Shrine Consolidation Policy
The Ministry of Home Affairs' Bureau of Shrines was responsible for implementing this policy. However, it seems that the Ministry's Regional Bureaus also played a role. These local bureaus were not willing to let local governments use public funds to support shrines below the prefectural level, which was one of the goals of merging shrines. This was because it would increase the financial burden on the local governments. Nevertheless, this was still included in the policy.