Few fixtures of civilization invite more derision than bureaucracy. We understand that government agencies are necessary for the smooth operation of civic life but bristle at the prospect of having to interact with them. Public offices are cold, monolithic things, operating on principles that have little regard for personal niceties and human foibles.

However, the coverage of the current crisis surrounding the Social Insurance Agency has revealed that bureaucracy is all too human, meaning its feelings can be hurt. The SIA ordered its employees to work last Sunday in order to help relieve public concern over the 50 million unidentified premium payment records uncovered by the Democratic Party of Japan in May. Right after the offices opened for business, a computer glitch shut them down. SIA Director General Kiyoshi Murase apologized for the technical problems, but added that he "hoped the public would appreciate" the fact that officers had come in to work on a Sunday.

There was a marked note of petulance in the comment. Murase understands that the SIA has become one of the most despised entities in the country, which is saying a lot since bureaucracies are disliked as a matter of course. Last week, TBS's "News 23" interviewed an elderly gentleman who had just gone to his local SIA office in Hokkaido to clear up his own pension confusions. He said that because he changed jobs many times in his life, whenever he inquired about his pension in the past, SIA officers were always rude to him, implying that his problems were his own fault. Now, however, "they're being especially nice."