Gov't to launch Consumer Affairs Agency on Sept. 1+

TOKYO, Aug. 11 Kyodo -
The government decided Tuesday to launch the Consumer Affairs Agency, a new
government body aimed at better serving consumer interests following a spate of
food-related scandals in Japan, on Sept. 1.

At a Cabinet meeting, the government also decided to launch the Consumer
Commission, a watchdog body under the Cabinet Office that will work alongside
the agency in protecting consumers, the same day.
The government has already announced major personnel picks, including a former
senior bureaucrat as the first agency chief. But the main opposition Democratic
Party of Japan has opposed the lineup and launch of the agency so soon after
the Aug. 30 general election.
''I understand the request that we should listen to the opinions of the
opposition, but given the people's strong desire (for the agency), we decided
to start (the agency) as soon as possible on Sept. 1,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary
Takeo Kawamura told a news conference Tuesday.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada suggested the same day that if the DPJ
gains power through the election, which opinion polls suggest it will win, it
would reconsider the personnel and how the agency should be run.
Former Cabinet Office vice minister Shunichi Uchida has been chosen to head the
agency, while Hiroko Sumita, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, has been designated as
head of the commission.
As Japan's command-and-control center on consumer affairs, the agency will be
authorized to give instructions and recommendations to ministries and agencies
on the matter. It will also be tasked with preparing legislation to better
protect consumers.
The planned establishment of the agency follows a rash of scandals involving
defective products and falsely labeled foods that gave rise to criticism that
the government remains focused on the needs of manufacturers rather than of
consumers.
A law concerning the agency's establishment was enacted in May. The government
had been preparing to launch the agency around October, but Prime Minister Taro
Aso later told officials to launch it sooner.
Last week, a DPJ member in charge of consumer affairs requested that the
agency's inauguration be delayed, but Kawamura rejected the request, saying
that Aso wanted it launched on Sept. 1.
==Kyodo