A declining birthrate and aging population, a declining population, financial deficits, and various other problems are now facing Japan. These problems cannot be solved by a single ministry but only by several ministries or agencies cooperating with one another. Moreover, the "role of leading the ministry," by coordinating efforts among such ministries and agencies and making ministerial decisions is played by the "Minister's Secretariat."
The breakdown of the specific affairs is as follows. Firstly, the MIC publishes its important challenges to citizens each year and coordinates deliberation efforts between ministries and agencies and within the ministry in order to organize the actions to be taken and to determine which way the ministry ought to be headed in planning and drafting various policies. For example, through various conferences set up in the Cabinet Secretariat and other entities, important policies are deliberated on by various ministries. The conferences involved in by the MIC as part of its service covers the Economic and Financial Consultation Conference, the Regulation Reforms Conference, and the Declining Birthrate Combating Conference, along with social security program reforms and other urgent challenges at the current times, thereby covering a wide range. In planning and drafting solutions for these purposes, the MS joins the policy-making process of the entire government on behalf of the ministry.

In reflecting any planned and drafted policy on a specific law, likewise, the MS plays the "role of leading" the entire ministry in drafting bills and in Diet-related tasks. More specifically, the MS conducts its examination: namely, it examines the huge quantities of official documents and bills drafted within the ministry to see whether they conform to its policies, whether the regulations match one another well and whether the expressions are appropriate, thereby checking all the details. Moreover, the MS serves as the contact for receiving consultations from other ministries and agencies regarding laws and, conversely, as the contact for the MIC when the latter wishes to consult other ministries and agencies.
Other roles of the MS include sponsoring ministerial conferences consisting of ministers and other ministerial executives and liaison meetings between the MS and each department or bureau to ensure smooth communication within the entire ministry. In so doing, the MS is in charge of the key points in the ministry's decision-making.

The MS is in a position not only to lead but also to operate the whole of the ministry. By arranging and training the right personnel for the right positions, thereby upgrading their capabilities and improving their welfare, the MS builds an environment in which the personnel concerned can acquire an even higher education and work in a correct and lively manner. Another important role of the MS is to coordinate the organization of the entire MIC and the full number of personnel and to make budget requests for implementing the policies of the MIC, in order to ensure the ministry is organized in a manner in line with the current times and environment.
Moreover, to ensure an efficient and higher-quality administration, the MS assesses the policies of the MIC and makes administrative practices clear-cut by enhancing its website and otherwise providing active public relations.
The MS also manages operations for the Public Foundation for Peace and Consolation to provide memorial and peace for general war victims affected by air raids and other attacks during World War II and to console those not entitled to pensions because of insufficient years of military service, those forcibly detained in Siberia after the war, and those who returned home from abroad after the war.

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