Japan's Administrative EliteA major player in Japanese society is its government bureaucracy. Neither Japan's phenomenal track record in the world marketplace nor its remarkable success in managing its domestic affairs can be understood without insight into how its government bureaucracy works—how its elite administrators are recruited, socialized, and promoted; how they interact among themselves and with other principal players in Japan, notably politicians; how they are rewarded; and what happens to them when they retire at a relatively young age. Yet, despite its pivotal importance, there is no comprehensive and up-to-date study of Japan's administrative elite in the English language. This book seeks to fill that gap. Koh examines patterns of continuity and change, identifies similarities and differences between Japan and four other industrialized democracies (the United States, Britain, France, and Germany), and assesses the implications of the Japanese model of public management. Though many features of Japanese bureaucracy are found in the Western democracies, the degree to which they manifest themselves in Japan appears to be unsurpassed. Koh shows that the Japanese model of public management contains both strengths and weaknesses. For example, the price Japan pays for the high caliber of its administrative elite is the stifling rigidity of a multiple track system, a system with second-class citizens and demoralized "non-career" civil servants who actually bear a lion's share of administrative burden. The Japanese experience demonstrates not only how steep the price of success can be but also the enduring effects of culture over structure. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1989. |
Contents
Administrative Elite in a Developmental State | 1 |
Japanese Bureaucracy During the Prewar Era | 10 |
CivilService Reform Under the American | 32 |
Recruitment | 67 |
Promotion | 124 |
Socialization | 148 |
Modes of Interaction | 192 |
Rewards | 219 |
Conclusion | 252 |
Bibliography | 267 |
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Common terms and phrases
Administrative Service administrative vice-minister amakudari appointment Asahi shinbun assistant section chief bureau chief bureaucrats career Chalmers Johnson chōkan competitive democracies Ecole Nationale d'Administration economics educational elite track employees Finance Ministry former bureaucrats gikan grade higher civil servants higher civil-service examination higher examination hired Ibid Insatsukyoku International Japan Japan's administrative elite Japanese bureaucracy Japanese civil Japanese government jimukan Jinji gyōsei Jinji-in geppō Kankai kanri kanryō Kasumigaseki kenkyū kenshū Kokka kōmuin Kōmuin hakusho Kyōdai law graduates Mainichi shinbun minister ministries and agencies MITI National Personnel Authority Nenji hōkokusho Nihon kanryōsei nonetheless officials Ōkurashō organization party passed the higher percent political politicians positions prewar Princeton promotion proportion Public Administration recruitment reform role salary SCAP seido senior shiken Shōwa social Spaulding statistics successful candidates tion Tōdai Tōdai graduates Tōdai's law faculty Tōkyō Daigaku Tsuji University of Tokyo University Press West Germany women