The alleged meddling in Foreign Ministry affairs by Liberal Democratic lawmaker Muneo Suzuki has stirred debate on rules governing relations between politicians and bureaucrats. The problem of "excessive interference" has been widely reported as highly abnormal, but I doubt whether that's so. In present-day Japan, politico-bureaucratic contact happens constantly without principles, restrictions or order. Indeed, the lack of excessive interference should be considered a matter of luck.
To make the luck possible, though, bureaucrats must unite to control lawmakers with vested interests, or lawmakers must restrain one another to prevent excessive interference. Political history has shown that realizing "healthy" political-bureaucratic ties is difficult.
Some people have proposed that the government keep records of meetings between bureaucrats and politicians and open them to public scrutiny. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi appear supportive of the idea. That proposal, however, would likely face excessive interference itself. If no punishment were provided for failing to keep records, the proposal would not be very effective.