The government has picked Sept. 1 as the start date of the Consumer Agency — two days after the Lower House election — by moving up the original schedule. Whichever political party comes to power, the new agency will face many difficult problems.

Strengthening of consumer service centers is urgent because they play an important role in collecting information on problems consumers have encountered. At present, there are 586 such centers at the prefectural and municipal levels. The government's goal is for each municipality with a population of 50,000 or more to have at least one consumer service center.

The Cabinet Office says that while there are 562 such municipalities, only 348 of them have such centers. Therefore more than 200 new centers must be established. The central government has secured about ¥26 billion to set up new centers and pay for salaries of consumer life counselors. Because the centers' operation is under the jurisdiction of local governments, the central government's policy does not automatically lead to an increase in the number of centers.

At present, there are about 2,700 consumer life counselors across the nation. But their status is unstable and their salaries are low, although they play important functions. They give advice to consumers and often mediate between consumers and sellers or producers when troubles crop up. They will also serve as eyes and ears of the Consumer Agency.

Because 98 percent of them are irregularly employed, their average annual income is only ¥1.65 million. The annual income of 70 percent of them is less than ¥2 million. Ninety percent of them work under a one-year contract. It is imperative that the central government take measures to stabilize the employment situation of consumer life counselors.

In their election manifestos, the Liberal Democratic Party calls for strengthening the consumer life consultation system at the local level, and the Democratic Party of Japan calls for drastically improving the salaries and other working conditions of counselors. They must live up to their promise after the election.