Study records more than twofold gap in outpatient medical costs across 10 Kasumigaseki ministries

Comparing monthly ministry costs adjusted for age and sex

A research group examined outpatient medical costs and parliamentary-response work among national civil servants at the headquarters of 10 ministries in Kasumigaseki.

For 2016–2023, adjusted monthly costs per person ranged from ¥2,374 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ¥5,125 at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The report also found that ministries with 1% longer deliberation time in the relevant standing parliamentary committees per employee had 0.25% higher outpatient medical costs.

The study does not provide a before-and-after comparison of medical costs or parliamentary workload within individual ministries.

The analysis newly reports more than a twofold ministry-level spread in age- and sex-adjusted outpatient medical costs, alongside an association with parliamentary deliberation time per employee.

The workload–cost relationship is observational

The finding identifies a ministry-level variation in outpatient medical costs and a workload-related association that could inform consideration of health support for civil servants. It is an ecological, observational relationship and does not establish that parliamentary workload causes higher medical costs.