Tag - bureaucracy

 
 

BUREAUCRACY

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 4, 2016
Japan's Board of Audit: unlikely guardians of the Constitution?
On Nov. 7, an annual ritual of government occurred: The Board of Audit delivered its report on the results of its audit of government accounts for the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016) to the Cabinet. The 1,123-page paper brick handed over to His Abe-ness identified billions of...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 1, 2016
Bureaucratic blockage in Japanese society
Japan has kept the external appearances of social dialogue, but politicians and managers have failed to adapt institutions to the new social realities.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 4, 2016
Let's discuss relocating government agencies out of Tokyo
The Cultural Affairs Agency will be moving to Kyoto as part of a policy to revitalize regional economies and address the over-concentration of government offices in Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jan 20, 2016
Hatoyama dreams of a Japan anchored within a united Asia
Former leader apologizes for his failures as PM and shares his views on Fukushima, Tokyo 2020 and his hopes for Okinawa, Japan and the wider region.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2015
Valid concerns over My Number
Public worry is high over the coming My Number system, and with good reason.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 7, 2015
Hey bureaucrats, leave those kids — and teachers — alone
To look at Japan's educational policy in action, you can't help but wonder if insularity and mediocrity might actually be the goal.
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2015
Aiming for more than medals
The Sports Agency, due to be created in October, needs to do much more than push up Japan's medal count at the Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 12, 2015
Bridging corruption and legitimacy: amakudari
Amakudari reaches into almost every aspect of civil and economic life, quietly taking its cut in the form of higher prices, obscure but lucrative monopolies and seemingly bizarre regulations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 23, 2015
Top grads shun Kasumigaseki
More University of Tokyo graduates with high academic records appear headed these days for graduate law schools or are taking jobs in the private sector rather than joining the Japanese bureaucracy.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 20, 2014
Rage against the capital's (bureaucratic) machine
As the Dec. 14 Lower House election demonstrated, media analysis of political campaigning typically focuses on personalities and parties. In recent years, official manifests serve as TV talking points as pundits — be they boorish young comedians or serious, sober-minded, gray-haired fellows — debate...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 18, 2013
A secrets law for whom? Look who gets a free pass
Ancient Confucian scholars regarded law as a necessary evil, something used on lower orders of people who lacked the moral refinement to act righteously without prompting. Yet this just states a basic truth about law: It is something we do to other people. You and I know how to act properly, right? It's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2013
Nuclear whistle-blower spills secrets the way the media should
Genpatsu Whiteout' continues to climb the best-seller list, propelled by a guessing game over the identity of its author, who seems to know a lot about the nuclear energy business.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 20, 2013
For 'no war' Article 9, any reinterpretation will do
Since the conclusion of the Article 9 debate — that it permits Japan to participate in collective security efforts — is already known, all that is really called for is some kind of excuse that the public can give the nod to before returning to their smartphones.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 13, 2013
Real 'labor cops' also deserve to get the star treatment
The show 'Dandarin' says a great deal about Japanese office politics and corporate practices that are long overdue some serious scrutiny.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 19, 2013
Imagining civil servants who actually serve
As a comedy, Nippon TV's 'Dandarin' not only pokes fun at bureaucratic privilege, but also wags its finger at Japan's storied management style, which succeeds on the backs of put-upon employees.

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’