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Urgent
Proposals on Reforms of the Bureaucracy
(May 20, 2002)
Congressional Forum for New Japan (21 Seiki Rincho) |
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| Reforms
of the bureaucracy are slated for legislation this summer
pursuant to the “Guidelines for Reform of the Public
Servant System,” which was endorsed by the Cabinet at
the end of last year. However, the Forum points out
that the proposed reforms may cause further sectionalism among
the ministries and greatly increase politicians’ intervention
in the personnel affairs of the bureaucracy as well as in
specific administrative decisions such as authorizations and
approvals that require fairness and neutrality. If carried
out in their present state, these reforms are apt to impair
the establishment of a “Prime Minister-led Cabinet-centered
decision making system” (system of political leadership).
Moreover, they may rock the very foundation of the
original relationship between politicians and bureaucrats
and give rise to a “misleading political leadership.”
As such, the Forum calls for a bold reexamination of
the guideline and series of reform policies. The general outline
of the proposals is as follows. |
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The Forum questions
guideline policies that would intensify the sectionalism of
ministries and allow individual interventions by politicians.
The system of recruiting public servants by ministry and agency
units must be reviewed. |
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With respect to
high-ranking bureaucrats above the deputy director-general
level, the authority of personnel management should be transferred
to the prime minister. A post of deputy director of policy
affairs should be created to be placed in charge of personnel
affairs, and a personnel assessment office should also be
installed. |
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Ministers, vice
ministers, and ministerial aides should not intervene in the
personnel affairs of officials below the level of division
chiefs who engage in individual administrative decisions. |
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The guideline
policy of empowering ministers to conduct the preliminary
investigation into the practice of amakudari (the appointment
of retired ministry officials to executive positions at special
public corporations) should be reconsidered. |
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The official retirement
age for government officials should be raised to 65 in
the future. |
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Activities to
abolish the “career-oriented system” (a system of
according privileges to select elite-track officials) should
be effected. |
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The horizontally
egalitarian system of promoting “career” officials
should be abolished. Instead, the selective promotion of “non-career”
officials should be expanded. |
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The policy of
doubling the number of successful applicants of the national
public servant examination should be retracted. |
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