The number of retired national government officials who landed jobs in the private sector in 2002 was down from the year before, according to data released by the National Personnel Authority.

The number of senior officials taken on by firms with close ties to government ministries and agencies where they worked came to 58, or 10 fewer than in 2002, when the number rose for the first time in seven years.

The authority, which must approve such transfers, submitted its annual report on the subject to the Diet and the Cabinet on Wednesday. It said it does not know why the figure dropped.

The practice of public officials securing private-sector work after retirement -- "amakudari," literally meaning "descent from heaven" -- has been widely criticized for fostering cronyism between authorities and the sectors they oversee.

The average age of bureaucrats hired by private-sector firms with the approval of the National Personnel Authority was 56.7, including 13 ministry division chiefs or senior officials.

Departing staff from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had 11 positions approved at private-sector firms, the largest among the group, followed by the Finance Ministry with 10 and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry with nine.

The National Tax Agency and the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry each saw six jobs approved for their staff.

One METI official had two job offers, both of which the authority approved. Thirty-three jobs were brokered through ministries and agencies, while 17 were arranged by the officials themselves or via acquaintances.

At the level of assistant division chief and junior positions, 725 departing bureaucrats had private-sector jobs approved, down from 831 in 2001. The land ministry had the most at 345.