The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to integrate two labor-related entities into a new institute next year to better deal with unemployment problems, ministry sources said Friday.
Under the plan, the Japan Institute of Labor and the Personnel Training Institute will be merged in October 2003 to create a more policy-oriented research institute, the sources said.
The ministry plans to prepare a necessary bill for submission to the next extraordinary Diet session.
The JIL currently conducts research on labor problems, gathers information and sponsors symposiums inviting labor experts from abroad.
The Personnel Training Institute conducts training programs for staff of public employment security offices across Japan.