Japanese Government Reform from a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Frustrated domestic and international observers tend to emphasize the lack of progress in Japanese government reform when analyzing Japan’s inability to render its economy more efficient and dynamic and overcome the current economic difficulties. However, Japan’s government reform actually began relatively early and has achieved remarkable accomplishments. Nakasone’s administrative reform began in the early 1980s, roughly concurrent with reforms commonly considered acts of pioneering, that is, the Regan reform in the United States and the Thatcher reform in Britain. Although it has experienced both upheavals and downturns, the Japanese reform movement has lasted more than two decades. In the long process of Japanese government reform, various issues were discussed, including government reorganizations, privatizations, and deregulations, and reform measures were implemented in such areas as finance, telecommunications, and railway transportation. These reform measures, however, did not go as far as to completely satisfy reformist politicians and business leaders.KeywordsCivil ServiceComparative PerspectiveRegulatory ReformReform MeasureFrance TelecomThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.