The Tokyo Metropolitan Government unveiled a draft Thursday for major administrative reform of its organizations, which, if implemented, would reduce the current 18 departments and bureaus to seven.
In a report on the draft, the government admitted that its organizations have become inflexible and are inconvenient to residents due to their rigid sectionalism and lack of internal communication.
However, the draft fails to mention when the program would be implemented and how many workers and positions would be cut after the reorganization. "Cutting personnel itself is not the first purpose of the reform. The draft is (designed) to show what roles each bureau should have," said one official in charge of the draft.
The government has already been implementing a separate personnel cutting program to reduce government workers by 8,000 from fiscal 1996 through 2000.
According to the draft, the seven major bureaus would be assigned the following separate functions: determine the administration's direction; deal with the government's internal affairs such as personnel management; support Tokyo residents, which would cover cultural activities and labor issues; build urban infrastructures, including housings and traffic means; secure a safe and comfortable life, which would cover environmental and energy issues; deal as a welfare bureau with sanitation, medicine and welfare issues; and promote industries.