As expected, Fujii Hirohisa announced his resignation as finance minister on Wednesday. Hatoyama Yukio wasted no time naming his replacement: Kan Naoto will shift over to the finance ministry, and Sengoku Yoshito will take over for Kan as head of the national strategy bureau while continuing to run the government revitalization unit.Kan's appointment was to …
Tag: Ministry of Finance
Fujii will depart
On Tuesday, Fujii Hirohisa, the seventy-seven-year-old finance minister who was hospitalized late last year, indicated that he will in all likelihood resign his post sometime soon. While he is officially waiting for his doctor's advice on his health, Fujii seems determined to resign.In trying to dissuade Fujii from leaving, Prime Minister Hatoyama said that since …
The DPJ begins work on regime change
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 …
Japan’s next finance minister?
As the DPJ was finalizing its proportional representation lists for the 30 August general election, one name was inserted at the last moment onto the party list in the South Kanto block: seventy-seven-year-old Fujii Hirohisa. Fujii had previously announced his retirement after a long career that included service in the finance ministry that ended at …
The DPJ and the bureaucracy continue their dance
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
Anticipated reactions
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 …
Abe reverts
I have previously discussed how the Abe Cabinet has reverted to form in the cabinet's relationship with the LDP; I have also discussed how Abe has essentially put his predecessor's structural reform ideas on hold.Asahi picked up this narrative on Sunday, in an editorial on the government's recently issued fiscal policy draft proposal, asking whether …
Tobias S. Harris 