Tag - bureaucracy

 
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September 05, 2025
 

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BUREAUCRACY

Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
It took decades, but Japan’s working women are making progress
Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
Newly employed workers of government ministries and agencies listen to a video message by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a training session in Tokyo on April 3.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 17, 2024
Japanese students losing interest in civil service
Public-private job search timing affects student behavior, especially in new graduate hiring.
Members of the Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad living in Tokushima Prefecture meet in the city of Yoshinogawa in the prefecture in December 2022 to learn from each other's experiences.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2024
Record 7,200 served as 'community reactivators' in FY 2023
The government aims to increase the number of community cooperators to 10,000 by fiscal 2026.
The Cultural Affairs Agency in the city of Kyoto
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2024
One year on, benefits of culture agency's move to Kyoto unclear
The relocation of the Cultural Affairs Agency was decided in 2016
Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district, where government ministries and agencies are concentrated
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2024
More retired government employees want to work beyond 65
The most common reason, cited by 85.7% of the respondents, was to maintain their standard of living.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2024
Japan to allow bureaucrats to work remotely in principle
The government will release guidelines on remote work as part of an effort to encourage more diverse ways of working among its employees.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 17, 2023
Japan enacts bill to raise annual pay of PM and ministers
The prime minister's annual salary will be raised by ¥460,000 to ¥40.61 million.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2023
Civil servants face different treatment at Kansai baseball parades
Kobe and Hyogo government workers working at the parades will be treated as being on duty, but those of the Osaka governments will not be.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023
Bill that would hike Kishida and Cabinet's pay clears Lower House committee
The plan has been met with fierce backlash from opposition parties, with lawmakers lambasting the government for its “poor political judgment.”
A growing number of local governments in Japan have adopted digital technology for over-the-counter services to allow residents to carry out procedures without having to fill out application forms.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2023
More local governments in Japan go digital for counter services
The measure has helped reducing waiting times and burden on visitors.
A recent report showed that the number of career bureaucrats leaving government to join startups had quadrupled over the two years through fiscal 2022.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 8, 2023
Japan’s young civil servants are growing disillusioned
Big companies remain the most popular career option, attracting 34% of those who change jobs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
May 9, 2023
Breaking ground for women in Japan's bureaucracy
Yasuko Gotoh braved the attitudes and aggressions of Japan's government ministries early in her career before thriving in later roles and in the private sector.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2023
Japan steps up midcareer employment for central government offices
As some midcareer recruits struggle to adjust to work styles different from those in the private sector, however, support after employment is a key challenge.
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2023
Former top ministry official admits to pressuring firm on leadership promotion
The presidency of the airport infrastructure firm had traditionally been held by a former transport ministry official until 2021.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2023
Japan to raise retirement age of civil servants April 1
The retirement age is set to gradually rise until it reaches 65 in fiscal 2031 in order to address labor shortages and the country's declining population.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 17, 2023
Off the record should mean off the record
An off-the-record remark may have take down a high-level Japanese bureaucrat. Such actions by journalists will only hurt journalism.
JAPAN
Jan 9, 2023
Japan weighs changes to dated law on government workers' travel expenses
Government employees traveling for work have been frequently forced to make expensive out-of-pocket payments to make up for costs not covered by the state.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 7, 2022
Japan spent ¥45.5 billion in tax money wastefully in fiscal 2021, government reports
There were 310 reported cases of wasteful spending, the Board of Audit of Japan has said, following a slump in the number of on-site inspections by board staff during the pandemic.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2022
Outspoken digital chief Taro Kono set to renew fight against old tech in Japan
One of Japan's best-known politicians helped make a name for himself with his fight against personal seals and the fax machine, and now he is targeting other work practices.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2021
Female graduates to outnumber men for first time at Japan’s financial regulator
Women account for eight of the 14 fresh bureaucrats planning to join the Financial Services Agency in April.
Surrounded by Chinese bases, a tiny Philippine island stands firm
A Philippine Navy sailor looks at a China Coast Guard vessel just off the coast of Pag-asa Island in the disputed South China Sea last month.
Anger in Japan after Instagrammer drinks burial site offering
Foreign tourists visit a park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in August.
Tamagotchi hatches 100 million shipments worldwide thanks to ’90s nostalgia
The latest version of Tamagotchi, called Tamagotchi Paradise, is awarded the best digital toy at Tokyo Toy Show on Aug. 28.
Tropical Storm Peipah forms off southwestern Japan
Tropical Storm Peipah, which formed off southeastern Japan, is expected to travel east off the Tokai area and the Kanto region.
What we know about the supplements scandal linked to Suntory’s ex-CEO
Takeshi Niinami, the former chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings, at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
London’s calling and sumo’s top division — along with Hello Kitty — are ready to answer
Yokozuna Hoshoryu and Hello Kitty, an ambassador for sumo's upcoming tour to London, at Tokyo's Kokugikan on Tuesday
Resonac creates 27-member consortium to pursue advanced chip developments
Representatives from member companies of JOINT3, a consortium working together on semiconductor-related developments announced by Resonac, pose for a photo in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Haru Nemuri’s radical new album refuses easy listening
Musician Haruna Kimishima, better known as Haru Nemuri, confronts Japan’s politics, nationalism and censorship on her recent output.
Overseas sluggers step up to bat in small-town Hokkaido
The Betsukai Pilot Spirits welcomed new players (left to right) Yuta Yamanaka, Roman Guthrie, Scott Bellina and Leo Jiminian this year, pictured here with Yassir Lachkar of the Ishikari Red Phoenix.
Xi — joined by Kim and Putin — delivers stark warning at military parade
Chinese leader Xi Jinping walks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

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