The Lower House passed a bill Thursday to reform the civil servant system, but the legislation omitted any steps to curb the notoriously corrupt system of "amakudari," the practice whereby bureaucrats retire into lucrative posts in industries they had overseen.
With the Diet closing on June 15, the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition and the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force, were able to draft a last-minute revision of the bill, which was submitted in April. Passage of the bill has been a key goal of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as he struggles to regain public trust following a spate of scandals involving government employees.
After a majority vote by the ruling bloc, the DPJ and the Social Democratic Party passed the revised bill, it was handed to the Upper House, which is scheduled to deliberate on it Friday. Full passage is practically assured by the end of the Diet session.