The Japanese mental health community is going through a series of major reforms initiated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan. As of 2013, mental disorder was included as the fifth priority national disease in the Regional Healthcare Strategic Plan. In the same year, the Act on Mental Health and Welfare of People with Mental Disorders was revised for the first time since 1999, and enacted on 1 April, 2014, aiming to promote community-based mental health, among others.
 With this as a background, this article aims to inform the next generation of psychiatrists regarding: 1) the process in which mental health reform takes place at the government level, 2) the role of medical officers instrumental in promoting such reform processes, and 3) an overview of the recent mental reform, with a focus on ministerial guidelines envisioning future directions.
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