Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on March 1 told House of Representatives Budget Committee directors belonging to the ruling parties that he would like "a robot speaker" to stand in for him during Diet debates.

The quip was reported by a guest at a dinner at the prime minister's official residence on March 1, after the fiscal 2016 draft budget passed the lower house. Abe apparently said he wanted the robotic proxy as he looked back on the budget deliberations, after the recent test run of a self-driving taxi came up in conversation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who was present at the dinner, drew a chuckle by saying, "He (Abe) would certainly be able to speak more calmly then."