The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has begun studying how to restructure the annual issuance of government white papers, both to cut costs and to reduce the work of bureaucrats, but how much of a reduction can be made is uncertain as bureaucrats themselves are cool to the idea.
White papers are reports that the ministries and agencies compile to analyze the areas they are in charge of, by using statistics and other materials, and demonstrate how they are addressing certain issues.
The first such paper, "Reports on the Actual Economic Situation," was issued in 1947. In 2005, 43 such papers were submitted to Cabinet meetings, and 25, including those on disasters and local fiscal policies, were presented to the Diet, as required.