Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Masashi Nakano
Abstract
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) is the Cabinet ministry that deals with policy issues directly related to people’s lives, centered on social security such as pensions and medical care. This chapter describes the organizational characteristics of the MHLW: historically understood as being too large, the diverse composition of its staff, the fact that it is the only central government agency that has a female administrative vice-minister, the goals of the organization, and policy issues. In addition, the chapter will examine the long working hours of staff as an organizational and personnel issue. In recent years, the work of the MHLW has increased dramatically as a result of the need to respond to COVID-19. Long working hours have become a major problem due to the lack of sufficient personnel. Under these circumstances, the chapter will also discuss how young employees have made proposals to reduce working hours.