People's trust in the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has fallen due to various problems such as a shortage of doctors, especially obstetricians, pediatrics and emergency specialists, irregularities related to pension premium payments records and confusion linked to the health insurance system for people age 65 or over. After months of discussion, a government panel has issued its final report on desirable health, labor and welfare administration. Unfortunately, its review and proposals are mainly written in general terms and are too shallow.
The discussions of the panel, established in August 2008 by then Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, focused on what changes have to be made to the ministry's structure. Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, aware of the problem, said that his ministry, established in 2001 through a merger of the Health and Welfare Ministry and the Labor Ministry, is too big to carry out efficient administration.
The panel's final paper proposed the establishment of a policy promotion conference to assist the minister and the creation of a headquarters to carry out unified policies to cope with the declining birthrate. The rapid graying of the population and the declining birthrate have spawned a large number of problems that must be tackled by the ministry. The panel did not sufficiently delve into the question of what kinds of new organizations are needed and what kinds of concrete roles they should fulfill.