Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

A national administrative agency established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare Establishment Act based on the National Administrative Organization Act. It was established in 1938 (Showa 13), and was integrated into the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare along with the Ministry of Labor in 2001 (Heisei 13) as part of the central government reorganization.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare was responsible for national administration related to the improvement and promotion of social welfare, social security, and public health, and was one of the important administrative agencies involved in guaranteeing and realizing the people's right to live and the right to live (Article 25 of the Constitution). The specific duties of the Ministry were public health, pharmaceutical affairs, narcotics, and cannabis control, social work, disaster relief, and other protection and guidance for the people's lives, promotion of child and maternal welfare, affairs and projects related to social insurance (excluding those under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor), affairs and projects related to the national pension, and affairs related to population issues. In addition, it was responsible for repatriation support, support for war-wounded and sick people, surviving families of war dead, and families of those who did not return home, and the clearing up of remaining affairs such as the demobilization of former army and navy personnel.

In addition to the Minister's Secretariat, the internal bureaus included the Health Policy Bureau, the Health and Medical Affairs Bureau, the Public Health Bureau, the Pharmaceutical and Medical Safety Bureau, the Social and Assistance Bureau, the Elderly Health and Welfare Bureau, the Children and Families Bureau, the Insurance Bureau, and the Pension Bureau, while the facilities and organizations included the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the Quarantine Stations, the National Hospitals, the National Sanatoriums, the National Cancer Center (now the National Cancer Research Center), and the National Institute of Health Sciences, and furthermore the councils and councils included the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, the Social Insurance Examination Board, the Central Social Welfare Council, and the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council. In addition, the regional branch bureaus included the Regional Medical Affairs Bureaus (7 locations) and the Regional Narcotics Control Offices (8 locations), and the external bureau was the Social Insurance Agency.

Since 2001, as part of the reorganization of central ministries and agencies, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has been reorganized as follows: With regard to its internal bureaus, most of the functions of the Minister's Secretariat have been taken over by the Minister's Secretariat of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, but some of them have been taken over by the Director-General for Policy, which is an internal bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Social and Assistance Bureau, the Insurance Bureau, and the Pension Bureau have been taken over as internal bureaus of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the Health Policy Bureau, the Health and Medical Affairs Bureau, the Pharmaceutical and Medical Safety Bureau, and the Elderly Health and Welfare Bureau have been taken over by the Medical Affairs Bureau, the Health Bureau, the Pharmaceutical and Medical Affairs Bureau, and the Elderly Disability Services Bureau, which are internal bureaus of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, respectively; the Environmental Sanitation Bureau, those related to waste management, have been taken over by the Ministry of the Environment, and the rest of its functions have been taken over by the Health Bureau and the Pharmaceutical and Medical Affairs Bureau, which are internal bureaus of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In addition, the Child and Families Bureau has been merged with the Women's Bureau of the Ministry of Labor and taken over by the Employment Equality and Child and Families Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. As for facilities and organizations, national hospitals, national sanatoriums, etc. were taken over as they were by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's facilities and organizations, and as for councils and councils, the Central Social Welfare Council, along with the Central Child Welfare Council, was taken over by the Social Security Council, a council of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, and the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council, along with the Food Sanitation Investigation Council, was taken over by the Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, but the Central Social Insurance Medical Council and the Social Insurance Examination Board continued to carry on their previous functions as councils of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. As for the Social Insurance Agency, it was placed as an external bureau of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and continued to carry on its previous functions.

[Toshiro Fuka and Kengo Yamada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

国家行政組織法に基づき、厚生省設置法によって設置された国の行政機関。1938年（昭和13）に設置され、2001年（平成13）の中央省庁再編により、労働省とともに厚生労働省に統合された。

　厚生省は、社会福祉・社会保障および公衆衛生の向上・増進に関する国の行政を担当し、総じて、国民の生活権や生存権（憲法25条）の保障と実現にかかわる重要な行政機関の一つであった。このような任務の具体的内容は、国民の保健、薬事ならびに麻薬および大麻の取締り、社会事業・災害救助その他国民生活の保護指導、児童および母性の福祉の増進、社会保険に関する事務・事業（ただし労働省の所管に属するものを除く）、国民年金に関する事務・事業、人口問題に関する事務、となっており、加えて、引揚援護、戦傷病者・戦没者遺族・未帰還者留守家族等の援護、および、旧陸海軍関係者の復員などの残務整理などであった。

　内部部局として、大臣官房のほか、健康政策局、保健医療局、生活衛生局、医薬安全局、社会・援護局、老人保健福祉局、児童家庭局、保険局、年金局が置かれ、施設等機関として、社会保障・人口問題研究所、国立感染症研究所、検疫所、国立病院、国立療養所、国立がんセンター（現、国立がん研究センター）、国立医薬品食品衛生研究所などが置かれ、さらに審議会等として、中央社会保険医療協議会、社会保険審査会、中央社会福祉審議会、中央薬事審議会などが設置されていた。なお、地方支分部局として、地方医務局（7か所）および地区麻薬取締官事務所（8か所）が、また外局として社会保険庁があった。

　2001年以降、中央省庁再編により、厚生省の組織は次のように再編された。内部部局に関しては、大臣官房の有する機能のほとんどが、厚生労働省の大臣官房に引き継がれたが、その一部は、厚生労働省の内部部局である政策統括官に引き継がれ、社会・援護局、保険局、年金局については、厚生労働省の内部部局としてそのまま引き継がれ、健康政策局、保健医療局、医薬安全局、老人保健福祉局は、厚生労働省の内部部局である医政局、健康局、医薬局、および老健局にそれぞれ引き継がれ、生活衛生局については、廃棄物行政に関するものは環境省に、それ以外のものについては、厚生労働省の内部部局である健康局、医薬局に引き継がれた。また、児童家庭局については、労働省の女性局と統合され、厚生労働省の雇用均等・児童家庭局に引き継がれた。施設等機関に関しては、国立病院、国立療養所等については、厚生労働省の施設等機関にそのまま引き継がれ、審議会等に関しては、中央社会福祉審議会は、中央児童福祉審議会などとともに、厚生労働省の審議会等である社会保障審議会に、中央薬事審議会は、食品衛生調査会とともに厚生労働省の薬事・食品衛生審議会に引き継がれたが、中央社会保険医療協議会や社会保険審査会は、そのまま厚生労働省の審議会等として従来の機能を引き継いだ。また社会保険庁に関しては、厚生労働省の外局として置かれ、従来の機能を引き継いだ。

［福家俊朗・山田健吾］

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