Hatoyama says will study government reorganization after summer

TOKYO, Jan. 27 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday that the government will study a
reorganization of government ministries and agencies possibly after the House
of Councillors election in the summer as the current structure has become
outdated.
The government led by the Democratic Party of Japan will also submit a bill to
integrate the functions of kindergartens and nurseries, which are currently
separately administered under the education and welfare ministries, to the Diet
in fiscal 2011 and set up a child-family department at a relevant ministry,
Hatoyama said.
''We hope to review the role of all government agencies possibly after the
upper house election as the system has become outdated,'' Hatoyama said during
a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee. ''We need to firmly
study the matter.''
The prime minister later told reporters that while he has no specific timetable
for the reorganization of government agencies, ''I don't think we can do it
easily in just one or two years.''
''We will have discussions about what is the desirable nature of government
agencies and whether or not they have become too bloated, while valuing the
views of the general public,'' he said.
On the proposed integration of preschool functions, he said, ''It is necessary
to place greater importance on children,'' adding, ''Such a viewpoint has been
lacking so far''
The DPJ pledged in its manifesto for last year's election to set up a system
for the agile reorganization of government ministries and to consider creating
a child-family ministry for integrating preschool functions.
The government was last reorganized in 2001 into the Cabinet Office and 12
ministries and agencies.
==Kyodo