In order to observe firsthand the state of implementation of the long-term care insurance system inaugurated on April 1, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori observed welfare facilities for the aged and talked with people involved in the provision of long-term care insurance services. The Prime Minister, accompanied by Minister of Health and Welfare Yuya Niwa and Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Health and Welfare Yuriko Ono, visited Shisei Home, comprehensive welfare facilities for the elderly in Tachikawa City, Tokyo (director : Mr.Masaaki Hashimoto). As staff members showed the Prime Minister around the nursing home and the day-care service center, he listened to the voices of elderly people using the facilities and spoke to them encouragingly. The Prime Minister also visited the Tachikawa City Office, where officials briefed him on implementation of the long-term care insurance system, after which he conversed earnestly with the municipal officials and service providers and with members of users' families.