Tag - bureaucracy

 
 

BUREAUCRACY

Newly employed workers of government ministries and agencies listen to a video message by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a training session in Tokyo on April 3.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 17, 2024
Japanese students losing interest in civil service
Public-private job search timing affects student behavior, especially in new graduate hiring.
Members of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad living in Tokushima Prefecture meet in the city of Yoshinogawa in the prefecture in December 2022 to learn from each other's experiences.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Record 7,200 served as 'community reactivators' in FY 2023
The government aims to increase the number of community cooperators to 10,000 by fiscal 2026.
The Cultural Affairs Agency in the city of Kyoto
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2024
One year on, benefits of culture agency's move to Kyoto unclear
The relocation of the Cultural Affairs Agency was decided in 2016
Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district, where government ministries and agencies are concentrated
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2024
More retired government employees want to work beyond 65
The most common reason, cited by 85.7% of the respondents, was to maintain their standard of living.
Firefighters remove rubble from the former site of a market in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 6, after a fire broke out following a strong earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula and surrounding areas on Jan. 1.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Foreign firefighters stifled by Japanese bureaucracy
Ambiguous rules have left some firefighters confused about how their much-needed abilities can be utilized.
Commuters head to work in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district where government ministries are located. The government plans to issue a guideline to encourage diverse ways of working, including working remotely, among its employees.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
Japan to allow bureaucrats to work remotely in principle
The government will release guidelines on remote work as part of an effort to encourage more diverse ways of working among its employees.
Ministers gather for a Cabinet meeting on Friday at Prime Minister's Office.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023
Japan enacts bill to raise annual pay of PM and ministers
The prime minister's annual salary will be raised by ¥460,000 to ¥40.61 million.
Police try to control the crowd in the city of Osaka after the Hanshin Tigers won the Japan Series baseball championship on Nov. 5.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023
Civil servants face different treatment at Kansai baseball parades
Kobe and Hyogo government workers working at the parades will be treated as being on duty, but those of the Osaka governments will not be.
A bill that would raise the pay for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Cabinet ministers and some civil servants was passed by the  Lower House Cabinet Committee on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023
Bill that would hike Kishida and Cabinet's pay clears Lower House committee
The plan has been met with fierce backlash from opposition parties, with lawmakers lambasting the government for its “poor political judgment.”
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023
More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services
The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
A recent report showed that the number of career bureaucrats leaving government to join startups had quadrupled over the two years through fiscal 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2023
Japan’s young civil servants are growing disillusioned
Big companies remain the most popular career option, attracting 34% of those who change jobs.
Yuko Kawamoto, president of the National Personnel Authority, hands a proposal to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2023
Agency backs largest pay rise for Japan's civil servants in 26 years
It has been suggested the monthly salaries of general civil servants be raised by an average 0.96%, a big increase from the 0.23% in fiscal 2022.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2023
Head of Defense Ministry's policy bureau named as vice defense minister
Kazuo Masuda played a central role in revising three key defense documents last December, including the National Security Strategy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2023
Japan to appoint Kazuo Masuda as top bureaucrat at Defense Ministry
Masuda played a leading role in updating the National Security Strategy and two other key defense documents in December.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
May 9, 2023
Breaking ground for women in Japan's bureaucracy
Yasuko Gotoh braved the attitudes and aggressions of Japan's government ministries early in her career before thriving in later roles and in the private sector.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2023
Japan steps up midcareer employment for central government offices
As some midcareer recruits struggle to adjust to work styles different from those in the private sector, however, support after employment is a key challenge.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2023
Former top ministry official admits to pressuring firm on leadership promotion
The presidency of the airport infrastructure firm had traditionally been held by a former transport ministry official until 2021.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2023
Japan to raise retirement age of civil servants April 1
The retirement age is set to gradually rise until it reaches 65 in fiscal 2031 in order to address labor shortages and the country's declining population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2023
Off the record should mean off the record
An off-the-record remark may have take down a high-level Japanese bureaucrat. Such actions by journalists will only hurt journalism.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2023
Former top bureaucrat Nobuo Ishihara, dubbed 'shadow prime minister,' dies age 96
When Emperor Showa died in 1989, Ishihara oversaw the era change from Showa to Heisei and the Taiso no Rei state funeral.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores