Japan's Abe pledges to address social welfare, diplomatic issues in policy speech

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech in Tokyo, Japan, Jan. 28, 2019. Shinzo Abe on Monday made a number of pledges including to create a viable social welfare system, deal with the impending impact of a planned tax hike and resolve a territorial dispute with Russia, and apologized for faulty surveys conducted by the labor ministry that hammered public trust. Abe's policy speech came on the first day of the new Diet session and set the tone and course for the prime minister as he starts to gear up to pitch to the electorate ahead of this summer's upper house elections. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)