Japan's Prime Minister Considers Promoting Minister Of MHLW To Vice Prime Minister
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
To strengthen the administrative function of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare amid several scandals, the Japanese government is considering a proposal to promote the minister of MHLW to vice prime minister, and the two vice ministers to cabinet level officers. The three minister system will allow administrative duty sharing and aims to restore public confidence. According to the proposal, the establishment of a vice prime minister is to tackle many issues that can not be handled solely by the ministry, and since the volume of tasks has grown significantly, it is necessary to have more top ministry administrators to share some of the duties in pension and social insurance matters. The proposal is estimated to be implemented this summer, when Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda shuffles his Cabinet. (Click here for more - Japanese language) "A Proposal To Restore Public Confidence Considers Minister Of MHLW To Become Vice Prime Minister" - Sankei News (6/25/08)