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July 03, 2026
 

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BUREAUCRACY

JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2020
Japan pushes male public servants to take longer paternity leave
The government will encourage its eligible male personnel to use child-rearing leave for at least a month in principle, starting in fiscal 2020.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2020
Moving the nation beyond Abenomics
Japan’s next government must focus squarely on the supply-side and administrative reforms needed to accelerate and sustain economic growth.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2020
A Tokyo prosecutor’s delayed retirement spurs more allegations of Abe cronyism
Over the past month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his government once again found themselves the target of allegations of political favoritism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 22, 2020
Rethinking the need for personal stamps and seals in modern society
Last month, MUFG Bank Ltd. started offering ¥1,000 to each of its first 100,000 customers willing to give up their paper passbooks. MUFG wants people to switch to online banking, which is cheaper for banks — and not just because they can save on production costs. Banks pay billions of yen a year in...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 20, 2020
Why think tanks matter in Japan
Ideally Japan’s think tanks should be able to help steer the best and brightest young people into government service.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2019
Japan aims to allow all new dads in central government to take month of paternity leave
Japan aims to ensure that all male central government employees can take paternity leave of at least one month, said Ryota Takeda, minister in charge of public servant system reform, on Friday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2019
Break the bureaucrats’ grip on policy power
Despite past reforms, the bureaucracy continues to wield strong influence over policy decisions today.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2018
80% of state bodies fail to meet disabled employee target
The number of disabled employees at 35 of the 43 state institutions stood below the level required by law as of June 1 this year, the welfare ministry said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2018
Jobs for people with disabilities
The government is depriving depriving people with disabilities of the job opportunities they deserve.
EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2018
Padding the data on hiring people with disabilities
The revelation of government malpractice in the mandatory employment of people with disabilities should trigger more discussions on what’s needed to promote hiring of these people so they can give full play to their potential in the nation’s workforce.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 5, 2018
The Kanpo: Where everything in Japan goes to happen (officially)
Read all about it in the government’s daily gazette, from laws and notices of naughtiness to deaths and even poetry.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 21, 2018
White House to propose merging Labor and Education departments: report
The White House plans to propose on Thursday to merge the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Oct 15, 2017
Duck and cover: Regulation by and for the state, through the Japanese people
Bureaucrats rustle up policies that require citizens to do their duty, however irrationally.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Sep 3, 2017
How Japan got new contract law it neither wants nor needs
One possible explanation for the inexplicable change in contract law: It is a giant experiment driven by academic hubris and bureaucratic ambition.
EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2017
Enhancing government accountability
A series of scandals has exposed the inadequacies of a guideline that governs the management of official documents by government ministries and agencies.
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2017
Poor handling of government documents
The government must come up with a better way to maintain official documents and make them available to the public.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2017
Toshiba deal repeats Japan Inc.’s old mistakes
With their persistent interference, the bureaucrats are hurting, not helping Japan’s prospects.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2017
The sin of engineering without a license
Bureaucrats buttress their power by making the exercise of a constitutional right contingent on government approval.
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2017
‘Amakudari’ remains an issue
Bureaucrats landing jobs in the private sector on the basis of the powers of government ministries and agencies sows the seeds of corruption.
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2017
Dig up all the ‘amakudari’ dirt
Revelations of ‘amakudari’ at the education ministry underline the need for all ministries and agencies to undergo strict investigations to root out the practice across the government.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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