We may say that the basis of life which many people desire is having a regular job and stable salary as well as receiving welfare and medical care with peace of mind. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare comprehensively promotes measures which are close to people's lives, such as social welfare, social security, public health, the development of working environment, employment stability and human resources development.

Issues that the Ministry has been tackling in recent years include countermeasures to the declining birthrate, the realization of an aging society with vitality, support for making work compatible with child-care and nursing care and comprehensive health-promoting measures in workplaces and communities.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, established by the integration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Labour in 2001 has the advantage of comprehensively developing an administration of both social security policy and labor policy in the years of rapid changes.