300 yen, or 350 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, or 300 yen, the same kind of agriculture has a very strong impact. In that sense, there are a lot of things related to agriculture. So now, what kind of things do we need to strengthen? Also, in terms of rice, in the end, thanks to the global warming, Hokkaido's rice used to be the representative of the bad rice, but now, the rice in Hokkaido is now the same as last year's rice and the same as last year's rice. After all, what does that mean? The difference between the rice that is in the average price of Hokkaido's agriculture is the lack of land, or the lack of land or the lack of land is 25 to 25 times more than the average price of Hokkaido's agriculture. So the rice that is made in that area has a strong impact. So the rice is moving northward and southward, and the contents of the agriculture are different. I think that it's going to flow. I don't know much about agriculture, but I think it's going to flow southward. That's what I think. Likewise, in regards to agriculture products offered by Japan, of course, from now on we have to decide which tar is should be imposed on which item in the agriculture. So we might decide eventually that some items I would qualify for subsidy and so forth. But there is a positive side to the agriculture as well. For example, look at strawberries produced by Japan. To us, it's just an ordinary strawberries, but one piece of a strawberry can claim price of 300 to 350 yen a piece in Shanghai or countries in the Arab area. For us, we hesitate that one package or packet of strawberry is sold at 300 yen, for example, but if the selling place is different then you can command a spectacularly high price. So one just piece of strawberry would be enjoyed much more in some of the countries in the world. So in this way farmers will have a way to make a profit out of the products that they make. So I think all depends on what agriculture product or item you are talking about. There are certain areas that definitely are competitive and can be raised and maintained. Unfortunately, in case of rice as well, thanks to the global warming, the Hokkaido which is the northernmost island in Japan is now enjoying the benefit as a result of it, as a result of able to grow a much more tasty rice. In the past, Hokkaido produced rice was known for most undelicious kinds of rice. No good reputation at all, but last year as well as one year before that Hokkaido produced rice has been given golden price for the excellence in their products consecutively. Why? Because in Hokkaido you can have on average much bigger paddy rice, paddy field to raise rice unlike Kyushu or Shikoku for example. Their cultivation area is 20 or 25 larger, 25 times larger than elsewhere. So in this way even rice could claim a much more high competitiveness and right now because of this climate change and so forth rice production area is really shifting toward northward much more so I think the areas in the south would be shifting their crops to much more in the fruits area like strawberries for example. So this is a flow that I see I'm not an expert on the agriculture, but since I live in the southern part of Japan and when I look around the areas around my residence I could tell that changes are occurring. Minister, thank you for a comprehensive concrete and candid presentation. We would appreciate it if you could give the minister and his delegation a chance to get to the airport and get on to their next appointment. We'll have copies of the speech available out front and also on our website, but first let's conclude. Please join me in expressing our appreciation.