The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday held its first meeting to discuss possible measures to prevent similar incidents to last week's massacre of eight schoolchildren by a man with a history of psychiatric illness.
During the meeting, former Justice Minister Okiharu Yasuoka said Japan should improve the level of medical treatment for mentally ill patients.
He said doctors' fees for mentally ill patients, currently lower than those of other fields, should be raised in an effort to attract more highly skilled psychiatrists.