Following the Lehman shock a decade ago, numerous leaders have stated that Lehman "Sisters," instead of the Lehman Brothers, would have prevented the worst financial crisis of the century. More recently, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started using his version of the phrase in his gender promotion speeches. "Lehman Brothers and Sisters would have saved the bank." Today, it may be a perfect analogy for the Finance Ministry. Even a slight diversion from the complete homogeneity among senior officials at the Finance Ministry could have helped them avoid the humiliating scandals which are tarnishing the elite ministry's reputation for years to come.
Although two recent scandals — one involving the discount sale of government-owned land to the Moritomo Gakuen school operator and the other involving alleged sexual harassment by Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda — are very different in nature, the common thread is a one-dimensional workplace culture in which the best and the brightest from top-ranked schools join the ministry and gradually lose their ability to embrace diverse views, values and perspectives. Eventually, their ability to think and act critically can be severely compromised in the monocultural environment.
The behavior and thought processes of elite bureaucrats become synchronized and harmonized with particular intensity when those individuals all share the same social and economic backgrounds. This phenomenon is amplified by a promotion system that rewards those who conform and agree unconditionally to powerful lawmakers and punish those who take risks by demanding more diverse approaches.