Staff Writer
Although a blue-ribbon government panel on administrative reform released a preliminary report Sept. 3 on streamlining the bureaucracy, the panel still faces a lot of hard work before finalizing the report by November.
The Administrative Reform Council, headed by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, is expected to face difficulties in working out a feasible, detailed plan to streamline the bloated government due to possible opposition from those with vested interests, such as bureaucrats and politicians, experts said. "It seems it will be hard for the panel to reject pressure from such forces," said Atsushi Miyawaki, a professor of economics at Hokkaido University. "I think this is partly because the panel has failed to clearly state the principle on which the detailed streamlining plan is to be drafted."