Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

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2nd Building of the Central Common Government Office, the building which houses the ministry

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務省, Sōmushō^?) is a cabinet-level ministry in the government of Japan. The English name Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) was used prior to 2004. It is housed in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Office at 2-1-2 Kasumigasaeki in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.^[1]

The purpose of this ministry is to oversee improvements to the Japanese administrative organization and civil servant system, manage local governments, elections, telecommunication, posts, governmental statistics and all concerning national basic system^{[clarification needed]}.

It was created on January 6, 2001 by the merger of the Ministry of Home Affairs (自治省), the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT, 郵政省) and the Management and Coordination Agency (総務庁).

The Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications (総務大臣, Sōmu Daijin^?) is appointed from among the members of the cabinet. Kazuhiro Haraguchi currently holds this post.