Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
国土交通省
Kokudokōtsūshō

Central Government Building # 3: MLIT Headquarters
Agency overview
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Ministers responsible
Website http://www.mlit.go.jp

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (国土交通省 Kokudo-kōtsū-shō), abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.[1] It is responsible for one-third of all the laws and orders in Japan and the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, as well as the second-largest executive agency of the Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense. The ministry oversees four external agencies including the Japan Coast Guard and the Japan Tourism Agency.

Background

MLIT was established as part of the administrative reforms of January 6, 2001, which merged the Ministry of Transport (運輸省 Un'yu-shō), the Ministry of Construction (建設省 Kensetsu-shō), the Hokkaido Development Agency (北海道開発庁 Hokkaidō-kaihatsu-chō), and the National Land Agency (国土庁 Kokudo-chō). Before the ministry renamed itself on January 8, 2008, the ministry's English name was "Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport".[2]

Investigations

Highway tour bus companies

After a fatal bus accident on April 29, 2012 where a bus bound for Tokyo Disneyland crashed into a wall on the Kanetsu Expressway in Gunma Prefecture killing seven and injuring 39 others,[3] the ministry launched an investigation into highway bus companies. From May to June 2012 it carried out inspections and found that 250 of 298 companies (over 80%) violated the Road Transportation Law, with 48 companies breaching it seriously and one even lending its name to another company. Twenty-two companies broke the law by hiring drivers on a daily basis. Among them, 15 companies hired more than one driver this way, which the ministry considered a "serious violation." The largest number of drivers hired by a company in this fashion was eight.

192 companies were found to have broken the law by ignoring the maximum nine hours of work a day for drivers. It also found 118 companies did not give proper instructions and supervision to drivers, including the provision of safety education. Forty-eight companies did not perform roll call before their drivers started work, which should include an alcohol breath test. The ministry considered some of these violations as serious depending on their frequency and extent. "We would like to provide thorough instructions to the bus companies about their safety management," an official of the ministry's Road Transport Bureau said. The ministry was considering whether to punish the violators and publish the inspection results of bus companies that are organizing tours this summer on its website.[4]

New safety measures, due to come into effect as early as July 2012 prohibited travel agencies from brokering bus tours to third parties. In the April 29 crash, two companies acted as brokers between the tour organizer and the bus operator.[5]

Organization

MLIT is organized into the following bureaus:[1][6]

External agencies

Notes

  1. 1 2 国土交通省設置法, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. (Japanese)
  2. ↑ 冬柴大臣会見要旨（平成２０年１月８日）, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved on 2008-11-07. (Japanese)
  3. ↑ The Japan Times Bus crash in Gunma leaves seven dead, 39 injured April 30 2012 Retrieved on July 27, 2012
  4. ↑ 80% of tour bus firms found to violate laws, "Daily Yomiuri", July 20, 2012
  5. ↑ The Daily Yomiuri Travel agencies face curbs on bus tours July 27 2012 Retrieved on July 31, 2012
  6. ↑ The Organization of The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (As of July 1, 2011), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

External links

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Coordinates: 35°40′34″N 139°45′00″E / 35.676°N 139.750°E / 35.676; 139.750

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