| 厚生労働省 Kōsei-rōdō-shō | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2001 (2001) |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Jurisdiction | Government of Japan |
| Headquarters | 1-2-2Kasumigaseki,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo, 100-8916 Japan |
| Ministers responsible |
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| Website | mhlw.go.jp/english |
TheMinistry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省,Kōsei-rōdō-shō; lit. 'Ministry of Health and Labour';MHLW) is acabinet level ministry of theJapanese government. It is commonly known asKōrō-shō (厚労省) in Japan. The ministry provides services on health, labour and welfare.
It was formed with the merger of the former Ministry of Health and Welfare orKōsei-shō (厚生省) and the Ministry of Labour orRōdō-shō (労働省).
The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is a member of theCabinet and is chosen by thePrime Minister, typically from among members of theDiet.
The ministry contains the following sections as of 2019:[1]
After a fatal bus accident on April 29, 2012, where a bus bound forTokyo Disneyland crashed inGunma Prefecture killing seven and injuring 39 others,[2] the ministry launched an investigation into highway bus companies. Investigations were carried out at a total of 339 businesses. It was discovered that 95.6% (324 firms) were violating theLabor Standards Law and the Industrial Safety and Health Law. 219 businesses (64.6%) broke the law by having their drivers work behind the wheel more than the legal maximum of eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, or longer than what was agreed upon with theirlabour union. It also found 37 businesses, (10.9%), did not provide "at least one day off a week," which the law obliges employers to give their drivers. Also, it found that 260 (76.6%) did not observe standards involving bus driver working hours, which prohibit them from working more than 16 hours a day in combined driving and office time. The ministry said it took "corrective measures" with those who violated the laws.[3]
Published ministry employee and outspoken critic Moriyo Kimura states that the ministry's medical officers (ikei gikan) are "corrupt and self-serving." Kimura states that the officers, who number 250, have little experience and see no patients nor practice medicine after being hired by the ministry. Thus, says Kimura, Japan's public health policies lag behind other developed countries, by "decades".[4]
35°40′23″N139°45′11″E / 35.673°N 139.753°E /35.673; 139.753
