On Tuesday, the House of Representatives began debate on the Hatoyama cabinet's bill revising the National Civil Service Law, the first of three cabinet bills intended to introduce political leadership to be considered in the Diet (the others being bills establishing the national strategy bureau and increasing the number of sub-cabinet political appointees).If passed, the …
Continue reading Can the DPJ legislate a new relationship with the bureaucracy?
On Wednesday Ubukata Yukio, the deputy secretary-general, Tanaka Makiko, Koizumi Junichiro's controversial foreign minister who joined the DPJ last year, and other DPJ Diet members proposed to Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio and DPJ secretary-general Ozawa Ichiro that the party establish a new policy research arm to replace the policy research council that closed shop when …
Continue reading A terrible idea from DPJ backbenchers, quickly nixed
In a contribution to Foreign Policy's "Think Again" feature, Paul Scalise and Devin Stewart maintain that the DPJ victory will result in "the same old stagnation in Tokyo." While there are points worth considering in their piece — especially on foreign policy and the notion that the DPJ is "anti-capitalist" — on the whole Scalise …
The DPJ wasted no time following the election of Hatoyama Yukio as prime minister Wednesday.His cabinet lineup established, the DPJ-led government immediately set to work establishing a new relationship between the cabinet, DPJ backbenchers, and the bureaucracy.Regarding the DPJ, its internal organizations, and its numerous backbenchers, the new government announced several measures to strip the …
Continue reading The first day of the new era in Japanese politics
In a remarkable coincidence, the day after the DPJ's victory in the general election — and the day the DPJ began its transition in earnest — was the same day that ministries and agencies submitted their spending requests to the ministry of finance for the Fiscal 2010 general account budget.The requests totaled roughly 92.13 trillion …
In their final appeals to Japanese voters, Kan Naoto and other DPJ leaders laid particular stress on the budget.Speaking in Tokyo on Saturday, Kan said, "True regime change is politicians who have received the trust of the people restoring the right to formulate budgets to the people." Okada Katsuya, the DPJ's secretary-general, delivered the same …
While the DPJ may have a public relations problem, the party has continued to show during the days leading up to the general election that it is focused on ensuring a smooth transition to power in the likely event that it wins, while at the same time taking the first steps to reorganizing the policymaking …
Continue reading The DPJ continues to reveal its plans for government
The general election may be another four days away, but the DPJ's position in the polls seems secure and so the party is acting like a "responsible party" and putting plans in motion for its transition into government.I have already written of the names mentioned for the leading positions in a Hatoyama cabinet — but …
Continue reading The DPJ prepares for its first steps towards a new style of government
Sankei has a long and must-read article on the obstacles facing a DPJ government in implementing its plans for reforming the policymaking process.The article highlights divisions within the DPJ over how to proceed in reforming Japan's administration, especially budget-making authority. The pragmatism visible in other aspects of the DPJ's program is also visible in the …
Continue reading The DPJ and the bureaucracy continue their dance
The ministry of finance, its ears filled with the ringing of revolution (or at least administrative reform), appears to be engaging in a classic case of anticipated reaction to the prospect of a DPJ government or an LDP government that could take its promise of "cutting waste" seriously. Accordingly, it has instructed requesting ministries to …
Tobias S. Harris 