Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined Wednesday a sweeping blueprint for rejuvenating Japan's ailing economy, calling for reforms to bring more women into the workforce, promote industrial innovation and coax cash-hoarding corporations into investing more. The strategies Abe sketched out in a speech form the third and most important plank in his "Abenomics" platform, which so far has focused on what he calls the first "two arrows" in his arsenal: loosening monetary policy and boosting public spending. He has promised structural reforms to underpin growth in the long run as Japan's population ages and shrinks, according to a report of the Associated Press. "Now is the time for Japan to be an engine for world economic recovery," Abe said. "Japanese business, what is being asked is that you speed up. Do not fear risk, be determined and use your capacity for action."
