ID :
79262
Thu, 09/10/2009 - 12:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/79262
The shortlink copeid
FOCUS: Consumer Affairs Agency gets off to shaky start
TOKYO, Sept. 9 Kyodo -
The Consumer Affairs Agency that began operations last week with the goal of
better protecting consumers has seen its debut overshadowed by political
confrontations over personnel choices and a lack of preparation.
In the first meeting Sept. 1 of the Consumer Commission, a new watchdog under
the Cabinet Office that works with the agency, Prime Minister Taro Aso said,
''The long-awaited Consumer Affairs Agency was inaugurated today without
incident.''
The agency, the first new administrative organ to be created since the
Environment Agency was established 38 years ago in 1971, was to be an
''achievement'' of the Aso Cabinet, but his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's
huge setback in the Aug. 30 general election changed that.
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan scored a landslide victory in
the election and its leader, Yukio Hatoyama, is expected to be chosen as Aso's
successor as prime minister on Sept. 16.
The new agency was initially scheduled to be inaugurated in October, but Aso
advanced its debut by one month and appointed Shunichi Uchida, former vice
minister of the Cabinet Office, as its first chief.
The appointment of the former bureaucrat angered the DPJ, which has pledged to
reduce the power of bureaucrats, and the party has said it will review the
appointment after a DPJ-led government is launched.
Seiko Noda, state minister in charge of consumer affairs, initially planned to
name prosecutor-turned-lawyer Hiroko Sumita as the first commission head, since
Sumita appears frequently on television would attract public attention.
But the Akita Bar Association and other bar associations across the country
issued statements raising concerns about the choice of Sumita, saying she does
not have sufficient experience in helping consumers.
In lectures on consumer problems, she defended herself, saying, ''I am annoyed
at being told that I don't have what it takes (to be head of the commission)
because I am a former prosecutor.''
But in the end she declined to accept the offer because of unexpected
opposition from the DPJ over the choice of commission members. Only one
candidate recommended by the DPJ was selected from among fewer than 10
representatives from the private sector.
Sumita's appointment was thrown into doubt on Aug. 26 when a preparatory
meeting unanimously decided to select the commission head in closed-door
voting. A commission member said, ''When the closed-door voting was set, the
possibility of the controversial Ms. Sumita being elected evaporated,''
suggesting there was an element of political bargaining involved in the
selection process.
The plan to create the agency was announced in 2008 by then Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda following a spate of scandals involving defective products such as
water heaters made by Paloma Industries Ltd. and falsely labeled foodstuffs
including ''gyoza'' dumplings made in China. The repercussions of these incidents
were made worse by the fact that information was not equally shared by the
ministries and agencies concerned.
But it was only in May this year that legislation for the establishment of the
agency was enacted. This is because a turf war involving the Ministry of
Economy, Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, and the Financial Services Agency delayed consultations about the
jurisdiction of the new agency.
Meanwhile, the creation of a nationwide hot line to feed the agency tips
directly from the public has not progressed as planned. Tsuneo Matsumoto,
chairman of the commission and dean of Hitotsubashi University Law School, told
a news conference. ''The fact that the hot line did not start Sept. 1 is a
typical example of lack of preparation.''
Mariko Sano, a commission member and head of the secretariat at the Shufuren
(Japan Housewives Association), said, ''Information that should reach consumers
is not yet reaching them. How should we be getting (accident and other
information) to the elderly and children? The government needs to act quickly
and set up a detailed public information mechanism.''
==Kyodo
The Consumer Affairs Agency that began operations last week with the goal of
better protecting consumers has seen its debut overshadowed by political
confrontations over personnel choices and a lack of preparation.
In the first meeting Sept. 1 of the Consumer Commission, a new watchdog under
the Cabinet Office that works with the agency, Prime Minister Taro Aso said,
''The long-awaited Consumer Affairs Agency was inaugurated today without
incident.''
The agency, the first new administrative organ to be created since the
Environment Agency was established 38 years ago in 1971, was to be an
''achievement'' of the Aso Cabinet, but his ruling Liberal Democratic Party's
huge setback in the Aug. 30 general election changed that.
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan scored a landslide victory in
the election and its leader, Yukio Hatoyama, is expected to be chosen as Aso's
successor as prime minister on Sept. 16.
The new agency was initially scheduled to be inaugurated in October, but Aso
advanced its debut by one month and appointed Shunichi Uchida, former vice
minister of the Cabinet Office, as its first chief.
The appointment of the former bureaucrat angered the DPJ, which has pledged to
reduce the power of bureaucrats, and the party has said it will review the
appointment after a DPJ-led government is launched.
Seiko Noda, state minister in charge of consumer affairs, initially planned to
name prosecutor-turned-lawyer Hiroko Sumita as the first commission head, since
Sumita appears frequently on television would attract public attention.
But the Akita Bar Association and other bar associations across the country
issued statements raising concerns about the choice of Sumita, saying she does
not have sufficient experience in helping consumers.
In lectures on consumer problems, she defended herself, saying, ''I am annoyed
at being told that I don't have what it takes (to be head of the commission)
because I am a former prosecutor.''
But in the end she declined to accept the offer because of unexpected
opposition from the DPJ over the choice of commission members. Only one
candidate recommended by the DPJ was selected from among fewer than 10
representatives from the private sector.
Sumita's appointment was thrown into doubt on Aug. 26 when a preparatory
meeting unanimously decided to select the commission head in closed-door
voting. A commission member said, ''When the closed-door voting was set, the
possibility of the controversial Ms. Sumita being elected evaporated,''
suggesting there was an element of political bargaining involved in the
selection process.
The plan to create the agency was announced in 2008 by then Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda following a spate of scandals involving defective products such as
water heaters made by Paloma Industries Ltd. and falsely labeled foodstuffs
including ''gyoza'' dumplings made in China. The repercussions of these incidents
were made worse by the fact that information was not equally shared by the
ministries and agencies concerned.
But it was only in May this year that legislation for the establishment of the
agency was enacted. This is because a turf war involving the Ministry of
Economy, Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, and the Financial Services Agency delayed consultations about the
jurisdiction of the new agency.
Meanwhile, the creation of a nationwide hot line to feed the agency tips
directly from the public has not progressed as planned. Tsuneo Matsumoto,
chairman of the commission and dean of Hitotsubashi University Law School, told
a news conference. ''The fact that the hot line did not start Sept. 1 is a
typical example of lack of preparation.''
Mariko Sano, a commission member and head of the secretariat at the Shufuren
(Japan Housewives Association), said, ''Information that should reach consumers
is not yet reaching them. How should we be getting (accident and other
information) to the elderly and children? The government needs to act quickly
and set up a detailed public information mechanism.''
==Kyodo
