Bureaucracy appears unruffled by DPJ's sweeping victory

Monday 31st August, 02:27 AM JST

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15 Comments

thepro at 12:31 PM JST - 31st August

Bureaucracy appears unruffled by DPJ's sweeping victory

Hopefully not because they will just continue doing whatever they want to do
DeepAir65 at 01:04 PM JST - 31st August

‘‘All we have to do is to follow the policy of our new head.’’

which plans to cut down on bureaucracy so things could get interesting for them...
timorborder at 01:12 PM JST - 31st August

I think the bureaucrats saw the writing on the wall some time ago. As such, there have been feelers put out by various people (often through bureaucratic contacts that have gone into politics) to make sure that the Democratic Party does not rock the boat too much. Furthermore, it has to be realized that in a country where ministers have traditionally be appointed only for short periods of time, the real policy expertise lies with the bureaucrats that feed the politicians with information (and regulate such information). That being said, however, I would expect the Democratic Party to make a few high profile changes once it assumes power in order to at least project the image of it controlling the bureaucracy.
cruxman2001 at 01:53 PM JST - 31st August

Sorry, but it's because they will just continue doing whatever they want to do.

Watch "Yes Minister" and multiply the bureaucrats' power by 10. The DJP will not know who to call, what offices do what, what procedures to follow, and the civil service will not be quick to tell them.

I actually know a guy who was moved from one department into another under Koizumi, and because he was seen as a Koizumi spy, he couldn't even get his parking validated for over 2 months. Had to buy his own office supplies because there were "problems with paperwork and requisitions".

Unless the DJP has the paper-pushers on board, they are screwed.
Altria at 01:55 PM JST - 31st August

Let's see how unruffled they are after a 50% PAY CUT!!!111
NeoJamal at 02:07 PM JST - 31st August

A lot of house training scheduled ahead of business no doubt.
neganip at 02:32 PM JST - 31st August

i think its time for these scarecrows to start counting their pennies.
HalcyonDaze at 02:34 PM JST - 31st August

Speaking of "Yes Minister", I'm reminded of Sir Humphrey's comment that "the business of government is too important to be left in the hands of politicians" (or words to that effect). Especially looking at Japan's bumbling line-up, I think he may have been right!

Japan's stone-age bureaucracy obviously needs a huge shake-up but the reality is that politicians have neither the time nor the expertise to actually formulate the details of their policies, let alone implement them.

Everyone loves to give the bureaucrats a good bashing but, like it or not, they're a necessary evil.
Mookoo at 03:34 PM JST - 31st August

As a lot of DJP members are refugees from the LDP, they will at least have a good basic grasp on the operations of the bureaucracy. It won't be all sweetness and light between the two groups, but with careful tactics coming from a sound strategy, the Todai terds can be brought to heel...

Walkies!
onewrldoneppl at 04:10 PM JST - 31st August

Altria at 01:55 PM JST - 31st August Let's see how unruffled they are after a 50% PAY CUT!!!111

here! here! and let's cut those perks and benefits too! let them start payin'rent like the rest of us. get rid of their summer/winter bonuses too!
warispeace at 04:22 PM JST - 31st August

Whether it's the politicians or the bureaucrats, they all will learn to bow to their corporate masters and continue to create policies and funding schemes that benefit the haves more than the have-less and the have-nots. The most we can hope for is disparity growing at a slower rate.
frontandcentre at 04:25 PM JST - 31st August

I quite agree that the bureaucracy is too powerful in Japan (as everywhere), however, for much of the post-war period they managed to do pretty well in terms of overall results, didn't they?

For many business sectors, bureaucracy is not the swear-word eponymous with overbearing regulation that it is in many western economies. This is because the level of consultation between big business and government is still quite high, and so business can help to shape favourable policies.

The problem is if the DPJ stick with their policy to focus on encouraging SMEs - which arguably is a necessary process to reform the economy towards being a more modern and effective service-based economy. It is much easier for the Ministries to deal with a few big business groups or trade organisations than a broad range of diversified views from smaller companies with conflicting aims and new business models.
blvtzpk at 05:00 PM JST - 31st August

When reading this, I could only think about comparisons to Yes, Minister, as my learned colleagues above have done. Very apt. If you haven't seen it, and you're interested in politics, you should - some very astute commentary on the Westminster, bureaucrat-dominated system of government.
herefornow at 05:21 PM JST - 31st August

frontandcentre -- not so fast. Sure, the bureaucracy has done a reasonably good job of helping to build Japan Inc. over the years, mostly by creating a lot of protectionist legislation, keeping interest rates low and manipulating the exchange rate. But, now that coziness has come home to roost, and these policies are to blame for much of Japan's current woes. Japan's domestic economy is woefully inefficient and, as a result, domestic demand is weak. Likewise, foreign investment in Japan has been negative for several years, mainly due to the oppressive regulations and problems trying to open a business here. Finally, while interest rates have been low, the total carrying costs of all the debt amassed by these bureaucrats is now equal to the actual government spending -- at about 22.0 trillion yen. Not to mention the huge waste and outright fraud done by thousands of these guys -- or have you missed all the stories about all the time spent on union activities during work hours, in violation of the law. Sorry, but, in my opinion, over the last dozen yaers or so, the buraucrats have done nothing but work to help feather their own nest and keep their power -- at Japan's great expense. I hope that in five years we'll never hear the expression "elite bueaucrat" again. Because bureaucrats should never be elite -- they all public servants afterall.
Beelzebub at 06:00 PM JST - 31st August

‘‘It’s just like when the president changes in a private company,’’ said a high-ranking Finance Ministry official, who refused to be named. ‘‘All we have to do is to follow the policy of our new head.’’

Ho, ho, ho. It's more like, "All we have to do is trick our new head into believing we're following his policy, when actually we do what we've always done."