Moves are afoot to dismantle the entrenched vertical structure of the administrative system as prefectural governments and municipalities try to cope with the decentralization of the central government.

Key features include the promotion and demotion of local public service employees, a candidacy system to assess municipal employees' eligibility for promotion, recruitment of managers from among municipal employees and the abolition of departments and divisions.

It appears that top officials bent on reshaping the administrative system regard the termination of the seniority system as indispensable for boosting the economies of municipalities and invigorating local government offices.