Bureaucrats in their 20s and 30s were apprehensive but upbeat Tuesday when work started in earnest following the biggest administrative shakeup since the end of World War II.

The governmental realignment reduced the number of ministries and agencies from 23 to 13, with Tuesday constituting the first working day for government officials under the new system following Monday's national holiday.

Masataka Kiyotake, 30, an official at the Environment Ministry, which was upgraded from its former status as an agency, said he is glad the government has clarified the position of environmental policymakers.

"Public expectations of environmental issues is growing. We'd like to make our presence felt by riding this wave," he said.

Takashi Yanagi, 35, who has been involved with the country's nuclear policies since joining the Science and Technology Agency in 1987, expressed regret that most of the agency's nuclear sections have been transferred out of the new entity -- the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Kanako Asato, 24, who worked at the Health and Welfare Ministry's Children and Family Bureau to promote legal measures to combat child abuse, meanwhile voiced concern regarding possible friction between the merged ministries, but remained optimistic. The Health and Labor ministries were merged to form the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

"Some say that the Health Ministry has absorbed the Labor Ministry and that it will be difficult to adjust to the Labor Ministry's pace. I guess this friction will last for the time being, although it will resolve itself sooner or later," she said.

A 25-year-old male official at the new Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which is housed in a new building, said, "At first it (the functioning of the merged bodies) may be jerky, but I'll just work hard to make the new system work smoothly."

Machi Doi, 31, a member of a nongovernmental organization who was hired to the Cabinet Office as a specialist on violence against women, said she is "honored" to work as part of the newly created body.

"I am honored because my grassroots activities were acknowledged despite a trend in which most people chosen from the private sector are male university professors. I'd like to take advantage of my experience and personal links," she said.

Similar optimism was voiced by 31-year-old Tomoko Terashima of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, who said she believes the new body can work efficiently to create an environment where people can work and raise children without anxiety.

Yukimi Kadowaki, 29, of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry, said the administrative reform is a good opportunity for bureaucrats to launch more ambitious projects.