Definition
Selected institutional features of Japan’s national bureaucracy highlighted and juxtaposed with those of other countries.
Introduction
Scholars generally agree that the political influence of Japan’s modern national bureaucracy is strong (Bowornwathana and Poocharoen 2010; Nakamura 2002). This cannot be said of all bureaucracies around the world, and countries can vary considerably in what makes their bureaucracy strong or weak. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to provide an exhaustive list of sources illustrating these variations or to comprehensively assess the extent to which Japan’s bureaucracy is stronger or weaker than bureaucracies elsewhere. Instead, this chapter discusses selected institutional features which arguably contribute to the view that Japan’s bureaucracy is rather strong. These features are juxtaposed with institutions in other countries to...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Abelson DE (1995) From policy research to political advocacy: the changing role of think tanks in American politics. Can Rev Am Stud 25(1):93–126
Akizuki K (2010) History and context of public administration in Japan. In: Berman EM, Moon J, Choi H (eds) Public administration in East Asia: Mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 195–211
Andeweg RB (2000) Ministers as double agents? The delegtion process between cabinet and ministers. Eur J Polit Res 37:377–395
Aoki N (2015) Let’s get public administration right, but in what sequence? Lessons from Japan and Singapore. Public Adm Develop 35(3):206–218
Bowornwathana B, Poocharoen O-o (2010) Bureaucratic politics and administrative reform: why politics matters. Public Organ Rev Glob J 10:303–321
Bundesrat (n.d.) Consent and objection bills. Retrieved from http://www.bundesrat.de/EN/funktionen-en/gesetzgebung-en/zust-einspr-en/zust-einspr-en-node.html
Jing Y, Cui Y, Li D (2015) The politics of performance measurement in China. Policy Soc 34(1):49–61
Johnson CA (1982) MITI and the Japanese miracle: the growth of industrial policy, 1925–1975. Stanford University Press, Stanford
Kamikawa R (2013) Abenomics-no seijigaku – Dai-2-ji-abenaikaku-no keizaiseisakuketteikatei [Political science of Abenomics – the economic policy process in the second Abe administration]. Mondai-to Kenkyu [Issues and Studies] 42(3):1–48. Retrieved from http://iiro.nccu.edu.tw/attachments/journal/add/10/42-3-1.pdf
Knill C (1999) Explaining cross-national variance in administrative reform: autonomous versus instrumental bureaucracies. J Public Policy 19(2):113–139
Nakamura A (2002) Problems and prospects for government reform in Japan’s public administration: the rise of the new versus the persistence of the old. J Comp Asian Dev 1(1):33–48
Nakamura A (2012) Asian model of government re-examined in the aftermath of the global economic crunch: a Japanese perspective from the experience of the triple disasters in March 2011. Int Rev Adm Sci 78:239–259
National Personnel Authority (2015) Heisei-27-nendo nenjihōkokusho chōkitōkeitōshiryō [Annual report 2015: materials including longitudinal data]. Retrieved from http://www.jinji.go.jp/hakusho/pdf/27_choukitoukei.pdf
Neo BS, Chen G (2007) Dynamic governance: embedding culture, capabilities and change in Singapore. World Publishing Company, Singapore
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008) The state of the public service. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264047990-en
Painter M (2004) The politics of administrative reform in east and southeast Asia: from gridlock to continuous self-improvement? Governance 17(3):361–386
Quah JST (2013) Ensuring good governance in Singapore: is this experience transferable to other Asian countries? Int J Public Sect Manag 26(5):401–420
Rosenbloom DH (1983) Public administrative theory and the separation of powers. Public Adm Rev 43(3):219–227
Schneider BR (1993) The career connection: a comparative analysis of bureaucratic preferences and insulation. Comp Polit 25(3):331–350
Sowell T (2004) Affirmative action around the world. Yale University Press, New Haven/London
Tsuji K (2010) Kōmuinsei-no kenkyū [A study of the civil service system]. Tokyo University Press, Tokyo
Ueno M (1998) Think tanks in Japan: towards a more democratic society. In: Stone D, Denham A, Gamett M (eds) Think tanks across nations: a comparative approach. Manchester University Press, Manchester, pp 188–201
Urabe N (1990) Rule of law and due process: a comparative view of the United States and Japan. Law Contemp Probl 53:61–72
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Aoki, N. (2018). Japan’s Bureaucracy in International Perspective. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3506-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3506-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences
Publish with us
Chapter history
-
Latest
Japan’s Bureaucracy in International Perspective- Published:
- 04 July 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3506-2
-
Original
Japan’s Bureaucracy in International Perspective- Published:
- 06 February 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3506-1