Gov't to ban bureaucrats retiring early in 'amakudari' practice

Tuesday 29th September, 06:51 AM JST

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15 Comments

sillygirl at 07:10 AM JST - 29th September

this is such a joke. this practice has supposedly been "banned" since i have been in this country almost 20 years. i guess this is what "in principle" means.
NuckinFutz at 09:51 AM JST - 29th September

While they're at it here's another idea. Once you have been Prime Minister, or a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet and one of the following happens:

a. Your term expires (highly unlikely these days) b. Your resign for whatever reason (got a good record of these in the last 5 years!) c. You're forced from office as part of a scandal and think getting out will keep you from going to jail (it usually does)

YOU SHOULD RETIRE FROM POLITICS AND NEVER BE SEEN OR HEARD FROM AGAIN!
GW at 10:38 AM JST - 29th September

these public employees who openly funnel(ie STEAL MY TAXES) YEN to these entities shud be investigated & jailed long before they get the chance to do amakudari.

These #%$holes are nothing but crooks, they shud be prosecuted & jailed as such! Talk about a pipe dream!
bogva at 10:46 AM JST - 29th September

I always wondered what "retire" means in the Japanese society?

All those bureaucrats "retire" at age 60 and get fat 2-3 year bonus for their "well done" service. Thats 2-3 year of their FAT salaries, not the average salaries and taken from tax payers money.

Then they "switch" to warm places as "advisers" to companies they've overseen while serving the public! So actually they don't retire!

It's good move from DPJ but I would go further by stopping the "retirement" money! Even 65 year old is still quite productive so he shouldn't be stopped to find new job in a different from his former jurisdiction field!
Wakarimasen at 11:22 AM JST - 29th September

Let's see if this really happens - currently only "in principle" and "probing".
fds at 11:23 AM JST - 29th September

what the government needs is conflicts of interest policy. it seem obviously a conflict of interest for a government employee to award contracts to his former boss and then be hired by that boss when he retires.
timorborder at 12:08 PM JST - 29th September

Sit on the fence on this one.
Roppichan at 02:15 PM JST - 29th September

Sillygirl is right here. My experience is the same and I did biz with lots of big electronic companies. The political and the biz system is highly corrupt and this for a very long time. No change will happen in the near future and by the looks of the coming generation one will lose hope.
kirakira25 at 08:16 PM JST - 29th September

At least they are even bringing up the issue which is more than can be said for the previous lot
mareo2 at 11:22 PM JST - 29th September

I have a better idea, lets just hang them for high treason to the country.
Hephatsheput at 04:28 AM JST - 30th September

This is a free country and people should be able to work for whatever company they please. This DPJ proposal is anti-freedom, anti-free markets.
mareo2 at 09:37 AM JST - 30th September

Hephatsheput:

In amakudari, senior civil servants retire to join organisations linked with or under the jurisdiction of their ministries or agencies when they reach mandatory retirement age, usually between 50 and 60 in the public service. The former officials may collude with their former colleagues to help their new employers secure government contracts, avoid regulatory inspections and generally secure preferential treatment from the bureaucracy.
GW at 12:40 PM JST - 30th September

hephatsheput

Yr ideas are fine for people who arent theives, these parasites embezzle money to companies through corruption & then float in expecting to be paid for part of the money stolen, no freedom involved in any of this but there is a whole lot of criminal activity involved, I AINT OK WITH THAT!
mnemosyne23 at 12:13 AM JST - 1st October

Hephatsheput: I am all for freedom and free market capitalism, but it MUST be done properly. If there is no enforceable conflict of interest policy that regulates interaction between the public and private sectors, then you are looking at a hotbed of potential corruption and collusion. Just as you don't want an elected official to give preferential treatment on government contracts to their own company (think of the media flurry surrounding allegations of collusion between former Vice President Dick Cheney and the US contractor Halliburton), you also don't want your former government officials using their influence or inside knowledge to gain preferential treatment for their new private-sector employers. It's insider trading, only not on the stock market.

Free market capitalism is based on the competitive market system, which only works if competition is allowed to take place. When the potential exists for a former bureaucrat to ink a contract with his or her former agency to receive government funding, NOT because of a competitive proposal but because of personal connections, then the whole system collapses. When I see that these "amakudari" positions are "brokered" by the agencies themselves, alarm bells start ringing in my head. That is completely and utterly inappropriate. Once a person has retired, they've retired. Their relationship to their former employer, be it public or private sector, should only go so far as professional references on a resume, or a personal recommendation between colleagues. They absolutely should NOT be able (and ENCOURAGED!) to enter new, lucrative positions in private sector companies with the aid of the government itself. I am utterly appalled that such a practice takes place! It's more than just a conflict of interest at that point -- it's a conflict of morality!

I have no problem with government employees retiring early. I have no problem with those retired employees taking new positions in the private sector. I have no problem with those positions being in the field that their public sector service oversaw, nor with their new private sector positions being high ranked and well-paid. None of that matters to me. What matters is the potential for corruption and backdoor deals, which undermines the very free market economy we want to encourage. Do I think every retired public employee who's obtained an "amakudari" position is a shady character? Absolutely not. But do I think they're all sunny angels with souls made of milk, honey, and chaste philanthropy, who wouldn't harm a fly even if it was in their own personal interest? Sorry, I'm not that naive.
PepinGalarga at 04:49 PM JST - 1st October

If amakudari is eliminated, it may lead to more corruption during the terms of the officials, since they won't have the opportunity for payback later. More attention will need to be given to current officials.