The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, an advisory panel to the Cabinet Office, is the highlight of the Jan. 6 government reorganization. The high-powered council, which includes private advisers, cuts across ministerial lines. It represents part of a comprehensive attempt to shift the policymaking initiative to politicians and away from bureaucrats. If the attempt succeeds, it will have a great impact not only on the central bureaucracy but also on national politics.

The council, chaired by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, is to discuss basic fiscal and economic policies, including government budget guidelines. It consists of six political members, Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami, and four private members. The five Cabinet ministers on the panel are: Yasuo Fukuda, chief Cabinet secretary; Taro Aso, minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy; Toranosuke Katayama, minister of public management, home affairs, posts and telecommunications; Kiichi Miyazawa, finance minister; and Takeo Hiranuma, economy, trade and industry minister. The private advisers comprise two business leaders, including Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., and two academics.

The lineup suggests a determination to break the bureaucrats' hold on public administration and steer the economy without the meddling of mandarins, which accords with the central objective of the government shakeup: to put politicians in the driver's seat. It remains to be seen, however, whether the council will actually function in this fashion.