Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe outlined his long-awaited growth strategy on Tuesday spearheaded by promises of expanded childcare to bring more women into the workforce and an investment boom.

Abe said his "third arrow" of reforms would revitalise the economy and restore the country's global competitiveness.

The plan, approved by the Japanesecabinet earlier in the day, includes dozens of proposed changes to labour regulations, government pension fund investments, corporate governance and tax policies that Abe says are needed to spur corporate investment and innovation.

"We have revved up our growth strategy," Abe told a news conference. "We must do our utmost to ensure this recovery plan reaches all parts of the country."

Abe has already fired his first two "arrows" since taking office 18 moths ago, pushing through a series of spending cuts and tax rises coupled with hiring a new central bank governor with a mission to cut interest rates and drive down the exchange rate.

But critics described the latest measures as resembling a dart more than an arrow with few of the more than 230 proposals likely to take effect, or have the desired impact, given resistance to change in Japan's business world and bureaucracy.

Investors have pushed share prices up in recent weeks after they languished earlier in the year, in anticipation of the beefed up growth plan. On Tuesday, the benchmark Nikkei stock index edged up 0.1%.

Among the most important of the reform measures is a cut to the corporate tax to below 30% from the current level of over 35%, promised for next year.

To counter labour shortages due to the aging population and low birthrate, it also includes measures to promote greater gender equality and greater use of foreign labour and robots. It also calls for looser restrictions on white-collar overtime.