Mizuho Fukushima, the new state minister in charge of consumer affairs and reversing the low birthrate, said her job is to prioritize policies that directly affect the public's livelihood and to make sure the new Consumer Affairs Agency is effective.
Fukushima, who also heads the Social Democratic Party, said efficient handling of the the information flowing into the agency will be key for its smooth operation.
"The greatest problem has been the vertically divided administrative system that prevented information from being centralized," she said during a recent group interview.