Japan's new Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has pledged to earn the public's understanding and empathy and to ensure the country's safety, security and prosperity.

Ishiba made the vow in his first policy speech at a plenary session of the Lower House of the Diet on Friday.

Starting his address by saying that he will give his all to protect Japan and its future, he promised to work to regain public trust in politics in the wake of the political funding scandal of his Liberal Democratic Party.

On diplomacy and security, Ishiba said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East are deepening global division and confrontation.
He vowed to increase the number of friendly and like-minded countries based on the Japan-US alliance to achieve Japan's peace and regional stability.

He also called for stronger and wide-ranging cooperation with South Korea ahead of their 60th anniversary of normalizing diplomatic relations next year.

Ishiba said Japan will continue to communicate with China on every level, but noted that Beijing is stepping up unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and elsewhere.

He indicated that Japan will say what it needs to say, while urging China to build constructive and stable relations to address common challenges.

He also said North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens is a top priority, and pledged that the government will work to bring back all the abductees as soon as possible.

Ishiba said Japan is facing the toughest and most complex international situation in the postwar era, and that the country needs to comprehensively strengthen its defense capabilities.

He unveiled a plan of creating a ministerial task force, headed by himself, to improve the working conditions of Self-Defense Force personnel.

He said the government will continue trying to reduce Okinawa Prefecture's burden of hosting US military facilities and to revitalize its economy.

On Japan's economy, the prime minister vowed to pull the country out of deflation, and to make its economy and state finances more resilient to crises.

He promised that the government will implement measures to enable pay hikes to consistently outpace inflation. He also expressed hope of raising the national average minimum wage to 1,500 yen, or roughly 10 US dollars, by the end of the decade.

Ishiba added that the government will swiftly draw up policies to realize economic growth driven by pay increases and investment, while providing support for low-income households that are vulnerable to rising prices.

As a longtime advocate of regional revitalization, Ishiba said local economies are the driving force for growth and announced his aim of doubling the grant for revitalization projects.

He also expressed his intention to significantly increase the budget and personnel in charge of disaster management at the Cabinet Office, while also starting work to establish a disaster management agency with a full-time minister as its head.

To conclude his speech, Ishiba quoted the late Japanese foreign minister Watanabe Michio who said the job of a politician is to speak truth with courage and sincerity.

He said he was impressed by this remark before becoming a lawmaker and reiterated that he will work tirelessly to protect the country and its future.