Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed Friday to compile “bold measures completely different from previous ones” to stop depopulation and shore up local economies.

He made the pledge at the first meeting of a new government task force on local revitalization, following a private-sector panel report in May that about a half of all municipalities in the country could disappear in the future due to sharp falls in population.

Abe said that the government will make all-out efforts to support local communities striving to rev up their economies and correct overconcentration of the population in Tokyo.

At the meeting, the task force adopted basic principles that include overcoming bureaucratic turf battles to back up local efforts.

To prevent wasteful spending, the task force will set specific numerical goals for local development and strictly examine policy outcomes.

It will also focus on job creation and other steps crucial for creating a better environment for young couples and parents.

By the end of this year, it will map out a five-year comprehensive local revitalization strategy through 2020 and a long-term vision for the next 50 years, based on discussions by a panel of experts to be launched soon.