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Prime Minister Observes the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC)
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Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda visited product testing and safety training facilities run by the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC), an incorporated administrative agency, in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. At the facilities, various tests are conducted to help prevent accidents caused by products and equipment that could lead to injuries and deaths. The NCAC also provides information to help consumers to live safely and with a sense of reassurance.
After receiving an explanation of the product testing service in general, Prime Minister Fukuda observed actual tests, each for a varying case of accident: a small child, by mistake, got a finger cut by a paper shredder; hands got clamped in parts of baby carriages; and a fire accident caused by the spraying of an aerosol product was simulated. After completing the observation, Prime Minister Fukuda commented that, "I had heard about these accidents, but this was the first time that I had actually seen how they happen. The testing has been a fresh reminder that dangers can exist in apparently ordinary circumstances." Prime Minister Fukuda further referred to the NCAC's role in terms of the ongoing reform of incorporated administrative agencies. He said, "These services could be beyond the capacity of the private sector. Private entities could run the risk of being biased against certain corporations. I found importance in the neutrality of product testing and in having the results revealed to the public. We must value organizations like the NCAC in consideration of the lives of the people." |