TOKYO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday vowed to revitalize the country that was facing serious population declines in a New Year's message.

In the message, Ishiba called Japan's declining population a "silent emergency," expressing a sense of crisis at the diminishing vitality of the country's economy and regional areas.

"We will restore vitality to Japan as a whole," Ishiba said, reiterating his push to revitalize regional areas and address the excessive concentration of population and industry in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

The prime minister also pledged to help promote pay hikes and corporate capital spending in order to create a "growth-driven economy" led by wage increases and investment.

Ishiba added that the government will make "the utmost possible preparations" for natural disasters and accelerate work to establish a disaster management agency. Enditem

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